Lunar New Year fair stall auctions to start next Tuesday
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     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (November 10) that stalls at the 2021 Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs will be put up for open auction starting from November 17 (Tuesday).
          
     The LNY fairs are to be held at 15 locations and will be open for seven days from February 6 to 12, 2021. A total of 1,021 wet goods stalls will be put up for auction. No dry goods stalls and fast food stalls will be provided at the venues.
      
     A spokesman for the FEHD said, "In view of the COVID-19 situation and to alleviate the crowdedness of LNY fairs in the past, the Government considers it necessary to adjust the scale of the LNY fairs. The 2021 LNY fairs will only provide wet goods stalls of larger size for selling flowers only to cater for the operational needs of the sale of flowers. Furthermore, no fast food stalls will be provided this year as taking masks off for eating will increase the risk of virus transmission. The FEHD will, at the same time, widen the public access as needed to alleviate the crowding situation and reduce intensive close contact."
      
     The spokesman added, "In addition, taking into account the latest development of COVID-19 and the advice of the Centre for Health Protection, we will implement a series of anti-epidemic measures at the LNY fairs, including requiring visitors to undergo temperature checks before admission and wear a mask at all times. Stall owners are also required to provide hand sanitisers at their stalls for customers' use and provide a contact list of their staff for medical tracing in case of confirmed cases."
 
     In the face of an economic downturn caused by the epidemic, the upset prices of the 2021 LNY fair stalls are frozen at last year's level, which are half of those in 2019, with an aim of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. The opening prices range from $320 to $5,440.
      
     The six fairs on Hong Kong Island, in Islands District and in Kowloon will provide 395 stalls. The fairs will be located at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, Tat Tung Road Garden in Tung Chung, Fa Hui Park in Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong Recreation Ground in Kwun Tong, Morse Park in Wong Tai Sin and Cheung Sha Wan Playground in Sham Shui Po.
 
     The auction for stalls of the LNY fair in Victoria Park will be held on November 17 and 18 at the Assembly Hall, 2/F, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. The auction sessions on the first auction day are scheduled from 9am to 12.30pm (AM session) and from 2pm (PM session). The auction session is scheduled from 9am until completion of the auction on the second auction day.
 
     The auction for stalls of Tat Tung Road Garden LNY fair in Tung Chung will be held at Rooms 1403, 1404 and 1414, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central, on November 19. The auction session is scheduled from 9.30am until completion of the auction.
      
     The auctions for stalls of the Fa Hui Park (Sham Shui Po), Kwun Tong Recreation Ground (Kwun Tong), Morse Park (Wong Tai Sin) and Cheung Sha Wan Playground (Sham Shui Po) LNY fairs will be held at the Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, on November 20 and from November 23 to 25 respectively. The auction sessions are scheduled from 9am until completion of the auction.
      
     Details of the auctions, the number of stalls and opening prices are as follows:
 
Victoria Park (Causeway Bay)
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Number of stalls: 175
 
Auction date: November 17 (Tuesday)
AM session: Stall Nos. 1 to 60
PM session: Stall Nos. 61 to 120
Opening prices: $5,440
 
Auction date: November 18 (Wednesday)
Stalls for auction: Stall Nos. 121 to 175
Opening price: $5,440
 
Tat Tung Road Garden (Tung Chung)
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Auction date: November 19 (Thursday)
Number of stalls: 10
Opening price: $320
 
Fa Hui Park (Sham Shui Po)
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Auction date: November 20 (Friday)
Number of stalls: 70
Opening prices: $2,950
 
Kwun Tong Recreation Ground (Kwun Tong)
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Auction date: November 23 (Monday)
Number of stalls: 50
Opening prices: $1,820
 
Morse Park (Wong Tai Sin)
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Auction date: November 24 (Tuesday)
Number of stalls: 40
Opening prices: $1,250
 
Cheung Sha Wan Playground (Sham Shui Po)
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Auction date: November 25 (Wednesday)
Number of stalls: 50
Opening prices: $420
 
     In the New Territories, 626 stalls will be set up at nine fairs. They are located at Kwai Chung Sports Ground in Kwai Tsing, Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan, Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square in Tai Po, Shek Wu Hui Playground in North District, Tin Hau Temple Plaza in Tuen Mun, Man Yee Playground in Sai Kung, Po Hong Park in Tseung Kwan O, Yuen Wo Playground in Sha Tin and Tung Tau Industrial Area Playground in Yuen Long. Details of the auctions for these stalls, the number of stalls and opening prices, to be held at 9.30am until completion between the period of November 26 and December 9, are as follows:
 
Kwai Chung Sports Ground (Kwai Tsing)
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Auction date: November 26 (Thursday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Number of stalls: 98
Opening price: $410
 
Sha Tsui Road Playground (Tsuen Wan)
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Auction date: November 27 (Friday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Number of stalls: 135
Opening price: $1,480
 
Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square (Tai Po)
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Auction date: November 30 (Monday)
Auction venue: Tai Po Community Centre
Number of stalls: 46
Opening prices: $1,900
 
Shek Wu Hui Playground (North District)
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Auction date: December 2 (Wednesday)
Auction venue: Luen Wo Hui Community Hall, Fanling
Number of stalls: 72
Opening price: $600
   
Tin Hau Temple Plaza (Tuen Mun)
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Auction date: December 3 (Thursday)
Auction venue: Tseng Choi Street Community Hall, Tuen Mun
Number of stalls: 60
Opening prices: $1,250
 
Man Yee Playground (Sai Kung)
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Auction date: December 4 (Friday)
Auction venue: Hang Hau Community Hall, Sai Kung
Number of stalls: 16
Opening price: $320
 
Po Hong Park (Tseung Kwan O)
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Auction date: December 4 (Friday)
Auction venue: Hang Hau Community Hall, Sai Kung
Number of stalls: 54
Opening prices: $700
 
Yuen Wo Playground (Sha Tin)
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Auction date: December 7 (Monday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Number of stalls: 49
Opening price: $2,990
 
Tung Tau Industrial Area Playground (Yuen Long)
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Auction date: December 9 (Wednesday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Number of stalls: 96
Opening prices: $590
 
     Bidders for LNY fair stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in person with his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or he/she will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.
      
     All fair sites will be made available three days in advance for the setting up of stalls from February 3 to 5, 2021. The Government may without cause postpone the commencement date and shorten the duration of the licensed period (including the duration for setting up stalls and the business period of the fair), or suspend or cancel the LNY fair in whole or in part. The bidding price (licence fee) paid will be refunded to the affected licensee on a pro-rata basis without interest. The licensee and his/her employees or agents must vacate the licenced area no later than the time specified by the Government verbally (by way of press release, public announcement or other similar communications) or in writing.
      
     Stall licensees must completely remove the stall structure and all paraphernalia, together with all refuse, debris and unsold commodities (whether damaged or otherwise) from the licensed area before 7am on February 12 (9am for the Victoria Park LNY fair).
      
     The FEHD reminded licensees that the stalls are solely for the purpose of selling and promoting the sale of the permitted commodities, and no other activities are allowed in the licenced area. If the FEHD considers that any activity conducted by the licensee to publicise, promote, display, show or sell any permitted commodities in the venue is unlawful, immoral or incompatible with the object of the LNY fair, the FEHD is entitled to direct the licensee to stop conducting such activity and the licensee must immediately comply with such direction.
      
     Stall licensees should not destroy, damage or abandon any unsold commodities at or in the vicinity of the stall. They may surrender unsold flowers and plants left behind at the stall to the FEHD at no charge, cost or compensation whatsoever, before 7am on February 12 (9am for the Victoria Park LNY fair).
      
     Successful bidders shall comply with all the stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall.
      
     The spokesman said, "We will continue to closely monitor the development of the epidemic situation and adjust the arrangements of the LNY fairs, and will promulgate the guidelines on social distancing measures to be adopted at the LNY fairs around one month before the event. The Government has made its best efforts to enable the LNY fairs to be held as far as practicable. Interested parties should fully consider all the relevant arrangements announced by the Government before participating in the bidding. If the epidemic situation deteriorates rapidly within a short period, we will not rule out the possibility of adjusting the scale of or even cancelling the LNY fairs. Refund arrangements will be made accordingly in accordance with the relevant clauses of the licence agreement with the licensee."
          
     Details of the 2021 LNY fairs such as the public notice, the locations and layouts of the fair venues, commodities allowed for sale at the fair stalls, open auction arrangements and related rules as well as a sample of the licence agreement are available at the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the FEHD hotline at 2868 0000.

Ends/Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:43

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