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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Constitutional Affairs visited the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) today (February 13) to observe a demonstration of electronic counting of votes.

     Accompanied by representatives of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau and REO, Members received a briefing on the functions of electronic vote-counting machines and observed a demonstration of the operation of two types of electronic vote-counting machines, namely "Machines with paper counting function only" and "Machines with both vote recognition and paper counting functions", to gain a better understanding of the details of a pilot scheme of electronic counting of votes proposed by the Government.

     The Panel on Constitutional Affairs will discuss "Launching a pilot scheme of electronic counting in the 2020 Legislative Council General Election" at its meeting next Monday (February 18).  The agenda and discussion papers for the meeting are available at the following webpage: www.legco.gov.hk/yr18-19/english/panels/ca/agenda/ca20190218.htm.

     Members participating in the visit included the Chairman of the Panel, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan; Panel members Mr Paul Tse, Ms Claudia Mo, Mr Charles Peter Mok, Dr Helena Wong, Mr Ip Kin-yuen and Dr Cheng Chung-tai; as well as non-Panel member Mr Shiu Ka-chun.

    

     To celebrate the Lunar New Year Lantern Festival, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will present a wide range of activities including festive lantern carnivals and lantern displays for public enjoyment. Admission to all activities is free.
 
     Three Lunar New Year lantern carnivals featuring a variety of activities will be held at North District Park on February 17, at Tin Shui Wai Park and Ginza Square on February 18 and at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC) Piazza on February 19 from 7.30pm to 10pm.
 
     Folk craft masters from Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong will give demonstrations on Xiguan copperware making, Luxi murals, juci (ceramic repair), guqin making and dough figurine crafting at the three carnivals. The Hubei Arts Troupe, supported by the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will also showcase spectacular ethnic songs, dance and martial arts performances. In addition, dazzling lanterns will be on display at the three venues from tomorrow (February 14) to February 19 for public enjoyment.
 
     The first lantern carnival, to be held at North District Park on February 17, will feature the theme of "Sweet Melodies of Spring Lantern". Colourful lantern displays will light up the Park including a 5-metre-high revolving lantern, lanterns of little pigs and fishes, and impressive bouquet and windmill lanterns. In addition to the above programmes, the carnival will feature Chinese juggling, kunqu and Taoist music performances, and participatory activities such as workshops and a self-help lantern riddle quiz corner.
 
     The carnival at Tin Shui Wai Park and Ginza Square on February 18, with the theme of "Embracing Tradition", will showcase programmes such as nanyin, Chiu Chow puppetry, face-changing and juggling performances, in addition to workshops and a self-help lantern riddle quiz corner. The lawn and fountain of Tin Shui Wai Park will be decorated with colourful traditional lanterns including a Chinese Zodiac Garden, Pigsy from "Journey to the West", a phoenix lantern over 4m high and the Eight Immortal lanterns. 
 
     The carnival at the HKCC Piazza, themed "Date under the Moon, and Love is all around", falls on the Lunar New Year Lantern Festival. The carnival will feature a variety of music and dance performances, a circus show, anecdotes and a lantern riddle quiz corner. Festive lanterns are also on display to add a joyful ambience to the Lunar New Year celebrations. A thematic lantern display, "Glittering Peacocks in Full Bloom", running until February 24, showcases various eye-catching peacock lanterns including a giant peacock lantern over 5m tall and 15m long. Its long glittering tail forms an archway between two pools. Furthermore, the exhibition on traditional paper crafting, presented by the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Office, will be held from tomorrow to February 19 to demonstrate the craftsmanship of a local master. The exhibition will present 11 palace lanterns and a revolving lantern with illustrations of Chinese zodiac animals and the ICH items of Hong Kong by a local illustrator.
 
     The programme "Youth Night" will be held at the above three venues on the date preceding each carnival from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, showcasing the energy and creativity of young people with multifaceted programmes.
 
     For more information on the above events, please call 2591 1340 or visit the website: www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/eo/territoryevents/lunarnewyearlantern/lunarnewyearlantern2019.html.

          

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on fraudulent website, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     A woman was fined $6,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (February 13) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.

     The courts heard that in May last year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected a suspected unlicensed guesthouse on Castle Peak Road in Kwai Chung. During the inspection, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented a room in the guesthouse on a daily basis.
      
     According to the OLA's records, the guesthouse did not possess a licence under the Ordinance on the day of inspection. The woman responsible for managing the premises was charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
      
     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
           
     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (February 13) reported a suspected case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit. The case is detailed below:
 

     
     "Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels; avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry; and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     Locally, the CHP's surveillance with public and private hospitals, with practising doctors and at boundary control points is firmly in place. Inbound travellers and members of the public who recently visited the Middle East and developed fever or lower respiratory symptoms within 14 days will be classified as suspected MERS cases. They will be taken to public hospitals for isolation and management until their specimens test negative for MERS-CoV.

     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, MERS statistics in affected areas, the CHP's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the World Health Organization's latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP's health advice on MERS.