The Leisure and Cultural Services Department today (December 17) announced that Hong Kong public libraries, including the Hong Kong Central Library and the mobile libraries, will close at 5pm on Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year's Eve (December 31).
 
     On Christmas Day (December 25), Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day (January 1, 2020), all public and mobile libraries and students' study rooms will be closed.
 
     Moreover, system maintenance work will be carried out from 6pm on December 24 to 7am on December 27, and from 00.30am to 11.59pm on January 1, during which the following services will be suspended:
– library mobile app services, Internet and telephone renewal services;
– other online library services, including the library catalogue, borrowers' record enquiries, reservation of library materials and Internet and Digital Service Workstations, electronic resources (e-Books and e-Databases); and
– self-service library stations (readers may return books to the stations before their due date, and the loan records will be updated on the next working day).
 
     Details can be obtained from notices posted at all public libraries and the library website at www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/library-notices/library-notices-list.html. For enquiries, please call 2921 0208.

     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 sale at 38 philatelic offices from December 19. These products are also available at the Hongkong Post online shopping mall ShopThruPost (Shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) starting from 8am on the same day.
 
     Details of the philatelic products, the selling prices and the sales quota for each customer are listed in the Appendix. Pictures showing these philatelic products are attached.
 
     Further information about these products can be obtained from the Hongkong Post Stamps website at stamps.hongkongpost.hk or by calling the Hongkong Post Philatelic Bureau hotline 2785 5711.

                        

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 hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.

     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.)