The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (March 22) urged people visiting cemeteries and columbaria to pay respects to ancestors during the coming Ching Ming Festival to keep the environment clean and dispose of used containers properly to prevent mosquito breeding.
 
     An FEHD spokesman said the department will provide special cleaning services at public cemeteries and columbaria during the festival period.
 
     "We will deploy more staff to clear undergrowth and remove rubbish, and empty bottles and containers left behind by grave sweepers, to keep the environment clean. We will also remove water in containers and incense burners and level the ground surface to prevent accumulation of water. Furthermore, additional litter bins and toilet facilities will be provided," he said.
 
     The spokesman urged the public to co-operate by clearing stagnant water and rubbish before leaving to prevent mosquito breeding. Containers such as lunch boxes, drink cans, plastic bags and buckets for burning incense should also be removed. 
 
     "As a precaution against mosquitoes, grave sweepers are advised to wear light-coloured long-sleeved tops and trousers and apply insect repellent to exposed parts of their body," he said.
 
     In addition to public announcements, notices and banners will be displayed at public cemeteries and columbaria to appeal for public co-operation in taking anti-mosquito action. Managers of private cemeteries have also been advised to take similar precautions against mosquitoes.
 
     To protect the environment and to prevent hill fires, members of the public are encouraged to replace incense burning with flowers when paying tribute to their ancestors. In addition, grave sweepers should take extra care when burning incense, which should only be carried out inside a designated joss paper furnace or iron bucket. People should make sure that all fires have gone out before leaving. Staff of the department will step up patrols at public cemeteries and columbaria during the period. In the event of a hill fire, grave sweepers should remain calm and immediately notify officers on-site.
 
     The Government encourages the public to place additional cremated ashes into public niches to let loved ones stay together or to consider using a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way of handling ashes of the deceased, including scattering the ashes in Gardens of Remembrance or at sea. Those who have created a memorial webpage on the website of the Internet Memorial Service (www.memorial.gov.hk) provided by the FEHD can pay tribute to their beloved online or through the mobile application anywhere and anytime. Family members and friends can also share memories and experiences through the webpage. FEHD has set up a Green Burial Central Register to enable the public to register their wish for Green Burial.
 
     The spokesman also appealed to grave sweepers to make maximum use of public transport during the Ching Ming Festival. Access to Cape Collinson Crematorium, Diamond Hill Crematorium, Fu Shan Crematorium, Kwai Chung Crematorium, Wo Hop Shek Crematorium and Wo Hop Shek Cemetery will be closed to all vehicles while the special traffic and transport arrangements are in operation, except for those with special permission.
 
     For details of the special traffic and transport arrangements in the vicinity of cemeteries and crematoria during the Ching Ming Festival, please visit the Transport Department website (www.td.gov.hk).

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (March 22) released the latest grading of water quality of nine gazetted beaches that are open for swimming.

     Five beaches were rated as good (Grade 1) and four as fair (Grade 2).

Grade 1 beaches are:    
 

Grade 2 beaches are:   
  

     Compared with the grading released last week, Big Wave Bay Beach and Golden Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2.

     "The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches," the EPD spokesman said.

     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.

     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain.  Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.

     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend.  The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.

     The Transport Department today (March 22) announced that two auctions of traditional vehicle registration marks will be held on April 6 (Saturday) and 7 (Sunday), in Meeting Room S421, L4, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, respectively.

     "A total of 320 vehicle registration marks will be put up for public sale at each auction. The lists of marks have been posted at the department's website, www.td.gov.hk," a department spokesman said.

     Applicants who have paid a deposit of $1,000 to reserve a mark for auction should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price of $1,000). Otherwise, the mark may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(a) Successful bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(i) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) the identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) a crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.
 
(b) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted.

(c) A vehicle registration mark can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(d) Special registration marks are non-transferable. Where the ownership of a motor vehicle with a special registration mark is transferred, the allocation of the special registration mark shall be cancelled.

(e) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the registration mark to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the registration mark within 12 months, allocation of the mark will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of Vehicle Registration Marks, which can be downloaded from the department's website, www.td.gov.hk.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met with the visiting Kaohsiung City Mayor, Mr Han Kuo-yu, this morning (March 22) and hosted a lunch for him at Government House. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, were also present.
 
     Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Han's first trip to Hong Kong after his assumption of office to attend an agricultural product promotion event in the afternoon and conduct other visits. She pointed out that Hong Kong and Taiwan have frequent trade, economic and people-to-people exchanges and that the two places are major trading partners and sources of tourists for each other. Hong Kong is an international financial, trade, transportation and logistics centre where many Taiwanese enterprises have established a presence, covering financial services, innovation and technology, catering and consumer products, to leverage Hong Kong's advantages to open up the Mainland and overseas markets. Mrs Lam said she welcomes more high-quality agricultural and fisheries products to be exported from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, or re-exported via Hong Kong to other places in the future. She also expressed the hope that Mr Han's visit will promote further exchanges between Hong Kong and Kaohsiung, presenting more room for co-operation.

    

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

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