The press conference on the 2025 Shenzhen-Hong Kong marathon and the 15th National Games (NG) athletics (marathon) test event was held in Shenzhen today (February 13).
 
     Deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Government and Executive Vice Chairperson of the Executive Committee for the 15th NG, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG) in Shenzhen, Mr Kuang Bing, the Head of the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) (NGCO) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mr Yeung Tak-keung; and other Shenzhen officials, attended the press conference to introduce details of the test event.
 
The test event will be held on February 23. The marathon distance is 42.195 kilometres long, of which 21.841 kilometres are in the Hong Kong section. The race will start and finish at Shenzhen. It will start from the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, enter Hong Kong via the Shenzhen Bay Port, pass through the Shenzhen Bay Bridge and Kong Sham Western Highway Viaduct, then turn back to the Shenzhen Bay Port through the same route and return to Shenzhen, and finally end at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center. The test event will comprise men’s and women’s races, with women to start at 7am and men to set off at 7.30am. The athletes will enter the Hong Kong section upon completion of approximately 2 kilometres of race route. Both groups are expected to spend around two hours in Hong Kong.
 
     Speaking at the press conference, Mr Yeung said taking the opportunity of the 15th NG, Shenzhen and Hong Kong join hands together to hold this Shenzhen-Hong Kong marathon and the NG test event across the two places by making use of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge as the track for the first time, aiming to foster the sports exchange between the two places and promote the development of sports in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
     Mr Yeung added that Shenzhen and Hong Kong have been in close contact and conducted multiple site inspections to make full preparation for the test event. He stressed that Hong Kong will fully co-operate with Shenzhen and is committed to ensuring the smooth running of the  event, so as to get well prepared for the 15th NG to be held in November this year.
 
     Mr Kuang noted that the Shenzhen Bay Port connecting Shenzhen and Hong Kong has been selected as part of the race route of the 15th NG athletics (marathon) test event to be staged in Shenzhen, giving full play to the important role of the 15th NG in areas including promoting regional integration, integrated development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and enhancing national cohesion.
 
     The 2025 Shenzhen-Hong Kong marathon and the 15th NG athletics (marathon) test event is organised by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, and hosted by the Executive Committee for the 15th NG, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games in Shenzhen and the People’s Government of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, with the support of the NGCO, the Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, and the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen Municipality, as well as the Guangdong Athletics Association. The Chinese Athletics Association serves as an advisor, while the Hong Kong, China Association of Athletics Affiliates and a Shenzhen agency act as the executive units.

  

     Hong Kong Customs detected a case involving etomidate (the main ingredient of "space oil drug"), a kind of Part 1 poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 8 kilograms of suspected "space oil drug" with an estimated market value of about $8.4 million, as well as two suspected alternative smoking products today (February 13).

     A male passenger, aged 22, arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the batch of suspected "space oil drug" concealed inside eight packages of fruit-flavored drink powder inside his check-in suitcase and the two suspected alternative smoking products from his carry-on backpack. The man was subsequently arrested.

     An investigation is ongoing. 

     Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

     Under the Import and Export Ordinance, importing prohibited articles not under and in accordance with an import licence or importing an alternative smoking product is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:

     Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo Non-official Members) visited Kai Tak Sports Park today (February 13) to tour various venues and facilities in the park.

     ExCo Non-official Members accompanied by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ms Vivian Sum; and the Commissioner for Sports, Mr George Tsoi, were briefed by the staff on the design and planning of the Kai Tak Sports Park. 

     ExCo Non-official Members toured the Kai Tak Stadium which could accommodate 50 000 spectators. They learned about facilities such as the retractable roof, and the flexible pitch surface, customisable staging and seating configurations that can be adapted based on the scale and nature of events. They also visited other venues, including the Central Square, the Kai Tak Arena and the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.

     ExCo Non-official Members commended on the comprehensive facilities of the Kai Tak Sports Park, which is the largest sports infrastructure project in Hong Kong's history and can host international sports and entertainment mega events. Apart from the three major venues, the Sports Park also features various retail, catering as well as leisure and entertainment facilities. They hoped that after the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong will host more large-scale international events, attracting more tourists from around the globe and further promoting Hong Kong as an events capital and a popular destination for global travelers. This would further expand the mega event economy and strengthen impetus for economic growth in Hong Kong.

     ExCo Non-official Members were pleased to learn that relevant government departments and the Kai Tak Sports Park are preparing for the official opening in full steam. They wished for a successful opening ceremony.

     Joining the visit were ExCo Non-official Members Professor Arthur Li, Mr Ronny Tong, Dr Moses Cheng, Mrs Margaret Leung, Mr Chan Kin-por and Mr Stanley Ng.

        

     The Transport Department (TD) today (February 13) alerted members of the public to fraudulent SMS messages purported to be issued by the HKeToll and provided a hyperlink with the domain name (http[:]//hketoll.taobaocainiao.top[/]ZA17vEtuG6) that lead to a fake HKeToll website, which seeks to deceive recipients into making payments and obtain their credit card information.

     The TD clarifies that the SMS messages were not issued by the HKeToll and has referred the case to the Police for follow-up. Members of the public are reminded that the HKeToll will not send SMS messages or emails to vehicle owners with hyperlinks which direct them to the websites to carry out transactions. If a vehicle owner wishes to pay an outstanding toll online, they must log in to the HKeToll website (hketoll.gov.hk) or mobile app.

     Members of the public should stay alert when receiving unidentified messages. They should not visit suspicious websites and disclose any personal information. Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the websites concerned should contact the Police. For enquiries about the HKeToll, please call 3853 7333.

     The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, visited Hengqin and Zhuhai today (February 13). The Commissioner for Industry (Innovation and Technology), Dr Ge Ming, also joined the visit.

     Professor Sun first visited the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. His visit was aimed to speed up the implementation of the development planning of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone in accordance with the spirit of the important instructions given by the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, Mr Xia Baolong, when he inspected the Hong Kong Park. Professor Sun had an engagement session with Deputy Secretary of the Hengqin Working Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Director of the Hengqin Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province and Deputy Director of the Executive Committee, Mr Nie Xinping. During the session, Professor Sun learned about the in-depth planning and industry development of the Cooperation Zone, taking into account the development of the Hong Kong Park.

     Professor Sun said, "Drawing on the experience of the Cooperation Zone, we have made it clearer of the special strategic positioning of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone as a demonstration zone for reform and innovation in the country. We should leverage the advantages of 'two systems', give full play to the uniqueness of the 'Special Administrative Region within the Special Administrative Region', seek institution and policy innovations, and break new ground, so as to expedite the realisation of the development objectives set out in the two five-year plans of the Hong Kong Park." 

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government is now studying the proposals on specific measures to facilitate the cross-boundary flow of innovation elements including personnel, materials, capital and data in the Hetao Hong Kong Park. In this connection, Professor Sun visited the Zhuhai MUST Science and Technology Research Institute in the Cooperation Zone, which is an industry-academia-research demonstration base built by the Macau University of Science and Technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to learn more about the institute's work in promoting cross-boundary flow of data in the zone.

     Professor Sun met with the Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhuhai Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor of the Zhuhai Municipal Government, Mr Wu Zetong, and Vice Mayor of Zhuhai Mr Huang Zhenqiu, and introduced the HKSAR Government's latest policies on leading the city's innovation and technology (I&T) development and the current developments. Professor Sun also learned about Zhuhai's achievements in I&T and high-tech industrialisation. Both sides exchanged views on promoting I&T collaboration and exchanges between the two places.

     In the afternoon, Professor Sun visited the cell production workshops of the Zhuhai SoleFiori Technology Company and learned about the technologies and productivity of new high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells and modules with low energy consumption and low carbon emissions. Professor Sun welcomed the enterprise's plan to expand its business in Hong Kong. 

     Professor Sun then visited the headquarters of Gree Electric Appliances Inc. of Zhuhai. He was briefed on the latest developments in quality assurance, product innovations and talent training of the technology-based household consumer goods and industrial equipment manufacturing group. He also visited the industrial products display zone at the Group's technology exhibition hall, where he learned about the self-developed industrial robots, computer numerical control machine tools, and smart warehousing products and systems.

     Professor Sun concluded his visit and returned to Hong Kong in the evening.