Tag Archives: China

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 is 99.3 (up 0.5 against last Saturday’s index).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, April 30, 2022 was 98.8 (same as last Friday’s index). read more

     Police today (May 3) appealed to the public for information on a girl who went missing in Ngau Tau Kok.      Wan Tsz-yin, Angel, aged 12, went missing after she left her residence in Kai Ching E… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     Exchange Fund Bills tender results:
 

Tender date	:	May 3, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Q2218
Issue date	:	May 4, 2022
Maturity date	:	August 3, 2022
Amount applied	:	HK$96,988 MN
Amount allotted	:	HK$47,035 MN
Average yield accepted	:	0.19 PCT
Highest yield accepted	:	0.20 PCT
Pro rata ratio*	:	About 54 PCT
Average tender yield	:	0.23 PCT
****************************
Tender date	:	May 3, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	H2247
Issue date	:	May 4, 2022
Maturity date	:	November 2, 2022
Amount applied	:	HK$39,050 MN
Amount allotted	:	HK$15,000 MN
Average yield accepted	:	0.56 PCT
Highest yield accepted	:	0.58 PCT
Pro rata ratio*	:	About 85 PCT
Average tender yield	:	0.64 PCT

 
*”Pro rata ratio” refers to the average percentage of allotment with respect to each tender participant’s tendered amount at the “highest yield accepted” level.
———————————————————
Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in the week beginning May 9, 2022:
 

Tender date	:	May 10, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Q2219
Issue date	:	May 11, 2022
Maturity date	:	August 10, 2022
Tenor	:	91 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$50,904 MN
****************************
Tender date	:	May 10, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	H2248
Issue date	:	May 11, 2022
Maturity date	:	November 9, 2022
Tenor	:	182 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$15,000 MN
****************************
Tender date	:	May 10, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Y2289
Issue date	:	May 11, 2022
Maturity date	:	May 10, 2023
Tenor	:	364 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$3,000 MN

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     Parents of Primary Six students participating in the current (2022) cycle of the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System who have made applications under the discretionary places (DP) stage will receive notifications from the secondary schools they have applied for tomorrow (May 4) if their children have been selected as successful applicants. Parents need not confirm with the schools concerned if they accept the DP offers, a spokesman for the Education Bureau (EDB) said today (May 3).
 
     Parents of successful DP applicants who have also successfully applied for a school place in a non-participating Direct Subsidy Scheme secondary school (NDSS secondary school) should decide whether to retain the offer from the NDSS secondary school concerned. If the parents decide to retain the offer from the NDSS secondary school, they should disregard the notifications from the secondary schools which have selected their children at the DP stage. Their children will be allocated to the NDSS secondary school concerned according to the established mechanism. If the parents decide to decline the offer from the NDSS secondary school, they should notify the NDSS secondary school concerned and retrieve the originals of the signed Parent’s Undertaking and the Primary 6 Student Record Form on or before May 12 in order to retain the school place successfully applied for at the DP stage.
 
     “Students who have not been notified as successful DP applicants are required to participate in the Central Allocation (CA),” the spokesman said. Primary schools participating in the SSPA System have been informed to collect copies of the following documents on May 6:
 

• Secondary One Choice of Schools Form (Choice Form);
• Notes for Parents on Central Allocation (Notes for Parents);
• Secondary School List (SSL); and
• Handbook for Unrestricted School Choices (Handbook).

 
     Parents of Primary Six students participating in the SSPA will each receive the Choice Form, the Notes for Parents and the SSL (with the online version as the latest version) for the school net of the student from his or her primary school. Parents may ask for the Handbook from primary schools for reference or obtain the latest version of the Handbook through the EDB’s homepage (www.edb.gov.hk) and the fax service of the EDB’s automatic telephone enquiry system on 2891 0088.
 
     In light of the COVID-19 epidemic, to reduce the gathering of people and maintain social distancing, the EDB advised that primary schools should make flexible arrangements in providing support for parents in making school choices. For instance, instead of organising large-scale parents’ briefings, schools could provide parents with information or advice by video conferencing, phone or email, and distribute the choice-making documents to parents of cross-boundary students by post or email.
 
     “The Choice Form is divided into two parts (Part A and Part B). Parents should refer to the Handbook when filling in Part A ‘Unrestricted School Choices’ of the Choice Form and choose not more than three secondary schools from any school net (including the student’s school net). As for Part B ‘Restricted School Choices’, parents should refer to their child’s SSL to choose secondary schools according to their preference, and fill up the 30 choices as far as possible. Parents must not enter any school choices which are not in the SSL of the school net of the child in Part B since invalid school choices will not be processed,” the spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman reminded parents that prior to making school choices for their children, they should read carefully the Notes for Parents. Parents are encouraged to watch the videos on the SSPA System 2020/2022 Cycle uploaded on the EDB’s homepage (www.edb.gov.hk) to understand in detail the SSPA System. Parents should also consider the schools in all respects, such as their educational philosophy, tradition, religion, class structure, development and operation, as well as their children’s abilities, aptitudes and interests, so as to make a suitable school choice. Parents may refer to the Secondary School Profiles 2021/2022 published in December last year by the Committee on Home-School Co-operation for information supplied by individual secondary schools and visit the Secondary School Profiles homepage (www.chsc.hk/secondary/en) for the schools’ latest developments.
 
     “Parents must complete and return the Choice Form to their children’s primary school for submission to the EDB on or before May 30. Should individual parents have genuine difficulties in returning the duly completed Choice Form to their children’s primary school in person or through an authorised representative, he/she should contact the primary school in advance and return the Choice Form to the primary school by post,” the spokesman said.
 
     He added, “The results for SSPA 2022 for both the DP and CA stages will be announced on July 26. Parents wishing to receive the result of their children via SMS message on that day should provide a mobile phone number on the Choice Form to indicate their consent to receive the result via that phone number. Parents may refer to the Notes for Parents for more information.”
 
     Parents who have questions in completing the Choice Form are advised to consult their children’s primary schools. Relevant information about the SSPA System and some frequently asked questions will be uploaded to the EDB’s homepage (www.edb.gov.hk) on May 6 for parents’ reference.
 
     Parents may call the EDB’s automatic telephone enquiry system on 2891 0088 for information by then. Further enquiries may also be directed to the School Places Allocation Section (SSPA) of the EDB on 2832 7740 and 2832 7700. read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (May 3):

Reporter: Good morning, Mrs Lam. First question relating to the anti-epidemic measures, has the Government considered relaxing the requirement for vaccinated students to test less frequently? Is that something on the table that the Government is considering? If so, when is there a timeline to do so? If not, what is the consideration of not doing that because a lot of parents are worried that, you know, it’s going to cost a lot of money to buy RAT (rapid antigen test) kits. And the next question is today is (World) Press Freedom Day, I think Mr John Lee said Hong Kong already had press freedom, just like people have their identity cards. Do you agree with such a phrasing? And how do you convince the rest of the world that Hong Kong still has press freedom when there have been anecdotal accounts that former journalists have to work, for instance, as cashiers or even move overseas following the closure of Apple Daily, Stand News and Citizen News, and what has the Government been doing to promote press freedom? Thank you.
 
Chief Executive: First, on the question about the requirement that students going to school have to undertake a daily rapid antigen test, I said at the time of announcing this measure that this was not intended to be a permanent one, but it is not the time yet to review the relevance of this measure because it is still proven to be very reassuring for their schools and also for their parents. You will remember that since April 19, we have only allowed primary schools to resume their face-to-face learning, because secondary school premises were used for the DSE (Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education) examinations. From today onwards, this will be the first time that secondary school students are also going back to school for their face-to-face learning. So likewise, they will have to do their daily rapid antigen tests before entering the school premises; equally, it is a very reassuring measure for the schools and also for the parents. But in due course, we will, of course, revisit this measure.
 
     You mentioned the parents’ concern especially in buying the RAT kits. We have pledged that we will provide enough rapid antigen test kits for the schools to distribute free of charge to students who are needy, and we have defined what is a needy student in a very broad manner. So all the students from families receiving social security and students who are receiving the full grant or the half grant of student assistance will all be given – free of charge – the RAT kits. On top of that, I understand many school sponsoring bodies and other charity groups are also sending a lot of RAT kits to schools. I went to one of these schools last week and I met a few parents and they all felt that this was a very good move because now they could be assured that they were not infected and their kids could go to school safely. So, we will continue this practice for a while and then come back to you on when it is the time to lift this requirement.
 
     Hong Kong’s press freedom, like other individual rights and freedoms, is enshrined in the Basic Law. In the 25 years since reunification, press freedom has been guaranteed in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Our press scene, our media organisations, are as vibrant as ever. If you look at the number of such institutions registered with the Information Services Department for gaining entry to press conferences like this and also to receive news from the HKSAR Government, the number has not dropped. If you look at the presence of international and regional media, their presence has not subsided at all. This is by itself a very good indication of the vibrancy of press freedom in Hong Kong. But as I said on many occasions, particularly with the enactment of the National Security Law, journalists, media organisations, are not above the law. They also have to comply with the laws of Hong Kong, including the National Security Law. And if they have breached the law, then of course, the law enforcement bodies will have to take the necessary action.
 
     Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more