Tag Archives: China

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 account, 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 account 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

     The Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, today (May 27) led a delegation of Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution sector, comprising more than 120 representatives from the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Law Society of Hong Kong and other related sectors, to attend the seventh Hong Kong Legal Services Forum in Xi’an, a key node city in the Belt and Road Initiative. The Forum, jointly organised by the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Department of Justice of Shaanxi Province and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government, together with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the X’ian Municipal People’s Government as co-organisers, aims to promote Hong Kong’s international legal and dispute resolution services to the legal sector and enterprises in Shaanxi and the neighbouring regions.
 
     With the theme of “Serving the Belt and Road Initiative: A New Chapter in Shaanxi-Hong Kong Cooperation”, the Forum this year explored issues of interest to Shaanxi enterprises as they “go global” in handling trade, commerce and foreign investment under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Forum also introduced the international legal and dispute resolution services which Hong Kong can offer as a “super connector” for cross-border transactions and as a centre for dispute resolution services. The Minister of Justice, Ms He Rong, the Secretary of the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee, Mr Zhao Yide, and others attended the Forum and delivered opening addresses.

     In his opening address, Mr Lam said that Shaanxi and Hong Kong have maintained close exchanges and co-operation over the years. Last year, the governments of the two places signed the Strengthening Hong Kong/Shaanxi Co-operation Agreement, which covers legal and dispute resolution services. The Department of Justice of Shaanxi Province and the DoJ also signed the Framework Arrangement on Co-operation in Legal Services to Support the “Belt and Road Initiative” to strengthen the exchanges and co-operation in legal services and talent-nurturing between the two places to better facilitate legal services bodies in both places to provide quality and efficient legal services for the high-quality Belt and Road development and for national enterprises and citizens to “go global”. The Forum represented a significant concrete action in implementing the above Agreement. Mr Lam said that he looked forward to strengthening exchanges and co-operation with Shaanxi to serve the country’s needs.

     At the two plenary sessions in the morning and the mock mediation and mock arbitration in the afternoon, around 30 Hong Kong legal and dispute resolution professionals with extensive experience in handling international and cross-border legal matters shared their insights and examined from different perspectives the legal issues faced by businesses. The Forum attracted the participation of more than 800 local lawyers and legal sector representatives.
 
     The Hong Kong Legal Services Forum has been held by the DoJ on a biennial basis in Mainland cities since 2010. The Forum has been held in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Nanjing and Chengdu to promote Hong Kong’s international legal and dispute resolution services to enterprises and other service users on the Mainland.
 
     Mr Lam attended the graduation ceremony of the Hong Kong Common Law and Dispute Resolution Practical Training Course organised by the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy with the assistance of the Shaanxi Province Lawyers Association. The programme is the first foreign-related legal talent training programme held by the Academy in a Mainland city. Through seminars, mock arbitration clause negotiations, moot court debates and arbitration trial workshops, a total of about 140 foreign-related lawyers, mainly from the Shaanxi Province and surrounding provinces, cities, autonomous regions and municipalities, gained a comprehensive understanding of Hong Kong’s common law system, the city’s characteristics and experience in dispute resolution, thereby contributing to the country’s nurturing of foreign-related legal talents.
 
     In addition, Mr Lam and the delegation visited the Belt and Road Demonstration Zone for International Commercial Legal Services in Xi’an, and toured the Xi’an Arbitration Commission, Xi’an China-Europe Railway Express Assembly Center and the “three centres” of the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China to learn about Shaanxi’s efforts in fostering an international first-class business environment and the local demand for foreign-related legal services in the Belt and Road context. They also discussed how Hong Kong’s international legal and dispute resolution services can provide relevant professional support.
 
     Mr Lam will conclude his visit to Xi’an this afternoon and return to Hong Kong. 

                                  

The following is issued on behalf of the Transport Advisory Committee:

     The Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) was briefed today (May 27) by the Government on the Highways Department (HyD)’s action plan to enhance the maintenance strategies of public roads, as well as the latest operating environment of the public light bus (PLB) trade.  

     The HyD is responsible for the repair and maintenance of about 6 600 kilometres of public carriageways in Hong Kong and ensures the safety and reliability of the public road network through regular road inspections by engaging contractors under term contracts. However, repairing and maintaining roads in densely developed Hong Kong faces a number of challenges, including an accelerated rate of road deterioration, considerable growth in the public road network, labour shortage and an ageing workforce, and difficulties in implementing temporary traffic arrangements. To overcome the above challenges, it is necessary to enhance the road maintenance strategy. In this connection, the HyD established the Strategic Road Maintenance Committee led by the Deputy Director of Highways in March this year to implement and monitor the effectiveness of three strategies proposed by the HyD to enhance the maintenance of public roads. The three strategies include enhancement of maintenance efficiency by adopting innovative technologies and promoting digitalisation in management, adoption of new materials for maintenance works, and collaboration with other departments to expedite the implementation of larger-scale road maintenance works.

     The TAC Chairman, Professor Stephen Cheung, said, “The HyD is committed to enhancing the maintenance of public roads. Members support the adoption of new technologies and materials in road maintenance and look forward to the HyD’s strengthened collaboration with other departments to expedite the implementation of larger-scale road maintenance works, thereby further safeguarding the safety of the public in their commuting and enhancing the comfort of road users.”

     In addition, members were briefed by the Government on the latest operating environment of the PLB trade and the relevant enhancement measures. 

     Members noted that the patronage of PLB remained stable in 2023 and 2024, and the Government has implemented a series of measures to improve the operating environment of the trade, including the introduction of new green minibus (GMB) routes, encouraging the conversion of red minibus routes to GMB routes operations, as well as the introduction of the Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – PLB/Coach Trade.  

     Professor Cheung said, “Members note that PLB plays an important supplementary feeder role and support the enhancement measures implemented by the Government to assist the PLB trade. Members believe the Government will continue to explore different proposals in response to the operating conditions of PLB, with a view to helping the PLB trade to maintain sustainability and enhance the service quality.” read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 is 103.4 (same as yesterday’s index). read more

     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.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor the situation and continue to implement the enhanced testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on May 26 to noon today (May 27), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 133 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 138 752 samples of food imported from Japan (including 91 362 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 31 938 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more