Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
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Sunday, February 15, 1998 CONTENTS ======== 1. D of E speaks on resignation of Council members 2. Govt to focus on road projects to ease congestion 3. Lotteries Fund finances welfare programmes 4. Update on avian flu 5. The 8th Education & Careers Expo 6. Public invited to monitor fire services 7. Inter-school contest to promote information technology 1. D of E speaks on resignation of Council members *********************************************** The Director of Education, Mrs Helen C P Lai Yu, is concerned about the resignation of a number of members from the Council on Professional Conduct in Education, particularly as she had sought meetings with them to resolve matters. She said: "Last Friday, I had written to the Chairman and members of the Council, inviting them to meet me early this week. The objective is to hear their views and to enhance mutual understanding. I sincerely hope to see them and to suit their convenience, I have reserved three different time-slots over two days. "If any member cannot join us, I welcome their giving me or the Council Secretariat their views, by phone or by fax. "I urge the resigning members to reconsider their decision. "In any case, we in the Education Department appreciate the time and counsel the Chairman and members have given during their term on the Council." Meanwhile, on members' concern about the setting up of the General Teaching Council, Mrs Yu noted that this is in the hands of a dedicated preparatory committee and that the Education Department is in full support. "The Chief Executive has announced in his Policy Address in October 1997 to set up a General Teaching Council within two years. The Government is confident that the target date set by the Chief Executive will be met." End 2. Govt to focus on road projects to ease congestion ************************************************* With the completion of the Airport Core Programme projects, the Government will focus on major road improvement work in different areas in the next few years with a view to relieving traffic congestion and coping with rapidly increasing traffic needs, the Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng, said today (Sunday). Speaking at a press briefing at the work sites of Ting Kau Bridge and Route 3, Mr Ng said, "We will put up over $25 billion in the coming five years to implement a number of ambitious programmes for the planning and building of a series of new road projects." These include the widening of the Tolo Highway; widening of Fo Tan Road; widening of Choi Hung Road; widening of the Eastern Island Corridor between North Point and Sai Wan Ho; and improvement to Kam Tin Road. The Government, Mr Ng added, would also be constructing the section of Route 5 between Tsuen Wan and Cheung Pei Shan Road. "We are undertaking studies for the construction of the Sham Tseung Link and Route 9, running from Tsing Yi to Lai Chi Kok. "We hope to be able to finalise very soon our preliminary study on the Central Kowloon Route linking West Kowloon and Southeast Kowloon," he said. Ting Kau Bridge is expected to open for traffic in the second quarter of this year, in time for the opening of the Route 3 Country Park Section, which will provide a fast link between Ting Kau and Yuen Long. Upon completion, the Route 3 Country Park Section will relieve congestion at Tuen Mun Road and improve road links between the boundary and the container port. Mr Ng said the Government was also planning to do more in the future to set out the blueprint for transport infrastructure for Hong Kong for the coming decades. "For this purpose, we are undertaking the Third Comprehensive Transport Study to assess the overall transport needs. We are also embarking on the Second Railway Development Study to map out a network for a rail system for Hong Kong." The studies are expected to be completed before the end of 1999. Mr Ng said: "Because of the constraint on road construction imposed by our scarce land resources, we would clearly need to give a higher priority to rail transport in the long run. "Our policy will be to develop rail transport to the extent that is economically viable to reduce reliance on road transport," he said. Costing more than $110 billion, three priority rail projects, namely the West Rail, the MTR Tseung Kwan O Extension and the Ma On Shan Link and Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui Extension, are under various stages of active planning and will be completed between 2002 and 2004. Earlier today, the Secretary for Transport gave an on-site briefing to the media on the latest progress of Ting Kau Bridge and Route 3 Country Park Section and Tai Lam Tunnel. End 3. Lotteries Fund finances welfare programmes ****************************************** The Lotteries Fund has allocated about $354,264,000 to finance various social welfare service programmes during the fourth quarter of 1997, a Social Welfare Department spokesman revealed today(Sunday). "Of the amount, $157,565,900 are earmarked to family and child welfare services, $143,471,988 to elderly and medical social services, $37,969,300 to rehabilitation services, $14,542,500 to young people services, $310,100 to social welfare support services, $304,700 to services for offenders, $100,000 to community development services," the spokesman said. The Fund was established for the purpose of financing, by way of a grant, loan or an advance, the operation or development of social welfare services and medical or educational projects with a welfare content. End 4. Update on avian flu ******************* The Department of Health (DH) announced today (Sunday) that there were no new cases of influenza A (H5N1) today. The total number of cases stands at 18 confirmed cases. The conditions of these cases remain the same as of February 10. End 5. The 8th Education & Careers Expo ******************************** The public are given a golden chance to get the most comprehensive and updated information on careers, education and training opportunities at the 8th Education and Careers Expo to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from February 19 to 22. Jointly organised by the Labour Department and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Expo is the largest of its kind ever held in Hong Kong. It consists of an education section organised by the HKTDC and a careers section staged by the Labour Department. Senior Labour Officer (Careers & Employment Agencies), Mrs Louisa Poon, said today (Sunday) that the Expo provided a forum where the young people could gain a better understanding of the labour market by having face- to-face contact with experienced professionals from various fields and by attending seminars and video shows on different industries. "We hope to assist the young people in mapping out their future career and the members of the public in further enhancing their career planning," Mrs Poon said. She noted that the response from schools to the Expo was overwhelming as some 10 000 students from over 100 schools had enrolled for the group visit programme. "The Labour Department occupies a total of six booths and adopts an integrated approach in the presentation of its various employment services including Job Matching Programme, employment services for the people with a disability and careers education for the youth," Mrs Poon added. The Expo is participated by about 200 exhibitors from various trades, government departments, professional bodies as well as local and overseas educational institutes. It opens from 11 am to 7.30 pm on February 19, 10 am to 7.30 pm on February 20 and 21, and 10 am to 6 pm on February 22. Admission is free. End 6. Public invited to monitor fire services *************************************** The Fire Services Department is now inviting applications from members of the public to join its Public Liaison Group to monitor and improve the delivery of fire and ambulance emergency services. As an non-statutory body, the group was first set up in 1994 to foster better understanding between the Department and members of the public. Members will have the opportunity to express their views on the Department's fire and emergency ambulance services as well as making suggestions and comments for improving the quality of the services during the group's meetings which are held at least twice a year. Thirty members aged 18 or above will be selected, comprising 10 residents from each of the geographical areas of Hong Kong Island (including outlying islands), Kowloon and the New Territories. Each member will be appointed to serve for a period of one year starting from April. Application forms are now available at all fire stations, ambulance depots and district offices of the Home Affairs Department. The closing date for applications is March 15, 1998. Enquiries can be made at 2733 7772. End 7. Inter-school contest to promote information technology ****************************************************** Schools are encouraged to participate in the Multimedia Educational Materials Design Competition of the "Classrooms of the 21st Century Scheme", which is aimed at promoting the use of information technology (IT) in education. Circulars about the competition were sent to schools last month. The closing date for entry is February 27 (Friday). An Education Department spokesman said the design of multimedia educational materials will help make teaching more lively and improve the quality of teaching. Winners of the two top prizes will be awarded a free trip to see the use and promotion of IT in teaching and learning in Australia or the United States. "I urge school teachers to try out their skills at this innovative and immensely rewarding project. "Among the winning entries, the department will select appropriate designs for further development. The creativity of the design will be promoted in primary and secondary schools. "Prize winners are required to assist in the development and promotion works," he said. The competition is part of the $1 million "Classrooms of the 21st Century Scheme" jointly organised by the Education Department, the Lions Club of Metropolitan Hong Kong and Lions Club of Castle Peak and launched on November 21, 1997 is to encourage and assist teachers in using IT as a tool to further improve the quality of education in the classroom. Activities including competition, exhibition, workshops and TV programmes extend over a period of six months. A series of three-minute TV programmes, which interviewed Education Department officers, school principals, teachers, parents and students, stress the importance and popularity of IT in daily living and explain the Government's IT policy in education. The programme will be screened this (Sunday) evening and February 22 at 7.30 pm on TVB-Jade. A more elaborate TV programme on IT in education will be broadcast on February 27 (Friday) in TVB-Jade's "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" which will also feature plays and games. Meanwhile, a total of 405 nominations were received from schools to participate in the "Workshop on Classrooms of the 21st Century Scheme" which is being conducted from January 5 to March 20 in six classes. It is hoped that the workshops will help teachers to equip themselves with the necessary IT skills to design creative teaching materials. An exhibition on IT in education will be conducted on April 25 (Saturday) and April 26 (Sunday) from 9 am to 5 pm at Hong Kong Industrial Technology Centre, 72 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong. The IT projects from the prize winners of the Multimedia Educational Materials Design Competition, schools and educational institutes will be displayed. End
