The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has invited guzheng artist Wan Xing to stage a recital under the "City Hall Virtuosi Series" later this month. Wan will perform a number of classic and contemporary compositions, some of which will incorporate elements of Western music and multimedia arts to showcase the multicultural facets of guzheng music, bringing an exceptional, cross-boundary musical experience to the audience.
 
　　Wan is the artistic curator and music director of the recital, and she will be joined by dongxiao artist Zhang Fan to open the recital with the traditional guzheng music piece "The Lotus Rising from the Water". She will also perform with harpist Lauyee Yeung the ancient composition "Three Variations on Yangguan" and the world premiere of "Autumn Breeze through Thousand Miles", which is a new work co-written by Wan and local composer Phoebus Lee, to share with music lovers the beauty of the fusion between the sounds of the guzheng and harp.
 
　　In addition, Wan will perform two contemporary guzheng compositions, "Flow of Heart" and "La Blancheur", in solo. She will also introduce the ancient piece "Song of the Homebound Fishermen" and the zheng concerto "Blue Heaven Overture" with flautist Carmen Ma and pianist Katie Fong respectively. The thematic finale "Soundscape" will be combined with electronic music, multimedia projection and stage lighting effects, blending the rhythms of Chinese and Western music, from traditional to modern, to bring new artistic elements to guzheng music.
 
        A graduate of the Central Conservatory of Music and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Wan has co-operated with various local arts groups to create a number of productions, such as the original dance poem "Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature" and the mindful theatre "Vipassana" of the Hong Kong Dance Company, as well as the atmospheric music theatre "Tranquil as a Chrysanthemum" of the Wuji Ensemble. Wan has received numerous awards including the Best Performance Award 2002 at the First Chinese Folk Instruments Competition organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Best Teacher Award 2013 at the Third International Guzheng Contest. She has recently been a guzheng instructor at the Education University of Hong Kong.
 
　　"City Hall Virtuosi" Series: Guzheng Recital by Wan Xing will be staged at 8pm on January 31 (Wednesday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $180 and $220 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7321 or visit 
www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1602.html.

    

     Demand notes for rates and/or Government rent for the quarter from January to March 2024 have been issued, and payment should be made by January 31, 2024.

     Payment can be made:

(1) by using autopay, PPS, bank automated teller machines (ATMs), the Faster Payment System (FPS) or Internet banking;

(2) by uploading an e-Cheque/e-Cashier's Order via the Pay e-Cheque portal: www.payecheque.gov.hk;

(3) by sending a crossed cheque to the Treasury, PO Box No. 28000, Sham Shui Po Post Office, Hong Kong (please note that mail with insufficient postage will be rejected); or

(4) in person at any of the post offices or designated convenience stores in Hong Kong (i.e. 7-Eleven, Circle K, VanGo or U select). For the addresses and opening hours of post offices, please call Hongkong Post's enquiry hotline on 2921 2222 or visit its website: www.hongkongpost.hk.

     If payers have not received the demand notes, they may obtain replacement demand notes or enquire as to the amount payable by (i) visiting the Rating and Valuation Department's website: www.rvd.gov.hk; (ii) calling 2152 0111; (iii) fax 2152 0113; or (iv) visiting in person at the Rating and Valuation Department, 15/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.

     Please note that there will be no rates concession for this quarter. The total amount due is shown on the demand note. Non-receipt or late receipt of a demand note does not alter the requirement that the total amount due must be paid on or before January 31, 2024. A surcharge of 5 per cent will be imposed for late payment. A further surcharge of 10 per cent will be levied on the amount (including the 5 per cent surcharge) which remains unpaid six months after the last day for payment.

     For payment by autopay, the rates and/or Government rent will be debited from payers' bank accounts on January 31, 2024. Payers should ensure that there are sufficient funds in their bank accounts to meet the payments on that date until settlement.

     To support environmental protection, payers are advised to utilise the Rating and Valuation Department’s free eRVD Bill service to receive e-bills and make payments. Payers are also encouraged to settle bills by autopay or other means of e-payment (e.g. PPS, ATMs, Internet banking or e-Cheque/e-Cashier Order) in order to save queuing time. Application forms for autopay are obtainable from the Rating and Valuation Department, District Offices and major banks in Hong Kong or by telephoning 2152 0111. Payers may also download the form from the Rating and Valuation Department's website.

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (January 5) that due to big waves, the red flag has been hoisted at Clear Water Bay Second Beach in Sai Kung District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.
 

     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Hung Hom last night (January 4) in which a 44-year-old man died.

     At about 9.10pm, a motorcycle driven by the 44-year-old man was travelling along Sheung Shing Street westbound. When approaching near 80 Sheung Shing Street, it reportedly rammed into an iron pole at the roadside.

     Sustaining serious injuries, the man was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 11.28pm.

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, Kowloon West is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 9023.

     A spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (January 4), to ensure that the live pigs supplied to Hong Kong are not infected by African Swine Fever (ASF), the Government has established mechanism to monitor animal diseases at import level and in slaughterhouses, including the inspection of imported live pigs for consumption. 

     The spokesman for the CFS stressed,"ASF is not a zoonotic disease and will not infect humans, hence does not cause any food safety risk."

     At present, live pigs supplied to Hong Kong are sourced from registered farms which are under the supervision and monitoring of the Mainland authority. Every consignment of live pigs supplied to Hong Kong must undergo quarantine and inspection before export and be accompanied by an official health certificate and does not have syndrome of ASF. Veterinary Officers of the CFS at Animal Inspection Station will also inspect the health conditions of live pigs. If the registered farm in the Mainland is affected by ASF, the live pigs from the farm cannot be imported to Hong Kong. If there are any pigs suspected to be infected with ASF, samples will be collected and sent to the Veterinary Laboratory of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for testing. All pigs have to undergo stringent ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections in slaughterhouses before supplying to the market. In the past four years, there is no live pigs supplied from the Mainland to Hong Kong was detected ASF.  

     With the implementation of daily clearance arrangement since June 2019, all live pigs admitted to the slaughterhouses will be slaughtered within 24 hours. Lairages at different areas of the slaughterhouses will be cleared and undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection every day to reduce the risk of ASF infection and the virus from being carried from slaughterhouses to local farms. Furthermore, Mainland live pig vehicles and local ones are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected every time they leave the slaughterhouse, and the respective designated positions for their cleaning and disinfection are separated. Disinfection pools have been installed near the entrance gate to facilitate disinfection of wheels for pig-conveying trucks entering and leaving slaughterhouse. The FEHD and the operators of the slaughterhouses have been deployed additional manpower to monitor and ensure the vehicles have been undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection before leaving. 

     The government has been attaching great importance to the impact of ASF to local pig farmers and the pig rearing industry, and have been monitoring the latest developments. The recent cases of ASF in Hong Kong did not affect the operation of local slaughterhouses and hence did not affect the supply of live pigs and the price.