This is the 1599th issue of Hong Kong One Day
Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour New Year's Eve Fireworks Display Promotes Consumption Nearby restaurants and bars are fully booked
On the last day of 2023, there will be a New Year's Eve fireworks display in the sky over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong at night. Straight News will broadcast the fireworks display live for netizens who cannot be present.
This year's fireworks and music display is even more spectacular than ever, with a longitudinal length of 1,300 metres, the largest and longest duration, and can be seen from both Central and North Point. Some restaurants and bars said that they were fully booked in the evening. Among them, there are some western restaurants in Tsim Sha Tsui, where you can enjoy the fireworks from a higher vantage point. The restaurant said that the evening reservations were full, and about half of them were mainland tourists, and that they would extend their business hours to one hour after the end of the countdown, and expected an increase of 5% to 8% in per capita spending.
Fireworks display renderings Source: Hong Kong 01
There are cruise companies that offer flights to watch fireworks at sea, and all tickets are sold out. The company arranges a total of 8 boats, including the 430-seat sightseeing boat "Pearl of the Orient", which will circumnavigate Victoria Harbour for about 3 hours, and also provide water taxis. All tickets are sold out.
The Hong Kong Marine Department reminds members of the public to take care of their children and ensure that they wear life jackets at all times and that the vessel is not overloaded or speeding.
Due to the New Year's Eve countdown fireworks display held on the evening of the 31st, road closures began to be taken on both sides of Hong Kong and Kowloon in the afternoon. In terms of transportation, most of the MTR's heavy rail lines and 7 light rail lines will provide overnight service. KMB and Citybus will enhance their services. Tram service will also be extended until 1 a.m.
The Hong Kong Police Force has taken a number of measures to ensure that members of the public enjoy the fireworks display in all aspects
In addition to road closures to ensure safety and order during the New Year, the Hong Kong Police Force has implemented a number of measures to facilitate Hong Kong members of the public to enjoy the fireworks display.
Due to a number of traffic diversion measures in Hong Kong Island and West Kowloon, the police officers in charge of crowd control at the scene were equipped with cards with QR codes on them, which could be scanned to obtain an electronic map indicating the location of temporary bus stops and other major public transport stops.
Source: Hong Kong 01
In addition, the Hong Kong Police Force and the MTR Corporation have worked together in advance to formulate a crowd management plan to ensure that visitors can enjoy the fireworks in the waterfront area smoothly, and to maintain public safety and public order at the scene.
At the same time, police officers under crowd management on Hong Kong Island and West Kowloon will distribute anti-crime and anti-deception police souvenirs to members of the public watching the fireworks while stocks last. Eastern District has set up a pop-up landmark with the theme of "Anti-Scam Shield" in East Bank Park for members of the public to take photos.
On New Year's Eve, roads on both sides of Victoria Harbour will be closed. Police reminded that in the past, there were large crowds gathering on Nathan Road, Star Ferry Pier, Cultural Centre and Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui on the eve of the New Year's Day, and the public was advised to consider other locations, such as the West Kowloon Cultural District and the East Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront, but due to the ongoing construction of the Hung Hom waterfront, members of the public need to move to other locations.
The Hong Kong Marine Department implemented marine traffic control on the 31st, and the restricted area on the sea surface opposite the Wan Chai Convention and Exhibition was not allowed to enter from 12:30 noon to about 3 a.m. on New Year's Day. The restricted area opposite the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre is not allowed from 11 p.m. to about 1 a.m. At the same time, a restricted zone has been set up in the central part of Victoria Harbour to prohibit vessels other than ferries and other vessels with special permits.
Li Jiachao mentioned four New Year's hopes
John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said in an article entitled "Fighting for the Economy and Actively Benefiting the People's Livelihood" in Bauhinia magazine that if 2023 is a year of comprehensive return to normalcy after the epidemic and a rush to catch up, then 2024 will be a year of going all out to fight for the economy, accelerate development, and actively benefit the people's livelihood. Looking around the world, the external environment is still complex, geopolitical conflicts are persisting, and the downward pressure on the economy is increasing, but Hong Kong's unique advantage of "relying on the motherland and connecting to the world" under the "one country, two systems" principle is encouraging to see the positive recovery momentum in many aspects. Looking forward to the new year, Li Jiachao put forward four hopes.
Source: Bauhinia Magazine
First, we need to uphold the principle of "one country, two systems" and continue to safeguard national security. In his "Policy Address," Lee Jiachao proposed to actively carry out patriotic education, and to enhance citizens, especially young people, to identify with the country and China's excellent traditional culture, so that they can consciously safeguard national unity and ethnic unity. In order to provide effective high-level overall leadership, the Steering Committee on the Promotion of the Constitution and the Basic Law, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, will set up a "Working Group on Patriotic Education" to co-ordinate departments and agencies to promote national education. The HKSAR Government will also set up an "Office for the Promotion of Chinese Culture" in 2024 to plan and promote a series of activities, exchanges and co-operation in Chinese culture and history, and organise "Chinese Culture Festivals" on a regular basis to provide more opportunities for the public to appreciate distinctive Chinese cultural projects.
Mr Lee pointed out that Article 23 of the Basic Law confers on the HKSAR the constitutional responsibility to enact legislation on its own to prohibit acts and activities endangering national security. The HKSAR Government is making every effort to prepare for the completion of local legislation in 2024, so that the relevant laws and the Hong Kong National Security Law will be integrated into a legal system that can effectively safeguard national security, establish a strong protective shield, and lay the most solid foundation for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. In the face of the increasing risk of cyber attacks around the world, the HKSAR Government will strive to enhance the cyber security protection of critical infrastructure, including energy, telecommunications, transport and financial institutions, and formulate legislative proposals and relevant codes of practice to set out the cyber security responsibilities of critical infrastructure operators, and introduce a legislative bill into the Legislative Council in 2024.
Second, we will continue to improve the governance system and continue to improve the efficiency of governance. Under the adaptation of the executive-led and "patriots administering Hong Kong", the SAR Government should continue to enhance exchanges and coordination between the executive and the legislature through the Chief Executive's interactive exchange and question-and-answer sessions, the exchange meetings in the front chamber of the Legislative Council, and direct meetings. The HKSAR Government will also implement a regular exchange mechanism with Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the Hong Kong National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to absorb the valuable views of the deputies and members who love the country and Hong Kong on the administration of the HKSAR.
Mr Lee mentioned that the first territory-wide large-scale election after the reshaping of the District Councils was successfully held last month, completing the final piece of the puzzle of implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" into the governance structure of the HKSAR, and returning the District Councils to the right track and original aspiration of serving and benefiting the public. With the commissioning of the new District Councils on 1 January 2024, the district-level governance arrangements have been basically completed. Mr Lee hopes that the District Affairs Officer who will serve as the chairmen of the new District Councils will better coordinate with the District Councils, the three District Committees and the Care Team to enhance the effectiveness of district governance, better serve the community and respond to the needs of the public.
Third, we will continue to address people's livelihood difficulties and continue to enhance the momentum of development. The 2023 Policy Address proposes the establishment of a working group on "Solving the Subdivided Unit Problem" led by the Deputy Financial Secretary has already carried out its work, and Mr Lee hopes that the working group will conduct in-depth research and propose an orderly solution to enable citizens and families living in poor living conditions to move to more desirable accommodation as soon as possible.
Mr Lee pointed out that he would unite social forces to build a caring and inclusive community, create an environment conducive to family development, improve the level of medical services, and promote the development of the working class. We will make good use of Hong Kong's educational advantages to support the development of young people and nurture their futures, and at the same time build Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub, and build a highland of education and talents.
Fourth, we should continue to consolidate our existing advantages and continue to integrate into national development. The National 14th Five-Year Plan has positioned Hong Kong as one of the "Eight Centres" to open up a broader space for Hong Kong's development. Mr Lee said that with the strong backing of the country, he will lead the team to continue to give full play to Hong Kong's unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle, not only to consolidate its advantages, but also to actively explore new growth points, and to fully align with national strategies such as the development of the Greater Bay Area.
Mr Lee said that the Policy Address proposes a number of key measures to comprehensively enhance the high-level co-operation among cities in the Greater Bay Area, including the development of the Northern Metropolis, where Hong Kong and Shenzhen and other cities in the Greater Bay Area are deeply connected in planning. The Northern Metropolis is a new engine for Hong Kong's future development, and the Northern Metropolis Action Plan proposes to divide the Northern Metropolis into four major regions, namely a high-end professional services and logistics hub, an innovation and technology zone, a port business and industrial zone, and a blue-green recreation and tourism ecosystem. The HKSAR Government will continue to lead the community in Hong Kong to work together with other GBA cities to build the GBA into one of the most dynamic and competitive regions in the country and the world, and make greater contributions to the development of the country.
Author丨Yang Ying, the chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News