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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, visited the New Life Building Long Stay Care Home in Shek Kip Mei this morning (February 19) to attend the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association's Lunar New Year celebration. She extended her Lunar New Year greetings to the residents and their families as well as members of staff. Mrs Lam thanked members of the social welfare community for the provision of quality services for ex-mentally ill persons throughout the years and wished the residents and staff members all the best in the Year of the Sheep.
Mrs Lam then proceeded to Lam Tsuen in Tai Po to officiate at the lantern lighting ceremony of the Hong Kong Well-Wishing Festival 2015, where she was joined by the Chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, Mr Lau Wong-fat, and the Chairman of the Tai Po District Council, Mr Cheung Hok-ming. They witnessed the opening of this annual well-wishing festival and, along with local residents and overseas visitors, wished Hong Kong a prosperous year ahead. Mrs Lam was attending this event for the third consecutive year and said that she was glad that the well-wishing festival had become more and more successful year after year.
Mrs Lam then visited Hong Kong Disneyland to join its Lunar New Year celebration event. Hong Kong Disneyland announced in the event various programmes to support youth development. Speaking at the event, Mrs Lam said she hoped that in the coming year, more design talents in Hong Kong can be nurtured through the concerted efforts of all sectors.
In the afternoon, Mrs Lam went to the Hong Kong International Airport. Accompanied by the Deputy Director of Immigration, Mr Erick Tsang; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), Mr Fred Lam, Mrs Lam met with front-line officers of the Immigration Department, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department, the Department of Health, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the AA to send them New Year greetings. She expressed her particular gratitude to staff of the departments and the AA for their dedication in the provision of efficient services to the huge number of members of the public and tourists over the Lunar New Year period. Mrs Lam also extended her Lunar New Year greetings to members of the public and tourists while inspecting the immigration control point.
Accompanied by the staff of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council, Mrs Lam then visited two families which have benefited from the Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of the Elderly Persons from Low Income Families in Wong Tai Sin District to better understand their lives and presented them with New Year gifts.
Funded by the Community Care Fund, the Pilot Scheme was rolled out on June 30 last year. The two-year Scheme, administered by the Social Welfare Department, aims at providing carers of elderly persons from low-income families with a living allowance to help supplement their living expenses so that elderly persons in need of long-term care services can, under the help of their carers, receive proper care and to enable them to remain in the community.
In the past few years, Mrs Lam has been visiting elderly singletons, people living in residential care homes and members of the grass roots during the Lunar New Year to share a good time with them and offer them her warm regards.
After visiting the two families, Mrs Lam visited the 95-year-old Uncle Fook, who resides at a senior housing unit of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, to extend her festive greetings to him. She was accompanied by the Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Services), Mr Lam Ka-tai. Mrs Lam met Uncle Fook during her tenure as the Director of Social Welfare and has been visiting him from time to time since then.
Mrs Lam will officiate at the 2015 Lunar New Year Fireworks Display in her capacity as the Acting Chief Executive tomorrow (February 20).
Ends/Thursday, February 19, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:57
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