Hong Kong – Fatal traffic accident in Chai Wan

Fatal traffic accident in Chai Wan

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     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Chai Wan this afternoon (October 31) in which a 51-year-old woman died.

     At around 1.31pm, a private car driven by a 39-year-old woman was travelling along Shek O Road towards Shek O. When approaching To Tei Wan, it reportedly knocked down the 51-year-old woman who was crossing the road.

     Sustaining serious head injury, the woman was rushed to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 4.03pm.

     The 39-year-old woman was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and is being detained for further enquiries.

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, Hong Kong Island is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3660 6814 or 3660 6848.

Hong Kong – Fatal traffic accident in Lantau North

Fatal traffic accident in Lantau North

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     Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident in Lantau North today (October 31) in which a 60-year-old man died.

     At 11.26am, a bicycle driven by the 60-year-old man and a coach driven by a 25-year-old man were travelling in sequence along the left first lane of North Lantau Highway towards Tung Chung. When approaching Yam O Wan, the coach reportedly cut the lane and collided with the bicycle.

     Sustaining multiple injuries, the cyclist was rushed to North Lantau Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 12.24pm.

     The coach driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and is being detained for further enquiries.

     Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, New Territories South is underway.

     Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 1300 or 3661 1346.

Hong Kong – Turning disability into creativity

Turning disability into creativity

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     With the support of the Social Welfare Department’s Arts Development Fund for Persons with Disabilities, artists with disabilities are able to explore their potential and develop careers in performing, visual or creative arts.

     News.gov.hk spoke to two non-governmental organisations to learn more about how the fund helps people with disabilities to unleash their creativity in ceramics and wheelchair dancing.
 
     The story is available at www.news.gov.hk/eng/feature today (October 31) in text and video format.

Hong Kong – Application for JoyYou Card opens for eligible persons born in 1960

Application for JoyYou Card opens for eligible persons born in 1960

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     The Government today (October 31) announced that eligible persons born in 1960 should apply for the JoyYou Card, a Personalised Octopus Card tailor-made for the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme) from tomorrow (November 1) via the Octopus App mobile application or by posting the application forms.

     The JoyYou Card carries a personal photo and the name of the eligible beneficiary for identification. Each eligible person will be issued with one card only. Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) will send the JoyYou Card to the applicant’s Hong Kong postal address within four weeks upon receipt of the completed application. The Government will subsidise the $20 application fee for the first application of eligible persons, and the applicants do not need to pay any application fee to the OCL separately.

     In accordance with the application timetable announced, the OCL will accord priority to applications from eligible persons born in 1960 in November, while other overdue applications will be processed later and therefore it may take a longer time for late applicants to be issued JoyYou Cards.

     Eligible persons aged 60 to 64 must use a JoyYou Card to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare from February 27, 2022. As for eligible persons born in 1957, 1958 and 1959, the OCL has so far received a total of about 294 000 applications, representing about 82 per cent of the estimated local population born in the same years. The Government appealed to the above eligible persons who have yet to apply for the JoyYou Card to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to enjoy the concession as scheduled.

     In addition, for applications with incomplete information or supporting documents, the OCL has issued SMS and letters to the applicants concerned for supplementary submission. Applicants who have received SMS should call the service hotline (2266 2222) as soon as possible. As for applicants who have received letters, they should submit the supplementary information within 14 days by using the return envelope enclosed. Otherwise, their applications cannot be processed further.
 
     The OCL has started sending JoyYou Cards to applicants by post since mid-August in phases and has notified applicants via SMS to check if they have received it. Applicants who have not received their JoyYou Cards 10 days after receiving the SMS or four weeks after completing the application should call the service hotline.

     The links to download the Octopus App mobile application, application form (without postage-free return envelope) and the distribution points for paper application forms (with postage-free return envelope) can be found on the JoyYou Card webpage (www.octopus.com.hk/joyyou/en). The webpage also features videos illustrating the detailed steps to apply for the JoyYou Card. For enquiries on the JoyYou Card, please visit its webpage or call the service hotline.

     The Government will launch enhancement and anti-abuse measures of the $2 Scheme on February 27, 2022, including lowering the eligible age from 65 to 60, benefitting more than 600 000 persons aged 60 to 64, when these beneficiaries must present their JoyYou Card to enjoy the fare concession. Prior to February 27, 2022, JoyYou Cards can only be used as normal Adult Octopus Cards. Current beneficiaries aged 65 or above of the $2 Scheme may continue to use their Anonymous Elder or Personalised Octopus Cards at present to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare. The Government will announce arrangements for them to apply for JoyYou Cards in the first quarter of 2022. Moreover, eligible persons with disabilities may continue to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare by using their existing Personalised Octopus Cards with valid “Persons with Disabilities Status” and do not need to apply for the JoyYou Card.

Canada – Minister Guilbeault will accompany Prime Minister Trudeau and the Canadian delegation to UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)

Gatineau, Québec

Six years ago, the world came together to sign on to the Paris Agreement. The science says that in order to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach and avert the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to do more, and on a faster timeline. That is why Canada will join over 190 countries in Glasgow for COP26 and why Canada has significantly increased its climate targets and climate actions since the coming into force of the Paris Agreement.

The conference runs from October 31 to November 12, 2021, in Glasgow, United Kingdom (UK). Prime Minister Trudeau will lead Canada’s delegation for the World Leaders Summit on November 1–2. Minister Guilbeault of Environment and Climate Change Canada will lead the delegation for the Ministerial segment of COP26 and will be on the ground in Glasgow from November 1 to 12, 2021.

COP26 is the highest profile United Nations climate change conference since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was reached. This year, the world must demonstrate and build trust around how it will collectively deliver on the promises outlined in the Paris Agreement. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, who is hosting COP26, noted at pre-COP that despite the severity of the climate crisis, rapid change is still possible, and that COP26 can and should mark the beginning of the end of climate change. Canada is committed to doing its part to deliver the ambitious climate action that the world wants, and needs. Canada also hopes to build trust, raise global ambition, and advocate for concrete action by all.

Canada has taken steps to ensure diverse perspectives are reflected in international forums. Canada’s delegation for COP26 will include representatives of federal opposition parties, representatives of provinces and territories, including Ministers of the Environment and Premiers, as well as National Indigenous Organizations and Representatives (NIORs). The delegation will also include youth, civil society, business, labour, and Canadian municipalities. The Canadian delegation will be posted on the UNFCCC’s website in the near term.

“We have reached a global crisis point when it comes to our climate and our planet’s biodiversity. Devastating heat waves, floods, and forest fires are on the rise, and Canada is warming at twice the global average. We are heading to Glasgow with a strong plan for the future backed by solid action already under way at home. Importantly, we are also headed there with an understanding that more action must be taken, backed by both the will and the mandate from Canadians to get the job done.”

– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, the Government of Canada has invested over $100 billion in clean growth. Canada has also brought forward a series of other incentives and regulations, including a world-leading carbon pricing and rebate system, regulations to accelerate the phase-out of coal, and economy-wide standards for cleaner fuels.

If all G20 countries adopted these three policies alone, the world would be well on its way to net zero by 2050.

A priority for both Canada and the UK, as COP26 President, is international climate finance, including achieving the US$100 billion goal through 2025. Earlier this year, Canada announced a doubling of its previous climate finance contribution from $2.65 billion to $5.3 billion over the next five years and accepted an invitation from the UK COP26 President Designate to co-lead a process with Germany to build trust that developed countries will stand by their pledges and deliver on the US$100 billion climate finance goal through to 2025. The Delivery Plan, announced on October 25, 2021, provides clarity on when and how the US$100 billion goal will be met.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs), every five years. Each successive NDC is required to be more ambitious than the previous one. Early this year, Canada announced its enhanced NDC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40–45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

With new 2030 mitigation targets this year from Canada, Japan, and the US, combined with ambitious action from the EU and UK, countries accounting for more than half of the world’s economy have now committed to the pace of emission reductions required globally to limit warming to 1.5°C.

Ahead of COP26, Canada developed and passed legislation that puts its climate goals, including net zero by 2050, into law. Earlier this month, Canada announced its support for the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030. Canada has also set the global pace by becoming the first country to commit to reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector by at least 75 percent from 2012 levels by 2030.

Joanna Sivasankaran

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change

819-790-1907

Joanna.Sivasankaran@ec.gc.ca

Media Relations

Environment and Climate Change Canada

819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)

media@ec.gc.ca