The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta (HKETO Jakarta) has collaborated with the Asian Film Awards Academy to screen six Hong Kong films and promote the Hong Kong film industry at the 17th Bali International Film Festival held in Bali, Indonesia.

     Speaking at the opening reception today (June 1), the Director-General of the HKETO Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, said that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is committed to bolstering its cultural and creative industries, with a view to facilitating Hong Kong's development as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges. The Chief Executive has announced in last year's Policy Address an injection of $4.3 billion into the Film Development Fund and the CreateSmart Initiative, further promoting Hong Kong's cultural and creative industries on the global stage to tell good stories of the city. The Government has also launched the Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme to sponsor film projects co-produced by Hong Kong filmmakers and their Asian and European counterparts to enhance international exchanges and nurture talent.

     The opening reception was attended by some 200 participants, including senior officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia and the Bali Provincial Government. In line with the theme of film scoring at this year's festival, two Hong Kong musicians, Chu Wan-pin and Grammy Yeung, presented a series of Hong Kong film scores using an erhu and a guzheng at the event.

     At the press conference this afternoon, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, Mr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, delivered a congratulatory message virtually. Producer Stanley Kwan and director Sasha Chuk of "Fly Me to the Moon", the opening film of this year's festival, also attended the press conference and interacted with the audience after the film's screening.

     Another Hong Kong film "In Broad Daylight" will be screened tomorrow (June 2), followed by a sharing session featuring actress Rachel Leung, who won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 17th Asian Film Awards and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards for her performance in the film.

     The 17th Bali International Film Festival is held in Bali from today until June 7. Apart from "Fly Me to the Moon" and "In Broad Daylight", four other Hong Kong films namely "Time Still Turns the Pages", "All Shall Be Well", "The Goldfinger" and "Centre Stage" (4K restoration version) will also be screened.

        

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

Please broadcast the following message as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     As the Standby Signal No.1 has been issued, the Marine Department reminds vessel owners, masters and persons-in-charge of vessels that they should take precautionary measures immediately and properly secure their vessels at safe locations.

     In case of an accident, a report should be made immediately to the Vessel Traffic Centre at 2233 7801.

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Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at suitable intervals:

     As Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 has been cancelled, the Home Affairs Department's emergency hotline 2572 8427 has ceased to operate.

     The Main Programme under the Professional Services Advancement Support Scheme (PASS) is inviting a new round of applications for project proposals starting today (June 1) from non-profit-distributing organisations such as professional bodies, trade and industrial organisations and research institutes.
 
     PASS, with a total allocation of $200 million, aims at funding non-profit-making industry-led projects to increase exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong's professional services and external counterparts, promote relevant publicity activities, and enhance the standards and external competitiveness of Hong Kong's professional services.
 
     The maximum grant for each approved project under the Main Programme of PASS is $3 million or 90 per cent of the total eligible project cost, whichever is lower. A wide range of professional services, such as accounting, legal and dispute resolution, architecture, engineering, healthcare, information and communications technology, design and technical testing and analysis, are eligible for the Main Programme. Sector-specific projects and cross-sectoral projects are both welcome. Expenses directly incurred for implementing a project, such as manpower costs, venue and set-up costs, production and promotion costs, and the project team and active participants' travel and accommodation costs outside Hong Kong are typically eligible for funding support under the Scheme. Funding support may also be provided for travel and accommodation costs incurred by participants of relatively longer professional internships or attachment programmes outside Hong Kong which are funded by the Main Programme.
 
     Up to early May 2024, over 100 projects had been funded under the Main Programme, including project deliverables in and outside Hong Kong. The deliverables include capacity-building programmes for enhancing the standards of local professionals, such as training programmes, workshops and study tours; outreach and promotional activities for showcasing the strengths of Hong Kong's professional services, such as roadshows, promotional seminars and participation in exhibitions outside Hong Kong; exchange activities for deepening interaction between Hong Kong professionals and their external counterparts, such as visits to other economies and international conferences and seminars held in Hong Kong; and research projects on potential external markets for Hong Kong professional services and development of best practice guidelines and manuals for professionals. Details about the Main Programme and its funded projects are available at www.pass.gov.hk/main/en/home/index.html.
 
     Furthermore, with a view to stepping up the promotion of Hong Kong's competitive edges and professional services to Mainland cities (including those in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) and overseas markets, $50 million has been set aside for the Professionals Participation Subsidy Programme (PSP) under PASS to subsidise Hong Kong major professional bodies to participate in relevant activities organised by the Government (such as Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council after the pandemic situation has stabilised. Details of the PSP and its latest list of eligible activities are available at www.pass.gov.hk/psp. Hong Kong professionals from the eligible professional sectors under PASS may make use of the PSP subsidy to join the relevant activities.
 
     The Main Programme and the PSP receive applications for project and activity proposals all year round and they are processed on a quarterly basis. The deadline for the new round of applications is August 31, 2024. A briefing session will be held this month for organisations interested in applying for PASS funding. For registration for the briefing session or other enquiries, please contact the PASS Secretariat at 3655 5418 or pass@cedb.gov.hk.

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (May 31) detected a drug trafficking case involving baggage concealment at Hong Kong International Airport. About 10 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $2 million were seized.

     A 59-year-old female passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. During Customs clearance, Customs officers found 20 bags of suspected cannabis buds, with a total weight of about 10 kg, in her check-in suitcase. The female passenger was subsequently arrested.

     The arrested woman has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on June 3.

     Following the resumption of normal travel and exchanges with the Mainland and other parts of the world, the number of visitors to Hong Kong has also been increasing steadily. Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking 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).