The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, visited North District today (September 6) to tour a secondary school and exchange views with members of North District Council (NDC) and members from a district football club.
          
     Accompanied by the Chairman of the NDC, Mr So Sai-chi; the Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr Li Kwok-fung; and the District Officer (North), Mr Chong Wing-wun, Mr Lau first met with NDC members to exchange views on district issues. He then met with representatives and footballers of the North District Football Club to share views on local football development. Founded in 2003, the Club aims to train young footballers and guide them towards positive lives.
          
     Before concluding the visit, Mr Lau visited TWGHs Li Ka Shing College and chatted with members of the school's Chinese orchestra to learn more about their training. The school is committed to promoting arts education by enhancing arts appreciation among students through various activities and broadening their learning experience.

      

     The Labour Department (LD) is highly concerned about a work accident that happened at a construction site in Ngau Tau Kok this morning (September 6), in which a worker died after falling from a floor opening of a plant room on the first floor. The LD is saddened by the death of the worker in the accident and expressed its deepest sympathy to the victim's family.

     The LD spokesperson said, "We commenced immediate on-site investigation as soon as we were notified of the accident, and have issued suspension notices to the contractors involved to suspend any work in in the plant room. The contractors cannot resume the work until the LD is satisfied that measures to abate the relevant risks have been taken.

     "We will complete investigation as soon as possible to identify the cause of the accident, ascertain the liability of the duty holders and recommend improvement measures. We will take actions pursuant to the law if there is any violation of the work safety legislation."

     The general duty provisions of the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance require employers to provide safe working environments, safe plant and safe systems of work for their employees. Those who contravene the above provisions are liable to a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for six months.

     In regard to today's accident, the LD will issue a Work Safety Alert through its website and email, giving a brief account of the accident concerned to duty holders, workers' unions, professional bodies of safety practitioners and others, and reminding the industry of the importance of following safety precautionary measures to prevent recurrence of similar accidents.

     The LD will also remind the employer concerned of the liability for employees' compensation under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, to assist family members of the deceased to claim employees' compensation and to closely follow up on the case. For those with financial difficulties, the LD will assist them to apply for appropriate emergency funds. Subject to the needs and wishes of family members of the deceased, the LD will also liaise with the Social Welfare Department for financial or other assistance.

     For the sake of securing the safety and health of employees at work, the LD appeals to employers to provide plant and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health. Employees should co-operate with their employers, adopt all safety measures and use personal protective equipment provided properly to avoid endangering their own work safety and that of other workers.

     Hong Kong Customs conducted an operation yesterday (September 5) to combat the sale of suspected counterfeit goods. A total of 1 277 items of suspected counterfeit goods with a total estimated market value of about $500,000 were seized.
 
     Customs took enforcement action yesterday evening. A total of 1 277 items of suspected counterfeit goods, including watches, wallets, handbags and other goods with an estimated market value of about $500,000 were seized from two fixed hawker pitches in Mong Kok. A 33-year-old female person in charge and a 31-year-old female salesperson were arrested. Investigation is ongoing.
 
     Customs will continue to step up enforcement to combat the sale of counterfeit goods.
 
     Customs appeals to consumers to procure goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.  
 
     Customs also reminds traders to be cautious and prudent in merchandising since the sale of counterfeit goods 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 the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Transport Department (TD) today (September 6) reminded the public that the 125th auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held this Saturday (September 8) at Meeting Room S421, L4, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
      
     A list of 210 approved PVRMs put up for auction can be downloaded from the department's website, www.td.gov.hk. The reserve price for all these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 are required to participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.
      
     Bidders are also reminded to bring the following documents with them for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(i) The identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) The identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) A copy of the certificate of incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) A crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.
 
     People who want to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(i) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 to the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations;
(ii) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed;
(iii) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding for the PVRM concerned. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted; and
(iv) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein. For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be produced to the TD for processing," the spokesman said.
      
     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk.

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the opening ceremony of the Fashion Summit (HK) 2018 this morning (September 6):

Felix (Chairman of the Fashion Summit Steering Committee, Mr Felix Chung), Harry (Chairman of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, Dr Harry Lee), Mr Yeung Fan (Chairman of the Clothing Industry Training Authority), 孫會長 (Vice-chairman of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, Mr Sun Huaibin), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. I am honoured to join you all again at the opening ceremony of the Fashion Summit (HK). I would like to first extend my warmest welcome to our overseas participants who have travelled from afar – Welcome to this Asia's world city!
 
     I still vividly recall the opening ceremony that I attended last year to celebrate the launch of the inaugural edition of the Fashion Summit (HK), with the theme of promoting sustainable fashion. The first Fashion Summit was a tremendous success, bringing together over 1 500 leading academics, key industry players, NGOs, as well as experts and professionals from relevant disciplines across the globe to exchange views and share experience in sustainable fashion trends, technologies, best practices, solutions and opportunities.
 
     The Fashion Summit is no average fashion week. This year, the theme of the Fashion Summit is "Circular Economy". It is an innovative model that represents a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities and provides environmental and societal benefits, promoting closer collaboration at all levels – for large and small businesses, for organisations and individuals, globally and locally.
 
     The fashion world is home to some of the most creative and pioneering talents. They are most receptive to new ideas and are keen to take the lead in changing the existing system for the betterment of the industry and the wider economy and society as a whole. I am most pleased to see that the fashion world is one of the pioneers of the modern and sustainable concept of circular economy, with a view to improving the economic, environmental and social outcomes, while capturing opportunities missed by the current linear textiles system.
 
     Indeed, given globalisation and cheap labour, it has become a mainstay for mega retailers to produce mass inventory inexpensively and quickly. Coupled with the epidemic of consumerism, the "fast fashion" movement in recent years has become synonymous with disposable fashion and textile waste causing over-production, over-consumption and excessive refuse and as a result irreversible damages to our environment.

     The growing social consciousness of consumers nowadays has led brands and manufacturers to put more effort in developing sustainable products that minimise environmental impacts, improve employees' working conditions and increase transparency across their supply chain. It is therefore high time for us to rethink how we can transform the fashion industry from the linear conventional model or what we call the take-make-dispose model of production into a circular economy where products are made to last and the wastage generated can be recycled and reused.

     Nevertheless, this is not an easy task. A survey published by the Fashion Summit last month reveals that close to 80 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong said that they were concerned about the environment, but only eight per cent of them would be willing to pay a higher price for sustainable fashion products.  Similar trends are observed in other cities. To encourage the community to walk the talk, it will require concerted efforts of all parties including the fabric makers, manufacturers, brands and individual consumers globally and locally. 

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to promoting sustainable fashion development and has all along supported eco-labels certification schemes and development of new technologies to facilitate green making and marketing of fashion products. My colleague Edward, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, will fill you with more details in his keynote speech later this morning.

     However, to promote sustainable fashion, Government's efforts alone are never enough. We need the fashion industry players like you all to join us in achieving this goal. In the next two days, renowned speakers and participants from different parts of the world will share with us their insight and foresight on how we may transform today's fashion industry into a circular economy tomorrow.

     I am pleased to note that the Fashion Summit has introduced the Fashion Future Challenge Award to provide a platform for our young talents to offer creative ideas on tackling future challenges faced by the fashion industry. It further adds impetus to the campaign to raise understanding and awareness on the role of the Hong Kong fashion industry in leading the charge for revolutionary change, and the critical role Hong Kong can play in driving sustainability. I would like to express my warmest congratulations to the winners of the Award and wish you every success in the pursuit of a positive and sustainable fashion industry in Hong Kong and beyond.

     On this encouraging note, I would like to express my warmest gratitude to Felix and the Fashion Summit Steering Committee for staging this wonderful and meaningful significant event. I wish the Fashion Summit every success and all of you a fruitful experience, and to our guests from afar, a pleasant stay in Hong Kong. 

     Thank you.