Hong Kong Reading Week 2026: Celebrate the Fun of Reading from April 20 to 26!

Hong Kong Reading Week 2026 to be held from April 20 to 26

To tie in with the Hong Kong Reading for All Day on April 23, the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will hold the Hong Kong Reading Week 2026 (HKRW) from April 20 to 26. Under the theme of "Delight/LIBRARY", the third HKRW will feature about 470 events to cultivate good reading habits among members of the public, while inviting participants to savour the flavour of living and the beauty of life through reading.

The HKPL will participate in the reading promotion event 2026 Hong Kong Reading+, organised by the Hong Kong Publishing Federation (HKPF) and sponsored by the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, at New Town Plaza in Sha Tin from April 18 to 26. On April 18, the HKPL and HKPF will hold the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Reading Week 2026 and 2026 Hong Kong Reading+. The HKPL will introduce its electronic resources and hold handicraft workshops as well as parent-child reading activities at the event venue. Activities including author sharing sessions, an exhibition, and parent-child workshops will also be held by the HKPF at the 2026 Hong Kong Reading+.

On the Hong Kong Reading for All Day on April 23, reading locations will be set up at selected LCSD venues, public libraries, community libraries, higher education institutions, as well as primary and secondary schools for the "Read Together for Half an Hour" event. The HKPL and theHans Andersen Club will also co-organise "Joyful Family Reading Carnival" at the East Kowloon Cultural Centre. Artiste Poon Fong-fong and authors of children's picture books, Amy Chai and Kathy Chan, will share the joy of reading stories with children. There will be interactive workshops, and a reading area will be set up. Participants can also share stories after reading a story book through drawing and transform their pictures into animations with augmented reality technology to project onto a video wall.

The 4.23 World Book Day Creative Competition prize presentation ceremony this year will be held on April 25 at the Exhibition Gallery of the Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL). The winning works of students from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, under the theme of "Blissful Moments Between Pages", will be on display from the same day until May 3, followed by a roving exhibition at selected public libraries.

Exciting fun day activities suitable for people of all ages will be on offer on April 25 and 26 at the HKCL, including a music and story sharing session hosted by pop singer Phil Lam, a magic performance and workshops by Harry Wong, interactive sessions with guide dog, the Miniature World of Hong Kong exhibition, music interflows featuring classic pieces by Chinese and Western ensembles of the Music Office, and more. An interactive device "The Happiness Explorer" will be set up to recommend good books to participants through combining reading and elements of self-exploration to encourage them to find happiness and joy in reading. An online live broadcast of the music and story sharing session will also be available on the "Reading is Joyful" social media page.

Furthermore, the Pop-up Library@Hong Kong Reading Week 2026 under the theme "Happiness Is Just Around the Book Corner" will be held at Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong on April 25 to promote a culture of reading.

On April 25 and 26, selected public libraries across Hong Kong will hold storytelling and handicraft workshops, with self-service photo booths available for patrons to enjoy reading in a fun-filled atmosphere.

The HKPL, together with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio 5, has invited celebrities from different sectors to share the joy of reading and introduce their favourite books. From April 18 onwards, videos and audio clips of illustration artist Pen So, athlete Cheung Man-yee, director Benny Lau, photographer Lam Hiu-man and pop singer Ramon Lo will be uploaded to the HKRW website and the "Reading is Joyful" social media page, and broadcast on RTHK Radio 5 respectively.

For the latest information and details of the exciting activities of the HKRW, please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/hkrw.

The 2026 Hong Kong Reading+ is one of the programmes of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2026. With "Beyond Fantasy" as this year's theme, the LCSD presents the fourth Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival. For more information, please visit www.pcf.gov.hk/en.

Photo source: hkrw.readingpromotion.gov.hk

Four co-owners fined nearly $130,000 for not complying with removal order

Four co-owners were convicted and fined $128,720 in total, of which $118,720 was the fine for the number of days that the offence continued, at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday (April 14) for failing to comply with a removal order issued under the Buildings Ordinance (BO) (Cap. 123).

The Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts, Kwun Tong Law Courts Building

The case involved unauthorised building works (UBWs) encroaching a common corridor and portion of a front and rear staircase landing of a composite building on Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei. As the works were carried out without prior approval and consent from the Buildings Department (BD), a removal order was served on the co-owners under section 24(1) of the BO. Failing to comply with the removal order, they were prosecuted by the BD.

A spokesman for the BD said today (April 16), "UBWs may lead to serious consequences. Owners must comply with removal orders without delay. The BD will continue to take enforcement action against owners who fail to comply with removal orders, including instigation of prosecution, to ensure building and public safety."

Failure to comply with a removal order without reasonable excuse is a serious offence under the BO. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $200,000 and one year's imprisonment, and a further fine of up to $20,000 for each day that the offence continues.

Source: AI-found images