The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, will depart Hong Kong for Geneva, Switzerland in the early hours of November 4 to attend the meeting under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to be held from November 6 to 9 (Geneva time). He will be joined by representatives from the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, the Security Bureau, the Department of Justice and the Labour Department.   
 
     A Government spokesperson today (November 2) said, "The officials from the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) Government will attend the meeting as members of China's delegation. During the meeting, the UNHRC will examine China's third report under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism, which incorporates a part concerning the HKSAR. The Chief Secretary for Administration and other representatives of the HKSAR will answer questions in relation to the various human right issues in the HKSAR."
 
     The part concerning the HKSAR in China's third report under the UNHRC Universal Periodic Review mechanism has been uploaded to the website of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (www.cmab.gov.hk/en/press/reports_human.htm).
 
     Mr Cheung will leave Geneva on November 9 (Geneva time) and arrive in Hong Kong the following day. During his absence, the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, will be the Acting Chief Secretary for Administration.

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (November 2) that a site, New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6575 at Kai Tak Area 4B Site 2, Kai Tak, Kowloon, in the 2018-19 Land Sale Programme will be disposed of by public tender. The tender invitation for the lot will commence on November 9 and close on December 21.
            
     New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6575 has a site area of about 9,048 square metres and is designated for private residential purposes. The minimum gross floor area is 33,116 sq m and the maximum gross floor area that may be attained is 55,192 sq m.
      
     Land sale documents including the Form of Tender, the Tender Notice, the Conditions of Sale and the sale plan of the lot will be available for downloading from the LandsD website (www.landsd.gov.hk), and the sale plan will be available for distribution and inspection by the public from November 9, when the particulars of the tender will also be gazetted.   

     With the northeast monsoon successively affecting south China coastal areas, October 2018 was slightly cooler than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean temperature of 25.3 degrees was 0.2 degrees below the normal figure of 25.5 degrees. The monthly rainfall was 104.3 millimetres, slightly above the normal figure of 100.9 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first 10 months of the year was 2077.6 millimetres, a deficit of 11 per cent compared to the normal figure of 2334.0 millimetres for the same period.
 
     Under the influence of the northeast monsoon, the local weather was generally fine and dry from October 1 to 8, with a few morning showers on October 1. With abundant sunshine, temperatures at the Hong Kong Observatory rose to 31.4 degrees on the afternoon of October 5, the highest of the month. Affected by an easterly airstream, there were sunny periods and a few showers on October 9.
 
     A cold front crossed the coastal areas of Guangdong on the afternoon of October 10. Heavy showers associated with the cold front brought more than 20 millimetres of rainfall to most parts of the territory, with more than 40 millimetres of rainfall recorded in the urban areas and Shek Kong. The northeast monsoon brought mainly cloudy and cooler weather, as well as a few rain patches to Hong Kong in the next four days. With an easterly airstream setting in, it was cloudy with showers on October 15.
 
     A weak cold front crossed the coast of Guangdong on the morning of October 16. The associated northeast monsoon brought some rain and slightly cooler weather to Hong Kong on October 16 and 17. Under the influence of a strong easterly airstream, it was windy and cooler with rain patches on October 18. The temperature at the Hong Kong Observatory dropped to 20.9 degrees under the rain on the morning of October 18, the lowest of the month. Apart from a few rain patches, the local weather became gradually brighter during the day on October 19 and 20.
 
     Dominated by an anticyclone above southern China, the local weather became generally fine on October 21 and the next morning. With a weak northeast monsoon arriving at the coast of Guangdong on October 22, the weather turned mainly cloudy with light rain patches in the afternoon and for the next two days. Under the influence of anticyclone aloft, the weather in Hong Kong became brighter with sunny periods on October 25 and 26. A cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong on the night of October 26. Under the influence of the dry northeast monsoon, the weather in Hong Kong became fine and very dry with cooler mornings from October 27 to 30. Meanwhile, tropical cyclone Yutu entered the northern part of the South China Sea and edged closer to the coast of Guangdong on October 31. Locally, it was very dry with winds picking up gradually from the north that day.
 
     Three tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in October 2018.
 
     Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in October are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for October are tabulated in Table 2.
 

     Composer Du Yun, the first Asian woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Music, will team up with librettist Royce Vavrek and international and local musicians and vocalists, to present the Asia premiere of "Angel's Bone" in Hong Kong on November 10 and 11.
 
     "Angel's Bone" melds opera, chamber music, electronic music and cabaret into a searing multi-art performance, exploring the dark effects behind modern-day slavery and human trafficking and probing the twisted psyche of traffickers.
 
     The story tells the plight of two angels who have fallen down to Earth. They are found battered and bruised from their long journey by a middle-class couple who are in the midst of a financial crisis. They set out to nurse the wounded angels back to health, but then lock them in a room, leaving them a claw foot bathtub for a shared bed, and decide to exploit the bodies of the celestial beings for wealth.
 
     Born in Shanghai and now living in New York, Du Yun won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for the production "Angel's Bone" in 2017 and was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2018. Hailed by the New York Times as a groundbreaking artist, she was also listed by the Washington Post as one of the top 35 female composers. Du Yun works at the intersection of orchestral, opera and chamber music, theatre, cabaret, sound installation, electronics and more.
 
     "Angel's Bone", performed in English with Chinese and English surtitles, is one of the programmes of the New Vision Arts Festival (NVAF). It will be staged at 8pm on November 10 and at 3pm on November 11 at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium. Tickets priced at $200, $320, $440 and $560 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the NVAF is celebrating its ninth edition this year and is being held from October 19 to November 18. For programme enquiries and discount schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.

      

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Sunday (November 4) to facilitate a public event to be held on Hong Kong Island.

     The following special traffic arrangements will be implemented between 6am and 11pm:

Road closure
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1. Hollywood Road between Aberdeen Street and Arbuthnot Road;
2. Lyndhurst Terrace between Gage Street and Hollywood Road;
3. Old Bailey Street between Staunton Street and Hollywood Road;
4. Graham Street between Staunton Street and Hollywood Road;
5. Peel Street between Staunton Street and Gage Street;
6. Elgin Street between Staunton Street and Hollywood Road;
7. Vehicles exceeding nine metres in length cannot enter Lyndhurst Terrace between Wellington Street and Gage Street;
8. Vehicles exceeding nine metres in length cannot enter Hollywood Road between Lok Ku Road and Aberdeen Street; and
9. Vehicles exceeding nine meters in length on eastbound Caine Road cannot turn left to northbound Old Bailey Street.

Traffic diversions
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1. Traffic along westbound Queensway and southbound Cotton Tree Drive heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road;
2. Traffic along westbound Queensway and southbound Cotton Tree Drive heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Glenealy, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
3. Traffic along westbound Queensway and southbound Cotton Tree Drive heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via southbound Cotton Tree Drive, southbound Garden Road, westbound Robinson Road, eastbound Castle Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles exceeding nine metres in length;
4. Traffic along westbound Queen’s Road Central near D'Aguilar Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via northbound Pottinger Street, eastbound Des Voeux Road Central, northbound Pedder Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road;
5. Traffic along westbound Queen’s Road Central near D'Aguilar Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via northbound Pottinger Street, eastbound Des Voeux Road Central, northbound Pedder Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Glenealy, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
6. Traffic along northbound Wyndham Street and westbound Queen’s Road Central near D'Aguilar Street heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via westbound Queen’s Road Central, northbound Pottinger Street, eastbound Des Voeux Road Central, northbound Pedder Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, southbound Cotton Tree Drive, southbound Garden Road, westbound Robinson Road, eastbound Castle Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles except exceeding nine metres in length;
7. Traffic along northbound Aberdeen Street and westbound Wellington Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via westbound Wellington Street, westbound Bonham Strand, northbound Hillier Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, eastbound Man Kat Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central , southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road;
8. Traffic along northbound Aberdeen Street and westbound Wellington Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via westbound Wellington Street, westbound Bonham Strand, northbound Hillier Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, eastbound Man Kat Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Glenealy, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
9. Traffic along northbound Aberdeen Street and westbound Wellington Street heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via westbound Wellington Street, westbound Bonham Strand, northbound Hillier Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, eastbound Man Kat Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central , southbound Cotton Tree Drive, southbound Garden Road, westbound Robinson Road, eastbound Castle Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles exceeding nine metres in length;
10. Traffic along westbound Queen’s Road West heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
11. Traffic along westbound Queen’s Road West heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
12. Traffic along eastbound Hollywood Road heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via northbound Lok Ku Road, westbound Queen’s Road Central, northbound Morrison Street, eastbound Des Voeux Road Central, northbound Hillier Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, eastbound Man Kat Street, eastbound Connaught Road Central, southbound Cotton Tree Drive, westbound Upper Albert Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road;
13. Traffic along southbound Bonham Strand and westbound Queen’s Road Central near Morrison Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via westbound Queen’s Road West, southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
14. Traffic along southbound Bonham Strand and westbound Queen’s Road Central near Morrison Street heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via westbound Queen’s Road West, southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight;
15. Traffic along eastbound Caine Road heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via northbound Arbuthnot Road;
16. Traffic along northbound Upper Station Street heading for Wyndham Street will be diverted via eastbound Hollywood Road, northbound Lok Ku Road, westbound Queen’s Road Central, westbound Queen’s Road West, southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Arbuthnot Road, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight; and
17. Traffic along northbound Upper Station Street heading for Staunton Street will be diverted via eastbound Hollywood Road, northbound Lok Ku Road, westbound Queen’s Road Central, westbound Queen’s Road West, southbound Eastern Street, eastbound Hospital Road, eastbound Caine Road and northbound Old Bailey Street, except for vehicles exceeding 5.5 tonnes in gross weight.

Suspension of parking spaces
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     All parking meters on Old Bailey Street will be suspended from 6pm on November 3 to 11pm on November 4.

     All vehicles found illegally parked within the precinct will be towed away without prior notice, and may subject to multiple ticketing.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.