The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, this afternoon (May 18) toured Wan Chai District to see the latest developments taking place in the district. He visited a school, a social service organisation as well as shops and commercial streets.

     Accompanied by the Wan Chai District Officer, Mr William Yuen, the Chief Executive first visited Li Sing Tai Hang School, in Wun Sha Street, to observe the learning of students.

     Li Sing Tai Hang School transformed from a traditional school in 2003 to a school admitting non-Chinese speaking primary students. Currently, there are 270 students with 200 of them non-Chinese from different countries and cultural backgrounds.

     Mr Tsang chatted with students in English and Putonghua to get a better understanding of how they learn in a multi-cultural environment.

    He commended the school management for their efforts in improving the Chinese language standard of ethnic minority students. "Assisting non-Chinese speaking students to improve their Chinese language proficiency will not only help them integrate into the local community, but will also facilitate their further studies in mainstream schools," Mr Tsang said.

     The Chief Executive then toured around Yun Ping Road in Causeway Bay. He visited a number of old buildings that had been refurbished and given new use. Mr Tsang was pleased to see that these buildings had been revitalised while preserving their original outlook after redevelopment.

     Mr Tsang then visited a knitting shop which had a long history of operating in the district, a traditional Chinese snack shop and a trendy cookshop. He chatted with the operators to learn more about the changes and developments in Causeway Bay.  

     As the rent of ground floor shops is high, many shop owners in Causeway Bay choose to operate on the upper floors of old buildings. The Chief Executive took the opportunity to look around Percival Street to learn about the development of upper floor shops.

     "Upper floor shops have brought a new face to the district. The entrepreneurial spirit of the operators has not only enriched the vitality of the community, but also helped adapt old buildings to new uses," Mr Tsang said.

     After his tour in Causeway Bay, Mr Tsang visited the Methodist Centre in Wan Chai. He was briefed on the training course for post-natal mentors, which has been well received in recent years. The course covers a wide range of topics, including pre-natal and post-natal care, recipes for post-natal women and skills for taking care of newborn babies. Mr Tsang was pleased to learn that the placement rate of graduate retrainees had reached 80%.

     "This placement-tied course should be widely promoted as it meets the needs of employers while providing employment opportunities for women," he said.

     Before ending his visit, Mr Tsang watched a massage class organised by the centre and chatted with the participants to understand their views and expectations.

     Mr Tsang noted that the Employees Retraining Board had signed an agreement with the relevant authorities in Guangdong Province to allow qualified health massage retrainees to attend the Mainland’s skills assessment tests in Hong Kong in order to obtain the necessary Mainland occupational qualification.

     "It is encouraging because the arrangement will further enhance the employment opportunities of graduate retrainees on the Mainland as well as in Hong Kong," he said.

Ends/Friday, May 18, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:44

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