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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting tomorrow (June 28) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) Bill 2023 will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.

     On Member's bill, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2023 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading on the Bill will be adjourned.

     On Government motions, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics will move three proposed resolutions under section 5(3)(b) of the Public Bus Services Ordinance seeking to disapply the Profit Control Scheme to the three new bus franchises. The proposed resolutions are set out in Appendices 1 to 3.

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology will move a proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to resolve that the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 2 and 3) Order 2023, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on May 10, be amended.

     On Members' motions, Mr Paul Tse will move a proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law to amend the Rules of Procedure. The proposed resolution is set out in Appendix 4.

     Mr Chau Siu-chung will move a motion on promoting the unleashing of potential labour force. The motion is set out in Appendix 5. Dr Ngan Man-yu, Dr So Cheung-wing, Mr Dennis Leung and Mr Kwok Wai-keung will move amendments to Mr Chau 's motion.

     Mr Chan Kin-por will move a motion on resolving the problems of traffic safety of and insurance premium increases for taxis. The motion is set out in Appendix 6. Mr Frankie Yick, Mr Chan Siu-hung and Mr Chan Han-pan will move amendments to Mr Chan Kin-por's motion.

     Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.

     The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.

     After a 17-year hiatus, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu is returning to Hong Kong upon the invitation of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for a rerun of "'The Peony Pavilion' – The Youth Version", a classic in Kunqu opera, featuring the original cast. The full-length programme, which consists of three parts, will be staged at the Chinese Opera Festival (COF) this summer for three consecutive nights starting from July 28 for a total of eight hours. The acclaimed production seamlessly blends the traditional art of Kunqu with modern aesthetics to recreate the 400-year-old romantic love legacy. The programme has received an overwhelming response from theatregoers, and some of the performances are almost sold out. Those who are interested are reminded to buy tickets as early as possible.

     Renowned novelist Pai Hisen-yung has been the chief producer and artistic director of "'The Peony Pavilion' – The Youth Version", with top Kunqu performing artists Wang Shiyu and the late Zhang Jiqing as artistic consultants. China Theatre Plum Blossom Award winners Shen Fengying and Yu Jiulin will revisit the Hong Kong stage to bring opera fans the touching love story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei that transcends death.

     "The Peony Pavilion" is the magnum opus of the great Ming dynasty dramatist, Tang Xianzu. "'The Peony Pavilion' – The Youth Version" has condensed the original play into 27 scenes and will be presented in three parts: "Love in a Dream", "Love between a Mortal and a Ghost" and "Love in This World". Not only does the music base itself on the vocal styles of the original version and traditional set tunes, but the original lyrics are also fully adopted. Meanwhile, the production is an ingenious mix of music, singing and dance. While it retains the poetic finesse of Kunqu, its staging seamlessly blends classical charm with modern appeal, as shown in the portrayal of characters and in the technical aspects, which mark a synthesis of heritage and innovation, and instil the joy and life of youth into the art of Kunqu.

     Details of the three performances are as follows:

Part one: "Love in a Dream"
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Date and time: July 28 (Friday), 7.30pm
Synopsis: The story takes place in the Southern Song period. Du Liniang, daughter of Prefect of Nan'an Du Bao, is a quiet and sweet beauty. One spring day, while she goes to the back garden and sees the beautiful spring scene, her amorous heart is awakened. She falls asleep and dreams of having an amorous encounter with a handsome scholar at the Peony Pavilion. She wakes up and begins to pine for the elusive love, so much so that she soon dies.

Part two: "Love between a Mortal and a Ghost"
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Date and time: July 29 (Saturday), 7.30pm
Synopsis: There is a scholar named Liu Mengmei, who finds a portrait of Liniang and expresses his admiration for her beauty. The spirit of Liniang is invoked, and despite the rift between the worlds of the living and the dead, the two become husband and wife. Liu goes to Liniang's tomb to resurrect her out of true love, and Liniang returns to life.

Part three: "Love in this World"
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Date and time: July 30 (Sunday), 7.30pm
Synopsis: But no sooner is the couple enjoying their newly married life than they are forced to part. Liu wades through thick and thin to find Liniang's father, only to be treated as a tomb raider, tortured and beaten. Later, Liu comes first in the national civil examination. At the imperial court, he is highly honoured by the emperor, and the whole family is reunited.

     As a professional performing arts company from the birthplace of the Kunqu art form, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu stands out among the other troupes through its efforts to uphold the age-old traditional format and the unadulterated style and features of Kunqu opera. The troupe has trained various Kunqu opera stars over the years. Among them, Wang Fang won the high honour of being presented with the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award – Second-time Around. Shen Fengying, Yu Jiulin and Zhou Xuefeng have won the Plum Blossom Award. In the last decade or more, the troupe has created various signature productions, making landmark achievements in the Kunqu opera circle and even the cultural milieu in general.

     The three performances will be held at the Grand Theatre of Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District. Each performance will run for about two hours and 30 minutes, including an intermission of 15 minutes. Lyrics and dialogues are with Chinese and English surtitles. Tickets priced at $180, $280, $380 and $480 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7325 or visit the programme website www.cof.gov.hk/2023/en/kunqu.html.

     A Meet-the-Artists session entitled "The Timeless 'Peony Pavilion'" (in Putonghua) will be held at 7.30pm on July 27 (Thursday) at Seminar Hall, 2/F Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District. The speakers include Pai Hsien-yung, Wang Shiyu, Yu Jiulin and Shen Fengying, while Chinese opera researcher Chan Chun-miu will be the moderator. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. Details can be found on the above-mentioned programme website.

     In addition, a demonstration lecture entitled "From Scholar to King – on the Acting in 'The Peony Pavilion and The Prophecies of Taoist Monk Iron Headgear'" (in Putonghua), which is co-ordinated by the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture and the Jao Tsung-I Academy, will be held at 7pm on July 31 (Monday) at Theatre (Block I, Middle Zone), Jao Tsung-I Academy. The speaker is national-class performer of the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu Zhou Xuefeng. Zhou as well as the troupe's performers Wen Yi and Shu Liang will be the demonstrators, while Professor Cheng Pei-kai will be the moderator. Admission is free with limited seats available by registration. Interested parties can register online starting from June 30. Details can be found on www.jtia.hk.

     Since its inception in 2010, the COF has curated quality operatic programmes with the aim of promoting the artistry and culture of Chinese traditional opera. The COF 2023 will once again bring together an excellent line-up of Chinese opera troupes to stage nine quality operatic programmes covering a variety of theatrical genres, including Peking opera, Qu opera, Sichuan opera, Han opera, Cantonese opera, Wu opera, Kunqu opera and Yue opera, from June to October, showcasing the splendour of Chinese operatic art in all its glory. For more details, please visit www.cof.gov.hk.

      

     Firing practice will take place at two military sites, namely the San Wai/Tai Ling Firing Range and the Tsing Shan Firing Range, next month (July).
 
     Red flags or red lamps will be hoisted at the firing areas before and during firing practice. For their safety, people are advised not to enter the firing area.
 
     Following are the dates and times for the firing practice sessions in July 2023:
 
San Wai/Tai Ling Firing Range
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Tsing Shan Firing Range
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Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (June 27) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Shek O Beach and Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

     Police today (June 27) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tin Sum.
 
     Lei Pui-lam, aged 51, went missing after he left a caring centre in Sun Tsui Estate on June 23 morning. The staff of the caring centre made a report to Police on June 25.
 
     He is about 1.65 metres tall, 70 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a round face with yellow complexion and short black hair. He was last seen wearing a black and grey short-sleeved shirt, black trousers and dark-coloured shoes.
 
     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1176 or 6197 3270 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.