Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) today (October 9) reminded members of the public that rigorous enforcement of the Cross-boundary Movement of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Ordinance (Chapter 629) will begin next Tuesday (October 16).

     Under the Ordinance, a person who arrives in Hong Kong via a specified control point and is in possession of a large quantity of currency and bearer negotiable instruments (CBNIs) (i.e. the total value of which is more than HK$120,000) must use the Red Channel under the Red and Green Channel System and make a written declaration to a Customs officer. 

     A person who is about to leave Hong Kong, or who arrives in Hong Kong other than at a specified control point, must disclose upon the request of a Customs officer whether he or she is in possession of a large quantity of CBNIs and, if so, make a written declaration. 

     For a large quantity of CBNIs imported or exported in a cargo consignment, an advance declaration must be made to the C&ED through the Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Declaration System accessible at the website of the C&ED.

     Persons who fail to comply with the declaration or disclosure requirements under the Ordinance are liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of HK$500,000 and imprisonment for two years. 

     To assist members of the public, visitors and relevant trades to comply with the new requirements, in the three months since the commencement of the Ordinance, the C&ED has implemented a grace period and issued written warnings as far as possible to persons who breached the declaration or disclosure requirements for the first time.  

     As at last Sunday (October 7), the C&ED handled 6 697 declarations (including 4 294 from travellers and 2 403 for cargoes) and issued 20 written warnings, 18 to travellers and two in respect of cargoes.

     “Starting on October 16, the C&ED will take enforcement action against breaches of the Ordinance without issuing any warnings,” a spokesperson for the C&ED said.

     The Ordinance implements Recommendation 32 of the Financial Action Task Force to detect cross-boundary transportation of large quantities of CBNIs for the purpose of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism. For details of the Ordinance, please visit the C&ED’s designated webpage at www.customs.gov.hk/en/enforcement/cds/index.html or call the enquiry hotline at 3759 3184. read more

     The "Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth" exhibition being held at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum has been well received since its opening but will come to an end on October 22. The exhibition showcases Dunhua… read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting this morning (October 9):
      
Reporter: Mrs Lam, Victor Mallet is not an activist and he was not advocating independence for Hong Kong. He is very different from Andy Chan. He was purely chairing a talk at the FCC. So, why was his visa denied? He is not leading the Hong Kong independence movement. He was purely facilitating a talk at the FCC…

Chief Executive: I am sorry, what you said is pure speculation. I have just answered in Cantonese that as far as entry and exit matters, these are matters within Hong Kong’s autonomy under “One Country, Two Systems”.

     Point number two is on every individual case, the Director of Immigration will act in accordance with the law and the policy and the circumstances concerning that particular case.

     The third point is, as a rule, not only locally, but internationally, we will never disclose, the Immigration Department will not disclose the individual circumstances of the case or the considerations of his decision. So, I cannot comment on your speculations.

Reporter: Mrs Lam, if the Government is talking about independence almost every week, how do journalists navigate this red line? Can they quote independence figures, interview them, invite them to a forum, or invite them only alongside a government representative? If reporters don’t know clearly, they may self-censor. So, can you tell us which of these reporting and which is now unlawful advocacy?

Chief Executive: I’m sorry, I cannot tell you exactly what journalists should say or act or interview, but I can assure you, as I did in Cantonese, freedom of expression, freedom of reporting are core values in Hong Kong, and as the Chief Executive, I and the HKSAR Government, will safeguard all these rights as enshrined in the Basic Law. Every act, every case will be dealt with in accordance with the law, the policy and the circumstances, including the facts of the case. Thank you very much.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, will attend international conferences in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea from October 10 to 19.

     In the evening on October 10, Mr Chan will depart for Bali, Indonesia, to attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) as a member of the Chinese delegation.

     During his stay, Mr Chan will meet with representatives of the IMF and the WBG, other attending government officials and prominent figures from the banking sector. 

     Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong in the night on October 13 and head to Papua New Guinea the following night (October 14) for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM). He will also take the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with other financial officials attending the FMM. He will return to Hong Kong in the morning on October 19.

     During his absence, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, will act as the Financial Secretary. read more

     Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the Pan Asian Regulatory Summit 2018 this morning (October 9):   David (Chief Executive Officer of Refinitiv, Mr David Craig), Julia (Deputy Chief Exec… read more