The Occupational Safety and Health Training Centre of the Labour Department (LD) will launch a wide range of occupational safety and health training courses from October to December in 2024. The courses aim to enhance the working population's awareness of occupational safety and health, as well as their understanding of the legal requirements and standards stipulated in occupational safety regulations.
      
     The training courses cover a wide range of topics, including:
 

1. Major Safety and Health Regulations related to Industrial Accident Prevention and Their Latest Amendments
2. Safety Management Regulation cum Safety Inspection Programme and Accident/Incident Investigation
3. Major Safety Regulations related to Accident Prevention on Work in Confined Spaces and other Safety Regulations related to Risk Assessment (new course)
4. Major Safety Regulations related to Accident Prevention in Logistics Industry (including Storage Work)
5. Industrial Accident Cases Analysis and Related Safety Regulations cum Major Safety and Health Regulations related to Employees' Duties (with one class to be conducted in English)
6. Safety Regulations on Working in times of Inclement Weather and Hot Environment
7. A Brief Introduction to Safety Regulations and Codes of Practice related to Construction Work (including Renovation, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition Works) 
8. Safety Regulations on Working at Height (including Truss-out Bamboo Scaffolds and Suspended Working Platforms) cum Codes of Practice on Scaffolds and Suspended Working Platforms
9. Major Safety Regulations related to Accident Prevention on Lifting Work (including Tower and Mobile Cranes) cum Codes of Practice for Safe Use of Tower and Mobile Cranes
10. Loadshifting Machinery Regulation cum Safe Use of Power-operated Elevating Work Platform and Common Heavy Machinery
11. Major Safety Regulations related to Accident Prevention in Catering Trade
12. Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance and Regulation (with one class to be conducted in English)
13. Safety Regulations on Manual Handling Operations
14. Dangerous Substances Regulations
15. Health Hints on the Use of Computer cum More Exercise Smart Work
16. Occupational Stress cum Happy Workplace
17. First Aid in the Workplace
18. Strategies for the Prevention of Occupational Diseases cum Work and Healthy Lifestyle

 
     Unless otherwise specified, the courses will mainly be conducted in Cantonese at the LD's Occupational Safety and Health Training Centre, 13/F, KOLOUR Tsuen Wan I, 68 Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan. Enrolment is free.
       
     Employers who wish to arrange for their employees to attend the courses can log in to the application website (www.oshtc.labour.gov.hk/wpas/?lang=en) or scan the QR code (see Annex) to learn about the course content and sign up for the courses. Interested employees can also enrol in the courses through the abovementioned channels on their own. For enquiries, please call 2940 7057.

     The Public Records Office (PRO) of the Government Records Service (GRS) today (September 2) launched its annual thematic exhibition, "Wedding Stories in Archives", to revisit with members of the public the evolution of Hong Kong's marriage systems and wedding customs.

     The earliest law related to civil marriage in Hong Kong was enacted in 1852, which was more than 170 years ago. How have marriage registration laws and systems evolved? Why were early Registrars of Marriages also Land Officers? And what are the distinctive features of traditional wedding scenes, rituals and celebrations? Is the "blind year effect" an urban myth or a real phenomenon?

     The "Wedding Stories in Archives" exhibition presents over 70 selected items. Apart from PRO's holdings, there are also items from the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Immigration Department, and the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives, that reveal intriguing information and guide members of the public in exploring the evolution of the following Hong Kong marriage systems and customs: 
 

• various ways in which couples tied the knot before the enactment of the marriage law;
• the validity of marriages performed during the Japanese Occupation; and
• the institutionalisation of monogamous marriage in 1971.

     Many traditional wedding customs have fallen out of favour or been simplified over time. Images displayed in the exhibition, including a register of betrothal gifts, notices about marriages, and scenes of the bride being carried to the bridegroom's place in a red sedan chair, offer glimpses into Hong Kong's past wedding customs. Additionally, the exhibition revisits the development of marriage registries, including the opening of the first Sub-Registry for marriages in Kowloon in 1956, and the relocation of the Principal Marriage Registry to the High Block of Hong Kong City Hall in 1962 — places steeped in the collective memory of citizens.

     The "Wedding Stories in Archives" exhibition is open from today (September 2) onwards from Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5.45pm (except public holidays), at the Exhibition Hall on the second floor of the Hong Kong Public Records Building at 13 Tsui Ping Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon. Admission is free. To enhance visitors' experience, a new optical illusion backdrop featuring traditional wedding themes has been exclusively set up near the entrance to the Exhibition Hall. Visitors who complete missions on the exhibition leaflet will receive special souvenirs.

     To facilitate those who are unable to visit in person, the PRO has developed an online exhibition (www.grs.gov.hk/ws/online/wedding/en/home/index.html). In addition, the PRO Facebook page (www.facebook.com/grs.publicrecordsoffice) will also share selected holdings and interesting stories featured in the exhibition.

     The PRO will be organising roving exhibitions to take this thematic exhibition to various districts of Hong Kong at a later date. Details will be announced later on the Government Records Service website (www.grs.gov.hk) and the PRO Facebook page. For enquiries, please contact the PRO at 2195 7700 or email to proinfo@grs.gov.hk.

                

      World-renowned French cellist Gautier Capuçon, along with his longtime music partner, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, will visit Hong Kong in early October to stage a duo recital in the Great Music 2024, presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), to showcase their mastery of music techniques and rapport. This is a one-night-only event that music lovers will not want to miss.
 
      This recital programme covers Schumann's "Fantasiestücke, Op. 73", Brahms's "Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38", Debussy's "Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor" and Shostakovich's "Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40"
 
      Capuçon is acclaimed for his expressive musicianship and exuberant virtuosity. Now a household name in his native France, Capuçon appears on screen and online shows, and is a guest presenter on Radio Classique in the show "Les Carnets de Gautier Capuçon". Each season, he performs with world leading orchestras and plays with many of the world’s foremost conductors and instrumentalists around the globe. During the 2023-24 season, he partnered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, the Orchestre Nationale de France and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist. Capuçon's recordings have won numerous awards, in which the classics album "Emotions" achieved gold status in France in 2020. He is also committed to education and support for young musicians from every background.
 
      Through elegant musicality and an insightful approach to both contemporary and established repertoire, Thibaudet has earned a reputation as one of the world's finest pianists. During the 2023-24 season, he engaged with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and more in various performances. Thibaudet's extensive recording catalogue has received two Grammy nominations, two ECHO Awards, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Diapason d'Or, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, as well as the Edison and Gramophone Awards. Among his numerous commendations are the Victoire d'Honneur, a lifetime career achievement award and the highest honour given by France's Victoires de la Musique. In addition to being named a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Thibaudet was awarded the title of Officier by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012.　
 
      The "Duo Recital by Gautier Capuçon (Cello) & Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Piano)" will be held at 8pm on October 3 (Thursday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at $280, $380, $480, $580 and $680 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1727.html. This programme is one of the celebratory programmes of the 35th anniversary of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
 
      A pre-concert talk (in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm on October 3 at Level 4 Foyer Reception Area, Auditoria Building, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The speaker will be music critic Ernest Wan. Admission is free, with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
      The LCSD's Great Music 2024 will continue to bring spectacular performances to Hong Kong in this October and November, featuring five world-class musicians. The programme enables audiences to feel the city's arts and cultural buzz through music, showcasing the unique charm of Hong Kong as a cultural hub. For more details, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/groups_1682.html.

    

     â€‹A property owner of mini-storages was convicted and fined over $110,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts last month for failing to comply with a removal order and a repair order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).

     The case involved the alteration of a unit into mini-storages in an industrial building on Lee Chung Street and Cheung Lee Street, Chai Wan. As the alteration and addition works were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), and they obstructed the means of escape and means of access for fire fighting and rescue as well as affecting the fire resisting construction of the buildings, contravening the Building (Planning) Regulations and the Building (Construction) Regulation, a removal order and a repair order were served on the owner under section 24(1) and section 26 of the BO.

     Failing to comply with the removal order and the repair order, the owner was prosecuted by the BD and was fined $116,840 in total, of which $76,840 was the fine for the number of days that the offences continued, upon conviction at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on August 22.

     A spokesman for the BD said today (September 2), "Unauthorised alteration works causing obstruction to the means of escape and means of access for fire fighting and rescue, or affecting the fire resisting construction of a building may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders and repair orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who fail to comply with removal orders and repair orders, including instigation of prosecution, so as to ensure building safety."

     Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $20,000 for each day that the offence continues. Moreover, failure to comply with a repair order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of level 5 ($50,000 at present) and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of $5,000 for each day that the offence continues.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (September 2) that the arena and the cycling track of the Hong Kong Velodrome in Sai Kung District will be temporarily closed from September 16 to December 31 for improvement works. During this period, other facilities of the Velodrome will remain open.

     During the closure period, members of the public may use the facilities of the Hang Hau Sports Centre, the Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre, the Tiu Keng Leng Sports Centre, the Tsui Lam Sports Centre and the Po Lam Sports Centre in the same district.