Author Archives: hksar gov

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (January 21) detected three cases involving possession and trafficking of suspected etomidate (the main ingredient of “space oil drug”), a kind of Part 1 poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations, and suspected dangerous drugs by outgoing passengers at the Lo Wu Control Point, the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) and the Lok Ma Chau Control Point. A total of four suspected “space oil drug” capsules, one vape stick containing suspected “space oil drug”, 1.4 grams of suspected ketamine and 12.63 grams of suspected cocaine were seized.
           
     The first case involved a local male passenger, aged 40, who went to the Mainland via the Lo Wu Control Point yesterday. During customs clearance, two suspected “space oil drug” capsules were found in his briefcase and 1.4g of suspected ketamine was found inside the underpants the man was wearing. He was subsequently arrested.
           
     The second case involved a 23-year-old Mainland female passenger. The woman departed for the Mainland via the West Kowloon Station of the XRL yesterday. During customs clearance, one vape stick containing suspected “space oil drug” was found. She was then arrested.

     The third case involved a local female passenger, aged 31, who went to the Mainland via the Lok Ma Chau Control Point yesterday. During customs clearance, two suspected “space oil drug” capsules and 12.63g of suspected cocaine were found in her handbag and underwear. She was then arrested.
        
     The man in the first case has been released on bail pending further investigation. The arrested woman of the second case has been charged with one count of possession of Part 1 Poison and the case will be brought up at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (January 23). The arrested woman of the third case has been charged with one count of possession of Part 1 Poison and one count of trafficking in a dangerous drugs and the case will be brought up at the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow.
           
     Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, any person who possesses any dangerous drug commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for seven years. Any person who traffics any dangerous drug commits an offence and the maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

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

        

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (January 22) chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements to holistically co-ordinate and steer the preparatory work of various government departments for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law; the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan; the Under Secretary for Security, Mr Michael Cheuk, and representatives from the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and other relevant government departments also attended.

     Mr Chan said, “We estimate a notable increase in visitor arrivals during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will make good preparation for receiving visitors, including diligently co-ordinating the ancillary arrangements of boundary control points (BCPs) and transportation, as well as maintaining close liaison with relevant organisations and the travel trade to prepare well for crowd management, information dissemination and arrangements of public transportation and BCPs, with a view to ensuring the smooth operation of various aspects in receiving visitors and offering high-quality experience to them.”

Estimated visitor flow and preparatory work

     According to the Immigration Department (ImmD)’s estimate, around 8.67 million passengers (including Hong Kong residents and visitors) will pass through Hong Kong’s sea, land and air control points during this year’s Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland (i.e. from January 28 to February 4), among which 7.34 million passengers will pass through land control points.

     The peak period of outbound and inbound passengers using land BCPs is expected to be January 31 (Friday, the third day of Lunar New Year) and February 2 (Sunday, the fifth day of Lunar New Year), with around 567 000 passengers and 640 000 passengers respectively. The ImmD estimates that the number of outbound passengers will be relatively higher on January 30 (Thursday, the second day of Lunar New Year) and January 31 (Friday, the third day of Lunar New Year); whilst the number of inbound passengers will be relatively higher in the afternoon of February 2 (Sunday, the fifth day of Lunar New Year). The estimated waiting time during the period will be relatively longer. Passengers are advised to plan in advance, avoid making their journeys during busy periods and keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at various control points. The busy times at BCPs are available on the website of the ImmD at www.immd.gov.hk. Furthermore, residents and passengers may also check the estimated waiting times at each land BCP at any time or place via the Immigration Mobile Application. They can then plan their trips effectively and save time queuing at control points. 

     In terms of Mainland inbound visitors, it is estimated that around 1.43 million passengers will visit Hong Kong via various sea, land and air control points during the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. Compared with last year’s National Day Golden Week of the Mainland and Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, the daily average visitor arrivals will increase by 3 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. According to the estimate of the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) and the trade, it is anticipated that 2 000 inbound tour groups will visit Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, representing a notable increase as compared with last year’s National Day Golden Week of the Mainland. Major tourist spots have formulated special arrangements to handle the estimated increase of people flow. The Hong Kong community is expected to become more vibrant and highly patronised during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, bringing opportunities to various sectors.

     There will be a rich array of celebratory activities across the territory during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. Major events include the Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade on January 29 (Lunar New Year’s Day) and the Lunar New Year Fireworks Display on January 30 (the second day of Lunar New Year). The Hong Kong Police Force will ensure sufficient police manpower to implement corresponding crowd management measures and special traffic arrangements as necessary for all celebrations to be conducted in a safe and orderly manner. District offices will also closely monitor the flow of visitors within their respective districts and notify relevant departments having regard to the actual circumstances with a view to strengthening management of the relevant spots.

Co-ordinate control points, traffic and public transport facilities

     The HKSAR Government has given due consideration to the relevant circumstances, including the schedule and arrangement of mega events during the Chinese New Year holiday this year, as well as the experience of extending the operating hours of individual BCPs during last Chinese New Year, and decided, in discussion with relevant Mainland authorities, to maintain the existing operating hours of the BCPs during this year’s Chinese New Year holiday. The Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port will maintain a 24-hour operation as usual. The HKSAR Government appeals to visitors to plan ahead for their itineraries, and stay overnight after participating in various local celebratory activities for the Chinese New Year to fully enjoy the rich and diverse celebratory activities to be held across various districts in the city and experience Hong Kong’s unique city charm.

     Relevant departments have minimised leave for frontline officers to enable flexible deployment of manpower and operation of additional counters and channels, with a view to diverting passenger and vehicular flow. The Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre set up by the Police, the ImmD, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), and other relevant departments will be activated from January 28 (Tuesday) to February 4 (Tuesday) to monitor the real-time situation at various control points. The Joint Command Centre will maintain close liaison with the Mainland port authorities through the established port hotlines and real-time notification mechanism, and take timely contingency actions as necessary to flexibly deploy manpower at BCPs to ensure smooth operation of the land control points.

     For transport arrangements, the Transport Department (TD) will enhance transportation services connecting various BCPs, including increasing the frequency of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus (Gold Bus) and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus), and issuing additional cross-boundary coach quotas to enhance services; as well as formulating a contingency plan by establishing a dedicated passage at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port, Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port and Shenzhen Bay Port, when necessary, to ensure the smooth operation of public transport services. Regarding local public transport services, the TD has approached various public transport operators proactively to enhance their capacity, and reserve vehicles and manpower to meet the travel needs of visitors. Among them, the MTR Corporation Limited will enhance train services of various railway lines during the period between January 24 (Friday) and February 4 (Tuesday) for the convenience of residents and visitors. On January 28 (Tuesday, Lunar New Year’s Eve), all local railway lines will operate overnight (except for the East Rail Line between Sheung Shui Station and Lo Wu Station or Lok Ma Chau Station, Airport Express and Disneyland Resort Line). Furthermore, in the early hours from January 29 (Wednesday, Lunar New Year’s Day) to January 31 (Friday, the third day of Lunar New Year), after the service hours of the East Rail Line trains to Lo Wu Station, special enhanced bus service (KMB Route No. N73) will be provided at the MTR Sheung Shui Station to carry passengers to interchange to the Yellow Bus for their journey to the Mainland via the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port, which operates round-the-clock. The TD’s Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate 24 hours to closely monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of different districts including various BCPs and major stations. The TD will adopt timely measures to cope with the service demand, and will disseminate the latest traffic information through various channels. 

Management of tour groups and protection of visitors

     The TIA has reminded travel agents receiving Mainland inbound tour groups to stagger arrival times as far as possible, and will co-ordinate with relevant agencies such as tourist spots to adopt appropriate diversion measures to enable proper management of visitor flows and tour buses, with a view to offering a pleasant travel experience to visitors. The TIA will also conduct inspections in districts where relatively more registered shops for inbound tour groups are located, and offer assistance to visitors and tourist guides to protect inbound tour group visitors’ rights. Additionally, the Police will continue to step up enforcement actions against the illegal acts of taxi drivers including overcharging and refusing hire. The C&ED will also step up inspection of shops serving visitors so as to combat unfair trade practices. 

Weather forecast

     It is anticipated that Hong Kong will be mainly affected by the winter monsoon during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. It will be fine and dry with cold weather on January 28 (Tuesday, Lunar New Year’s Eve). Temperatures will still be relatively low in the morning and at night in the following one to two days (Lunar New Year’s Day and the second day of Lunar New Year). The weather will become cloudier gradually and remain cool on the second day of Lunar New Year and the following few days. The above forecast is a preliminary assessment, and the Hong Kong Observatory will update the forecast depending on the latest change in weather.

Information dissemination

     To assist visitors in planning their itineraries, the interdepartmental working group will strengthen information dissemination including the latest inbound visitor arrivals, the situation at various BCPs, information on celebratory events, transport arrangements etc, to enable residents and visitors to plan their itineraries according to the latest situation.

     The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has also launched the ultimate guide to Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, a dedicated webpage on the HKTB’s website that serves as a one-stop platform for Chinese New Year celebrations. This webpage consolidates various useful information for the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, including the operating arrangements of major tourist attractions in Hong Kong, details of various unique celebratory events, special discount and promotional activities around the Chinese New Year Golden Week, so as to facilitate residents and visitors to plan their itineraries more conveniently. The HKTB has also stepped up promotion on the Mainland to promote large-scale events with Hong Kong’s characteristics and explore the unique cultural and tourism experiences in Hong Kong, with a view to boosting spending of more Mainland visitors in Hong Kong and enhancing visitors’ experience.

    

     â€‹In response to a media report today (January 22) about seasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) for school students, a spokesman for the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health gave the following response:
      
     The CHP has been tracking the number of people vaccinated in high-risk priority groups in different age groups in the public and private healthcare sectors through various SIV programmes. For schoolchildren, the CHP has been encouraging schools to arrange SIV school outreach activity by the end of last December. As early as last June, all secondary schools, primary schools, kindergartens/ child care centres were informed of the arrangements for the SIV school outreach whereby schools may choose to join the SIV School Outreach Programme or the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme (VSS) School Outreach Programme to provide free or/and subsidised SIV for schoolchildren with briefing sessions held for schools last August.
      
     After repeated appeals by the CHP, at present, about 1 030 kindergartens/child care centres (97 per cent), about 640 primary schools (98 per cent) and about 490 secondary schools (98 per cent) have completed or are arranging the SIV school outreach activities. This is higher than last year’s participation rate (80 per cent of kindergartens/child care centres, 95 per cent of primary schools and 70 per cent of secondary schools).
      
     At present, the vaccination records of all students participating in the SIV Programmes are uploaded to the eHealth System (Subsidies). To protect the health of students, the CHP will contact schools that have not participated in the SIV School Outreach Programme or the VSS School Outreach Programme to learn about the vaccination status of their schoolchildren. Therefore, the allegations in the news report that there was no reporting of the vaccination status and that there was an “information vacuum” are unfounded. The CHP regrets untrue statement. The DH and the schools will take stock of the number of students receiving SIV in the schools, so as to ensure that there is a solid protective barrier to protect the health of students in schools as a whole.
      
     The CHP reiterated that all schools are welcome to participate in the SIV School Outreach Programme or the VSS School Outreach Programme, and that there is no limit to the number of school students to be vaccinated. The CHP urged schools that have not yet provided a confirmed date to arrange vaccination as soon as possible, so as to protect the health of students and to minimise the impact on their learning due to absenteeism caused by influenza.
      
     Since the start of the influenza season on January 9, the CHP has recorded three severe cases of influenza A infection in children who have not received the SIV. Research studies have shown that influenza vaccination can reduce serious complications and lower school absenteeism. Previous data also showed that schools that have arranged influenza vaccination programmes are less likely to have influenza outbreaks.
      
     Apart from schoolchildren, as Hong Kong has entered the influenza season, the CHP strongly appeal all persons aged six months or above (except those with known contraindications) who have not yet received SIV should act immediately. High-risk groups should also get vaccinated against COVID-19 concurrently to minimise the risk of serious complications and death after infection.
      
     The Government has been encouraging the public to receive SIV as early as possible, and has provided free and subsidised SIV to eligible persons through various SIV programmes. As of January 19, a total of about 1.9 million doses of vaccines were administered under the various SIV programmes, representing an increase of about 6.2 per cent over the same period last year. It also exceeded the total number of doses (about 1 873 000 doses) administered under various SIV programmes last year, reaching a record high.
      
     For the 2025/26 SIV Programmes, the Government is exploring the feasibility of procuring and supplying influenza vaccines for participating private doctors and is obtaining information from suppliers about the market supply situation. We will also request the participating doctors to upload the vaccination records to the eHealth so as to establish a comprehensive and complete personal electronic health record profile for the public. read more

     The Security Bureau (SB) today (January 22) said that members of the dedicated task force, who arrived in Thailand yesterday (January 21), met with units under the Royal Thai Police and the Chinese Embassy in the Kingdom o… read more

     Hong Kong Customs conducted joint anti-illicit cigarette publicity activities with several members of the Tuen Mun District Council and government departments for two consecutive days (January 21 and 22), bringing anti-illicit cigarette messages to members of the public.
      
     On January 21 and 22, Customs collaborated with several Tuen Mun District Council members, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office of the Department of Health, the Police and the Housing Department to conduct an interdepartmental anti-illicit cigarette campaign in Butterfly Estate, Wu King Estate, Wo Tin Estate, Yan Tin Estate, On Ting Estate and Yau Oi Estate in Tuen Mun.
      
     During the event, in addition to patrolling the housing estates, Customs officers also set up a promotional booth to distribute leaflets and explain anti-illicit cigarette messages to residents, and encouraged them to report suspected illicit cigarette trading activities to Customs.

     Customs reminds young people, especially students, not to buy or sell illicit cigarettes or distribute illicit cigarette flyers, to avoid creating a criminal record that affects their future.

     Customs will continue to step up enforcement to vigorously combat illicit cigarette activities through risk assessment, intelligence analysis and interception at source. If public rental housing units are found to be involved in illicit cigarette crimes, Customs will notify the Housing Department for follow-up action after the conclusion of court proceedings.

     Customs stresses that it is an offence to buy or sell illicit cigarettes. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     In accordance with the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap. 371), no person shall distribute any smoking product advertisement (including any promotion leaflets). Any person who contravenes the regulation is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000.
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     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette 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).