Tag Archives: China

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is collaborating with the Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation to present the “Comic Fun for All: The Magic of Hong Kong Comedy Comics” exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM), with funding support from the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency. The exhibition will run from tomorrow (May 21) to March 9 next year, with free admission. By presenting manuscripts, comic books, comic byproducts, art installations and multimedia programmes associated with Hong Kong comedy comics, the exhibition will demonstrate to the audience the inspiration of local comic artists and their artistic features, and revisit the important comedy comic works that accompanied readers throughout their formative years, from the 1950s to the present.
 
     Addressing the opening ceremony today (May 20), the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Manda Chan, said that Hong Kong, as a melting pot of Chinese and Western cultures and with a vibrant city life, provides a wide variety of themes and topics for comics. Hong Kong comedy comics are unique and well received by readers in the city and worldwide. Cultural and creative products, such as films, toys, stationery, and figures inspired by Hong Kong comics, are the best testimonies that demonstrate Hong Kong’s soft cultural power.
 
     The Chairman of the Hong Kong Comics & Animation Federation, Mr Tony Wong, added that, this exhibition is a testimony to the inheritance of Hong Kong comics pop culture. Hope that through this exhibition, Hong Kong’s unique sense of humor can continue to be spread and promoted, allowing more people to feel the charm of Hong Kong comics.
 
     Other officiating guests included the Head (Multi-media) of the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, Mr Alex So; the Chairman of the History Sub-committee of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Joshua Mok; and the Museum Director of the HKHM, Mr Brian Lam.
 
     Various photo-taking spots are set up in the exhibition gallery and at different locations in the museum, where the public can take photos with 11 comedy comic characters from different eras, namely Old Master Q, My Boy, Sau Sing Chai, Buck Teeth Jane, Q Boy, Old Girl, Din-Dong, Ding Ding Penguin, Taimasing, IT Guy & Art Girl, and Dada & Siumui. The audience can also experience the magic of comedy comics through meticulously designed interactive exhibits, namely the Digital Caricature, the Funny Comics Mirror and the Comics Photo Booth.
 
     Other must-see exhibits include precious manuscripts, comic books and comic byproducts by Hong Kong comic artists from different periods, as well as rarely seen comedy comics manuscripts from comic masters such as Ma Wing-shing, Lee Chi-ching and David Ki, some of which are on display for the first time. A Comics Reading Zone is set up in the exhibition gallery to feature a curated selection of comics collections of the Hong Kong Public Libraries, allowing visitors to rekindle the joy of reading comics.
 
     During the exhibition period, the HKHM will organise a series of free special programmes, such as a series of lectures, film screenings, caricature drawings and workshops. For details, please visit
hk.heritage.museum/en/web/hm/exhibitions/data/comic_fun.html, or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
 
     The exhibition is one of the programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2025. This year, the LCSD presents the third Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, themed “More Than Joy”. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk.

                          

     â€‹A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (May 20) said that the HKSAR Government will make full preparations for the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Establishment of The International Organization for Mediation to be held in Hong Kong on May 30.
      
     In 2022, China and nearly 20 like-minded countries had jointly initiated the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation (IOMed). Under concerted efforts, the negotiations on the Convention on the Establishment of The International Organization for Mediation had been successfully concluded, and a unanimous consensus has been reached to establish the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong. The IOMed will be the world’s first intergovernmental international legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation, and will be an important mechanism for upholding the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
      
     Nearly 60 countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and about 20 international organisations including the United Nations will send senior representatives to attend the signing ceremony for the Convention. A global forum on international mediation will be held in the afternoon to discuss topics such as mediation of disputes among countries and mediation of international investment and commercial disputes.
      
     The establishment of the IOMed headquarters in Hong Kong demonstrates the city’s unique advantages and opportunities in international mediation, and is also an important initiative for the HKSAR in establishing the city as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region under the National 14th Five-Year Plan with the staunch support of the Central People’s Government. Upon its establishment, the IOMed will provide friendly, flexible, economical and efficient mediation services, thereby building Hong Kong as a capital for international mediation. read more

     The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, held a press conference today (May 20) on projects to be implemented by the Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots together with the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Under Secretary for Security, Mr Michael Cheuk; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong; the Under Secretary for Development, Mr David Lam; and the Commissioner for Tourism, Mrs Angelina Cheung. Following are the remarks by Mr Cheuk and Mrs Cheung at the question and answer session:
 
Reporter: Given the popularity since the 2023 border reopening, why is the development of a hotspot like Kowloon City and Yau Ma Tei Police Station proceeding so slowly, particularly in light of the rapid emergence of new attractions favoured by Mainland netizens? And the second question is, are our licensed tour guides currently equipped to lead tours for the new plans, including the Four Peaks, museums, and the industrial brands? Does the Government anticipate a need of more guides, and what measures are in place to address this? And finally, can you please provide an estimate of the visitor arrival increase following the implementation of the nine plans? Thank you.
 
Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration: I will take your last question first. I have answered this question in Chinese, but I don’t mind repeating this in English. We are quite confident that the nine projects to be implemented will bring in a considerable number of visitors to Hong Kong, but I think you would understand that it is difficult to quantify this and put a figure on what additional number of visitors will come as a result of these nine projects. I think common sense will tell you that, these nine projects, seven of which will be implemented by the end of this year, will together considerably add to the overall appeal of Hong Kong as a tourist destination to overseas visitors and also visitors from the Mainland. I think in that sense, the projects will result in economic benefits to Hong Kong and will also benefit the industries involved, like the hotel industry, the catering industry, the retail sector, and the transportation sector as well.
 
     As regards whether we are acting too slowly to put together some of these projects, I would like to remind you that the purpose, the role of our working group is really to co-ordinate the different new hotspot projects in Hong Kong, and co-ordination is not just assigning which department or which bureau to do what. Actually, it involves a lot of discussion, removal of obstacles. For example, the industrial brand visit – if you are in Hong Kong long enough, you know that hitherto there is no such visit in the industrial estates. We come up with this idea, and we have to make sure that the proposal sits well with the planned land use and the lease terms. Also, we have to get the support of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation. Also, we have to identify and get the agreement of the manufacturers who are interested, who are willing to join our scheme, and we also have to believe these manufacturers and the products are of interest to tourists. So actually, the co-ordination involves a lot of work. Also, after identifying a certain project, we need to go on a site visit and look at the feasibility of the site, whether including it as a tourist hotspot would involve an unduly long period of time, and whether the hotspot identified will suit the new pattern of travelling and the individual preferences of travellers. A lot of work is involved, so we certainly don’t think that implementing these projects – as I mentioned, seven of which will be rolled out by the end of this year – is taking too long a time.
 
     As regards the other question about whether more tour guides will be required, I think some of the projects would involve the trade. For example, there is potential for the trade to provide local tours for the exploration of Central, the exploration of Kowloon City. Whether they need more guides, I think, really depends on how good the business is. I don’t know whether the Commissioner for Tourism has anything to supplement.
 
Commissioner for Tourism: Thank you. We are working closely with the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) and they are very supportive and interested in liaising with the tourist companies, and travel agencies to arrange tours. As regards the number of tour guides, we have about 5 000 registered tour guides now.
 
     For the TIC, they are also actively liaising with the tertiary institutions to encourage more young people to join the trade. In addition, we are working as stated in the Blueprint 2.0 (Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0) that we are planning to introduce a scheme for special licences for those people who are not really doing the full tour guide job, but they are specialising in like eco-tourism or cultural tourism. For these tour guides, we are planning to introduce a special scheme and we are working with the TIC to work out the parameters. In addition, we learned from the travel trade that there may be a shortage of tour guides (who can speak) foreign languages, not just English or Putonghua, but foreign languages like Spanish or German or all these kinds of foreign languages. We have already worked with the TIC to introduce a scheme to let these people who know about the foreign languages to have a short tour guide licence. This scheme is very effective and we will continue to implement the scheme so as to increase the supply of foreign language tour guides for the trade.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

        

     To promote exchange and co-operation between Shandong and Hong Kong in the agricultural and fisheries industries, and to establish communication mechanisms to drive sustainable and high-quality development for the industries in both places, the Acting Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Mr Patrick Lai, and the Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shandong Province, Mr Zhang Hongqi, today (May 20) signed an agreement on strengthening agricultural and fisheries co-operation between the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shandong Province and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

     Under the agreement, Hong Kong can accelerate the modernisation of local agricultural and fisheries industries by drawing on the advanced technology and rich experience of Shandong Province, thereby improving production efficiency and product quality. Furthermore, the agreement will deepen trade co-operation in agricultural and fisheries products between the two places, creating new investment opportunities for Hong Kong’s industry players, facilitating industrial upgrading and transformation, and promoting joint development and mutual benefits in the agricultural and fisheries industries for both places.

  

     The overall Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) caseload in April showed a drop of 156 cases, representing a decrease of 0.1 per cent compared with that of March, according to the latest CSSA caseload statistics released… read more