The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (May 23) launched the first section of the Hing Chun Alliance Heritage Trail in collaboration with Lai Chi Wo village, Mui Tsz Lam village and Kop Tong village, further promoting the history, culture and life stories of the Hong Kong Geopark communities while providing an in-depth travel experience for visitors.
      
     An AFCD spokesman said, "The first section of the Hing Chun Alliance Heritage Trail links Lai Chi Wo, Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong, totalling approximately 3.7 kilometres in length. The Trail, featuring 28 interpretation panels and three map boards, was planned along the existing footpath. It connects many important historical and cultural relics, portraying the history, culture and interesting life stories of the villages. Through historical photos and drawings, the Trail presents the lifestyle of the Hing Chun Alliance in the past to visitors."
      
     Dating back over 300 years, the Hing Chun Alliance in Sha Tau Kok is made up of seven Hakka villages in the northeastern New Territories, namely Lai Chi Wo, Mui Tsz Lam, Kop Tong, So Lo Pun, Sam A, Ngau Shi Wu and Siu Tan. In the old days, these remote rural villages formed an alliance known as "yeuk" in Chinese to maintain law and order. They watched over each other and jointly built facilities, provided education and organised large-scale events, such as the annual Kwan Tai Festival and the decennial Hing Chun Alliance Tai Ping Ching Chiu Festival.
      
     As the centre of the seven Hing Chun Alliance villages, Lai Chi Wo used to serve as the hub of education, economy and traditional festivities. The Lai Chi Wo village square was originally the sportsground of the former Siu Ying School. Mui Tsz Lam, the origin of the Tsang clan of several Hing Chun Alliance villages, was a major Chinese New Year tangerine production area in the 1960s with an annual yield of tens of thousands of catties. Kop Tong is a self-sufficient village at the foot of Tiu Tang Lung, offering an abundant supply of fruits and vegetables as well as chicken farms in the 1960s.
      
     In addition, to promote the human history of the Hing Chun Alliance, the seven Hing Chun Alliance villages partnered with the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark (Hong Kong Geopark), the Lions Nature Education Foundation and the Chinachem Group to jointly launch "The Seven Villages of the Hing Chun Alliance – Our Stories" website (ourstories.hk). Life stories including lifestyle, festivities and wedding customs of the Hing Chun Alliance were collected from over 60 villagers and presented through oral history and songs.
      
     In 2017, the AFCD initiated the Same Roots．Same Origins Project, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Geopark communities, to discover and conserve its cultural heritage and transform it into rich educational and green tourism resources, thereby revitalising rural villages and promoting sustainable development in remote areas. The Project covers the seven Hing Chun Alliance villages, Ap Chau, Kat O, Kau Sai Village and High Island. More than 100 local and overseas villagers have been interviewed to date, five Story Rooms have been set up and two books were published on Ap Chau and Kat O. In 2021, the AFCD launched the Kat O Heritage Trail and assisted the seven Hing Chun Alliance villages in setting up the Siu Ying Story Room and the Lai Chi Wo Story Room. The second section of the Hing Chun Alliance Heritage Trail, connecting Sam A and Siu Tan, is expected to be launched in the first quarter next year.
      
     The spokesman appeals to visitors to Hong Kong Geopark to respect the local culture, avoid disturbing residents, conserve the nature and take their litter home.
      
     With the launch of the Second Phase Opening-up of Sha Tau Kok, in addition to kaito ferry services sailing from Ma Liu Shui and Tai Shui Hang Landing, any visitor holding a valid Sha Tau Kok Frontier Closed Area Permit can travel to Lai Chi Wo by kaito ferry from the Sha Tau Kok Pier. The voyage will take about half an hour.
      
     Details of the Hing Chun Alliance Heritage Trail can be found at www.geopark.gov.hk/Hing-Chun-Alliance-Heritage-Trail.

          

     A landlord of a subdivided flat in Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, New Territories, was convicted today (May 23) of overcharging its subdivided unit (SDU) tenant for water, in contravention of regulation 47 of the Waterworks Regulations. The landlord pleaded guilty at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts.

     This is the 19th similar conviction case since the first conviction in June 2022, with associated fines ranging from $1,000 to $6,500. This is also the third case convicted in the same month.

     A spokesman for the Water Supplies Department (WSD) said that the Waterworks (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 (the amended WWO) came into operation on April 19, 2024, which strengthened the power of the Water Authority in evidence collection and information disclosure during the investigation of suspected cases of overcharging for water. The Water Authority can request the landlords, their agents, etc, to provide the tenancy agreement, receipt or payment record for charges for water. Failure to comply with such a request can be an offence and the offender is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and a further fine of maximum $1,000 for each day the offence continues. It is anticipated that there will be more prosecution cases. The maximum penalty for overcharging SDU tenants for water has been raised to $25,000 so as to deter this illegal act. Moreover, providing false or misleading information to the Water Authority is also an offence with a maximum penalty of a $25,000 fine and six months' imprisonment. 

     The WSD spokesman strongly appealed to landlords to apply for installation of separate water meters for their SDUs, which can greatly reduce the risk of contravening the amended WWO. The water fee deposit and the charge for providing a meter for each separate water meter installed under the Scheme for Installation of Separate Water Meters for Subdivided Units will be waived. Individual water bills will be provided for each water meter account. The first 12 cubic metres of water are free at four-month intervals. SDU tenants can contact the WSD to raise their request for separate water meters. Upon receiving such requests, the WSD will contact their landlords for installation of the separate meters. If the landlords refuse, the WSD may require landlords to provide information on the recovery of water charges from their tenants for suspected overcharging cases. Details of the scheme can be obtained from the WSD website (www.wsd.gov.hk/en/customer-services/application-for-water-supply/pilot-scheme-for-installation-of-separate-water-me/index.html).

     The WSD encourages the public to report any illegal act of overcharging SDU tenants for water for follow-up and investigation by the department. The public can call the WSD Hotline 3468 4963 or WhatsApp 5665 5517 to apply for installation of separate water meters for SDUs. The WhatsApp hotline also handles matters relating to water overcharging in SDUs. Alternatively, the public can call the WSD Customer Enquiry Hotline 2824 5000 to report water overcharge cases. After calling the hotline and choosing a language, they can press "7" for reporting to staff directly.

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 today (May 23) that due to big waves, the red flag has been hoisted at Shek O Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.

     Renowned Austrian clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer will make his conducting debut in Hong Kong with the Basel Chamber Orchestra from Switzerland at the Great Music 2024 presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), and stage a concert at Hong Kong City Hall in late June. Hong Kong has been selected by the orchestra as the first stop of its Asian tour this season, and Japanese pianist Kyohei Sorita has been specially engaged to perform at the concert, an event that music lovers will not want to miss.
 
     The orchestra will begin the concert with Stravinsky's "Prelude to The Rake's Progress" and Honegger's "Pastorale d´été". Accompanied by pianist Kyohei Sorita, who will be making his debut in the city, Ottensamer will lead the orchestra in the performance of Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 4 in G". Finally, the orchestra will perform Mendelssohn's "Symphony No. 4 in A, 'Italian'" to conclude the concert with joyful rhythms.
 
     The Basel Chamber Orchestra was established in 1984 and is rooted in the city of Basel, Switzerland. As the first orchestra being awarded the Swiss Music Prize in 2019, the orchestra stands out for its excellence and diversity as well as for its depth and consistency. Comprising 48 musicians, the Basel Chamber Orchestra presents a wide range of musical genres, from early music on historical instruments to contemporary music and historically informed interpretations. With its extensive world tours and more than 60 concerts per season, the orchestra has performed at major concert halls across Europe and received great acclaim.
 
     As one of the leading clarinettists, Ottensamer has performed as a clarinet soloist with prestigious orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2021, Ottensamer made his conducting debut and was awarded the Neeme Järvi Prize by the Gstaad Conducting Academy. He is currently the artistic director of the Bürgenstock Festival in Switzerland and has been the principal clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2011.
 
     Kyohei Sorita won the second prize in the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021. He has collaborated with various orchestras, including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Tonkünstler Orchester, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra. He is the founder, producer, and conductor of the Japan National Orchestra.
 
     The "Basel Chamber Orchestra" concert will be staged at 8pm on June 25 (Tuesday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $350, $450, $550 and $700 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1725.html.
 
     A pre-concert talk entitled "An Exquisite Orchestral Journey" (in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm on June 25 at the Committee Room North, 7/F, High Block, Hong Kong City Hall. The speaker will be music practitioner Jimmy Shiu. Admission is free, with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     The LCSD will present its Great Music 2024 from May to November, with acclaimed musicians and orchestras from all over the world as well as a local talented music producer performing in a musical extravaganza series. The programme enables audiences to feel the city's arts and cultural buzz through music, showcasing the unique charm of Hong Kong as a metropolis where East meets West. For more details, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/groups_1682.html.
 

      

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 today (May 23) that due to big waves, the red flag has been hoisted at Silverstrand Beach in Sai Kung District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.