Tag Archives: China

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, May 25, 2018 is 99.6 (same as yesterday’s index). read more

     Super Dragon Management Limited was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for failing to pay an employee’s wages, totalling $108,000, within seven days after the expiry of the wage period as required by the Employment Ordinance (EO). The employer was fined $60,000 after pleading guilty at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts today (May 25).

     “The ruling helps disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay the wages to employees within the time limit stipulated in the EO,” an LD spokesman said.

     “The LD will not tolerate these offences and will continue to make dedicated efforts in enforcing the EO and safeguarding employees’ statutory rights,” the spokesman added. read more

     Hong Kong e-Legislation (HKeL) will be the only government legislation website from July 1, 2018, following the discontinuation of the previous Bilingual Laws Information System (BLIS) website on the same date, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DoJ) said today (May 25). 
      
     HKeL was launched in February 2017. To facilitate the transition from BLIS to HKeL, the two websites have been running in parallel. After consulting the HKeL Liaison Group and considering the views of the legal profession, it has been decided that BLIS will discontinue service on July 1, 2018.
      
     The spokesperson said, “We have been giving advance notice on the decommissioning of BLIS through various channels since December 2017. To assist our users in transitioning to the HKeL regime, we have published user’s guides on how to perform basic BLIS functions in HKeL and how to maintain printed copies of legislation. Briefing sessions on HKeL and its advance functionalities have also been arranged for members of the legal profession.

     “We are committed to improving and enhancing the functionality and user-friendliness of HKeL. Since its launch, we have introduced a number of enhancements, for example, the Chapter Number Index was enhanced so that users could conveniently download PDF copies of different chapters using the Index. A progress bar was also added to the ‘view legislation’ page to show users the loading progress of a chapter.
      
     “Further enhancements will be introduced in the coming months to facilitate quicker and easier access to legislation.”
      
     The spokesperson added that the HKeL website marks a new milestone in the Government’s efforts to facilitate public access to information on legislation. The Government will continue to listen to the views of users to enhance HKeL for the benefit of the general public and the legal profession.   read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a public hearing on “Management of restored landfills” (Chapter 1) of the Director of Audit’s Report No.70 at 9am tomorrow (May 26) in Conference Room 2 of the LegCo Complex.

     Fifteen witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by PAC members.

     The programme for the public hearing is as follows:

Date: May 26 (Saturday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 2

Subject: Management of restored landfills (Chapter 1 of the Director of Audit’s Report No.70)

Witnesses:

Secretary for the Environment
Mr Wong Kam-sing

Under Secretary for Home Affairs
Mr Jack Chan

Principal Assistant Secretary (Recreation and Sport)2, Home Affairs Bureau
Ms Linda Law

Director of Environmental Protection
Mr Donald Tong

Deputy Director of Environmental Protection (2)
Mrs Vicki Kwok

Assistant Director (Environmental Infrastructure), Environmental Protection Department
Ms Betty Cheung

Assistant Director (Nature Conservation and Infrastructure Planning), Environmental Protection Department
Dr Samuel Chui

Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Landfills and Development), Environmental Protection Department
Mr Fong Kin-wa

Director of Leisure and Cultural Services
Ms Michelle Li

Chief Executive Officer (Planning) 2, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Ms Linda Cheung

Director of Architectural Services
Mrs Sylvia Lam

Project Director/3, Architectural Services Department
Mr Edward Tse

Chief Project Manager 302, Architectural Services Department
Mr Chris Liu

Director of Home Affairs
Miss Janice Tse

Assistant Director (2), Home Affairs Department
Ms Eugenia Chung

     PAC is chaired by Mr Abraham Shek, and its Deputy Chairman is Mr Kenneth Leung. Other members include Mr Paul Tse, Mr Steven Ho, Mr Lam Cheuk-ting, Mr Shiu Ka-fai and Ms Tanya Chan. read more

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (May 25) released the latest maintenance cost information on lifts in private residential and commercial premises for public reference.

     The EMSD had earlier engaged an independent consultant to conduct a sampling survey on the maintenance costs of lifts in private residential and commercial buildings in Hong Kong. The consultant analysed the data provided by around 7,700 questionnaires collected, and calculated the average monthly maintenance costs of the lifts as follows:
                

Private Residential Buildings
Lift travel level	Rated speed of lift	Average monthly lift maintenance cost	Change as compared with last survey (Note 1)
1 to 15	≤ 1.0m/s > 1.0m/s	$3,824 $4,468	+0.0% +0.5%
16 to 25	≤ 1.5m/s > 1.5m/s	$4,064 $5,277	+1.5% +2.2%
26 to 35	≤ 1.75m/s > 1.75m/s	$5,199 $6,717	+2.0% +3.0%
More than 35	≤ 2.5m/s > 2.5m/s	$7,690 $8,716	+0.6% +1.0%

 

Private Commercial Buildings
Lift travel level	Rated speed of lift	Average monthly lift maintenance cost	Change as compared with last survey (Notes 1 and 2)
1 to 15	≤ 1.5m/s > 1.5m/s	$4,767 $6,834	+0.5% +0.6%
16 to 25	≤ 2.0m/s > 2.0m/s	$5,877 $9,096	+0.4% +0.2%
26 to 35	≤ 3.0m/s > 3.0m/s	$7,984 $11,958	+0.3% -2.4%
More than 35	≤ 3.5m/s > 3.5m/s	$11,626 $16,865	+2.6% -4.0%

     The cost information is available in the Responsible Persons’ Corner on the EMSD’s website (www.emsd.gov.hk/en/lifts_and_escalators_safety/responsible_persons_corner/index.html). The EMSD will update it on a half-yearly basis.

     In choosing registered lift contractors, the responsible persons of lifts are advised to make reference to the materials published in the Responsible Persons’ Corner in addition to the price factor. The materials include:

* performance ratings of registered contractors;
* sample contracts for procurement of lift maintenance services;
* a guidebook for persons responsible for lifts;
* guidelines for selection of registered contractors for provision of maintenance services;
* guidelines for modernisation of existing lifts;
* guidelines for management of lift maintenance works;
* a checklist for building management staff to conduct daily safety inspection of lifts; and
* common questions and answers on lift management.

Note 1: The above price figures were updated on March 31, 2018, whereas the previous price figures were updated six months ago on September 30, 2017.

Note 2: As there are very few lifts with travel of more than 35 levels and rated speed of 3.5m/s or less, the surveyed price obtained through sampling of lifts in this group is prone to higher fluctuation. read more