The Task Force on Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong.
 
     A spokesperson for the TLB said that the "Sea Express" water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
 
     The spokesperson said today (September 20) that Shenzhen operated 54 cargo vessel trips and transported around 6 090 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (September 19), equivalent to about 21 230 tonnes of goods, all of which were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
 
     Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 979 750 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 4 658 170 tonnes of goods, of which around 2 330 TEUs (about 19 660 tonnes) were fresh food and around 977 420 TEUs (about 4 638 510 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) arranges for dedicated staff to conduct rapid nucleic acid tests, using nasopharyngeal swabs for specimen collection, for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. A total of 3 557 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday, among which one case that tested indeterminate was found. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
 
     The TLB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, while reducing the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong.

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     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (September 20) that due to big waves, the red flag has been hoisted at Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.

     â€‹A spokesman for the Security Bureau (SB) today (September 20) said that one more Hong Kong resident, who sought assistance from the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department (ImmD) earlier, has returned to Hong Kong from Thailand safely today with the assistance of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom of Thailand, the SB's dedicated task force and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok. Since the establishment of the SB's dedicated task force, a total of 15 assistance seekers have returned to Hong Kong safely under the task force's co-ordination.

     The spokesman appealed to Hong Kong residents or their family members concerned about missing relatives to contact the ImmD as soon as possible. They may make use of the WhatsApp hotline 5190 8909 dedicated to the matter, call the 24-hour hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the ImmD at (852) 1868, call the 1868 hotline by network data call via the ImmD mobile application or submit an Online Assistance Request Form. Citizens should make a report to the Police as soon as practicable if a scam is suspected. If anyone knows or has received information that there are victims in need of assistance, they should contact the ImmD as soon as possible to secure the safe return of the Hong Kong resident.

     A female Mainlander was charged at the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts with two counts of making false representation to an Immigration Department (ImmD) staff member, and was sentenced to five months' imprisonment yesterday (September 19).

     The 62-year-old defendant arrived in Hong Kong as a visitor. During her stay, the defendant submitted an application for extension of stay to the ImmD, and claimed her reason for the extension was to visit her husband in Hong Kong. However, when processing the application, the ImmD found that the defendant's husband had passed away prior to the defendant's arrival. 
 
     In the course of the investigation, the defendant admitted under caution that in order to have her extension application approved, she declared upon the extension application to Immigration staff that she was to visit her husband in Hong Kong, even though she clearly knew that her husband had passed away. The defendant was subsequently charged with making false representation to Immigration staff for the reason of extension. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to five months' imprisonment by the Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts yesterday.

     "Under the laws of Hong Kong, any person who makes false representation to an Immigration officer commits an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, subject to the maximum penalty of a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for 14 years," an ImmD spokesman said.

     The Government today (September 20) launched a three-month public consultation on the review of the Fare Adjustment Mechanism (FAM) of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL).  

     Since the rail merger in December 2007, the MTRCL has put in place the FAM which adopts an objective, transparent and direct-drive formulaic approach, thereby replacing the fare autonomy enjoyed previously. The Government is conducting the latest round of the review on the FAM with the MTRCL, with a view to completing the review in the first quarter of 2023 and putting it into effect.

     A Government spokesman said, "In this FAM review, the Government is looking for a feasible and pragmatic approach for the mechanism to maintain the financial prudence of the MTRCL as a listed company, in order for it to take forward railway projects that address the development needs of society, as well as to cope with its increasing expenditure on maintaining the railway system, while enabling the MTRCL to better respond to public concerns on fare adjustments."

     The FAM is subject to a review every five years. The Government and the MTRCL announced the outcome of the first review in 2013. The second FAM review was scheduled for completion in 2018. Upon request of the Government, the MTRCL agreed to bring it forward by one year and jointly completed the second FAM review with the Government in 2017.

     From today until December 19 (Monday), members of the public may send in their views on the review of the FAM of the MTRCL by post (addressed to the Bus and Railway Branch of the Transport Department, 16/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon), by fax (2802 2679) or by email (fam-review2022@td.gov.hk). The consultation paper can be downloaded from the websites of the Transport and Logistics Bureau (www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/publications/transport/consultation/index.html) and the Transport Department (www.td.gov.hk/en/publications_and_press_releases/consultation_papers/transport_department/index.html).