Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 3.5% in the April to June period to 3.7% in May to July, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

The underemployment rate remained at 1.4%.

Total employment was 3,671,300, up 14,000 from April to June, while the labour force also increased by 22,700 to 3,816,200.

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun noted that the uptick in the number of unemployed people was partly attributable to the influx of fresh graduates and school leavers entering the labour market.

Looking ahead, Mr Sun said the sustained growth of the Hong Kong economy should be able to drive job creation, creating more employment opportunities for fresh graduates and school leavers.

“While unemployment rates across various industries will continue to hinge on their respective business conditions, the Government’s various measures to promote economic growth, bolster consumption sentiment and attract investment are anticipated to support the overall labour demand,” he added.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The finals of the mass participation bowling event under the 15th National Games (NG) will be held at the Kai Tak Sports Park Bowling Centre this Friday to Sunday.

 

Over 160 athletes from 27 teams from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau will be competing for honours. Hong Kong will field five men and five women athletes.

 

The men’s and women’s singles event will be held on August 22 from 9am to 9.45pm, the men’s and women’s doubles tournament is scheduled on August 23 from 9.40am to 6.20pm, while the men’s and women’s teams of five as well as the prize presentation ceremony are slated for August 24 from 9.45am to 5pm.

 

Ticket exchange certificates have been distributed through online applications. Those who possess a valid certificate may redeem his or her admission ticket next to the bowling centre’s spectator entrance, and enter the venue for the event upon completion of a security check.

 

Competition highlights of the day will be uploaded to the NG Hong Kong competition region’s official Facebook page.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Police will implement special traffic arrangements in So Kon Po and Causeway Bay today (August 19), August 20 and 23 to facilitate the football matches of the Saudi Super Cup Hong Kong, China to be held at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Traffic arrangements before the start of the event

Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following special arrangements will be implemented on each match day (August 19, 20 and 23) from about 5.30pm:

Road closure
———————–

– Caroline Hill Road between its eastern junction with Leighton Road and Cotton Path;
– Part of the traffic lane of Caroline Hill Road between Eastern Hospital Road and Cotton Path;
– Westbound Hysan Avenue between Yun Ping Road and Hoi Ping Road;
– Stadium Path; and
– Lee Garden Road between Lan Fong Road and Hysan Avenue, except for green minibuses (GMBs).

Traffic diversions
———————————–

– Caroline Hill Road between its western junction with Leighton Road and Stadium Path will be re-routed one way southbound;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Stadium Path and Tung Lo Wan Road will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Two traffic lanes on Caroline Hill Road between its western junction with Leighton Road and Link Road will be designated for traffic entering Caroline Hill Road from Hoi Ping Road;
– Hysan Avenue between Leighton Road and Hoi Ping Road will be re-routed one way eastbound;
– Two traffic lanes on eastbound Hysan Avenue will be designated for traffic turning right to Hoi Ping Road;
– Vehicles leaving the private driveway of Lee Garden One must turn left to eastbound Hysan Avenue;
– Traffic along Yun Ping Road cannot turn left to westbound Hysan Avenue, and vehicles will be diverted to Lan Fong Road and Pak Sha Road;
– Traffic along northbound Link Road downhill to northbound Caroline Hill Road may need to turn left to westbound Leighton Road; and
– Vehicles travelling along Lan Fong Road may not be allowed to turn left to southbound Lee Garden Road, and will be diverted to northbound Lee Garden Road, Foo Ming Street and southbound Percival Street, except for GMBs.

Passenger alighting arrangements
—————————————————————

The drop-off zone for taxis and private cars will be arranged to set down passengers at the locations specified below:

– Western kerbside of Caroline Hill Road near the Disciplined Service Sports and Recreation Club;
– Northern kerbside of Cotton Path; and
– Southern kerbside (taxi drop-off zone) and northern kerbside (private car drop-off zone) of Eastern Hospital Road near the main entrance of Hong Kong Stadium.

B. Traffic arrangements during the event

Prohibition for learner drivers
——————————–

On each match day, the following roads will be prohibited to all learner drivers between 5pm to 0.30am of the following day:

– Westbound Leighton Road;
– Percival Street south of Hennessy Road;
– Caroline Hill Road;
– Link Road;
– Stadium Path;
– Cotton Path; and
– Eastern Hospital Road.

Suspension of parking spaces
—————————-
On each match day, all on-street parking spaces on the following roads will be suspended from 5pm to 12.30am of the following day:

– Stadium Path;
– Northbound Caroline Hill Road between Stadium Path and Cotton Path;
– Hoi Ping Road;
– Sunning Road;
– Eastern Hospital Road; and
– Sun Wui Road.

C. Traffic arrangements upon conclusion of the event

Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following special arrangements will be implemented from about 9.30pm on each match day:

Road closure
———————–

– Caroline Hill Road;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Caroline Hill Road and Cotton Path;
– Northbound Tung Lo Wan Road between Eastern Hospital Road and Causeway Road;
– Southbound Tung Lo Wan Road between Eastern Hospital Road and Causeway Road, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
– Northbound Link Road (downhill), except for vehicles heading for No. 1, 3, 5 and 7 on Link Road;
– Hoi Ping Road;
– Sunning Road, except for vehicles leaving Lee Garden Three Car Park;
– Sun Wui Road;
– Lee Garden Road, except for vehicles entering or leaving Hysan Place Car Park via Hennessy Road;
– Lan Fong Road;
– Foo Ming Street;
– Pak Sha Road;
– Yun Ping Road;
– Kai Chiu Road;
– Hysan Avenue;
– Shelter Street;
– Cotton Path; and
– Leighton Road (when necessary).

Traffic diversions
———————————–

– Before the end of the event, vehicles leaving the South China Athletic Association car parks may be permitted to turn right at the western exit to northbound Caroline Hill Road;
– Before the end of the event, vehicles leaving buildings on Eastern Hospital Road may be permitted to turn right to northbound Eastern Hospital Road;
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road cannot enter Caroline Hill Road for Link Road, and vehicles will be diverted via Wong Nai Chung Road and Broadwood Road; and
– When Leighton Road is closed, traffic along westbound Causeway Road will be diverted via Irving Street; traffic along eastbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted via Canal Road West; traffic along southbound Percival Street must turn right to westbound Leighton Road; and traffic along southbound Canal Road East cannot turn left to Leighton Road.

Restrictions on access to / exit from car parks
———————————————–

If necessary, all car parks along Caroline Hill Road, Eastern Hospital Road, Stadium Path and Cotton Path will be closed at short notice.

Vehicles in car parks within the road closure area may not be permitted to leave during the road closure period.

During the implementation of the special traffic arrangements, any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts mentioned above will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.

Police will implement the above arrangements subject to traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience, and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

A man who went missing in Ma On Shan has been located.

Tsang Yung, aged 58, went missing after he was last seen at a caring home in Yiu On Estate on August 14 morning. Staff of the caring home made a report to Police on August 15.

The man was located on Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, in the small hours today (August 19). He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Department of Health (DH) announced today (August 19) that the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office (TACO) will equip frontline staff with body-worn video cameras (body cameras) starting tomorrow (August 20) to assist them in carrying out their duties more effectively and to safeguard the safety of the public and TACO personnel. TACO’s frontline staff will use the devices as necessary, based on actual needs and circumstances.

To effectively protect the public from the hazard of second-hand smoke and deter smoking violations, TACO regularly inspects all statutory no smoking areas to enforce the smoking ban. TACO has flexibly deployed resources and adopted new enforcement strategies since 2023, which include extending the time of surveillance and inspections in no smoking areas, deploying plain-clothes officers to take proactive enforcement actions, and will issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to smoking offenders without warning. The number of prosecutions against illegal smoking has surged due to the new enforcement strategies. The number of FPNs issued increased from 6 296 in 2022 to 10 261 in 2023 and 13 488 in 2024.

Starting tomorrow, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Inspectors (see photo) will wear body cameras while they are discharging their duties and will record on-site situations when necessary. Body cameras will be worn conspicuously by Tobacco and Alcohol Control Inspectors in uniform and will be used in an open and transparent manner. If they encounter unexpected or conflicting incidents and consider it necessary to record the situations, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Inspectors will, where reasonably practicable, notify the person(s) concerned of the body camera prior to the commencement of recording in order to safeguard the safety of the public and enforcement officers as well as to collect evidence. The body camera will display a blinking red light during recording to notify those involved that they are being recorded.

Making reference to the experience of relevant law enforcement departments in the use of body cameras, TACO has formulated clear enforcement guidelines and provided training for frontline staff. When handling relevant footage, TACO will ensure compliance with the regulations of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486). Footage that carries no investigative or evidential value, or constitutes no other legitimate purpose, will be deleted after 31 days from the date it was recorded to ensure that no excessive personal data is retained.

For details on access to the footage, please visit the TACO website.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (August 19) released the findings of its Summer Food Surveillance Programme 2025. The results of about 2 270 food samples tested were satisfactory, except for three unsatisfactory samples that had been announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent. A CFS spokesman reminded members of the public to remain vigilant and pay more attention to food safety and environmental hygiene as the hot and humid climate of the long summer in Hong Kong facilitates the multiplication of bacteria.
　
The spokesman said, “The CFS collected about 2 270 samples from market stalls, restaurants, food factories, fresh provision shops, online vendors (including online retailers and online food delivery platforms) and others for tests.”
　
The samples comprised 547 samples of dairy products and frozen confections, 90 samples of cut fruit and salads, 129 samples of desserts and drinks, 57 samples of sandwiches, 163 samples of cold cuts or cooked meat products, 763 samples of aquatic products (such as sushi and sashimi, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other edible aquatic animals) and 518 samples of other ready-to-eat foods.
　
The spokesman said that about 2 100 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, and about 170 samples for chemical tests. The results showed that except for two ice cream samples detected with coliform bacteria counts exceeding the legal limits and a frozen yoghurt sample detected with coliform bacteria and total bacterial counts exceeding the legal limits, the remaining samples were all satisfactory. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
　
The CFS has announced the test results of the unsatisfactory samples and conducted follow-up actions, including instructing the vendors concerned to stop selling the relevant food and remove from shelves the affected products, and tracing the sources of the food items in question. The CFS has also arranged trade talks to remind food handlers to follow good hygiene practices when producing and storing frozen confections, and formulate food safety plans with reference to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points system to ensure food safety. The CFS appeals to the trade that when manufacturing frozen confections, they should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting utensils and equipment regularly and thoroughly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, and properly store raw materials at appropriate temperatures to reduce the risk of food contamination.
　
The spokesman reminded members of the public in particular that raw or undercooked foods are high-risk foods as there is not any, or inadequate, heat treatment to eliminate the microorganisms present that can pose risks to human health. Raw or undercooked foods are also associated with the risk of contracting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) microorganisms. Although these AMR microorganisms may not cause illnesses, they may transfer their antibiotic resistance genes to other bacteria inside the human body, therefore affecting the effectiveness of the future use of antibiotics when needed. Susceptible populations such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immunity (e.g. people with chronic diseases or those on antibiotics treatment, antacid and long-term steroids or drugs given to prevent transplant rejection) are of higher risk of being infected or having complications if they consume raw or undercooked foods due to their health status. They should therefore avoid eating raw and undercooked foods.

Members of the public should pay attention to food safety, especially in summer, and observe the following Five Keys to Food Safety in order to reduce the risk of foodborne diseases:

• choose (choose safe raw materials);
• clean (keep hands and utensils clean);
• separate (separate raw and cooked food);
• cook (cook thoroughly); and
• safe temperature (keep food at a safe temperature).

Members of the public are also reminded to dine out in licensed and hygienic restaurants. Food premises selling sushi and sashimi or other high-risk foods require a special permit. The public should patronise only those with relevant licences or permits issued by the FEHD.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

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 (August 19) that due to big waves, red flags have been hoisted at Shek O Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, and Hap Mun Bay Beach in Sai Kung District. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at these beaches.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, will depart for Beijing in the afternoon today (August 19).
 
     During his stay in Beijing, Mr Tse will visit the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Grid Corporation of China. He will also conduct site visits to the National Charging Infrastructure Monitoring and Service Platform, and the Beijing Power Exchange Center to keep abreast of the latest developments of the country in areas such as the electric vehicle charging network and the electricity market. The Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui, and the Commissioner for Climate Change, Mr Arthur Lee, will also join the visit.
　　 　　
     Mr Tse will return to Hong Kong on August 21. During his absence, the Deputy Financial Secretary, Mr Michael Wong, will be the Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

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 (August 19) that the Environmental Protection Department has classified the water quality at Deep Water Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, as Grade 4, which means the beach is not suitable for swimming. The red flag has been hoisted. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach until further notice.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (August 19) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in West Devon District of Devon County in the United Kingdom (UK), the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 390 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat, and about 830 000 poultry eggs from the UK in the first six months of this year.

“The CFS has contacted the British authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.