Author Archives: hksar gov

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 18) conducted an operation and raided a repair workshop using counterfeit mobile phone parts with its storage centre in Tuen Mun. A total of about 3 900 items of suspected counterfeit mobile phones and parts with an estimated market value of about $940,000 were seized.

     Customs earlier received information alleging that a mobile phone repair workshop used counterfeit parts in the course of providing repair service. After an in-depth investigation with the assistance of a trademark owner, Customs officers took enforcement action yesterday and raided the repair workshop and its storage centre inside an industrial building in the district where the batch of suspected counterfeit mobile phones and parts was seized.

     Preliminary investigation revealed that the workshop targeted overseas customers to provide mobile phone repair services using counterfeit parts and to sell counterfeit mobile phone parts.

     During the operation, a 47-year-old male director and a 24-year-old male manager of the workshop were arrested. 

     Investigation is ongoing.

     The Divisional Commander (Intellectual Property Transnational Investigation), Mr Szeto Chi-fai, said at a press conference today (July 19) that Customs will continue to step up enforcement to combat the sale and use of counterfeit mobile phone parts. He reminded consumers to repair their mobile phones at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.

     He also reminded traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the possession of counterfeit goods for any trade or business is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

      

     The Civil Service Bureau announced today (June 19) that the Chief Executive-in-Council (CE-in-Council) has decided that civil service pay for 2019-20 should be adjusted as follows, taking retrospective effect from April 1 this year:

(a) a pay increase of 4.75 per cent for civil servants in the upper salary band and the directorate, subject to the pay points referred to in (i) and (ii) below the dollar values of which should be as specified:
 
(i) Master Pay Scale (MPS) 34 at $74,515 and MPS 35 at $75,265; and
 
(ii) General Disciplined Services (Officer) Pay Scale (GDS(O)) 20 and Police Pay Scale (PPS) 36 at $74,390, and GDS(O) 21 and PPS 37 at $75,135; and
 
(b) a pay increase of 5.26 per cent for civil servants in the lower and middle salary bands.
 
     In arriving at this decision, the CE-in-Council has thoroughly considered the staff side’s response to the pay offers and all the relevant factors under the established annual civil service pay adjustment mechanism, including:
 
* the net pay trend indicators;
* the state of Hong Kong’s economy;
* changes in the cost of living;
* the Government’s fiscal position;
* the pay claims of the staff side; and
* civil service morale.
 
     The Government will submit the 2019-20 civil service pay adjustment proposal to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for consideration as soon as possible. read more

     The innovative circus-based show “À á»� Làng Phố” (meaning “from village to city”) will be staged from July 26 to 28 at Sha Tin Town Hall, depicting the rapid evolution of Vietnam’s rural existence into urban life. Produced by Lune Production of Vietnam, it is one of the highlights of the International Arts Carnival (IAC) presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
 
     The breathtaking production ingeniously employs super-sized rattan baskets and bamboo poles, and combines cultural metamorphosis, humour and dazzling artistry to display the local customs of Vietnam. Along with juggling, spinning and daring aerial displays, the electrifying acrobats turn themselves into Mekong River creatures, rapidly construct and deconstruct markets, and build moonlit homes before traditional scenes and sounds give way to contemporary city pursuits in the fast-developing country.
 
     “À á»� Làng Phố” immaculately merges acrobatics, contortionism, martial arts, hip hop, beatboxing and comic moments with Vietnamese folk opera and modern stage design. In doing so, its aesthetic vision of the Vietnamese circus genre simultaneously takes the creative form to new heights and wider audiences.
 
     The German Vietnamese director Tuan Le is the first solo artist of Vietnamese descent to have appeared in the world-famous Cirque du Soleil. The show has toured around the world and has been enthusiastically received in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan and New Zealand, among other countries.
 
     “À á»� Làng Phố” will be staged at 8pm on July 26 and 27 (Friday and Saturday) and at 3pm on July 28 (Sunday) at the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium. There will also be audio description in Cantonese for the matinee on July 28 and a touch tour prior to the performance. Please call 2777 1771 for enquiries and registration.
 
     Tickets priced at $180, $280 and $380 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.hkiac.gov.hk/2019/en/pho.html.
 
     The IAC, organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will run from July 5 to August 18.

        

     Following is an urgent question by the Hon Lam Cheuk-ting under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
           
Question:
      
     On the 12th of this month, a large-scale confrontation between police officers and demonstrators occurred outside the Legislative Council Complex. According to a foreign journalist, he witnessed that despite some journalists having identified themselves, their equipment was searched, and they were insulted, chased, assaulted and sprayed with tear sprays by police officers, who even hurled tear gas rounds at them. Since over a million of members of the public took to the streets to protest on the Sunday just passed, some members of the public are worried that journalists will be treated in the aforesaid manner when large-scale demonstrations take place again in the near future. In this connection, will the Government guarantee that the Police will not treat journalists in the same manner again?
      
Reply:
      
President:
      
     The Police all along respect press freedom and the media’s right of reporting, and will also endeavour to facilitate media reporting and maintain effective communications and co-operation with the media. Therefore, the Police have been taking measures to facilitate media reporting as far as practicable.
      
     In handling public order events, the Police will conduct holistic risk assessment based on the objectives, nature, number of participants, past experience and the latest situation of individual events for manpower deployment and formulation of operational plans and contingencies. The Police will also deploy manpower flexibly and implement crowd management measures in light of the prevailing circumstances to ensure public safety and public order.
      
     The Police have formulated relevant guidelines for officers to identify and verify the identity of media practitioners during public order events or other police operations with the proof of identity or documents issued by media organisations or associations. While covering public order events, media practitioners should bring along the proof of identity of reporters or testimonials issued by their companies and can wear easily recognisable clothing and armbands so that police officers at scene can easily recognise them. The Police will examine relevant guidelines from time to time and will consider the opinion of frontline police officers in the process.
      
     On the condition of not affecting operations, the Police have all along been assisting in media reporting as far as possible. Generally speaking, unless designating a press area will provide a vantage point for the media to cover the events, in principle the Police will not designate a press area in public place, where the media like other members of the public are allowed free access. If a designated press area is set up under the above-mentioned circumstances, the media are still free to move in and out of that press area. If a police cordon is set up for operational or investigative purpose at a scene of crime, traffic accident or emergency incident etc., the Police will consider setting up a designated press area where practicable to facilitate media reporting.
      
     To further enhance the communications and co-operation with the media, the Police officially established the Force Media Liaison Cadre in December 2015. When necessary, the Police will deploy Cadre members to the scene of public order events or other police operations to provide facilitation and assistance to media practitioners covering the events at scene. Information officers of the Information Services Department staffed in the Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB) of the Hong Kong Police Force will also provide support and assist in handling media enquiries. If necessary, media practitioners conducting reporting at scene can seek assistance from the Force Media Liaison Cadre or liaise with the PPRB Newsroom which operates 24 hours round-the-clock.
      
     On June 12, tens of thousands of protestors gathered in the vicinity of Tim Mei Avenue, Admiralty and Tim Wa Avenue. The scene was chaotic with the occurrence of violent acts. At all times, the Police have to protect the people and to maintain public order and public safety. The objective of the Police operation was against those using violence, with a view to controlling the scene and restoring order as soon as possible. The Police operation was only against unlawful acts, but not against persons of any industry.
      
     In fact, on the day of operation, although manpower was tight, the Police had arranged 32 officers  of the Force Media Liaison Cadre to provide facilitation to members of the media at the scene as far as practicable. The police officers at the scene on that day worked in the highly stressful and dangerous environment, with certain operations undertaken in a split-second. The Police have always appealed to media practitioners to put their own personal safety first and comply with the instructions of police officers at the scene while covering public order events or large-scale or chaotic demonstrations.
      
     We understand the concerns expressed by some media practitioners regarding the Police’s operation on the day. I reiterate that the Police attach great importance to the relationship with the media, and all along respect press freedom and the media’s right of reporting. If anyone is dissatisfied with the Police, he or she may complain to the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO). The existing complaints against police mechanism operates under the Independent Police Complaints Council Ordinance (Cap 604), with a clear legal basis, as well as effective and independent monitoring. The first tier of the mechanism is the CAPO of the Police which receives and investigates into complaints. The second tier is the Independent Police Complaints Council which is statutory and independent. Under the two-tier police complaints system, any complaint against the Police will be handled in a fair and just manner. As such, it is not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases.
      
     With regard to the Police’s operation on June 12, CAPO has received 27 complaints referred by the Hong Kong Journalists Association. CAPO has set up a designated team to follow up the complaints where the relevant staff were not involved in the operation concerned to ensure that the complaints are handled properly.
      
     On the basis of mutual respect and understanding, the Police will continue to maintain close communications and co-operation with the media and provide necessary assistance.
      
     Thank you, President. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (June 19) the composite interest rate at the end of May 2019.*

     The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, increased by 1 basis point to 0.84 per cent at the end of May 2019, from 0.83 per cent at the end of April 2019 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The increase in composite interest rate reflected increases in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex).

     The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of May 2019 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk). The next data release is scheduled for July 18, 2019 and will provide the composite interest rate at the end of June 2019.

* The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest bearing liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits on the books of banks.  Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation.  It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses.  There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate. read more