The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, continued his visit to Beijing today (January 11).

     Mr Yau met with Deputy Director-General of the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau Ms Li Yanling in the morning to foster closer ties and exchange views on attracting enterprises and investment as well as promoting external trade.

     Noting that Hong Kong, with its distinctive advantages and ideal business environment under "one country, two systems", is the best location for overseas and Mainland enterprises to establish their business foothold, Mr Yau said that Hong Kong will continue to fully utilise its strengths as an international trade and financial centre and proactively play the bridging role between the Mainland and the world to attract overseas enterprises to invest in the Mainland while assisting Mainland enterprises to tap into overseas markets.

     In the afternoon, Mr Yau called on Vice Minister of the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) Mr Yang Guorui to update him on the latest developments of Hong Kong's broadcasting industry. Mr Yau said that with the staunch support of the NRTA all along, a number of liberalisation measures facilitating the co-operation between the broadcasting industries on the Mainland and in Hong Kong have been implemented under the framework of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. These measures have opened up more opportunities for the development of Hong Kong's broadcasting industry and also enabled Hong Kong audiences to enjoy more quality television programmes co-produced with the Mainland, thereby promoting people-to-people bonds.

     Mr Yau said he looks forward to further deepening collaboration between the broadcasting industries on the Mainland and in Hong Kong as well as strengthening talent and technical exchanges, with a view to promoting the joint development of the cultural industries of the two places.

     Before leaving Beijing tomorrow (January 12), Mr Yau will call on the China National Intellectual Property Administration to exchange views on issues relating to the promotion of intellectual property trading. He will return to Hong Kong tomorrow evening.

    

     The Hong Kong Flower Show (HKFS) 2024 will be held at the Victoria Park from March 15 to 24, with the colourful angelonia as the theme flower this year, featuring "Floral Joy Around Town" as the theme of the show. The plant exhibit competition, one of the major activities of the HKFS, is now open for application. Application is free of charge and will remain open until January 31. Members of the public are invited to join. A quota is set for each section of the competition, and entrants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     The competition will be divided into 13 sections including orchid, Chinese cymbidium, potted plant, cactus and succulent, foliage and carnivorous plant, African violet, bonsai-type plant, floral arrangement in Western style and Oriental style, floral art by school children, primary and secondary school potted plant growing/nursing, and a school garden plot competition.
 
     Participants can enrol through the HKFS webpage at www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/hkfs/2024/exhibits.html or download the entry form and submit the completed form in person or by post to the Secretariat of the Show Committee of the HKFS 2024 (11/F, Leisure and Cultural Services Headquarters, 1-3 Pai Tau Street, Sha Tin) or by fax (2691 7264) on or before January 31. For enquiries about the competition, please call 2601 8260 or visit the HKFS webpage.
 
     The HKFS is organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is supporting the HKFS for the 12th consecutive year and has been the major sponsor of the HKFS since 2014.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (January 11) announced that according to the surveillance data as at January 6, local seasonal influenza activity has continued to increase and exceeded the baseline thresholds, indicating that Hong Kong has entered the winter influenza season. Influenza activity is anticipated to further increase in the coming weeks. All sectors of the community should heighten their vigilance and enhance personal protection measures against influenza.

     Following the higher-than-baseline level of influenza admission rate in public hospitals recorded in the last week of last year, the percentage of detections testing positive for seasonal influenza viruses among the respiratory specimens received by the CHP's Public Health Laboratory Services Branch and the Hospital Authority also reached 11.77 per cent during the week ending January 6, which was above the baseline. The majority of positive detections in that period were influenza A(H3) (around 77 per cent).

     The influenza admission rate in public hospitals also increased to 0.68 case per 10 000 population in the same period. Separately, the number of reported influenza-like illness (ILI) outbreaks started to increase after the Christmas and New Year holidays, with a total of 11 relevant institutional outbreaks reported to the CHP in the week ending January 6, affecting 47 persons in total. The 11 outbreaks included two in primary schools, three in residential care homes (RCHs) for the elderly, three in RCHs for persons with disabilities, two in hospitals and one in a special school. The outbreak figures substantially increased between January 7 and 10, during which 91 persons were affected in the 21 institutional outbreak reports received by the CHP, including 13 in primary schools and two in pre-primary institutions.

     As ILI outbreaks may happen in a number of schools during the influenza season, schools are reminded to take additional measures to lower transmission of influenza in schools, including actively checking the body temperature of all students every day when they arrive at school to identify those with fever. Students and staff members with fever, regardless of having respiratory symptoms or not, should not attend school. In addition, schools should promptly make a report to the CHP in case an increase in fever or respiratory illnesses among students or staff members is observed for epidemiological investigations and appropriate control measures. The CHP has issued letters to schools to draw their attention. Letters will also be sent to doctors, hospitals, and institutions to appeal for heightened vigilance and appropriate actions to fight against influenza together.

     The influenza season in Hong Kong usually lasts for eight to 12 weeks. A spokesman for the CHP said that based on previous surveillance data, after entering the influenza season, the virus activity will continue to rise for a period of time before reaching its peak. Members of the public, especially those with higher risks of influenza infection and its complications, such as the elderly and children, should receive seasonal influenza vaccination as soon as possible to lower the risks of serious illness and death. High-risk persons should wear a surgical mask when visiting public places, and the public should also wear a surgical mask when taking public transportation or staying in crowded places. Persons with respiratory symptoms, even if mild, are reminded to wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending classes at school, and seek medical advice promptly with a view to lowering the risk of transmission.

     â€‹For the latest information on influenza activity, please visit the CHP's influenza page and COVID-19 & Flu Express. As for vaccination, the public may visit the CHP's Vaccination Schemes page.

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (January 11) that, as advised by the postal administration of Japan, mail delivery services to Japan for areas with the postcodes listed below are subject to delay due to the earthquake.
 

     The Lands Department (LandsD) today (January 11) posted resumption notices and acquisition notices in accordance with relevant ordinances to resume about 109 hectares of land for the implementation of the remaining phase development of the Kwu Tung North/Fanling North New Development Areas (KTN/FLN NDA).
 
     Section 4 of the Lands Resumption Ordinance (Chapter 124), section 4 of the Land Acquisition (Possessory Title) Ordinance (Chapter 130), section 14 of the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance (Chapter 370) and section 14 of Chapter 370 as applied by section 26 of the Water Pollution Control (Sewerage) Regulation (Chapter 358, Subsidiary Legislation AL) will be invoked. In addition, a one month notice of the intention to make an order directing the removal of human remains from seven graves in accordance with section 119(1) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132) will be gazetted on January 12. The Government will continue negotiating with the claimants for voluntary removal of the human remains from these graves before making the order.
 
     A total of 1 690 private lots with an area of about 109 hectares will be resumed, and the land being occupied by 40 graves and 17 urns with an area of government land of about 2 180 square metres will be acquired. The said land will revert to or vest in the Government upon the expiry of a period of three months from the date of affixing the notices (i.e. April 12, 2024). The Government will release ex-gratia land compensation to the relevant land owners after land reversion.
 
     The abovementioned land reversion date is the date of vesting of the ownership of the land in the Government. It is not the departure deadline of the affected households and business undertakings. According to the information obtained earlier from the freezing survey, there are a total of 1 065 affected households and 313 affected business operators within the remaining phase development of the KTN/FLN NDA. According to the project schedule, they are scheduled to depart in batches from the third quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2026. The LandsD sent letters to the affected households and business undertakings from November to December 2022 informing them of the scheduled departure dates and the compensation and rehousing arrangements for their reference and early preparation for moving out. The LandsD and its appointed Compensation and Rehousing Service Teams will maintain communication with the affected households and business undertakings, and provide updated information when necessary, including the posting of notices by the LandsD three months before the departure deadlines of the affected households and business undertakings in relevant areas in accordance with the applicable procedures. Based on the current situation, it is estimated that the first batch of 780 households and 207 business undertakings will have to move out as early as the third quarter of 2024.
 
     The Government is handling the compensation and rehousing matters of the relevant land owners, households and business undertakings at full steam, and will endeavour to arrange rehousing or release compensation for all eligible persons before the clearance commences. In response to affected households' concerns about living near the construction site, households affected by the remaining phase development can apply for early departure and receive rehousing and compensation. As of November 30, 2023, 889 households have applied, of which 336 eligible households have been rehoused, 11 eligible households have received ex-gratia cash compensation, and the applications of 447 households are being processed or the households have yet to submit supplementary information, and 95 households are not eligible based on the existing information (the main reasons include: households move into the development area after the freezing survey, living in unauthorised structures, or holding domestic property). The LandsD will continue to process relevant applications and contact the affected persons, particularly those households to be moved out in the first batch so as to follow up with their rehousing and compensation matters.
 
     The KTN/FLN NDA is the first new development area project commencing construction in the Northern Metropolis, which will supply land for housing, commercial, community and other developments. The first phase of site formation and engineering infrastructure works commenced in 2019. The remaining phase of site formation and engineering infrastructure works (including roads, drainage, sewerage, water mains, landscaping works, slope works and electrical and mechanical works, etc) are planned to commence in the middle of this year.
 
     Upon full development, the KTN/FLN NDA will provide about 86 200 housing units accommodating a population of about 226 700, and will also provide about 1 275 000 sq m gross floor area for economic activities while creating about 53 100 job opportunities.