Author Archives: hksar gov

     Police advise motorists that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Sha Tin to facilitate the race meeting tomorrow (July 8).      The arrangements will come into effect two hours b… read more

     Hong Kong Ladies Dynamic Association Limited has been issued a Public Subscription Permit to hold a territory-wide flag sale from 7am to 12.30pm today (July 7), a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said. 

     For enquiries, please call the SWD’s hotline at 2343 2255, or the Charitable Fund-raising Control Team at 2832 4311 during office hours. Information on the flag days of the month is available at the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_whatsnew). Permits for flag days containing contact information of the flag-selling organisations and information on the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_pubsvc/page_controlofc/sub_recentlyap). For enquiries about the detailed flag-selling arrangements, please contact the individual flag-selling organisations.

     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities covered by the Public Subscription Permit issued by the SWD have also been uploaded to the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/fundraising).

     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added. read more

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Lok Ma Chau this morning (July 6) in which two men, aged 50 and 42, died.      At about 8.58 am, the 42-year-old man got on a light goods vehicle (LGV)… read more

     Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the cocktail reception in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Airport this evening (July 6):
      
Jack (Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Jack So), Fred (Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam), members of the Airport Authority Board, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
      
     Good evening.  I am delighted to join you tonight in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong International Airport which we are so proud of.
      
     Your timing is certainly on the mark.  It was 20 years ago this very day that Cathay Pacific flight CX889, from New York, became the first commercial service to touch down at our brand-new airport.  That was the beginning of our steep climb, our rise and shine as one of the world’s major aviation hubs.
      
     The numbers certainly bear that out.  In 1997, its last full year of service, Kai Tak Airport handled 10.2 million passengers. Last year, Hong Kong International Airport, or Chek Lap Kok, welcomed some 73 million passengers and more than five million tonnes of air cargo.  That makes us the world’s third-busiest international passenger airport. It also makes us the world’s busiest cargo airport – and that for the past eight years in a row.
      
     We’ve become just as popular with the world’s airlines.  Indeed, the number of airlines with operations here has grown from 60 to more than one hundred, providing over 1,100 flights a day to more than 220 destinations around the world.
      
     Such results have not gone unnoticed. Over the past two decades, the airport has been honoured with more than 70 “best airport” awards.
      
     And the best is yet to come.  Construction of the airport’s three-runway system has been in place for nearly two years now, with completion scheduled for 2024.  At that point, the airport will be able to welcome about 100 million passengers a year while handling some nine million tonnes of cargo annually.
      
     This timing should be fortuitous, given the vast promise of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, with its collective population of over 69 million busy, prosperous people.  The imminent completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will slash travelling time between Hong Kong and Guangdong as well as Macao, making our airport even more accessible.
      
     The major Pearl River Delta airports are also expanding to cater to the expected soaring of demand, but I am confident that our integrated multi-modal infrastructure – embracing air, sea and land – will ensure that Hong Kong remains the Bay Area’s international transport hub.
      
     More than moving people and cargo around the region and the world, our airport will fly on sustainable talent.  In that regard, I’m pleased to note that the Airport Authority and France’s Groupe ADP last month signed two MOUs.  These will boost co-operation between Hong Kong International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports.  These agreements cover a variety of areas, ranging from airport management to talent development, including a staff exchange programme.
      
     I’m pleased as well that our International Aviation Academy and the Vocational Training Council also signed an agreement last month. Together, they will work to expand our local talent base, training tomorrow’s professionals to support the airport’s long-term development.  Going further, the Academy will also offer training and exchange opportunities to our friends along the Belt and Road, sharing Hong Kong’s rich experience in aviation and strengthening people to people bonds.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, the Hong Kong International Airport is among our most important infrastructure.  And the AA Board, under the able leadership of Jack, and the management led by Fred are to be commended for leveraging on the strengths of our airport with two major initiatives launched earlier this year, namely the SkyCity, a 25-hectare integrated development right next to the airport comprising retail complexes, dining areas, hotels, entertainment facilities and offices; and a major air logistics centre which, scheduled to commence operation in 2023, will become the smart hub in Asia serving the fast-growing global e-commerce business.  So my heartfelt congratulations to Hong Kong International Airport on its 20th anniversary, and I wish it all the best in the next 20 years.  I also wish everyone here tonight a very enjoyable evening.
      
     Thank you very much.
 

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
 
     Following the announcement by the Department of Health (DH) today (July 6) on the recall of an anti-hypertensive drug “Valtensin 80mg tablets and 160mg tablets”, the Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson said all public hospitals have been notified to cease prescribing the drug concerned so to dovetail DH’s decision and also for precautionary measure. Arrangement would be made to dispense other anti-hypertensive medications to patients.
 
     The spokesperson pointed out that the anti-hypertensive drug concerned is generally prescribed for patients to treat high blood pressure, and heart failure. According to the assessment of clinical experts, there is no immediate risk to patients for continual intake of the drug. The experts are of the views that there shall be a well balance of possible risk factors between continual intake and abrupt stopping of the said drug. The latter might cause adverse effect on the patient’s condition. Hence it is recommended to the out-patients who had been dispensed with the drug not to stop taking.
 
     “There are currently around 30,000 patients in public hospitals being dispensed with the anti-hypertensive drug concerned. Their condition will be reviewed by the attending doctor when they attend their next follow-up consultation at the clinic,” the spokesperson added.
 
     The spokesperson said the Authority will continue to closely liaise with the DH in obtaining more information about the investigation on the recalled drug. Patients who have any enquiries related to the recalled anti-hypertensive drug can call the public hospitals as appended below: