Tag Archives: China

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8th Hong Kong Games launches with athlete selection and mascot voting

     The inter-district sports competitions of the 8th Hong Kong Games (HKG) will be held in April and May 2021. Athlete selection in the 18 districts will start in September this year. Members of the public are encouraged to join and represent their districts to compete in the Games.
 
​     The Chairman of the 8th HKG Organising Committee, Mr Yip Wing-shing, announced details of the 8th HKG in a press conference today (June 26).
 
 â€‹     “In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, district athlete selection for the 8th HKG has been slightly postponed until September. We will closely monitor the latest situation and make appropriate arrangements to launch athlete selection and publicity work when the spread of infection is under control,” Mr Yip said.
 
​     Three categories of mascots have been designed to further promote the Games. Members of the public can vote at the HKG website to select their favourite design from today until July 31. The design with the highest number of votes will become the HKG mascot.
 
​     The HKG comprises eight sports competitions, namely athletics, badminton, basketball, futsal, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.
 
​     To promote sports participation by people with disabilities, Mr Yip added, competitions of wheelchair basketball and swimming for people with intellectual disabilities will continue to be held as in the past. In addition, the 8th HKG will introduce competitions of boccia and table tennis for people with intellectual disabilities. Demonstration events of three-on-three basketball and women’s futsal will also be held to enhance public understanding of the sports events.
 
​     The 18 districts will carry out open selection of athletes to represent their districts from September this year to February 2021. Each participant can only enrol in selection for one district and is required to present proof of place of residence during enrolment.
 
​     To encourage members of the public to support and participate in the HKG in different ways, the 8th HKG will continue to hold a variety of community participation programmes. A new obstacle race for parents and children will be held during the popular Vitality Run so that the whole family can join to share the fun of sports. Other activities will include elite athletes’ demonstration and exchange programmes, sports seminars, Sports Legacy – Exercise to Get Super Fit, the HKG 8-minute School Vitality Run, the 18 districts’ pledging and cheering team competition, a photo contest and guessing activities.
 
     Nine elite athletes have been appointed as the Sports Ambassadors for the 8th HKG to promote the Games. They are Lui Lai-yiu (athletics), Yeung Pui-lam (badminton), Tsai Choi-kwan (basketball), Li Ka-chun (futsal), Claudia Lau (swimming), Soo Wai-yam (table tennis), Brian Yeung (tennis), Chim Wing-lam (volleyball) and Chong Kung-yuen (sports competition for people with intellectual disabilities).
 
​     The HKG is a biennial major multi-sport event with the 18 District Councils as participating units. It aims to encourage the public to actively participate in sports events, enhance communication among districts, strengthen the public’s sense of belonging to their districts and build community cohesion.
 
​     The HKG is organised by the Sports Commission and co-ordinated by the Community Sports Committee, with the 18 District Councils; the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD); the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China; and relevant National Sports Associations as co-organisers.
 
​     The press conference was held at Kowloon Park Sports Centre. Also present were the Executive Adviser of the Organising Committee, Mr William Tong; the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Professor Patrick Yung; and the Assistant Director (Leisure Services) of the LCSD, Mr Benjamin Hung.
 
​     Details of the 8th HKG are available at the dedicated website www.hongkonggames.hk. read more

East Asia

Appointments to Board of Ocean Park Corporation announced

     The Government announced today (June 26) that the Chief Executive has appointed Mr Lau Ming-wai as the Chairman of the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation (OPC), and also re-appointed three non-official members, namely Ms Michelle Cheng, Mrs Ann Kung Yeung Yun-chi and Mr Vincent Ng Wing-shun, all for a term of one year from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

     The Secretary of Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, said, “Mr Lau has profound commercial experience. He has had close involvement in a number of important development projects of Ocean Park since joining the Board of the OPC in July 2008 and has served as the Deputy Chairman of the Board since July 2014. He is an eminently suitable candidate to assume the new chairmanship.

     “We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Mr Leo Kung Lin-cheng, the outgoing Chairman of the Board, for his high degree of commitment and dedication to leading Ocean Park in tackling different challenges in the past six years.”

     The Government also thanked the outgoing Chief Executive of the OPC, Mr Matthias Li Sing-chung, and the outgoing member of the Board, Mr Jason Wong Chun-tat, for their hard work and contributions in taking forward the development of Ocean Park.

     The Government has started the rethink exercise to chart the way forward for Ocean Park’s future. The Government is confident that, with the devotion and wide-ranging expertise of the Board members, the Board would participate actively and provide valuable suggestions in the rethink exercise and Ocean Park could better serve the Hong Kong community and its visitors.

     The OPC is a statutory body established under the Ocean Park Corporation Ordinance to manage Ocean Park as a public recreational and educational park. read more

East Asia

Government allocates additional $1 billion for Distance Business Programme

     The Innovation and Technology Commission today (June 26) announced an additional provision of $1 billion under the Anti-epidemic Fund for the Distance Business Programme to further support enterprises to adopt information technology (IT) solutions for continuing business and services during the epidemic.

     “The Programme was opened for application on May 18. As at 6pm on June 24, it had received more than 14 500 funding applications from enterprises, 95 per cent of which are small and medium enterprises. Of the 1 194 applications processed so far, 1 094 have been approved with total funding of more than $44 million. In view of the overwhelming response from enterprises, the Government will allocate $1 billion for the Programme, in addition to the original $500 million, to benefit more enterprises,” a spokesman for the Commission said.

     The vetting criteria of the Programme include relevance of the proposed project to the applicant’s business, reasonableness of the budget and its conformity to economic principles, complexity and feasibility of the implementation details, and the relevant technical capability and experience of the service provider with a view to ensuring proper use of public funds. In general, the funding amount received by an applicant enterprise is within the reasonable market price range and sufficient for implementing a more economical and convenient IT solution with the same effect.

     The current application deadline of the Programme is October 31. In view of the present situation, the Programme may need to cease accepting applications earlier, taking into account the progress of funding approval and the amount approved. Such an arrangement would be announced about two weeks beforehand. Enterprises wishing to apply for the Programme’s funding are advised to submit applications online as soon as possible. Details are available on the Programme’s website (u.hkpc.org/dbiz). For enquiries, please contact the Programme Secretariat by phone on 2788 5070 during business hours (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays)) or via email at dbiz@hkpc.org. read more

East Asia