Hongkong Post announced today (July 4) that, as advised by the postal administration of Italy, due to the impact of severe weather, mail delivery services to the Aosta Valley region in Italy are subject to delay.
In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
From noon on July 3 to noon today (July 4), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 145 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 64 619 samples of food imported from Japan (including 41 682 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 15 642 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited relating to a fraudulent website and an internet banking login screen, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the website or login screen concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.
The Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 4) announced the completion of the selection process of the third cohort of the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS).
A total of 777 valid SNDAS nominations were received from 405 secondary schools for the third cohort. In the past few months, the eight University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities participating in the Scheme arranged interviews for the nominated students and carefully considered their individual merits. Firm offers were eventually made to 332 nominees prior to the release of the 2024 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination results, of which 326 have accepted the offers and will commence study on their chosen UGC-funded undergraduate programmes in September 2024 in a wide spectrum of disciplines including architecture, surveying and town planning, arts and humanities, business, computing and engineering, education, environmental studies, design, fine arts, language, law, medicine and health, music, sciences, social sciences and more. A breakdown by discipline of study is provided in the Annex.
The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, was pleased to note the encouraging results of the third cohort of the SNDAS, in particular the continuing increase in the number of offers made to successful nominees.
"Talents of diversified skills and knowledge are essential to the future development of Hong Kong. The Government has long been attaching great importance to nurturing young people and is committed to enhancing the diversity of our education system, allowing students to realise their full potential through the creation of different opportunities and space for them. I am immensely appreciative of the secondary schools' nomination of, and the universities' support for, the SNDAS as well as their recognition of students' diverse talents," Dr Choi said.
The fourth cohort of the SNDAS will be open for applications by Secondary Six students taking the 2025 HKDSE Examinations and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2025. Details of the application arrangements will be announced in due course.
The SNDAS was introduced in 2021 as part of the Government's response to the recommendations made by the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum, which included enhancing the flexibility in university admissions. The eight UGC-funded universities had designated a total of over 220 publicly funded undergraduate programmes to participate in the third cohort of the SNDAS and set admission criteria that are not based on HKDSE Examination results for individual programmes.
​ The Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will launch the Summer Library Festival 2024, with the theme "Walking into Architecture" in July and August. Through a range of diverse on-site and online activities such as workshops, storytelling theatres, reading clubs, subject talks and book displays, members of the public of different ages are encouraged to broaden their reading horizons and deepen their understanding of the architecture of the country.
​ In addition to book displays related to architecture in public libraries in various districts, a series of parent-child workshops on the architecture of the Mainland and Hong Kong will take place at public libraries in the 18 districts, where parents and children will know more about the architecture of the Mainland and Hong Kong through creating mini fotomo models and mini neon signs together, or through making creative handicrafts of buildings with Chinese characteristics. Teenagers and adults can participate in workshops designated for them, namely the Coffee Shanshui Art Workshop and the Paper Art Workshop, in which participants will draw small-size landscape paintings with materials such as coffee and dry pastels, or make paper crafts showing the unique cityscapes on the Mainland and in Hong Kong.
​ Public libraries in various districts will organise storytelling theatres and parent-child musical sessions, where fascinating stories will be illustrated in different ways to cultivate children's interest in reading. Children will learn about buildings with special characteristics on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, and experience the joy of appreciating stories at the storytelling theatres, which will be conducted in Cantonese, Putonghua or English. They will also make story-related handicrafts. The musical "Writing Hero" will be performed by the Theatre Wonderland in Cantonese at the parent-child musical sessions to bring children joyfully into the world of writing and reading.
​ Furthermore, children can participate in online live workshops to learn about techniques on Western painting, watercolour painting and ink painting under the theme of ancient Chinese architecture. The HKPL will also organise online reading clubs and storytelling sessions featuring elements of Mainland and Hong Kong architecture. Videos about drawing techniques and handicrafts will be uploaded onto the HKPL YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/hkplgovhkchannel) and the LCSD Edutainment Channel (www.lcsd.gov.hk/edutainment/en) in phases.
​ Public libraries in Kwun Tong District, Sham Shui Po District and Wong Tai Sin District will organise activities with different topics in summer to encourage members of the public to learn more about and make effective use of the library resources in the districts. These activities include sessions of balloon twisting and magic performance; storytelling sessions guiding children to learn more about the history of Hong Kong's return to the motherland; handicraft workshops on Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage; and parent-child workshops on the cultural meaning of the Olympic Games.
​ All activities are free of charge. Seat reservations or admission tickets are required for some of the programmes. Details of the Summer Library Festival 2024 can be found on www.hkpl.gov.hk/slf2024-en. Members of the public can also visit the "Reading is Joyful" Facebook page (www.facebook.com/readingisjoyful) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/readingisjoyful) for more information on different events of the HKPL.
​ Some of the Summer Library Festival 2024 programmes are under the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.
