Police today (May 30) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Wong Tai Sin.

     Yeung Man-wai, aged 22, went missing after she was last seen at a shopping centre on Chuk Yuen Road on February 17. Her family made a report to Police on May 22.

     She is about 1.6 metres tall, 50 kilograms in weight and of medium build. She has a round face with yellow complexion and long straight black hair. She was last seen wearing a pair of black framed glasses.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Kowloon East on 3661 0316 or 9886 0060, or email to rmpu-ke-2@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.
  

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Financial Services Development Council:

     The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) today (May 30) released its fifth annual report for the period from April 2017 to March 2018.
 
     In 2017-18, the FSDC published six reports covering a wide range of financial services industry topics including the listed structured products market, financial technology (FinTech) and the use of distributed ledger technology, aircraft leasing and financing, tax exemption for offshore private equity funds and group tax loss relief.
 
     In addition, the FSDC played an active role in promoting Hong Kong as a leading financial centre through organising and participating in a number of overseas and local promotional events, including "Think Asia, Think Hong Kong" in London; Hong Kong Financial Seminars held in Osaka, Tokyo and Seoul; the "In Style•Hong Kong" Symposium in Kuala Lumpur; the Belt and Road Summit and the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong; and forums covering various topics held in Fuzhou and Hong Kong.
 
     Talent development continued to be another key area of the FSDC's work. The Practitioner Speakers Series was well received by the young generation and seen as a good opportunity to be enlightened by the views and insights shared by expert market practitioners. The Career Day and the FSDC Career Website (www.career-fsdc.org.hk) also served as effective mediums for young talents to obtain job market information from various segments in the financial services industry.
 
     The Chairman of the FSDC, Mrs Laura M Cha, said, "We are glad to see remarkable progress on the implementation of the FSDC's previous recommendations with regard to the strategic directions of the development of the financial services industry in Hong Kong by the Government. This includes the issuance of green bonds by the Government, as well as the promotion and establishment of green bond certification schemes.
 
     "In view of the dynamic economic atmosphere and intensified challenges from neighbouring financial markets, Hong Kong will have to continue its effort in sharpening its strengths and seize the opportunities ahead. This will include maintaining its leading status in offshore Renminbi business, and its strategic position in relation to the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, as well as spearheading the growing development in green finance and FinTech."
 
     Mrs Cha added, "With the plans set out by the Government in the Policy Address to provide the FSDC with additional resources to strengthen its capacity, the FSDC is committed to stepping up its efforts in promoting the development of the financial services industry of Hong Kong."
 
     The report and an updated version of the "Overview of Hong Kong Financial Services Industry" can be downloaded from the FSDC website: www.fsdc.org.hk.
 
About the FSDC
 
     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government established the FSDC in 2013 as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to engage the industry in formulating proposals to promote the further development of Hong Kong's financial services industry and to map out the strategic direction for development.
 
     The FSDC set up five committees, namely the Policy Research Committee, the Mainland Opportunities Committee, the New Business Committee, the Market Development Committee and the Human Capital Committee, as the five streams of its work.

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (May 30):

Question:

     In recent years, more and more Hong Kong people and Mainland tourists go camping in the rural New Territories to get close to nature, filling most of the popular camp sites (e.g. Ham Tin Wan Campsite) with a hubbub from boisterous campers and overloading the relevant facilities during long holidays. On the other hand, some villagers in the vicinity of the camp sites have relayed to me that some campers litter and cause environmental hygiene problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective quantities of refuse collected each month in the past three years at the 41 designated camp sites provided in country parks throughout Hong Kong;

(2) whether it has deployed staff to conduct regular inspections on the hygiene conditions at the various designated camp sites and ticketed persons who littered; if so, of the number of persons ticketed in the past three years;

(3) of the plans to step up its efforts in reminding campers to care for nature and public property;

(4) whether it will review the usage of the various designated camp sites and provide more facilities at the camp sites; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(5) as it has been reported that the various designated camp sites have not been equipped with first aid facilities such as automated external defibrillators, whether the authorities will provide first aid facilities at designated camp sites so that campers who are injured or suffer from bouts of illness may receive first aid treatment; if not, of the reasons for that; and
 
(6) as one has to tramp over hill and dale in order to go to Ham Tin Wan Campsite and Sai Wan Campsite at present, which is time consuming, whether the authorities will provide landing facilities near these two camp sites to make them conveniently accessible by sea, so as to facilitate cleaning workers to clean up refuse and ambulance personnel to transfer campers who are injured or suffer from bouts of illness to hospital for medical treatment; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau is as follows:

(1) The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) deploys its staff or contractors to collect litter along hiking trails, at coastal areas and various recreation sites (e.g. campsites, barbecue sites and picnic sites) within country parks. Since litter is mostly collected from the recreation sites and their adjacent country park areas in one go, the AFCD does not have a separate breakdown of the amount of litter collected at designated campsites in country parks. In the past three years, the total amount of litter collected in country parks is as follows:
 

(2) The AFCD conducts regular patrol at country parks and their respective recreation facilities, including designated campsites. The AFCD staff will pay attention to the hygiene conditions of the areas during patrol and step up cleansing when needed. If non-compliance behaviour such as littering is detected, law enforcement action will be taken. In the past three years, the AFCD instituted 257 prosecutions against littering in country parks and special areas. However, the AFCD does not have a separate breakdown of prosecution figures for cases at designated campsites.

(3) The AFCD encourages the public to carry out recreation activities that are compatible with the environment in country parks, so as to nurture a sense of responsibility towards the environment while enjoying the outdoor activities. The AFCD has displayed camping codes at the designated campsites in country parks to remind campers of the good practices. The AFCD also disseminates relevant information on its website to encourage campers to plan ahead and get prepared before they go camping, and to adopt environmentally friendly measures. These include measures under the concept of "Leave No Trace", including the proper disposal of waste, preserving the naturalness of the environment, minimising the impact from use of fires, respecting wildlife and other visitors, etc. The "Hints for Campers" and "Green Tips for Campers" are available at the following websites: www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou_vis_cam/cou_vis_rec_hin.html and www.natureintouch.gov.hk/outdoor/activity/nit_2011/0/762.

     Besides, the AFCD promotes the relevant codes through publicity and education activities from time to time, such as organising "Go Green Family Camping", roving exhibitions at shopping malls and nature appreciation activities. The AFCD will continue to strengthen its publicity and education efforts, and maintain communication with Tourism Commission to promote to overseas visitors the good practices and codes of green tourism through various channels (including Hong Kong Tourism Board).

(4) The AFCD reviews the usage of campsites from time to time, and improves the facilities and considers the provision of additional campsites according to the needs of the visitors and specific conditions of the sites. To address the public demand for camping activities, the AFCD has improved campsite services and facilities based on the usage of the campsites and their popularity, e.g. designating the Sai Wan Campsite and Tai Mong Tsai Campsite in Sai Kung in 2014 and 2015 respectively, carrying out turf improvement works of Wan Tsai Campsite in Sai Kung in 2016, and expanding the Chung Pui Campsite in 2017, etc.
 
     Besides, the AFCD has commissioned a consultancy study on the enhancement of the recreation and education potential of country parks for public enjoyment. It is expected that public consultation on the recommendations of the study will commence in 2018.
 
(5) The AFCD attaches great importance to the safety of country park visitors. At present, all country parks visitor centres are equipped with first aid kits, whereas automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are available at four of these centres for the use of the public when needed. Besides, the Auxiliary Medical Service sets up first aid stations on Sundays and public holidays in country parks and its ambulance motorcycles will patrol country parks and provide first aid services. The first aid stations and ambulance motorcycles are equipped with the AEDs and will provide assistance to visitors as necessary.
 
     Most of the designated campsites are located in the countryside with no offices and shelters. Therefore, there is practical difficulty in providing first aid supplies in the designated campsites. The AFCD will closely monitor the usage of the campsites in country parks and review if the facilities can meet visitors' needs from time to time, and provide the required facilities as far as practicable.
 
(6) There are currently two kaito routes connecting the vicinity of Sai Wan and Ham Tin Wan to Sai Kung, and there is already a landing facility available at Sai Wan. In consideration of the relevant development plans in the area of Sai Wan and Ham Tin Wan, the Transport and Housing Bureau has no plan to construct a new landing facility near Ham Tin Wan and Sai Wan Campsites at the present stage.
 
     Litter collected in Ham Tin Wan Campsite and Sai Wan Campsite is removed from the sites by contractor's vessels. The operation is generally smooth. In addition, there are helipads in both Sai Wan and Ham Tin Wan for use in cases of emergency such as rescue.
 
     It is never an easy task to manage countryside facilities in remote areas. Visitors could contribute to the upkeep of the environmental hygiene of the relevant sites by adopting the good habit of "Take Your Litter Home" promoted by the Government.

     Following is the opening remarks (translated from Chinese) made by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, for the proposed resolution under Article 73(7) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and section 7A of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) in the Legislative Council today (May 30):
 
Mr President,
 
     I move that the motion under my name, as printed in the Agenda, be passed, that this Council endorses the appointments of the Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (Mr Justice Cheung) as a Permanent Judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Robert Tang Ching (Mr Justice Tang) as a non-permanent Hong Kong judge (HKNPJ), the Right Honourable the Baroness Brenda Hale of Richmond (Baroness Hale) and the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C. (Ms McLachlin) as non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions (CLNPJs) to the Court of Final Appeal (CFA). 
 
Constitutional and statutory framework
 
     The CFA is the final appellate court in Hong Kong, hearing both civil and criminal appeals.  It consists of the Chief Justice (CJ) and the permanent judges.  Non-permanent judges may be invited to sit and they may come from Hong Kong or other common law jurisdictions. When hearing and determining appeals, the CFA is constituted by five judges, comprising the CJ, three permanent judges, and one HKNPJ or one CLNPJ.
 
     Pursuant to Article 88 of the Basic Law and the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission Ordinance (Cap. 92), judges of the courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be appointed by the Chief Executive (CE) on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC). Pursuant to Article 92 of the Basic Law, judges of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be chosen on the basis of their judicial and professional qualities and may be recruited from other common law jurisdictions. In addition, Article 90 of the Basic Law provides that in the case of the appointment of judges of the CFA, the CE shall obtain the endorsement of the Legislative Council (LegCo).
 
The current appointments
 
     With regard to the current appointment exercise, Mr Justice Tang will retire as a Permanent Judge of the CFA on October 25, 2018. The JORC has recommended to the CE to appoint Mr Justice Cheung, Chief Judge of the High Court to fill the vacancy. Mr Justice Cheung was a pre-eminent counsel when he joined the Judiciary in 2001 and was appointed the Chief Judge of the High Court in 2011. He has dealt with many high profile cases in the Court of Appeal particularly in the areas of administrative and constitutional law. He is a judge of high standing and reputation.  His judgments have made a profound impact on Hong Kong jurisprudence. His term as a Permanent Judge of the CFA is set to take effect on October 25, 2018.
 
     As for non-permanent judges, at present, there are 15 non-permanent judges, comprising three HKNPJs and 12 CLNPJs. Considering the heavy caseload of the CFA and in order to provide more flexibility in judicial deployment, there is a need to increase the number of both HKNPJs and CLNPJs.
 
     The JORC noted that Mr Justice Tang will become eligible for appointment as a HKNPJ upon his retirement as a Permanent Judge of the CFA. Appointed as a Permanent Judge of the CFA in 2012, Mr Justice Tang is a judge of the highest quality and utmost integrity. He is versatile with experience in handling appeals in both civil and criminal matters. He would be a remarkable new member to the list of HKNPJs and would continue, in that new capacity, to make valuable contribution to the CFA.  Accordingly, the JORC has recommended to the CE his appointment as a HKNPJ for a term of three years with effect from October 25, 2018.
 
     At the same time, the JORC has recommended the appointments of Baroness Hale and Ms McLachlin as CLNPJs. Baroness Hale was appointed to take office as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in September 2017. Ms McLachlin served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from January 7, 2000 until she retired from the office on December 15, 2017. They are judges of eminent standing and reputation, and would be invaluable additions to the list of CLNPJs. If appointed, Baroness Hale and Ms McLachlin will be the first female judges to the CFA. As the CE said in announcing the proposed appointments, “their appointment is a historic moment in Hong Kong”. Subject to the endorsement of this Council, the appointments of the two CLNPJs shall take effect in July 2018 for a term of three years.
 
     The CE is pleased to accept the recommendations of the JORC on the appointments of the abovementioned four judges as judges of the CFA.
 
     In accordance with the procedures previously endorsed by the House Committee of LegCo, the Government issued papers on March 21, 2018 to inform the House Committee that the CE had accepted the recommendations of the JORC on the appointments. The curriculum vitae of the four judges were also enclosed in the papers. Representatives from the Government and the Secretary to the JORC attended the meeting of the Subcommittee on Proposed Senior Judicial Appointments on April 27, 2018 and answered Members’ questions. I would like to thank Dr Honourable Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, Chairman of the Subcommittee, and other Members of the Subcommittee for their support of the proposed appointments.
 
     President, I invite Members to endorse the appointments. Thank you.
 

     Following is a question by the Hon Vincent Cheng and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (May 30)
 
Question:
 
     Some members of the public have relayed to me that poor environmental hygiene in the community will easily cause mosquito and rodent problems, posing direct threat to public health. As hot weather has come back in recent days and the rainy season is approaching, mosquitoes, insects and rodents breed easily, resulting in the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases growing day by day. It is learnt that a number of District Councils (DCs) have relayed to the authorities that the environmental hygiene at certain streets is unsatisfactory and is even worsening, including illegal dumping of construction waste and illegal littering by members of the public, accumulation of water and food remnants in rear lane drains, etc. Regarding the prevention and control of mosquito and rodent problems, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that the Ovitrap Index, which mainly serves to survey the infestation of Aedes albopictus, has been formulated for a number of years since 2000, whether the Government will review and improve the Index, including the extension of the surveillance scope to cover the infestation of other mosquitoes and insects, such as Culicine mosquitoes which may transmit Japanese encephalitis, Anopheline mosquitoes which may transmit malaria, as well as biting midges which feed on blood and whose bites produce seriously itchy welts; if so, of the implementation time; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) as a number of members of the public and DCs have complained that the rodent problem of the old districts and districts where many restaurants are located is very serious, and traits of rodents can be found everywhere at night, but the Rodent Infestation Rates (RIRs) in those districts as recorded by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) are on the low side, whether the Government has studied if RIRs can reflect the actual situation; if so, of the details; as it is learnt that the FEHD completed the first phase of the Anti-rodent Campaign in March this year, of the effectiveness of the Campaign, including the numbers of dead rodents collected and live rodents caught; and
 
(3) as the Government is installing Internet Protocol (IP) cameras at various hygiene black spots in phases to collect evidence of illegal dumping of refuse by offenders with a view to strengthening the deterrent effect, but the locations selected for installing IP cameras in the first phase are mostly places located outside refuse collection points, of the reasons why the Government has not accepted the several installation locations proposed by DCs such as rear lanes; whether it will consider coordinating various government departments in installing IP cameras at the locations proposed by DCs in future?
 
Reply
 
President,
 
     The Government has always strived to maintain the environmental hygiene in Hong Kong, including carrying out mosquito and rodent control.  My reply to the Hon Vincent Cheng's question is as follows:
 
(1) The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) reviews the dengue vector surveillance (DVS) annually as part of the efforts to step up control of Aedes albopictus. In response to the local dengue fever cases reported in 2016 and 2017, urban development as well as requests from the public and District Councils (DCs), a total of five additional areas will be covered by the DVS programme starting from July 2018. The survey frequency will also be increased from one week per month to two weeks per month. To strengthen surveillance at the border, the survey frequency at border control points will be increased from two weeks per month to weekly basis.
 
     The FEHD has also devised surveillance programmes targeting Culicine and Anopheline mosquitoes, which are vectors of Japanese encephalitis (JE) and malaria respectively. Culicine mosquitoes are mostly found in the countryside, particularly in flooded rice fields and water-logged abandoned fields. If these fields are close to pig farms or locations frequented by natural hosts of JE virus, such as waders, Culicine mosquitoes are more likely to get infected, and the risk of JE transmission is higher. Monthly JE vector surveillance exercises have been scheduled since 2015 by the FEHD, covering seven districts with relatively higher risk of JE transmission. In these seven districts, there are either pig farms or locations frequented by waders, or that local JE cases have been reported. As for the surveillance of Anopheline mosquitoes, regular surveys have been carried out since 1980 to collect samples of Anopheline larvae at streams to identify the existence of species responsible for the transmission of malaria in Hong Kong.
      
     As regards the surveillance of biting midges, the World Health Organization has not published guidelines for systematic surveillance targeted at biting midges. According to my understanding, other places like the Mainland, Singapore as well as countries in America and Europe have not formulated any surveillance programmes for biting midges. Biting midges found in Hong Kong are not major vectors of any vector-borne diseases. In response to the problem of biting midges in recent years, the FEHD had, on two occasions, invited an expert studying biting midges from the Mainland to visit Hong Kong, with a view to providing guidance and recommendations to study the local fauna of biting midges in the territory and review the control methodology. Based on the advice of the expert, the FEHD commenced a one-year territory-wide survey in mid-July last year to investigate the species diversity of the midges in Hong Kong, confirm whether there is presence of any disease-carrying biting midges and find out their distribution. The FEHD will continue to keep in view the biting midges situation in public places through routine inspections and handling of complaints. Control measures against biting midges will be strengthened whenever necessary, while efforts have at the same time been stepped up in the publicity and education work. In view of the public nuisance caused by biting midges earlier, the FEHD will continue to conduct joint operations with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) to strengthen the preventive and control work against biting midges at parks under the management of LCSD and their vicinity. 
 
(2) There is no internationally adopted Rodent Infestation Rate (RIR). When devising the RIR, the FEHD made reference to overseas practices and tried out different methods having regard to a number of factors including local climate, environmental conditions and the habits of rodents. The FEHD considered that adopting the ratio of baits gnawed by rodents as the infestation rate was the most suitable method for Hong Kong. As there have not been major changes in Hong Kong's environment or rodents' habits in recent years, the current survey approach is still appropriate.
 
     As the RIR of a district only assesses the rodent problem in public places within the surveillance areas during the surveillance period, it does not reflect fully the situation of rodent infestation of the district concerned. In addition to the RIR, the FEHD also takes into account the traits left by rodents, complaint figures and views of the local community and the public in targeting rodent prevention and control actions at areas where rodent problems exist.
      
     Noticing that the number of food premises in some districts has increased, the FEHD has, apart from including the rear lanes adjacent to food premises as the target areas of the anti-rodent campaigns, strengthened the cleansing work in these areas. To focus on managing the rodent trouble spots, the FEHD conducted anti-rodent operations in designated target areas in various districts and adopted multi-pronged strategies in selected localities, including cleansing, rodent disinfestation and enforcement action against the survival conditions of rodents, namely food, harbourage and passages. The FEHD staff will enhance street washing and sweeping services at rear lanes where hygiene conditions are relatively poor. Inspections of food premises will be stepped up and public education and enforcement actions will be strengthened. The first round of the anti-rodent operation in designated target areas in various districts was launched in April which will last for two months. The second round operation will commence in October.
 
     The first phase of the territory-wide Anti-rodent Campaign 2018 was completed in March. During the campaign, the FEHD conducted 16 348 inspections, handled 1 147 rat holes, caught 2 337 live rodents and cleared 4 265 dead rodents. The second phase of the campaign will be launched in July and will last for ten weeks.
 
(3) The FEHD launched a pilot scheme from December 2016 to June 2017 to install camera at hygiene blackspots. Internet Protocol (IP) cameras were installed at six illegal refuse dumping blackspots in Central and Western, Sham Shui Po and Yuen Long Districts to step up surveillance on illegal dumping of refuse and facilitate the planning of more effective enforcement actions. Given the encouraging results the FEHD decided to extend the scheme to all districts progressively on a trial basis for one year. It has consulted the DCs on the illegal refuse dumping blackspots at which the IP cameras are to be installed, and obtained support from them. On the locations, the FEHD has obtained the support from the DCs on their suggestions on the locations and priority of installation of IP cameras with regard to the seriousness of illegal refuse dumping activity at the blackspots. The FEHD has accepted the locations and priority proposed by the DCs and arrangements have been made accordingly. Some of the proposed spots include rear lanes. If the DCs request changing the locations for camera installation in the future, the FEHD will actively seek to meet their demands so long as the suggestions are technically feasible. The contractor engaged by the FEHD will start to operate the IP cameras next week. If the hygiene conditions of a particular location show improvement, the FEHD may consider adding or re-locating the cameras to other spots according to priority.