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Author Archives: hksar gov

Inspection of aquatic products imported from Japan

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is conducting comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor the situation and continue to implement the enhanced testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on March 20 to noon today (March 21), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 117 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 123 898 samples of food imported from Japan (including 81 334 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 28 578 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

East Asia

Appointment of Directors of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited

     â€‹The Government today (March 21) announced the appointment of five new Directors and the reappointment of three serving members to the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport), for a two-year term from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027.
 
     The five new Directors are Mr Kenny Chien Kwok-keung, Ms Ivy Chua Suk-lin, Mr Stephen Law Cheuk-kin, Mr James Li Tsz-shu and Mr Roy Ng Chun-tat. Three serving Directors, namely Mr Jack Kong Jian-ping, Mr Lau Kwok-fan and Dr Derrick Pang Yat-bond, have been reappointed to the Board.
 
     The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, welcomed the above appointments. He said, “Benefitting from the diverse backgrounds, experience and vision of the Board members, Cyberport will continue with its public mission and scale new heights, fostering Hong Kong’s development as an international innovation and digital technology hub.”
      
     Professor Sun also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing Directors, Mr Victor Ng Chi-keung, Mr Charleston Sin Chiu-shun and Mr Eric Yeung Chuen-sing, for their contributions to Cyberport over the past six years.
 
     The full membership of the Cyberport Board with effect from April 1, 2025, is as follows:

Mr Simon Chan Sai-ming (Chairman)
Mr Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung
Professor Christopher Chao Yu-hang
Ms Ivy Cheung Wing-han
Mr Kenny Chien Kwok-keung
Ms Ivy Chua Suk-lin
Mr Jack Kong Jianping
Mr Lau Kwok-fan
Mr Stephen Law Cheuk-kin
Mr Michael Leung Kin-man
Mr James Li Tsz-shu
Ms Erica Ma Yun
Mr Roy Ng Chun-tat
Dr Derrick Pang Yat-bond
Mr Patrick Tsang On-yip
Ms Maggie Tsoi Tsz-shan
Mr Ken Wong Kin-hang
Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry read more

East Asia

Income and asset limits for public rental housing for 2025/26

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)’s Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) today (March 21) discussed the outcome of the review of income and asset limits for public rental housing (PRH) for 2025/26, and endorsed the proposed income and asset limits for applicants of different household sizes. The adjusted limits will take effect from April 1, 2025 (as detailed in Annex).
 
     “The PRH income and asset limits are reviewed annually according to the established mechanism. In accordance with the established formula, the SHC endorsed adjusting the PRH income and asset limits for 2025/26 upwards for all household sizes, both increasing by an average of 1.7 per cent overall,” a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     PRH income limits are derived using a household expenditure approach, which consists of housing costs and non-housing costs, plus a 5 per cent contingency provision. Housing costs, which measure the costs of renting a private flat comparable to PRH, depend on the unit rents of private accommodation per square metre and reference flat sizes (i.e. average space of flats allocated to PRH applicants in the past three years). Non-housing costs are determined with reference to the results of the latest Household Expenditure Survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, and adjusted in the intervening years by the latest movement in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)(A) (excluding housing costs), or the change in the nominal wage index as the income factor, whichever is higher. As regards the PRH asset limits, they are adjusted with reference to movements in CPI(A) over the year.
 
  read more

East Asia