Attention TV/radio announcers:
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (September 5) that due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty, the lifesaving services at Deep Water Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, are suspended until further notice.
First aid service will be maintained at the beach.
Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley today (September 5). The arrangements will come into effect one and a half hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.
A. Traffic arrangements before the commencement of the first race
1. Road closure
Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen's Road East and the up-ramp outside Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will be closed except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel.
2. Traffic diversions
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the up-ramp outside HKJC will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Vehicles from eastbound Queen's Road East heading for Wan Chai and Happy Valley will be diverted to turn left to Morrison Hill Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along Queen's Road East cannot turn right to Wong Nai Chung Road except for vehicles heading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Queen's Road East will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Morrison Hill Road to turn right at the junction of Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen's Road East; and
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley or Racecourse will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, southbound Morrison Hill Road, Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road.
B. Traffic arrangements before the conclusion of race meeting
1. Road closure
The following roads will be closed from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:
– The up-ramp on Wong Nai Chung Road outside HKJC leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen's Road East and the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the Public Stands of HKJC;
– Westbound Leighton Road between Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road East; and
– Southbound Morrison Hill Road between Leighton Road and Queen's Road East.
In addition, southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel and the Public Stands of HKJC will be closed from about 10 minutes before the start of the last race.
2. Traffic diversions
The following traffic arrangements will be implemented from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:
– Eastbound Queen's Road East at its junction with Morrison Hill Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic heading for northbound Canal Road flyover;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Wan Chai will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, U-turn slip road beneath Canal Road flyover, Canal Road West and Hennessy Road;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic on southbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted to turn left to eastbound Leighton Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road; and
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road will be diverted to Wong Nai Chung Road.
C. Learner drivers prohibition
Learner drivers will be prohibited to turn left from Caroline Hill Road to Leighton Road between one and a half hours before the start of the first race and one hour after the last race. In addition, learner drivers will be prohibited from accessing the following roads within the above period of time:
– Shan Kwong Road between Yik Yam Street and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Village Road between its upper and lower junctions with Shan Kwong Road;
– Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
– Canal Road East; and
– The service road leading from Gloucester Road to Canal Road flyover.
D. Suspension of parking spaces
Parking spaces on southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Sports Road and Blue Pool Road will be suspended from 11am to 7pm during day racing, from 4.30pm to 11.59pm during evening racing, and from 5pm to 11.59pm during night racing.
Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the above affected areas will be towed away without prior notice.
Actual implementation of road closure and traffic diversion will be made by the Police at the time depending on traffic conditions in the areas. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of Police on site.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his visit to Israel yesterday (September 4, Israel time) and promoted Hong Kong’s unique strengths and outstanding business environment.
He attended the 6th Annual Summit for Business with China this morning in Tel Aviv, one of the key topics of the submit is the massive opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative. Mr Chan pointed out in his keynote speech that Hong Kong boasts unique advantages and strategic position to serve as multiple service platforms for the Belt and Road, and for Israeli businesses and entrepreneurs.
He said that as one of the world's leading financial centres and China's international financial capital, Hong Kong can be the platform for capital formation and funding. Our deep liquidity, premier financial infrastructure and comprehensive options for raising capital can meet the financing needs of any mega Belt and Road infrastructure project. Hong Kong can also be the platform for high-end professional services and the platform for enterprises to find the right partners and base their offshore operations.
Mr Chan, other officials and business delegates then headed to Jerusalem for a visit to a technology company which specialises in developing artificial vision products that aim to improve the lives of the visually impaired. Mr Chan introduced to the firm's senior management various measures being put in place to support applied research and development (R&D) in Hong Kong. He also encouraged more Israeli innovation and technology companies to start their operations in Hong Kong.
The delegation then attended a luncheon hosted by an Israeli equity crowdfunding platform to learn more about its operation. The platform is investing in start-ups from around the world, including companies from Hong Kong.
In the afternoon, Mr Chan, joined by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, where they laid a wreath to mourn the Holocaust victims.
Later, Mr Chan and the delegation attended a dinner hosted by the Israeli Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, before returning to Tel Aviv.
Today (September 5, Israel time), Mr Chan will continue his visit to Israel in Tel Aviv.
In response to media enquiries today (September 4) on the media reporting arrangements for the handover of the Mainland Port Area and the "B5 level" of the West Kowloon Station (WKS), a spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau gave the following reply:
In the press release issued by the Government as well as the paper submitted to the Legislative Council Panel on Transport on August 30, 2018, it was stated that the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Ordinance (Cap 632) would come into operation on September 4, 2018, in order to dovetail with the preparatory works for the implementation of the co-location arrangement at the WKS of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL).
As agreed between the Governments of both sides, the HKSAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government handed over the Mainland Port Area last evening (September 3) at the working level in a modest and simple manner, which signified that the HKSAR Government made available the completed Mainland Port Area to the Mainland Authorities Stationed at the Mainland Port Area for their exercising of jurisdiction, so as to make final preparations for the joint implementation of the co-location arrangement. Press releases were respectively issued by both sides so that citizens of both places could be aware of the arrangements in the first instance. The official opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Section of the XRL will be held in the morning of September 22. It will be jointly hosted by the Chief Executive and Mr Ma Xingrui, the Governor of the Guangdong Province, and media will definitely be invited to cover the ceremony.
As regards media reports on the existence of a so-called "B5 level" in the WKS, it is actually a back of house service corridor underneath the B4 Platform Level of the WKS managed by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) as the operator of the Hong Kong Section of the XRL, with plant rooms for air conditioning, drainage and sewage systems alongside and will be used during rescue and evacuation. This is not an area for passenger use and is not within the Mainland Port Area. A typical level has a floor area of about 110 000 square metres, but the aforesaid back of house service corridor only has an area of about 3 100 square metres, representing less than three per cent of the floor area of a typical level. As such, this back of house service corridor is not a "floor" as such. Rather, since the corridor is underneath the B4 Level, it was marked as "B5 level" for easy identification. In fact, in the quarterly reported submitted by the Transport and Housing Bureau and the Highways Department to the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways in September 2016, it was mentioned that works were ongoing at the "B5 level". There is therefore no question of covering up the matter.
The aforesaid corridor forms part of the XRL WKS fire rescue and evacuation system and was designed based on the fire safety risk assessment by MTRCL to satisfy the relevant buildings legislation and fire safety guidelines. The design has been approved by the Safety and Security Coordination Committee that oversees relevant matters. This arrangement is in line with the other railway stations. The Committee is chaired by the representative of the Railways Branch of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, with members comprising representatives of the Fire Services Department, Buildings Department, Highways Department, the Police Force and MTRCL. The aforesaid corridor, together with the entire WKS, was constructed by the contractor of contract 810A – West Kowloon Terminus Station (North), and statutory inspections by the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department have been completed.
Further, when relevant personnel need to enter the aforesaid corridor for performance of duties, they must enter through the cross-boundary restricted area. Such relevant personnel must first be issued a valid cross-boundary restricted area permit by MTRCL, and have authorisation from MTRCL before they enter the corridor for performance of duties.
Other than in the above circumstances, no person will be entitled to use the corridor. All exits and entrances to the corridor, including relevant passageways, doors and lifts that connect with the Mainland Port Area in the WKS, are locked by security systems. MTRCL has a stringent control mechanism and have assigned patrols to prevent unauthorised entry. In addition, security systems such as closed-circuit television and alarm systems have been installed together with clear warning signs so as to prevent unauthorised persons from using the corridor.
In response to media enquiries arising from recent concern about university admission, a spokesperson for the Education Bureau today (September 4) replied as follows:
Through the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities, the Government currently provides around 15 000 publicly-funded first-year-first-degree intake places for local students every year. With the Government's respect for the principle of academic freedom and institutional autonomy, universities can decide on its own arrangements for admission, and can admit local students via the Joint University Programmes Admission System (JUPAS) or non-JUPAS route. Neither the Government nor the UGC would require UGC-funded universities to specify a particular ratio of local students admitted through the JUPAS or non-JUPAS routes.
Generally speaking, the share of students who gained admission to UGC-funded places intake via JUPAS route stood at about 83% in the past three years without much fluctuation. Among local students admitted via non-JUPAS routes, over half are sub-degree or degree holders. For the remainder, less than half hold non-local qualifications when applying for admission. The statistics prove that candidates of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) have all along been the major source of local students for UGC-funded undergraduate programmes.
The UGC Notes on Procedures clearly state that UGC-funded universities enjoy autonomy in selection of students and they are accountable for their decisions in the matter. Regardless of whether the applications were submitted by JUPAS or non-JUPAS applicants, each university has its admission policy and criteria based on the principles of fairness and merit-based selection. All the universities shall endeavour to ensure that only the most suitable and deserving applicants are offered admission. Universities would assess the applicants in a variety of aspects, including their academic qualifications and results, interview performance, personal attributes, non-academic achievements, interests and experiences, programme preferences, etc. Examination results alone are not a comprehensive basis for comparison. All universities have accumulated a wealth of experience in assessing applicants with different academic qualifications and would ensure that the admission thresholds are consistently applied to applicants holding different types of academic qualifications on a merit-based principle.
The Education Bureau understands that universities are committed to selecting the most deserving students among numerous applications, irrespective of the academic qualifications held by local applicants. International score comparison system (such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) also shows that elite students of the HKDSE and other international examinations (such as the International Baccalaureate and the General Certificate of Education A Level) are equally outstanding. The Education Bureau is of the view that there is no evidence showing that it is easier for local students taking international examination to be admitted to the UGC-funded undergraduate programmes.