The Land Registry today (May 4) released its statistics for April 2021.

Land registration
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* The number of sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in April was 9,150 (+0.9 per cent compared with March 2021 and +88.0 per cent compared with April 2020)

* The 12-month moving average for April was 7,309 (5.1 per cent above the 12-month moving average for March 2021 and 33.9 per cent above that for April 2020)

* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in April was $85.1 billion (+9.1 per cent compared with March 2021 and +122.0 per cent compared with April 2020)

* Among the sale and purchase agreements, 7,325 were for residential units (-1.6 per cent compared with March 2021 but +78.6 per cent compared with April 2020)

* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in respect of residential units was $71.6 billion (+3.2 per cent compared with March 2021 and +112.1 per cent compared with April 2020)

     Statistics on sales of residential units do not include sale and purchase agreements relating to sales of units under the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme and the Tenants Purchase Scheme unless the premium of the unit concerned has been paid after the sale restriction period.

     Figures on sale and purchase agreements received for the past 12 months, the year-on-year rate of change and breakdown figures on residential sales have also been released.

     As deeds may not be lodged with the Land Registry until up to 30 days after the transaction, these statistics generally relate to land transactions in the previous month.

Land search
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* The number of searches of land registers made by the public in April was 485,937 (-10.2 per cent compared with March 2021 but +29.3 per cent compared with April 2020)

     The statistics cover searches made at the counter, through the self-service terminals and via the Integrated Registration Information System Online Services.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (May 4):
 
Reporter: I have two questions. The first is it is understood that the Government is scheduled to launch the Come2hk Scheme in the middle of this month to allow the Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong quarantine free. So could you please update us on the progress of the scheme, and whether there will be reciprocal arrangement for fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents to visit Mainland without being subject to a compulsory quarantine? The second question is on this National Youth Day. What's your message to the young people in Hong Kong and what's your plan to level our playing field for those from underprivileged backgrounds so that they could have more access to the opportunities presented by the national development? Thank you.
 
Chief Executive: Thank you for the two questions. The first question is about the scheme that we have announced to enable non-Hong Kong residents – they could be Mainland people, they could be expatriates living and working in the Mainland – to come to Hong Kong under this Come2hk Scheme. This is a first step to facilitate people flow between the two places. I understand we should be ready to implement the scheme later this month. Things are ready, particularly when many of them should be coming via the airport so we should have the needed arrangements in the airport to welcome these non-Hong Kong residents coming from different parts of the Mainland to come to Hong Kong. There are at the moment no reciprocal arrangements because when it comes to public health, it is not a question of reciprocity, it is a question of whether our anti-pandemic situation has reached a stage that the other side is willing and happy to allow access of Hong Kong people without being subject to the quarantine arrangement. At the moment, the position is "not yet", so this is only a single way. Non-Hong Kong residents could come to Hong Kong under our stipulated conditions without being made subject to 14-day quarantine,  but when these people return to the Mainland, they will be subject to the Mainland quarantine requirements.
 
     Today, May 4, is Youth Day. I congratulate every young person in the country for what they have been doing during the period of pandemic and doing voluntary services and doing e-learning at a very difficult time when face-to-face teaching is not possible. My aspiration for young people in Hong Kong is one, they should have a very strong sense of national identity. Second is they should love this city called Hong Kong. Third is I'd love them to have a global perspective, and finally is to have a citizenship and responsibility. The Hong Kong SAR Government has been doing things along those four directions to raise awareness amongst young people of the country's development, including the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and other initiatives. We have also gone a step further by running a scheme called the Greater Bay Area Youth Employment Scheme, providing government subsidies to wages for employers to recruit Hong Kong university graduates to work in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, and I'm pleased to say that the response has been very enthusiastic. The 2 000 places have all been taken up and I understand that young people have been recruited and will be posted to the Mainland cities to work pretty soon.
 
     As far as civic responsibility, from September this year, we will replace the Liberal Studies subject by a Citizenship and Social Development subject, and with that particular objective in mind that we hope to nurture our young people with a strong sense of civic duty and responsibility and to respect the rule of law, which has been misrepresented to many young people in recent years.
 
     About globalisation and the global perspective, we will be doing more on arranging youth ambassadors to go out of the country to see the world. With the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a few young colleagues have actually been sent to the United Nations to work under a JPO (Junior Professional Officer) Programme. These are the initiatives which, with the support of the Central Government, that we will continue to do. My final word to young people is, under "One Country, Two Systems", Hong Kong enjoys unique advantages, and the Central Government has given us full support in the 14th Five-Year Plan, and we have abundant opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is time for them to seize these opportunities and to plan for their own future. Thank you.
 
Reporter: With RTHK starting to remove archive content from its YouTube channel yesterday, fears are growing that all government bodies might start deleting historical content. In your 2017 election manifesto, you declare support for an archives law and said you place great importance on the integrity of records. Given your past view, and your new role on RTHK, what are you doing to ensure that the taxpayer-funded channel maintains all archive content in a way that is easily accessible to public? And second question, on the fake news law, what is the latest update and what department or who to decide what is fake news? And can the decision be judicial reviewed? Thank you.
 
Chief Executive: On the first question about RTHK, RTHK is both a Government department and a public broadcaster. As far as the latter function of being a public broadcaster, it has to operate under the Charter signed between RTHK, the Government and the Broadcasting Authority. How RTHK's senior management is going to perform on matters that you have mentioned is not a matter for the Chief Executive. I am sure that the senior management will operate in accordance with the Charter and the mission of RTHK. By the way, nobody has given RHTK a new role. RTHK has been performing the role of a public broadcaster and it should continue to perform that role properly as a public broadcaster, which is being objective, fair, and to support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. That doesn't mean that RTHK could not have programmes that also criticise the Government but it has to be done in an objective and fair manner without bias and prejudice.
 
     About my own commitment to the archives law, work is still being undertaken by the Law Reform Commission's special committee. Once it is ready with recommendations, we will, as the Administration, take forward all recommendations from the Law Reform Commission in the usual manner. There should be no worry about getting my manifesto. If you need a copy, we will give you a hard copy; if you want a soft copy, my Assistant Director (Media) will give you the link. What I have said and what I have written during my days as a candidate and as CE-elect could be found on the website.
 
     I have nothing to update you on the fake news law because, as I said in LegCo, when I said that there were five areas which we will need to look at legislation, on this particular subject, it's not just about fake news law, it's about privacy and so on. I said the priority is to get the privacy law in place which has the full support of the Legislative Council as well as the Privacy Commissioner herself. The fake news law needs a lot of research, especially how overseas governments are tackling these increasingly worrying trend of spreading inaccurate information, misinformation, hatred and lies on the social media. The current situation is still that a Bureau is looking into the overseas practices and doing research. We have no timetable whatsoever about this subject but we will continue to be very serious about doing this issue because of the damage it is doing to many people. 
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about the spate of fatal accidents that happened at new works sites in the Kai Tak Development Area and Kowloon Bay in April this year. To curb unsafe work activities for protecting workers' safety, the LD commenced a four-week Special Enforcement Operation on April 23 targeting new works sites located in the above-mentioned areas.

     The LD's spokesman today (May 4) said, "In the first week of the operation, we inspected 19 new works sites with 88 improvement notices issued and 10 prosecutions initiated. The above-mentioned legal notices and prosecutions mainly involved work at height, electrical work and personal protective equipment (PPE)."

     The spokesman added, "In this week's operation, the LD noticed some contractors had failed to comply with the safety legislation regarding work at height, including failing to guard dangerous edges where persons are liable to fall, failing to take adequate steps to prevent workers from falling from a height of 2 meters or more and failing to ensure the use of safe working platforms and other safe means of support. In addition, the LD also detected that some contractors had failed to comply with the safety legislation regarding electrical work, such as failing to take precautionary safety measures to prevent their workers from being put in danger by live electric cables or apparatus. The LD also found that some workers had failed to wear suitable safety helmets and eye protectors."

     Pursuant to the general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, employers shall provide safe working environments as well as safe plant and systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the above provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     The LD once again appealed to contractors and employers to provide plant and systems of work for the work activities concerned that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use provided PPE properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers. The special enforcement operation is in progress. The LD will take vigorous enforcement action pursuant to the law if any violation of the occupational safety and health legislation is detected, including issuing suspension notices and improvement notices and taking out prosecutions without prior warning.

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (May 4) that eligible fishermen (with vessels exceeding 15 metres in length) affected by relevant marine works in Hong Kong waters may collect chits for registration of ex-gratia allowance applications starting June 16.

     Following established procedures, an interdepartmental working group on ex-gratia allowance for fishermen comprising representatives from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Marine Department, the Home Affairs Department, the LandsD and relevant works departments has been set up to handle the ex-gratia allowance applications. The interdepartmental working group informed fishermen of the arrangements for chit distribution in the briefing sessions held in April.

     Applicants should collect the chits at the dates, times and venues specified below, and register their applications in person according to the details specified on the chits. Details of the chit distribution are listed below:

Date: June 16 (Wednesday) and June 28 (Monday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, Ap Lei Chau Community Hall, Ap Lei Chau Estate, Hong Kong

Date: June 17 (Thursday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, On Ting/Yau Oi Community Centre, On Ting Estate, Tuen Mun, New Territories

Date: June 21 (Monday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
Venue: Conference Room, Aldrich Bay Community Hall, G/F, Oi Po House, Oi Tung Estate, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong

Date: June 22 (Tuesday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm
Venue: Fisheries Liaison Assistant's Office, Sai Kung Wholesale Fish Market, 18-20 Hoi Pong Street, Sai Kung, New Territories

Date: June 23 (Wednesday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm
Venue: Hall, Tai Po Community Centre, 2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, New Territories

Date: June 24 (Thursday)
Time: 10am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4.30pm
Venue: Conference Room, Cheung Chau Office, Fish Marketing Organization, 3/F, 83B Praya Road, Cheung Chau

     For enquiries, please contact the interdepartmental working group Secretariat at 3524 7223 or 3524 7227 during office hours.

     The winner of the Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year in 2010 by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Tom Lee Music Foundation, pianist Tsang Hin-yat, will give a recital in July.
 
     With the theme "Ludwig's Epilogue", Tsang will perform Beethoven's last three piano sonatas, namely No. 30 in E, Op. 109, No. 31 in A-flat, Op. 110 and No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111.
 
     Tsang graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and then with both a master's degree and an Artist Diploma from the Royal College of Music, where he studied with renowned Russian pianist Dmitri Alexeev. He also served as a Constant & Kit Lambert Junior Fellow.
 
     Tsang is a winner of the First and Audience Prize at the Manchester International Piano Concerto Competition (2011), the Gold Medallist at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Asia (2014) and the Gold Prize of the International Piano-Campus Competition in Paris (2017). He is also a top prize winner and laureate of the Maria Canals International Music Competition in Barcelona, the James Mottram International Piano Competition in Manchester, the Manhattan International Music Competition, the Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City and the Scottish International Piano Competition.
 
     Tsang's performance career has led him to some of Europe's finest performing venues including the Wigmore Hall and Steinway Hall of London, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Bechstein Centrum in Frankfurt, the Musikinstrumenten-Museum in Berlin, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona and the Casa da Música in Porto. His concerto appearances include collaborations with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Manchester Camerata, the London Chamber Orchestra, the Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. BBC Radio 3, RTHK Radio 4 as well as the Catalunya Música of Catalonia have broadcast his performances.
 
     Tsang is one of the young artists represented by both the Worshipful Company of Musicians as well as the Keyboard Charitable Trust in London. He currently resides in Germany and continues his studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin with pedagogue Klaus Hellwig.
 
     "Piano Recital by Tsang Hin-yat" is one of the programmes in the "Our Music Talents" Series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It will be staged at 8pm on July 7 (Wednesday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $150 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and various discount schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1103.html. Other programmes in the "Our Music Talents" Series include "Clarinet Recital by Linus Fung" (May 6) and "Cello Recital by Thomas Hung" (June 18).