Red flag hoisted at Big Wave Bay Beach
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 toda… read more
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 toda… read more
Correctional officers at Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre stopped a male person in custody attacking a staff member today (November 19). At 7.01pm today, a 31-year-old male person in custody suddenly became emotion… read more
The Civil Aid Service (CAS) Cadet Corps held its 55th Anniversary Parade at the CAS Headquarters today (November 19). The parade was reviewed by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung. &nbs… read more
The Water Supplies Department (WSD) held the Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works Open Day on November 18 and 19, offering a wide range of informative and fun activities to introduce the advanced water treatment process in Hong Kong, the background of Dongjiang (DJ) water supply to Hong Kong and various development projects of the WSD in recent years. The two-day event concluded today (November 19) and attracted over 1 500 members of the public to visit, including students and professional groups.
The WSD set a thematic exhibition “Achievements and Prospects of the Water Supplies Department in the 21st Century” on the Open Day to showcase a wide range of water supply works and technologies, as well as various major waterworks development projects of the WSD in recent years. The “Dongjiang Water Supply” exhibition displayed precious historical photos showing the situation of water rationing in 1960s and the Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply Scheme. The Guangdong and Hong Kong governments agreed to implement the Dongjiang-Shenzhen Water Supply Scheme about 60 years ago and the first delivery of Dongjiang water arrived in Hong Kong on March 1, 1965. Over the years, the Guangdong side has contributed various efforts to safeguarding the quality and security of DJ water supplied to Hong Kong, which include the formulation and strict enforcement of relevant standards to protect water resources and the tremendous investment to enhance infrastructure facilities.
DJ water accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of the total fresh water consumption in Hong Kong and its uninterrupted supply for nearly 60 years has solved Hong Kong’s water shortage problem in the long run, making the city a better place for some 7 million Hong Kong people to live and work. A segment of the DJ improvement work pipe was also showcased on site on the Open Day to enhance public understanding of this project.
The thematic exhibition also introduced the transformation of water supply with resilience, innovation and sustainability in Hong Kong. Under the Total Water Management Strategy, the WSD strives to build resilience in the fresh water supply with diversified water resources. In particular, the first stage of the Tseung Kwan O Desalination Plant commencing operation next month will enhance resilience in fresh water supply in Hong Kong. Moreover, visitors also had the opportunity to learn more about the advanced water treatment process in Hong Kong as well as the scientific knowledge related to water treatment through guided tours organised by the WSD.
Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works provide treated water supply to Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Ngau Tam Mei, San Tin and Mai Po areas. It was first commissioned in 2000 with a treated water output of 230 000 cubic metres per day with daily output capacity to be further increased following its expansion in future.
The 2023 District Council Ordinary Election will be held on December 10. To facilitate the electors living in the Mainland or those who need to travel to and from the Mainland on the polling day to cast their votes, the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) will set up four Near Boundary Polling Stations (NBPSs) at two schools near Sheung Shui MTR Station (namely Hong Kong Taoist Association Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Kap Yan Directors’ College). Electors of the 44 District Council geographical constituencies (DCGCs) can register to vote at the NBPSs through the online registration system (www.reo-form.gov.hk/nbps.htm) starting from 9am tomorrow (November 20) until 6pm on December 5. Late registrations will not be processed.
A spokesman for the REO said today (November 19), “The arrangement is only applicable to DCGC electors. District Committees constituency (DCC) electors must cast their votes at the 18 DCC polling stations across the territory. DCC electors in the Mainland should plan their return trips to Hong Kong as early as possible so that they can cast their votes on the polling day.”
When registering, electors are required to provide their names in both Chinese and English, Hong Kong identity card (HKID) number, email address and contact telephone number which can receive SMS in Hong Kong or the Mainland. Electors are also required to choose to vote at a specified timeslot to complete the registration.
After submitting the registration application, the REO will send a notification of registration result to the electors concerned via SMS and email instantly to confirm whether they have successfully registered to vote at NBPSs. Only upon receipt of the notification of registration result confirming their successful registration, electors can cast their votes at the relevant polling stations. In case the phone number or/and email address provided by the electors during registration is/are different from the electors’ particulars maintained by the REO, the REO will also inform them of their successful registration to vote at the NBPSs via the phone number or/and email address kept in the REO’s records to prevent fraudulent registration.
In case registrants have to change their itineraries on the polling day, they can simply cancel the registration and change back to their originally allocated polling stations for casting their votes through the online registration system during the registration period. However, if the registration period has already expired when the change of itinerary is made, the electors concerned may contact the REO at 2891 1001 to make appropriate arrangements.
On the polling day, registered electors are required to bring the original copy of their HKID cards to vote at the allocated NBPSs at the specified timeslot. DCGC electors of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon need to vote at Hong Kong Taoist Association Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School while DCGC electors of the New Territories need to vote at Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Kap Yan Directors’ College. Electors may choose to walk for five to six minutes from Sheung Shui MTR Station to the NBPSs. The REO will also arrange shuttle bus to carry electors to and from Sheung Shui MTR Station and the NBPSs. Please refer to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/dc2023/pdf/Annex1_Shuttle_Eng.pdf) for the location of pick-up and drop off points.
The spokesman said, “To ensure the smooth and orderly implementation of the arrangement, a preregistration system is adopted with a quota limit. The maximum number of the registration quota for the NBPSs is 38 000 which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.”
If a registrant would like to ascertain whether he/she is a registered elector, he/she may log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.vr.gov.hk) or call the election hotline (2891 1001) for checking. For details of the NBPS arrangement, members of the public can visit the dedicated election website (www.elections.gov.hk/dc2023/eng/nbps.html). They can also email to reoenq@reo.gov.hk or call the election hotline (2891 1001) for enquiries. The hotline operates from 8.45am to 6pm from Monday to Friday. read more