Author Archives: hksar gov

     Three charities have been issued Public Subscription Permits to hold flag sales from 7am to 12.30pm today (December 21). They are, on Hong Kong Island, Retina Hong Kong; in Kowloon, People Service Centre Limited; and in the New Territories, Against Child Abuse Limited, a spokesman for the Social Welfare Department (SWD) said.
      
     Arrangements have been made with the charities to help people to distinguish among the three flag-selling activities.    
      
     Information on the three flag-selling organisations on December 21 is as follows:
 

Region	Name of organisation	Colour of collection bag	Colour of flag
Hong Kong Island	Retina Hong Kong	Light green	Light green
Kowloon	People Service Centre Limited	Orange	Green
New Territories	Against Child Abuse Limited	Red	Dark green

 
     Details of the charitable fund-raising activities, including any updated information, covered by the issued Public Subscription Permits have been published on the GovHK website (www.gov.hk/en/theme/fundraising/search). Permits for flag days containing information on contact methods of the flag-selling organisations and the approved flag-selling activities have also been uploaded to the SWD’s website (www.swd.gov.hk/en/ngo/controlofc/flagdays) for reference. For enquiries, please call the SWD’s hotline at 2343 2255, or the designated hotline of the 1823 Call Centre at 3142 2678.
      
     In the case of suspected fraudulent flag day activities, people should not make any donation and should immediately report the matter to the Police, the spokesman added. read more

     In view of the cold weather, the Home Affairs Department has opened 18 temporary cold shelters in various districts today (December 20) for people in need of the service. The temporary shelters will remain open when the Cold Weather Warning is in force.
      
     Clean mattresses and blankets/quilts, hot meals and hot water will be provided to shelter users free of charge during the opening of the temporary shelters.
      
     To ensure that cold shelter users can rest in a quiet and undisturbed environment, members of the public or agencies wishing to make donations to shelter users are requested to register with the staff of the shelter first. Donors will then be directed to place the donated items at a specified indoor location.  The staff will help notify the shelter users to collect the items on their own.
      
     Anyone seeking temporary refuge, or those with any questions about the donation arrangements at the cold shelters, may call the department’s hotline 2572 8427 for more information.
      
     The 18 temporary cold shelters are located at:
 
Hong Kong Island:
——————–
 
Central and Western:
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex,
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern:
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Southern:
Lei Tung Community Hall
Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau
 
Wan Chai:
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai
 
Kowloon districts:
——————
 
Kowloon City:
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices,
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong:
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin
 
Sham Shui Po:
Nam Cheong District Community Centre
1 Cheong San Lane, Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin:
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong:
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories districts:
—————-
 
Islands:
Tung Chung Community Hall 
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building, 39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung
 
Kwai Tsing:
Tai Wo Hau Estate Community Centre
15 Tai Wo Hau Road, Kwai Chung
 
North:
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling
 
Sai Kung:
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex,
38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
 
Sha Tin:
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin
 
Tai Po:
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan:
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun:
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long:
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long read more

     The “Immersive Hong Kong” roving exhibition opened in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, today (December 20). This is the fifth stop of the exhibition, following its successful staging by the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Guangzhou, China between July 2023 and August 2024.
 
     Organised in collaboration with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Dubai (Dubai ETO), the exhibition is part of the ISD’s promotional campaign to showcase the city’s new attractions, advantages and opportunities. Themed “Hong Kong – Where the World Looks Ahead”, it invites visitors from the Middle East to explore the unique potential for tourism, business and investment in Hong Kong.
 
     The Director of Information Services, Mrs Apollonia Liu, said Hong Kong has been actively expanding and deepening its overseas networks, including closer co-operation and engagement with the Middle East.
 
     “The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and a number of Principal Officials have led delegations to visit the Middle East since last year to strengthen Hong Kong’s connections with the region, to tell good stories of Hong Kong, and to explore greater business opportunities.
 
     “Building on the success of the previous runs of the exhibition, we are bringing it to the Middle East for the first time. We hope that the exhibition in Dubai will provide an opportunity for our friends in the region to understand more about our city and its unique potential,” she said.

     Through interactive art technology, the “Immersive Hong Kong” exhibition enables visitors to delve into different virtual scenes representing the city with a creative twist. The five thematic zones, namely “Financial Bridgehead”, “I&T Brain Bank”, “Blossoming Creativity”, “Diversity and Greenery” and “Buzzing Sports Action”, feature multiple interactive art projections, light box installations and naked-eye 3D displays, presenting the multifaceted appeal of Hong Kong. There is a special introduction to the Kai Tai Sports Park, Hong Kong’s new state-of-the-art multi-purpose sports venue, which is set to officially open in the first quarter of 2025.
 
     Visitors may also enjoy the city’s vibrant and colourful skyline, illustrated by Hong Kong artist Messy Desk (Jane Lee), at a photo corner in the venue. Promotional videos on Hong Kong and digital panels with information and insights shared by companies and prominent individuals from the Middle East about their experiences in Hong Kong are also on display, explaining why the city is one of the most desirable places to visit, live, work and invest.

     To encourage more people to visit Hong Kong, an interactive game, “Snap a cool shot @Immersive Hong Kong”, is also part of the exhibition. Two winners will receive attractive prizes sponsored by Cathay Pacific. The winner of the Grand Prize will receive two round-trip business class air tickets from Dubai to Hong Kong, while the runner-up will receive two round-trip economy class air tickets on the same itinerary.
 
    To give Middle East audiences a taste of Hong Kong’s cultural offerings, a pop music concert by SENZA A Cappella and a street dance performance by Move Beyond will be staged at the exhibition venue from today to December 22.

     The exhibition is being held at The Beach, Jumeirah Beach Residence, a buzzing residential, shopping and dining complex in Dubai, until January 5, 2025. Admission is free, and visitors will be offered souvenirs during the event. In addition to Dubai ETO, other supporting organisations of this event include the Belt and Road Office of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong Talent Engage, Cathay Pacific, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and the Kai Tak Sports Park.
 
     More information on the exhibition is available on the dedicated page on the Brand Hong Kong website (www.brandhk.gov.hk/en/campaign/hkpromotion-middle-east) as well as the website of Dubai ETO (www.hketodubai.gov.hk/en/index.html).

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     With regard to some recent media reports on the Government’s funding support for infectious diseases-related research, the Health Bureau (HHB) today (December 20) emphasised that the Government has all along been highly supportive of local health and medical sector to conduct health and medical research (including those related to infectious diseases), and provides comprehensive and dedicated support for health and medical research projects, research infrastructure and research capacity building in Hong Kong through setting up the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF).

     After the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Government has set up the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases (RFCID) with a commitment of $450 million to encourage, facilitate and support research on the prevention, treatment and control of infectious diseases, in particular emerging infectious diseases, for example those relating to SARS and avian influenza (H5N1) research. It has also supported the establishment of the biosafety level 3 (BL-3) laboratory for handling highly pathogenic agents to enhance the capacity of the university in conducting research on emerging infectious diseases in a safe and controlled environment and to establish the capacity in conducting advanced research on infectious diseases in Hong Kong.

     In 2011, the Government established the HMRF by consolidating the HMRF and the RFCID. Funding commitment has been increased repeatedly and the approved amount has increased to $4,223 million to support government commissioned programmes and investigator-initiated projects. Among them, those related to infectious diseases research amount to $1,200 million covering:
 

• Six commissioned programmes on infectious diseases with approved funding of $792 million, covering COVID-19, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), influenza, avian flu, swine flu and other respiratory infectious diseases, human papilloma virus and anti-microbial resistance research.

 

• The commissioned programmes above include a total of $556 million since April 2020 to support 105 individual COVID-19 related research studies from bench to bedside and at the community level through application of new technologies. These studies provide new evidence to support the Government to promptly tackle the COVID-19 epidemic by formulating health policies, identifying the transmission chains, implementing control measures, improving the clinical management, as well as developing and promoting the vaccination programme. One of the research projects successfully developed the sewage testing approach for quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2, providing an important indicator for the Government to keep track of the virus activity in the community during the COVID-19 epidemic.

 

• For investigator-initiated projects, researchers are encouraged to submit research proposals according to the thematic priorities in which infectious disease has always been one of the priorities. As of end September 2024, a total of about 400 research studies have been funded amounting to $424 million covering prevention, detection, diagnosis and management of various infectious diseases, like hepatitis virus, tuberculosis, AIDS, and those related to preparedness and response to pandemic and epidemic.

     The Government encourages researchers to continue to leverage the HMRF to amplify the value of their research projects into full play and usher in considerable and sustainable positive impacts on health policy making and implementation with their research outcomes and to unleash new quality productive forces. On combating infectious diseases, the Government will continue to support the health and medical sector in conducting related research in order to enhance the capacity in surveillance, early detection, prevention and control. read more

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:      Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals when the Cold Weather Warning is in force:    &nbs… read more