Author Archives: hksar gov

     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 will conduct 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 and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on March 13 to noon today (March 14), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 198 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 122 441 samples of food imported from Japan (including 80 325 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 28 228 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The Hong Kong Space Museum will launch a new dome show, “T. REX”, at its Space Theatre from tomorrow (March 15). Combining the latest scientific discoveries with computer-generated imagery, the show will take audiences back in time to the Cretaceous period 67 million years ago to explore how the T. rex become the ultimate ruler in an era when giants ruled the Earth.
      
     The show will take audiences to follow palaeontologist Dr Tyler Lyson and his palaeontological team to the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, the United States, where three children made the unexpected discovery of T. rex fossils. The show will also recreate the challenges in a T. rex’s life from a timid newborn dinosaur to an apex predator. Newborn T. rexes grow from the size of a domestic cat to nearly human-sized at an astonishing rate in the first year, and hone their hunting skills through playful activities as they prepare for future survival. Juvenile T. rexes were able to hunt medium-sized prey like the Edmontosaurus. The show is filled with thrilling scenes, including a T. rex defending against threats from powerful rivals such as the Quetzalcoatlus to protect its young, an epic life-and-death battle against a Triceratops, and the fierce conflicts among siblings during pack hunting.
      
     The 42-minute show will be screened until December 14. Screening times are 5pm on weekdays and 11am, 3.30pm and 8pm on weekends and public holidays respectively. Tickets priced at $30 (front stalls) and $40 (stalls) are now available at the Hong Kong Space Museum Box Office and URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For details of the show, please visit hk.space.museum/en/web/spm/shows/dome-show/trex.html, or call 2721 0226 for enquiries.
          
     The Hong Kong Space Museum, located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, is closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays).

          

     A red tide was sighted during the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (March 14).

     On March 13, staff of the Environmental Protection Department spotted a red tide at Hung Shing Yeh Beach, Lamma Island. The red tide has dissipated. No associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, “The red tide was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic.”

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public. read more

     A red tide was sighted during the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (March 14).

     On March 13, staff of the Environmental Protection Department spotted a red tide at Hung Shing Yeh Beach, Lamma Island. The red tide has dissipated. No associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, “The red tide was formed by Noctiluca scintillans, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic.”

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD’s proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public. read more

     Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the Conference on Climate Change and International Trade Law today (March 14):
      
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
      
     Good morning.
      
     On behalf of the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), I extend my warmest welcome to our distinguished guests and speakers joining us in person, and to those of you joining online from all over the world to the Conference on Climate Change and International Trade Law, organised by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Department of Justice of the HKSAR and the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. 
      
     To begin with, I would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the close and fruitful collaboration between the Department of Justice and UNCITRAL. UNCITRAL, as the core legal body of the United Nations system in the area of international trade law, has been working in commercial law reform worldwide for more than half a century with a view to harmonising and modernising various international commercial rules. As UNCITRAL will be celebrating its 60th anniversary next year, it is our privilege that the Department of Justice of the HKSAR has had the opportunity to work closely with UNCITRAL in recent years. For example, we have co-organised events such as the UNCITRAL Working Group III Inter-Sessional Meeting on the Use of Mediation in Investor-State Dispute Settlement, and worked with UNCITRAL to set up the Inclusive Global Legal Innovation Platform on ODR (online dispute resolution) that just had its fourth meeting yesterday, which involved discussions on potential issues relating to online dispute resolution and to foster development of innovative solutions. These collaborative efforts have allowed us to contribute to the evolution of international trade law and dispute resolution mechanisms.
      
     In addition, we are delighted to see UNCITRAL’s strong support for the secondment programme with the Department of Justice, which enables our officers to actively take part in UNCITRAL’s work and enhance their knowledge of international legal matters, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s capacity in foreign-related legal affairs. I note that a number of our colleagues who have been seconded to the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific are also with us today.
      
     I would also take this opportunity to introduce the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy. The Academy was launched by the Department of Justice in November last year during the Hong Kong Legal Week 2024. While Hong Kong is committed to strengthening Hong Kong as a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services, it is also our policy initiative to develop Hong Kong as a capacity-building hub in the region and beyond. Capitalising on Hong Kong’s bilingual common law system and international status, the Academy regularly organises practical training courses, seminars, international exchange programmes and more to promote exchanges among talent in regions along the Belt and Road region and beyond. In fact, today’s conference is the first collaboration between the Academy and renowned international organisation, UNCITRAL. I note the Academy will further collaborate with UNCITRAL later this year, including the organisation of a one-day workshop on “Use of International Instruments to Legally Enable End-to-End Digitalization of Trade” during APEC’s meeting in Korea in August.
      
     Coming back to the Conference today, climate change is an imminent threat to everybody on Earth. It has disruptive impact on global supply chains – interrupting production and raising costs and prices. The extreme weather also hampers transports, factories and infrastructure, seriously affecting international trade. Various types of climate change-related disputes arise. There are a number of Sustainable Development Goals under the United Nations 2030 Agenda addressing the situation that we are facing. In addition to Goal 13 on “Climate Action”, Goal 7 on “Affordable and Clean Energy”, Goal 9 on “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”, and Goal 12 on “Responsible Consumption and Production”, Goal 16 of the Agenda aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Collective efforts would be essential to take steps towards the achievements of this UN 2030 Agenda.
      
     Hong Kong is a premier international financial centre as well as a green and sustainable financial hub. The international carbon market, Core Climate, launched by the Hong Kong Exchange, is the world’s only carbon market to offer Hong Kong dollar and RMB settlement for trading of international voluntary carbon credits. In October 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched the Sustainable Finance Action Agenda, which sets out its vision to further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as the sustainable finance hub in the region and support the sustainable development of Asia and beyond. In December last year, the HKSAR Government launched the Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong, setting out Hong Kong’s approach to require publicly accountable entities (PAEs) to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the ISSB Standards. It provides a well-defined pathway for large PAEs to fully adopt the ISSB Standards no later than 2028. Other climate change initiatives in Hong Kong include setting net-zero electricity generation as one of the major decarbonisation strategies in the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050. The HKSAR Government aims to achieve the long-term target of net-zero electricity generation before 2050 by increasing zero-carbon electricity supply through renewable energy development, and exploring new energy sources for electricity generation and regional co-operation.
      
     In terms of climate change and international trade law, building on the efforts on the exploratory work of UNCITRAL and recent UNCITRAL colloquiums on climate change, the Conference today will discuss a wide spectrum of issues, from the UNCITRAL/UNIDROIT (International Institute for the Unification of Private Law) study on the legal nature of verified carbon credits to UNCITRAL’s texts in relation to public procurement, international sale of goods, public-private partnerships and dispute settlement relating to climate action. These topics are carefully selected for government representatives, legislators and policymakers, practitioners from the dispute resolution sector, commercial and finance sectors, scholars and experts to thoroughly consider how international trade law can effectively support the achievement of climate action goals set by the international community.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, today’s conference has attracted about 600 participants from around 70 jurisdictions attending online and in person, and this demonstrates the importance of this Conference for participants across the globe. On this note, may I express my sincere appreciation to each of you for joining this Conference, whether online or in person. May I once again thank UNCITRAL for their dedicated efforts on this subject, as well as their support in bringing us together today. I wish you all a fruitful and constructive conference. Thank you very much.