The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, today (December 17) met with the Director of the Palace Museum, Dr Wang Xudong, and his delegation. Miss Law introduced to the delegation Hong Kong's latest developments in arts, culture and creative industries. They also explored opportunities for co-operation and exchanges with the Palace Museum in relevant sectors.

     The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) and the Palace Museum have maintained close exchanges in the arts, culture and creative industries. The Palace Museum has supported the work of the CSTB for many years and jointly organised several large-scale artefact exhibitions, including "The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries", which will be open to the public tomorrow and is supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund. On creative industries, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on "the Palace Museum Cultural and Creative Products Hong Kong Space" in June this year to promote collaboration in creative design between the two places.

     Miss Law said that with support from the National 14th Five-Year Plan in developing Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will actively integrate the city into the overall national development. Continuing to build on Chinese culture as a foundation, the Government leverages Hong Kong's unique position and advantages to contribute cultural content to the country's modernisation and promote cultural prosperity.   

  

     An Environmental Protection Department (EPD) delegation attended the International Symposium on Climate-Resilient Water Supply organised under the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative in Sri Lanka today (December 17), to share Hong Kong's water environment management technology and experience with Indian Ocean countries, including Sri Lanka (Symposium organising country), Comoros, Madagascar, the Maldives and Seychelles.

     The Symposium is organised by the China-Sri Lanka Joint Research and Demonstration Centre for Water Technology, and is being held in Kandy, Sri Lanka, on December 16 and 17. Its objective is to promote exchanges and co-operation between China and Sri Lanka, as well as other B&R countries around the Indian Ocean, on water environment science and technology, with a view to strengthening the training of professionals, assisting in solving key water environment and public health issues, and driving sustainable water resources management.

     Attendants of the Symposium are from the Sri Lankan Government, a number of national research organisations and tertiary institutes, including the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Health of Sri Lanka, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the CAS, as well as representatives from research organisations and tertiary institutes from China, Sri Lanka, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Madagascar, the Maldives, Seychelles and more.

     At the Symposium, the EPD delegation conducted in-depth exchanges and experience sharing with the participating parties to jointly promote high-quality green development under the B&R Initiative, and delivered two thematic presentations to introduce Hong Kong's water quality management strategies and smart technology applications from a practical management and technological development perspective, including various technologies for source pollution control, sewage collection and treatment, real-time online water quality monitoring and three-dimensional water quality simulation. The delegation also visited the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka to learn about its latest green technology developments and had technical exchanges with local scientific researchers.

    

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department today (December 17) announced that all Hong Kong public libraries, mobile libraries and students' study rooms will close at 5pm on Christmas Eve (December 24) and New Year's Eve (December 31).
 
     On Christmas Day (December 25), Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day (January 1, 2025), all Hong Kong public libraries, mobile libraries and students' study rooms will be closed.
 
     Moreover, system maintenance work will be carried out from 7am on December 25 to 7am on December 27, and from 0.30am to 11.59pm on January 1, 2025, during which the following services will be suspended:
* library mobile app services and Internet and telephone renewal services;
* other online library services, including the library catalogue, borrowers' record enquiries, reservation of library materials and Internet and Digital Service Workstations and electronic resources (e-books and e-databases); and
* self-service library stations (readers may still return books to the stations before the due date, and the loan record will be updated within two working days).
 
     Details can be obtained from notices posted at all public libraries and the library website at www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/library-notices/library-notices-list.html. For enquiries, please call 2921 0208.

     â€‹Ringing in the snake for a bright year to come, Hongkong Post announced today (December 17) that Lunar New Year special stamps and associated philatelic products on the theme of "Year of the Snake" will be released for sale on January 5, 2025 (Sunday). The "Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Dragon/Snake" and "Year of the Snake" Joint Souvenir Packs will be issued on the same day, adding a festive ambience to the new year.

     With a long-standing history, the 12 Chinese zodiac signs carry great significance in traditional Chinese culture. To welcome the Year of the Snake, Hongkong Post will release the second issue of the fifth Lunar New Year special stamp series. A set of four stamps, two stamp sheetlets and associated philatelic products feature various depictions of the snake adorned with traditional Lunar New Year elements. The background is set off with festive colours and light-gold plants, giving an atmosphere of rejoicing in celebration of the Year of the Snake. Set against a background of bamboo and peonies respectively, the $10 stamp sheetlet and the $50 laser-cut paper art stamp sheetlet depict a snake embellished with motifs of auspicious clouds and ruyi locks, signifying success and peace. The motif on the $50 stamp sheetlet is laser-cut with exquisite technique to create a delicate silhouette of a snake, rendering the stamp sheetlet a prestigious collectible for the Year of the Snake.

     For the "Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Dragon/Snake", this is the first issue in the third Lunar New Year Gold and Silver stamp issue series. This stamp sheetlet is embedded with two zodiac stamps, namely "Year of the Dragon" stamp and "Year of the Snake" stamp, each in a denomination of $50. The dragon and snake on the stamps are hot stamped with silver foil and 22-carat gold foil respectively, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. The snake is specially produced with an embossing technique, creating a lifelike and dynamic effect.

     In addition, China Post, Hongkong Post and Macao Post and Telecommunications will jointly present "Year of the Snake" Joint Souvenir Packs on the same day. The Joint Souvenir Packs contain the souvenir sheet jointly issued by the three postal administrations, demonstrating that the three places share the same roots and cultural lineage.

     Official first day covers for "Year of the Snake" and official souvenir covers for the "Gold and Silver Stamp Sheetlet of Lunar New Year Animals – Dragon/Snake" will be on sale at all post offices and on Hongkong Post's online shopping mall ShopThruPost (shopthrupost.hongkongpost.hk) from tomorrow (December 18). Prestige versions of the aforesaid covers, red packets and the newly designed 2025 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 37 philatelic offices and ShopThruPost from January 5, 2025, and will also be available at other non-philatelic offices from January 6. Serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animals souvenir covers affixed with the special stamps, prestige versions of serviced first day covers/Lunar New Year animals souvenir covers affixed with the special stamps, postage prepaid Lunar New Year greeting cards (air mail), "Heartwarming Stamps" mini-panes (local/air mail), Joint Souvenir Packs and prestige versions of Joint Souvenir Packs will be available at philatelic offices only.
      
     Special sales arrangements will be made on the stamp issue date, January 5, 2025. Thirty-two philatelic offices will be open from 9.30am to 1pm on that day, while the other five philatelic offices including the General Post Office, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Tsuen Wan Post Office, Sha Tin Central Post Office and Tuen Mun Central Post Office will be open from 9.30am to 5pm.

     â€‹A hand-back date-stamping service will be provided on January 5, 2025, at all philatelic 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).
 

                            

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Members of the public are invited to attend the Hospital Authority (HA) Board Meeting to be held on December 19 (Thursday) at 3.30pm. 
 
     The HA Board Meeting has been open to members of the public since 1998 to demonstrate the continuous effort of the Authority to enhance its transparency and public accountability. The HA Board holds meetings at regular intervals to discuss major health policy issues that have impacts on the public. Through these open meetings, the community is able to understand more about the role and functions of the HA Board as well as the operation and services of the HA and its hospitals.
 
     The HA Board will discuss the following agenda items in the coming meeting:
 

• 2023 Patient Experience Survey on Inpatient Service;
• Progress Report on Strategic Priorities; and
• Cluster Presentation Programme – Hong Kong East Cluster – Establishment of Sensorium Garden at the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.

 
     The meeting agenda and papers will be made available to the public at the meeting. Members of the public are reminded that they can attend the Board Meeting only as observers and will not be participating in the meeting discussions.
 
     Members of the public who are interested in attending the coming Board Meeting have to make an advance booking by contacting the Secretariat of the HA Board at 2300 6797 before noon on December 19. To facilitate booking arrangements, members of the public are advised to provide their names and contact telephone numbers. In view of the limited seating available in the public gallery of the meeting venue, seating will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.