Tag Archives: China

     The Department of Health’s Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office will carry out enforcement measures under the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 starting from November 30. The new legislation prohibits the sale and supply of intoxicating liquor to minors under 18 years old in the course of business via face-to-face distribution and remote distribution, as well as the sale of alcoholic beverages in vending machines.
 
     The Head of the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, Dr Lee Pui-man, provided details on the implementation of the ordinance at a press conference today (November 14). He said, “The new legislation aims to prevent young people’s access to alcohol. The Department of Health reminds the public and stakeholders to comply with the new law. We also urge everyone, especially young people, to adopt an alcohol-free healthy lifestyle.
 
     “The legislation covers all kinds of sale and supply of intoxicating liquor in the course of business irrespective of whether payment is involved. It covers alcoholic beverages sold or supplied for commercial purposes in fairs, celebratory events, exhibitions and the like, but does not apply to family gatherings or social events with no business intentions. The sale of alcoholic beverages in vending machines is also prohibited.”
 
     Intoxicating liquor is defined as alcohol that has more than 1.2 per cent ethyl alcohol by volume and is fit for or intended as a beverage. The maximum fine for selling or supplying intoxicating liquor to a minor, or selling intoxicating liquor via vending machines, is $50,000 on summary conviction. Those who obstruct inspectors during enforcement are liable to a maximum fine of $10,000 on summary conviction.
 
     If alcohol is sold or supplied via face-to-face distribution such as in premises or stores like supermarkets, liquor stores and convenience stores, a sign containing both the Chinese and English versions of the prescribed notice must be displayed in a prominent location easily seen by the public. The notice must be rectangular in shape with minimum dimensions of 38 centimetres by 20 centimetres, and have legible characters and letters in a font colour that contrasts with the background colour.
 
     If alcohol is sold or supplied via remote distribution such as SMS, group messages, websites and telephone or mail order, the prescribed notice must be displayed in a reasonably legible manner, or its contents must be read out or played as a sound recording.
 
     A sample graphic and sound recording of the prescribed notice can be downloaded from the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office website. The maximum fine for non-compliance with the prescribed notice and age declaration requirement is $25,000 on summary conviction.
 
     Dr Lee said, “The DH’s Tobacco Control Office has expanded its scope and scale to cover the new alcohol legislation, and was renamed as the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office. Apart from enforcing the existing Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Inspectors will be empowered to enforce the new alcohol legislation.”
 
     The Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office has formulated guidelines to assist the industry in complying with the legislative requirements. Tobacco and Alcohol Control Inspectors will conduct inspections, investigate complaints and carry out enforcement actions.
 
     To prepare for the implementation of the new legislation, the Office has enhanced stakeholders’ understanding of the new law and publicised the implementation of the new law through various means. These include organising briefing sessions, attending meetings of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee and its three Task Forces and Business Liaison Groups, distributing leaflets to retailers and publicising the new law in the mass media.
 
     Detailed guidelines for businesses and other relevant materials have been uploaded to the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office website www.taco.gov.hk. Members of the public can visit the website to learn more about the provisions of the new legislation. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):
 
Question:
 
     Quite a number of start-up enterprises, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as overseas enterprises have relayed that they have encountered difficulties when they applied to the banks for opening accounts (account opening). In view of this, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a circular on De-risking and Financial Inclusion to all banks across the territory in September 2016, requesting that banks should ensure a reasonable and fair treatment of the existing and prospective customers. In addition, HKMA issued a circular entitled Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Address Verification Requirements in October 2017 to streamline account opening procedure and requirements. It is learnt that banks have put in place a review mechanism to re-examine unsuccessful applications for account opening. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of account opening applications from new corporate customers received, approved and rejected by banks each month since the issuance of the circular in October 2017, and the average time taken for processing such applications; how the success rate and the average processing time for such applications compare with the relevant figures before the issuance of the circular; if there have been unsuccessful applications, of (i) a breakdown of such applications by reason for the rejection, and (ii) the respective numbers of such applications in which the applicants were start-up companies, SMEs and overseas enterprises;
 
(2) whether it knows the total number of applications, received by banks in each month of the past three years, for reviewing their decisions to reject account opening and, among them, the respective numbers of cases in which such decisions were reversed and maintained; of the average time taken for the review process; regarding those cases in which the decisions were maintained, of a breakdown of the number by reason for maintaining such decisions; and
 
(3) whether it will study standardising the account opening procedure and requirements for all banks; if so, of the details and timetable of such a study; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     In recent years, as the international community steps up efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF), financial institutions around the world have generally strengthened the related controls, including undertaking more comprehensive due diligence on customers.
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has been reminding the local banking industry that, in implementing robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls, they should be mindful not to create hurdles for legitimate businesses and ordinary citizens to access banking services. The HKMA has issued guidance to banks in the past two years, reiterating that banks should apply a risk-based approach in conducting customer due diligence (CDD) and adopt measures which are commensurate with the customer’s background, circumstances and ML/TF risk level. Banks should also maintain proper communication with customers throughout the CDD process, and ensure the process is transparent, reasonable and efficient, in accordance with the “Treat Customers Fairly” principle.
 
     In response to the HKMA guidance, banks have taken measures to improve the account opening process. Apart from the establishment of mechanisms to review unsuccessful applications, all retail banks currently provide a “pre-vetting” service, whereby banks accept submissions of requisite documents for account opening by applicants via email, fax or mail for pre-screening or pre-assessment before arranging face-to-face meetings with the applicants, with a view to providing greater convenience to applicants. Some banks have also set up dedicated hotlines and dedicated branches deployed with properly trained front-line staff to handle account opening matters, so as to improve customer experience.
 
     Our response to each part of the question is as follows:
 
(1) The HKMA has been monitoring the account opening situation. The retail banking sector currently opens an average of about 10 000 new business accounts every month, of which some 60 per cent to 70 per cent belong to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-up companies (including about 2 000 accounts for non-local SMEs and start-up companies). Of the successful cases, on average some 50 per cent to 60 per cent were able to open accounts within two weeks, and some accounts could even be opened as quickly as within a few days. The exact time taken depends on the complexity of individual cases and whether the applicants can provide the requisite information. On average there are around 300 unsuccessful account opening applications relating to SMEs and start-up companies every month, of which about 170 cases are from non-local companies. The major reason for unsuccessful account opening was that the applicants did not provide the banks with the relevant information or documentary proof for conducting CDD, so that the banks could not develop a proper understanding of their business nature and operations. The average unsuccessful rate of account opening applications for the first nine months of this year is below 5 per cent, which is an improvement from around 10 per cent in early 2016.
 
(2) Currently, all retail banks have established mechanisms to review unsuccessful applications upon customers’ request. Since the establishment of review mechanisms, retail banks received over 80 cases from customers for review of their unsuccessful applications, of which about 30 per cent were able to open accounts after review. In about half of the cases, accounts could not be successfully opened at the end because the applicants could not provide the requisite information and documents to enable the banks’ understanding of the business nature and operation of the applicants, resulting in failure to complete the due diligence process. The remaining 20 per cent of the cases either were withdrawn by the applicants or are being followed up by banks.
 
(3) Under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, banks are required to conduct CDD before opening bank accounts. The CDD requirements have been formulated in accordance with international standards. Individual banks also establish their own account opening procedures, taking into account various factors such as business strategies and risk considerations. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Yiu Si-wing and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):

Question:

     Since the beginning of this year, the automatic vending machines in government venues have ceased to sell plastic bottled drinking water measuring one litre or less. In addition, the Chief Executive announced in the Policy Address she delivered last month that the Government would install more water dispensers in government venues, with a view to reducing waste at source. Nevertheless, it has been reported that Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in some water samples taken from the water dispensers in venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, arousing public concern about the quality of water from the water dispensers in government venues. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has established any mechanism for providing sufficient water dispensers in government venues according to the number of users of the venues concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(2) whether it has issued guidelines to require various government departments to arrange, in respect of the water dispensers in the venues under their management

(i) regular maintenance and repairs to ensure the proper functioning of such water dispensers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(ii) regular water quality tests to ensure that the drinking water from such water dispensers meets hygiene standards; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government has been leading by example in adopting various waste reduction measures. For the convenience of the public and to promote environmental protection by encouraging members of the public to bring their own reusable water bottles, the Government has provided water dispensers mainly in active recreational facilities managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, such as sports centres, sports grounds and swimming pools, etc. Since February 2018, sale of plastic bottled water measuring one litre or less has been progressively ceased in automatic vending machines in government venues. To further inculcate the “bring your own bottle” culture and reduce the consumption of plastic bottled water, the Chief Executive has announced in the 2018 Policy Address that the Government will install more water dispensers in government venues with public access. The initial target is to install 500 water dispensers in three years, increasing the total number of water dispensers serving the public in government venues to 3 200 units.

     The following is our reply, after consultation with relevant bureaux and departments, to the Hon Yiu Si-wing’s question:

(1) In providing water dispensers for public use, the main considerations of government departments are their operational needs and the specific physical situation of individual venues, rather than the number of users of the venues. Relevant works departments would assist departments that managed government venues to apply for funding upon their requests, and install water dispensers in new government venues and suitable existing government venues, subject to the actual circumstances and technical feasibility. For the 500 new water dispensers mentioned in the 2018 Policy Address, the Government would accord higher priority in installing them in existing government venues with public access and where the flow of people is high.

(2) (i) and (ii) Drinking water provided by water dispensers in government venues usually comes from tap water or water bottles.

     The quality of the water supplied to the connection point at the building/lot boundary by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) conforms with the Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards (namely the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality recommended by the World Health Organization). To ensure that the water is safe to drink, works departments will install water dispensers and plumbing installations in accordance with the guidelines issued by the WSD and relevant legislative requirements, including Practice Guide on Carrying Out Plumbing Works and Waterworks Ordinance etc; and obtain prior approval from the WSD before putting the water dispensers into service. These water dispensers are generally equipped with filter cartridge/ UV sterilisers to ensure that the water is hygienic. Government departments that managed government venues would undertake regular maintenance, such as inspections and replacement of filter cartridge and UV sterilisers, and clean the water dispensers in accordance with the manufacturers’ guidelines so as to ensure water supplied from water dispensers is hygienic without the need for water quality tests. Besides, the correct use of water dispensers by users is very important. According to the Department of Health’s advice, when using water dispensers, users should avoid contacting their mouthpiece and protective guard; should not spit on them or wash hands with them to avoid contaminating the water dispensers.

     As regards bottled water, government departments procure them under bulk purchase contract arranged by the Government Logistics Department. The contract has stipulated that the bottled water must comply with all the applicable legislation and standards in Hong Kong, including the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and Microbiological Guidelines for Food. The supplier must conduct regular water sampling tests to ensure water safety. User government departments would arrange regular maintenance and cleansing for the water dispensers in accordance with the manufacturers’ guidelines.

     In case site staff of government venues spot any problems with the water dispensers such as fault, damage, rust, abnormal operation, etc, they would report to the works departments for follow up. The relevant works departments would also conduct regular inspections of water dispensers to ensure that they function properly. read more

     Following is a question by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):

Question:

    It has been reported that quite a number of outdoor signboards and advertising screens emit dazzling light, giving rise to serious light pollution as well as causing nuisance to the residents nearby and harm to their health. Although the Environment Bureau released the Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting in 2012 and launched the Charter on External Lighting (the Charter) in 2016 inviting owners/persons-in-charge of external lighting installations to sign up for the Charter, the light pollution problem has persisted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of (a) the number of complaints received about light nuisance, with a breakdown by (i) whether the complainee is a public organisation or a private organisation, and (ii) type of follow-up actions taken by the authorities, (b) the number of such complaints in respect of which advice was given to the complainee and, among such cases, the number of those in which the nuisance was subsequently mitigated, and (c) the targeted measures taken against those persons who had repeatedly been alleged to have caused light pollution, in each of the past five years;

(2) of the number of inspections conducted on the black spots of light pollution by government officers in each of the past five years, as well as the Government’s short, medium and long term measures to mitigate the impacts of light pollution on the residents;

(3) whether it knows when the Working Group on External Lighting will (i) complete the review of the effectiveness of the Charter and (ii) release the findings and recommendations of the review;

(4) of the respective numbers of occasions in each of the past five years on which government officers (i) participated in the activities held by community organisations on reduction of light pollution and (ii) liaised with such organisations to collect their views, as well as the views collected; and

(5) as the Charter is not legally binding, whether the Government will, by making reference to the relevant regimes and experience of other jurisdictions in regulating external lighting, step up the regulation of external lighting, including considering the enactment of legislation to that effect; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

    The Government set up the Task Force on External Lighting (the Task Force) in 2011 to advise on the strategy and measures for tackling issues relating to nuisance and energy wastage caused by external lighting.

    Having thoroughly considered the views collected during the public engagement exercise, the Task Force submitted its report to the Government in April 2015, and pointed out that the views collected were diverse, and there was a lack of consensual view. While some called for immediate legislation, others objected to any form of regulation, including voluntary measures.

    Therefore, the Task Force recommended the adoption of a multi-pronged approach, including implementing a voluntary charter, reviewing effectiveness of the charter two years after its introduction, and re-launching the Guidelines on Industry Best Practices for External Lighting Installations (the Guidelines). The Environment Bureau (ENB) subsequently launched the Charter on External Lighting (the Charter) in 2016 to invite responsible persons for external lighting installations to sign the Charter, and switch off lighting installations with decorative, promotional or advertising purposes that affect the outdoor environment during the preset time (i.e. 11pm or midnight to 7am on the following day).

     My reply to the question raised by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat is as follows:

(1), (2) and (4) The numbers of complaints received by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) about external lighting in the past five years are set out in the Annex. The EPD conducted more than 2 000 on-site inspections in relation to light nuisance complaints during the same period.

    Upon receipt of complaints about light nuisance, the EPD will relay the complainants’ concerns and requests to the persons responsible for the lighting installations in question, invite them to sign up to the Charter, refer them to the Guidelines for taking appropriate measures (e.g. lowering the lighting intensity where appropriate, adjusting the angle of spot lights to avoid nuisances from spilled light, or switching off non-essential lights at an earlier time) to minimise the impacts of the lighting installations on the residents in the vicinity as far as practicable. Most of the persons and organisations responsible for the lighting installations would adopt the EPD’s advice and take improvement measures. The EPD however does not maintain any statistics and breakdown on the follow-up actions taken.

    The Government is striving to implement the multi-pronged measures recommended by the Task Force, promote the Charter and encourage owners of and responsible persons for external lighting installations to switch off lighting installations with decorative, promotional or advertising purposes that affect the outdoor environment during the preset time. As for districts with more complaints about light nuisance, we have conducted on-site investigations and collected information of external lighting installations in Wan Chai, Yau Tsim Mong, Central and Western, Eastern, Kowloon City and Tsuen Wan, as well as invited relevant business establishments to sign up to the Charter.

    Since the Charter took effect in April 2016, nearly 5 000 participants from different sectors (including building management, property development, hotels and catering, retail, laundry, banking, telecommunications and real estate agencies, as well as schools, public utilities and public/non-governmental organisations) have signed up to the Charter. Although the Charter is a voluntary document, most of the participants take their pledge seriously. Our on-site compliance checks conducted in 2017 and 2018 show that over 99 per cent of the participants have been able to follow the switch-off requirement.

    As to encouraging the trades to adopt the good practices in the Guidelines, the ENB has organised 30 seminars to appeal to about 100 public and private organisations (including relevant professional organisations and trade bodies) to observe the Guidelines when planning for, installing or managing their external lighting installations and to adopt the good practices provided in the Guidelines.

    The ENB also supports the Earth Hour event organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature and call on bureaux and departments to turn off unnecessary lights under their management during the event.

(3) and (5) As recommended by the Task Force, the Government plans to review the effectiveness of the Charter two years after implementation. To this end, the Government has reorganised the Working Group on the Promotion of the Charter of External Lighting into the Working Group on External Lighting (WGEL), and expanded its scope of work to include promotion of the Charter, reviewing its effectiveness and advising the Government on more options to effectively manage external lighting. To engage different sectors in the review, members of the WGEL are drawn from professional bodies, relevant trades, academia, green groups and District Councils in the hopes that the WGEL will be a good platform to forge stronger community consensus.

    To commence the review, the WGEL agreed that two consultancies to be engaged by the ENB to conduct an opinion survey to gauge the views of various sectors towards the current situation and regulation of external lighting; and to look into regulatory arrangements adopted by other economies and cities for external lighting installations and considering whether there are any outside experiences, measures and standards that Hong Kong can learn from. The opinion survey is expected to commence and be completed in 2019.

    The WGEL expects to be able to complete the review and submit recommendations to the Government in the first half of 2020. Having regard to the WGEL’s review findings and recommendations, we will consider the next step, including whether legislation should be introduced to control nuisance caused by external lighting. read more

     Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley today (November 14). The arrangements will come into effect one and a half hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.

A. Traffic arrangements before the commencement of the first race

1. Road closure
     
     Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp outside Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will be closed except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel.

2. Traffic diversions

– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the up-ramp outside HKJC will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Vehicles from eastbound Queen’s Road East heading for Wan Chai and Happy Valley will be diverted to turn left to Morrison Hill Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along Queen’s Road East cannot turn right to Wong Nai Chung Road except for vehicles heading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Queen’s Road East will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Morrison Hill Road to turn right at the junction of Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen’s Road East; and
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley or Racecourse will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, southbound Morrison Hill Road, Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road.

B. Traffic arrangements before the conclusion of race meeting

1. Road closure

     The following roads will be closed from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:

– The up-ramp on Wong Nai Chung Road outside HKJC leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the Public Stands of HKJC;
– Westbound Leighton Road between Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road East; and
– Southbound Morrison Hill Road between Leighton Road and Queen’s Road East.

     In addition, southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel and the Public Stands of HKJC will be closed from about 10 minutes before the start of the last race.

2. Traffic diversions

     The following traffic arrangements will be implemented from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:

– Eastbound Queen’s Road East at its junction with Morrison Hill Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic heading for northbound Canal Road flyover;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Wan Chai will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, U-turn slip road beneath Canal Road flyover, Canal Road West and Hennessy Road;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic on southbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted to turn left to eastbound Leighton Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road; and
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road will be diverted to Wong Nai Chung Road.

C. Learner drivers prohibition
     
     Learner drivers will be prohibited to turn left from Caroline Hill Road to Leighton Road between one and a half hours before the start of the first race and one hour after the last race. In addition, learner drivers will be prohibited from accessing the following roads within the above period of time:

– Shan Kwong Road between Yik Yam Street and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Village Road between its upper and lower junctions with Shan Kwong Road;
– Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
– Canal Road East; and
– The service road leading from Gloucester Road to Canal Road flyover.

D. Suspension of parking spaces
     
     Parking spaces on southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Sports Road and Blue Pool Road will be suspended from 11am to 7pm during day racing, from 4.30pm to 11.59pm during evening racing, and from 5pm to 11.59pm during night racing.

     Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the above affected areas will be towed away without prior notice.

     Actual implementation of road closure and traffic diversion will be made by the Police at the time depending on traffic conditions in the areas. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of Police on site. read more