Author Archives: hksar gov

     Hong Kong Police arrested 4,283 people and seized dangerous drugs and illicit goods worth about HK$310 million during a tripartite anti-crime joint operation mounted by the Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau Police authorities between May 15 and August 15 this year.
      
     The police authorities of Hong Kong, Guangdong, and Macau have spared no effort to combat triad activities and organised crimes, especially cross-boundary syndicates. The intelligence-led enforcement operation, codenamed “THUNDERBOLT 18”, was aimed at curbing the illegal activities of triad societies and organised crime syndicates, neutralising cross-boundary crimes, and interdicting the criminals’ source of income.
      
     During the operation, Hong Kong Police conducted searches of some 6,300 locations including discos, amusement game centres, massage establishments, nightclubs and residential units. A total of 4,283 persons were arrested for various offences, including triad-related offences, drug offences, managing vice establishments, breach of conditions of stay, illegal gambling, criminal damage, wounding and possession of arms or ammunition without license.
      
     The arrested persons included 2,227 men and 2,056 women, aged between 12 and 72. Amongst them, 1,259 were Mainlanders and 219 were non-ethnic Chinese.
      
     During the operation, Hong Kong Police seized dangerous drugs and psychotropic drugs worth about $90 million, including cannabis, ketamine, cocaine, ice, heroin and midazolam, etc. Police also seized over 205,800 obscene and pirated DVDs valued at about $3.7 million. Other seizure also included large batch of weapons and imitation firearms, and about 150,000 rolls of contraband cigarettes.

     Hong Kong Police would continue to maintain close liaison and exchange intelligence with the Mainland and Macau police authorities with a view to interdicting cross-boundary triad activities to uphold the public confidence in law and order. read more

     The highly acclaimed Dutch violinist Janine Jansen will collaborate with Ukrainian-Australian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk for a duo recital in Hong Kong in September.
 
     The recital will be staged at 8pm on September 23 (Sunday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall. The duo programme is full of nuance and virtuosity, including sonatas by Schumann, Brahms and Franck, as well as Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances”.
 
     Born in Soest, the Netherlands, Janine Jansen began playing violin at the age of 6. Her Concertgebouw debut in 1997 made her famous in Holland and she was named a BBC New Generation Artist after her London debut with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the London Philharmonia Orchestra in 2002. In 2003, Jansen received the Dutch Music Prize from the Ministry of Culture – the highest distinction in the Netherlands – and won the Edison Classic Public Award (the Netherlands) four times. She has also won the ECHO Klassik award (Germany), the Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist Award (the UK), the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Germany), the NDR Musikpreis for outstanding artistic achievement (Germany) and the Concertgebouw Prize (the Netherlands).
 
     Born in 1984, Alexander Gavrylyuk took both the coveted Gold Medal and the award for Best Performance of a Classical Concerto at the internationally renowned Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in 2005. Since his debut in 2010 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gavrylyuk has appeared with the philharmonic orchestras of New York, Los Angeles, Warsaw, Moscow and Rotterdam. His solo recitals in Moscow Conservatory’s Grand Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall have also been highly acclaimed.
 
     “Encore Series: Violin and Piano Duo Concert by Janine Jansen and Alexander Gavrylyuk” is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Tickets priced at $200, $280, $350 and $420 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_476.html.
 
     A pre-concert talk entitled “The Succession in a Musical Romance” (to be conducted in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm at the North Committee Room, 7/F, High Block, Hong Kong City Hall. The speaker will be Calvin Lai. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. read more

     The Labour Department will hold a seminar on productivity assessment for employees with disabilities under the Statutory Minimum Wage regime on September 21 (Friday) at 10am at the Multi-purpose Hall of the Princess Alexandra Community Centre, 60 Tai Ho Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories. Enrolment is now open.
 
     Details of productivity assessment for employees with disabilities under the Minimum Wage Ordinance will be introduced in the seminar. Employers, persons with disabilities and their family members as well as representatives from rehabilitation organisations are welcome to attend.
 
     The seminar will be conducted in Cantonese and a sign language interpretation service will be provided. Admission is free and seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The enrolment deadline is September 17 (Monday). The enrolment form can be downloaded from the department’s website (www.labour.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 2852 3856. read more

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr Ying Yong, at Government House this evening (August 22).

     Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Ying’s visit to Hong Kong with his delegation to attend the 4th Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference to be held on August 24. She said Hong Kong and Shanghai have been enjoying a close relationship which has much room for further development, and for this reason she visited Shanghai soon after her assumption of office last year, meeting with the then Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, Mr Han Zheng, and Mr Ying. Mrs Lam said she was very pleased that the two sides agreed to hold the Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference in Hong Kong at the meeting.

     Mrs Lam said that the governments of the two sides have done a lot of work for the conference in the past months. She expressed the belief that the two sides would reach consensus to strengthen co-operation in various areas at the meeting and sign a number of agreements covering areas including legal services, education, commerce and trade, innovation and technology (I&T), culture and finance after the meeting.  On I&T, as the leading group for the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area led by the Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, confirmed the support by the Central Government for the establishment of an international I&T hub in the Bay Area, Mrs Lam expressed the hope to strengthen collaboration with Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone, which are advancing rapidly on I&T development, from the perspective of regional development to contribute together to the building of an innovation-oriented country.

     Noting that Mr Ying would also attend a youth forum and visit waste treatment and elderly care facilities during his stay in Hong Kong, she said she hopes that Mr Ying would better understand Hong Kong’s latest developments in various aspects, so that more room would be explored for co-operation and exchanges between Hong Kong and Shanghai in the future.

  

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, at a media session at Central Government Offices, Tamar, after the Fight Crime Committee meeting this afternoon (August 22):   Repor… read more