Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2024, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), will present “Fame in a Flash – A Tour of AVON Recording Studios” in June. Through the guided tour, participants will be able to unveil the mystery of this legendary studio and experience the thrill of being a singer, with the help of professional audio mixers and high-quality sound equipment. Tickets will be on sale from May 14 (Tuesday).
 
     Founded in 1983, the Avon Recording Studios is one of the most esteemed professional recording facilities in Hong Kong, bearing witness to the birth of countless classic pop songs. Luminaries of the music scene, such as Danny Chan, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Roman Tam, as well as 1990s superstars like Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai, Sandy Lam, and Faye Wong, have graced the studio. In the new millennium, Cantopop icons like Joey Yung and Eason Chan, along with recent popular idols Ian Chan and Keung To, have also recorded their music in this studio.
 
     This “Pop Music Hall of Fame” is a repository of many precious materials relating to Hong Kong’s pop culture. With its highly practical acoustic design, the studio boasts a $1 million mixing console, premium-quality microphones, and antique audio equipment sourced from around the world. Its nostalgic decor is also unique to itself in many ways. During the guided tour, which lasts approximately 75 minutes, participants will not only learn about the design details and captivating stories of the recording studio, but will also have the opportunity to take memorable photos in different spots. In addition, each participant will have the chance to take part in a “demo recording” session, where they can choose a song from a special playlist featuring around a dozen titles from different eras, and record a one-minute segment of their singing like a superstar. At the end of the event, each participant will receive a personalised audio record as memento so that they may recall this music journey anytime they like.
 
     “Fame in a Flash – A Tour of AVON Recording Studios” has altogether 16 sessions – four sessions each on June 8, 15, 22 and 29 (four consecutive Saturdays). Tickets are priced at $180; a maximum of two tickets can be purchased in each transaction, and persons below 12 will not be admitted. Tickets will go on sale on May 14 at the URBTIX website (www.urbtix.hk) and its mobile ticketing app URBTIX (Android, HarmonyOS and iPhone/iPad versions). Tickets can be booked through the Internet and mobile app, but not at the URBTIX counter, telephone nor self-service ticketing kiosk. For programme and ticketing enquiries, please call 6689 5735 (Core Workshop Limited/ACOO) or 3166 1100 (URBTIX), or visit the webpage at www.pcf.gov.hk/en/programmes/fameinaflash.
 
     The LCSD presented the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival last year to great acclaim. This year’s second edition features “Arts & Action” as its theme, taking audiences on a journey through time to explore the dynamic inheritance, diffusion, integration and breakthroughs within Hong Kong’s pop culture. The 2024 festival lineup offers a wide range of formats including thematic exhibitions, film screenings, stage performances and outreach activities. Its rich content spans across literature, various art forms and martial arts, clearly showcasing how Hong Kong’s vibrant and diverse pop culture stands out from the rest. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.

        

     The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau will lead a delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government to visit Beijing and Guizhou from May 12 to 17 under the annual reciprocal visit arrangement bet… read more

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin) participated in the 16th European Economic Congress (EEC) held from May 7 to 9 in Katowice, Poland (Katowice time). The EEC, organised by the PTWP Group, prides itself as the largest business event in Central Europe. It provides a platform for debate among decision makers, entrepreneurs, experts of professions, academics and other stakeholders on a wide spectrum of socio-economic issues.
      
     The Director of HKETO Berlin, Ms Jenny Szeto, joined representatives from the Polish government, the business sector and a think tank at a panel discussion session. She accentuated Hong Kong’s unique advantages and positioning as a gateway between the Mainland and the world, which provide opportunities for the European business community to expand their presence on the Mainland and in Asian markets.
      
     “As a leading international financial centre as well as a trade, maritime and logistics hub, Hong Kong continues to be an ideal entry point for businesses to tap into the vast opportunities in the region, particularly the fast-growing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,” Ms Szeto explained.
      
     Ms Szeto outlined to the audience the latest developments and initiatives of the Government to attract global talent and enterprises to the city. She also highlighted the positive updates about the economic situation of Hong Kong. “Despite the global economic uncertainties, Hong Kong’s economy staged a strong recovery in 2023 with a GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 3.2 per cent, and we expect a further growth of some 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent in 2024.” Ms Szeto said.
      
About HKETO Berlin
      
     HKETO Berlin is the official representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Poland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.

  

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (May 10) closely monitoring four additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Saudi Arabia. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety and take due consideration of the health risks when visiting other places.

     According to the WHO, three of the abovementioned cases were found to be epidemiologically linked to exposures in the same healthcare facility, involving three males aged between 56 and 60 years with underlying health conditions. After identifying the index case, two additional cases were revealed through contact tracing, which are suspected to be secondary healthcare associated cases due to contact with the index case. The investigations are ongoing to understand and verify the transmission route. The remaining case involved a 32-year-old male who had direct contact with camels.

     The WHO emphasised that the notification of these cases does not alter their overall risk assessment, and they anticipated the reporting of additional MERS-CoV infection cases from the Middle East or other countries where the virus is circulating in dromedaries. According to the latest information, 2 613 MERS cases have been reported to the WHO (with 941 deaths) since 2012.

     “We will maintain close communication with the WHO and relevant health authorities,” a spokesman for the CHP said.

     “As countries in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, continue to report MERS cases from time to time, travellers should refrain from going to farms, barns or markets with camels and avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry. Most of the cases reported in the Middle East had a history of exposure to camels, consumption of camel milk or contact with other MERS patients,” the spokesman said.

     From time to time, suspected MERS cases reported to the CHP for investigation involve patients with a history of contact with camels in the Middle East. The CHP strongly advises travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS-CoV. ​Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene.

     “As the Hajj pilgrimage will begin soon, pilgrims visiting Mecca in Saudi Arabia should be vigilant against MERS. Those with pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes, chronic lung disease, chronic renal disease and immunodeficiency, are more likely to develop severe infections if they are exposed to MERS-CoV. Pilgrims should hence consult healthcare providers before travel to review the risk and assess whether a pilgrimage is advisable. Pilgrims visiting Mecca may refer to the DH’s advice. If pilgrims feel unwell during the two weeks after returning to Hong Kong, they should wear a surgical mask and seek medical attention immediately and inform a doctor of their recent travel history,” the spokesman added.

     â€‹The public may visit the MERS page of the CHP and its Travel Health Service to learn more about MERS statistics in affected areas. The public should also refer to the CHP’s Facebook page and YouTube channel and the WHO’s latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP’s health advice on MERS. Persons who plan to make the pilgrimage should also stay tuned to the latest health recommendations by the health authority of Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. read more

     In the past two weeks, Hong Kong Customs stepped up enforcement to combat illicit cigarette smuggling activities by sea and detected two related cases involving seaborne containers. A total of about 13 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $59 million and a duty potential of about $43 million were seized.

     For the first case, through risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Customs selected and inspected a 40-foot container, arriving from Japan to Hong Kong and declared as carrying cosmetic products, on April 30 at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized 2 million suspected illicit cigarettes inside the container.

     Customs detected another case at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound where officers inspected two 40-foot containers, declared as carrying furniture and arriving in Hong Kong from Taiwan, on May 2. A total of about 11 million suspected illicit cigarettes were seized therein.

     Investigations of the two cases are ongoing.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis, and step up enforcement actions to combat the smuggling of illicit cigarettes. 

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years. 

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).