Tag Archives: China

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs on August 27 mounted a special enforcement operation in Kwai Chung to combat the sale of counterfeit liquor. A total of about 1 300 bottles of suspected counterfeit liquor, with an estimated market value of about $2.9 million, were seized. One person was arrested.

     Customs earlier received information alleging that there were suppliers selling suspected counterfeit liquor. After an in-depth investigation and with the assistance of the trademark owners, Customs officers on that day took enforcement action and raided business premises and a storage facility in an industrial building in Kwai Chung. The batch of suspected counterfeit liquor was seized.

     During the operation, a 70-year-old male proprietor was arrested.

     The investigation is ongoing and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out. Also, samples of the suspected counterfeit liquor involved in the case were sent to the Government Laboratory for testing. Preliminary test results revealed that the samples did not contain methanol.

     With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Customs will continue to strengthen patrols and combat the counterfeiting activities of the sale of festive food and goods.

     Customs reminds consumers to procure goods at reputable shops and to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt. Traders should also be cautious and prudent in merchandising since selling counterfeit goods is a serious crime and offenders are liable to criminal sanctions.

     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 counterfeiting activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

      

     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 September 4 to noon today (September 5), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 115 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 52 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 81 829 samples of food imported from Japan (including 52 352 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 18 802 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (September 5) announced the results of a seasonal food surveillance project on mooncakes (first phase). The results of the firs… read more

     The 2024 Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property (IP) and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) was held today (September 5) in Zhongshan, with an audience of over 200 comprising representatives of SMEs and IP practitioners, as well as government officials from Guangdong and Hong Kong.
 
     The seminar, entitled “Innovative Development Strategies: Intellectual Property Management and Commercialisation of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Greater Bay Area”, sought to raise the level of awareness of IP rights among Hong Kong SMEs and Mainland enterprises in Guangdong Province, and enhance the protection and efficient use of IP for developing effective IP strategies and fostering technology transfer, thereby encouraging enterprises to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) development under the National 14th Five-Year Plan to expand their business nationwide and worldwide.
 
     Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seminar, the Deputy Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Thomas Tsang, said that the seminar was a significant milestone of the long and sustained efforts of the IP authorities of the two places in strengthening exchange and collaboration, implementing cross-boundary IP protection facilitation measures and jointly enhancing the level of IP protection and management in the GBA. Mr Tsang also introduced the latest work of the Government in promoting IP trading, including the implementation of the “patent box” tax incentive and the preparation for the establishment of a World Intellectual Property Organization Technology and Innovation Support Centre. Such measures would enable Hong Kong’s better integration into the country’s high-quality development, and assist in accelerating its development of new quality productive forces.
 
     At the seminar, speakers presented and shared their insights on various topics, namely “Realising innovative value with standards”, “Collaborative innovative thinking and relevant considerations”, “Evolution of China’s IP beyond the GBA” and “IP management and value enhancement for enterprises”.
 
     The seminar was a key co-operation item under the framework of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, and was jointly organised by the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation (Guangdong Intellectual Property Administration), the Zhongshan Municipal People’s Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; undertaken by the Zhongshan Administration for Market Regulation (Zhongshan Intellectual Property Administration); and co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Zhongshan S&Z Institute of Standards and Quality. The event was also supported by members of the Expert Group and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
 
     Since 2004, Guangdong and Hong Kong have co-organised a number of activities to promote the importance of IP protection and exploitation among SMEs.
 
     Details of the seminar are available on the IPD’s website (www.ipd.gov.hk). read more

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of Singapore Limited relating to a fraudulent social media page, which has been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
      
     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks’ websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the social media page concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more