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Here is an item of interest to swimmers.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (June 14) that the shark prevention nets at Lido Beach and Casam Beach in Tsuen Wan District have been repaired and the beaches have been reopened.
The beaches were temporarily closed earlier on for shark prevention net maintenance work.
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, at the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2018 cum Coding Fair today (June 14):
Stephen (President of the Education University of Hong Kong, Professor Stephen Cheung), Margie (Chairperson of the Steering Committee of CoolThink@JC, Ms Marjorie Yang), Leong (Executive Director, Charities and Community, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Mr Cheung Leong), Horace (Vice-President (Student Affairs) of the City University of Hong Kong, Professor Horace Ip), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning to you all first. I am really pleased to be here today, joining you at the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education 2018 cum Coding Fair. Today is the second edition of this conference, which serves as an excellent platform to attract hundreds of pioneers in computational thinking education from all over the world, including internationally recognised academics, front-line education practitioners, and most importantly innovation and technology (I&T) professionals.
Thanks to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. This event will not be possible without its generous support for CoolThink@JC. And I am personally a staunch supporter of CoolThink. In fact, I have attended several CoolThink events and visited some primary schools joining CoolThink. I firmly believe learning coding skills and computational thinking from an early age can prepare our youth to tackle challenges in their daily lives. CoolThink brings together the Education University of Hong Kong, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the City University of Hong Kong. Through a train-the-trainer programme, CoolThink offers some 16 000 primary students at 32 schools early exposure to coding and computational thinking. I believe such skill building will inspire our very young students' creativity and problem-solving.
To ensure Hong Kong catches up with other economies in the global innovation and technology race, the Chief Executive announced in her Policy Address last October that the Government will promote I&T development in eight major areas. These include talent development and strengthening popular science education. The Education Bureau has updated the curricula of the STEM Education Key Learning Areas, and published the draft supplementary document on "Computational Thinking – Coding Education" for use by all our schools, providing opportunities for students to learn and apply computational thinking and coding skills.
Computational thinking is becoming more important in many different professions. It is not only for better understanding and making optimal use of technology. It is also a means to create new technology and new innovation.
I am delighted to see events like the Coding Fair today organised and embraced by our tertiary education sector. This helps our younger generation to equip themselves with an innovative mindset and the skills set for the digital era, via computational thinking and coding.
Before I close, let me express my gratitude to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Education University of Hong Kong, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the City University of Hong Kong for the great effort in promoting computational thinking in Hong Kong. Have fun with the Coding Fair!
Thank you very much.
The Labour Department (LD) will hold a public talk entitled "Occupational health in wholesale and retail industry" on June 21 (Thursday). Designed for workers in the wholesale and retail industry, the talk will cover occupational hazards and their preventive measures to enhance workers' awareness of occupational health.
The talk will be held at 3pm in the Health Education Room of the LD's Occupational Safety and Health Centre, which is located at G/F, Kwun Tong Community Health Centre Building, 60 Hip Wo Street, Kwun Tong. An occupational health nurse from the LD will lead the demonstration and practice of workplace exercise.
The LD will hold another talk entitled "Occupational safety and health (OSH) for confined space workers" on June 27 (Wednesday). To enhance workers' OSH awareness in confined spaces, the talk will explain the related OSH hazards as well as their preventive measures.
The talk, to be given by the LD's occupational hygienist, occupational safety officer and occupational health nurse, will be held at 3pm in Activity Room 1, Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay.
Both talks will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free. For enquiries or registration, please call 2852 4040.
The Government today (June 14) announced the appointment of Dr Sunny Chai as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTPC) and the appointment/re-appointment of 11 members to the HKSTPC for two years starting from July 1, 2018.
The appointment of the HKSTPC Chairman is made by the Chief Executive under section 1(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the HKSTPC Ordinance (Cap. 565). Dr Chai is a seasoned industrialist with rich experience in public service. He will succeed the incumbent HKSTPC Chairman, Mrs Fanny Law, whose term of appointment will end on June 30, 2018.
"I am deeply grateful to Mrs Law for her tremendous contribution to the work of the HKSTPC and the development of Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem," the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, said.
"During the past four years, Mrs Law capably steered the work of the Hong Kong Science Park as the flagship innovation and technology institution of Hong Kong. Under her leadership, a number of new initiatives and important infrastructural projects, including the Science Park expansion programme, the Data Technology Hub and the Advanced Manufacturing Centre, have been making good progress," Mrs Lam added.
The Government also announced the appointment of eight new members and re-appointment of three serving members by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan.
Mr Herbert Chia, Mr Donald Choi, Mr Dennis Ho, Professor Mak Tak-wah, Mr Jimmy Ng, Mr Gavin Poon, Professor Sean Tang and Mr Denis Tse are appointed as new board members of the HKSTPC.
Mr Theodore Ma, Mr Joseph Ngai and Professor Tsui Lap-chee are re-appointed as board members of the HKSTPC.
A Government spokesman said, "The Corporation's board of directors is a repository of strong expertise from a wide variety of technology and professional areas. With the immense experience and knowledge of board directors, we believe that they can steer the Corporation to fulfil its public mission effectively and further enhance Hong Kong's position as a hub for innovation and technology."
The tenure of four incumbent board members, Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Professor Shyy Wei, Mr Richard Sun and Mr Billy Wong, will expire on June 30 this year.
"The outgoing members have contributed valuably to the Corporation and the betterment of the local innovation and technology ecosystem. The achievements of the Corporation are due in no small measure to their guidance and wise counsel," the spokesman added.
The HKSTPC, which began operation in 2001, manages the Hong Kong Science Park, three industrial estates and an InnoCentre. It provides a comprehensive range of services to cater for the needs of industry at various stages, including nurturing technology start-ups through its incubation programme, providing premises and services for applied research and development activities, and providing developed land for production.
An Indonesian illegal worker holding a recognisance form was jailed by Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday (June 13).
During operation "Twilight" conducted on June 11, Immigration Department (ImmD) investigators raided a restaurant in Tuen Mun. A female Indonesian illegal worker, aged 46, was arrested. When intercepted she was washing dishes. Upon identity checking, she produced for inspection a recognisance form issued by the ImmD, which prohibits her from taking employment. Further investigation revealed that she was a non-refoulement claimant. Meanwhile, two employers suspected of employing the illegal worker were arrested and the investigations are ongoing.
The illegal worker was charged at Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday with taking employment after landing in Hong Kong unlawfully and remaining in Hong Kong without the authority of the Director of Immigration or while being a person in respect of whom a removal order or deportation order was in force. She pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment.
The ImmD spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening on vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation, with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.