Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations: Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals when the Cold Weather Warning is in force: &nbs… read more
Hong Kong Customs on January 23 detected a suspected case of using an ocean-going vessel to smuggle goods to Malaysia at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals. A batch of suspected smuggled electronic goods and parts with an estimated market value of about $30 million was seized.
Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs discovered that criminals intended to use ocean-going vessels to smuggle goods and thus formulated strategies to combat related activities.
On January 23, Customs officers identified an ocean-going vessel preparing to depart from Hong Kong for Malaysia for inspection and seized a batch of suspected smuggled electronic goods and parts, including computer main units, central processing units and printed circuit boards, inside a container that was declared as containing aluminium materials.
An investigation is ongoing. The likelihood of arrests is not ruled out.
Being a government department primarily responsible for tackling smuggling activities, Customs has long been combating various smuggling activities on all fronts. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to resolutely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, and carry out targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to disrupt relevant crimes.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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 Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (February 7) released the latest grading of water quality for six gazetted beaches that are open all year round for swimming.
Six beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1).
The Grade 1 beaches are:
| Casam Beach | Golden Beach |
| Clear Water Bay Second Beach | Lido Beach |
| Deep Water Bay Beach | Silverstrand Beach |
​In response to the United States (US)’s announcement to impose an additional 10 per cent duty on products of Hong Kong, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (February 7) said that the Government has decided to file a complaint regarding the matter with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The spokesman said, “The US’ measures are grossly inconsistent with the relevant WTO rules and ignore our status as a separate customs territory as stipulated in Article 116 of the Basic Law and recognised by the WTO. The HKSAR Government will formally launch procedures in accordance with the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism against the US’ unreasonable measures to defend our legitimate rights.”
The spokesman reiterated that Hong Kong is a staunch supporter of the rule-based multilateral trading system. The HKSAR Government strongly opposes the US’ measures and urges the US to take immediate actions to rectify its wrongdoing. read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, February 7, 2025 is 107.1 (same as yesterday’s index). read more