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     The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, continued her visit to Singapore today (August 25). 

     Ms Ho met with the Group Director of Policy, Statistics & Research of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, Mr Gregory Chia, this morning to learn about the policy of allowing citizens to use their CPF contributions to fund home ownership, healthcare and retirement. 

     Yesterday morning (August 24), Ms Ho and members of the delegation paid a courtesy call on the Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Singapore, Mr Zhu Jing, to introduce the work on housing policies in Hong Kong, and to learn about the latest development in co-operation between China and Singapore.

     During the meeting, Ms Ho said that she has updated housing, relevant construction departments and sectors in Singapore about the application of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) in different construction projects in Hong Kong, including public housing, transitional housing and Light Public Housing. Ms Ho also shared her experience of inspecting building technologies and construction robotics technologies during her earlier visit to the Mainland. She learnt that Singapore would like to deepen its understanding about the related development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, in particular different construction projects involving the use of MiC. In response to their interest in visiting factories on the Mainland to learn more about the technologies, Ms Ho said she was delighted to help facilitate technological exchanges between the two places.

     In addition, the delegation visited a project site of a construction company in Singapore to inspect the application of MiC (known as Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) in Singapore) in the project. 

     Ms Ho had a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of the Building and Construction Authority, Mr Kelvin Wong, in the afternoon to learn about how the Singapore Government promotes green buildings and green technologies in the country. Ms Ho also shared relevant concepts of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has been actively promoting the use of MiC in suitable projects. For public housing projects to be completed in 2028-29 to 2032-33, no less than half of them should adopt the MiC approach, so as to enhance the construction efficiency, quality and site safety.

     Ms Ho said that this visit has deepened the exchanges between the two places in areas such as housing, construction technologies, green building and age-friendly home. She expected the two places to maintain liaison and continue sharing experience in housing and construction for the betterment of livelihood of the residents. When meeting with local political and business communities as well as construction professionals, the delegation also told the good stories of Hong Kong by introducing Hong Kong’s unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” principle. 

     Members of the delegation included members of the HA Strategic Planning Committee, as well as representatives of the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Housing Bureau and the Housing Department.

     Ms Ho will return to Hong Kong today after the visit.

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     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (August 25) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 2).
      
     Twenty-three beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 14 as Fair (Grade 2) and three as Poor (Grade 3).
      
 Grade 1 beaches are:          

Approach Beach	Repulse Bay Beach*
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach*	Shek O Beach*
Chung Hom Kok Beach	Silverstrand Beach*
Clear Water Bay First Beach	South Bay Beach*
Clear Water Bay Second Beach*	St Stephen’s Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach*	Stanley Main Beach*
Hap Mun Bay Beach*	Tai Po Lung Mei Beach*
Hung Shing Yeh Beach*	Tong Fuk Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach	Trio Beach
Kwun Yam Beach	Turtle Cove Beach
Lo So Shing Beach	Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Pui O Beach*

 
Grade 2 beaches are:    

Big Wave Bay Beach*	Hoi Mei Wan Beach
Butterfly Beach*	Kadoorie Beach*
Cafeteria New Beach	Lido Beach*
Cafeteria Old Beach	Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Casam Beach*	Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach*
Discovery Bay	Middle Bay Beach
Golden Beach*	Ting Kau Beach*

 
Grade 3 beaches are:   

Anglers’ Beach*	Silver Mine Bay Beach*
Castle Peak Beach

 
     Compared with the grading released last week, Approach Beach and Lo So Shing Beach have been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Big Wave Bay Beach has been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2, and Silver Mine Bay Beach from Grade 2 to 3.
      
     “The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches,” an EPD spokesman said.
      
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
      
     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, the EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a storm or heavy rainfall.
      
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
      
     In line with the vision to develop Hong Kong into a smart city, the EPD launched the Beach Water Quality Forecast System on August 15 to provide daily water quality forecasts for all gazetted beaches in Hong Kong that are open for swimming to supplement the existing beach water quality monitoring programme and further enhance services to the public (see Note 3). From now on, members of the public can obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information of all beaches through the Beach Water Quality Forecast mobile application (available for download from: www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQApp) or the dedicated beach water quality forecast page (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast) on the EPD’s beach thematic website.
      
Note 1: Lifeguard services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 22 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk (*) above, from May 1.
      
Note 2: This refers to the non-gazetted beach in Discovery Bay which has no lifeguard service.
      
Note 3: The EPD launched the Beach Water Quality Forecast System on August 15, 2023. For the press release, please visit www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202308/15/P2023081400345.htm. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, August 25, 2023 is 105.3 (up 0.2 against yesterday’s index). read more

     To complement the upcoming Chinese Opera Festival (COF) 2023 programme “Blessing This Land – Cantonese Opera Showcase under the Bamboo Theatre at Victoria Park”, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will hold three free talks in September to enable members of the public to have a better understanding of the artistic characteristics of bamboo theatre and Cantonese opera plays staged in bamboo sheds.
 
     The bamboo shed theatre building technique is an Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item of traditional craftsmanship, while Cantonese opera was inscribed onto the first national list of ICH and the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and became the city’s first world ICH item. The three talks organised by the LCSD will introduce the building technique of local bamboo theatre from multiple perspectives and the legacy of opera in the bamboo theatre and invite renowned Cantonese opera artists to share anecdotes during performances in bamboo theatres. Details are as follows:
 
Constructing a Theatre with Bamboo Scaffoldings
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Date and time: September 2 (Saturday) 3pm
Speaker: Cheung Suet-ying (bamboo theatre construction project manager)
Moderator: Sun Kim Long
 
Opera in the Bamboo Theatre – Legacy of Ritualistic Cantonese Opera of Hong Kong
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Date and time: September 9 (Saturday) 3pm
Speaker: Chan Sau-yan
 
Trivia during Performances under the Bamboo Big Top
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Date and time: September 16 (Saturday) 3pm
Speaker: Loong Koon-tin
Moderator: Ip Sai-hung 
 
     The above-mentioned talks will be conducted in Cantonese at AC1, 4/F, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Admission is free with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. For details, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.cof.gov.hk/2023/en/blessthisland.html.
 
     Organised by the LCSD, the COF has curated quality operatic programmes with the aim of promoting the artistry and culture of Chinese traditional opera since its inception in 2010. The grand finale of the COF 2023, “Blessing This Land – Cantonese Opera Showcase under the Bamboo Theatre at Victoria Park”, will be staged from September 23 to October 8. A large-scale bamboo theatre will be erected at Victoria Park, where four local Cantonese opera troupes will stage multiple exciting repertoires by renowned artists, bringing back the local culture of bamboo theatre in urban areas of the past, and celebrating the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival with well wishes for the prosperity and peace of Hong Kong. For more information, please visit the above mentioned website.
 
     The LCSD has all along promoted Chinese history and culture. Apart from the bamboo theatre performance, the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals 2023 with fascinating programmes will be held in Victoria Park, Sha Tin Park and Tuen Mun Park from September 23 to October 2. Meanwhile, the Chinese Film Panorama 2023 will be launched on September 27. Members of the public can make use of these occasions to learn more about the characteristics of the Chinese culture. read more

     The Air Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) today (August 25) released the Accident Investigation Preliminary Report and Public Notice 04-2023 on an occurrence in which a cabin crew member sustained a serious injury on board an Airbus A320-214 aircraft (registration mark B-LPI) operated by Hong Kong Airlines Limited during a turbulence encounter enroute from Hong Kong International Airport to Haikou Meilan International Airport on April 21, 2023.

     A spokesperson for the AAIA said that the preliminary report has been published to provide factual information established in the investigation’s early evidence collection phase to both the aviation industry and the general public in a timely manner, and should be regarded as tentative. The full report is available for download from the AAIA webpage (www.tlb.gov.hk/aaia/eng/investigation_reports/index.html).
           
     “The AAIA investigation team is conducting a detailed analysis of the data and information collected in order to determine the circumstances and causes of this occurrence with a view to preventing a recurrence in conjunction with identifying areas for further investigation or lines of inquiry to follow up,” the spokesperson said.  

     The AAIA, an independent investigation authority formed under the Transport and Logistics Bureau, is responsible for the investigation of civil aircraft accidents and incidents in accordance with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations (Cap. 448B) and with reference to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s standards.  read more