The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (SCED) and the Communications Authority (CA) announced today (December 13) their decisions after public consultations to assign the first batch of 4 100 MHz of spectrum t… read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, December 13, 2018 is 105.4 (down 0.3 against yesterday’s index). read more
The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), which has been closed for expansion and renovation for three years, will reopen in November 2019. As a prelude to the reopening, a cross-disciplinary creative programme entitled “Sig. Tune for HKMoA: Creative Music Programme”, integrating visual arts and music, will be launched tomorrow (December 14), with young composers invited to contribute a ready-made musical work. The application deadline is January 15 next year.
It is hoped that the programme will help attract local and overseas people to explore and appreciate the vast collection of the HKMoA and enjoy the universal language of music and the worlds of contrast it represents. Young Hong Kong composers aged 16 to 25 years old are encouraged to submit an existing original music work of no more than two minutes that best shows their talent. There is no restriction on the theme, year of creation or form.
The adjudication panel will consist of acclaimed musician Chiu Tsang-hei and curators of the HKMoA. The selection criteria include originality, musicality, structure and content. About 20 candidates will be selected in mid-February next year and will be invited to compose a musical work under the theme of “worlds of contrast” for audition in mid-March. At least four outstanding finalists will then be selected for mentorship under the guidance of Chiu to learn more about musical composition and professional music production. They will also learn from the curators of the HKMoA about the museum’s four core collections, namely Chinese Fine Art, Chinese Antiquities, China Trade Art and Hong Kong Art. At the end of the mentorship, they will create signature tunes (Sig. Tunes) that represent the HKMoA’s brand-new image. The Sig. Tunes will be broadcast at the HKMoA reopening exhibitions and different media platforms at the end of 2019.
To learn more about the programme, interested parties are invited to attend a special briefing session (in Cantonese) on December 19 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm at the Outpost, Salisbury Garden, Tsim Sha Tsui. The Museum Director will introduce programme details and the latest developments of the HKMoA at the briefing.
An application form with the music work should be submitted by email to hkmoasigtune@lcsd.gov.hk by noon on January 15 next year. The result of the shortlisting will be announced on the museum website hk.art.museum on February 19.
The application form and guidelines of the programme can be downloaded from the aforesaid museum website. For enquiries, please contact 2734 2176/2734 2152.
Hong Kong Customs conducted an operation yesterday (December 12) to combat the sale of suspected counterfeit toys. A total of about 1 000 items of suspected counterfeit goods, including board games, children’s dolls and stickers, with an estimated market value of about $30,000 were seized.
Customs earlier received information alleging that suspected counterfeit toys were being sold by shops in the retail market. After an in-depth investigation with the assistance of trademark owners, Customs officers took enforcement action yesterday and raided six retail shops in Sham Shui Po. A total of about 1 000 items of suspected counterfeit goods including board games, children’s dolls and stickers were seized.
During the operation, eight women were arrested, including two persons-in-charge and six salespersons aged between 26 and 53.
Investigation is ongoing and all arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs will continue to step up inspection and enforcement to combat the sale of counterfeit goods.
Customs reminds consumers to procure goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.
Customs also reminds traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the sale of counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal liability.
Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
Regarding the Direct Investigation Report of the Office of the Ombudsman released today (December 13) on the regulation of proprietary Chinese medicine (pCm), the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) and the Department of Health (DH) acknowledged that there is room for improvement on the regulation of pCm, and will give further thought and actively follow up on the relevant recommendations of the report.
A spokesmen for the FHB said, “We are proceeding to implement the improvement measures including amending the definition of pCm under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549) and providing support to the trade via the $500 million Chinese Medicine Development Fund.
“Regarding the amendments to the Ordinance, the DH has conducted more than 10 consultation sessions since early this year to collect views on the definition of pCm under the Ordinance from various sectors including the Chinese medicine trade, retailers, the health products trade, the cosmetics and beauty trade, and the Consumer Council. Some 300 submissions were received. The DH has consolidated the recommendations and will soon report to the Chinese Medicines Board under the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong (the Council). We plan to brief the Legislative Council about the amendment proposals in the second half of 2019.”
The Government is also concerned about the progress of pCm registration. Since implementing the registration system of pCm in 2003, the Board under the Council has established clear guidelines and classification categories based on the compositions and indications of pCm. The Board and the DH have introduced a series of measures, including providing consultancy service for technical support, adjusting the technical requirements and increasing the number of laboratories providing testing service, to assist the trade to complete the reports and furnish other information required for registration.
“At present, all pCm issued with the ‘Notice of confirmation of transitional registration of proprietary Chinese medicine’ (HKP) currently sold in the market is safe to use by the public. The pCm issued with HKP have submitted test reports that comply with the safety aspect. In recent years, the Government has been proactively providing technical support such that the progress of registration of pCm has significantly improved. The Government will continue to actively explore ways to further expedite the registration of pCm, including providing subsidy to the trade through the Chinese Medicine Development Fund in order to assist them to acquire the necessary technical support and testing service, and to complete the related requirements for the formal registration as soon as possible,” the spokesman emphasised.
The DH has been continuously implementing a series of publicity and education campaigns, including issuing letters, visits by “ambassadors”, consultation and briefing sessions, 18-district roving exhibitions, pamphlets, television and radio Announcements in Public Interest and information on websites, to enhance the understanding of the public, the trade and other stakeholders on the requirements for pCm registration. The DH will continue to implement relevant publicity and education campaigns.
The FHB and the DH will conduct a study on establishing an accreditation mechanism for Chinese pharmacists as suggested in the report, including clarifying the qualifications and academic requirements for Chinese pharmacists, their scope of duties and functions, and information on existing local training and employment. The trade and the relevant stakeholders will be consulted on the relevant topics.
“The Government has all along been striving to improve the regulation mechanism of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong, and to convey drug safety messages to the public, the trade and other stakeholders via different channels. The Council has also uploaded the list of pCm fulfilling the requirements set out by the Board to its website (www.cmchk.org.hk/pcm/eng/#main_listpcm.htm) for public access, in order to safeguard public health,” the spokesman said.
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