Hongkong Post announced today (December 17) that selected philatelic products issued by the postal administrations of the Mainland, Macao, Australia, the Isle of Man, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Singapore will be put on… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rates in public ho… read more
Renowned Cantonese opera artists and musicians from Hong Kong collaborated with the San Francisco-based Duen Fung Ming Chinese Opera troupe to give three performances in San Francisco. The charity performances presented by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, San Francisco (SFETO), benefited seniors served by Self-Help for the Elderly, a San Francisco-based non-profit organisation.
Speaking to the audience at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center on December 13 (San Francisco time), the Director of the SFETO, Mr Ivanhoe Chang, said the office was proud to sponsor the event, which offered an opportunity to promote this unique art form to a San Francisco audience.
“Few art forms can compare to Cantonese opera, with its colorful costumes, distinctive singing and music as well as a vibrant performance style that is rich with symbolic meaning,” said Mr Chang. “It is no wonder that Cantonese opera was included as part of UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
“The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is providing more opportunities for people in Hong Kong to enjoy Cantonese opera, which is popular with audiences in Hong Kong, both young and old, and continues to develop professional talent in this performing art,” he said.
Mr Chang encouraged the audience to visit Xiqu Centre, a venue dedicated to Chinese opera’s rich heritage, when they visit Hong Kong. “We welcome you to the Xiqu Centre to watch a performance at the Tea House Theatre while enjoying tea and dim sum,” he said.
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session in Beijing to conclude her duty visit this afternoon (December 16):
Reporter: Mrs Lam, in your meeting with President Xi, did you discuss the topic about national security or a cabinet reshuffle or even the possibility of establishing a commission of inquiry with President Xi or Mr Li Keqiang? And secondly, you know, meeting with the two state leaders, they basically said Hong Kong has yet to overcome difficulties and repeated that violence has to end. Does it mean that Beijing leaders are of the view that in the past months you have made very little progress in improving Hong Kong’s situation?
Chief Executive: On your first question, I’m afraid I cannot disclose the details of my meetings with the two leaders. The purpose of my duty report is to give our leaders a full account of what has happened in Hong Kong in the last 12 months. This year is a rather special one because in the last six months, Hong Kong has been haunted by this social unrest, disturbances and violent acts, so I spent a bit more time to give them an account of where things stand, and in their opening remarks, they also made comments in particular on this phenomenon.
As you will notice from the opening remarks of the two leaders, they did endorse the efforts made by the Hong Kong SAR Government and by myself in trying to end the violence that we have seen. They have also said that this is unprecedented. What we are now facing is a situation that has never happened in Hong Kong after reunification. Given the severity of the situation and the difficulties that we are facing, I can say that the leaders are fully appreciative of the efforts needed in order to achieve the objective. It is particularly worthwhile to highlight that in his opening remarks President Xi Jinping also mentioned that he very much hoped that all sectors in Hong Kong society will join hands in order to achieve this objective of ending the violence and return Hong Kong to a normal situation. That has also been my appeal over the last few months and I hope very much that Hong Kong people will help the SAR Government and support the Police in achieving this mission.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
​With the Christmas holiday approaching, Hong Kong Customs has further stepped up enforcement to combat cross-boundary smuggling of illicit cigarette activities before the holiday. A total of about 10 400 suspected duty-not-paid cigars with an estimated market value of about $900,000 and a duty potential of about $160,000 were seized at Lok Ma Chau Control Point between December 12 and 14.
Customs officers intercepted three incoming cross-boundary lorries at Lok Ma Chau Control Point between December 12 and 14. About 10 400 suspected duty-not-paid cigars were found inside 11 cartons of express postal parcels on board the vehicles.
After follow-up investigation, Customs officers today (December 16) arrested a 32-year-old man suspected to be in connection with the case in Fanling and further seized about 30 suspected duty-not-paid cigars in his residence in the district.
Investigation is ongoing.
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 duty-not-paid tobacco 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 tobacco activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
