SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 1987
SIR DAVID PRAISES CULTURAL PROGRESS
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THE PAST 20 YEARS HAVE SEEN AN EXPLOSION OF INTEREST IN THE ARTS, RELEASING THE CREATIVITY, VISION AND IMAGINATION OF HONG KONG'S YOUNG PEOPLE, THE ACTING GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID AKERS-JONES, SAID TODAY (SUNDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE 1987 HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL, SIR DAVID SAID THIS DEVELOPMENT WOULD TAKE HONG KONG FORWARD TO NEW REALMS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND TO A NEW ROLE IN THE REGION AS A MEETING PLACE FOR THE CULTURES OF EAST AND WEST.
+THE SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE WHICH INVIGORATES COMMERCE IN HONG KONG HAS ALSO, IN RECENT YEARS, DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PERFORMING ARTS,+ HE SAID,
INDUSTRY AND INSPIRED THE
SIR DAVID SAID HE WAS DELIGHTED TO SEE THE GROWING INTEREST AND SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED PERFORMANCES, BUT IN THE SUPPORT GIVEN BY THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY THROUGH SPONSORSHIP OF PROGRAMMES,
HE PAID TRIBUTE TO THE ORGANISERS, IN PARTICULAR THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ARTS FESTIVAL SOCIETY, SIR RUN RUN SHAW, FOR STAGING THE FOUR-WEEK FESTIVAL, AND TO SPONSORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
BUSY YEAR ALL ROUND FOR FIREMEN
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MORE FIRES HAVE BEEN RECORDED LAST YEAR COMPARED WITH 1985, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS OF THE FIRE SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
A TOTAL OF 18 808 FIRE CALLS WERE RESPONDED TO COMPARED WITH 14 722 IN 1985. THE NUMBER OF INJURIES AND FATALITIES CAUSED BY FIRE ALSO ROSE IN 1986 WITH 667 PEOPLE INJURED AND 45 DEATHS.
+ AMONG THESE CALLS, 7 593 WERE FALSE ALARM CASES MOSTLY CAUSED BY AUTOMATIC FIRE ALARM SYSTEMS, AS COMPARED WITH 4 877 SIMILAR CALLS IN 1985, A FIRE SERVICES SPOKESMAN SAID.
AS IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS, THE LARGEST SINGLE CATEGORY OF CAUSES OF FIRE WAS CARELESS HANDLING OR DISPOSAL OF CIGARETTES AND MATCHES WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 4 431 CALLS.
ELECTRICAL FAULT WAS THE SECOND HIGHEST CAUSE WITH 1 749 CASES, WHILE OVER COOKING WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST WITH 1 615 CASES.
/+HOTEL FIRES