This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Louis Cha (Jin Yong). The Hong Kong Heritage Museum (HKHM) will stage the exhibition "A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial, Sculpted by Ren Zhe". Renowned sculptor Ren Zhe brings 22 of Jin Yong's characters to life in unique representations to pay tribute to this heavyweight novelist. This exhibition is supported by Dr Cha’s family and Ming Ho Publications Corporation Limited and is the first authorised sculpture exhibition showcasing Jin Yong's classic martial arts characters. The exhibition will run until October 7 with free admission.
 
     Under the pseudonym Jin Yong, Dr Cha wrote 15 novels with over 1 400 characters, which were the collective memory of the Chinese people of Hong Kong and the world. The exhibition title "A Path to Glory" comes from a quote in "The Giant Eagle and its Companion", in which Guo Jing passed the chivalrous deed to Yang Guo and spoke of the imperative of a true hero along the lines of "To serve the country and the people is a path to glory". Sculptor Ren Zhe made use of his unique sculptural techniques, exquisite craftsmanship and visionary creativity to bring 22 of Jin Yong's well-known characters including Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Yang Guo, Xiaolongnu, Linghu Chong, Feng Qingyang, Zhang Wuji and Ren Woxing to life.
 
     The lively and spirited sculptures illustrated classic scenes from the novels as well as the martial arts skills of the characters. Highlight exhibits including a sculpture showing Guo Jing of "The Eagle-shooting Heroes" holding a bow in one arm and clasping the string with the other, displaying all the fearless ambition of the eagle-shooting hero; Huang Rong gracefully riding sideways on a Ferghana horse; Yang Guo of "The Giant Eagle and its Companion" having lost one arm, embracing his sword with the other; Xiaolongnu leaning lightly and effortlessly on a rope; and Xiao Feng, Xu Zhu and Duan Yu of "The Demi-Gods and the Semi-Devils" are in different postures, yet resonating with each other.
 
     The exhibition is also set alongside multimedia installations created by media artist Victor Wong (winner of the Best Visual Effects of the Hong Kong Film Awards) and his team, to lead visitors into Jin Yong's imaginary world of martial arts. Apart from the Thematic Gallery, the HKHM brilliantly makes use of different spaces of the museum to set up sculptures. For example, visitors can find Zhang Wuji from "The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Sabre" practicing his invincible martial arts at the entrance of the lobby; the Four Guardian Kings of the Ming Cult being shown in their fighting poses at the courtyard; and Feng Qingyang from "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" who lives in seclusion, standing proudly at the Grand Staircase of the museum.
 
     In addition to the 22 lifelike sculptures, the HKHM will also put on display a bust of Dr Cha donated by his family for the museum's permanent collection. This 60 centimetre-tall bust, sculpted by Ren Zhe and modelled on Dr Cha's image in his later years, will be displayed at the Jin Yong Gallery.
 
     The Jin Yong Gallery was established in 2017 with the support from Dr Cha, displaying more than 300 exhibits featuring the early career of Jin Yong, the creative process behind his martial arts novels and the impact the novels have had on Hong Kong's pop culture. The exhibits include a couplet handwritten by Jin Yong, manuscripts of the Serialised "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer", and special issues for TV adaptations. The Jin Yong Gallery, which is widely welcomed by the public and tourists, has received over 2 600 000 visitors since its opening.
 
     To tie in with the exhibition, a series of special programmes will be held by the HKHM. They include the set-up of a reading corner in the exhibition gallery where visitors can revisit the fascinating plots of Jin Yong's compelling works through enjoying the collections or audiobooks of Jin Yong's martial arts novels of the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) right after their visits to the exhibition. Other programmes include talks by renowned scholars to be held from April to June on Jin Yong and his world of martial arts, workshops "Martial Arts Secrets Resurface – Chinese Bookbinding" and "Shadow Heroes – Shadow Puppetry", and activity "Touring the fantastic martial arts world created by Jin Yong in Hanfu costume" specially arranged for museum pass holders. These can help audiences get further acquainted with Jin Yong's world of martial arts. The programmes also aim to let audiences know more about the Chinese culture embodied in the novels, including its history, literature, morals and values, and the influence of Jin Yong’s works on Chinese people.
 
     The exhibition is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), and jointly organised by the HKHM and Guyu Cultural Development Foundation. For details of the exhibition, please visit hk.heritage.museum/en/web/hm/exhibitions/data/renzhe.html, or call 2180 8188 for enquiries.
 
     This exhibition is one of the pre-programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2024. The LCSD presented the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival last year to great acclaim. This year, the second edition features "Arts & Action" as its theme, taking audiences on a journey through time to explore the charm of Hong Kong’s pop culture. It encompasses both "Arts" (creative works) and "Action" (martial arts), an attempt to show the dynamic inheritance, diffusion, integration and breakthroughs within Hong Kong's pop culture.
 
     The event lineup offers a diverse range of formats including thematic exhibitions, film screenings, stage performances and outreach activities, and its rich content spans across literature, various art forms and martial arts, clearly showcasing how Hong Kong’s vibrant and diverse pop culture stands out from the rest. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.
 
     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 learn more about broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.
 
     Another exhibition of Ren Zhe, "A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial．The World of Wuxia" will be on display at Edinburgh Place, Central, from March 15 to July 2, showcasing 10 sculptures of Jin Yong’s iconic characters. The exhibition is supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

            

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced today (March 15) a case in which acoustic cameras were used to successfully track down an unknown noise source.
 
     Since March 4 this year, the EPD has received 18 complaints, alleging that at the inner garden of LP6, Wings at Sea and Montara of LOHAS Park, residents have been annoyed by an unknown and irregular high-frequency noise at nights, seriously affecting their daily living. Some complainants suspected that the high-frequency noise might originate from the nearby data centres.
 
     Upon receiving the complaints, the staff of EPD had conducted site investigation, found that the high-frequency noise was sporadically emitted, and the site layout was complex, involving various residential estates, commonly used garden and building services facilities; and the presence of multiple sound reflections among high-rise residential towers. After rigorous planning and deployments of staff to use acoustic cameras to conduct in-depth investigations during late nights, today the Department successfully tracked down the concerned high-frequency noise, which was found originated from a residential flat at mid-high level, facing the inner garden. The EPD believe that the high-frequency noise was caused by defective living utilities. The EPD has contacted the corresponding property management and urged them to follow up with the household to handle the concerned problem of high-frequency noise.
 
     A spokesman for the EPD said, the Department has been keeping abreast of the latest technological developments and applications in overseas and will timely introduce the relevant technologies so as to assist staff in enforcement of the environmental legislation in a more effective manner. Since the concerned high-frequency noise in this case was sporadically emitted from unknow source, the use of acoustic cameras has significantly shortened the time required to investigate the source, and hence speedily assisted the public in resolving noise nuisance issues. The EPD will continue to keep abreast of technological developments and applications, with a view to enhancing the Department's efficiency and service quality.

            

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) seized 53 kilograms of eel fry, including that of regulated species at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (March 14).
           
     Hong Kong Customs intercepted a shipment declared as 353 kilograms gross weight of the African longfin eel (Anguilla mossambica) from Mauritania to Hong Kong via Turkey. Upon examination by the AFCD, the shipment was found to be eel fry and the regulated European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was found blended in the shipment. A total of 53 kilograms of eel fry was seized under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) for further investigation as a result.
           
     The European eel is listed under the Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and its international trade is regulated through a licensing system. The Ordinance is the local legislation that gives effect to CITES in Hong Kong. 
           
     "The European eel begins its life as a larva in the ocean. It then metamorphoses into a glass eel and enters a freshwater habitat where it matures, and eventually migrates back to the ocean to spawn. It only breeds once throughout its lifetime and dies after spawning in the ocean. Overfishing is one of the biggest threats to the survival of the European eel. It is assessed to be critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature," an AFCD spokesman said.
           
     Any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.
           
     The spokesman noted that the Government is committed to protecting endangered species. The AFCD and Customs will continue to work closely, remain vigilant, continue to monitor and combat illegal activities involving endangered species.

  

     The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, officiated at the Passing-out Parade at the Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development today (March 15) to review 209 officers on parade, including 103 Immigration Officers and 106 Immigration Assistants.
 
     In the parade, the Immigration Band played multiple pieces of Chinese military band music and Chinese folk music, while the Guard of Honour also demonstrated the Chinese-style footdrill. The Guard of Honour then smoothly joined the parade for a smart formation of the Chinese numerals "23", demonstrating the Immigration Department (ImmD)'s full support for the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law.
 
     In his speech, Mr Tang thanked the ImmD and all sectors of community for their support, and hoped that at this important juncture when Hong Kong embarks on a new journey from stability to prosperity, all parties would continue to make new contributions for the development and prosperity of Hong Kong and the country.
 
     He expected that graduates would fulfil the three roles as a member of the ImmD, and turn them into their goals and original aspirations for future work. First, he expected the graduates to become "defenders of the rule of law", who would always uphold the value of "integrity and impartiality", give full support to enforce the law and safeguard the rule of law, shoulder the vital mission of safeguarding Hong Kong. Second, he expected the graduates to become "quality service providers", who would continue to uphold the value of a "people-oriented approach and ongoing improvement", care with their hearts to serve the public with professional and quality service. Third, he expected the graduates to become "facilitators of Hong Kong's integration into our country and a connection to the world", facilitating the Government's drive to attract and retain talent, thus helping Hong Kong to fully capitalise on its distinctive advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the "one country, two systems" principle, make better contributions to the high-quality development of the country and integrate into the national development.

     Mr Tang stated that graduates must adhere to the basic principles and core values of the civil service, shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, steadfastly safeguard the constitutional order of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region set out under the Constitution and the Basic Law, so as to ensure the robustness of "one country, two systems".

                

The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
      
     The Judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Judiciary of Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today (March 15) to enhance judicial exchanges in promoting the efficient administration of the family justice systems in the two jurisdictions.  
      
     The Honourable Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal of the HKSAR, and The Honourable the Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon of Singapore witnessed the signing of the MOU by Madam Justice Bebe Chu, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court of the HKSAR with special responsibility for family cases, and Justice Teh Hwee Hwee, Judge of the High Court and Presiding Judge of the Family Justice Courts of Singapore today.
      
     Chief Justice Cheung said, "It gives me great pleasure to witness the signing of this MOU, which encourages the two jurisdictions to share experiences and hold discussions on family matters of common interest. I am sure that the MOU would be beneficial to the development of our respective family justice systems."
      
     The MOU provides a framework for the two jurisdictions to facilitate the efficient administration of their respective family justice systems through exchanging experiences and discussing matters of common interest. Areas covered include effective management of family cases for efficient disposal, use of technology, training of family judges and judicial officers, development of family law, procedural rules and practice directions, as well as the role of mediation in early settlement of family cases.