The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 8) that the park located east of Fan Kam Road (i.e. the area of holes 1-8 of the Old Course of the Fanling Golf Course) will be temporarily closed from November 11 to 27 to facilitate a golf competition to be held at the Fanling Golf Course. The fee-charging carpark will not be open for public use from November 18 to 24 during the course of the event. The 5-a-side hard-surface soccer pitches will not be affected. Users can access the pitches via a path adjacent to the park's entrance. 

     The park will be reopened for public use at 9am on November 28. For enquiries, please contact the venue staff at 2295 3118. 

     A contractor (the defendant) was fined $90,000 at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts today (November 8) for violations of the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department (LD).

     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on May 7, 2022, during the maintenance work of a residential unit in Jordan, Kowloon. A scaffolder, while preparing a truss-out scaffold erection on an external wall, fell to the ground and died.

     Since the summonses could not be served to the defendant successfully, and the defendant had been absent from previous hearings, the court upon the LD's application issued warrants for arresting the defendant. The defendant was then arrested and brought to court by the Police for the case hearings.

     The LD adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards unsafe working-at-height activities and will spare no effort to bring duty-holders who defy the law to justice.

     Moreover, the revised Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety, which came into effect on October 19, enhances the safety requirements for truss-out scaffolding work. For details, please refer to the LD's press release issued on October 18.

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Sunday (November 10) to facilitate a public order event to be held on Hong Kong Island.

Road closure
—————-

     In addition to the Chater Road and Ice House Street Pedestrian Precinct which will be implemented from 7am to 11.59pm, the following roads will be closed from 9am to noon:

– Westbound Chater Road between Murray Road and Jackson Road; and
– Jackson Road.

    Westbound Connaught Road Central and westbound Harcourt Road Flyover between Cotton Tree Drive and Ice House Street will be closed from 10.55am to 11.03am.

Traffic diversions
———————

     Traffic along westbound Lambeth Walk heading for westbound Connaught Road Central will be diverted to southbound Murray Road, eastbound Queensway, northbound Arsenal Street and westbound Harcourt Road from 9am to noon.

     Traffic along westbound Harcourt Road heading for westbound Connaught Road Central will be diverted to southbound Cotton Tree Drive flyover, westbound Queensway, westbound Queen’s Road Central and northbound Pedder Street from 10.55am to 11.03am.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

     In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on November 7 to noon today (November 8), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 167 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 52 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 99 005 samples of food imported from Japan (including 63 174 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 22 012 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     Themed "Hong Kong Common Law System: World-Class Springboard to China and Beyond", Hong Kong Legal Week 2024 concluded today (November 8). The five-day annual flagship event of the legal sector and the Department of Justice (DoJ) was attended by a total of about 2 500 participants in person and online from nearly 50 jurisdictions, demonstrating Hong Kong's status as the leading international legal and dispute resolution services centre in the Asia-Pacific region.

     The Rule of Law: The Best Business Environment event was held today as the finale of Hong Kong Legal Week 2024. The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, gave a video speech at the opening session. The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, and the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, also gave their opening remarks at the session. The keynote speech was delivered by Vice-Minister of Justice Mr Wang Zhenjiang.

     It was followed by a panel discussion under the main theme of "A comprehensive regime provides a stable environment for businesses to grow" to explore how Hong Kong's unique strengths including its robust legal and judicial system, stringent anti-corruption and IP (intellectual property) protection framework and transparent mechanisms for dispute resolution position Hong Kong as a premier destination for businesses aiming for growth, innovation, and success in the competitive global arena. A Fireside Chat on good stories of Hong Kong enterprises was then held to discuss how Hong Kong's strategic positioning within the national framework has enabled its enterprises to thrive both locally and globally.

     The Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy was officially launched during today's event in the afternoon. Capitalising on Hong Kong's bilingual common law system and international status, the Academy will regularly organise different practical legal courses, seminars, international exchange activities and so forth to promote talent exchanges in areas along the Belt and Road. It will also provide foreign-related legal talent training for the country, as well as cultivate legal talent who are familiar with international law, common law, civil law, national legal systems as well as litigation and advocacy skills. Another panel discussion on the talent along the Belt and Road was conducted in the afternoon to examine how the next generation of talent can be better equipped to meet the evolving needs of the country's rule of law.

     Mr Lam also witnessed the signing of the co-operation agreement between the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Lawyers Association to facilitate regular exchanges and strengthen collaboration.

     The Rule of Law: The Best Business Environment event and Hong Kong Legal Week 2024 were concluded with the closing remarks by Mr Lam.

     Meanwhile, the DoJ has secured the hosting of the 11th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors later this month. The DoJ will continue its efforts to organise a variety of relevant events to reinforce the public awareness of the rule of law and promote Hong Kong's status as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia‑Pacific region.