Tag Archives: China

     The joint meeting of the Joint Regulatory Alliance of the Tourism Market of 9+2 Cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (JRA) was held in Hong Kong today (December 1). Representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, the Macao Government Tourism Office, tourism regulatory departments of nine cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, gathered in Hong Kong for the meeting.
      
     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, was pleased to learn that the meeting has achieved fruitful results. He said that all representatives unanimously agreed to continue strengthening co-operation and enhancing the professionalism of tourism regulatory personnel in the GBA, in order to jointly make the GBA a world-class tourism destination.
      
     During the joint meeting held today, members reported on the latest operation and law-enforcing aspects of respective tourism markets and exchanged views on achievements of the joint regulation this year. Members also set working goals for the co-operation plan in the coming year, which included providing more training and collaboration opportunities for law-enforcing officers, establishing channels for data and information sharing, and setting the future regulatory direction.
      
     Representatives of the JRA arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (November 30) for on-site visits and research. They visited the Ngong Ping 360 and Hong Kong Disneyland to understand the latest developments of these attractions, including enhancements and updates of their facilities as well as supporting services, and also the crowd management plan, etc.
      
     The JRA was jointly established by the tourism authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and nine cities in the GBA based on the agreement on joint regulation of the tourism market signed in 2020. It is committed to improving and strengthening the supervision of the tourism market and jointly maintaining a good market order, with the goal of promoting the healthy development of the tourism market in the GBA. The JRA’s joint meeting is held once a year, with the participating cities taking turns to host and serve as the chairman of the joint meeting. Hong Kong is the rotating chairman of the 2023 joint meeting. read more

     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 November 30 to noon today (December 1), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 177 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 17 538 samples of food imported from Japan (including 11 613 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 4 912 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Salvation Army Charity Christmas Luncheon 2023 today (December 1):

David (the Chairman of the Advisory Board, Salvation Army Hong Kong and Macau Command, Dr David Li), Colonels Philip (the Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army Hong Kong and Macau Command, Colonel Philip Maxwell) and Deslea Maxwell (the Territorial President of Women’s Ministries of the Salvation Army Hong Kong and Macau Command, Colonel Deslea Maxwell), soldiers of the Salvation Army, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

     I am pleased to join you all for the Salvation Army Charity Christmas Luncheon. Congratulations to the Salvation Army on organising this event to celebrate the festive season and raise funds for a worthy cause.

     The Salvation Army has been serving Hong Kong for over 90 years. All along, it has demonstrated a deep commitment to transforming lives and caring for the community, bringing help – and hope – to those who need it most.

     Famous author and humanitarian Helen Keller, who visited Hong Kong in 1955 and has a house named after her at St Paul’s Convent School, said this: “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.”

     The Salvation Army creates hope for members of our community through its various services, with more than 100 social service units, schools, and education centres in Hong Kong and Macao. With subventions from the Social Welfare Department since 1958, the Salvation Army has expanded its reach to becoming ever more deeply rooted in our society.

     In this financial year, the Salvation Army received more than $600 million subvention allocation. The sum supports a spectrum of social welfare services covering different target groups such as family and children, young people, individuals with rehabilitation needs, and offenders. 

     All this good work helps the Government in building a caring and inclusive society. 

     Among your recent efforts, one of them is partnering with the Government on transitional housing. Indeed, providing short-term accommodation for those who need it is a priority.

     To date, sites for building over 21 000 transitional housing units have been identified.  And about 9 000 units are already in service, with the remaining 12 000 units (to be) available over the next two years.

     The Sam Shing Transitional Housing Project, involving conversion of a seven-storey school building into 123 accommodation units for 400 tenants, is run by the Salvation Army. With your dedicated efforts, all 123 units were occupied by June this year.

     Ladies and gentlemen, Christmas is about love and a season of giving. Look at the world at large which is filled with complexities, challenges and conflicts. Cliffhangers are everywhere. But Hong Kong has remained a safe and peaceful city. Our economy is bouncing back, and tourists and businesses are returning. So let us count our blessings and have a grateful heart.  

     The festive season reminds me of Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. Let’s share our joy, peace and blessings with our family, friends and colleagues, and let our blessings be the blessings to others too.

     Once again, my heartfelt appreciation goes to the Salvation Army, to all of you, for your dedication to transforming lives and caring for the people in need.  

     And being part of that effort, I appeal to you all to vote in the DC election on December 10. Let us vote for those who are dedicated to serving the community and making Hong Kong a better home. 

     Finally, I wish you and your families a blessed Christmas filled with happiness, peace and love of family and friends. Thank you. 

    

     In support of World AIDS Day, the Department of Health (DH) has arranged a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing Service promotion vehicle to visit various locations in Hong Kong from today (December 1) to raise public awareness of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), promote HIV testing services and appeal to the public to care about people living with AIDS.

     The World Health Organization has designated December 1 every year as the World AIDS Day to remind people around the world to stay united in fighting against the disease and to care about infected people and their family members.

     The promotion vehicle themed “For your health, Get tested” will visit various locations in Hong Kong in December. It enlightens the public about the mode of transmission and preventive measures of HIV, and promotes the importance of HIV testing in an interesting way, featuring cartoons and games. Personal tablet computers are available on the promotion vehicle to showcase and introduce the two main functions of the DH’s new HIV Testing Service website: the online booking for AIDS Counselling and Testing Service, and the online ordering of HIV self-test kits. The activities held on the promotion vehicle are free of charge and a reservation is not required. Members of the public are welcome to join. Souvenirs will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. For details about the promotion vehicle activities, please visit: www.aids.gov.hk/english/new2023/nm05.html.

     A DH spokesman said, “HIV is the cause of AIDS. Without treatment, about half of HIV infected people will progress to AIDS within 10 years. The cumulative total of HIV infections reported locally since 1984 is 11 830. Despite the number of reports of HIV infection have deceased from the peak of 725 cases in 2015 to 409 cases in 2022, the number of AIDS cases have fluctuated between 62 and 139 cases per year, and over 80 per cent of AIDS patients progressed to AIDS after being diagnosed with HIV infection within three months during the same period. HIV testing facilitates early detection of HIV in infected people, and early treatment with antiretroviral drugs effectively prevents progression to AIDS and other complications.”

     The spokesman said that sexual transmission remained the major mode of HIV transmission. Members of the public with a history of unsafe sex should take an HIV antibody test early. Key populations with a higher risk of infection should undergo regular HIV screenings, while people who had sex but do not belong to these key populations should consider getting tested at least once.

     Members of the public can visit the HIV Testing Service website (www.hivtest.gov.hk) to make reservations for the AIDS Counselling and Testing Service or order an HIV self-test kit. HIV-positive people should seek specialist care and HIV treatment as soon as possible.

     â€‹The public may visit the DH’s Virtual AIDS Office (www.aids.gov.hk), the Red Ribbon Centre page (www.rrc.gov.hk) and the Gay Men HIV Information website (www.21171069.gov.hk) for more information on HIV/AIDS.  

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (December 1) that the “BookHA” feature in the mobile application “HA Go” will be further expanded. Patients who are new cases of allied health outpatient clinics can book appointments for the services of six allied health specialties through “HA Go”. Patients can complete the entire new case appointment booking process anytime and anywhere, which brings added convenience.
 
     The Chief Manager (Allied Health) of the HA, Ms Priscilla Poon, said, “The HA commenced the pilot run of new case appointment booking for physiotherapy service and occupational therapy service through ‘HA Go’ in the second quarter this year. After reviewing the operational arrangements, the HA decided to further expand the arrangements to dietetics service, speech therapy service, podiatry service, and prosthetics and orthotics service. ‘HA Go’ users can make new case appointments anytime and anywhere. If users have registered their family members as ‘Who I Care’ in the application, users can also book new case appointments for them.”
 
     Generally, patients who submitted applications for booking new case appointments of allied health outpatient clinics through “HA Go” will receive notifications of the booking completion within 14 days. Patients will receive reminder messages as the scheduled appointment dates approach. Patients can cancel the appointments through the application at least 14 working days before the scheduled appointment dates instead of calling the clinics.
 
      When making appointments, patients are required to provide referral letters within three months of issue from the HA. Currently, most referral letters issued by the HA carry a QR code which can be scanned with the built-in function of the application to complete the process, saving time on photo-taking and uploading images of referral letters page by page.
 
     The Chief Medical Informatics Officer of the HA, Dr Joanna Pang, said, “The HA will continue to advance ‘HA Go’, and add more new features. As at the end of November, there are more than 2.2 million registered users. For citizens who have not registered, they can download the application and input personal information anytime and anywhere, and activate the accounts through ‘iAM Smart’ or ‘eHealth’ for information verification. Patients can also activate their accounts with the assistance of our staff during their follow up appointments.”
 
      Hong Kong identity card holders aged 18 or above may register as “HA Go” users. Members of the public can visit the following website for more information: www3.ha.org.hk/hago/.
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