Celebration events for 29th anniversary of establishment of HKSAR
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and senior government officials will attend a flag-raising ceremony and a reception on July 1 (Wednesday) to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The flag-raising ceremony will be held at Golden Bauhinia Square outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai at 8am. Community leaders and members of uniformed groups will attend the ceremony. No public viewing area will be set up. The Police Band will perform at the ceremony, and a choir from Belilios Public School and Queen's College will sing the national anthem under the lead of two singers, Mr Albert Lim and Ms Vivian Yau, followed by a fly-past and a sea parade by the disciplined services.
The celebration reception, officiated by the Chief Executive, will be held at the Grand Hall on Level 3 of the HKCEC after the flag-raising ceremony.
Motorists are reminded that the Police will implement special traffic arrangements at Golden Bauhinia Square and the nearby area during the celebration events.
The flag-raising ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square, Photo source: reference image
AFCD responds to Ombudsman's direct investigation operation report
Regarding the direct investigation operation report on the Government's work on the management of countryside facilities released by the Office of The Ombudsman today (June 29), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) responds as follows:
The AFCD is committed to enhancing the management standards of country parks, with a view to providing the public and tourists with safe, eco-friendly and educational recreation experiences. It provides and regularly upgrades various facilities such as trails, information boards, visitor centres and toilets. The AFCD also reviews the carrying capacity of popular countryside destinations to formulate appropriate management measures to ensure the safety of the facilities, enhance the convenience of public use and minimise the impact on the natural environment.
The AFCD accepts the Office's recommendations and will make every effort to follow up and implement them. Some of the measures have already been initiated or completed during the investigation, including:
- enhancing the procedures and monitoring of facility maintenance and inspection in country parks;
- improving the system for monitoring the performance of cleaning contractors;
- allocating additional resources, hiring contractors, and adopting new designs to expedite the maintenance of facilities (such as rain shelters);
- updating the contents of the country park visitor questionnaire and the "Enjoy Hiking" website; and
- providing GPX files for all trails on the website for offline use by the public and tourists.
The AFCD agrees with the Ombudsman's recommendations on strengthening information dissemination and public education. It is currently developing several publicity channels, including establishing a YouTube account for Hong Kong Country Parks and applying to open an official Xiaohongshu account, to more effectively disseminate information on hiking safety and nature conservation to the public and tourists.
The AFCD will continue to work with relevant government departments to strengthen the management of ecotourism hotspots during weekends, public holidays and the Mainland Golden Week holidays as necessary. It will also actively explore co-operation with other organisations to deepen education and publicity on the protection of country parks and hiking safety awareness.
The AFCD will maintain to uphold the principles of "respecting the ecology and protecting the environment", appropriately showcase Hong Kong's precious ecological resources to the public, and enable the public and tourists to enjoy the pleasures of the countryside and support the sustainable development of ecotourism.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Photo source: reference image
