Author Archives: hksar gov

     Oorkaan from the Netherlands will perform its award-winning concert for toddlers, “Glimpse”, in February next year. The arts group won “Best Music Production of the Year” and “Best Small Ensemble” at the Young Audiences Music Awards 2015.
 
     “Glimpse” is suitable for audiences aged 2 and above. This poetic concert will invite children into a colourful dream-like world, inspiring their wide-open imaginations with live music and rhythms that interact with graphic illustrations. Various patterns will fill the theatre through live projection, while continually changing the background for the performers and the audience. Integrating light and visuals in an extraordinary way, the performance maintains an exemplary balance between the music, the performance’s graphic elements and the interaction with the audience.
 
     Founded in 2000 in Amsterdam, Oorkaan is a Netherlands organisation that has dedicated itself exclusively to creating high-quality concerts for audiences from eighteen months to 12 years old. Aiming to provide every child with the opportunity to experience the power of live music, Oorkaan produces many types of live classical performances from around the world. Oorkaan presents about seven music productions per season and organises roughly 200 performances a year in the Netherlands and other countries.
 
     Details of the performances are as follows:
 
February 6 (Thursday), 7.30pm
February 7 (Friday), 3pm and 7.30pm
Tickets: $220
February 8 (Saturday), 11.30am, 3pm and 7.30pm
February 9 (Sunday), 11.30am, 3pm and 5pm
Tickets: $260
Black Box Theatre, Kwai Tsing Theatre
 
     The running time of each performance is approximately 40 minutes without intermission. Children must be accompanied by a parent or an adult, and one ticket per person is required regardless of age (including very young children).
 
     Presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, “Glimpse” is one of the attractions of the “Cheers!” Series. Tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/multi_arts/programs_901.html. read more

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed “Twilight”  and “Greenlane” from November 18 to yesterday (November 21). A total of 37 suspected illegal workers and 10 suspected employers were arrested.

     During the operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 30 target locations including garbage collection depots, laundry factories, recycling sites, restaurants and a store. The suspected illegal workers comprised 28 men and nine women, aged 25 to 54. Among them, 14 men and two women were holders of recognisance forms which prohibit them from taking any employment. In addition, three men and six women were suspected of using and being in possession of forged Hong Kong identity cards. Meanwhile, five men and five women, aged 29 to 59, were suspected of employing the suspected illegal workers.

     “Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties,” an ImmD spokesman said.

     The spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases. It is an offence to use or possess a forged Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.

     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screenings of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.
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     The Transport Department today (November 22) announced that the auction of traditional vehicle registration marks will be held on December 7 (Saturday) in Meeting Room N201, L2, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

     “A total of 340 vehicle registration marks will be put up for public auction. The list of marks has been uploaded to the department’s website, www.td.gov.hk,” a department spokesman said.

     Applicants who have paid a deposit of $1,000 to reserve a mark for auction should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price of $1,000). Otherwise, the mark may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(a) Successful bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(1) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(2) the identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(3) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(4) a crossed cheque made payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” or “The Government of the HKSAR”. (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.

(b) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted.

(c) A vehicle registration mark can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(d) Special registration marks are non-transferable. Where the ownership of a motor vehicle with a special registration mark is transferred, the allocation of the special registration mark shall be cancelled.

(e) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the registration mark to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the registration mark within 12 months, allocation of the mark will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of Vehicle Registration Marks, which can be downloaded from the department’s website, www.td.gov.hk. read more

     The Education Bureau (EDB) designed a brand-new Life Planning Information Website (lifeplanning.edb.gov.hk) to provide a one-stop platform for students, teachers and parents to gather more comprehensive information on… read more

     Hongkong Post announced today (November 22) that, due to a mail backlog at the Chicago airport, all mail delivery services (including Speedpost) to Chicago and nearby areas (postcodes 400XX to 799XX, except for 59XXX) are … read more