201 LegCo candidates nominated
The names of 201 validly nominated candidates for the 2008 Legislative Council election were gazetted in August. The number for each candidate or list of candidates on the ballot papers, which was determined by drawing of lots, was also announced.
A total of 142 candidates who belong to 53 lists are validly nominated to run for 30 seats in the five geographical constituencies.
For the functional constituency election, there are now 59 validly nominated candidates, and 45 of them will compete for 16 seats.
Fourteen candidates in 12 functional constituencies will be returned to the Legislative Council uncontested.
A total of 532 polling stations across Hong Kong will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on September 7 for about 3,370,000 registered geographical constituency electors and about 210,000 functional constituency electors to vote.
The gazette notices and information about the candidates are available on the election Web site [http://www.elections.gov.hk/legco2008/eng/notices.html].
2008 mid-year population edges up
According to the statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department, the Hong Kong Population reached a provisional 6,985,200 at mid-2008, representing provisional increases of 59,300 or 0.9% over mid-2007.
Obtained by subtracting the number of deaths of 41,100 from the number of births of 75,200, the natural increase of the population from mid-2007 to mid-2008 amounted to 34,100.
The overall population increased by a provisional 59,300 over the same period, comprising a natural increase of 34,100 and a net movement (i.e., inflow less outflow) of 25,200 residents.
Births and inflow of One-way Permit holders (OWPHs) were important to the overall population increase. The number of births, at 75,200, comprised those born to Hong Kong residents and to non-Hong Kong residents. The ratio of births from mid-2007 to mid-2008 to the overall population increase over the same period was 127%. As for the inflow of OWPHs in the same period, at 39,100, the corresponding ratio to the overall population increase was 66%.
Deaths during the period offset part of the increase. The ratio of the number of deaths, at 41,100, to the overall population increase was 69%. Additionally, excluding the arrival of OWPHs mentioned above, there was a net outflow of 13,900 persons, bearing a ratio of 23% to the overall population increase.
The Hong Kong Population is measured on the definition of Resident Population, which comprises Usual Residents and Mobile Residents. Among the total population at mid-2008, a provisional 6,768,800 were Usual Residents and a provisional 216,400 were Mobile Residents.
“Usual Residents” include two categories of people: (1) Hong Kong Permanent Residents who have stayed in Hong Kong for at least three months during the six months before or for at least three months during the six months after the reference time-point, regardless of whether they are in Hong Kong or not at the reference time-point; and (2) Hong Kong Non-permanent Residents who are in Hong Kong at the reference time-point.
“Mobile Residents” are Hong Kong Permanent Residents who have stayed in Hong Kong for at least one month but less than three months during the six months before or for at least one month but less than three months during the six months after the reference time-point, regardless of whether they are in Hong Kong or not at the reference time-point.
The previously released provisional figure for the year-end population for 2007 was revised to 6,952,800. The number of Usual Residents was revised to 6,727,000 and the number of Mobile Residents to 225,800. The population growth rate from end-2006 to end-2007 was also revised to 0.6%.
The population figure does not include visitors. The number of visitors present in Hong Kong as at mid-2008 was 338,400.
Wong appointed director of broadcasting
On August 7, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced the appointment of Franklin Wong as the director of broadcasting, effective August 8, following an open-cum-in-service recruitment exercise.
Welcoming Mr. Wong’s appointment, Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue said, “Mr. Wong possesses sound professional skills, solid working experience in the broadcasting industry and proven management abilities.
“I have every confidence that he will bring his wealth of knowledge to the work of the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and lead the department in meeting the challenges ahead. I am also confident that the staff of the RTHK will give him their best support under his leadership.”
Mr. Wong, 65, has had an extensive career in broadcasting and the media, having served in senior positions in a number of local and overseas organizations in the public and private sectors.
He started his career in the RTHK (formerly Radio Hong Kong) when he joined as program officer in 1966 and has since taken on different roles as announcer, commentator and producer. He took part in the establishment of the new television service of RTHK in the early ’70s, and produced and directed RTHK’s first drama series “Below the Lion Rock.” He was subsequently attached to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) as the chief publicity officer in 1975-76, and later returned to the ICAC as the media team leader in 1990-94.
Mr. Wong also served in a number of major broadcasting and media organizations overseas, including Astro Malaysia (production controller from 1997 to 1998) and MediaCorp Studios in Singapore (chief executive officer from 2000 to 2003). From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Wong was founder and chief executive officer of the Beijing-based CultureLink, producing quality documentary series for distribution to major international television networks covering more than 90 countries.
Mr. Wong graduated from the University of Hong Kong and has received training in radio and television production in the BBC, UK.
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