The Movie Tram activity under the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2023, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), received overwhelming response since its launch. To allow more local public and tourists to experience this unique cultural journey, 26 additional tours will be held in May and June. Tickets for the additional tours for May and June priced at $100 per person will be available at URBTIX starting tomorrow (May 12) and on May 19 respectively.
      
     The additional tours of the Movie Tram will be held on the afternoons of weekends from May 20 to June 11. There are two routes, eastbound or westbound, covering the same attractions. Led by docents, participants will take a stroll on the streets in Central and Western District to explore classic film locations in Hong Kong and listen to film specialists' sharing of behind-the-scene stories and inspirations for cinematic creativity on board a thematic tram. With 15 participants per tour, the tour, conducted in Cantonese, will run for approximately two hours.
          
     Spots to be visited during the tour include Kau U Fong, Mee Lun Street, PMQ, Tank Lane and Western Market, allowing participants to explore the shooting locations of movies "Rouge", "Arrest the Restless", "In the Mood for Love", "Infernal Affairs", "Three: Going Home" and "The Way We Dance". Guests joining the tram ride include directors and producers Stanley Kwan and Ann Hui, producer and screenwriter Mani Man, and directors and screenwriters Jacky Ng and Jun Li.
                
     The Movie Tram, presented by the LCSD, is one of the programmes under the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2023. Walk In Hong Kong is the collaborative organisation of this programme. For programme and ticketing details, please call 5511 4839 or visit the website www.pcf.gov.hk/en/movietram.html or walkin.hk/public-tour/movie-tram.
          
     The first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival organised by the LCSD aims to offer an array of programmes from pop concerts and performances to thematic exhibitions, film screenings, outdoor and outreach activities, showcasing Hong Kong's unique cultural creativity and vibrancy. For more information on other fascinating programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.

  

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, continued his visit in Chongqing today (May 11). He led a delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to visit technology research and logistics facilities, meet with leaders of Chongqing, and attend the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference, witnessing the first new co-operation mechanism established with Mainland provinces and municipalities since the current term of the HKSAR Government took office.

     Mr Lee and the delegation first visited the Jinfeng Laboratory in the morning, to learn about the laboratory's innovation achievements in biotechnology and medicine aspects. They then visited the International Logistics Hub in Inland China Exhibition Centre in Chongqing to learn more about the development of the city's logistics infrastructure.

     At noon, Mr Lee visited the Ciqikou Ancient Town, a local cultural and tourism landmark, and watched cultural performances. Together with the Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, Mr Yuan Jiajun, Mr Lee toured around the historic district to experience local culture.
      
     In the afternoon, the delegation of the HKSAR Government led by Mr Lee and the delegation of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government led by Mr Yuan, held the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference.
      
     Mr Lee said that Hong Kong and Chongqing have maintained very close ties and the HKSAR Government established the Chongqing Liaison Unit as early as 2012 to actively promote exchanges between the two places on various fronts. He expressed his hope that Hong Kong and Chongqing can strengthen co-operation in such areas as the Belt and Road Initiative, cultural exchanges and youth development, with a view to better grasping the development opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-Year Plan, and jointly developing for mutual benefits.
      
     The newly established Hong Kong/Chongqing co-operation conference mechanism is the first new co-operation mechanism set up with provinces and municipalities on the Mainland since the current-term HKSAR Government took office. It is also the third co-operation conference mechanism established by the HKSAR Government with Mainland municipalities directly under the Central Government, following Beijing and Shanghai. Mr Lee said he hopes that Hong Kong and Chongqing can achieve complementarity, enabling the development of both places to reach new heights and further promoting Hong Kong's proactive integration into the overall national development.
      
     At the plenary, Mr Lee and Mr Yuan jointly witnessed the signing of an agreement on the "Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference Mechanism"; the "Co-operation Memorandum of the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference"; the "Strategic Co-operation Memorandum between Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce and Hong Kong Trade Development Council"; as well as the "Co-operation Memorandum on Innovation and Technology between Hong Kong and Chongqing" by Chongqing and Hong Kong.
      
     After the plenary, Mr Lee and the HKSAR Government delegation attended a dinner hosted by Mr Yuan and the Mayor of Chongqing, Mr Hu Henghua.
      
     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; and the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Clement Woo, also attended the plenary and participated in the visit.
      
     Mr Lee will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (May 12).

                                  

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (May 11) held the inaugural ceremony of the "Customs YES" Honorary Presidents' Association (CYHPA) at the Customs Headquarters Building. The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, presented appointment certificates to the Chairperson, Mr Karson Choi; Vice-chairpersons Mr Albert Chuang and Mr Michael Cheng; the honorary presidents; and various supporting organisations. The directorates of the department and members of the Executive Committee of "Customs YES" also attended the ceremony.

     The CYHPA comprises different enthusiastic community leaders from the business sector who work as a team to contribute valuable strategy and render various kinds of support to the activities organised by "Customs YES", and to promote the "4C" core development directions, namely country, community, customs and calibre, with committed efforts.

     Ms Ho said at the inaugural ceremony that the establishment of the CYHPA strengthens the synergy effect of the existing youth work of the Executive Committee of "Customs YES" and further assists Customs in providing more holistic activities and training to young people, helping them unleash their full potential in society and contribute to Hong Kong and the country.

     In his speech, Mr Choi said that members of the CYHPA endeavour to work closely with Customs to foster positive values and strengthen the sense of belonging to society of young people, as well as cultivate their sense of national identity and patriotism.

     Since its launch in 2021, "Customs YES" has received overwhelming support from the community and has gained popularity among young people. As at today, over 4 100 young individuals aged between 12 and 24 have become members of "Customs YES".

        

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and the Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Mr Yuan Jiajun, leading the delegations of the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Chongqing respectively, held the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference (the meeting-cum-plenary) in Chongqing today (May 11). Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council Mr Wang Linggui, also attended the meeting-cum-plenary. At the meeting-cum-plenary, both Hong Kong and Chongqing established a new co-operation mechanism and agreed on pursuing holistic co-operation to serve the country's high quality development. It is the first high-level government co-operation mechanism established by the HKSAR with the provinces and municipalities in the Mainland since the current-term Government has taken office.
 
     Mr Lee said that the relationship between Hong Kong and Chongqing has always been very close. Under the overall blueprint of the country, both Chongqing and Hong Kong played important and unique roles. The country's 14th Five-Year Plan clearly supports Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its competitive advantages and develop the "eight centres". Chongqing is the core city of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, and an important strategic link between the Belt and Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Hong Kong and Chongqing are complementary. Strengthening co-operation would definitely achieve complementarity and mutual benefits, and it also marks Hong Kong's better integration into the overall development of the country.
 
     Hong Kong and Chongqing reached consensus on the following 11 co-operation areas:
 
The Belt and Road Initiative, Economic, Trade and Investment Co-operation
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     Encourage enterprises from both sides to establish strategic partnerships, jointly open up markets along the Belt and Road, make good use of Hong Kong's professional service advantages, and encourage relevant units and enterprises in Chongqing to participate in the Mainland Enterprises Partnership Exchange and Interface Programme sharing session and the Belt and Road Summit.
 
     Encourage Hong Kong chambers of commerce and enterprises to participate in the Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade held in Chongqing, promote Hong Kong's well-known brands, high-quality products and professional services to Chongqing, strengthen economic and trade promotion and exchanges between Chongqing and Hong Kong, and encourage Chongqing enterprises to develop business in Hong Kong and explore the international market.

Finance
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     Encourage Hong Kong enterprises to establish or invest in financial institutions and financial intermediaries in Chongqing, build two-way investment and financing channels, and support more potential Chongqing enterprises to issue bonds and list in Hong Kong.

     Explore the establishment of a working mechanism for the Hong Kong and Chongqing financial regulatory authorities, strengthen exchanges and co-operation between the HKEX and the Chongqing Share Transfer Center, and promote the sharing of investment and financing information, as well as financial exchanges and co-operation between the two sides.

Innovation and Technology
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     Establish an exchange mechanism on science and technology between the governments of Hong Kong and Chongqing, support the two places to carry out international co-operation on science and technology in the fields of basic research and the application of technology, and encourage Hong Kong and Chongqing universities and scientific research institutions to have exchanges and co-operation in basic research, laboratory and the infrastructure of related scientific research facilities, scientific and technological resources, sharing of achievements, etc.

     Strengthen scientific and cultural exchanges, and encourage higher education institutions, scientific research institutions and enterprises in the two places to jointly hold high-end academic conferences and forums.

Logistics
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     Encourage Chongqing to make full use of the comprehensive advantages of Hong Kong and Macao international logistics distribution centres, promote the construction of Chongqing's inland international logistics hub and new highlight of port, encourage logistics and trade investment promotion, and pull in Hong Kong logistics, freight forwarding, supply chain finance enterprises, etc.
 
Cultural Exchange and Tourism
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     Support various arts groups and institutions in Hong Kong and Chongqing to carry out exchanges and performances, further strengthen cultural exchanges in various fields such as arts talents, intangible cultural heritage, cultural relics, etc, and foster publicity and co-operation.

     Support both sides in strengthening publicity and promotion in tourism, and encourage Chongqing to carry out tourism promotion and marketing activities in Hong Kong.

Education
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     Strengthen exchanges and co-operation in the areas of talents training in higher education, teacher exchanges, academic research, etc, support elementary schools in the two places to strengthen exchanges and co-operation, and encourage pairing up of sister schools between the two places.

     Support vocational schools, industries and enterprises in the two places to carry out joint training, school-enterprise co-operation, and support Hong Kong youths to participate in research and study activities, etc, in Chongqing.

Talent Exchange
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     Under the co-ordination of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, continue promoting and deepening exchanges between civil servants of the two places, explore new forms of civil servant exchanges between the two places; select outstanding postdoctoral talents to carry out academic exchanges in Hong Kong, and promote the exchange of high-level scientific research talents from Chongqing and Hong Kong for internship exchanges, and research and academic visits.
 
     Support the co-operation between the Chongqing Vocational College of Public Transportation and the Hong Kong MTR Academy to organise academic exchanges and training programmes to cultivate management and technical talents; deepen the co-operation between the Chongqing Airport Group and the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy to promote visits, exchanges and joint training of aviation talents.
 
Youth Development
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     Promote exchanges between Hong Kong and Chongqing youths, enhance mutual understanding between youths of the two places, provide support for Hong Kong youths studying, taking internships and working in Chongqing, and provide Hong Kong youths with better opportunities for exchanges and internships.
 
     Promote cultural exchanges and co-operation between youths of the two places, and foster exchanges between youths of the two places in natural history and cultural inheritance.
 
Legal and Dispute Resolution
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     Support and promote the expansion of business co-operation between the legal service industries of the two places, support the docking and establishment of co-operative relationships between mediation institutions in Chongqing and Hong Kong, and promote the expansion of the platform for professional exchanges in legal and dispute resolution services between the two places.
 
     Encourage the law associations in Hong Kong and Chongqing to enhance the training programmes for young lawyers in the two places; support the China Chongqing Arbitration Commission and Hong Kong arbitration institutions to jointly hold an arbitration summit.

Health and Chinese Medicine
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     Promote regular exchanges on health between Hong Kong and Chongqing, support Hong Kong medical service providers to establish medical institutions in accordance with the law in Chongqing; support Hong Kong in hosting the Asia Summit on Global Health, organise relevant units and enterprises to participate, and jointly promote the development of Hong Kong and Chongqing as well as international medical and health exchange and co-operation.
 
     Accelerate academic and talent exchanges of Chinese medicine between the two places, and strengthen co-operation in the field of international standardisation of Chinese medicine.

Facilitation for Hong Kong People in the Mainland
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     Chongqing fully implements the policies and measures introduced by the relevant Central Government departments to facilitate the development of Hong Kong and Macao residents in the Mainland, and explore the establishment of a "one-stop" consulting service platform for Hong Kong residents in Chongqing to address enquiries on various facilitation policies and measures.
 
     Establish a regular communication mechanism to collect views and suggestions from Hong Kong people in Chongqing. Support the work of Hong Kong institutions in Chongqing, and strengthen the exchange and sharing of policy information.
 
Co-operation Memorandum Signing Ceremony
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     At the meeting, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and Vice Mayor of Chongqing Municipal People's Government Ms Zhang Guozhi, signed the "Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference Mechanism" and the "Co-operation Memorandum of the High-Level Meeting cum First Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Chongqing Co-operation Conference". The documents (Chinese only) are at Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.
 
　　In addition, two co-operation agreements were signed by government departments and statutory bodies of the two places:
 

• "Strategic Co-operation Memorandum between Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce and Hong Kong Trade Development Council"; and
• "Co-operation Memorandum on Innovation and Technology between Hong Kong and Chongqing".

      The "Co-operation Memorandum on Innovation and Technology between Hong Kong and Chongqing" (Chinese only) signed by government departments of the two places is at Annex 3.

     Officials of the HKSAR Government accompanying the Chief Executive to attend the meeting-cum-plenary include the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau; the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong; the Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Clement Woo, etc.

          

     After the Government's announcement of the proposals on improving governance at the district level on May 2, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, immediately commenced explanatory and publicity work for various sectors. The two Directors of Bureaux today (May 11) continued to explain the proposals to Legislative Council (LegCo) Members and association representatives and had in-depth discussions and exchanges with them.

     Mr Tsang and Miss Mak hosted two briefing sessions this afternoon and briefed LegCo Members and representatives of the Hong Kong Island Federation, the Kowloon Federation of Associations and the New Territories Association of Societies on the proposals. They said that the proposals are guided by three principles: national security must be put as the topmost priority and the "one country, two systems" principle must be fully and faithfully implemented; the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" must be fully implemented; and "executive-led" governance must be manifested.

     The two Directors of Bureaux pointed out that the proposals will strengthen the district governance structure, facilitating the co-ordination and collaboration of district work so that the Government can implement corresponding measures promptly. With District Officers being the District Council (DC) chairmen, there will be better co-ordination among DCs, "the three district committees" (Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees and District Fire Safety Committees) and Care Teams, so that they can complement each other to generate synergy, serving the people more effectively.

     They said that the proposals will restore DCs back to their positioning as district advisory and service organisations in accordance with Article 97 of the Basic Law. The Government is going full steam ahead to prepare the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2023 and hopes to submit it to the LegCo for scrutiny as soon as possible. The Government targets to secure the LegCo's passage of the Bill before its summer recess this year so that the DC Ordinary Election can be held at the end of this year and the seventh-term DCs can assume office on January 1 next year as scheduled.

     The attending LegCo Members and association representatives spoke enthusiastically and gave concrete views on strengthening the district governance structure. Mr Tsang and Miss Mak also encouraged association representatives to explain the proposals to their members and the public so as to deepen the public's understanding of the benefits brought by the proposals. They will continue to brief different sectors of the community on the guiding principles and advantages of the proposals through various means.