The Town Planning Board today (January 8) announced the publication of the draft Sham Wat and San Shek Wan Development Permission Area (DPA) Plan.

     The draft Sham Wat and San Shek Wan DPA Plan covers an area of about 179.59 hectares, including two small pieces of land to the west of San Chau along the coastline. It is located on the north-western part of Lantau Island fronting the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Link Road. The area is characterised by a rural ambience which comprises a natural landscape of woodlands, shrublands, grasslands, vegetated slopes and knolls, streams, wetlands and coastal features, with village settlements, fallow and cultivated agricultural land.

     A spokesman for the Town Planning Board said the general planning intention is to protect the ecologically sensitive areas (including the San Chau Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Ecologically Important Stream at Sham Wat), to maintain the unique rural and natural character, landscape value and the cultural heritage of the Area, and to prevent it from encroachment by unauthorised development and from undesirable change of use.

     It is noted that human disturbances in the form of footpath and road widening and slope cutting activities are found in the area, resulting in adverse impacts on the natural environment and rural character of the area. There is, therefore, an urgent need to prepare a DPA Plan to provide interim planning control with a view to avoiding further proliferation of undesirable uses and degradation of the natural environment and rural character of the area. Owing to the urgency of preparing the DPA Plan, except the area recognised as the San Chau SSSI of about 6.52 hectares being zoned "Site of Special Scientific Interest", the remaining area of about 173.07 hectares has been designated "Unspecified Use", pending detailed analysis and studies to establish the appropriate land uses in the course of preparing an Outline Zoning Plan (OZP). The DPA Plan will be replaced by an OZP as soon as possible.

     The draft Sham Wat and San Shek Wan DPA Plan is now available for public inspection during office hours at (i) the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, (ii) the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, (iii) the Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, (iv) the Islands District Office and (v) the Tai O Rural Committee.

     Any person may make written representations in respect of the draft plan to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before March 8. Any person who intends to make a representation is advised to read the revised Town Planning Board Guidelines No. 29B on "Submission and Publication of Representations, Comments on Representations and Further Representations under the Town Planning Ordinance" (TPB PG-No. 29B) which were promulgated in November 2018 and took effect in 2019.

     Submission of a representation should comply with the requirements set out in TPB PG-No. 29B. In particular, the representer should take note of the following:

* If the representer fails to provide his or her full name and the first four alphanumeric characters of his or her Hong Kong identity card or passport number as required under TPB PG-No. 29B, the representation submitted shall be treated as not having been made; and
* The Secretariat of the Town Planning Board reserves the right to require the representer to provide identity proof for verification.

     The Guidelines and the submission form are available at locations (i) and (ii) above and the Town Planning Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

     Copies of the draft DPA plan are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Town Planning Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).
 

     The Security Bureau announced today (January 8) the public consultation report on the proposed introduction of offences of voyeurism, intimate prying and non-consensual photography of intimate parts and related offences, summarising the consultation outcome.

     The Government earlier proposed to introduce the following six new criminal offences and consulted the public's views thereon:

(1) voyeurism (i.e. observing or recording of intimate acts for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification); 
(2) intimate prying (i.e. observing or recording of intimate acts irrespective of the purpose);
(3) non-consensual photography of intimate parts for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification;
(4) non-consensual photography of intimate parts irrespective of the purpose; 
(5) distribution of surreptitious images obtained from the above-mentioned acts; and 
(6) non-consensual distribution of intimate images where consent was previously given for taking such images but not for subsequent distribution.

     During the three-month public consultation which concluded on October 7, 2020, the Government received a total about 200 submissions, including those from major stakeholders including the Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data; other groups/organisations which are concerned with sexual offences; and individual members of the public. 

     A spokesman for the Security Bureau said, "The majority of the submissions received expressed strong support for the legislative proposals and some of them have also offered constructive views on specific proposals. 

     "The Security Bureau will brief the Legislative Council Panel on Security members on the outcome of the consultation and the detailed legislative proposals on January 15. The Government is in parallel working on the drafting of the proposed amendment bill. Subject to the drafting progress, the target is to submit the amendment bill to the Legislative Council in the second half of this legislative year."

     The public consultation report on the proposed introduction of offences of voyeurism, intimate prying and non-consensual photography of intimate parts and related offences can be downloaded from the website of the Security Bureau (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/special/voyeurism/index.htm).

     With 11 months warmer than usual, 2020 was the second warmest year for Hong Kong since records began in 1884. The annual mean temperature of 24.4 degrees was 1.1 degrees above the 1981-2010 normal (Note 1). The annual mean maximum temperature of 27.2 degrees and the annual mean minimum temperature of 22.5 degrees were the highest and the second highest on record respectively. In particular, the mean temperature, the mean maximum temperature and the mean minimum temperature for summer from June to August reached 29.6 degrees, 32.6 degrees and 27.7 degrees respectively, all the highest on record. The highest temperature recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory in the year was 35.3 degrees on July 23, one of the joint 12th highest on record. There were 50 Hot Nights (Note 2) and 47 Very Hot Days (Note 3) in Hong Kong in 2020, both the highest on record.
 
     The lowest temperature recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory in the year was 8.1 degrees on December 31. The number of Cold Days (Note 4) in the year was 11 days, which is 6.1 days less than the 1981-2010 normal.
 
     The annual total rainfall in 2020 was 2,395.0 millimetres, similar to the 1981-2010 normal of 2,398.5mm. Eleven red rainstorm warnings and two black rainstorm warnings were issued by the Hong Kong Observatory in the year. The number of days with thunderstorms reported in Hong Kong was 42 days in 2020, about three days more than the 1981-2010 normal.
 
     A total of 25 tropical cyclones occurred over the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in 2020, less than the long-term (1961-2010) average of about 30. There were 11 tropical cyclones reaching typhoon intensity (Note 5) or above during the year, less than the long-term average of about 15, and three of them reached super typhoon intensity (with a maximum 10-minute wind speed of 185 kilometres per hour or above near the centre). In Hong Kong, five tropical cyclones necessitated the issuance of tropical cyclone warning signals, slightly less than the long-term average of about six in a year. The Increasing Gale or Storm Signal No. 9 was issued during the passage of Higos in August, while the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal was issued during the passage of Nangka in October.
 
     Globally, 2020 is on track to be one of the three warmest years on record according to the World Meteorological Organization's preliminary assessment. Over the Arctic, the sea-ice extents for July and October 2020 were the lowest on record for the respective months and the annual minimum in September was also the second lowest. In 2020, various extreme weather events continued to wreak havoc in different parts of the world, including heatwaves in Australia, the Caribbean region, Mexico, South America, western Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, Japan and Siberia; extreme cold events in North America and the southern part of South America; severe drought in the interior of South America, northern part of Central Europe and parts of southern Africa; extreme rainfall which triggered severe flooding in large parts of Africa, South Asia, China, the Korean Peninsula, Vietnam and parts of western Japan; and severe damage and heavy casualties brought about by tropical cyclones in the United States, the Caribbean region, Central America, India, Bangladesh, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Philippines, the Korean Peninsula, western Japan and Vietnam. Exacerbated by widespread drought and high temperature, destructive wildfires ravaged California and Colorado of the United States, northern Siberia, eastern Australia and western Brazil.
 
     A weak El Niño event was established in April 2020. Sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific dropped rapidly afterwards, but they returned to normal in May. The cooling trend continued into the second half of the year. Sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific dropped to below normal in September and remained colder than normal till the end of the year, indicating the development of a La Niña event.
 
     Detailed description of the local weather for individual months is available on the Monthly Weather Summary webpage:
www.weather.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/pastwx/mws/mws.htm. A detailed version of the year's weather for 2020 with some significant weather events in Hong Kong is available at:
www.weather.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/pastwx/ywx.htm.

Note 1: Climatological normals for the reference periods of 1961-1990, 1971-2000 and 1981-2010 are available at www.weather.gov.hk/en/cis/normal.htm. Climatological normals of 1981-2010 are referenced in the text unless otherwise specified.
Note 2: "Hot Night" refers to the condition with the daily minimum temperature equal to or higher than 28.0 degrees.
Note 3: "Very Hot Day" refers to the condition with the daily maximum temperature equal to or higher than 33.0 degrees.
Note 4: "Cold Day" refers to the condition with the daily minimum temperature equal to or lower than 12.0 degrees.
Note 5: Information on the classification of tropical cyclones is available at: www.weather.gov.hk/en/informtc/class.htm.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, January 8, 2021 is 100.5 (up 0.3 against yesterday's index).

     A Government spokesman said today (January 8) that the part in relation to Cambodia under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Investment Agreement (IA) between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will take effect on February 12, signifying that the FTA and the IA signed between Hong Kong and the 10 member states of ASEAN will come into effect in full. Hong Kong enterprises and service providers will be able to enjoy the full benefits as committed to by all 10 ASEAN member states under the agreements. Their business opportunities in ASEAN markets will be greatly enhanced.

     ASEAN was Hong Kong's second largest trading partner in merchandise trade in 2019 and the fourth largest in services trade in 2018. Total merchandise trade between Hong Kong and ASEAN amounted to $1,018 billion in 2019 and total services trade between the two sides was $137 billion in 2018.

     Hong Kong forged the FTA and the IA with ASEAN in 2017 and the agreements have entered into force gradually since June 2019. The agreements are comprehensive in scope, encompassing trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, dispute settlement mechanisms and other related areas. They bring about legal certainty and better market access for Hong Kong enterprises. They also help reduce the restrictions in doing business and expand business opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises, thus creating a more conducive environment for the development of Hong Kong's economy.

     As far as Cambodia is concerned, it will progressively reduce and eliminate customs duties on goods originating from Hong Kong. The tariff commitments made by Cambodia cover different kinds of Hong Kong commodities, including jewellery, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, watches and clocks as well as toys. To enjoy the preferential tariff treatment for exporting Hong Kong goods to Cambodia under the FTA, Hong Kong traders have to comply with the relevant preferential rules of origin and fulfil the related requirements, and to apply for certificates of origin from the Trade and Industry Department (TID) or Government Approved Certification Organizations to cover the goods concerned. For details, please refer to the relevant trade circulars issued by the TID at www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/coc/2021/coc2021.html.

     On trade in services, Hong Kong service providers will enjoy legal certainty in market access for an extensive range of services sectors in Cambodia. These include services sectors in which Hong Kong has traditional strengths or has potential for development, including professional services, business services, telecommunications services, construction and related engineering services, educational services, financial services, tourism and travel related services and transport services.

     Under the IA, Cambodia will provide Hong Kong enterprises investing in its area with fair and equitable treatment of their investments, physical protection and security of their investments, and the assurance of the free transfer of their investments and returns. In case of expropriation or investment loss owing to war, armed conflict or a similar event, Cambodia will also provide compensation to Hong Kong enterprises investing in its area according to the agreed standard as specified under the IA.

     Hong Kong has signed eight FTAs with 20 economies. With the coming into force of the FTA between Hong Kong and ASEAN in full, all the four FTAs signed in the current term of the Government will have taken effect. They are the four FTAs signed respectively with the Macao Special Administrative Region, Georgia, Australia and the 10 ASEAN member states, viz. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

     For the texts and the key features of the agreements, please visit the website of the TID at www.tid.gov.hk/english/ita/fta/hkasean/index.html.