The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (November 11) led a Hong Kong delegation to attend a seminar in Beijing on the 40th anniversary of the participation of Hong Kong and Macao in the country's reform and opening up and addressed the seminar.

     In the Morning, Mrs Lam, together with the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki and other members of the delegation attended the seminar on the 40th anniversary of Hong Kong and Macao's participation in the reform and opening up of the country at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. The seminar, co-organised by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, reviewed the history of Hong Kong and Macao's participation in the reform and opening up of the country, and looked ahead to the key development aspects of the country's further reform and opening up as well as the role of Hong Kong and Macao in the overall development of the country.

     Addressing the seminar, Mrs Lam said that Hong Kong has leveraged its strengths to meet the country's needs during the 40 years of the reform and opening up of the country. She said that while Hong Kong helped the country with capital, talent, management expertise and international marketing network at the beginning of the opening up and served as a platform to provide services for Mainland enterprises to go global in the later period, the city whose role had been evolving along the way became an international centre of finance, trade, maritime and professional services. She pointed out that with the further reform and opening up of the country, Hong Kong has equipped itself in a few aspects to integrate into the overall development of the nation, including maintaining the city's advantage of "One Country, Two Systems"; consolidating and enhancing the traditional industries that enjoy advantages, especially the financial services industry; forging ahead innovation and technology; seizing the opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; and giving full play to Hong Kong's status as the freest economy in the world to contribute to the country's promotion of free trade and investment.

     Mrs Lam and members of the delegation then attended a lunch hosted by the NDRC and visited the Palace Museum afterwards. They were introduced by the Director of the Palace Museum, Dr Shan Jixiang, the latest development of the Palace Museum and the work of its Hospital for Conservation. Members of the delegation were pleased to know that the precious collection of watches of the Palace Museum will be the theme of a large-scale exhibition to be staged by the Palace Museum in Hong Kong this year.

     Mrs Lam and members of the delegation will continue their visit to Beijing tomorrow (November 12).

        

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     The car park at Hong Kong Wetland Park is full. Motorists going to the Park can use the nearby public car parks at Tin Heng Estate, Tin Yat Estate, Grandeur Terrace or Tin Yip Road.
 
     Members of the public are encouraged to take public transport to the Park.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients infected with Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 in a female ward for severe intellectual disability, the spokesperson for Siu Lam Hospital made the following update today (November 11):

     One more 70-year-old patient in the ward had presented with respiratory symptoms. Appropriate viral tests had been arranged for the patient and the test results were positive to Parainfluenza Virus Type 3. The patient concerned is being treated under isolation with stable condition.

     Admission to the ward has been suspended and restricted visiting has been imposed. Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. All other patients in the ward are under close surveillance.

     The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.

The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:

     The impact of excessive plastic waste has aroused grave concern worldwide in recent years. As plastic waste is hardly degradable, it has led to serious marine pollution after entering the ocean. In the light of this, the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC), the Environmental Protection Department and the Education Bureau have jointly launched the NO Disposables Campus Award under the 17th Hong Kong Green School Award in the 2018/19 school year, with WWF-Hong Kong appointed as the technical consultant, to encourage primary and secondary schools to set their goals for avoiding the use of disposables and share good practices on waste reduction on school campuses.

     The ECC calls on all local primary and secondary schools to raise awareness of the plastic pollution problem and participate actively in the NO Disposables Campus Award and go plastic-and-disposable-free with every sector in the community. Schools can complete the online application form at www.wwf.org.hk/en/no_disposables_campus.cfm, and a confirmation email will be sent to them within one week. The application deadline is December 3 (Monday). For details of the Award, please refer to the application guide at
school.ecc.org.hk/eccschool/uploadfiles/english/File/NO%20Disposables%20Campus%20Award_Final%20(Eng).pdf.

     In addition to award certificates, schools with outstanding performance in going plastic-and-disposable-free may also be invited to share their valuable experience in establishing a NO Disposables Campus with the education sector and the media at the Presentation Ceremony of the 17th Hong Kong Green School Award to be held next year.

     For enquiries, please call 2835 1738 or 2835 2379.

     To show care and respect for the elderly, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) has organised a joint concession programme with the local catering and retail sectors to offer special discounts and concessions to Senior Citizen Card holders on Senior Citizens Day next Sunday (November 18).

     An SWD spokesman said that encouraging responses had been received from the above sectors, and over 1 300 outlets throughout the 18 districts have pledged to join the programme and offer at least a 10 per cent discount or other concession to holders of the Senior Citizen Card for their purchases on the event day. The participating restaurants and shops will put up the event poster (please refer to the Annex) at prominent places for easy identification.

     The Senior Citizen Card Scheme (SCCS) was launched by the SWD in 1994 with an objective to promote care and respect for the elderly. Under the Scheme, Senior Citizen Cards are issued to eligible Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above for them to enjoy concessions or discounts offered by government departments, public organisations and private companies. The Scheme has gained wide support from different sectors of society since its implementation. More than 1.92 million Senior Citizen Cards have been issued up to now, and over 2 700 participating companies and organisations with some 8 500 outlets are providing a wide variety of concessions to elderly persons.

     Details of the joint concession programme and participating restaurants and shops can be downloaded from the SCCS mobile application and are available on the SWD website: www.swd.gov.hk.

     For further enquiries, please contact the Senior Citizen Card Office on 2152 2846 or 2152 2847 during office hours.