A man who went missing in Mong Kok has been located.
Siu Kwai-cheung, aged 41, went missing after he was last seen on Fuk Tsun Street on May 7 morning. His family made a report to Police on the same day.
The man returned to his residence last night (May 8).
The commitments made under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) among Hong Kong and three ASEAN member states, namely Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, will enter into force on June 11, a government spokesman said today (May 9). The dates of entry into force of the FTA for the remaining seven ASEAN member states will be announced as soon as they are confirmed.
Upon the implementation of the FTA, on trade in goods, Singapore commits to binding all its customs duties at zero, whereas Myanmar and Thailand will progressively eliminate and reduce their customs duties on goods originating from Hong Kong. The tariff reduction commitments cover different kinds of Hong Kong commodities, including jewellery, articles of apparel and clothing accessories, watches and clocks and toys.
To enjoy the preferential tariff treatment for exporting Hong Kong goods to Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, Hong Kong traders need to comply with the relevant preferential rules of origin and fulfil the related requirements. Applications for certificates of origin should be made to the Trade and Industry Department (TID) or Government Approved Certification Organizations of Hong Kong. For details, please refer to the relevant trade circulars issued by the TID at www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/coc/2019/coc2019.html.
On trade in services, upon the implementation of the FTA and in respect of Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand, Hong Kong service providers will enjoy better business opportunities and legal certainty in market access for a comprehensive range of services sectors. These include services sectors in which Hong Kong has traditional strengths or has potential for development, including professional services, business services, telecommunications services, construction and related engineering services, educational services, financial services, tourism and travel related services, transport services and arbitration services.
ASEAN comprises 10 member states, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Hong Kong and ASEAN signed the FTA and an Investment Agreement (IA) at the end of 2017.
Under the FTA, upon the notification of Hong Kong and four ASEAN member states to the ASEAN Secretariat of their ratification of the FTA, the FTA will enter into force officially for these five signatories. However, until the signatories concerned have separately notified the ASEAN Secretariat of their ratification of the IA, their rights and obligations under the FTA will be suspended.
Up to now, among the remaining seven ASEAN member states, Vietnam has ratified the FTA, but not the IA. As such, as far as Vietnam is concerned, the FTA will not be implemented for the time being. The other six ASEAN member states have not yet ratified the FTA.
For details and key features of the FTA, please refer to the website of the TID at www.tid.gov.hk/english/ita/fta/hkasean/index.html.
The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) hotline service under the Special Preventive Programme of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health will be suspended from 6pm to 9pm tomorrow (May 10) for a maintenance check.
The service will resume after maintenance.
The free and anonymous AIDS hotline (2780 2211) provides information on AIDS and sexually transmitted infections and a Human Immunodeficiency Virus antibody testing booking service to the public.
The Rating and Valuation Department (RVD) today (May 9) reminded the public that proposals to alter the rateable value of properties from April 1 this year must be served on the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation by May 31.
Proposals should be made on the specified form (R20A) and be delivered by post or in person. Copies of the form can be obtained from the department at Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 15/F, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, and the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department. The form can also be downloaded from the RVD website (www.rvd.gov.hk).
The public can also lodge proposals on an electronic form (e-R20A) using the Electronic Submission of Forms service provided on the department's website. Proposals sent by fax are not acceptable.
An RVD spokesman emphasised that under the Rating Ordinance and the Government Rent (Assessment and Collection) Ordinance, proposals served after May 31 would not be accepted.
"Notwithstanding the lodging of a proposal, rates and rent payers must pay rates and government rent by the last day for payment shown on the demand notes. We will carefully consider all proposals and inform the proposers of our decisions before December 1. Any changes in rates and government rent payable resulting from such decisions will date back to April 1 this year and any overpayment will be adjusted in subsequent demands," he said.
For enquiries, please call 2152 0111.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
During the service demand surge, the Hospital Authority (HA) is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate in public hospitals. Key service statistics are being issued daily for public information. Details are in the appended table.
In addition, the weekly bulletin "Surge in Brief" (annex) will be issued every Thursday to illustrate the past month's trends of key service statistics in public hospitals. "Surge in Brief" can be accessed in the HA Winter Surge designated webpage (www.ha.org.hk/goto/wintersurge/en).