Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, after officiating at the opening ceremony of the Learning and Teaching Expo 2019 today (December 11):
 
Reporter: Secretary, so yesterday the CE said that the Education Bureau should follow up seriously with teachers who violate work ethics. Would you explain how is the bureau going to act in this aspect? Thank you.
 
Secretary for Education: We always have been taking possible misconduct of teachers very seriously and so whenever we receive a complaint or we are notified of any cases of teachers being arrested or charged for some offences, we take these cases seriously. And we will consider the background of the case, what's happening actually in these cases and then we decide whether there is misconduct on the teacher's part. So if there is really some misconduct behaviour, we will consider necessary disciplinary actions as we are the registration authority for teachers which include, maybe a warning, a reprimand or even de-registration if their offences are very serious in nature.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
 

     The performance of "Cook" presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, originally scheduled for October 27 (Sunday) at 8pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Studio Theatre, has been cancelled.
 
     Ticket holders are advised to take their original intact tickets (with stubs) for cash refunds at the locations listed below from 10am to 9.30pm daily during the specified period. Late applications for refunds will not be accepted.
 
Refund period: December 12 (Thursday) to January 11, 2020 (Saturday)
 
Venue: URBTIX Box Office of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre
           URBTIX Box Office of Hong Kong City Hall
 
     For enquiries, please call 2370 1044.

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, at the opening ceremony of the Learning and Teaching Expo 2019 today (December 11):
 
Mr Wilfred Wong (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Education City Limited), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. It gives me great pleasure to join you here at the opening ceremony of the Learning and Teaching Expo, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. First of all, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to all of you, especially the visitors from the Mainland and overseas.
 
     Presented by the Hong Kong Education City and supported by the Education Bureau, the Learning and Teaching Expo is Asia's leading education exposition as well as Hong Kong's annual signature event for school leaders and teachers to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends in learning and teaching, educational resources and technologies. I am very pleased to know that this year's Expo has made a new record, offering over 350 exhibition booths and 250 programmes that cover a great variety of interesting and inspiring topics.
 
     The theme of the Expo this year is "Tomorrow's Learning Today". The landscape for tomorrow's learning is particularly relevant as we are standing at the brink of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and traditional education alone is no longer adequate to equip our students with the necessary knowledge and skills for blossoming in the technology-oriented world. Our education should harness the power of IT to enhance the younger generation's capabilities in embracing future challenges.
 
     To prepare our students for the challenges of the 21st century, the Government has dedicated great efforts to creating a favourable environment for schools' implementation of e-learning. These include providing Wi-Fi infrastructure, professional training and other support for schools to enable the optimal application of technology in learning and teaching. We note that schools have made good progress in introducing a variety of e-learning resources and pedagogies to their teaching. Our recent survey, which has about 90 per cent response rate, reveals that all the schools have already adopted e-learning resources for classroom teaching. Furthermore, it is encouraging to note that most schools are positive about the effectiveness of e-learning and they generally agree that e-learning contributes in particular to better learning motivation and self-directed learning.
 
     I am also excited to learn of the accomplishments made by schools that have pioneered the application of e-learning. A rich repertoire of strategies in learning and teaching are disseminated via channels such as training and sharing sessions as well as school-based support service provided by IT in Education Centres of Excellence. For instance, many schools are now adopting "flipped classroom" as a common practice to facilitate students' self-directed learning beyond the confines of time and space.
 
     In another vein, some schools are at the start of applying artificial intelligence to learning and teaching in such areas as automatic feedback and scoring of essays, language learning and adaptive learning system for mathematics. We understand that e-learning measures are not necessarily more effective than conventional ones in every case. Yet, harnessing the power of IT in education continues to open up new learning and teaching possibilities that can enhance the effectiveness of learning and teaching for the benefit of students. To sustain the momentum and hence encourage more teachers to step out of their comfort zone for trying out new technologies in learning and teaching, we will keep up our efforts in strengthening relevant professional development programmes for teachers and disseminating successful experiences and effective pedagogical practices in e-learning through learning communities among schools.
 
     Quality education promotes social development and enhances the competitiveness of our city. Hong Kong, ranked second globally, is once again recognised as one of the most competitive economies in the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2019 issued by the International Institute for Management Development. I am also delighted to know that Hong Kong ranks third among 141 economies in the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum. To reap the full benefits brought by a proliferation of advanced technologies in the world and the advantage of Hong Kong as a smart city, I would like to call upon all teachers to tap further into the power of IT for greater effectiveness in learning.
 
     Last but not least, I would like to thank Hong Kong Education City for organising the Expo again to bring in expertise and innovations from different regions and countries and to promote professional exchange and collaboration. I wish you all a wonderful and unforgettable experience as you explore the latest educational developments and meet new friends in the coming few days. Thank you very much.

     Among the 55 commercial stalls of the Hong Kong Flower Show 2020, 53 were let at the auction held on December 4. The remaining two fast food stalls will be leased at their upset price on a first-come, first-served basis starting from 9.30am on December 18 (Wednesday).
 
     The two remaining fast food stalls (stalls F4 and F6) measure 5 metres x 10m each. The letting price is $15,155 per stall. The Licensee of the F4 fast food stall shall operate the stall as a fruit shop selling fruit, juice and fruit dessert during the Licence Period.
 
     Those wishing to rent the stalls must be 18 years old or above and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong under section 2 of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) or any company incorporated in Hong Kong. Where the renter is a company, the authorised representative of the company must produce the following documents: (i) the company's Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Certificate, and (ii) an authorisation letter showing that the representative is authorised to act on the company's behalf in the rental and to sign the Licence Agreement on the company's behalf. Interested parties should approach the Secretariat of the Hong Kong Flower Show in person at 11/F, Leisure and Cultural Services Headquarters, 1-3 Pai Tau Street, Sha Tin.
 
      Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the 10-day flower show will be held from March 6 to 15, 2020, at Victoria Park. The 55 commercial stalls in the showground comprise six fast food stalls, one fast food stall – floral cafe, two beverage stalls, three agricultural produce stalls, two handicraft stalls, one traditional snack food stall, one photographic equipment stall, one book stall and 38 flower and gardening stalls.
 
      For enquiries, please call 2601 8260 or visit www.hkflowershow.hk/en/hkfs/2020/commercial.html.

     The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability) (Montreal Convention) Notice 2019 will be gazetted on Friday (December 13) to announce the revision made to the limits of liability in respect of the carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo specified in the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (the Montreal Convention) which will become effective on December 28.

     Details of the revision are as follows:

(a) the limit of liability for each passenger for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger is increased from 113,100 Special Drawing Rights as defined by the International Monetary Fund (SDRs) to 128,821 SDRs;

(b) the limit of liability for each passenger in relation to damage caused by delay in the carriage of persons is increased from 4,694 SDRs to 5,346 SDRs;

(c) the limit of liability for each passenger in case of destruction, loss, damage or delay in relation to the carriage of baggage is increased from 1,131 SDRs to 1,288 SDRs; and

(d) the limit of liability in case of destruction, loss, damage or delay in relation to the carriage of cargo is increased from 19 SDRs per kilogram to 22 SDRs per kilogram.

     The limits of liability in respect of the carriage of passengers, baggage and cargo stipulated in the Montreal Convention are subject to regular review by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) every five years based on a built-in mechanism. The liability limits will be revised if an inflation factor exceeds 10 per cent to enable timely updating of the liability limits to reflect changing prices.

     A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau today (December 11) said, "As advised by the ICAO recently, the latest review has been completed and concluded that the inflation factor is 13.9 per cent and the limits of liability will be revised with effect from December 28."

     Airlines operating scheduled services to and from Hong Kong, including all Air Operator's Certificate holders and the Board of Airline Representatives in Hong Kong, have been notified of the review of limits of liability conducted by the ICAO and the revisions to the limits of liability.

     The Montreal Convention is an international instrument governing carriers' liability for injury or death of passengers, damage or loss of baggage and cargo and losses caused by delays. Hong Kong has implemented it through the Carriage by Air Ordinance (Cap 500). The limits of liability specified in Schedule 1A and 3 are revised pursuant to Article 21 of the Ordinance.