To enhance public understanding of the cultural connections and developments between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the exhibition "Heritage and Inclusion: Literary Treasures of the Greater Bay Area", introducing precious historical documents and information, will be held from tomorrow (November 15) at the Exhibition Gallery on the ground floor of the Hong Kong Central Library. The exhibition will be open to the public from 4.30pm tomorrow until November 24, with free admission. This exhibition is one of the programmes of the fourth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival.

     Organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Macao Public Library under the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, the Research Center of the Guangzhou Encyclopedia and the Guangzhou Library, the exhibition has two major sections: "Joining Together under the Same Bright Moon – Roving Exhibition on Guangzhou Encyclopaedia in the Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong Stop)" and "To See the Wood and the Forest: The Senado Library and Ancient Western Books in Early Hong Kong and Macao".

     The Guangzhou Encyclopaedia is compiled by the city of Guangzhou to systematically conserve Guangzhou's historical literature and promote its history and culture. Its content geographically covers the present-day Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

     The Hong Kong stop of the roving exhibition on the Guangzhou Encyclopaedia comprises the Guangzhou zone and the Hong Kong zone. The Guangzhou zone mainly introduces the Guangzhou Encyclopaedia and its contribution to the collection, conservation and promotion of local literature related to Guangzhou, while the Hong Kong zone displays historical documents on Hong Kong, celebrities, the Cantonese opera art, and introduces some prominent publishers and libraries in early Hong Kong. Exhibits include the sole surviving copy of Qinxuan Ji written by a prominent official of the Ming dynasty, Chen Lian from Dongguan, published by Wanjuantong; a work in Chinese on Hong Kong society published in the late 19th century; a classic Cantonese opera lyrics book about the love story of two young lovers in the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty; and more.
 
     In the section "To See the Wood and the Forest: The Senado Library and Ancient Western Books in Early Hong Kong and Macao", rare books and newspapers in foreign languages from the collection of the Senado Library under the Macao Public Library will be introduced. They include "Christiani Pueri Institutio (facsimile)" published in 1588 in Macao, which was the first foreign language book printed with Western movable types in Chinese history; the Chinese-English Dictionary by the first Protestant missionary to China, Robert Morrison; and a work in Chinese on human anatomy and physiology with British missionary and doctor Benjamin Hobson as one of the authors.

     To tie in with the Festival, the Hong Kong Public Libraries and the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong organise three lectures under the theme "Lingnan: A literary landscape" to enhance public understanding of Lingnan culture and history. The first lecture was held on October 27. The other two will take place at the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library on November 23 and 24, respectively. Dr Michelle Ye will speak on the learning experiences of late-Qing Cantonese bilinguals who made their very first steps in Hong Kong and Macao, while Professor Puk Wing-kin will introduce Cantonese literature from the late Qing to the early Republican era. The lectures will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free. For details and seat reservations, please visit: www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/extension-activities/event/261253/public-lecture-series-on-lingnan-culture-and-the-world-2024-lingnan-a-literary-landscape.

     Hong Kong is the host city of the Festival for the first time, organising and co-ordinating over 260 performances and exchange activities to be held in the "9+2" cities in the Greater Bay Area. The Festival aims to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the region and foster cultural exchanges and co-operation among the cities. For more information, please visit www.gbacxlo.gov.hk/en.

     The above programmes are also activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.

              

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 14) announced that a sample of imported sweet potato from the Mainland and a sample of imported crab from the Philippines were detected with lead and cadmium respectively, which are metallic contaminants, at levels exceeding the legal limits. 

     "The CFS collected the above-mentioned samples at the import levels for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test results showed that the sweet potato sample contained lead at a level of 0.5 parts per million, exceeding the legal limit of 0.1 ppm; while the crab sample contained cadmium at a level of 2.93 ppm, exceeding the legal limit of 2 ppm," a spokesman for the CFS said.

     "Long-term excessive dietary exposure to lead may cause anaemia and damage to the nervous system and kidneys, and long-term excessive intake of cadmium may affect the kidney functions. The CFS has informed the importers concerned of the irregularities and instructed them to stop sales and remove from shelves the affected products. The CFS is also tracing the sources and distributions of the products concerned," the spokesman added.

     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap. 132V), any person who sells food with metallic contamination above the legal limit is liable upon conviction to a fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     The CFS will alert the Mainland and Philippine authorities as well as the trade, and continue to follow up on the incidents and take appropriate action. The investigations are ongoing.

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     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 14) that Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, is temporarily closed until further notice for maintenance of the shark prevention nets. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.

     The red flag at the beach was hoisted earlier due to big waves.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (November 14) that in view of notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Komárom-Esztergom County in Hungary, as well as in the Veneto region of the Province of Treviso and the Lombardia region of the Province of Mantua in Italy, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 150 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary, and about 120 tonnes of frozen poultry meat and about 20 000 poultry eggs from Italy in the first nine months of this year.

     â€‹"The CFS has contacted the Hungarian and Italian authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (Brussels ETO) promoted opportunities in Hong Kong for innovation and technology (I&T) start-ups and companies that are attending the Web Summit Lisbon 2024 in Portugal.
 
     In collaboration with Invest Hong Kong and the Portugal-Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Brussels ETO hosted a networking reception on November 12 (Lisbon time) for about 100 participants of the Web Summit. At the reception,  Brussels ETO Assistant Representative Mr Paul Leung outlined Hong Kong's distinctive advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle and in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. 

     Mr Leung highlighted the commitment of the Government in strengthening the role of Hong Kong as an international I&T centre and encouraged I&T companies to set up their operations in Hong Kong. He invited participants to come and see firsthand how Hong Kong is the place for I&T and why Hong Kong is an ideal place for them to grow their business, innovations and technology.
 
     The Web Summit is a major global technology conference and is being held this year from November 11 to 14 (Lisbon time). It is attended by over 70 000 international participants in the field of technology.