Hong Kong-Australia Cultural Exchange Concert Showcases Young Musical Talent in Melbourne

Sydney ETO supports woodwind concert in Melbourne to foster cultural exchanges

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (Sydney ETO) supported the "Woodwind Quintet – Hong Kong and Australia Cultural Exchange Concert" in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday (November 7) to promote cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia, and showcase the young musical talent of Hong Kong.

The concert featured a diverse selection of classical repertoire performed by M•eureka!, a chamber group formed by talented young musicians from Hong Kong. Associate Professor of Music (Performance - Clarinet) of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Mr David Griffiths was invited as a guest musician to perform with M•eureka! in the concert to deepen musical exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia. The concert was well received by around 500 audience members.

The Director of the Sydney ETO, Mr Ricky Chong, said in his welcoming remarks that the Sydney ETO has a deep commitment to fostering cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and Australia.

"Apart from supporting Hong Kong arts talent to showcase their works overseas, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is also dedicated to enhancing our arts infrastructure to bring in more local and international arts productions. Some of the new world-class venues in Hong Kong include the Lyric Theatre Complex in the West Kowloon Cultural District, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, and the newly opened stadium at the Kai Tak Sports Park which can house an audience of 50 000. We can't wait to have you in Hong Kong to enjoy the exciting arts and cultural events," Mr Chong said.

He also shared with the audience the latest initiatives announced in "The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address", including the reform of various aspects of the talent admission regime to build a quality talent pool for long-term development.

M•eureka! is a newly founded chamber group formed by young professional musicians who have all graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. The group aims to promote classical music development in Hong Kong by presenting traditional chamber music as well as newly arranged orchestral works.

Sydney ETO supports woodwind concert in Melbourne to foster cultural exchanges Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Sydney ETO supports woodwind concert in Melbourne to foster cultural exchanges Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Sydney ETO supports woodwind concert in Melbourne to foster cultural exchanges Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Sydney ETO supports woodwind concert in Melbourne to foster cultural exchanges Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Remarks by SJ at media session

Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at a media session at the "Rule of Law: The Best Business Environment" under Hong Kong Legal Week 2024 today (November 8):

Reporter: How effective is incorporating a new mediation clause into government contracts? What additional resources are needed and how much time or money does it actually save? And what sort of government contracts will it benefit the most?

Secretary for Justice: It would be a general policy that in the future, all government contracts will contain a mediation clause. The fact is that in case any dispute arises, the Government will try to resolve those disputes by mediation first, and only if mediation fails may we resort to litigation, arbitration or other means of dispute resolution. I am very confident that if people are willing to use more mediation to resolve disputes, that will certainly save time and cost, because I am speaking from experience.

The importance of this policy is to show to people that the Government is willing to take the lead in the hope that we can cultivate the culture in society as a whole. So whenever people encounter disputes, the first thing that they would consider is not to go to court, but instead to try to resolve disputes by mediation, by a means which in our belief is more economical, more time-saving, and resulting in a more harmonious result. So I think that is my answer to your question.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)