Author Archives: hksar gov

     “Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth”, the main exhibition presented by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum this year, will be staged from tomorrow (July 11) to October 22. The exhibition showcases Dunhuang grottoes and cultural relics and features cutting-edge multimedia technology, enabling visitors to view Dunhuang culture and art up close and enjoy tales of the Buddhist heaven as well as the ordinary world.
 
     The exhibition will showcase over 100 exhibits including a replica of cave 285, the most wonderful cave at Mogao, built during the Western Wei period. The cave, being presented in Hong Kong for the first time, has been reproduced at full scale to reveal its murals and stucco statues. There are also virtual caves 45 and 254, and a huge digitised mural depicting Wutai Mountain in cave 61 (Five Dynasties period), together with precious artefacts and archives, interactive multimedia installations and audio-video programmes, to offer visitors an overview of the history and art of Dunhuang.
 
     Brand-new multimedia programmes and interactive installations in the exhibition have been produced by using high-fidelity images and results of cave scanning provided by the Dunhuang Academy. Visitors will thus be given an opportunity to view Dunhuang art in minute detail and to acquire an in-depth understanding of life in the Buddhist heaven and the ordinary world as portrayed on the murals, so as to savour the tales of heaven and earth depicted in these paintings.
 
     The Hong Kong Heritage Museum collaborated with the Dunhuang Academy in 2014 to hold the exhibition “Dunhuang – Untold Tales, Untold Riches”, presenting the story of Dunhuang to the people of Hong Kong. The exhibition was at the time the largest of its kind organised by the museum. In 2015, a Letter of Intent on Collaboration was signed between the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Dunhuang Academy to strengthen collaboration and training of professionals between the two parties in various areas including curating, publicity and heritage conservation, resulting in the exhibition “Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth”.
 
     With their vast repository of Buddhist art, the Dunhuang Caves have been acclaimed as an “Encyclopaedia of the Middle Ages”. As early as the 1990s, the Dunhuang Academy had already collaborated with domestic and foreign scientific research institutions to explore the role of new technologies in preserving historical relics. In recent years, the Academy has even taken the initiative to share the results of the digitisation projects, allowing the public to browse selected caves and murals through the “Digital Dunhuang” website. The Mogao Grottos Digital Exhibition Centre has also been established to give visitors a new visual experience.
 
     To tie in with the exhibition, the museum will launch a series of programmes, including concerts, educational activities, talks, guided tours and outreach drama performances. During the exhibition period, a video show entitled “A Thousand Years of Mogao Caves” will be screened and a mini-display on Dunhuang music culture will be held at the Function Place on the first floor of the museum.
 
     An opening ceremony for the exhibition was held today (July 10). The officiating guests included the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Yang Jian; the Vice-Governor of Gansu Province, Ms He Wei; the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah; the Deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Anthony Chow; the Vice-secretary General of Gansu Province, Mr Shi Peiwen; the Director of the Cultural Relics Bureau of Gansu Province, Ms Ma Yuping; the Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Academy, Mr Luo Huaqing; the Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee, Mr Stanley Wong; the Vice Chairperson of Friends of Dunhuang (Hong Kong), Ms Lee Mei-yin; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Michelle Li; and the Acting Museum Director of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Mr Brian Lam.
 
     The exhibition is jointly presented by the LCSD and the Dunhuang Academy and jointly organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Dunhuang Academy. Solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, it is one of the exhibitions in the Hong Kong Jockey Club Series. The exhibition is also supported by Friends of Dunhuang (Hong Kong).
 
     For details of the exhibition, please visit www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/en_US/web/hm/exhibitions/data/exid252.html, or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
 
     The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. read more

The following is issued on behalf of Mr Michael John Hartmann:      Mr Michael John Hartmann, former Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, today (July 10) issued the following statement on the appointments to the Comm… read more

     A Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the Chief Executive in Council today (July 10) to inquire into the steel reinforcement fixing works and any other works which raise concerns about public safety in respect of the diaphragm wall and platform slab construction works at the Hung Hom Station Extension under the Shatin to Central Link Project implemented by the MTR Corporation Limited. The Commission will also make recommendations on suitable measures with a view to promoting public safety and assurance on the quality of works.

     “Public safety is of paramount importance,” the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, said. “A statutory commission equipped with the full range of powers under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Chapter 86) is called for to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged problems associated with these works and to recommend appropriate improvement measures.”

     Mr Michael John Hartmann, former Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, has been appointed as Chairman and Commissioner of the Commission, and Professor Peter George Hansford, Professor of Construction and Infrastructure Policy at University College London, has been appointed as Commissioner.

     Mr Hartmann served in the Judiciary in Hong Kong for over 20 years, retiring as Justice of Appeal in 2012. After retirement, he remained a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal until 2016. He is currently Chairman of the Market Misconduct Tribunal, the Securities and Futures Appeals Tribunal and the Higher Rights Assessment Board. Mr Hartmann specialises in public and administrative law.

     Professor Hansford, a Past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom (UK), has over 40 years of experience in the delivery of major infrastructure projects. He was appointed as Chief Construction Adviser to the UK Government from 2012 to 2015, and is currently Professor of Construction and Infrastructure Policy at University College London.

     Mr Hartmann was the Chairman of the Independent Expert Panel established by the Government in 2014 to examine the project management systems and cost control mechanisms of the MTR Corporation Limited in overseeing the project of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the monitoring processes of the Government, and Professor Hansford was one of the experts on the Panel.  Both are thus very familiar with the implementation of railway projects in Hong Kong under a concession approach.

     The Terms of Reference of the Commission, as approved by the Chief Executive in Council, are as follows:

     In respect of the diaphragm wall and platform slab construction works at the Hung Hom Station Extension under the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL)’s Contract No. 1112 (Contract) of the Shatin to Central Link Project,

(a) (i) to inquire into the facts and circumstances surrounding the steel reinforcement fixing works, including but not limited to those works at locations that have given rise to extensive public concern about their safety since May 2018;

     (ii) to inquire into the facts and circumstances surrounding any other works which raise concerns about public safety; and  

     (iii) to ascertain whether the works in (i) and (ii) above were executed in accordance with the Contract. If not, the reasons therefore and whether steps for rectification have been taken;

(b) to review, in the light of (a) above,

     (i) the adequacy of the relevant aspects of the MTRCL’s project management and supervision system, quality assurance and quality control system, risk management system, site supervision and control system and processes, system on reporting to Government, system and processes for communication internally and with various stakeholders, and any other related systems, processes and practices, and the implementation thereof; and

     (ii) the extent and adequacy of the monitoring and control mechanisms of the Government, and the implementation thereof; and

(c) in the light of (b) above, to make recommendations on suitable measures with a view to promoting public safety and assurance on quality of works.

     The Commission will report to the Chief Executive within six months from the date of its appointment or such time as the Chief Executive in Council may allow.

     The Commission of Inquiry was appointed under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Chapter 86) and the appointment will be published in the Gazette.

     Mr Patrick Chan has been appointed as Secretary to the Commission. read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, at a media briefing after attending the meeting of the Panel on Security of the Legislative Council this afternoon (July 10):
 
Reporter: Do you think there will be any effect of the judicial review to the (express) railway?
 
Secretary for Security: Our plan will proceed to start the operation of the express railway in September. We have strong confidence in the legal basis of this co-location arrangement. We of course respect people’s rights in lodging judicial review. We will deal with it in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong. Thank you.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 is 102.1 (same as yesterday’s index). read more