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 toda… read more
The Government today (September 30) announced that eligible persons born in 1959 should apply for the JoyYou Card, a Personalised Octopus Card tailor-made for the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme) from tomorrow (October 1) via the Octopus App mobile application or by posting the application forms.
The JoyYou Card carries a personal photo and the name of the eligible beneficiary for identification. Each eligible person will be issued with one card only. Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) will send the JoyYou Card to the applicant’s Hong Kong postal address within four weeks upon receipt of the completed application. The Government will subsidise the $20 application fee for the first application of eligible persons, and the applicants do not need to pay any application fee to the OCL separately.
As for eligible persons born in 1957 and 1958, the OCL has so far received a total of about 195 000 applications, representing about 83 per cent of the estimated local population born in the same years. The Government appealed to the above eligible persons who have yet to apply for the JoyYou Card to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare from February 27, 2022 as scheduled.
In accordance with the application timetable announced, the OCL will accord priority to applications from eligible persons born in 1959 in October 2021, while other overdue applications will be processed later. Therefore it may take a longer time for late applicants to be issued JoyYou Cards.
In addition, the OCL has started sending JoyYou Cards to applicants by post since mid-August in phases and has notified applicants via SMS to check if they have received it. Applicants who have not received their JoyYou Cards 10 days after receiving the SMS or four weeks after completing the application should call the service hotline (2266 2222).
The links to download the Octopus App mobile application, application form (without postage-free return envelope) and the distribution points for paper application forms (with postage-free return envelope) can be found on the JoyYou Card webpage (www.octopus.com.hk/joyyou/en). The webpage also features videos illustrating the detailed steps to apply for the JoyYou Card. For enquiries on the JoyYou Card, please visit its webpage or call the service hotline.
The Government will launch enhancement and anti-abuse measures of the $2 Scheme on February 27, 2022, including lowering the eligible age from 65 to 60, benefitting more than 600 000 persons aged 60 to 64, when these beneficiaries must present their JoyYou Card to enjoy the fare concession. Prior to February 27, 2022, JoyYou Cards can only be used as normal Adult Octopus Cards. Current beneficiaries aged 65 or above of the $2 Scheme may continue to use their Anonymous Elder or Personalised Octopus Cards at present to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare. The Government will announce arrangements for them to apply for JoyYou Cards in the first quarter of 2022. Moreover, eligible persons with disabilities may continue to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare by using their existing Personalised Octopus Cards with valid “Persons with Disabilities Status” and do not need to apply for the JoyYou Card. read more
The Government gazetted today (September 30) the proposed road works at Po Fung Road in Tsuen Wan and the proposed Yau Kom Tau Residential Site to cater for the anticipated increase in traffic flow and pedestrian movement arising from various developments at Po Fung Road.
Details of the proposal are set out in the Annex. The plan and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:
Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Harbour Building,
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tsuen Wan Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
1/F, Tsuen Wan Multi-storey Carpark Building,
174-208 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories
District Lands Office, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing,
10/F and 11/F, Tsuen Wan Multi-storey Carpark Building,
174-208 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories
The gazette notice, scheme, plan and location plan are available at
www.thb.gov.hk/eng/psp/publications/transport/gazette/gazette.htm.
Any person who wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address to the Secretary for Transport and Housing an objection in writing, which can be submitted via the following means:
The Government today (September 30) announced that the 31st round of compulsory testing for staff members of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs), residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs) and nursi… read more
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department will launch “A Classical x Percussion Bash” concert under the “Music Delight” Series in October, blending classical favourites with modern percussion instrumentation through a group of local young percussionists. This follows the successful staging of “Gingers’ Tonic” concerts under the same series in July.
Rearranged by local percussionist Anna Fan, popular classics are energised with percussive beats in the concert through percussion instruments including marimba, vibraphone, drum set, timpani, electronic mallet controller, Brazilian surdo and African boba, from pop to heart-throbbing samba, then to African music with its crisp rhythm and beat, bringing a brand new musical experience to the audience.
In addition to Fan, young percussionists Chau Chin-tung, Joey Wong, Raymond Vong, Wu Tin-lap, Tracy Lam and guest artists Eyo Li and Emily Cheng will also take part in the performance, bringing audiences dynamic songs, including re-arrangements of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, J S Bach’s “Prelude in C Major, BWV 846”, Saint-Saëns’s “The Swan” and Prokofiev’s “Dance of the Knights” (from “Romeo and Juliet Suite”), as well as a newly arranged classical music mashup.
Fan, a home-grown percussionist, graduated from the Music Department of the Hong Kong Baptist University in percussion and studied jazz drumming at the Berklee College of Music in the United States. After returning to Hong Kong in 2009, she collaborated with many well-known jazz musicians including Eugene Pao and Ted Lo and formed the jazz bands maRK and Da Jian, which focus on mixing jazz with ethnic rhythms. In addition to performances, she is also keen on promoting extraordinary percussion and jazz culture.
“Music Delight” Series: “A Classical x Percussion Bash” will take place at 8pm on October 30 (Saturday) at the Auditorium of Yuen Long Theatre. Tickets priced at $120, $180 and $250 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1210.html. read more