The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (November 24) that a public auction for stalls at the 2021 Che Kung Festival Fair will be held on December 8 (Tuesday).

     A spokesman for the FEHD said the annual fair will be held for 18 days from February 9 to 26, 2021, at Chui Tin Street Soccer Pitch in Sha Tin. The upset bidding prices for the 40 dry goods stalls and two wet goods stalls are $2,310 and $550 respectively.

     The auction will begin at 9.30am at the Assembly Hall at 2/F, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. Dry goods stalls will be auctioned first, followed by wet goods stalls.

     Bidders must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.

     All persons must conduct body temperature screening at the entrance before entering the venue. Persons with fever are not allowed to enter the venue and are advised to seek medical advice promptly. Moreover, persons entering the auction venue are required to pay attention to and comply with the measures for the prevention of COVID-19 to be implemented at the auction venue.

     In addition, taking into account the latest development of COVID-19 and the advice of the Centre for Health Protection, a series of anti-epidemic measures will be implemented at the fair, including requiring visitors to undergo temperature checks before admission and to wear a mask at all times. Stall owners are also required to provide hand sanitisers at their stalls for customers' use and provide a contact list of their staff for medical tracing in case of confirmed cases.

     Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in person with his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or he/she will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.

     The spokesman said that successful bidders should comply with all the stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall.

     The fair site will be made available two days in advance for the setting up of stalls on February 7 and 8, 2021. However, no business shall be conducted on these two days. The Government may without cause postpone the commencement date and shorten the duration of the licensed period (including the duration for setting up stalls and the business period of the fair), or suspend or cancel the fair wholly or in part. The bidding price (licence fee) paid will be refunded to the affected licensee on a pro-rata basis without interest. The licensee and his employees or agents must vacate the licenced area no later than the time specified by the Government verbally (by way of press release, public announcement or other similar communications) or in writing.

     The FEHD reminded licensees that the stalls are solely for the purpose of selling and promoting the sale of the permitted commodities, and no other activities are allowed in the licenced area. If the FEHD considers that any activity conducted by the licensee to publicise, promote, display, show or sell any permitted commodities in the venue is unlawful, immoral or incompatible with the object of the fair, the FEHD is entitled to direct the licensee to stop conducting such activity and the licensee must immediately comply with such direction.

     Stall licensees should not destroy, damage or abandon any unsold commodities at and in the vicinity of the stall. They shall completely remove the stall structure and all paraphernalia, together with all refuse, debris and unsold commodities (whether damaged or otherwise), from the licensed area before 10pm on February 26, 2021.

     The spokesman said, "We will continue to closely monitor the development of the epidemic situation and will promulgate the guidelines on social distancing measures to be adopted at the fair around one month before the event. The Government has made its best efforts to enable the fair to be held as far as practicable. Interested parties should fully consider all the relevant arrangements announced by the Government before participating in the bidding. If the epidemic situation deteriorates rapidly within a short period, we will not rule out the possibility of adjusting the scale of or even cancelling the fair. Refund arrangements will be made in accordance with the relevant clauses of the licence agreement with the licensee."

     For more information about the auction, please call the FEHD's Sha Tin District Environmental Hygiene Office at 2634 0134. Details are also available on the FEHD website at www.fehd.gov.hk.

Ends/Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Issued at HKT 15:00

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