Tag Archives: China

     The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited Guangzhou today (January 9), touring the headquarters of the Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association, an innovative and entrepreneurial base in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, to learn more about the situation of Hong Kong young people starting business on the Mainland. He also attended a major promotional event organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
 
     Upon arrival, Mr Nip visited the headquarters of the Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association to keep himself abreast of its latest developments. The headquarters was established in October last year to provide support services in entrepreneurship, internship, exchanges and living to young people from Hong Kong and Macao. He also exchanged views with young Hong Kong entrepreneurs stationed at the base to learn about their needs in starting business, the development of their business and their future plans.
 
     Mr Nip said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has all along been supportive of Hong Kong young people participating in the development of the Greater Bay Area, noting that the 2019 Policy Address had announced that an Alliance of Hong Kong Youth Innovative and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Greater Bay Area would be set up. Organisations from Guangdong and Hong Kong with a proven track record, such as innovative and entrepreneurial bases, universities, non-government organisations, scientific research institutes, professional bodies and venture funds, would be invited to join the alliance and jointly set up a one-stop information, publicity and exchange platform to better support Hong Kong young entrepreneurs in the Greater Bay Area.
 
     In the evening, Mr Nip attended “Chic HK”, a major promotional event in Guangzhou organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, during which he exchanged views with exhibitors from Hong Kong to get a better understanding of their development on the Mainland. The exhibition aims to promote Hong Kong brands with a view to helping Hong Kong enterprises enter the Mainland consumer market.
 
     Addressing the dinner reception, Mr Nip said, “This is the first pilot exhibition hosted solely by an organisation outside Guangzhou. I hope that under the framework on the development of the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong and Guangzhou can continue to leverage the advantages of both places and to jointly bring in world-renowned exhibitors and related service providers with a view to further propelling the growth of the exhibition industry in the Greater Bay Area.”
 
     He said that Hong Kong has seen many breakthroughs in the development of the Greater Bay Area in the past year. Since the Central Government’s announcement of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in February last year, the Leading Group for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area had convened two meetings in 2019. A total of 24 measures were announced which helped speed up the movement of major production factors, such as people and goods, within the Greater Bay Area, and provided further facilitation for Hong Kong people developing their careers, working, studying or living in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. 
 
     “With the staunch support and leadership of the Central Government, the HKSAR Government will continue to collaborate closely with the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government in various aspects to steadfastly take forward the development of the Greater Bay Area and seek more policy breakthroughs,” he said.
 
     Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong this evening.

        

     Hong Kong Customs mounted a special operation from December 1 last year to yesterday (January 8) to step up enforcement action against smuggling activities making use of infants and young children.

     During the operation period, Customs officers detected four cigarettes smuggling cases at Lo Wu Control Point and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point respectively. About 10 800 suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $30,000 and a duty potential of about $20,000 were seized. 

     It is believed that infants and young children were used as camouflage to carry out cross-boundary smuggling activities. The cigarettes were concealed inside baby trolleys or children schoolbags in an attempt to evade Customs detection. The infants and young children being used in the cases are aged from four months to eight years old.

     Three women and one man, aged between 31 and 44, were arrested in the operation. All of them are the accompanying parents of the abovementioned infants and young children.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. Smuggling other dutiable commodities is also a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment to 2 years.

     Customs reminds parents and guardians that they should not use infants or young children as cover for criminal activities. They are also urged to stay alert to prevent criminals from using their infants and young children for smuggling purposes. Members of the public should not take risks in the hope that they may not be caught.

     Customs has all along been very concerned about cross-boundary smuggling activities making use of infants and young children. The department will continue to step up inspections on passengers travelling with infants and young children, and enhance publicity and public education at control points.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

    

     A male person-in-charge of an exhibition booth and two salesladies were convicted today (January 9) at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts for offering to sell infringing goods for the purpose of trade or business, in contravention of the Copyright Ordinance. One of the salesladies was also convicted for exhibiting in public infringing goods. They were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from two weeks to three weeks.

     Hong Kong Customs earlier conducted a special operation at the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to combat infringing activities at the exhibition. Customs officers successfully ordered infringing toys at two booths and respectively seized four infringing toys and one infringing toy.

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against infringing activities. Booth exhibitors are reminded to respect intellectual property rights and not to sell infringing goods.

     Under the Copyright Ordinance, the maximum penalty for any person who sells or possesses an infringing copy of a copyright work with a view to selling it is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years upon conviction.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who sells, or possesses for sale, any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected infringing activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     â€‹In response to online rumours claiming that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has installed Internet Protocol (IP) cameras with facial recognition functions or radio-frequency identification (RFID) fe… read more

     The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, today (January 9) officiated at the Award Presentation Ceremony of Lifesaving Training Incentive Programme for Ethnic Minority Youths 2019 and presented badges and certificates to participants who obtained relevant lifesaving qualifications through the Programme.

     The Programme, which was held by the Home Affairs Department (HAD), aimed to deepen ethnic minority (EM) youths’ understanding of lifesaving and support them to acquire the qualifications of a professional safeguard, so as to open up their career choices.

     The HAD promoted the Programme to EM youths and recruited participants through its eight support service centres for EMs and schools. Thirty-four EM youths participated in the two pool lifeguard and integrated lifesaving training courses between July and October last year. The courses, which were conducted in English, covered first aid, aquatic first aid, pool lifesaving training and relevant examinations. 

     Mr Lau congratulated the 18 participants who passed the relevant examinations of the training courses to obtain the Pool Lifeguard Award at the ceremony. They came from different ethnicities, including Pakistani, Filipino, Nepalese, Indian and Korean. Twelve of them attained the Lifesaving Bronze Medallion in the Programme in 2018. They proceeded further to acquire the professional qualification of a pool lifeguard through the advanced training course of the Programme.

     Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Lau said he understands that nine of the participants who obtained the Pool Lifeguard Award have applied for Leisure and Cultural Services Department seasonal lifeguard posts. He wished them success in the attempt.

     More than 96 000 EM people benefit from the wide range of services provided by eight support service centres for EMs each year and, to encourage interaction and exchanges between the EM and local communities, the HAD has engaged district organisations to organise more district-based activities. So far 46 activities have been rolled out.

     Mr Lau said, “With concerted efforts from the community and the Government, I am confident that people of all races can integrate fully into our community and feel at home in Hong Kong.”

     The Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Cherry Tse; the Director of Home Affairs, Miss Janice Tse; and Deputy Director of Home Affairs, Miss Vega Wong also attended the ceremony today. read more