TNAG-2858-FCO40-4112-Public-holidays-in-Hong-Kong-1993 — Page 8

CONFIDENTIAL

2

機密

3.

Members will be asked to advise whether this

recommendation should be approved.

BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT

4.

Public

will

De

the

but there is

holidays in Hong Kong after 30 June 1997

responsibility of the future SAR Government,

need for the dates of holidays for any

particular year to be fixed at least eight months

advance of the start of

dates Of

legislated

that year.

in

This means that the

nolidays in 1997 will need to be decided and

for by the end of April 1996, and those for 1998

by the end of April 1997. In order to ensure that there is

however, we intend to put this issue to

plenty of leeway,

the JLG in the near future.

5.

Hong Kong's

public holidays are of two types

—

11

statutory holidays provided under the Employment Ordinance

(Cap. 57) and 17 general

holidays provided under the

Holidays Ordinance (Cap.

149).

statutory

and general

holidays

respectively.

Details of

existing

are at Annexes A and B

CONFIDENTIAL

機密

6.

CONFIDENTIAL 機密

These holidays have been drawn from four sources

(a)

internationally observed holidays;

(b) traditional Chinese festivals;

(c)

holidays specific to Hong Kong; and

(4) holidays specific to the United Kingdom.

Arguments for retaining or changing these holidays are

out in paragraphs 7 to 11 below.

Internationallly observed holidays

7.

The first weekday in January (New Year's Day) is

well-established internationally is a holiday in China,

and should be retained.

The Easter long-weekend (Good

Friday, the day following Good Friday and Easter Monday) is

celebrated in તે large number of countries in different

parts of the world, and may be seen as an internationally

recognised

becoming

holiday.

increasingly

Furthermore, this four day period is

popular in Hong Kong as an

holiday overseas. These

opportunity for taking a short

holidays should be retained.

8.

Christmas Day is now a widely accepted festival in

celebrated as a holiday in many

Hong

Kong.

It is also

otner

countries in the world. It should be preserved.

The

first weekday after Christmas Day is less well-established

CONFIDENTIAL #3

機密

CONFIDENTIAL 機密

overseas,

but it has been celebrated as a holiday in Hong

Kong for 3

long time and is appreciated by the public.

There would not appear to be any good reason to delete one

day Ecom the Christmas and New Year holiday period. This

holiday should also be preserved.

Traditional Chinese festivals

9.

Traditional

Chinese

festivals include Lunar New

Year, Ching Ming, Tuen Ng, the day following the Chinese

Mid-Autumn Festival, Chung Yeung and the Chinese winter

Solstice Festival (which is an alternative

holiday to

Christmas Day under the provisions of the Employment

Ordinance (Cap. 57)). Of these, only the first, second and

third days of the Lunar New Year are holidays in China.

are well-established in Hong

All these festival

holidays

Kong and

should

be retained after the change of

sovereignty.

Holidays specific to Hong Kong

10.

Holidays specific to Hong Kong are the Saturday

preceding the last Monday in August, and the last Monday in

August, being Liberation

Day.

Although there have been

Suggestions that these

holidays are losing their

significance and could be deleted, we believe that

CONFIDENTIAL 機密