Tag Archives: China

     A team of six students representing Hong Kong achieved outstanding results in the 20th International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO 2023), making the best results since 2018 by winning a total of three gold, two silver and one bronze medals. The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, congratulated the Hong Kong team today (December 14) on their excellent performance.

     Jayden Kong (St. Paul’s Co-educational College), Lai Yat-long (Po Leung Kuk Centenary Li Shiu Chung Memorial College) and Sung Tsz-ngo (Diocesan Boys’ School) each won a gold medal. Silver medallists were Inna Belle Lee (St. Paul’s Co-educational College) and Marcus Tsang (Ying Wa College) while Joycelyn Sun (Munsang College) won a bronze medal. 

     “The impressive results of the Hong Kong team in IJSO 2023 have demonstrated our students’ exceptional talent in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics). The Education Bureau (EDB) will continue to step up the promotion of STEAM education in primary and secondary schools and equip students with necessary skills for the new era. This includes the further promotion of the setting up of a school-based talent pool in schools, further enhancing the identification of students with potential in STEAM, making arrangements for these students to participate in systematic training and competitions of reasonable scale, so as to nurture more STEAM talent and strengthen our innovation and technology (I&T) capabilities,” Dr Choi said.

     “The EDB has been attaching great importance to the grooming of gifted students. To further promote the development of gifted education, the EDB has provided an additional injection of $600 million into the Gifted Education Fund this year to strengthen the collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education (HKAGE) and offer more diversified, high-quality and challenging off-school education services, particularly in STEAM-related areas. Enhanced efforts will be made to foster gifted students with potential in STEAM and to nurture future I&T talent for Hong Kong,” she added. 

     The IJSO is a science competition for secondary students aged 15 or below. The competition, covering physics, chemistry and biology up to the senior secondary level, comprises written assessments and science experiments on unfamiliar problems that require analytical and problem-solving skills. The IJSO 2023 was held in Thailand from December 1 to 10 with the participation of 304 contestants from 54 countries or regions.  

     The members of the Hong Kong team achieved excellent results in the International Junior Science Olympiad – Hong Kong Screening last year. They subsequently completed the science enhancement programmes provided by the HKAGE. The outstanding students in the programmes were then selected as contestants representing Hong Kong to participate in the IJSO 2023. The Hong Kong team was fully funded by the EDB to join this competition.

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     Ringing in the dragon for a bright year to come, Hongkong Post announced today (December 14) that Lunar New Year special stamps and associated philatelic products on the theme of “Year of the Dragon” will be released for sale on January 5, 2024 (Friday). The “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Rabbit/Dragon”, “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – A Complete Collectible Set” and “Year of the Dragon” Joint Souvenir Packs will be issued on the same day, adding a festive ambience to the new year.
 
     Among the 12 zodiac animals, the dragon is a mythical creature that symbolises prestige and power, and is widely known as an emblem of auspiciousness and good luck. As the Year of the Dragon is approaching, Hongkong Post will release the first issue of the fifth Lunar New Year special stamp series. This set of four stamps and two stamp sheetlets showcase the vivid depiction of the dragon with different graphic elements and festive colours, giving an atmosphere of rejoicing in celebration of the Year of the Dragon. The $50 stamp sheetlet is a laser-cut paper art stamp sheetlet issued by Hongkong Post for the first time. The motif on the stamp is laser-cut to create a delicate silhouette of a dragon. The elaborate design of the paper-cut, coupled with the exquisite making technique, renders the stamp sheetlet a perfect collectible in the Year of the Dragon.
 
     For the “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Rabbit/Dragon”, the rabbit and the dragon on the stamps are lavishly finished in silver foil and gold plating respectively, lending an ambience of joyous festivity of the New Year. With purple as the key tone, the background is embellished with lotus flower decorations on the roof ridge of traditional Chinese architecture, lending an air of nobility and grandeur.
 
     Hongkong Post started issuing the second Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals series in 2013, beginning with “Dragon/Snake” in 2013 and ending with “Rabbit/Dragon” in 2024, with a total of 12 sets to complete a full cycle. The “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – A Complete Collectible Set” draws the series to a perfect close. A set of two stamp sheetlets features the Lunar New Year Animals against gold and silver backgrounds respectively, which glisten brightly and emanate luxury while expressing the wish for a prosperous, auspicious and peaceful year.

     In addition, China Post, Hongkong Post and Macao Post and Telecommunications will jointly issue the “Year of the Dragon” Joint Souvenir Packs on the same day. The Joint Souvenir Packs contain the first-ever souvenir sheet jointly issued by the three postal administrations, which unites the diversified expressions of the dragon culture in Chinese traditions in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao, demonstrating that the three places share the same roots and cultural lineage. The souvenir sheet is printed on special security paper with exquisite techniques to create a colourful visual effect.
 
     The official first day covers for the “Year of the Dragon” and official souvenir covers for the “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Rabbit/Dragon” and “Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet on Lunar New Year Animals – A Complete Collectible Set” will be put on sale at all post offices and on Hongkong Post’s online shopping mall ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) from tomorrow (December 15). Prestige version of the aforesaid covers and the newly designed 2024 Souvenir Cover will also be available at all philatelic offices and ShopThruPost on the same day.
 
     This set of special stamps and associated philatelic products will be on sale at all post offices and on ShopThruPost from January 5, 2024. Prestige version of official first day covers/Lunar New Year animal souvenir covers, serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animal souvenir covers, prestige version of serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animal souvenir covers, postage prepaid Lunar New Year greeting cards, “Heartwarming Stamps” mini-panes, Joint Souvenir Pack and Joint Souvenir Pack (prestige version) will be available at philatelic offices only, while red packets will be available from December 15 at the General Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Tsuen Wan Post Office, Sha Tin Central Post Office and Tuen Mun Central Post Office only.
 
     A hand-back date-stamping service will be provided on January 5, 2024, at all post offices for official first day covers/souvenir covers/privately made covers bearing the first day of issue indication and a local address.
 
     Information about this set of special stamps and associated philatelic products is available on the Hongkong Post Stamps website (stamps.hongkongpost.hk) and in the ShopThruPost mobile app.

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     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (December 14) announced that the 2023/24 round of applications under the Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education opens for applications from today to April 16, 2024. 
 
     The Scheme aims to provide financial support for eligible self-financing post-secondary education institutions to develop and enhance programmes that meet market needs but require high start-up costs, and help alleviate the institutions’ need to fully recover the set-up costs from tuition fees, thus relieving the financial burden on students. It also supports institutions to better develop their own strengths and niche areas, strengthening strategic co-ordination between institutions. 
 
     Eligible institutions are as follows:
 
(a) Hong Kong Metropolitan University;
 
(b) approved post-secondary colleges under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320); and
 
(c) post-secondary institutions registered under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279).
 
     The Scheme subsidises full-time locally accredited local self-financing sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes, covering both the development of new programmes and the enhancement of existing ones. With a view to enhancing the teaching and learning in designated academic areas, it supports projects of the following nature:
 
(a) significant development/enhancement of programme curriculum and pedagogies;
 
(b) recruitment/professional development of faculty members and teaching staff;
 
(c) procurement/upgrade of market-standard equipment/facilities to meet academic and professional requirements;
 
(d) provision of new/improvement to existing discipline-specific campus facilities/infrastructure; and
 
(e) other relevant discipline-specific expenditure areas that are in alignment with the objective of the scheme.
 
     Funding for each proposal will generally be subject to a cap of $42 million. The Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education will give advice to the Secretary for Education regarding the comparative merits of the proposals.
 
     In the 2022/23 round of applications, two out of eight applications were approved with a total grant of about $57 million. They covered the game design and engineering sectors, which are conducive to catering for the keen manpower demands of the relevant industries. Details of the projects are as follows:
 

Institution	Project	Approved grant (in million dollars)
Hong Kong Metropolitan University	Establishment of an Industrial Centre for New Industrialisation – Development of a New Programme and Enhancement of Existing Programmes	37.2
Hong Kong Shue Yan University	Development of Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Digital Solutions for Entertainment and Game Applications	19.5

 
     The EDB will maintain close liaison with relevant institutions to make best use of the resources of the Scheme and launch the relevant programmes as soon as practicable.
 
     Further details of the Scheme and the approved projects can be found at the designated website (www.cspe.edu.hk/en/esgs.html). read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (December 13) mounted an anti-smuggling operation at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and detected a suspected smuggling case involving a cross-boundary private car and seized 25,840 suspected smuggled computer RAM units with a total estimated market value of about $3.87 million.

     Through risk assessment, Customs officers yesterday intercepted an outbound private car which was claimed to have nothing to declare at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point, and seized the batch of suspected smuggled computer RAM units inside the vehicle.

     A 40-year-old male driver was arrested and charged with one count of attempting to export unmanifested cargo.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Customs will continue to combat smuggling activities by use of cross-boundary private cars with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
     
 

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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Federal Open Market Committee of the United States Federal Reserve (the Fed) announced early today (Hong Kong time) after its two-day meeting that it had decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5 per cent.
      
     The market generally interpreted the Fed’s rate decision as interest rates nearing the peak, with a slightly larger extent of rate cuts next year than previously expected. Nevertheless, the Fed’s future interest rate decisions will continue to be dependent on the latest economic data and the impact of continual rate hikes on the economy during the past year or so. There remains uncertainty in the interest rate path and the high interest rate environment may last for some time. 
      
     The financial and monetary markets of Hong Kong continue to operate in a smooth and orderly manner. The Hong Kong dollar exchange rate remains stable, and the Hong Kong dollar interbank rates might remain high for some time. The public should carefully assess and manage the relevant risks when making property purchase, mortgage or other borrowing decisions. The HKMA will continue to closely monitor market developments and maintain monetary and financial stability. read more