The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (May 17) urged the public not to consume a kind of raw milk cheese imported from France and the import into and sale in Hong Kong of that k… read more
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, in Guangzhou today (May 17) continued her visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area.
In the morning, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited three enterprises at the Science City of the Guangzhou Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone engaging in regenerative medical technology, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, and medical technology and rehabilitation robots. The visits allowed them to know more about collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangzhou enterprises in transformation of scientific and technological achievements as well as the development of Hong Kong companies establishing a presence in Guangzhou to gain access to the Mainland market. Mrs Lam expressed the hope that the two cities can boost collaboration among relevant sectors in the field of innovation and technology (I&T), and combine government support, production, education, scientific research and practical application in advancing the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area as an international I&T centre.
Mrs Lam and the other officials then met with the Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Mr Li Xi, and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Ma Xingrui, and attended a lunch hosted by them. At the meeting, Mrs Lam thanked the Guangdong Provincial Government for the large amount of work it did to prepare for last month’s visit by members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to the Bay Area, which was well received by the Legislative Council members. She said that this year is the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the country and in the course of the reform and opening up, Guangdong Province was the first mover and Hong Kong also made contributions. She expressed the hope that the Bay Area would carry on from past successes while creating new achievements in the future, raising Hong Kong-Guangdong co-operation to a new stage. She said that to develop a world-class Bay Area, breakthroughs in co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong in innovation are needed. She said that the instruction made personally by President Xi Jinping days earlier introduced a major breakthrough in the co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong in scientific research with the opening up of science and technology funding of the Central Government for application by universities and research institutions in Hong Kong, helping tremendously in the future development of the Bay Area as an international I&T centre. Mrs Lam proposed to Mr Li to continue to strengthen the work on youth exchanges and people-to-people bonds, so that people of the two places will embrace the development of the Bay Area.
In the afternoon, Mrs Lam and the other officials toured an entrepreneurship base of the Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association in Tianhe District to learn about its services and development plan. She exchanged views with young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong at the base and was told about their start-up experiences in Guangzhou. Established in October 2017, the base provides young people of Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao with support services in entrepreneurship, internship, exchanges and living.
Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited the Pazhou Internet Innovation Cluster, which is currently being developed, to learn about its development as an Internet technology and innovation platform. They also toured the Qingsheng station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in the Nansha district to view the area’s transportation network and the surrounding development.
Mrs Lam and the other officials returned to Hong Kong this afternoon.
The US premiere of the award-winning movie “Tomorrow Is Another Day” has been held in Chicago, helping another successful film funded by the Hong Kong Film Development Fund to gain prominence on the world stage.
Before the screening of the film in the Asian Pop-Up Cinema festival in Chicago on May 16 (Chicago time), lead actor Ling Man-lung was presented with the festival’s Bright Star Award.
The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, New York (HKETONY), Ms Joanne Chu, congratulated Ling and director and screenwriter Chan Tai-lee, who was also in attendance. She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to support and promote the Hong Kong film industry worldwide, including nurturing young film talents. The Film Development Fund has supported more than 30 films since its inception in 2007. These films have won nearly 100 awards at local and overseas film festivals.
Sponsored by HKETONY, the screening had a full house. The heartfelt drama was a big winner at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards. Ling was named Best New Performer for his role as an autistic teenager, while Teresa Mo won Best Actress as a self-sacrificing housewife.
HKETONY has partnered with Asian Pop-Up Cinema to take distinguished actors and directors to the Windy City since 2016. Hong Kong film industry guests in past events have included Steve Chan, Teddy Robin Kwan and Herman Yau.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (May 17) that a sample of rice with BBQ pork and duck was found to contain a pathogen, Salmonella. The CFS is following up on the… read more
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, visited Islands District today (May 17) to learn more about the current situation and future development plans of Lantau. He also met with members of the Islands District Council (IDC) and exchanged views with them on various issues.
Mr Yau first met with the IDC members to listen to their views on matters relating to tourism, broadband services, transport and local economic development. He took the opportunity to brief them on relevant government policies, including a scheme to encourage telecommunications companies to extend fibre-based networks to remote villages by providing financial initiatives in the form of subsidies, with the Government taking the lead.
He then made a site visit to Pak Mong Pier at Tung Chung to observe the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) Island of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) and the site of Tung Chung East reclamation. The Government promulgated the Sustainable Lantau Blueprint in 2017 under the overarching principle of “Development in the North, Conservation for the South” to balance the needs for development and conservation in Lantau. Mr Yau was briefed by representatives of the Planning Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department on the housing and economic development plans along the northern shore of Lantau, including the Tung Chung New Town Extension, the ongoing study of the topside development on the HKBCF Island and the proposed Sunny Bay reclamation.
Strategically located at the landing point of the HZMB and adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport, the HKBCF Island will serve as a strategic gateway of Hong Kong connecting to the Greater Pearl River Delta and the rest of the world for the long-term development needs of Hong Kong. Mr Yau said the commissioning of the HZMB will enhance exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong and cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, thereby promoting the development of multi-destination itineraries and strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a regional tourism hub.
The Tung Chung New Town Extension offers extra retail and hotel facilities and there are plans to provide a marina and associated facilities. Mr Yau said this can help promote the economic and tourism development of Lantau.
Noting that the reclamation project at Sunny Bay has been positioned as the “Northeast Lantau Tourism Gateway” and that Sunny Bay could be developed into a converging point for leisure, sports, recreation, entertainment and tourism activities, Mr Yau said the proposal could achieve synergy with the further development of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and other major developments in north Lantau.
Mr Yau then visited Pui O Beach to gain a better understanding of major conservation proposals in south Lantau. The Government is carrying out the “Ecological Study for Pui O, Shui Hau, Tai O and Neighbouring Areas” and the “Study on Traffic, Transport and Capacity to Receive Visitors for Lantau” to look into the feasibility of various proposals such as conservation measures for Pui O, Shui Hau and Tai O and the expansion of the cycle track and mountain bike trail network in Lantau. Mr Yau said he believed that the relevant work could develop the tourism potential of Lantau while taking into account Lantau’s natural environment and other factors such as its transport infrastructures.
