Tag Archives: China

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, October 18, 2024 is 104.8 (down 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more

     The Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Victor Liu, led a Hong Kong delegation comprising representatives from the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) and the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy (HKIAA), to attend the 59th Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation, Asia and Pacific Regions, organised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in Cebu, the Philippines.

     The theme for this year’s Conference was “Shaping the Future of Aviation: Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive”. The five-day Conference, with over 320 participants from 44 member states, administrations and international organisations, concluded on a high note today (October 18). Discussion and information papers covering a wide range of subjects, including aviation safety, air navigation, aviation security, aviation and the environment, aviation technologies, as well as regional co-operation, were submitted by aviation authorities and industry organisations to the Conference.

     During the Conference, Mr Liu moderated the discussion of an agenda item on aviation safety. The discussion covered a wide range of subjects, including safety management, safety culture and promotion, and applications of various artificial intelligence and innovation technologies.

     The CAD submitted four papers to the Conference in response to the theme topic. Among them, the paper titled “Operationalisation of Autonomous Vehicles at the Hong Kong International Airport: A Regulatory Perspective” shared the successful experience of the application of autonomous vehicle technology to enhance safety and efficiency of airport operations in Hong Kong. The other three papers discussed the opportunities and challenges of applying artificial intelligence across various aspects of aviation, shared the CAD’s experience in utilising advanced technologies to enhance weather-related collaborative decision making in air traffic management, and shared information on the successful hosting of the Asia Pacific Region Innovation & Capacity Building Symposium 2023 under the theme “Uniting the Strength of Innovation for Building a Seamless Sky”, jointly organised by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the CAD and the HKIAA in December 2023. The papers received recognition and support from delegates.

     This year, the HKIAA set up an exhibition booth during the Conference to showcase its multidisciplinary training opportunities for aviation professionals. The HKIAA also submitted a paper to the Conference to share Hong Kong’s initiatives in addressing the training needs of the Asia Pacific region.

     During their stay in Cebu, the CAD delegation attended side meetings with representatives from different aviation authorities and industry organisations such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the International Air Transport Association. Views on matters of mutual interest were shared, and ways to strengthen co-operation were explored with the aim of facilitating aviation developments.

     â€‹The CAD will continue to maintain close co-operation with its aviation partners and continue to support the ICAO’s global aviation development initiatives.

      

     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 will conduct 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.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on October 17 to noon today (October 18), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 296 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 93 606 samples of food imported from Japan (including 59 605 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 20 958 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     â€‹The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 18) the establishment of CMU OmniClear Limited (CMU OmniClear), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Exchange Fund. CMU OmniClear will operate the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) on behalf of the HKMA.

     Currently, the CMU is operated as a unit of the HKMA. To enable the CMU to pursue a more commercial development path, CMU OmniClear is established to operate the CMU system and pursue new business development initiatives, under a contractual arrangement with the HKMA. CMU OmniClear will have its own governance structure and commercial culture, and is expected to take over CMU operations in January 2025.

     The HKMA would still be the owner and operator of the CMU system. The legal relationships with CMU participants and other system linkages would remain with the HKMA, and decisions on the policy and strategic development in respect of the CMU’s activities and services would be made by the HKMA.

     The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CMU OmniClear, Mr Eddie Yue, said, “The CMU has seen remarkable achievements in recent years, such as supporting Bond Connect activities, facilitating digital bond issuances, recording significant growth in various business areas. The establishment of CMU OmniClear is an important step towards developing CMU into a major international central securities depository in Asia. I believe with more commercialised operations under CMU OmniClear, the CMU’s future development would be further propelled.” read more

     The Government received a total of 2 648 requests for information under the Code on Access to Information in the first quarter of 2024, a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said today (October 18).

     The total number of requests received since the introduction of the Code in March 1995 and up to the end of March 2024 amounted to 124 876. Of these, 7 544 requests were subsequently withdrawn by the requestors and 6 235 requests covered cases in which the bureaux/departments concerned did not hold the requested information or cannot confirm or deny the existence of information. As at March 31, 2024, 613 requests were still being processed by bureaux/departments.

     Among the 110 484 requests which covered information held by bureaux/departments and which the bureaux/departments had responded to, 107 247 requests (97.1 per cent) were met, either in full (104 313 requests) or in part (2 934 requests), and 3 237 requests (2.9 per cent) were refused.

     Any member of the public who is dissatisfied with the response of a bureau/department under the Code may request that the matter be reviewed. He or she may also lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman.

     In the first quarter of 2024, the Ombudsman received 14 complaints relating to requests for information. In this quarter, the Ombudsman concluded 23 complaints, among which two were unsubstantiated, one was partially substantiated and 20 were concluded by inquiries (including seven cases with inadequacies found). As at March 31, 2024, the Ombudsman’s investigations on 11 complaints were ongoing.

     “The Code has provided an effective framework for the public to seek access to information held by the Government,” the spokesman said. read more