CCIDA Sponsors Trade's Participation in 36th Hong Kong Book Fair to Promote Reading Culture in Hong Kong

CCIDA sponsors trade's participation in 36th Hong Kong Book Fair to promote reading culture in Hong Kong

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Committed to cultivating a positive reading atmosphere in the community and actively promoting a reading culture in Hong Kong, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the 36th Hong Kong Book Fair, thereby better aligning with the work directions as promulgated in the Regulation on Promoting Nationwide Reading that came into effect on February 1 this year.

The book fair events sponsored by CCIDA include the World of Art and Culture exhibition, the booth and workshops of the 3rd Go! Illustrators – Hong Kong Picture Book Illustrators at International Book Fairs Promotion Scheme, the kick-off ceremony of the 4th Next Writer Publication Funding Scheme, the International Publishing Forum, the IP Roundtable and the press conference of the inaugural edition of World Chinese Literature Convention and World Chinese Literary Awards.

The World of Art and Culture exhibition is organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council under the theme "World in Words, A Voyage of the Heart" this year. Collaborating with different consulates-general in Hong Kong, the exhibition showcases over 200 books and items from around the world, with some 35 author-sharing sessions, workshops and performances, reinforcing Hong Kong's position as an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchanges while providing more choices of publications for readers.

The Go! Illustrators scheme(Chinese only) aims to support local emerging picture book illustrators to participate in local and outside book fairs (including the Hong Kong Book Fair) to broaden the illustrators' horizons, showcase their works and expand the market. Its booth this year also showcases the 16 original picture books published under the CCIDA-sponsored Hong Kong Picture Book Publishing Support Programme.

The current edition of the Next Writer Publication Funding Scheme(Chinese only) covers two categories, namely, intangible culutrual heritage and popular science, and supports local emerging writers who have never published any work or published only one book before by publishing and promoting the writers' new works.

This year, the International Publishing Forum and the IP Roundtable, under the respective themes "Reading for All in the Age of AI: Reshaping and Co-evolution" and "Copyright in Transition: Reshaping Rights, Challenges & Opportunities in the Age of AI", invite the trade to participate in discussion to explore business opportunities.

The inaugural edition of the World Chinese Literature Convention and the World Chinese Literary Awards seek to provide a global platform for Chinese literature creation and exchange, acknowledge outstanding works in the Chinese literature, while encouraging the expansion of the influence and reach of Chinese literature through adaptation into films and TV programmes and operation of IPs. The Convention establishes its presence in Hong Kong signifies Hong Kong's unique position in the Chinese literature community. The World Chinese Literary Awards is open for submission of entries on the same day of the press conference on July 17, with the award presentation ceremony scheduled for February next year.

As an annual signature cultural event, the Hong Kong Book Fair gathers the publishing industry, authors and readers. CCIDA will continue to support the trade's participation in the book fair to jointly promote reading and publishing culture. For the timetable of the above mentioned book fair events, please visit www.ccidahk.gov.hk/en/whatsnew_detail.php?id=2026071017125749566.

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the Fair. Photo shows the Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Drew Lai (left), and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 4th Next Writer Publication Funding Scheme, Mr William So (right), at the kick-off ceremony of the Scheme. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the Fair. Photo shows the Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Drew Lai (second left), and the Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Yvonne Ip (first left), interacting with a local picture book illustrator at the booth of the 3rd Go! Illustrators – Hong Kong Picture Book Illustrators at International Book Fairs Promotion Scheme. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the Fair. Photo shows the Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Drew Lai (third left), and the Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Yvonne Ip (second right), visiting the booth of the 3rd Go! Illustrators – Hong Kong Picture Book Illustrators at International Book Fairs Promotion Scheme. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the Fair. Photo shows the Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Drew Lai, visiting the World of Art and Culture. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The 36th Hong Kong Book Fair is being held from today (July 15) till July 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the trade to organise an array of events at the Fair. Photo shows the Acting Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing (centre); the Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Drew Lai (fifth left); the Assistant Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Miss Yvonne Ip (first left) and industry representatives visiting the World of Art and Culture. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Outcome of 2026 rent review for public rental housing

The Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) today (July 23) endorsed the outcome of the 2026 rent review for public rental housing (PRH) in accordance with section 16A of the Housing Ordinance (HO).

"Section 16A of the HO provides that the HA shall conduct a rent review every two years in accordance with the mechanism stipulated therein and vary the PRH rent according to the change in the income index between the first and second periods covered by the review. The report compiled by the Commissioner for Census and Statistics (C for C&S) for the 2026 PRH rent review showed that the income index of the second period of the review (i.e. 2025) was higher than that of the first period (i.e. 2023) by 2.04 per cent. To this end, PRH rent will be adjusted upwards by 2.04 per cent with effect from October 1, 2026, " a spokesman for the HA said.

The extent of the 2026 PRH rent adjustment is mild. The average monthly rent as at March 2026 for PRH tenants was $2,519. Applying the adjustment of +2.04 per cent, the average monthly rent increase per PRH household is about $51, with the amount of monthly rent increase ranging from $10 to $128.

"After excluding the ‘well-off tenants’ and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance households whose rent is paid by the Government, the monthly rent increase for more than 60% of the remaining PRH households will be $60 or less, and about 90 per cent of the remaining PRH households have a monthly rent increase of $80 or below. We believe that the increase is within an affordable level for PRH tenants," the HA spokesman said.

The Government announced in the 2026-27Budget that rates concessions would be provided for the first two quarters of 2026-27, subject to a ceiling of $500 for each rateable property per quarter. In line with established practice, HA will pass on the rates concessions to PRH tenants. The rates concessions receivable by each PRH household in 2026-27 range from about $258 to $1,000.

In addition, rents for newly completed PRH estates are set according to the District Best Rent Levels of respective districts, which are determined per meter square of internal floor area with reference to the location and value of the estates concerned. In light of the 2026 rent review of PRH, the rent adjustments for both existing and newly completed PRH estates will take effect on October 1,2026. The HA will notify all PRH tenants in writing one month before the new rent implementation date. Meanwhile, the Housing Bureau has stated that the monthly licence fee for Light Public Housing (LPH) is set at about 90 per cent of the rents for newly completed PRH estates in the same district. Therefore, the monthly licence fees payable of LPH projects will be aligned and adjusted on October 1, 2026 according to the new PRH rental levels. All LPH occupants will be informed of the relevant details in writing one calendar month before the effective date of the new licence fee.

The HO stipulates the PRH rent adjustment mechanism, which came into effect in 2008. Under this mechanism, PRH rent is reviewed every two years. Section 16A(7)(b) of the HO provides that the C for C&S shall compute the income index for the first and second periods under a rent review. The income index is compiled by comparing the income data of about 24 000 PRH households in each of the periods. The mechanism provides an objective basis for the HA to determine when and to what extent PRH rent should be adjusted, taking into account tenants' affordability. According to the mechanism, there is a 10 per cent cap on the rate of rent increase, whereas there is no floor in the case of rent reduction.

Source: AI-found images