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     The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, today (April 12, Paris time) continued her itinerary in Paris, France and also visited Luxembourg to promote Hong Kong as a deal-making and dispute resolution services centre. She also met with leading figures in various sectors to explore opportunities of collaboration on the legal side.

     Ms Cheng departed Paris for Luxembourg to visit the European Union Court of Justice in the morning, during which she met with Judge Christopher Vajda, Judge Bay Larsen and Advocate General Eleanor Sharpston. She said that the principle of “one country, two systems”, the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary have been upheld under the Basic Law since Hong Kong’s return to the Motherland.

     Ms Cheng will then return to Paris to pay a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to France, Mr Zhai Jun, in the evening. She will also attend the dinner hosted by the ambassador.

     Upon her arrival in Paris yesterday morning (April 11, Paris time), Ms Cheng met with members of National Assembly of France to give them an introduction of the work of the Department of Justice and Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services.

     Ms Cheng also attended a business luncheon organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in which she delivered a speech on the safeguards and opportunities offered by Hong Kong legal services in the Belt and Road Region and the Greater Bay Area. She outlined the significance brought by the two development plans and highlighted the features of “one country, two systems” as well as Hong Kong’s laws in relation to deal-making and dispute resolution services.

     In the afternoon, Ms Cheng attended a conference, co-organised by the Department of Justice and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, on the promotion of Hong Kong’s roles as deal maker and dispute resolver. Speaking at the conference, she stressed that Hong Kong has always been a strategic gateway for foreign businesses to tap in the Mainland Chinese market. On the other hand, Hong Kong is the springboard for Mainland companies, including the Chinese State-owned entities, to “go global”. Hong Kong has rich experience in deal-making and dispute resolution for China-related businesses and it is the Hong Kong Government’s long standing policy to support and strengthen our position as a leading hub for deal making and dispute resolution. Ms Cheng was glad to learn that the panel of experts in the conference acknowledged that the Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region signed on April 2 has strengthened Hong Kong as a hub of legal and dispute resolution services centre.

     Following the conference, Ms Cheng joined a cocktail reception hosted by the Invest Hong Kong to meet with the legal and business sectors in Paris.

     Ms Cheng will continue her visit in Paris in the next two days and depart for The Hague in the afternoon on April 15 (Paris time).

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     Police today (April 12) laid a holding charge against a 37-year-old non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) man with one count of murder.

     The man was arrested on April 10 in suspected connection with a murder case happened in Kowloon City on the same day, in which his 40-year-old NEC wife died.

     The case will be mentioned at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (April 13). read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Serv… read more

     The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (DH) said today (April 11) that no additional case of measles infection has been recorded as at 4pm today and announced the arrangement of control and prevention strategy at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in the coming two weeks.
 
     A spokesman for the DH said, “As the measles outbreak at the airport cannot be concluded in the near future, the control measures including vaccination and blood testing services will continue for a period of time. Detailed arrangement will depend on the latest situation and will be announced in due course.”
 
     From tomorrow (April 13) to April 28, the vaccination quota for the measles vaccination station at the airport will remain at 500 doses daily. Vaccination for eligible airport staff will be provided to the following target groups who:
 
(1) Were born in or after 1967, and have not received two doses of measles vaccination, and have not been infected with measles before, and with evidence of living with infants under 1 year old or living with pregnant women; or
 
(2) Have laboratory evidence of testing not positive against measles antibody (IgG)
 
    Details of evidence are as follows:
 

1. Supporting documents for living with infants under 1-year-old: for example birth certificate, discharge summary or vaccination card of the infant
2. Supporting documents for living with pregnant women: for example, positive pregnancy tests or antenatal follow-up cards of the pregnant women
3. Supporting documents for laboratory evidence: for example blood results from the DH’s measles serology test or any laboratory within the past 12 months
    

       The venue and operation hours of the airport vaccination station are as follows:
 

Venue:	Multi-function Room, HKIA Tower (Level 5, Terminal 2)
Hours:	April 13 to 28 10am to 1pm 2pm to 6pm

 
     As for the blood test service, the DH will continue to arrange the provision of a measles serology test service for airport staff to identify those who need the measles vaccination. Starting next week, a DH contractor will provide the blood test service to about 200 airport staff who were born in or after 1967 daily from Tuesdays to Thursdays (April 16 to 18 and 23 to 25). The blood test service will be suspended from Fridays to Mondays.
 
     The venue and operation hours of the airport blood test station are as follows:
 

Venue:	South side before the Immigration Hall at Level 3 of Terminal 2 (non-restricted area)
Hours:	April 16 to 18 and 23 to 25 9am to 1pm

 
    A total of 52 persons received measles vaccination at the airport vaccination station as at 6pm today, bringing the cumulative number of vaccinations given to 8 130. As for blood test services, 95 blood samples have been collected today. The DH will notify the participants individually of the serology results.
 
     A hotline (2125 1122) has been set up for public enquiries. Starting tomorrow, the hotline will operate during office hours from Mondays to Fridays. As of 5pm today, the hotline had received a total of 3 136 enquiries.
 
     “The incubation period (the period from infection to appearance of illness) of measles ranges from seven days to 21 days. Symptoms of measles include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. If symptoms arise, members of the public should wear surgical masks, stop going to work or school and avoid going to crowded places. They should also avoid contact with non-immune persons, especially persons with weakened immunity, pregnant women and children aged below 1. Those suspected to have been infected are advised to seek medical attention as early as possible and reveal relevant contact history of measles to healthcare professionals,” the spokesman advised. read more

     A person in charge of an exhibition booth and a salesperson were sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and three months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months respectively on March 15 and today (April 12) at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for offering to supply goods with false trade description and possession of goods with a forged trademark for the purpose of trade or business. They had contravened the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). The sentence imposed on the person in charge of the exhibition booth is the heaviest penalty in the past decade among similar cases of infringement that took place at exhibition fairs. 

     Customs earlier received the trademark owner’s information alleging the display of counterfeit handbags for order at a booth in a leather fair held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

     After investigation, Customs officers conducted a test-buy operation and successfully ordered 500 counterfeit handbags and seized five counterfeit handbag samples at a booth with an estimated market value of about $40,000 in total. A 36-year-old man in charge and a 29-year-old saleslady were arrested and prosecuted. 

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action to combat infringing activities. Booth exhibitors are reminded to respect intellectual property rights and not to sell counterfeit goods.

     Under the TDO, 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.

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