HKETO, Brussels supports Hong Kong artist Wong Chi-yung's showcase at IMPACT festival in Liège, Belgium
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels(HKETO, Brussels) organised a meet-the-artist reception on November 4 (Liège time) in Liège, Belgium in celebration of the staging of the immersive installation "The Tides of Time" by Hong Kong artist, Wong Chi-yung, at the International Meeting in Performing Arts and Creative Technologies (IMPACT) festival from November3, 2024 to January15, 2025. The reception was also supported by the Théâtre de Liège, the lead partner of the IMPACT festival.
Wong, a transdisciplinary artist, specialises in the art of light. He integrates multimedia technology, creative arts and theatrical techniques to explore the connection between light and human experience, and invites the audience to view the world from a different, illuminated perspective.
Supported by the funding from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the installation "The Tides of Time" is a testament to Hong Kong's creative talent, bringing together art and innovation in a strikingly modern form. Wong masterfully employs delicate threads to represent human connections, and borrows the ideas of natural ebb and flow of tides through an exquisite interplay of light, sound, music, and space to reflect on the delicate balance between life's eternal cycles and its fleeting moments.
Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels Miss Fiona Li, highlighted in her welcome speech at the reception that the art installation presented by Wong in this IMPACT festival was a perfect showcase of the variety of talented artists in Hong Kong and our support to them.
Miss Li said that, "Hong Kong is promoting arts and technology, and is strengthening its efforts on developing the city into an international arts and innovation hub by nurturing talents and offering them exposures". She elaborated that in the recent Budget and the latest Policy Address, the Government had committed to injecting billions in support of creative arts and design projects, as well as research and innovation initiatives.
Delighted to see Hong Kong artist find its way to Liège through the IMPACT festival, Miss Li added that "Hong Kong welcomes artists and you all in Belgium and other European countries to come explore the opportunities for collaboration".
HKETO, Brussels supports Hong Kong artist Wong Chi-yung's showcase at IMPACT festival in Liège, Belgium Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Labour Department highly concerned about fatal work accident that happened in Kowloon City today
The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about a fatal work accident that happened at a building in Kowloon City this afternoon (November 5), in which a male worker, while dismantling a bamboo scaffold at the external wall of the building, fell from height to the first-floor canopy. He was certified dead later in hospital. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker and expresses its deepest sympathy to his family.
The LD's spokesman said, "We commenced an immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident and issued suspension notices to the contractors concerned, suspending the erection, alteration, dismantling and use of the bamboo scaffold at the external wall of the building. The contractors cannot resume the work until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken."
The spokesman added, "We will complete the investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation."
To prevent workers from falling from height while dismantling bamboo scaffolds at external walls of buildings, the LD reminds employers to take suitable safety measures, including providing every worker engaged in the work with a suitable full-body harness that is attached continuously to a suitable and secure anchor point or an independent lifeline with a fall arresting system, and ensuring the proper use of the safety equipment by the workers concerned throughout the work.
The general duty provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, plant and systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the relevant provisions are liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for two years on conviction on indictment; or $3 million and imprisonment for six months on summary conviction.
In regard to today's accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its mobile application "OSH 2.0", website and email, giving a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers' unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, and reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence of similar accidents.
The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, assist family members of the deceased to claim employees' compensation and closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.
For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use personal protective equipment provided properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers.
