The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) played a concert in Tokyo, Japan, today (August 24) as part of its concert tour across Asia.
 
     Comprising about 100 young musicians from various parts of Asia, the AYO had earlier performed in Hong Kong, Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Xiamen, Xian, Beijing, Manila, Chiayi, Taipei and Ayase. The concerts in Tokyo today and tomorrow (August 25) will conclude this season’s tour.
 
     The performances by the AYO in Tokyo are supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Tokyo.
 
     Based in Hong Kong, the AYO attracts many bright young musicians from all over Asia to Hong Kong every year, and takes them to different parts of the world for performances and cultural exchange.
 
     The AYO has been playing a significant role in promoting arts and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan. The AYO’s first public concert in 1990 was held in Kumamoto, Japan. Since then, Japan has been one of the destinations for the AYO tour almost every year. The AYO was awarded Japan’s Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists in 2010 in recognition of its outstanding contributions to the development of young artistic talent. It was also awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community in 2015 for promoting friendship and understanding of young people across Asia through the common language of music.
 
     To tie in with the official visit to Japan by the Chief Executive, the AYO will present a special concert in Tokyo later this year with around 30 musicians from Hong Kong and Japan who have performed in the AYO previously.

  

     The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority (HZMBA) announced yesterday (August 23) that with the approval and consent of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the toll levels of the HZMB Main Bridge (per vehicle per trip) have been confirmed as follows:
 
Light passenger vehicles (private cars, hire cars): RMB150
Heavy passenger vehicles (cross-boundary coaches): RMB200
Shuttle buses: RMB300
Container trucks: RMB115
Goods vehicles: RMB60
 
     For details, please refer to the following website with the relevant information released by the HZMBA (Chinese only): mp.weixin.qq.com/s/li28iBugb6P4MnAbPdbRPA
 
     A spokesman for the Transport Department said that the HZMB Main Bridge is located within Mainland waters and the toll plaza is also situated in the Mainland. According to the territoriality principle (i.e. handling all issues in accordance with the respective local laws) and the Inter-Governmental Agreement in Respect of the Construction, Operation, Maintenance and Management of the HZMB, the HZMBA, which is responsible for the operation of the Main Bridge, will collect tolls from vehicles using the HZMB Main Bridge in accordance with the laws of the Mainland. The toll levels have been approved according to the Mainland's laws and procedures (including the holding of the hearing on toll levels with the participation of representatives from the three places) after the completion of relevant discussion by the three governments.

     The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, today (August 24) extended his congratulations to Hong Kong gymnast Shek Wai-hung on winning a gold medal in the Men's Vault event in the 18th Asian Games, being held in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia.

     Mr Lau said, "Shek Wai-hung has won a gold medal in the same event after his victory in the last Asian Games held in Incheon. He has kept up with his high standard and has demonstrated marvellous techniques. I hope fellow Hong Kong athletes can continue to excel and achieve further good results."

     The Hong Kong team has so far won 18 medals, namely two gold medals, four silver medals and 12 bronze medals, at this Asian Games. The list of medals won earlier today and yesterday (August 23) as follows:

August 24

Silver medal
—————
Rowing: Men's Lightweight Single Sculls
Chiu Hin-chun

Bronze medal
—————
Cycling: Women's Road Individual Time Trial (20km)
Leung Wing-yee

Fencing: Women's Team Epee
Chu Ka-mong, Kaylin Hsieh, Vivian Kong and Coco Lin

Rowing: Women's Lightweight Single Sculls
Lee Ka-man

Rowing: Men's Lightweight Eight
Chau Yee-ping, Cheung Ming-hang, Lam San-tung, Leung Chun-shek, Kenneth Liu, Tang Chiu-mang, James Wong, Wong Wai-kin and Yuen Yun-lam

August 23

Silver medal
————–
Swimming: Women's 4x100m Medley Relay
Stephanie Au, Chan Kin-lok, Camille Cheng and Jamie Yeung

Bronze medal
—————
Fencing: Men's Team Sabre
Cyrus Chang, Lam Hin-chung, Terence Lee and Low Ho-tin

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
     
     Delivery versus Payment (DvP) settlement has been fully implemented in Bond Connect starting from today (August 24).  All trades under the Bond Connect have begun to be settled on a DvP basis. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) welcomes this development.
      
     An HKMA spokesperson said there had been strong market demand for DvP settlement since Bond Connect was launched in July 2017. Thanks to the support of the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and the efforts of the relevant institutions in the Mainland and Hong Kong, DvP settlement has been fully implemented in Bond Connect. This increases settlement efficiency and reduces settlement risks, affording greater convenience to international investors investing through Bond Connect. The HKMA will continue to work closely with the PBoC to enhance the Bond Connect platform.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (August 24) visited Kowloon City District to keep abreast of developments in the Kai Tak Development (KTD) area.
 
     Mr Cheung toured the facilities of the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in the company of the District Officer (Kowloon City), Mr Franco Kwok; the Chairman of the Kowloon City District Council (KCDC), Mr Pun Kwok-wah; the Cluster Chief Executive of Kowloon Central Cluster of the Hospital Authority, Dr Albert Lo; and the Hospital Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, Dr Lee Tsz-leung. He was pleased to learn that the hospital planned to open in stages from the fourth quarter of this year.
 
     Housed in two 11-storey buildings, the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital will provide 468 beds, operating theatres, an ambulatory care centre and a specialist out-patient clinic. It aims to provide diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation services to children from newborns to 18-year-olds with relevant clinical needs, and will focus mainly on uncommon, complex and serious paediatric cases requiring multidisciplinary management.

     Mr Cheung then went to the hospital podium to have a bird’s eye view of the KTD area. Officers from the Civil Engineering and Development Department gave a briefing on the latest developments of the area.
 
     Mr Cheung said that to facilitate the furtherance of the KTD plan, the Government has taken forward the planning, design and construction of various public works and infrastructure projects in stages in light of the growing population and various developments in the area.
 
     He also visited the Co-Sharing Services Centre under the Lok Sin Tong Social Housing Scheme. He was given a tour of summer activities being held at the Centre and talked to participating children.
 
     He then visited a beneficiary family under the Lok Sin Tong Social Housing Scheme to understand the difficulties they faced in their daily lives. Mr Cheung stressed that the current-term Government strives to develop Hong Kong into a caring and compassionate society and will continue to introduce appropriate measures for the underprivileged.
 
     The Lok Sin Tong Community-based Housing Movement Scheme provides rental units to grass-roots families at affordable rent, with an aim to help improve living conditions of families waiting for public housing. The Scheme also provides community support to the tenants such as after-school child care service to ease their pressure and reduce intergenerational poverty.

     Mr Cheung then visited a number of streets in the To Kwa Wan area to observe the problems of illegal parking and pedestrian congestion caused by tourists in the vicinity.
 
     He pointed out that the District Officer has set up an inter-departmental group with a view to stepping up co-ordination and enforcement actions against the problems concerned at the district level. The relevant government policy bureau will continue to pay close attention to the use of tourism supporting facilities in all districts and maintain close contact with the tourism industry and relevant stakeholders, with a view to introducing practical measures to address the issue.
 
     Before concluding the visit, Mr Cheung met with KCDC members and exchanged views with them on various issues of concern to the district and the wider community.