â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 20) that in view of a notification from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Oost-Vlaanderen Province in Belgium, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that according to the Census and Statistics Department, no poultry meat and eggs were imported into Hong Kong from Belgium last year.

     "The CFS has contacted the Belgian authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

     â€‹The Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) Grand Opening Ceremony will be held at Kai Tak Stadium at 6.30pm on March 1.
      
     The Government has arranged 8 500 tickets of the Grand Opening Ceremony for sale on a first-come, first-served basis at URBTIX from 10am tomorrow (February 21). Each ticket will incur a nominal fee of $10 (handling charge included), and a maximum of two tickets can be purchased at a time. All ticket proceeds, without deducting the handling charge, will be donated to the Community Chest of Hong Kong for charity purposes.
      
     Those who successfully purchase tickets for the Grand Opening Ceremony must bring the e-voucher and identity documents to redeem physical tickets at Kai Tak Arena in KTSP on either next Thursday (February 27), Friday (February 28), or the event day next Saturday (March 1).
      
     The Government appeals to those who successfully purchase tickets to make time for redeeming them next Thursday and Friday. Audience members who redeem tickets on the day of the Grand Opening Ceremony (March 1) are advised to allow sufficient time for the ticket redemption procedures to ensure timely admission to the event.
      
     Please visit www.urbtix.hk/event-detail/13042/ for ticketing details.

     Hong Kong Customs today (February 20) arrested a male director and a female staff member of a travel agency who were suspected of having applied a false trade description in the course of providing air ticket pre-order services, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Customs earlier received information from members of the public that, after ordering air tickets through a travel agency, they were informed that the tickets could not be provided. A female staff member advised them to purchase the air tickets themselves, assuring them that the agency would cover the costs. However, the complainants failed to retrieve the costs, and the total amount involved was approximately $250,000.

     After an investigation, Customs officers conducted an enforcement operation and arrested a 75-year-old male director and a 62-year-old female staff member of the company. 

     The investigation is ongoing, and the two arrested persons were held for questioning.

     Customs reminded traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to purchase services from reputable shops. 

     Under the TDO, any trader who applies a false trade description to a service supplied or offered to be supplied to a consumer 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 violations of the TDO to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met with the President of the Xinhua News Agency, Mr Fu Hua, at Government House today (February 20) to exchange views on enhancing co-operation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and the Xinhua News Agency. Also attending the meeting were the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Ms Carol Yip, and the Director of Information Services, Mrs Apollonia Liu.
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Fu and his delegation to Hong Kong. Mr Lee said that the Xinhua News Agency, the country's national news agency, is an influential world-class media organisation with a global network for news and information collection. He expressed gratitude to the Xinhua News Agency for its comprehensive coverage of Hong Kong news over the years, including major policies and measures of the Hong Kong SAR Government, and for disseminating the latest and most accurate information about Hong Kong to the world promptly and professionally, enabling overseas companies, investors, talent, and tourists to understand the actual developments in Hong Kong and to accurately recognise the city's real and positive image.
      
     Noting that a series of major events will be held in Hong Kong this year, Mr Lee said that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle, reinforce the city's connectivity with both the Mainland and the world, and actively explore new economic growth points. The Hong Kong SAR Government will also continue to work with the Xinhua News Agency to tell the good stories of China and Hong Kong and enhance co-operation in publicity.

  

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

     â€‹The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Alipay Financial Services (HK) Limited relating to a phishing message and a fraudulent website. The relevant stored value facility (SVF) licensee has reported the case to the HKMA.

     The fraudulent website reported by the SVF licensee known at the time is as follows:
https://alihkpay[.]com/YTGaB

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that anyone who has provided his or her personal information or account credentials, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the message and the website concerned, should contact the relevant SVF licensee, and report to the Police or contact the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre of the Police at 18222.