The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a public hearing on "Management of funding for sports development through the Arts and Sport Development Fund (Sports Portion)" (Chapter 1) of the Director of Audit's Report No.74 tomorrow (June 5) at 9am in Conference Room 2 of the LegCo Complex.
      
     Nine witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by the PAC members.

     â€‹The programme for the public hearing is as follows:
 
Date: June 5 (Friday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 2
   
Subject:

Management of funding for sports development through the Arts and Sport Development Fund (Sports Portion) (Chapter 1 of the Director of Audit's Report No.74)
 
Witnesses:

Secretary for Home Affairs
Mr Caspar Tsui

Commissioner for Sports
Mr Yeung Tak-keung
          
Principal Assistant Secretary (Recreation and Sport) 1, Home Affairs Bureau
Mr Paul Cheng 

Director of Leisure and Cultural Services
Mr Vincent Liu
          
Assistant Director (Leisure Services) 2, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Mr Benjamin Hung
          
Chairman, Hong Kong Football Association
Mr Pui Kwan-kay
          
General Secretary, Hong Kong Football Association Secretariat
Mr Vincent Yuen
          
Internal Control Manager, Hong Kong Football Association Secretariat
Mr Cheung Ho-ming
          
Human Resources Manager, Hong Kong Football Association Secretariat
Ms Cherish Cheung
          
     The PAC is chaired by Mr Abraham Shek, and its Deputy Chairman is Mr Kenneth Leung. Other members include Mr Paul Tse, Mr Steven Ho, Mr Lam Cheuk-ting, Mr Shiu Ka-fai and Ms Tanya Chan.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     As at noon today (June 4), three COVID-19 confirmed patients (case numbers: 461, 1047 and 1065) were discharged from hospital in the past 24 hours. So far, a total of 1 042 patients with confirmed or probable infection have been discharged.
 
     At present, there are 651 negative pressure rooms in public hospitals with 1 211 negative pressure beds activated. A total of 48 confirmed patients are currently hospitalised in 10 hospitals, among which two patients are in critical condition (case numbers: 595 and 1084), and the remaining 46 patients are in stable condition.
 
     The Hospital Authority will maintain close contact with the Centre for Health Protection to monitor the latest developments and to inform the public and healthcare workers on the latest information in a timely manner.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (June 4) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the Mysuru District and the Davanagere District of Karnataka State, the Bhind District of Madhya Pradesh State, and the Malappuram District of Kerala State in India, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products, including poultry eggs, from the above areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.
     
     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with India for the import of poultry eggs but not for poultry meat. According to the Census and Statistics Department, no poultry eggs from India were imported into Hong Kong in the first three months of this year.
     
     "The CFS has contacted the Indian authorities over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the OIE on avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said. 
 
 

     Police today (June 4) appealed to the public for information on a fatal traffic accident in Wong Tai Sin on January 21 in which an 83-year-old man died.    
                
     At about 11.45am that day, a taxi driven by a 57-year-old man was travelling along Choi Hung Road eastbound. When approaching the junction with Tai Yau Street, it reportedly knocked down the 83-year-old man who was crossing the road.  Sustaining serious head injuries, the man was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in unconscious state. He was certified dead at 8.24pm on June 2.
      
     The taxi driver was arrested on June 2 for dangerous driving causing death. He has been released on bail pending further enquiries and is required to report back to Police in late June.    
      
     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team 2 of Traffic, Kowloon East is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 2305 7500 or 2305 7571.

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (June 4) released the statistics on vessels, port cargo and containers for the first quarter of 2020.
 
     In the first quarter of 2020, total port cargo throughput decreased by 3.2% compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 57.2 million tonnes. Within this total, inward port cargo increased by 5.5% compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 39.0 million tonnes, while outward port cargo decreased by 17.8% compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 18.1 million tonnes.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, total port cargo throughput decreased by 7.3% in the first quarter of 2020. Within this total, inward port cargo and outward port cargo decreased by 6.1% and 9.9% respectively compared with the preceding quarter. The seasonally adjusted series enables more meaningful shorter-term comparison to be made for discerning possible variations in trends.
 
Port cargo
 
     Within port cargo, seaborne and river cargo decreased by 4.5% and 0.9% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 35.7 million tonnes and 21.5 million tonnes respectively.
 
     Within inward port cargo, imports increased by 12.1% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 24.5 million tonnes, while inward transhipment decreased by 4.1% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 14.5 million tonnes. For outward port cargo, exports (including domestic exports and re-exports) and outward transhipment decreased by 40.0% and 7.2% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 4.3 million tonnes and 13.9 million tonnes respectively.
 
     The detailed port cargo statistics are summarised in Table 1.
 
     The main countries/territories of loading of inward port cargo and countries/territories of discharge of outward port cargo are shown in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively.
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019, triple-digit or double-digit increases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Taiwan (+181.3%), Malaysia (+18.7%), Vietnam (+15.0%) and the mainland of China (+10.9%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Indonesia (-46.9%), Singapore (-46.2%), the United States of America (-26.7%), Thailand (-12.6%) and Korea (-10.3%). For outward port cargo, triple-digit or double-digit increases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Macao (+153.2%) and Thailand (+11.6%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Malaysia (-26.7%), Vietnam (-25.8%), the United States of America (-24.8%), the mainland of China (-21.8%), Korea (-21.0%), Japan (-18.5%) and the Philippines (-13.9%).
 
     The principal commodities of inward port cargo and outward port cargo are shown in Table 4 and Table 5 respectively.
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019, double-digit changes were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo of "stone, sand and gravel" (+58.4%), "machinery" (-11.3%), "artificial resins and plastic materials" (-11.5%) and "petroleum, petroleum products and related materials" (-20.6%). As for outward port cargo, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of "stone, sand and gravel" (-71.1%), "machinery" (-13.8%), "pulp and waste paper" (-12.7%), "metalliferous ores and metal scrap" (-11.9%) and "artificial resins and plastic materials" (-10.2%).
 
Containers
 
     In the first quarter of 2020, the port of Hong Kong handled 4.10 million TEUs of containers, representing a decrease of 7.3% compared with the first quarter of 2019. Within this total, laden containers decreased by 8.9% to 3.43 million TEUs, while empty containers increased by 1.9% to 0.67 million TEUs. Among laden containers, inward and outward containers decreased by 7.6% and 10.4% to 1.80 million TEUs and 1.63 million TEUs respectively.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, laden container throughput decreased by 4.6% in the first quarter of 2020. Within this total, inward and outward laden containers decreased by 4.0% and 5.2% respectively.
 
     In the first quarter of 2020, seaborne and river laden containers decreased by 10.2% and 5.9% compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 2.38 million TEUs and 1.04 million TEUs respectively.
 
     Within inward laden containers, imports and inward transhipment decreased by 11.0% and 6.1% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 0.52 million TEUs and 1.28 million TEUs respectively. For outward laden containers, exports and outward transhipment decreased by 15.1% and 8.8% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019 to 0.40 million TEUs and 1.22 million TEUs respectively.
 
     The detailed container statistics are summarised in Table 6.
 
     Port cargo and laden container statistics are compiled from a sample of consignments listed in the cargo manifests supplied by shipping companies and agents to the C&SD.
 
Vessel arrivals
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2020 with the first quarter of 2019, the number of ocean vessel arrivals increased by 2.1% to 6 165, with the total capacity also increasing by 3.5% to 99.1 million net tons. Meanwhile, the number of river vessel arrivals decreased by 42.5% to 19 794, with the total capacity also decreasing by 13.3% to 23.8 million net tons.
 
     The statistics on vessel arrivals in Hong Kong are given in Table 7.
  
     Vessel statistics are compiled by the Marine Department primarily from general declarations submitted by ship masters and authorised shipping agents. Pleasure vessels and fishing vessels plying exclusively within the river trade limits are excluded.
 
Further information
 
     More detailed statistics on port cargo, containers and vessels are published in the report "Hong Kong Shipping Statistics, First Quarter 2020". Users can download this publication free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp130.jsp?productCode=B1020008).
 
     For enquiries about port cargo and container statistics, please contact the Outward Processing and Shipping Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 2126 or email: shipping@censtatd.gov.hk). For enquiries about vessel statistics, readers may contact the Statistics Section under the Planning, Development and Port Security Branch of the Marine Department (Tel: 2852 3662 or email: st-sec@mardep.gov.hk).