Sydney ETO Supports "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" in Sydney, Showcasing Hong Kong's Musical Talent

Sydney ETO supports "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" to foster cultural exchanges

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) supported the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13) and in Brisbane today (August 14), to promote cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia and showcase Hong Kong's music talent.

Presented by the Arts and Culture Association for Mindful Souls, the concert featured a unique musical journey inspired by the beauty of nature and the enduring relationship between humanity and the natural world. Bringing together traditional Chinese instruments, including huqin, dizi, sheng, guzheng and ruan, with Western instruments such as piano, cello and violin, the programme featured newly arranged classical masterpieces, popular movie soundtracks, iconic animation themes and timeless Chinese folk songs.

Speaking at the Sydney concert, the Director of the Sydney ETO, Mr Ricky Chong, highlighted the Sydney ETO's longstanding commitment to fostering cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia.

"Hong Kong is committed to strengthening its role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges. Our arts and cultural scene continues to thrive, with world-class venues such as the West Kowloon Cultural District and the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, and major international events like Art Basel Hong Kong, where creativity and technology come together to create new cultural experiences," Mr Chong said.

He also underscored Hong Kong's position as a leading destination for arts, culture and major events, noting that the city welcomed nearly 50 million visitors and staged more than 240 mega events in 2025.

Founded in 2020, the Arts and Culture Association for Mindful Souls brings together young and seasoned professional musicians, composers, arrangers and experienced arts administrators from Hong Kong. The members have diverse musical backgrounds spanning Chinese and Western music, jazz and electronic music.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) supported the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13). The concert featured a unique musical journey inspired by the beauty of nature and the enduring relationship between humanity and the natural world. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Mr Ricky Chong, delivered welcoming remarks before the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13) to introduce the latest developments of the arts and cultural scene in Hong Kong. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13) was well received by around 500 audience members. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Mr Ricky Chong (centre), was pictured with Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, Shadow Minister for Roads and Shadow Minister for South Western Sydney Mr Mark Coure (fifth right), Consul (Cultural Affairs) of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Sydney Mr Yue Liwen (fifth left), the Executive Director of the Arts and Culture Association for Mindful Souls Limited, Mr David Tsui (fourth left), and the performers at the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia yesterday (August 13). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney, Mr Ricky Chong (right), was pictured with Shadow Minister for Multiculturalism, Shadow Minister for Roads and Shadow Minister for South Western Sydney Mr Mark Coure (centre), and the Executive Director of the Arts and Culture Association for Mindful Souls Limited, Mr David Tsui (left), at the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) supported the "Harmony between Human and Nature - A East-West Music Concert" held in Sydney, Australia, yesterday (August 13) to promote cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia and showcase the young music talent of Hong Kong. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing

The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, led a delegation from the Department of Health (DH) to Beijing today (September 9) to pay a visit to the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). In addition to exchanging information on the latest progress in promoting scientific regulation and innovation in drugs and medical devices, both sides also signed a co-operation agreement to further deepen collaborations and exchanges in testing technologies of Chinese medicine (CM) and the internationalisation of CM standards. On the same day, the DH and the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (BJHC) co-hosted the Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference, with a view to jointly advancing the high-quality healthcare development in Hong Kong.

Witnessed by the Commissioner of the NMPA, Mr Huang Guo, Dr Lam and the Director General of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of the NMPA, Ms He Li, signed a co-operation agreement on research for CM testing and standards to further extend and deepen collaboration in this area, which has spanned more than a decade.

Under the co-operation agreement, both sides will strengthen exchanges and collaborations in the standards and technologies of CM covering research on and formulation of standards for Chinese Materia Medica, CM decoction pieces, proprietary CM and CM granules; the development of testing technologies; as well as safety tests and risk control for the quality of CM, through multiple channels such as expert meetings, seminars and training. Both sides will also deepen talent training and technical interfacing in accordance with the co-operation agreement, with a view to promoting CM standards and testing technology innovation in alignment with international standards.

Dr Lam thanked the NMPA and its affiliated institution, the National Institute for Drug Control (NIDC), for their longstanding support for CM development in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The permanent building of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute under the DH commenced operations late last year. The Chinese Medicines Herbarium inside has received professional technical guidance from the NMPA and the NIDC, and was endowed with more than 300 valuable and representative specimens of Chinese Materia Medica commonly used nationwide, enriching its collections and enhancing public understanding of CM.

Dr Lam remarked that the Outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan has promulgated to advance the inheritance and innovation of CM and to promote its global expansion. The DH will actively leverage its technical strengths in CM testing and quality control to become an important anchor for CM going global, and to strengthen the exploration, utilisation and research of global medicinal resources. This co-operation arrangement will extend the longstanding close collaboration, and further enhance testing expertise level as well as quality and safety control of CM to promote the development of Hong Kong as a bridgehead for CM going global.

Regarding scientific regulation and innovative development of drugs and medical devices, Dr Lam also introduced the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, the preparatory work for the 30th Global Harmonization Working Party Annual Meeting and Technical Committee Meeting scheduled for December this year, and the progress of the 2026 annual bilateral work plan, covering issues on strengthening cross-boundary drug regulation and enhancing training and exchanges between the two sides in different areas such as primary evaluation of new drugs and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for clinical trials of pharmaceutical products.

In the afternoon of the same day, upon the invitation of the BJHC, the DH co-hosted the annual Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference during the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services. Other co-organisers included the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Beijing Municipal Disease Prevention and Control Administration, the Beijing Hospitals Authority and the Cross-straits Medicine Exchange Association. The theme of this year's conference is "Beijing and Hong Kong, Join Hands for a Shared Healthy Future", focusing on discussions of smart healthcare, transformation of scientific achievements, inheritance and innovation of CM and public health emergency response.

Dr Lam said that this year is significant as it marks the beginning of the National 15th Five-Year Plan. Under the principle of complementing each other in bringing about mutual benefits, the DH will continue to promote exchanges and collaborations with Beijing, actively integrate into and serve the overall national development, and implement a health-first development strategy to fully leverage Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of having strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world to contribute to a "Healthy China".

At the meeting, DH representatives shared how, under the framework of building a health big data ecosystem, Hong Kong's Electronic Health System (eHealth) connects the public and private healthcare sectors to enable realtime sharing of electronic health records, empower citizens to manage their own health, and optimise the allocation of healthcare resources through bigdata analytics. They also introduced Hong Kong's CM regulatory regime and the formulation of CM standards and advancing innovations in testing. Representatives also highlighted Hong Kong's commitment to strengthening primary healthcare under the guiding principle of "prevention first, community-based". The reform is being deepened through chronic disease co-care, intensified tobacco control, and the development of community networks. These measures aim to integrate health management into daily life and encourage citizens to take on the role of being the "first person responsible" for their own health.

During Dr Lam's stay in Beijing, he will also attend some activities on Health and Wellness Service at the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services, and pay a visit to related public health authorities.

Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Director of Health signs co-operation agreement on research for testing and standards of Chinese medicines with NMPA and attends Beijing-Hong Kong Health Cooperation Exchange Conference co-hosted with BJHC in Beijing Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases