Hong Kong – SED leads delegation of Chinese history teachers to visit Yan’an (with photos)

SED leads delegation of Chinese history teachers to visit Yan’an (with photos)

******************************************************************************


     The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, yesterday (March 31) and today (April 1) led a delegation of Chinese history teachers on a study tour of historical sites of the Long March of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army in Yan’an.
 
     To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Long March of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and reinforce the Education Bureau (EDB)’s promotion of the teaching strategy of “learning history through cultural artefacts” in recent years, the EDB organised “Retracing the footsteps of revolutionary predecessors: from Yan’an to Xi’an – a study tour for Chinese history teachers”. Through field trips to Xi’an and Yan’an in Shaanxi Province as well as sharing and exchanges, teachers learned about the essence and significance of the Long March Spirit and the Yan’an Spirit, towards subsequently incorporating their insights into teaching.
 
     Dr Choi led the delegation to a number of historical sites, including the Yan’an Revolutionary Memorial Hall, to learn about the revolutionary history of the Communist Party of China and the developments and experiences during the Yan’an period, and explore ways to deepen the study of history through the cultural artefacts and historical resources of the memorial hall.
 
     Dr Choi said that it was the first time that the EDB organised the Yan’an revolutionary history study tour, and it was of a pioneering significance. Apart from retracing the footsteps of revolutionary predecessors and learning about the hardships of the Communist Party of China in building the country, teachers were given opportunities to appreciate important archaeological discoveries in Shaanxi Province and learn about the scientific preservation and restoration of cultural artefacts during the tour, deepening their understanding of “learning history through cultural artefacts”.
 
     Dr Choi hoped that teachers will bring back their insights to Hong Kong and integrate them into their classroom teaching, deepen students’ understanding of the arduous journey of the Communist Party of China in building the country, and teach them the importance of cherishing the hard-earned achievements that did not come easily. She also hoped that teachers can collectively forge ahead with their fellow educators to promote Chinese history education, and guide students to cultivate interests in and discover the meaning of learning Chinese history.
 
     Dr Choi expressed gratitude to the Department of Education of Shaanxi Province, the Education Bureau of Yan’an City and various units for their strong support for the exchange activities, enabling the smooth conduction of the study tour.
 
     More than 20 secondary school Chinese history teachers participated in the study tour. In addition to visiting historical sites, the delegation toured the Shaanxi Archaeology Museum and Northwest University. They also observed lessons and conducted professional exchanges on teaching resources at a secondary school in Yan’an.
 
     Dr Choi will depart tomorrow (April 2) for Kunming, Yunnan, to continue her visit.

Hong Kong – DSJ leads delegation of young lawyers to visit Foshan to seize opportunities in GBA (with photos/video)

DSJ leads delegation of young lawyers to visit Foshan to seize opportunities in GBA (with photos/video)

******************************************************************************************


     The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, and his delegation of young lawyers concluded their visit in Foshan today (November 18).

     In the morning, Mr Cheung and his delegation visited the Foshan Hong Kong-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Center and exchanged views with Hong Kong and Macao young entrepreneurs. Through the representatives’ sharing of their start-up experiences, the delegation gained a deeper understanding of the opportunities brought about by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) for Hong Kong as a centre for legal and dispute resolution services. Aiming to help young people from Hong Kong and Macao to seize the opportunities in the GBA, the Center has incubated a significant number of projects by Hong Kong and Macao young entrepreneurs since it commenced operation, and injected new momentum to the high-quality development in the GBA.

     The delegation then called on the Foshan Lawyers Association and met with the Chief of Justice Bureau of Foshan Municipality, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Justice Bureau, Mr Liu Zuhui, to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced by Hong Kong legal practitioners practising in the GBA, and to learn more about the collaboration between Hong Kong lawyers in the GBA and Mainland lawyers in handling different types of foreign-related cases.

     Mr Cheung mentioned that Foshan has been striving to enhance its foreign-related legal services to support the upgrading and transformation of the manufacturing sector in Foshan. He remarked that the Policy Address this year announced that Hong Kong will endeavour to establish the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. Capitalising on Hong Kong’s bilingual common law system and international status, the Academy will provide training for talents in the practice of foreign-related legal affairs for the country.

     Mr Cheung expressed his gratitude to the Justice Bureau of Foshan Municipality and the Foshan Lawyers Association in particular for their strong support to Hong Kong legal practitioners in setting up practice there, and their facilitation and support measures for Hong Kong solicitors and barristers who have obtained the qualification to practise in the GBA to practise in Foshan, such as the promulgation of working guidelines for practice applications, and the setting up of a dedicated communication channel. He hoped that co-operation between Hong Kong and Foshan could be strengthened to assist enterprises to go global and to attract foreign investment to the city, thereby fostering robust growth in the GBA.

     After arriving in Foshan yesterday (November 17), the delegation visited the Midea Group’s headquarters to learn more about how the enterprise makes use of technology to promote its business development, and how Hong Kong’s legal professional services, which are in line with international standards, could provide strong support for cross-regional business expansion of the enterprises in the GBA. They also had dinner with Member of the Standing Committee of the Foshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Head of the United Front Work Department of the Foshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China Mr Ding Xifeng.

     In concluding this GBA visit, Mr Cheung said that together with the visit to Huizhou in September, the Department of Justice’s first delegation of young lawyers visited three Mainland cities in the GBA and called on the courts, law-related authorities, major enterprises and youth entrepreneurship bases, as well as conducted exchanges with the Mainland legal sector. He trusted that the visits would enable Hong Kong young lawyers to better understand that the high-quality national development indeed offers the best opportunities for Hong Kong.

     He emphasised that the Department of Justice would continue to spare no effort to take forward measures to promote interfaces of the legal systems and exchanges of talents in the GBA, with a view to jointly pursuing win-win co-operation in the construction of the GBA.

     He wished that Hong Kong young lawyers would broaden their horizons and better understand the impact of technology on how legal services would support the development of different industries. Given Hong Kong’s unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under “one country, two systems”, he also urged them to connect their career development with the overall national development and maintain close liaison with the Mainland legal sector, so as to support the development of the GBA’s first-class internationalised business environment based on the rule of law, and jointly promote high-quality national development and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Toyota leads on reliability among Britain’s volume car makers

WEBWIRE

A major survey of Britains motorists has revealed Toyota as the countrys most reliable volume car brand. The 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey ranked Toyota second with an overall score of 97.4 per cent, close behind its sister luxury brand Lexus.

The result is a repeat of Toyotas success last year and once again it was RAV4 that proved the top performer, dominating the surveys large SUV category with a 98.7 per cent score. Among the nations small cars, the Yaris hatchback proved is strength with the previous generation model achieving 99.3 per cent, just ahead of the current version on 98.6 per cent, securing them second and third place in their category.

Claire Evans, What Car? Consumer Editor, commented: Toyota builds extremely robust cars, and offers rock-solid reliability across its model range. The current and previous generation Yaris are affordable and theyre also two of the most dependable small cars you can buy, giving buyers who are on a tight budget highly dependable options.

What Car? produced the data from the real-world experiences of almost 22,000 drivers of cars up to five years old. Respondents reported on how many and what kind of problems theyd had with their vehicle, how long these took to put right and the cost of repairs. The results covered 32 different brands and 178 individual models.

Toyotas leading performance reflected the surveys finding that hybrid electric powertrains like those featured in almost all Toyota models are the most reliable.

Quality, durability and reliability are key elements in every Toyota, providing the foundation for the companys unmatched warranty offer of up to 10 years/100,000 miles for all its vehicles.

Hong Kong – SED leads National Day and Professional Exchange Delegation from Hong Kong Education Sector to visit Changsha (with photos)

SED leads National Day and Professional Exchange Delegation from Hong Kong Education Sector to visit Changsha (with photos)

******************************************************************************************


     The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, led the National Day and Professional Exchange Delegation from Hong Kong Education Sector to visit Changsha today (September 23) to learn about the local education development and participate in cultural study tours.
 
     The delegation this year was organised for the first time after the epidemic, comprising over 140 participants, including representatives from professional education groups and various advisory bodies of the Education Bureau (EDB), as well as principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens. Under the theme “Innovation and Technology Spearheads Development, Education Creates the Future”, the visit aims to deepen the sector’s understanding of the innovation and technology, education, history and culture of the country, and to promote exchanges between the education workers in Hong Kong and on the Mainland, thereby broadening their professional perspectives.
 
     Dr Choi expressed her gratitude to the Ministry of Education, the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Department of Education of Hunan Province and various units for their support and assistance, which facilitated the smooth organisation of this meaningful National Day celebration and exchange event.
 
     Dr Choi and the delegation today toured the Yuelu Academy, one of the ancient academies on the Mainland. They also visited the National Supercomputing Center in Changsha, the third of its kind in the country and the first in Central and Western China officially approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, to learn about the development of high-performance computing, big data and artificial intelligence, as well as their application in teaching. In the evening, they met Member of the Standing Committee and Head of Publicity Department of CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, Mr Yang Haodong; and officials of the Department of Education of Hunan Province to exchange views on multiple issues.
 
     Yesterday (September 22), Dr Choi and the delegation arrived in Changsha. Dr Choi visited Hunan Normal University and met its leaders to discuss teachers’ exchange activities and training on the Mainland. Members of the delegation conducted group visits to different schools in Changsha. They observed classes, interacted with Mainland teachers and gained a deeper understanding of the characteristics of Changsha’s education.
 
     Dr Choi said that the EDB had arranged more than 40 000 senior secondary students and 5 000 teachers to study in Guangdong through the Mainland study tours of the senior secondary subject of Citizenship and Social Development last school year. Their feedback was very positive. The study tours this school year have included multiple routes beyond Guangdong Province, among which the one in Hunan Province is designed for students to learn about the economy, people’s livelihood and ecological conservation on the Mainland. She encouraged Hong Kong schools to proactively arrange students to participate in the study tours to enable them to learn more about the history, culture and rapid development of Hunan Province.
 
     In addition, Dr Choi visited Wuhan on September 20 and 21, and met officials of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Hubei Provincial People’s Government and the Department of Education of Hubei Province to explore ways to further promote education exchanges and co-operation between Hubei and Hong Kong. She also visited Central China Normal University to attend an expert seminar, and met Hong Kong students studying in Hubei.
 
     Dr Choi will call on the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Hunan Provincial People’s Government tomorrow morning (September 24) to discuss collaboration on promotion of education development in Hunan and Hong Kong. Dr Choi will depart for Beijing in the afternoon and continue the visit with the delegation.

Hong Kong – DSJ leads delegation to explore in Huizhou development opportunities for legal services sector (with photos/video)

DSJ leads delegation to explore in Huizhou development opportunities for legal services sector (with photos/video)

******************************************************************************************


     The Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, leading a delegation comprising young lawyers and law students, continued his visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) today (September 8).

     This morning, Mr Cheung and the delegation visited the Huizhou Zhongkai Hong Kong-Macao Youth Entrepreneurship Base, and met with the Executive Deputy Head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Huizhou Municipal Committee, the Director of Bureau of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs of Huizhou Municipality, Ms Zhong Yonglan.

     At an experience sharing session on start-ups in the Mainland, they exchanged views with the Hong Kong young entrepreneurs regarding the challenges they faced, the legal services and support they needed for their business development. The Base, the first national technology business incubator in the Pearl River Delta region targeted youths of Hong Kong and Macao, seeks to build an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem for young people from these places.

     In the afternoon, they visited a well-established Mainland law firm in Huizhou to have in-depth exchanges with their local counterparts on the challenges in handling cross-boundary civil and commercial as well as arbitration matters and explore room for strengthening co-operation between the legal sectors of both places.

     Mr Cheung and his delegation then concluded the visit and returned to Hong Kong.

     Mr Cheung said that although the visit to Shenzhen was cancelled at the last minute due to extreme weather conditions, the visit to Huizhou has not only demonstrated the Department of Justice’s commitment to connect with young lawyers, but also enabled young Hong Kong solicitors and barristers as well as law students, through interactive exchanges with their Mainland counterparts and enterprises, to have a deeper understanding of the opportunities in developing the legal services market in the Mainland, the challenges arising from foreign-related legal matters faced by the enterprises as well as the positive role Hong Kong legal professionals could play to contribute to the rule of law development of the GBA and the country.