The Government announced today (October 16) that the Financial Secretary, under the authority delegated by the Chief Executive pursuant to the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571), has reappointed Mr Keith Pogson and Mr Chew Fook-aun as Non-Executive Directors of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for a term of two years starting October 20, 2026, and January 1, 2027, respectively.

     A spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said, "Mr Pogson and Mr Chew have been making significant contributions to the promotion of good corporate governance of the SFC. We look forward to their continued support for the work of the SFC."

     The SFC is chaired by Dr Kelvin Wong Tin-yau. Other serving Non-Executive Directors are Mr Vincent Chan Chun-hung, Mr Johnson Kong Chi-how, Mr Bernard Man, SC, Mr Tony Tang Xiaodong, Mr Michael Wong Yick-kam and Mr Dieter Yih Lai-tak. 

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, has accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC) on the appointment of the Honourable Sir Terence Arnold as a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction of the Court of Final Appeal. Subject to the endorsement of the Legislative Council, the Chief Executive will make the appointment under Article 88 of the Basic Law and section 9 of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484).

     Mr Lee said, "I am pleased to accept the JORC's recommendation on the appointment of Sir Terence Arnold as a non-permanent judge from another common law jurisdiction of the Court of Final Appeal. Sir Terence Arnold retired from the judicial office of Permanent Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, New Zealand's final court of appeal, in April 2017. He is a judge of eminent standing and reputation. I am confident that he will contribute substantively to the Court of Final Appeal.

     "With the appointment of Sir Terence Arnold, the list of non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions will consist of six eminent judges from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The presence of these esteemed overseas jurists as non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal is a manifestation of the independence of the Judiciary in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as protected by the Basic Law. Their participation demonstrates a high degree of confidence in the HKSAR's judicial system, and enables Hong Kong to maintain strong links with other common law jurisdictions. I am fully confident that these distinguished jurists from overseas with profound judicial experience will remain as a unique strength of the HKSAR's judicial system."

     Article 90 of the Basic Law and section 7A of the Ordinance provide that the Chief Executive shall obtain the endorsement of the Legislative Council on the appointment of judges of the Court of Final Appeal. The Government will seek the endorsement of the Legislative Council of the recommended appointment in due course.

     The curriculum vitae of Sir Terence Arnold is at the Annex.

     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.
 
     From noon on October 15 to noon today (October 16), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 204 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 268 278 samples of food imported from Japan (including 166 969 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 57 110 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.