Tuesday

This is Archie HK's news rep podcast, bringing you the biggest stories from Hong Kong. Chief Executive John Lee says he has instructed government departments to make comprehensive preparations for an expected tourism search during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays. More than 1.5 million visitors and about 1,200 tourist groups are expected during the mainland's 8-day Golden Week holiday from tomorrow. Elvis, you have the story. John Lee said the Chief Secretary has chaired an interdepartmental meeting to coordinate festival arrangements and guide cross-agency efforts. This includes increasing staff at border checkpoints, setting up additional counters and improving the flow of people and vehicles. During Golden Week, the security bureau's emergency monitoring and support centre and an interdepartmental joint command centre will be activated to closely monitor the situation. Transportation arrangements will also be strengthened, including an increased frequency of cross-boundary shuttle buses. MTR services will be adjusted, based on actual demand. The Chief Executive said police will deploy additional main power to enhance crowd management at major tourist hospitals and large-scale events, including the National Day Fireworks Display. The travel industry authority, he said, will conduct inspections at attractions and shops to ensure tourist-receive proper treatment. Efforts will be made to combat bad business practices and illegal activities, such as taxis overcharging or refusing to pick up passengers. Mr. Lee said tourists can check waiting times for major attractions, including the peak tram ocean park and Disneyland through a one-stop portal. The Travel Industry Council expects mid-autumn festival events in the SER to attract even more mainland tourists over the Golden Week holiday. The usual week-long National Day Golden Week holiday on the mainland will be extended to eight days this year, as it overlaps with the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chloe Feng reports. Travel Industry Council Executive Director Fanny Yern says, she expects a 10% surge in visitors to Hong Kong compared to the Golden Week period last year. "One advantage of including the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Golden Week holiday is that some tourists may arrive in Hong Kong the weekend before October 1, effectively extending the eight-day holiday. The popular Thai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is held for three consecutive days and has long attracted tourists." The Thai Hang event runs from Sunday to next Tuesday. She said to improve the travel experience, the Council will put up a news bulletin on his website, detailing the real-time situation at tourist hotspots, such as a peak tram and east dam. A shopping mall in Quenton has also made preparations for unexpected tourism search. Feng Winging Assistant Delizing Manager of Sun Hong Kai Real Estate said, the mall has set up various Hong Kong-seemed photo spots and a bizarre with local characteristics. She said this year she expects more customers from far away places and that they will spend between $3,000 and $5,000 on average. With eight days for this year's Golden Week holiday, long-distance travelers have the opportunity to visit Hong Kong. Our focus is on the middle class and wealthy individuals. It's also popular for multiple generations of families to travel together and they will take this opportunity to visit Hong Kong. These travelers have considerable spending power but are interested in purchasing limited or special edition items. More than 3,000 eateries will offer discounts of up to 30% on National Day, with several restaurants extending the promotions throughout the entire Golden Week. Crowds gathered on both sides of Victoria Habba this morning to watch the arrival of two PLA Navy ships as part of celebrations for National Day. Khloe Feng has the details. Trinning Vaso Chi Ji Guang and the landing ship Yimong Shan entered the Habba via the Light Human Channel at around 7 a.m. They were guided in by a local Marine Police Vaso and the PLA Hong Kong garrisons, guided missile frigate, Su Chim and were expected to be docked at the Long Shan Chao Naval Base. The Vasos will be open for public visits on Wednesday and Thursday, between 8 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. before leaving on Friday. All 11 seldom tickets for boarding the Vasos were snapped up with the minutes of their release. Gao is student from Guangzhou, arrived in Qin Shao Jui at around 7 a.m. to pick a good spot to photograph the ships. Yeah, I got some nice shots, but I didn't expect the Yimong Shan to be that massive. The camera just couldn't keep up, so I probably missed a few great moments. Still, no matter how good your gear is, nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes. Local resident Chen was glad to see the ships. Usually the PLA fleet will sail near Tsing Yi or Si Wan, and it's very rare that they will pass right through the middle of Victoria Harbor, which is in the center of Hong Kong. It enhances the excitement, and everyone was happy. The composition of the photos was also very beautiful when we had the Chinese naval warships with the background of the harbor. I'm very satisfied. Gun from Chen Jian stayed up all night, just to see the Vasos. I feel it's so close, like I can almost touch it, and we don't have such opportunities on the mainland. Only in Hong Kong will get these chances. It was much larger than I imagined. The Chi Chi Guang is named after a Ming Dynasty national hero, and was commissioned in February 2017, at 163 meters long and 22 meters white, is the largest and most modern professional training vessel in the country's navy. The domestically built ship comes equipped with medical cabins and facilities for surgery, as well as classrooms and gymnasium. The Imeng Shan is an amphibious assault ship, that is named after Imantem in Shandong, and was commissioned in February 2016. The vessel, which was designed, developed, and built on the mainland, can also carry out the repaid and mobile lending operations. Medical rescues and a transport disaster relief supplies. The Chief Executive says government efforts to reduce waste and encourage recycling will not stop, even though the waste charging scheme has been shelved. The administration has announced that it will not implement the scheme for the remainder of its current term, which ends in June, 2027. Nana Slow has the story. Zhong Li said the implementation of anti-policy requires comprehensive consideration, such as the degree of social acceptance. Our resolve to promote waste reduction and recycling measures remains unchanged. Our goal remains unchanged to achieve zero length food by 2035. This charging is one of the tools to promote waste reduction and recycling, but it requires social consensus. We have carefully studied surveys and listened to the views of citizens, trades, and industry. We understand a consensus has not been reached. I want to emphasize that the government's efforts in waste reduction and recycling will not stop. Mr. Li said the public has become more aware of the need to reduce waste, as the amount of rubbish being sent to landfills dropped by 5% in the first half of this year. The average daily disposal of solid waste decreased by 7.5% from 2021 to 2024, while per capita disposal fell by about 8%. Recycling volume also increased by 1/3 during the five-year period ending in 2024, Mr. Li said, attributing the improvement to the government's multi-pronged efforts. The chief executive said, looking ahead, the administration will continue to promote waste reduction and recycling through various ways, such as strengthening education and exploring and promoting practical and feasible environmental protection measures with industries. The chief executive also says the government will seriously consider enacting a specific law to ban so-called storm chasing. This comes after several people were arrested last week on suspicion of child neglect for allegedly taking children to coastlines to watch the waves as super-type in Ragazza hit Hong Kong. Alva's year reports, "Johnny is quite a storm chasing as irresponsible behavior that poses unnecessary rigs to those taking part, as well as to rescue workers in case of an accident." The police have held people responsible for chasing winds and waves during the typhoon, arresting four individuals. This demonstrates that the government holds people accountable for acts of irresponsibility that endanger lives. I understand that there is public support for legal measures against storm chases. The government will conduct a comprehensive review, and the security bureau will carry out a study. The chief executive note to that, the government and the community worked closely together to minimize the damage caused by Ragazza, allowing normality to be restored the day after the typhoon departed. He added that he has asked the steering committee on handling extreme weather to conduct a comprehensive review of his experience to see what expects of refraction and response can be further improved. The Chief Executive says diplomatic missions in Hong Kong should perform their duties appropriately and refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs or engage in what he called "destructive activities." Raymond Young reports, "During a regular press breathing ahead of his weekly executive counsel meeting, John Lee was asked about a reception hosted by U.S. Consul General Julie Eder, who assumed office last month. The event was attended by some opposition figures." Consuls has the responsibility to abide by relevant international conventions and established diplomatic practices. They should perform their duties in Hong Kong in a manner befitting their diplomatic status and refrain from interfering in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong's affairs under any pretext or in any form that should respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong. I hope all Consuls in Hong Kong will engage in constructive activities, not destructive activities." Ms Eder-paid Beijing's top diplomat and the S.A.R. Chui-ja Chun, a courtesy call last week. Mr. Chui urged her to play a constructive role in promoting China-U.S. relations, Hong Kong-U.S. relations, and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. According to a statement by the commissioners' office of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong, Ms Eder said she would lead the U.S. Consul General to advance positive agendas and promote exchanges and cooperation between the U.S. and Hong Kong. On a separate note, Mr. Lee filed to pursue full life or absconders who fled the city. His statement came after he was asked whether S.A.R. authorities had sought to extradite Nathan Law during his recent trip to Singapore. Authorities in Singapore denied entry to Nathan Law on Saturday, reportedly because it was against the country's interests. He returned to San Francisco the next day. Nathan Law allegedly committed offenses in danger of national security. The court has issued a warrant for his arrest. He is a fugitive under the safeguarding national security ordinance. The S.A.R. government will pursue his legal liabilities for life. No country should harbor criminals. Dangering national security is a serious offence. The chief executive added that the S.A.R. government will abide by the law and enforce it strictly, while offenders will be held accountable. Fifteen people were injured when a coach crashed into a footbridge at the Heng Yun-Wai control point at around noon. The injured were taken to hospital. The front of the coach was badly damaged in the smash on Lin Mahang Road. In finance news, China and Hong Kong stocks closed higher today, as optimism over policy support extended their winning streak to a fifth straight month. The blue chips S.I.R. 300 index rose three percent in September for its longest monthly rally in eight years. China's markets will be closed from tomorrow to next Wednesday for the Golden Week holiday. Hong Kong stocks rose 0.9% to 26,855 points. The Hong Kong market will be shut tomorrow for the National Day holiday. The purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector climbed to 49.8 in September, up 0.4% points from August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The non-manufacturing index, however, slipped to 50. A reading above 50 means expansion, while under that level indicates contraction. President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party and State leaders have attended a ceremony at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to lay flower baskets at a monument and to fallen National heroes. Charlie Chen reports, "The event was held to Mark Marta's Day on the eve of National Day. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese aggression and the world's anti-fascist war. Other leaders at the ceremony include a premier Li Qiang, Zhao Lezi, Wang Hu Ning, Tai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, and Han Zhen. They were joined by representatives from all walks of life. At 10 a.m., all attendees sang the National Anthem, followed by a moment of silence in tribute to the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of the Chinese people and the development of the people's Republic of China. Nine large flower baskets were placed in front of the monument to the people's heroes. Mr. Xi and other leaders walked up to the foot of the monument where he straightened the ribbons on the baskets, then they walked around the monument to pay their tributes." A chemical leak in a factory restroom has killed five people and injured three in the Hanan Provincial City of Hebei, Hebei. The incident occurred yesterday morning at the Hexin Chemical Industrial Plant, operations at the site were halted, and all workers evacuated as an investigation got underway. The Palestinian group Hamaz says it will sincerely study a U.S. proposal to end the war in Gaza before giving an official response. Another Palestinian group Islamic Jihad denounced the plan, calling it a recipe for continued aggression against Palestinians. Israel backs the proposal outlined by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank, welcomes the proposal. Hoping it would eventually lead to a two-state solution. A number of Arab and Muslim countries also supported the plan, which they see as a breakthrough in the conflict that has killed over 65,000 Palestinians over the past two years. Asim Khan reports, "After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump called it an historic day for peace. Justice" to Trump noted that his 20-point document, which includes a call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, has been welcomed by several Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. The foreign ministers of those countries said the plan will help rebuild Gaza and block Israel from annexing the West Bank. The U.S. leader expressed confidence that his proposals will lead to peace. "It means the immediate end to the war itself, not just Gaza. It's the war itself, under the plan Arab and Muslim countries have committed than in writing in many cases, but I actually would take their word for it. The people I mentioned, I'd take their word for it to demilitarize Gaza, and that's quickly decommissioned the military capabilities of Hamas." Mr. Trump warned Hamas that if it rejected the plan, Washington will support Israel in whatever actions it takes against the Palestinian group. Under the proposal, Hamas will have 72 hours to release Israeli hostages, after which Israel will free a number of Palestinian prisoners, including women and children. Hamas members who wish to leave Gaza will be given safe passage. The distribution of relief supplies will resume through the United Nations, and Palestinians will not be forced to leave Gaza, according to the proposals. The enclave will be governed during a transition period by a board of peace headed by Mr. Trump, and includes former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. There will be no governing role for Hamas. In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, residents welcome the U.S. initiative, saying they are now more optimistic that the hostages will come home. In war-ravid Gaza, Palestinians were skeptical, saying the plan is a trick to release the hostages and will not end the war. Abu Mazen Nassar said it's a farce as there are no official guarantees to end the war. Abraham Judeh echoed the views of fellow Palestinians who endured food shortages and Israeli airstrikes. He dismissed Mr. Trump's plan as unrealistic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has apologized to Qatar for an airstrike earlier this month, and pledged that there will be no repeat. The attack on Doha killed five Hamas cease-fire negotiators. Following their apology, Qatar said it will continue its peace efforts. It's now 6.19, sports is next. Good evening, I'm Tony Sabi. We start with tennis and top-seed Yannick's sinner of Italy has defeated Australian Alex Dominia in the semifinals of the China Open in Beijing. The match was tied at one piece after the first two sets before Sin and defeated his third seeded opponent, 6-2 in the decider, defending women's champion Coco Gough had a scare when she lost the first set to Belinda Benchich of Switzerland in the round of 16. The American fought back, winning the next two sets to reach the quarter-finals. Entrepreneur Paul Nuno Espirito Santo began his tenure at West Ham with a one-all draw and Everton in the English Premier League. The former Nottingham Forest manager who replaced Graham Porter over the weekend saw Everton take the lead after 18 minutes through Michael Keane. But Jared Bowen scored in the second half to ensure that Nuno avoided defeat in his first game at charge, West Ham, however, remain second from bottom on the table with only four points from their first six matches. As league action returns this week with English Giants Liverpool, among the teams set to take to the pitch for match day two. The reigning in your. the Champions face Turkish side Galatasaray who are looking to bounce back from a five-one right route by Entrakt Frankfurt in their tournament opener. Liverpool for their Pott fell to Crystal Palace over the weekend, suffering their first defeat in the Premier League this season. Liverpool boss Arne Slot isn't expecting an easy match tonight. But Galatasaray is a completely different team to Palace, but also a team very hard to beat, similar to Palace, 18 games without a loss Palace, this team haven't have won the first seven games in the league, so that means that they are mentally also strong for difficult moments, if you win a lot then you're also mostly mentally a bit stronger. So a very difficult team to face, but both with a lot of qualities, but you cannot compare these teams. Chelsea meanwhile will welcome back Jose Marino to Stanford Bridge when they take on Portugal's Benfica in their Champions League showdown. The Portuguese coach returned to Benfica this month, 25 years after his first stint. Chelsea holds special memories for him as he led the London club to three Premier League titles across two spells. Current Blues manager Enzo Maraska reflected on Marino's record. The only thing I can see about Jose is for me, but it's a legend for this club and from Italy it's also a legend for Inter, where he won the Champions League, so it's legend for different clubs in the world that show how good this, how good has been and how good this, Jose then in terms of what he deserves, to be honest, I'm not here to think what he deserves, I think he already showed important manager has been on this. Marino for his part reminded his time at Stanford Bridge. I will always be able, I'm part of the history and they are part of my history. I help them to become a bigger Chelsea and they help me to become a bigger Jose. When I say I'm not a blue, I hope everybody understands it that I'm speaking about the job that I have to do. Marino was sacked by Turkish side, Benavacci last month after they lost to Benfica in the Champions League playoffs. He was appointed coach of Benfica less than three weeks later. And in the NFL, the Miami Dolphins have won their first game of the season, but it could be a costly victory. The Dolphins beat division rivals, the New York Jets, 27-21, star Miami receiver Tyree Kills, suffered a knee injury, which could potentially end his season. In another game on Monday night football, the Denver Broncos had an easy time against the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Bonix through for two touchdowns and ran for another and Denver took this one 28-3. And that's your look at sport. Thanks Tony. As the Peoples Republic of China celebrates its 76th anniversary of its founding tomorrow, it's time to take a closer look at its milestones and achievements. It's been a remarkable journey for the nation and its people whose lives have improved dramatically over the years as China transformed itself into an economic powerhouse and gained prominence on the world stage. In this special national day episode of our podcast China Perspectives, Henry Ho found an enchantment of the one country two systems youth forum, spoke to Asim Khan about the significance of the anniversary and how the foundations are late for an even brighter future. When you look back at 1949, China was the most obsessed country in the world, but also one of the poorest country in the world. And many of our people were illiterate, were also in poverty. But when you see the past 76 years or so, we have transformed ourselves from a poor country into one of the most advanced countries in the world. In terms of GDP, we are second in the world and for a standard of living, obviously, it really is, we have achieved unprecedented growth and wealth in the past 70 years. So, this is something we should remember, I think not just the day itself, but how the journey we've walked through from 1949 to now and also Hong Kong contributes a lot during this process. Right. And out of that entire journey, obviously there are many different sort of triumphs we can jump into. But what are some of the triumphs and progress that stands out the most for you? Well, first of all, I think it's the industrialization, EVs, and also capabilities and also a lot of products. I think no one could imagine in 1949 that now China is the largest manufacturing country in the world. And also AI, of course. Now people are talking about the two giants of AI, is and will be China and the America. In addition, I think a poverty alleviation is also very impressive. I think 800 million. Yes, we adopt a socialist system. I think we have our own strength about that. I've been to mainland China from time to time. I know that for those richer provinces or cities or firms in the process, they are required to support those less advanced provinces cities, one to one, one on one. And I think that's very important. And I think it may not happen in other capitalist countries. The prosperity for all is very important. Yes, plus river ore, and in most capitalist countries, it tends to be, you know, the poor gets poorer and the rich gets richer. Very profit driven. But now we are already lift poverty for the whole nation and moving towards a more the socialist country. I think that's also impressive. So when you consider everything you mentioned, the industrialization, the uplifting of millions and fostering this middle class, how is this economic spirit evolved? And how do you see that continuing going forward? That relates to my third, you know, share room, which is about the opening up policy of China. We know since 1978 with the opening up, you know, bit by bit sector by sector and now, I think without this opening up and economic reform policy, we will not have achieved such a phenomenal growth in the past 40 years or so. So that's a very patient opening up too, right? It's not something that's rushed. Obviously, we were not adopting a so-called shock therapy approach. We are doing step by step in a steady way. And also, Hong Kong plays an important role in this because we have been a very open capacity and under one country to systems, Hong Kong is able to help our nation, the mainland to achieve a lot of things like the first no-listed company, Cheng Tao Beer, in 1994, you know, Hong Kong. From the mainland? In Hong Kong, Stock Exchange. And now we are doing a lot of like, Reming Bee, you know, offshore transactions, things like that. So I think Hong Kong will remain very important for our country to prosper. When you look back at that history and that journey, how have this going back to the celebrations of National Day? How have the spirit and pride behind these celebrations evolved? It's become, because of everything we just listed, that sort of national pride on that journey that helps for the forward journey, looking ahead. I think first of all, we have a very high standard of living. China is a strong nation as evidenced by the multivariate in early September. I was honored to to witness it by myself. But on the other hand, China is a very peaceful country and we we like to share our culture, you know, our wisdom, economic people. Economic cooperation is very important when it comes to China dealing with the rest of the world, right? Yes, exactly. We have a Bell and Road Initiative. I think in the past 30 or 40 years, we benefited from trading and a lot of business connections with the Western world. But now, besides the Western world, we also, you know, look at other Bell and Road nations and try to try to help and also mutual benefit each other through trade and infrastructure and all sorts of collaboration. Along our journey, I think we have never forgotten the global self as we said. So China has worked very hard to help countries in the Central Asia, in Africa, etc. We respect other people's culture, their social systems, their political system, and we want to benefit each other through more trade, more exchange and also build infrastructure, etc. And that's very different from some other Western countries approach. Thanks for listening to the Muse Rev podcast from RCHK.