Author Archives: hksar gov

     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 June 6 to noon today (June 7), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 186 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 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 57 392 samples of food imported from Japan (including 37 055 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 14 290 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The public concert of the Innovative Music Making: MO x e-Orch music-training programme during the 2023/24 academic year will be held at 7.30pm on July 7 (Sunday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall. The programme is organised by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, in collaboration with the Education University of Hong Kong. 

     Four digital music orchestras (e-Orchs) formed by about 80 students participating in the training programme from the St. Antonius Primary School, Yuen Long Merchants Association Secondary School, Buddhist Ho Nam Kam College and Hennessy Road Government Primary School (Causeway Bay), will showcase their original collaborative multimedia works at the concert. They will also collaborate with the wind and choral ensembles of the Music Office to perform original and arranged works. Musicians from the e-Orch@EdUHK Music Innovation and Design Lab will also be invited to present their original works at the concert in a performance combining music and technology. Various awards and certificates of attendance will also be presented to participating students at the concert as encouragement.

     Highlights include world premieres of local composers Wat Nga-man (“The Night Traveler”) and Lau Hiu-lam (“The Midnight Serenade”), which are commissioned by the Music Office with sponsorship from the CASH (Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong) Music Fund. Other highlights include rearrangements of Brahms’s “Hungarian Dance No. 5” and Gershwin’s “Swanee” by Lau and Wat respectively.

     To promote the integration of music and technology on school campuses, the Music Office launched the first Innovative Music Making: MO x e-Orch music training programme in 2022 for students of participating primary and secondary schools to form e-Orchs and learn musical knowledge and music creation with the use of tablets.

     Tickets priced at $60 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2158 6467 or 3842 7776 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/mo/activities/schoolprogrammes/arttech/24art/2024imm.html. read more

     â€‹A red tide was sighted during the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (June 7).

     On June 6, staff of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department spotted a red tide at Silverstrand Beach, Sai Kung. The red tide still persists and no associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, “The red tide was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic.”

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) urged mariculturists at Ma Nam Wat, Kau Sai, Kai Lung Wan, Tai Tau Chau, Leung Shuen Wan, Tiu Cham Wan and Po Toi O fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public. read more

     â€‹A red tide was sighted during the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (June 7).

     On June 6, staff of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department spotted a red tide at Silverstrand Beach, Sai Kung. The red tide still persists and no associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, “The red tide was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic.”

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) urged mariculturists at Ma Nam Wat, Kau Sai, Kai Lung Wan, Tai Tau Chau, Leung Shuen Wan, Tiu Cham Wan and Po Toi O fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public. read more

     â€‹A red tide was sighted during the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (June 7).

     On June 6, staff of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department spotted a red tide at Silverstrand Beach, Sai Kung. The red tide still persists and no associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, “The red tide was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic.”

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) urged mariculturists at Ma Nam Wat, Kau Sai, Kai Lung Wan, Tai Tau Chau, Leung Shuen Wan, Tiu Cham Wan and Po Toi O fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public. read more