"A Story of Two Celestials in the Mortal World" is one of the classic repertories of renowned Cantonese virtuosi Fung Wong Nui and So Siu-tong, but has not been staged since the 1970s. Some fifty years later, thanks to Ko … read more
To allow more people to visit the declared monument King Yin Lei to appreciate and learn about its architectural features and history, two additional public open days will be held in November for free. &… read more
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, after attending a radio programme today (October 15):
Reporter: Mr Yeung, can I ask you an English question? During the programme, some callers expressed their concerns about the teaching quality of teachers. But then through the Policy Address, the policy about all-graduate teaching force, do you think it would help improve the quality of teachers?
Secretary for Education: I think, by and large, the quality of our teachers is very good. But our teachers need to keep themselves updated on the latest development in education and also to continuously upgrade themselves. By adopting an all-graduate policy on teachers, we are encouraging more qualified teachers or qualified students in future to join the teaching force. That’s how we think in the longer term we could improve the quality of teachers in the sector.
Reporter: Why having a high qualification? You believe that the quality of teachers would also be a lot better?
Secretary for Education: Of course, all teachers need to have sufficient training and throughout their career they also have to upgrade themselves. But I think, at least it shows that the Government highly values the teaching force in our society and we could attract more talent into this area.
Reporter: One question on the schools in the Greater Bay Area. What is the actual target? And you just said it’s for Hong Kong people, not Mainlanders. Can you talk about that?
Secretary for Education: During our thinking process, our focus is on Hong Kong people. So when we talk about setting up schools in the Greater Bay Area offering Hong Kong curriculum, we only have the Hong Kong people in mind. But of course, it all depends on all the future negotiations and developments. Thank you.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (October 14) extended her congratulations to Hong Kong athletes on achieving the best ever results in the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games, noting that their distinguished performa… read more
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, attended a TV programme this morning (October 14) to elaborate on the initiatives in the 2018 Policy Address and visited an old building in Sai Ying Pun in the afternoon to know more about support measures the residents need in carrying out building repair and maintenance works and introduce to them relevant measures in the Policy Address.
Accompanied by the Director of Buildings, Mr Cheung Tin-cheung; the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Alfred Sit; the Director (Building Rehabilitation) of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), Mr Daniel Ho and the District Officer (Central & Western) Mrs Susanne Wong, Mrs Lam visited a 52-year-old building on Wilmer Street, Sai Ying Pun and met with residents who are also members of the owners’ corporation. They briefed her on the 13-storeyed building’s repair and maintenance works in the past and works needed in the future. She also inspected areas of the building where repair works will be carried out and the lift. She then paid a home visit to an elderly resident to understand her daily life and introduce to her measures rolled out by the Government to support building repair and maintenance works. Mrs Lam noted that the building has applied for the subsidy schemes by the URA and plans to strengthen its fire safety standards and carry out the necessary repair works. The residents welcomed the initiative in the Policy Address to help home owners in need expedite lift modernisation.
“Hong Kong is facing the challenge posed by ageing buildings. Strengthening building rehabilitation will not only help protect the lives of residents and passers-by and improve the living environment of residents, it will also enhance the adaptability of buildings to extreme weather conditions brought by climate change. In the Policy Address last year, I proposed to allocate $3 billion to launch “Operation Building Bright 2.0″ and devote $2 billion to subsidise eligible owners to undertake fire safety enhancement measures. The relevant schemes have already been rolled out. In the Policy Address this year, I further proposed to launch in partnership with the URA the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme with a provision of around $2.5 billion to subsidise lift modernisation for aged buildings to safeguard public safety, with additional subsidy for eligible elderly owner-occupiers. I look forward to launching the scheme in the first quarter of next year,” Mrs Lam said.
In addition to rolling out various subsidy schemes to help owners in need enhance building safety, relevant government departments will collaborate with the URA to assist building owners who have participated in the above-mentioned schemes to build in corruption prevention safeguards in their building repair and maintenance projects and to provide more information on building rehabilitation and market information so that the processes of tendering for contractors will be conducted in a fair, just and competitive manner.
