MIL Asia Pacific Publishing Engine

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (October 20) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the Rural Municipality of Ste. Rose of Manitoba Province in Canada, and an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza in Loire-Atlantique Department in France, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the above-mentioned areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, no poultry meat or eggs were imported into Hong Kong from Canada in the first six months of this year; and Hong Kong imported about 400 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat, and about 20 000 poultry eggs from France in the first six months of this year. 

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

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Delegation of National Model Workers & Craftsmen arrived in Hong Kong today to start a four-day visit.

At the invitation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, All-China Federation of Trade Unions Vice Chairman Wei Dichun led the delegation to visit Hong Kong.

National Model Worker, National Advanced Worker and National Great Craftsman are national honorary titles. Members of the delegation include seven top elites from various fields, namely Gao Fenglin (aerospace), Hong Jiaguang (aviation), Duan Jiangnan (AI), Zhan Chunpei (maritime), Zhu Yiqing (finance), Liu Zhong (catering) and Yang Jun (cultural arts).

After arriving in Hong Kong in the afternoon, the delegation attended a welcome ceremony organised by the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council for their full support in facilitating this visit, which fully demonstrated the great importance and care that the country attaches to Hong Kong, cheering on Hong Kong workers and injecting positive energy into society.

He said the Hong Kong SAR Government and all sectors of society attach great importance to the value of labour and hope that the visit of the delegation will enhance the national pride and patriotism of Hong Kong people as well as inspiring employees in all industries to embrace changes and be dedicated at work.

Director-General of the Social Work Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR Liu Songlin; Head of Second Division, Fifth Bureau of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the CPC Central Committee and the HKMAO of the State Council Li Xinyu; Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun; Permanent Secretary for Labour & Welfare Alice Lau; and Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui also attended the ceremony.

The delegation attended a welcome dinner hosted by Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki in the evening.

Mr Chan said that the delegation’s visit to Hong Kong is of great significance in promoting the public’s understanding of the spirit, excellent qualities and outstanding contributions of National Model Workers, National Great Craftsmen and National Advanced Workers. The Hong Kong SAR Government warmly welcomes the delegation’s visit to Hong Kong.

He also firmly believed that the hard work and outstanding achievements of the delegation members will motivate all sectors of Hong Kong society to continue to strive for excellence and pursue their aspirations, and further unite social forces to jointly contribute to promoting national development and improving people’s well-being.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The International Organization for Mediation (IOMed) commenced operations today, providing mediation services for disputes between states, international investment and international commercial disputes.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Chief Executive John Lee, representatives of the IOMed’s contracting states, as well as 87 senior officials from 31 states out of the 37 signatory states.

Mr Lee said: “In these times of global instability, international mediation is indispensable for resolving disputes, preserving relationships and encouraging meaningful co-operation. With our world-class professional services, Hong Kong is dedicated to supporting the cause of dispute resolution.”

IOMed Governing Council Chairperson Hua Chunying remarked that the IOMed offers a new platform in the field of international rule of law, and its vision is highly consistent with that of the Global Governance Initiative of China.

IOMed Secretary-General Prof Teresa Cheng also noted the organisation practises multilateralism, serving as a global pillar in the peaceful settlement of international disputes.

Housed at the renovated Old Wan Chai Police Station, the IOMed headquarters is equipped with state-of-the-art mediation rooms and breakout rooms, with the building’s architectural features preserved.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam will depart for Korea tomorrow afternoon, where he will attend the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting in Incheon and speak at the discussion sessions.

On October 22 and 23, Mr Lam will attend a joint session of the Finance Ministers’ Meeting and the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting, and the Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting.

The Structural Reform Ministerial Meeting this year is themed “Future Direction & Role of Structural Reform in addressing emerging challenges”, and ministers from APEC member economies will discuss how to build a sustainable future through structural reforms and the implementation of law and policies.

Mr Lam will also attend a joint legal workshop co-organised by the Department of Justice and the Ministry of Justice of Korea.

His other engagements during this trip include a visit to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Regional Centre for Asia & the Pacific, and a local arbitration institution.

Mr Lam will return to Hong Kong on October 25. During his absence, Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan will be Acting Secretary.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui today announced that the Government Logistics Department (GLD) has implemented six quick-win measures, as proposed by the Task Force on Review of Government Procurement Regime to plug loopholes in government procurement procedures as soon as possible.

Mr Hui pointed out that while the incident on the procurement of bottled drinking water clearly involved suspected fraudulent acts by a particular company, it also revealed that the perceptiveness and alertness of the relevant officers in conducting due diligence checks and addressing potential fraudulent acts could not adapt to the current business environment and were obviously below reasonable expectations.

He said: “The task force and I consider it essential to tackle the problem at source through reshaping the work culture, enhancing the capability of procurement officers in exercising due diligence and empowering officers with sufficient authorities on the regime level. This will help ensure greater effectiveness for officers in handling procurement matters in future, not only serving as advocates of fair competition, but more importantly, as gatekeepers for government procurement.”

The six quick-win measures focus on three aspects, namely institutional change, enhancement of cross-departmental information exchanges and reshaping of work culture.

They are to promulgate internal guidelines to stipulate specific requirements on due diligence checks; set up a Procurement & Stores Management Audit Section to step up inspections; revise Standard Terms & Conditions of Tenders & Contracts (STC) to strengthen vetting and contract management power; establish a digital database for information sharing; strengthen staff training to guard against fraud; and build a culture of ownership at work.

The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau has directed the GLD to implement these six measures immediately.

The task force expects to publish a review report before the end of this year to put forward solutions that address both symptoms and root causes, with a view to further enhancing the Government’s procurement work.

Separately, the GLD is reviewing in detail the tender requirements of the contract for the supply of bottled drinking water to government offices.

In order to keep tabs on the market pulse prior to tendering, the GLD published a market research notice on its website today, inviting interested suppliers to submit responses in a month’s time. The GLD aims to launch the tender exercise for the supply of bottled drinking water to government offices on Hong Kong Island and parts of the outlying islands, with the relevant responses taken into account, by the end of this year.

Mr Hui also released today the management letter submitted by the Audit Commission on its review of the tender exercise for the procurement of bottled drinking water. He thanked the Audit Commission for providing numerous recommendations, the directions of which align with the six quick-win measures and the long-term enhancement measures being explored by the task force. The task force will examine the management letter in detail to refine the long-term enhancement measures for announcement before the end of the year.

Mr Hui also announced that Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 Alice Lau had been invited to conduct a disciplinary investigation on the human errors identified in the management letter.

The Task Force on Review of Government Procurement Regime was established in August to review the existing government procurement regime and procedures arising from the incident on the Government’s procurement of bottled drinking water under a cross-bureau and cross-departmental approach.

The task force is chaired by Mr Hui, with members including the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury (Treasury), the Director of Government Logistics, and representatives from the Civil Service Bureau, the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau, the Development Bureau and the Department of Justice.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Transport visited the Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section) (CKB(YMTS)) today (October 20) to understand the latest progress of the CKB(YMTS) project, as well as the tunnel facilities and features of the project.

     Members first received a briefing from representatives of the Highways Department (HyD) at CKB(YMTS) Administration Building on the planning of the Central Kowloon Bypass project and the design of the tunnel entrance and the connecting roads in Kai Tak. They also visited the tunnel control centre to learn about the traffic control and surveillance system that will be used in the future.

     Members noted that the Central Kowloon Route (CKR) will be opened in phases. The Yau Ma Tei section, which is expected to be commissioned in December this year, is about 4.7 kilometres long and will connect the Yau Ma Tei Interchange with the Kai Tak Development Area. This will help alleviate current traffic congestion along the major roads in Kowloon and reduce journey time.

     Members then conducted a visit to the tunnel entrance in Kai Tak, the tunnel section, and the Yau Ma Tei Portal to gain a deeper understanding of the drill-and-blast method of the tunnel adopted in the excavation of the tunnel and the tunnel facilities. Members noted that, given the tunnel’s length of approximately 3.9km and its depth of more than 100 metres underground, the project team adopted the latest technologies during the construction to overcome challenges such as tunneling in urban area, re-provisioning of the Gascoigne Road Flyover, and preserving nearby heritage sites and landmarks.

     During the visit, Members exchanged views with Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Director of Highways and representatives from the Administration on the construction challenges, traffic impact assessments and road arrangements to prepare for the upcoming commissioning of CKB(YMTS).

     A total of 12 members and non-members of the Panel on Transport participated in the visit.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Legal Practice Training Course for Chinese Enterprises Going Overseas, organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy, officially commenced today (October 20).

The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, spoke at the opening ceremony of the course today. He expressed his gratitude to the Bureau of Policies, Laws and Regulations of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council for their support and trust in the Academy. He said that with the high-quality development of the national economy, an increasing number of outstanding Mainland enterprises are actively expanding to overseas markets, while at the same time facing many challenges. Hong Kong has always been a springboard for Mainland enterprises to go global, and is the only common law jurisdiction in the country with both Chinese and English as official languages under the “one country, two systems” framework, making Hong Kong an important hub linking the Mainland and the rest of the world. He said he hopes that the training course will enable participants to comprehensively understand current trends in overseas expansion, keep abreast of evolving legal and regulatory challenges, and effectively tackle the complex issues encountered by enterprises when “going overseas”.

Participants in this course, including over 30 legal advisors and related professionals from state-owned enterprises, will explore the practical and imminent legal issues and challenges faced by Chinese enterprises going global. Speakers of the lectures include experienced legal professionals from Hong Kong and overseas, as well as members of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Expert Committee. The Academy also invited more than 10 senior legal practitioners from 12 jurisdictions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, to share their first-hand experiences and insights in the local markets with participants in three sessions.

The Academy will continue to leverage the unique advantages of “one country, two systems” and the Hong Kong common law system, and organise different courses to promote Hong Kong’s legal services in assisting Mainland enterprises in going global.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Two co-owners were convicted and fined $136,800 in total, of which $76,800 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts last Friday (October 17) for failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap 123).

The case involved a four-storey unauthorised structure with an area of about 100 square metres on two lots in D.D.115, Yuen Long. Since the Lands Department would not issue a certificate of exemption for the unauthorised building works (UBWs) and the UBWs were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the co-owners under section 24(1) of the BO. Failing to comply with the removal order, they were prosecuted by the BD.

A spokesman for the BD said today (October 20), “UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who fail to comply with removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building and public safety.”

Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year’s imprisonment, and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma, returning to Hong Kong after a seven-year absence, will grace the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s (LCSD) Great Music 2025 this November under the baton of its newly appointed artistic director, the world-class conductor Daniel Harding. Marking the first stop of the Orchestra’s Asian tour this year, the two concerts present exceptional collaborations, featuring the celebrated Italian pianist Beatrice Rana, a rising star on the European and American classical music scene, who will make her Hong Kong debut to perform a Ravel work, and three of today’s most acclaimed opera vocalists that will conclude the programme with a grand rendition of Act I of Wagner’s “Die Walküre”. This is an unmissable event for both classical music and opera lovers.

The two concerts will open with the overture from Verdi’s grand opera “Les vȇpres siciliennes”. The first concert (November 20) will also feature pianist Rana, joining the Orchestra for a performance of Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G” – a work infused with jazz and Basque folk music elements that creates a rhythmically vibrant and entertaining dialogue between the piano and the orchestra. The evening will conclude with Rachmaninov’s “Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27”.

The second concert (November 21) is dedicated to masterpieces by great opera composers, featuring the overtures from Rossini’s “William Tell” and Verdi’s “La forza del destino”. The Orchestra will also present a concert version of Act I of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” – the second installment of the “Ring” cycle, and the very piece that opened its current season. The performance boasts a stellar cast, with tenor Klaus Florian Vogt and soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä as the god Wotan’s twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, and bass Kwangchul Youn portraying Sieglinde’s husband Hunding. This concert version will be performed exclusively in Hong Kong during the Orchestra’s Asian tour.

The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma was founded in 1908 and was the first in Italy to dedicate itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, promoting premieres of 20th-century masterpieces, including “Fontane di Roma” and “Pini di Roma” by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. The Orchestra has collaborated with some of the greatest musicians and has been conducted by figures such as Mahler, Debussy, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Hindemith, Toscanini and more. It has performed in prestigious concert halls, such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Semperoper Dresden, and the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna. In recent years, the Orchestra’s extensive recording activities have garnered international awards. Among the recordings, Puccini’s “Turandot” won the International Classical Music Award for “Best Opera”.

Harding is currently the music director of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Academia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the music director of Youth Music Culture, The Greater Bay Area. He is honoured with the lifetime title of Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has worked for over 20 years. He also served as the music and artistic director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra for 18 years. Moreover, he has led critically acclaimed productions at the Teatro alla Scala Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Covent Garden and at the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals. In 2002, Harding was awarded the title Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government and in 2017 nominated to the position Officier Arts et Lettres.

Pianist Rana won the first prize and all special prizes at the Montreal International Competition at the age of 18, and has gained widespread recognition by receiving the Silver and the Audience Award at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In 2015, her first album featuring Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” and Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1” with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma, received international acclaim, including “Gramophone” magazine’s Editor’s Choice. She also won Young Artist of the Year at the 2017 Gramophone Classical Music Awards.

Hailed as one of the most promising sopranos in the dramatic field by “Opernmagazin”, Värelä has performed Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. In 2025, she made an outstanding debut at the Bayreuth Festival, an annual mega-event for Wagnerian opera.

Vogt is acclaimed as one of the finest Wagner tenors of our time, renowned for his distinctive vocal artistry. His portrayal of the Knight of the Grail in Wagner’s Lohengrin has taken him to the world’s most important opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House and the Vienna State Opera. He was awarded Best Male Singer in the OPER! Awards 2025.

Youn is one of today’s most celebrated basses, and has performed on many international opera stages such as the Opéra de Paris, the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin State Opera. In 2018, Youn was awarded the title of “Kammersänger” by the Berlin State Opera, as well as the Ho-Am Prize in the Arts, cementing his status as a Korean national treasure.

The concerts by the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma will be staged at 8pm on November 20 and 21 (Thursday and Friday) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets priced at $450, $650, $850, $1,050, $1,250 and $1,450 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. Discount schemes are available for the programmes to be held from October to November under Great Music 2025. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_1836.html.

Two pre-concert talks (to be conducted in Cantonese) will be held at 6.45pm on November 20 and 21 respectively at Level 4 Foyer, Auditoria Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The first talk entitled “A Tale of Two Worlds: Rachmaninov’s Romance and Ravel’s Jazz” will be hosted by music educator Calvin Lai, while the second talk entitled “IG Opera” will be hosted by voice pedagogue Chan Siu-kwan. Admission is free, with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The LCSD’s Great Music 2025, running from June to November this year, brings together world-class musicians and a celebrated orchestra for a spectacular lineup of performances, showcasing the city’s unique charm as an international centre of arts and culture. For more details, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/groups_1840.html.