Tag Archives: China

     The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office (the Office) of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau organised the GoGBA Development Day today (April 11) to introduce the content of the Overall Development Plan for the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone (Qianhai Overall Development Plan), its latest policies and measures as well as the significant development opportunities that are available for Hong Kong residents and enterprises.
      
     In her opening address at the event, the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Ms Maisie Chan, said that Qianhai is one of the major co-operation platforms in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). With the support of the Central Government, the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen have done a lot of work for Hong Kong professional services sectors to tap into the Qianhai market. Attracting nearly 10 000 Hong Kong-invested enterprises to settle and develop there, Qianhai is the bridgehead for promoting the high-quality co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. As clearly stated in the Qianhai Overall Development Plan promulgated by the Central Government at the end of last year, the development of the Qianhai Co-operation Zone is an important initiative for supporting Hong Kong’s social and economic development; fostering a higher level of co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao; and establishing a new development paradigm in pursuing opening up. The focus of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan on the development of the modern service industries is precisely where Hong Kong’s strengths lie and where Hong Kong can contribute to the development of Qianhai.
      
     Ms Chan added, “Capitalising on Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs, Hong Kong will continue to give fully play to its strengths and closely co-operate with Shenzhen to help Qianhai continue to deepen the opening up and innovation of the financial industry, raising the level of internationalisation of the professional service sector, and broadening the opening up in areas such as legal services. We will also support more Mainland enterprises, including those from Qianhai, to go global and to attract foreign investment through the international platform of Hong Kong.”
      
     The Deputy Director General of Qianhai Authority, Director General of the Qianhai Financial Regulatory Bureau, Ms Wen Ping, and the Deputy Director of Qianhai Enterprise and Talent Service Center, Mr Wu Huan Liang, were invited to deliver keynote speeches on the new opportunities for Hong Kong enterprises brought about by the Qianhai Overall Development Plan as well as the incentives and policies in key development areas of Qianhai respectively.
      
     Ms Wen said that our country’s release of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan would definitely open up new scope, inject new impetus and provide new opportunities for Hong Kong’s high quality development.
      
     In addition, there were also sharing by a number of representatives of Hong Kong enterprises of their successful experiences in developing businesses in Qianhai, offering invaluable advice to Hong Kong residents and enterprises aspiring to pursue development there. During the networking session, participants exchanged views proactively and sought to expand their business networks to pave the way for their future development in Qianhai.
      
     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has all along attached great importance to telling the good stories of the GBA. The Office has co-organised with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) a number of “GoGBA Development Day” events in Hong Kong and the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area which feature theme-based briefings about various business opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, and all of them were widely welcomed by the participants. The event today was co-organised by Qianhai Authority and HKTDC, attracting about 170 participants to learn about the significance and objectives of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan as well as ways to seize the significant new opportunities in Qianhai.
      
     For more information about the GBA, please visit the dedicated website (www.bayarea.gov.hk/en), which also covers the content of the Greater Bay Area Information System (www.bayarea.gov.hk/gbais/en) for easy browsing by members of the public.

    

     Last year, the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) received a generous donation of nearly 500 pieces of Chinese snuff bottles from the Fuyun Xuan Collection for the museum’s permanent collection from Mrs Josephine Sin, the wife of the late local collector, Mr Christopher Sin. The HKMoA will stage a new exhibition, the “Art of Gifting: The Fuyun Xuan Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles”, to feature this entire significant donation. The opening ceremony of the exhibition and donation ceremony was held today (April 11) at the HKMoA.
      
     Addressing the opening ceremony, the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu, said that Mr Sin’s collection is recognised as one of the most important private collections of snuff bottles in the world. His unwavering efforts during his lifetime had greatly contributed to the promotion of the art of Chinese snuff bottles. In line with his legacy and the spirit of his generosity, Mrs Sin donated the Fuyun Xuan Collection to the HKMoA to enable the public to appreciate these precious cultural gems in a gesture of extraordinary generosity.
      
     Mr Liu added that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is committed to promoting Chinese history and culture. This exhibition showcases the broad and profound cultural aspects of China through delicate and exquisite Chinese snuff bottles, allowing audiences to appreciate the passion and affection of Hong Kong collectors towards artefacts of Chinese culture. The museum will continue to collaborate with local collectors, making Hong Kong an important international hub for Chinese art collections and exhibitions, and telling good stories of China to the world from Hong Kong’s unique curatorial perspective.
      
     Mrs Sin stated in her donation message that the HKMoA has been relentless in collaborating with local private collectors to narrate the history of Chinese art collecting in the city. In hopes of honouring and expanding his legacy, she entrusted Mr Sin’s lifetime treasured collection to the museum to provide the public with the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this unique form of Chinese art.
      
     Other officiating guests included the son of Mr and Mrs Sin, Mr Nicholas Sin; the Chairman of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Douglas So; and the Museum Director of the HKMoA, Dr Maria Mok.
      
     Established by the late collector Mr Sin, the Fuyun Xuan Collection is an internationally renowned private collection of snuff bottles located in Hong Kong. This generous donation encompasses the gems of Mr Sin’s lifelong collection. Remarkable in both its quantity and quality, the donation stands as the most extensive and comprehensive of its kind ever received by a museum in Hong Kong. Within the collection is a double gourd-shaped glass snuff bottle with floral design in painted enamels on yellow ground, which Mr Sin insisted on acquiring even in his final days. Such an acquisition showcases Mr Sin’s deep fascination with snuff bottles, and earned him the nickname “Snuff Bottle Enthusiast” among other collectors.
      
     Other highlight exhibits include an aventurine glass snuff bottle with chi-dragons and shou medallion design; a coral snuff bottle with “Liu Hai playing with a toad” design carved in the round; a gold snuff bottle with scene of mother and children in painted enamels; a snuff bottle with magpies and plums in two-colour overlay on light rouge ground; a coupled-vase-shaped snuff bottle with imperial poem inscription and floral design in fencai enamels; and a set of snuff bottles inside painted with “Along the River during Qingming Festival”.
      
     After being brought into China, snuff was cherished among the nobility and prominent officials, becoming highly popular in Qing society. It then led to the emergence of small bottles for holding snuff, which later evolved from practical vessels into fashionable icons of exquisite craft, making them precious gifts in diplomatic, official and social settings. The exhibition is divided into five zones: “Refined Materials”, “Timeless Classics”, “Novel Trends”, “Playful Alternatives” and “Personal Touch”, covering themes from material selection to craftsmanship techniques, guiding visitors into appreciating this unique Chinese art form from the perspective of gifting.
      
     Albeit being petite in size, snuff bottles encompass a wide array of materials and craftsmanship. Exhibits comprise jade, porcelain, glassware, lacquerware, calabash, enamelware, and inside-painted varieties, making them a miniature embodiment of Chinese art and craft history. The exhibition features a large-scale projection that showcases the intricate details and exquisite artistry of snuff bottles. The accompanying talk for the exhibition will be held in mid-2024. Collector Mr Humphrey Hui, a close friend of Mr Sin, has been invited to share stories about the establishment of the Fuyun Xuan Collection. The museum will also establish a permanent display for this donation after the exhibition.

     The exhibition will run from April 12 at the Chinese Antiquities Gallery on the third floor of the HKMoA. For details of the exhibition, please visit the website at hk.art.museum/en/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events/art-of-gifting.html, or call 2721 0116 for enquiries.
 
     The exhibition is also one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has all along promoted Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound aspects of Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.

                    

Attention TV/radio announcers:       Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.     … read more

     The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, chaired the fourth meeting of the Committee on Innovation, Technology and Industry Development (CITID) this afternoon (April 11).

     At the meeting, members shared their views and suggestions on major initiatives related to the purview of the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau in the 2024-25 Budget. Members were also briefed on the proposed implementation arrangements of the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme (NIAS) and provided their insights about it.

     Professor Sun said, “Promoting Hong Kong’s innovation and technology (I&T) development and accelerating Hong Kong’s high-quality development is one of the focus areas of this year’s Budget. We will continue to consolidate and strengthen Hong Kong’s strengths in basic scientific research, accelerate midstream transformation and realisation of research outcomes and advance the development of technology industries. Among various initiatives, we plan to launch the $10 billion NIAS in the second half of this year to provide matching funding for strategic enterprises to set up new smart production facilities in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the NIAS can enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong in attracting strategic enterprises to set up operations in the city, accelerate the formation and development of ‘new quality productive forces’, promote the development of new industrialisation and empower Hong Kong’s high-quality development.”

     Established on March 3, 2023, the CITID advises the Government on the directions and strategies as set out in the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint on promoting the development of I&T in Hong Kong, and enhances co-operation among stakeholders.

    

     A director of Yatfai Integrated Logistics Limited was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for violation of the requirements under the Employment Ordinance (EO). The director pleaded guilty at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (April 11) and was fined $51,000. The director was also ordered to pay an outstanding sum of about $112,000 in total via the court to the employees concerned.

     The company wilfully and without reasonable excuse failed to pay four employees’ wages and payment in lieu of notice of about $100,000 within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and termination of employment in accordance with the EO. The company also failed to pay the awarded sums of about $89,000 in total to three employees within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal (LT). The director concerned was prosecuted and convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the above offences.

     “The judgment will disseminate a strong message to all employers, directors and responsible officers of companies that they have to pay wages to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO and the awarded sums as ordered by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board,” a spokesman for the LD said.

     “The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees’ statutory rights,” the spokesman added. read more