Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Sau Nan Primary School and Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in the Kai Tak Development Area (KTDA) this afternoon (May 27) to keep abreast of the area’s development.
 
     Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, first visited Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Sau Nan Primary School, where she was briefed by Architectural Services Department architects on the school’s design and architectural features, which are different from those of traditional school buildings. In keeping with the concept of sustainable development for the KTDA, the campus has adopted a low-rise design and open corridors to let in more daylight. The school also uses greening and sunshades to lessen the electricity burden for air-conditioning and is connected to the District Cooling System in the KTDA to conserve electricity, while rainwater is collected for irrigation of the school’s garden. Mrs Lam then watched students take part in classes and extra-curricular activities such as campus TV production and STEM learning activities and exchanged views with the principal and teachers to learn about their teaching work and the school’s development. She said she was delighted to note that the school’s teaching staff and students are very pleased with the school’s design and facilities, and stressed that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to providing a quality teaching and learning environment and promoting education quality.
 
     Mrs Lam then proceeded to Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, which has opened in phases since last December. Accompanied by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, Mrs Lam was briefed by the Hospital Authority’s Chairman, Professor John Leong, and Chief Executive, Dr Leung Pak-yin, as well as medical staff on the hospital facilities and toured the Haematology and Oncology Department, the Radiology Department, the hydrotherapy pool for child patients and the Newborn Screening for Inborn Errors Metabolism Laboratory. She also visited child patients to know about their situation and said she was pleased to note that both the patients and their parents were satisfied with the hospital environment. Noting that the hospital has top facilities to provide multidisciplinary management for complex, serious and uncommon paediatric diseases, Mrs Lam said it can complement the regional hospitals to form a co-ordinated and coherent paediatric service network, providing children-centred and family-friendly services for child patients.
 
     “The two facilities I visited today are among the projects in the KTDA which have completed in recent years. I also attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kai Tak Sports Park last month, which is another major project in the area. The Kai Tak Development incorporates community, housing, commercial, tourism and infrastructural purposes. I am very happy to witness the transformation of this project from a planning vision into a real one. I am expecting that Kai Tak will become a distinguished, vibrant, attractive and people-oriented community beside Victoria Harbour and complement the Energizing Kowloon East strategy to build the second core business district of Hong Kong with a view to boosting the city’s economy and long-term competitiveness,” Mrs Lam said.

                    

     In response to a media report querying why Hongkong Post (HKP) does not deliver mail items to addresses providing only Demarcation District (DD) Lot numbers, an HKP spokesman explained today (May 27) that addresses providing only a DD Lot number are undeliverable because DD Lot number is primarily for identification of a piece of land and cannot tell the location directly without additional information such as street name and house number. It is very difficult for a postman to locate the intended delivery point to ensure accurate delivery.
      
     “With rapid and fast-changing land use developments, there remain many undeliverable addresses in the New Territories and other remote villages,” the spokesman added.
      
     “Further confusion arises for situation in which house owners in rural areas adopt their own building numbers not allocated by the Rating and Valuation Department (RVD), which is the authority for allocation of building numbers.”
      
     “We urge those owners who have not applied for official building numbers for their properties in rural areas to apply to RVD as soon as possible. Applications should be made to the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation by completing Form BN(2) which is available at RVD’s website at www.rvd.gov.hk/en/faqs/building_number.html. Applicants may call RVD enquiry number at 2152 0111 for more details.”
      
     “We also urge all owners of tenements to install letter boxes of a proper size with adequate security features, and remote villages set up nested letterboxes to facilitate mail delivery. Further details can be found at https://www.hongkongpost.hk/en/receiving_mail/letter_boxes/index.html and enquiries can be made to HKP at 2921 2222 or hkpo@hkpo.gov.hk.” read more

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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (May 29) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex.  During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive.

     The motion, to be moved by Mr Andrew Wan, states: “That this Council has no confidence in the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam.”

     Mr Kwok Wai-keung will also move a motion on supporting elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 on all fronts.  The motion states: “That given the absence of a statutory retirement age in Hong Kong at present, quite a number of employees are forced to retire upon reaching the age of 60; it is often difficult for them to rejoin the labour market after retirement due to such factors as age, physical conditions, inadequacy of suitable job positions and age discrimination, and as the age thresholds for application for most social services and welfare benefits for the elderly provided by the Government are 65 or above, elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 are unable to receive such support; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to review the elderly policies and services of various departments and support elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 on all fronts, such as employment, welfare, healthcare and transport, including:

     (1) enacting legislation against age discrimination in workplace;

     (2) formulating rules and regulations on re-employment of elderly retirees and rationalizing the Mandatory Provident Fund arrangements, so as to enhance the employment protection for elderly persons aged between 60 and 64;

     (3) enhancing the employment support for elderly persons aged between 60 and 64, providing designated employment programmes and retraining courses for them, and encouraging the provision of more job positions and industries suitable for the elderly in the market;

     (4) offering subsidies to elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 who have taken up employment again as well as their employers, and providing the $2 concessionary transport fare to elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 to further motivate them to take up employment again;

     (5) adjusting the age requirements for various types of elderly welfare for the benefit of elderly persons aged between 60 and 64, including the Elderly Health Care Vouchers, the Old Age Living Allowance, the Old Age Allowance and the Elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance; and

     (6) formulating measures and allocating resources to motivate elderly persons aged between 60 and 64 to actively participate in neighbourhood mutual help activities, volunteer work and social affairs in the community, thereby encouraging them to make continuous contribution to society.”

     Prof Joseph Lee, Dr Priscilla Leung, Mr Kwong Chun-yu, Dr Fernando Cheung and Mr Leung Che-cheung will move separate amendments to Mr Kwok Wai-keung’s motion.

     Meanwhile, Mr Wong Ting-kwong will move a motion under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Protected Places (Amendment) Order 2019, the Protected Places (Safety) (Authorized Guards) (Amendment) Order 2019, the Military Installations Closed Areas (Amendment) Order 2019, the Shipping and Port Control (Amendment) Regulation 2019 and the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2019 laid on the table of the Council on May 8, 2019 to the meeting of June 26, 2019.

     During the meeting, Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies. 

     The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk).  Please note that the agenda is subject to change, and the latest information about the agenda could be found on the LegCo Website.

     Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Chamber of the LegCo Complex.  They may reserve seats by calling 3919 3399 during office hours.  Members of the public can also watch or listen to the meeting via the Webcast system on the LegCo Website. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (May 27) investigating a case of severe paediatric influenza B infection and an influenza B outbreak at a secondary school in Wan Chai District, and reminded members of the public who have not yet received seasonal influenza vaccination in the 2018-19 season that they can still receive it for personal protection against seasonal influenza.

     The severe paediatric case involves a 12-year-old boy with good past health, who has presented with fever and cough since May 24 and convulsion on May 25. He attended a general practitioner on May 24 for medical attention and was taken to the Accident and Emergency Department of Prince of Wales Hospital on May 25 and was admitted for management on the same day.

     His nasopharyngeal aspirate tested positive for influenza B virus upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnosis was influenza B infection complicated with encephalopathy. He is now in a stable condition.

     Initial enquiries revealed that the patient had not received seasonal influenza vaccination for the current season and had travelled to Shantou during the incubation period. His home contacts have remained asymptomatic so far.

     The influenza B outbreak at a secondary school in Wan Chai District affected 19 boys aged 12 to 14 and one female staff member, who developed fever, cough and sore throat since May 18. Among them, 19 sought medical attention and two of them required hospitalisation. All are in a stable condition. The respiratory specimen of one student tested positive for influenza B upon laboratory testing.

     Officers of the CHP have conducted a site visit and advised the school to adopt infection control measures against respiratory tract infections. The school has been placed under medical surveillance.

     A spokesman for the CHP said, “To prevent outbreaks of influenza and other respiratory infections, it is of prime importance that students with fever, regardless of the presence of respiratory symptoms, should not be allowed to attend school. They should seek medical advice and avoid school till 48 hours after the fever has subsided. Schools should also measure and record students’ body temperature properly.”

     Schools are reminded to follow the Guidelines on Prevention of Communicable Diseases on preventive and control measures as well as management of outbreaks, which should be reported to the CHP for prompt follow-up.

     “Although the winter influenza season has ended, members of the public aged 6 months or above, except those with known contraindications, who have not yet received seasonal influenza vaccination in the 2018-19 season can still receive it for personal protection against seasonal influenza,” the spokesman said.

     “Meanwhile, the public should continue to adopt strict personal, hand and environmental hygiene practices against respiratory illnesses and other infectious diseases,” the spokesman added.

     The public may visit the CHP’s influenza page and weekly Flu Express for more information. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:      A luncheon between the Legislative Council (LegCo) Members and the Consuls-General (CGs) as well as Honorary Consuls (HCs) in Hong Kong was held today… read more