Tag Archives: China

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health has announced that as of 4pm today (June 26), the CHP was investigating three additional confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), taking the number of cases to 1 197 in Hong Kong so far (comprising 1 196 confirmed cases and one probable case).
 
     The newly reported cases announced today involve three males aged between 7 and 26. All of them had travel history during the incubation period. The CHP’s epidemiological investigations and relevant contact tracing on the confirmed cases are ongoing. For case details and contact tracing information, please see the Annex.
 
     The CHP again urged members of the public to maintain an appropriate social distance with other people as far as possible in their daily lives to minimise the risk of infection. In particular, they should go out less and avoid social activities such as meal gatherings or other gatherings to reduce the chance of contacting infected persons who may not present any symptoms, and minimise the risk of outbreak clusters emerging in the community.
 
     A spokesman for the CHP said, “Given that the situation of COVID-19 infection remains severe and that there is a continuous increase in the number of cases reported around the world, members of the public are strongly urged to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong.
 
     “The CHP also strongly urges the public to maintain at all times strict personal and environmental hygiene, which is key to personal protection against infection and prevention of the spread of the disease in the community. On a personal level, members of the public should wear a surgical mask when having respiratory symptoms, taking public transport or staying in crowded places. They should also perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes.
 
     “As for household environmental hygiene, members of the public are advised to maintain drainage pipes properly, regularly pour water into drain outlets (U-traps) and cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use. After using the toilet, they should put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs.”
 
     Moreover, the Government has launched the website “COVID-19 Thematic Website” (www.coronavirus.gov.hk) for announcing the latest updates on various news on COVID-19 infection and health advice to help the public understand the latest updates. Members of the public may also gain access to information via the COVID-19 WhatsApp Helpline launched by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Simply by saving 9617 1823 in their phone contacts or clicking the link wa.me/85296171823?text=hi, they will be able to obtain information on COVID-19 as well as the “StayHomeSafe” mobile app and wristband via WhatsApp.
 
     To prevent pneumonia and respiratory tract infection, members of the public should always maintain good personal and environmental hygiene. They are advised to:
 
• Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including performing hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask;
• Perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching the mouth, nose or eyes, after touching public installations such as handrails or doorknobs, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretions after coughing or sneezing;
• Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-trap) to ensure environmental hygiene;
• Cover all floor drain outlets when they are not in use;
• After using the toilet, put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs;
• Wash hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with water and dry with a disposable paper towel. If hand washing facilities are not available, or when hands are not visibly soiled, performing hand hygiene with 70 to 80 per cent alcohol-based handrub is an effective alternative;
• Cover your mouth and nose with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Dispose of soiled tissues into a lidded rubbish bin, then wash hands thoroughly; and
• When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending class at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly. read more

     The popular annual International Children’s and Youth Film Carnival (ICYFC) is once again set to offer delightful summertime entertainment for the whole family. Presented by the Film Programmes Office (FPO) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the ICYFC will screen a selection of enjoyable international animations, feature films and short films from July 11 to August 16 at the Cinema of the Hong Kong Film Archive, the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall, the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Auditorium of North District Town Hall.

     Among the 10 feature films in the main section, five are fun-filled animations. In “Gordon & Paddy” (2017), frog police chief Gordon appreciates Paddy, a clever little mouse, and decides to hire and train him to be his successor. “Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past” (2019) follows Brian, Bramble and Vick as they fall into a time tunnel that takes them into the ancient past, where they are chased by wild beasts and a tribe of primitive humans. Following a spaceship malfunction, Willy and his trusty robot assistant in “Terra Willy” (2019) evacuate to a beautiful planet where they make friends with the local creatures. However, danger is lurking in the dark corners of the planet. “Vic the Viking – The Magic Sword” (2019) features Vic sneaking onto a boat and sailing to a secluded island in search of a solution to save his mother, who was accidentally turned into gold by a magic sword. In “Strike” (2019), Mungo dreams to be a professional footballer and play in the Wild Cup tournament, but a football-related accident makes him blame himself and even stop pursuing his dream.

     Two of the other feature films take children on dreamlike journeys. “THE LUNNIS and the Great Fairy Tale Adventures” (2019) features Mar, a fairy tale lover, who joins her puppet friends in the world of a magic book. There, she meets her favourite characters and even destroys the evil scheme of a fantasy-hating millionaire. The film won Best Orchestral Music at the Spanish Audio-visual Awards 2019. In “Captain Bimse” (2019), Anna and teddy bear Mr Johnson climb into a small yellow plane that suddenly appears, and it takes them to a remote village to save a doll that Anna left behind.
 
     The remaining three feature films showcase the preciousness of family and friendship. “Team Marco” (2019) depicts Marco making a bet with his grandpa to gain the freedom to play video games. Marco and his team will have to beat his grandpa’s team in a game of bocce, but the match is stopped by an unexpected event. The film won Audience Award in Family Film at the Mill Valley Film Festival 2019. Alfons in “Alfons Jitterbit – Countdown to Chaos” (2019) is a troublemaker in the eyes of adults. In order to prove himself to the world, Alfons, who is a talented inventor, enters a rocket ship building competition with his friends, but the situation puts them in bigger trouble. The film won best film (children’s jury) at the Zero Plus International Film Festival 2019 in Russia and Best Feature Film for Children & Youth at the “Rolan” International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019 in Armenia. In “My Little Sister” (2019), Yamil longs for his father’s return from the battlefield but this never happens. One day Yamil’s mother brings back an orphan along with instructions from Yamil’s father asking Yamil to treat the orphan as his own sister. The film won Best Director, Best Cinematography and People’s Choice Award at the Yalta International Film Festival “Eurasian Bridge” 2019 in Russia and other awards.

     The “Youthful Encounters” section features two films that encourage young movie-goers to believe in themselves. “100% Coco” (2017) tells the story of Coco, a young fashion aficionado, who is bullied by her classmates at school but is a popular masked fashion vlogger online. Will Coco continue to stay behind the mask or show her true identity? The film won numerous awards including Best Dutch Family Film (Cinekid Lion Audience Award) at the Cinekid Festival 2017 and Golden Film at the Nederlands Film Festival 2017. In “Hacker” (2019), after being told that his mother, thought to be deceased, is in fact still alive, young hacker Benjamin decides to start an investigation. He then discovers that there is a sinister plot and everyone he knows is hiding their own secrets. The film won the 1st Prize of Best Live-Action Feature (Children’s Jury) at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival 2019.

     This year’s “Film Tunnel” section will screen two classics, both entitled “The Kid”, which portray the lives of orphans. Directed by and starring the great film comedian Charles Chaplin, the silent film “The Kid” (1921) follows the Tramp as he finds an abandoned baby and raises him like his own son. The kid is taken to an orphanage later and the Tramp decides to rescue him, turning himself into a criminal wanted by the police. The other movie, “The Kid” (1950), stars the kung fu superstar Bruce Lee at the age of 10. Playing Kid Cheung, a young orphan who begins a life of crime to earn a living, Lee gives a whimsical performance that delights the audience.

     Experienced dubbing artists Yip Ka-man and Kinson Lai will perform live Cantonese dubbing for “Gordon & Paddy”, “THE LUNNIS and the Great Fairy Tale Adventures” and “Captain Bimse”, which will also have English subtitles. The other films will have Chinese and English subtitles.

     Aside from screening the feature films, the FPO has picked 26 animations and shorts from around the world and grouped them into three programmes that will be screened during the ICYFC in the “World Animation & Shorts” section. An array of new characters will be introduced including a clumsy crochet dinosaur; a living chess piece; a fox who is preparing a birthday party for a bunny; Mr Wolf, who cares a lot about his appearance; and a little ice-cream lover. Ken Kwan, a veteran scriptwriter, director and actor of children’s drama, will host the programmes in Cantonese.

     Tickets priced at $70 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2020icyfc/index.html.

     In view of the latest situation of COVID-19, special admission and seating arrangements will be implemented in the screening venues. For details, please call 2734 2900 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en_US/web/fpo/programmes/2020icyfc/ticketinfo.html.

              

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announces today (June 26) that the Coin Collection Programme will be extended for another two years to September 2022.
      
     Since the launch of the Programme in October 2014, it has been well received by the public and is considered an innovative and environmentally friendly scheme to enhance the circulation of coins. It is the world’s first structured coin collection scheme using a mobile approach and provides a channel for the public to get value for their coins in addition to the existing banking system. The coins collected are re-circulated to meet public demand, making circulation more efficient and reducing the need for minting new coins.
      
     Two Coin Carts will continue to collect coins from members of public in the 18 districts of Hong Kong on a rotation basis and free of charge. Under normal circumstances, each Coin Cart will stay at a location for a week, subject to availability of the parking space and the maintenance schedule of the Cart. Service hours will be from 10am to 7pm. Each vehicle is equipped with two coin counting machines and operational staff will be present to provide assistance. An electrical wheelchair lift is available for use. Users can choose to exchange coins for banknotes or adding value to their stored value facilities, such as Octopus Cards or e-wallets (including AlipayHK, Octopus O! ePay, Tap&Go, TNG Wallet and WeChat Pay). There is also a Community Chest donation box inside each vehicle.
      
     From the start in October 2014 to May 2020, the two Coin Carts had served 723 000 people, collecting 583 million coins with a total face value of HK$ 854 million.
      
     The coin collection schedule and other details about the Programme are shown on the HKMA website (coincollection.hkma.gov.hk). The HKMA will update the schedule from time to time to give advance notice to the public. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, June 26, 2020 is 107.8 (up 0.3 against Wednesday’s index). read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
 
     The Judiciary today (June 26) announced four judicial appointments in the Magistrates’ Courts.

     The appointments include three Principal Magistrates and one Permanent Magistrate. All appointments are made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission. They will take effect from June 29, 2020.

Principal Magistrates
———————–
     Miss Ada Yim Shun-yee, Mr Don So Man-lung and Miss Ivy Chui Yee-mei are appointed as Principal Magistrates.

Permanent Magistrate
————————-
     Mr Dominic Pun Wang-hon is appointed as Permanent Magistrate.

     The biographical notes of the appointees are as follows:

Miss Ada Yim Shun-yee
 
     Miss Yim was born in Hong Kong in 1966. She obtained an LL.B. from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom in 1988, and an LL.M. from the University of New South Wales in Australia in 1994. She passed the Bar Finals Examination of the Holborn School of Law in the United Kingdom in 1989. She was called to the Bar in England and Wales (Lincoln’s Inn) and the Bar in Hong Kong both in 1989. She was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia in 1990 and as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia in 1995. She has been in private practice from 1990 until she joined the Judiciary as Permanent Magistrate in 2002.
 
Mr Don So Man-lung
 
     Mr So was born in Hong Kong in 1968. He obtained an LL.B., a P.C.LL and an LL.M. from the University of Hong Kong in 1991, 1992 and 1996 respectively. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1992. He has been in private practice from 1993 until he joined the Judiciary as Permanent Magistrate in 2006.
 
Miss Ivy Chui Yee-mei

     Miss Chui was born in Hong Kong in 1972. She obtained an LL.B. from the University of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom in 1995. She completed the Bar Final Course of the BPP Law School, London, in the United Kingdom in 1996. She was called to the Bar in England and Wales (Middle Temple) and in Hong Kong both in 1996. She has been in private practice from 1997 until she joined the Judiciary as Permanent Magistrate in 2009.
 
Mr Dominic Pun Wang-hon
 
     Mr Pun was born in Hong Kong in 1982. He obtained an LL.B. from Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom in 2004 and a P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 2005. He further obtained an LL.M. from University College London in the United Kingdom in 2006. He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 2007 and has been in private practice from the same year. read more