Sunday, April 7, 2024
Weather in Hong Kong Today it will be generally cloudy with a few showers, with localised areas with more frequent rain and thunderstorms. Daytime highs of around 28 degrees Celsius. Moderate easterly to southeasterly winds. There will still be a few showers tomorrow and Tuesday. Then there was a brief period of sunshine for a day or two.
■ In response to the wanton smearing of Hong Kong's "Safeguarding National Security Ordinance" by some Western countries, Cheung Kwok-kwan, deputy secretary for justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, said in an exclusive interview with Hong Kong Commercial Daily a few days ago that Hong Kong must take a stand in the face of unreasonable and untrue attacks. He stressed that it is only natural for Hong Kong to legislate on safeguarding national security. Every country or region has the right to take legal precautions against safeguarding national security, and Hong Kong has completed its national security legislation in full compliance with international standards.
■ April 15 is the ninth National Security Education Day and the fourth after the implementation of the National Security Law. In an exclusive interview with Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan said that the Safeguarding of National Security Ordinance has just been gazetted and implemented on March 23, and it is time for the public to understand the original intent and content of the legislation, and the most important thing is to strengthen the education of the younger generation.
■ In an interview with China News Agency a few days ago, the Secretary for Security, Tang Bingqiang, said, "I am very pleased that the "Regulations on Safeguarding National Security" has finally been passed. Tang Bingqiang said that in addition to explaining the "Safeguarding National Security Ordinance" in Hong Kong, the external interpretation is equally important; In addition to officials visiting Hong Kong to tell the story of Hong Kong, we also hope to attract more foreign people from different sectors to come to Hong Kong to understand the situation in person and realize that Hong Kong is a free, open and safe place.
■ The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced on the 6th that it will regularly launch fireworks or drone shows at sea in conjunction with festivals or large-scale events from May 1, with the first fireworks show at sea on the evening of May 1 to kick off the "May Day" Golden Week, while the first drone show will decorate the night sky of Victoria Harbour on May 11 to coincide with traditional Hong Kong festivals such as the Buddha's Birthday and the Jiao Festival in Tai Ping to add a festive atmosphere.
■ The Executive Director of the HKTB, Mr Cheng Ting-yat, said that the "May Day" Golden Week is the peak travel season for Mainland tourists, and with a series of mega events and activities to be held in Hong Kong in May, the HKTB will step up publicity and promotion in the Mainland market to attract tourists and local residents to watch together, and encourage the industry to cooperate in launching more tourism products and consumption discounts, etc., so as to boost the economy and create greater tourism benefits.
■ On the 6th, the last day of the Ching Ming Festival holiday in the mainland, passengers have embarked on their return journey, and the flow of people in the departure hall of the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station has increased since the afternoon of the 6th, and passengers need to queue up to enter the gate. On the other hand, since the 7th is the last day of the "self-made" holiday of Hong Kong's Ching Ming Festival, the Shenzhen border inspection is expected to have a peak of returns, and the border inspection authorities will strengthen the dynamic dispatch and deployment of police forces to optimize the customs clearance experience of passengers.
■ Last month, the Legislative Council passed the Safeguarding of National Security Ordinance, which amends the enforcement powers under the Customs Ordinance, such as arrest and search. The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Ho Pui-shan, said on the 6th that the internal guidelines would be updated to make frontline officers more aware of the contents. Ms Ho said that if Customs finds suspicious publications during the inspection of passengers' belongings and there is reasonable suspicion that they may involve seditious intent, and the passengers have no reasonable excuse, they will report to the Police and take action if necessary.
■ Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee said in a speech at an anti-drug leadership event on the 6th that the number of drug-related cases among young people has dropped year-on-year, and the number of young people under the age of 21 who are involved in drug-related cases has dropped from 624 in 2021 to 297 last year, a drop of 50%. He pointed out that the Police held the Anti-Narcotics Leadership Academy for the third year this year, which has trained 200 young people and disseminated anti-drug messages to 50,000 people.
■ The Secretary for Housing, Ho Wing-yin, posted on social media on the 6th that with the development of technology and the shortage of manpower, the industry has applied more and more new technologies in property management to make management more efficient and services more intimate. At the end of last month, she attended the inaugural PropTech Excellence Awards co-organised by the Hong Kong PropTech Association and Cyberport, where she shared with over 200 guests the HA's work in smart management of housing estates.
■ The 24-hour carer support hotline was launched in September last year, and Lin Zhengcai, who is also the chairman of the Mental Health Advisory Committee, said on the radio program on the 6th that there are dozens of carer-related services, but the general usage rate is low, and it is believed that it is related to the lack of access to people in need.
■ At about 1:29 p.m. on the 6th, a power supply incident occurred in Kowloon and some areas of the New Territories, and the Fire Services Department received more than 120 cases of trapped elevators and 30 cases of fire alarm bells ringing within half an hour, which aroused public concern. According to the EMSD, at about 2:01 p.m., CLP received a notification of the incident in accordance with the established mechanism, and initially suspected that the equipment in the Lung Kwu Tan Power Station was malfunctioning, resulting in a brief voltage sag. CLP has been requested to ascertain the cause of the incident as soon as possible and submit a detailed report on the incident within four weeks.
■ The "Hong Kong Sevens" entered the next day of the event on the 6th, and the Hong Kong, China men's team ushered in the second round of the "Melrose Silver Sword Tournament" at noon, and lost to Japan 14-33, whether it can enter the final held on the afternoon of the 7th, and it depends on the result of the national team against Japan at 10:03 am on the 7th.
■ "Hong Kong International Rugby Sevens" on the 6th to start a series of fierce battles, in the evening to carry out the cup knockout round, the highlight fell on the men's group of 8 round of battle, New Zealand, Fiji met in a narrow way, co-starred in the last Cup finals, with Tonyna finished the field before the final of the touchdown, the last champion New Zealand finally defeated Fiji 19-12, won the top 4, and will compete with Australia for the final seat on the 7th.
■ Recently, Jia Wei, tenured chair professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, and his research team revealed for the first time that homovanillic acid, a metabolite of intestinal flora, has the effect of alleviating depression. The research results have been published online in the international academic journal Cell-Metabolism. Jia Wei said that this research discovery is a landmark achievement of the scientific research team in the regulation of intestinal metabolites and brain nerve function mechanisms for many years, and it is also a new advancement of the previous scientific discovery of the gut-brain axis.
■ The AFCD and the Police distributed pamphlets in Kam Shan and Lion Rock Country Parks for two consecutive days from 6 June to remind the public of the precautions they should pay attention to when encountering monkeys and combat illegal feeding of monkeys and other wild animals. According to the AFCD, there are about 2,000 monkeys in Hong Kong, mainly in Kam Shan, Lion Rock and Shing Mun Country Park. Under the current Wildlife Protection Ordinance, the maximum penalty for a conviction is a fine of HK$10,000 for illegally feeding wild animals such as monkeys. Last year, enforcement actions were taken against 196 persons involved in illegal feeding of wild animals, 167 of whom were convicted and fined between HK$300 and HK$3,000.
■ The second "Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival" organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department kicked off on the 6th at Victoria Park. According to reports, this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the literary giant Jin Yong and the 20th anniversary of the death of the famous composer and lyricist Huang Zhan.
■ April 13 is the Songkran Festival in Thailand, Kowloon City Ka Ping Tat Road Park and South City Road will hold the Dragon City Food Water Splash "Thai" Fun from April 12 to 14, the public can enjoy Muay Thai competitions, singing and dancing performances, and taste Thai food. According to the organisers, participants must register in advance and eight sessions will be held, saving between 200 and 300 participants each.