A fireworks display consisting of 31,888 shells lit up the sky over Victoria Harbour tonight in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Themed “Splendid fireworks shining over a prosperous China”, the 23-minute extravaganza, co-ordinated by the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, was divided into eight scenes.
Photo by Bastille Post
The opening scene involved a display of red five-pointed stars and purple five-petal flowers.
The sixth scene, “The Legend of Pandas”, featured green fireworks depicting pandas' favourite foods, such as bamboo leaves. It expressed the citywide welcome for the arrival of two giant pandas gifted to Hong Kong by the central government last week.
Photo by Bastille Post
The seventh scene, “Auspicious Treasures”, showcased different kinds of ring-shaped fireworks, symbolising the strong bonds and perfect harmony among the various ethnic groups in China.
With flourishes of “Chinese Red”, “Big Whistle” and “Gorgeous Golden Crown” fireworks, the finale, “The Magnificent Scenes of China”, conveyed wishes for continued prosperity for the nation and peaceful lives for its people.
Trade instructed to temporarily suspend importing and selling certain batches of raw oysters from French brand Josephine
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (April 8) instructed the trade to suspend the import of raw oysters from French brand Josephine produced and packed between March 5 and 25, 2026. The trade should also immediately stop using or selling the batches of the product concerned produced and packed during this period should they possess any of them.
A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission on suspected gastroenteritis cases in the Netherlands that may be related to consumption of raw oysters from French brand Josephine produced and packed between March 5 and 25, 2026. For the sake of prudence, the CFS has immediately instructed the trade to temporarily suspend the import into and sale within Hong Kong of the raw oysters concerned. As a precautionary measure, the brand concerned has voluntarily removed from shelves the raw oysters concerned. So far, the CFS has not received any referral cases of food poisoning or food complaint related to ingestion of the raw oysters concerned."
The spokesman said the trade should also stop selling the raw oysters from French brand Josephine produced and packed during the above-mentioned period if they possess them. The CFS has also stepped up the collection of raw oyster samples for testing.
The spokesman pointed out that as oysters feed by filtering a large volume of seawater, pathogens can accumulate in them if they are grown in or harvested from contaminated water. Raw or partially cooked oysters are high-risk foods. Susceptible groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver diseases, should avoid eating raw oysters.
The CFS has informed the French authorities and also notified the local trade. It will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. An investigation is ongoing.
Source: AI-found images
