A red tide has been sighted over the past week, an inter-departmental red tide working group reported today (August 3).
 
     The red tide was spotted by staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) on August 1 in Tolo Harbour including the Yim Tin Tsai fish culture zone.
  
     The red tide still persists. No associated death of fish has been reported.
 
     A spokesman for the working group said, "The red tide was formed by Scrippsiella trochoidea, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic."
 
     The AFCD urged mariculturists at Yim Tin Tsai, Yim Tin Tsai (East), Yung Shue Au and Lo Fu Wat fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.
 
     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD's proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public.

     To commemorate the comedy legend Leung Sing-por on the 110th anniversary of his birth, the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, in association with UA CineHub, is holding the exhibition "Leung Sing-por・The Silhouette on Stage and Silver Screen" from today (August 3) to October 29 at the 1/F Foyer of the HKFA. The exhibition revisits Leung's silver screen career and his signature acting style, which integrated the techniques of Cantonese opera, as a tribute to the master performing artist.
 
     Affectionately known as Uncle Por (1908-1981), Leung was born Leung Si-hoi in a renowned Cantonese opera family in Singapore. In 1939, Ma Si-tsang invited Leung to come to Hong Kong for career development. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Leung and his family were forced to move to other places including Guangzhou. Leung returned to Hong Kong after the war and, becoming chubby, he made a transition in his operatic role from wenwusheng (civil and military male role) to chousheng (comic male role). It was through the latter that Leung became known as the "King of Chousheng" for his virtuoso status.
 
     Leung was acclaimed for his ability to move deftly between stage and screen, fusing the two art forms into a performance style uniquely his own. In 1941, Leung made his on-screen debut in "Chaos in the Universe", and he starred in over 400 movies afterwards, essaying many memorable characters like Leung Sing-sung who poses as the manager of a tycoon's company with a smoking cigar, the Dunce, Silly Wong and Obese Cantonese. Leung was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1977 Honours List for his artistic contributions, making him the first Hong Kong artist to receive the honour.
 
     In addition, the exhibition will also be held from August 18 to October 31 at the cinema of UA iSquare.
 
     Admission to the exhibition is free. For details, please call 2739 2139 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/HKFA/en_US/web/hkfa/programmesandexhibitions/highlights/highlights52.html.

  

     The Department of Justice today (August 3) reminded potential applicants for the post of Government Counsel (GC) that they are required to obtain a certain level of results in the Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) in order to be qualified for the post.

     The GC recruitment exercise will be conducted in around late August/early September this year.  Similar to last year's recruitment exercise, applicants will be required to obtain a Level 2 result in the Use of English (UE) paper and a Level 1 result in the Use of Chinese (UC) paper of the CRE.

     In this connection, Level 5 or above in English Language in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) or Grade C or above in Use of English in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) or Grade C or above in English Language in the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) are accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE.  Furthermore, Level 4 in Chinese Language in the HKDSEE or Grade D in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature in the HKALE are accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UC paper of the CRE.  Other equivalent qualifications can also be found at www.csb.gov.hk/english/recruit/cre/949.html.

     Under exceptional circumstances a limited number of applicants who do not meet the requisite Chinese language requirement may be appointed subject to the operational needs of the department.

     Since 2008, applicants for the GC post should also take a Basic Law Test (BLT).  While not mandatory, the results of the BLT will be taken into account in considering the suitability of a candidate for appointment.

     The next CRE and BLT will be held on October 6 and 13, in Hong Kong.  Prospective GC applicants without the requisite results in the CRE or equivalent and/or those who wish to take the BLT are invited to apply between August 3 and 16, for sitting the relevant examination and/or test.

     Further information on the CRE and BLT is available on the homepage of the Civil Service Bureau (under the "Recruitment" section) at www.csb.gov.hk.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, August 3, 2018 is 104.6 (up 0.6 against yesterday's index).

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (August 3) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches and one non-gazetted beach (Discovery Bay) that are open for swimming.
        
     Twenty-two beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 15 as Fair (Grade 2) and two as Poor (Grade 3).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:        

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

 
Grade 3 beaches are:

 
     Compared with the grading released last week, Cafeteria New Beach, Cafeteria Old Beach, Middle Bay Beach and Stanley Main Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Casam Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 2. 
      
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
      
     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, an EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.
 
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the department's websites on Beach Water Quality (www.beachwq.gov.hk and www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.