ENG-2015 — Page 21

Calendar of Events

2015

August

1

4

5

7

8

13

24

The government removes its Red Outbound Travel Alert for South Korea and lowers its response level for Mers from 'serious' to 'alert' as South Korea has found no new case since 3 July.

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, launches a two-month 'Keep Clean 2015 @ Hong Kong: Our Home' campaign, with the aim of improving Hong Kong's environmental and home hygiene.

Hong Kong's athletes arrive home from the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles - the world's largest sporting event for the intellectually disabled - having won 59 gold, 40 silver and 23 bronze medals.

The government announces the subscription and allocation results of the fifth inflation- linked retail bond, or iBond, under the retail part of the Government Bond Programme with a final issue amount of $10 billion and a tenor of three years. It received a total of 597,895 valid applications for a total of $35.7 billion in principal amount of bonds.

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, and the visiting Philippine Secretary of Labour and Employment, Ms Rosalinda Dimapilis Baldoz, agree to set up a high-level reciprocal visit programme for both governments. to update each other on their efforts in protecting foreign domestic helpers.

Hong Kong experiences its hottest day since records began in 1884, with a maximum temperature of 36.3 degrees recorded at the Observatory.

Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, is appointed as Chairman and Commissioner, and Mr Alan Lai Nin is appointed as Commissioner, of a Commission of Inquiry set up to inquire into excess lead found in drinking water.

The government expresses serious concern about the MTR Corporation's substantial adjustment to the cost estimate of the Shatin to Central Link advance works, up $1.274 billion from $7.35 billion.

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare and the visiting Minister of Manpower of Indonesia, Mr Hanif Dhakiri, agree to strengthen monitoring of employment agencies to prevent foreign domestic helpers from being charged any fees that are not permitted under the laws on both sides.

September

1

At the start of the 2015-16 academic year, 940 students receive help under the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors to pursue full-time, locally accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes in selected disciplines, such as architecture and engineering; creative industries; health care; logistics; testing and certification; and tourism and hospitality, with a view to meeting manpower demands. The second batch of 1,030 students will be admitted in 2016-17. The revitalisation of saltpans on Yim Tin Tsai Island wins an Award of Distinction in the 2015 Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, while the transformation of Mei Ho House, an early public housing block in Shek Kip Mei, into a youth hostel and heritage museum wins an Honourable Mention.

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