In response to media enquiries regarding a media report today (July 16) saying that the Government is studying the possibility of declaring a curfew, a spokesman for the Security Bureau made the following response:
With regard to public processions and meetings, the Government will continue to follow the existing mechanism requiring notification to the police and the Letter of No Objection. Apart from this, the Government has no other plans.
Attention TV/radio announcers:
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 16) that due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty, the lifesaving services at Golden Beach in Tuen Mun District have been suspended until further notice.
First aid services will be maintained at the beach.
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, at the Opening Ceremony of the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum 2019 today (July 16):
Peter (Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Peter Yan), EQ, Charles, Eunice (Legislative Council members Dr Elizabeth Quat, Mr Charles Mok, Ms Eunice Yung), distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning. Welcome to Cyberport! It is my great pleasure to join you this morning at the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum, or DELF 2019, to witness the opening of this new e-sports competition venue here at Cyberport.
As the founder of DELF back in 2004, I am certainly no stranger to the forum. This year's DELF 2019 marks a significant milestone in promoting the development of e-sports as an emerging industry for Hong Kong.
Three years ago, I discussed with a group of young enthusiastic Hong Kong e-sports entrepreneurs at great length, as to whether and how Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to enter the global e-sports arena. Hong Kong was certainly not among the early movers, nor did we have a strong local culture in e-sports. In fact, most Hong Kong folks thought e-sports was just playing video games, not realising that the e-sports industry drives and thrives on innovation and technology. Here in Hong Kong, we do have a world-class ICT infrastructure, which is necessary for the e-sports industry. And we also have excellent experience and a track-record in hosting large-scale international events. After asking Cyberport to conduct a study on the e-sports industry, confirming its scale and future potential, we wasted no time. We announced in the 2018-19 Budget Speech the allocation of $100 million for promoting the early stage development of the local e-sports industry, which includes the construction of a dedicated world-class e-sports competition venue at Cyberport. I am pleased to see the effort and resources put in by the Government and Cyberport bearing fruit, with the first official e-sports competition to be held at this great new venue this coming weekend.
Following the Government’s $100 million injection in 2018, Cyberport has swiftly set up the 'e-sports Industry Facilitation Scheme' and the 'e-sports Internship Scheme' to help the industry organise competitions and events and to provide funding support for interns. You should all be impressed by this e-sports venue, which is among the best in the region. It has state-of-the-art facilities – a combat arena, advanced lighting and audio system, the ultra-high resolution screen together with the large outdoor screen at the podium. It also provides adjacent storage spaces for the convenience of competition and event organisers. I am confident that this venue will develop into a flagship e-sports-cum-digital entertainment centre in Hong Kong.
As the theme of DELF 2019 suggests, a vibrant ecosystem is instrumental to the development of the e-sports industry. Over the past year, Cyberport has invited various key players and stakeholders to join the ecosystem, be they e-sports associations, game owners, e-sports venue operators, hardware and software companies, e-sports gadget manufacturers, gamers, live streaming companies and higher education institutions. Today, I am pleased to see that Cyberport will enter into more strategic partnerships with the Hong Kong e-sports Premier League, and Team Hong Kong enters the Robot Fighting Championship of World Cyber Games.
Promoting the development of e-sports will bring new opportunities for our young people. This was a key consideration of the Government to drive the development of the e-sports industry three years ago. It is still true today and for the foreseeable future, as e-sports presents many new alternative career paths for youth, from professional players, technical experts/consultants, game developers, directors, coaches, promoters and commentators, to start-up entrepreneurs in this exciting Internet-driven economy.
I would like congratulate Cyberport on its accomplishments, in providing a fertile breeding ground for Hong Kong’s very own e-sports industry. With continued efforts from all the stakeholders and most important of all, strong support from the community, I look forward to seeing a thriving e-sports industry, not just players and game developers, but also a wide range of innovation and technology professionals in digital marketing and live streaming etc in the years ahead.
I wish today's forum every success, and all of the participants a fruitful and enjoyable experience. Thank you very much.
Bonnie Vegetables and Fruit Wholesale Limited, which operated a chain of vegetable stalls, was prosecuted for three of their branches causing noise annoyance to nearby residents with loudspeakers persistently playing promotional recordings. The company was convicted and fined a total of $27,000 at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (July 16) for contravening the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO). The company's director also held criminal liability and was fined $12,000 for contravening the NCO repeatedly.
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said that during the inspections in December last year the department discovered three branches of Bonnie Vegetables and Fruit Wholesale Limited on Kwong Fuk Road and Heung Sze Wui Street in Tai Po as well as Hop Choi Street in Yuen Long were playing promotional recordings loudly and repeatedly with loudspeakers, causing noise annoyance. The EPD prosecuted the company and its director under the NCO. Since last year, the department has taken a series of law enforcement actions against noise annoyance caused by broadcasting from shops in various districts. Bonnie Vegetables and Fruit Wholesale Limited and the director were convicted for their branches violating NCO with fines more than $110,000 in total.
After a series of law enforcement actions taken by the EPD, the number of noise complaints against the shops in Tai Po and Yuen Long has largely reduced. The EPD will closely monitor the situation and conduct stringent enforcement against such irregularities. The spokesman reminded the responsible persons of retail shops and market stalls that when they play promotional recordings to sell goods, they should contain the noise level within their shop area and should not cause annoyance to people outside their shops or nearby residents. Otherwise, it constitutes an offence. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $10,000 for each offence. For repeat offenders, the relevant operators will also be criminally liable for the offences once convicted.
A Hong Kong resident employer and her company that employed an illegal worker were jailed and fined at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (July 15).
During a joint operation conducted by the Immigration Department (ImmD) and the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed "Champion" on September 13, 2018, enforcement officers raided a restaurant in Mong Kok. A female Indonesian illegal worker was arrested for working as a dish washing worker. The Hong Kong resident employer of the illegal worker was also arrested.
The illegal worker was jailed by Shatin Magistrates' Courts earlier. The Hong Kong resident employer was charged at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday with being an employer of a person who was not lawfully employable as she did not take all practicable steps to ascertain whether the applicant was lawfully employable prior to employment. She pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. In addition, the company holding the restaurant was also charged with employing a person not lawfully employable and was fined $8,000.
The ImmD spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.