Tag Archives: China

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 following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (March 29) that the construction of the Hospital Authority Support Services Centre (HASSC) has been substantially completed and the operation has commenced in phases, providing laundry, patient catering, critical personal protective equipment and key linen storage, and data center services. The HASSC aims to enhance patient support services in public hospitals and strengthen their capability to handle emergencies.

     The Director of Cluster Services of the HA, Dr Simon Tang, said, “To meet the growing demand for healthcare services, the HA not only carries out a series of hospital development and improvement projects, but also builds other service facilities to enhance patient supporting services. The HASSC will centrally co-ordinate patient supporting services of HA hospitals, such as patient catering and laundry service for patient linens, thereby releasing space for clinical or other services in public hospitals. The HASSC adopts automated systems and robotics technology to reduce operational and logistics costs, as well as improving operational efficiency.”

     The Cluster Chief Executive of Kowloon West Cluster of the HA, Dr Law Chun-bon, expressed his gratitude to the relevant HA departments for their united efforts in the preparatory work, which enabled the timely commissioning and operation of the HA’s first supporting services centre. “The establishment of the HASSC shall enhance patient supporting services and facilities of the HA, becoming an indispensable part of public healthcare services and complementing clinical services,” he said.

     The HASSC covers an area of approximately 62 000 square meters and includes a central laundry centre, a central food production unit, a corporate data centre, and central emergency stores. The data centre and central emergency stores have been in operation since January this year, while the central laundry centre and central food production unit began phased operations in mid-March.

     The HASSC will gradually increase its service capacity. By 2030, it is expected that the central laundry centre and central food production unit will be able to meet half of the laundry and catering needs of public hospitals. The corporate data centre will also support half of the total data centre requirement of the HA which will significantly enhance the information technology capacity of public hospitals. Additionally, the central emergency stores at the HASSC will store emergency personal protective equipment and supplies, ensuring flexibility in response to pandemics, disasters, or emergencies, thereby strengthening the HA’s emergency response capabilities.

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      With the support of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai (Dubai ETO), the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency and the Film Development Fund, the Hong Kong film festival returned to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the fourth consecutive year, bringing Hong Kong’s cinematic gems and timeless classic to the Middle East community.
 
      Presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the week-long film festival kicked off the “Hong Kong Film Gala Presentation” with eight Hong Kong films of different genres from March 22 to 28 (Dubai time), at Cinema Akil at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai to showcase Hong Kong’s vibrant and diverse film culture to local audiences.
 
      In the light of the Ramadan period, the Dubai ETO kicked off the film festival with a unique Iftar-style opening reception, where local audiences and members of the Hong Kong community gathered to share Middle East and Asian delicacies and celebrate the spirits of friendship and harmony during Ramadan, strengthening people-to-people bonds and cultural exchange between the two places. The Iftar dinner was followed by the screening of the opening film “An Abandoned Team”, as film enthusiasts interacted with director Thomas Lee to explore themes of loneliness, redemption, and the unexpected bond between a man and a stray dog portrayed in the drama.
 
      The festival also showcased other genres including gripping thrillers and thought-provoking narratives, with the screening of “Blossoms Under Somewhere”, “Montages of a Modern Motherhood”, “Last Song for You”, “Cesium Fallout”, “Papa”, “The Last Dance” and the classic film “The Bride with White Hair”, which offered viewers a nostalgic glimpse into the iconic martial arts fantasy world.
 
      Director Oliver Siu Kuen Chan from “Montages of a Modern Motherhood”, and actress Sheena Chan from “Blossoms Under Somewhere” also travelled to Dubai to attend the opening reception of the film festival as well as post-screening sharing sessions to interact with local film enthusiasts. Veteran film critic Patrick Suen also shared valuable insights into the featured films.
 
      Speaking at the opening reception to over 100 guests, the Deputy Director of the Dubai ETO, Mr Leo Poon, highlighted the unique charm of Hong Kong cinema, as well as the measures of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in supporting the cultural and creative industries.
 
       “The Government is committed to promoting the development of cultural and creative sectors. A total of over $1.3 billion has been approved by the Film Development Fund to support more than 120 film projects which have won more than 180 awards, a testament to our film industry’s excellence. This January, the Government also launched the Film Production Financing Scheme 2.0, with the goal of continuing to provide subsidies and incentives to film productions with budgets of up to $25 million, thereby boosting the sector’s long-term growth. With these efforts, we look forward to bringing more of the best from Hong Kong’s creative industry to this region,” said Mr Poon.
 
      The Dubai ETO will continue to collaborate with partners in the region to promote Hong Kong’s creative and cultural industries through its regular offerings as well as novel events.

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     Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (March 29). They are, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Federation of Women’s Centres Limited; in Kowloon, Life Commitment Charity Club Limited; and in the New Territories, Wai Ji Christian Service, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.
      
     Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people to distinguish among the three flag-selling activities.    
      
     Information on the three flag-selling organisations on March 29 is as follows:
 

Region	Name of organisation	Colour of collection bag	Colour of flag
Hong Kong Island	Hong Kong Federation of Women’s Centres Limited	Orange	Orange
Kowloon	Life Commitment Charity Club Limited	Pink	Blue
New Territories	Wai Ji Christian Service	Red	Beige

 
     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities, including any updated information, covered by the issued Public Subscription Permits have been published on the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/en/theme/fundraising/search). Permits for flag days containing information on contact methods of the flag-selling organisations and the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/ngo/controlofc/flagdays) for reference. For enquiries, please call the SWD’s hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678.
      
     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added. read more

     In connection with a murder and wounding case happened in Yuen Long on January 22, Police further arrested a 20-year-old man and a 42-year-old man for murder and wounding with intent, and a 23-year-old man for assisting offenders in Lantau North yesterday (March 27).

     In the murder and wounding case, a 24-year-old man died and a 28-year-old man was injured.

     The 20-year-old man and the 42-year-old man have been laid holding charges of one count of murder and one count of wounding with intent respectively; while the 23-year-old man has been laid a holding charge of one count of assisting offenders. The case will be mentioned at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow morning (March 29).

     Police had arrested another 11 men and two women, aged between 18 and 31, in suspected connection with the case earlier, for offences such as murder, wounding, assisting offenders and trafficking in dangerous drug.

     For the seven men who had been charged earlier, the case was mentioned at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts and Fanling Magistrates’ Courts on January 25 and 27, and February 18 respectively. The other four men and two women were released on bail and are required to report back to Police in late April.

     Active investigation by the Regional Crime Unit of New Territories North is under way. Anyone who witnessed the case or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3356. read more