Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, visited Wan Chai District this afternoon (June 22) and called at a co-working space and a rehabilitation workshop. He also exchanged views with members of the Wan Chai District Council (WCDC) on environmental issues.
      
     Accompanied by the District Officer (Wan Chai), Mr Rick Chan, Mr Wong first visited a co-working space company on Whitfield Road. Designed with ample natural daylight, the premises provide a pleasant working environment for start-ups and freelancers. During his visit, Mr Wong talked with young entrepreneurs to better understand their challenges in running start-ups. He also encouraged them to “go green” in business to help reduce carbon emissions and waste.
      
     Afterwards, Mr Wong departed for the Jockey Club Endeavour Workshop + Albert Wu Rainbow Workshop operated by St James’ Settlement. In addition to providing job training opportunities for people with rehabilitation service needs, the workshop also offers a platform for upcycling abandoned items into useful products, which also highlights the environmental awareness of the operating organisations. During the visit, Mr Wong chatted with people who have rehabilitation service needs to learn about their daily rehabilitation training, and praised them for their handicrafts which incorporate environmental designs and the delicious cookies they had made with soybean paste.
      
     Before concluding his itinerary, Mr Wong paid a visit to the WCDC to meet with its Chairman, Mr Stephen Ng, and members to listen to their views on the Government’s environmental policies and learn more about their concerns on district environmental issues. 
      
     Mr Wong said that in order to strengthen the “reduction-first” waste management strategy and encourage members of the public to practise green living, the Government is continuing its efforts to promote Community Green Station (CGS) projects to strengthen support for waste reduction and recycling and environmental education at the community level. Since the site location of the Wan Chai CGS has already been confirmed following consultations with the District Council, the Architectural Services Department is now implementing the construction project according to the design proposed by the first-prize winner of the professional group under the Design Idea Competition for Wan Chai CGS. The construction project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. The Government will continue to listen to the views of the WCDC on the operation and services of the Wan Chai CGS, and jointly implement environmental education activities at the district level.

        

     Prosecution Week 2018 was launched today (June 22) to start a range of activities promoting the rule of law and enhancing public awareness of the criminal justice system of Hong Kong.
 
     Speaking at the event’s opening ceremony, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, said that through a better public awareness of our society’s laws and criminal justice system, citizens, especially our younger generations, would gain a better understanding of and respect for the law and the legal consequences of conduct prohibited by law.
       
     Also speaking at the ceremony, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr David Leung, SC, said prosecutors must act in accordance with the law. They do not consider and would not be influenced by irrelevant considerations.
 
     “In particular, political or individual interests are of no concern for any prosecutor. All prosecutorial decisions are made on the highest professional standard considering only the law, the evidence and the public interest,” Mr Leung said.
 
     He added that there is an open guideline in the Prosecution Code for determining where public interest lies in a particular case.
 
     Held for the seventh consecutive year, Prosecution Week will run until June 29 under the theme “The Law‧Transparency‧Public Interest”. A host of activities including court visits and mock trials for students will be arranged. A law quiz was also organised for the second time, drawing the participation of over 100 students from 17 secondary schools. The winners were presented with awards at today’s ceremony. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:      The Legislative Council (LegCo) and its Committees will hold 19 open meetings, one public hearing and two closed meetings during the week from June 25… read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      The spokesperson for New Territories West Cluster made the following announcement today (June 22):        Eight patients (aged 20 to 56)… read more

     Regarding a press article which claimed that the Central Military Dock (CMD) would affect spectators watching the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival, a Government spokesman provided the following response today (June 22):
      
     The Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board with the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association as a co-organiser, is being staged at the Central Harbourfront for the third consecutive year from June 22 to 24, 2018. The event organiser provides around 700 seats at the Central Harbourfront Event Space for spectators to watch the dragon boat races. Members of the public may also watch the races from the Central and Western District Promenade (Central Section) and Tamar Park.
      
     Regarding the CMD, it has been the plan of the Government to hand it over to the Garrison upon completion of the construction works and other relevant procedures. The construction of the CMD has already been completed earlier on. However, in 2014 Designing Hong Kong Limited applied for a judicial review against the Town Planning Board’s statutory planning procedures for re-zoning the CMD site to “Other Specified Uses” annotated “Military Use (1)”, and sought a Protective Costs Order for the relevant legal proceedings. As a result, the concerned statutory planning procedures have since been put on hold. Until now, the Government has yet been able to take forward the follow-up actions required for handing the CMD over to the Garrison. The Government expresses its regret that the persons and organisations concerned have ignored the background and actual circumstances of the CMD and made unfounded criticisms. 
      
     In May 2018, the Court of Final Appeal dismissed Designing Hong Kong Limited’s appeal and re-instated the judgment of the Court of First Instance on dismissing the Protective Costs Order application of the company. The Government will continue to closely monitor the development of the relevant judicial review and complete the required procedures and work as soon as practicable.
      
     The CMD is one of the military buildings and fixed facilities required to be reprovisioned for the Garrison according to the 1994 Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Arrangements for the Future Use of the Military Sites in Hong Kong (the Defence Land Agreement). The Government has explained the situation to the Legislative Council and the general public on different occasions. As the CMD is a military facility, it is not appropriate to open it up for public use before it is handed over to the Garrison. read more