Govt plans to widen flu vaccination program

The government announced yesterday that it planned to extend the flu vaccination program to include children aged between two and five.

Currently the program covers children aged six to 23 months.

Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said the expansion will cover an additional 219,000 children.

A total of close to 330,000 children will benefit from the expansion.

Chow said to promote public-private partnership, the government is also studying the possibility of subsidizing children to get vaccination from private doctors.

Dinosaur fossils to be donated to HK

Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing will travel to Yunnan province to receive a set of dinosaur fossils on behalf of Hong Kong from provincial authorities.

The fossil of a dinosaur species from the Lufeng Series, 7.7 meters long and 2.2 meters high, is believed to be of a herbivorous dinosaur that existed 200 million years ago during the Jurassic period.

This is the first time a dinosaur fossil is being given to a jurisdiction outside the mainland.

Hong Kong plans to put it on permanent display at the Science Museum.

Future appointees will be aware of passport issues

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam said in a Legislative Council session yesterday that the government would remind future candidates for undersecretaries and political assistants of bureaus that they are expected to reveal their nationality.

If they have foreign citizenship, it is up to them to decide whether to give it up.

The candidates would also be told that their salaries would be made known to the public, Lam added.

Tai O road repairs going well: Eva Cheng

Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said yesterday repair works on Keung Shan Road in Tai O, Lantau Island, are going well and she hopes at least one lane would be reopened later this week.

However, she emphasized that no date has been set for a full resumption of road traffic because the repair project is very complicated and the road was seriously damaged.

On top of that, nearby slopes will have to be reinforced first, she said.

China Daily

(China Daily 06/17/2008 page1)