The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary today (December 22) announced that it will launch a trial run of live broadcasting of court proceedings through video webcasting next month (January) on two appellate proceedings in the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) for testing the technical feasibility of the live broadcast arrangements. 

     Open justice is a key to maintaining public confidence in the judicial system and upholding the rule of law. To enhance the transparency of court procedures and public confidence in the judicial process, the Judiciary has been actively exploring the initiative of live broadcasting of selected judicial proceedings outside court premises. 

     The Judiciary is mindful that not all proceedings are appropriate for live broadcasting. Appellate proceedings, particularly hearings in the CFA, are considered to be more suitable cases for live broadcasting. 

     Having regard to a host of factors seeking to ensure that the administration of justice will not be unduly compromised, including the need to take account of parties' views and to prevent possible misuse of broadcast materials, the Judiciary is planning to start with a trial run of live broadcasting of two appeal hearings in the CFA. The primary objective of the trial run is to test the technical feasibility of the arrangements, including the information technology and audio-visual setup, as well as the logistical and operational details before, during and after the hearings.

     The Judiciary has identified two CFA cases to be heard respectively on January 10 and 16 next year for the trial run, to test two different screen layouts of fixed grids' view. Major details are as follows:
 

• Members of the public can view the live webcast of the two selected CFA cases on the CFA website via desktop computers or mobile devices installed with common browsers.

• The core written materials will be made available on the CFA website before the hearings. Relevant information of the live webcast will be provided nearer the time of the court proceedings on the websites of the CFA and the Judiciary.

• After the live webcast ends, the videos of the court proceedings will be uploaded to and kept on the CFA website for a short duration to allow easy access and flexible viewing. The two trial broadcasts of CFA hearings will respectively be made available for viewing for two and three calendar days after the hearing date.

• Members of the public, including the media, must not record the live webcast or use the live broadcast footage for any purpose. Measures such as digital rights management commonly found on streaming platforms will be put in place to deter unauthorised recording, screen capturing and illegal distribution of the live broadcast footage. Any person who records, edits or re-broadcasts the live broadcast footage without prior permission of the Court is liable for contempt of court or copyright infringement. Warnings will be shown on the CFA website and on-screen runner during the live webcast.

     Taking into account the technical feasibility assessment, court users' feedback, and operational experience from the trial run, the Judiciary will conduct a review and consider the way forward for live broadcasting of court proceedings outside court premises in the longer term.

     The Government gazetted today (December 22) the proposed road works in Ma On Shan to provide necessary infrastructure for the public housing developments at Ma On Shan Tsuen Road.

     Details of the proposal are set out in the Annex. The plans and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:

Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Harbour Building, 
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Sha Tin Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Sha Tin Government Offices,
1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin, New Territories

District Lands Office, Sha Tin,
11/F, Sha Tin Government Offices,
1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin, New Territories

     The gazette notice, scheme, plans and location plan are available at www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/publications/transport/gazette/gazette.html.

     Any person who wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics an objection in writing, which can be submitted via one of the following means:
 

• By post or by hand to the Transport and Logistics Bureau's Drop in Box No. 6 located at the entrance on 2/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong. The box is available for use between 8am and 7pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays);
• By fax to 2868 4643; or
• By email to gazettetlb@tlb.gov.hk.

     A notice of objection should describe the objector's interest and the manner in which he or she alleges that he or she will be affected by the works or the use. Objectors are requested to provide contact details to facilitate communication. A notice of objection should be delivered to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics not later than February 20, 2024.

     The Government gazetted today (December 22) the proposed installation of a cantilever noise barrier along the section of Island Eastern Corridor fronting Blocks 16 and 17 of Heng Fa Chuen to mitigate traffic noise.
      
     Details of the proposal are set out in the Annex. The plan and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:
 
Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Harbour Building,
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
     
Eastern Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Eastern Law Courts Building,
29 Tai On Street, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong
 
District Lands Office, Hong Kong East,
19/F, Southorn Centre,
130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
 
     The gazette notice, scheme, plan and location plan are available at www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/publications/transport/gazette/gazette.html.
 
     Any person who wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics an objection in writing, which can be submitted via the following means:
 

• By post or by hand to the Transport and Logistics Bureau's Drop-in Box No. 6 located at the entrance on 2/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong. The box is available for use between 8am and 7pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays);
• By fax to 2868 4643; or
• By email to gazettetlb@tlb.gov.hk.

 
     A notice of objection should describe the objector's interest and the manner in which he or she alleges that he or she will be affected by the works or the use. Objectors are requested to provide contact details to facilitate communication. A notice of objection should be delivered to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics not later than February 20, 2024.

     The Government gazetted today (December 22) the proposed installation of cantilevered noise barriers and a semi-enclosure along the section of Chai Wan Road near Neptune Terrace to mitigate traffic noise.
      
     Details of the proposal are set out in the Annex. The plan and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:
 
Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Harbour Building,
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
     
Eastern Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Eastern Law Courts Building,
29 Tai On Street, Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong
 
District Lands Office, Hong Kong East,
19/F, Southorn Centre,
130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
 
     The gazette notice, scheme, plan and location plan are available at www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/publications/transport/gazette/gazette.html.
      
     Any person who wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics an objection in writing, which can be submitted via the following means:
 

• By post or by hand to the Transport and Logistics Bureau's Drop-in Box No. 6 located at the entrance on 2/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong. The box is available for use between 8am and 7pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays);
• By fax to 2868 4643; or
• By email to gazettetlb@tlb.gov.hk.

 
     A notice of objection should describe the objector's interest and the manner in which he or she alleges that he or she will be affected by the works or the use. Objectors are requested to provide contact details to facilitate communication. A notice of objection should be delivered to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics not later than February 20, 2024.

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (December 22) that a total of five pieces of government land in Tuen Mun and North District will be let by way of short-term tenancy through tender to eligible brownfield operators affected by the land resumption and clearance exercises before or within the fourth quarter of 2026 under relevant government development projects.
 
     Brownfield operators, which were invited to participate in a short-term tenancy through previous relevant tenders for two or more times after the completion of clearance exercises of relevant government development projects, would be excluded from this tender.
 
     The tender commences today and will close on January 25, 2024. Details of the five pieces of land and the list of relevant government development projects involved are described in a Government Notice gazetted today.
 
     Under the prevailing arrangements, business operators affected by government development projects will be offered statutory compensation in accordance with the law, or ex-gratia allowances as an alternative, subject to fulfilment of relevant eligibility criteria.
 
     A spokesperson for the LandsD said that in order to facilitate brownfield operators' relocation of businesses or operations, and to optimise the utilisation of land resources, the department has been identifying suitable vacant sites on government land to let through tender by way of a short-term tenancy.
 
     The five pieces of land to be let through tender are suitable for a range of uses including industrial use, storage, workshop, recovery and recycling or reprocessing business and fee-paying public carpark. 
 
     The spokesperson stressed that the LandsD will continue to identify vacant sites suitable for use by those brownfield operators required to be displaced and these sites will be let through tender by way of a short-term tenancy.