Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Eunice Yung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (February 26):   Question:       &… 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 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited relating to phishing instant messages, which have 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 instant messages 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 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 Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited relating to a fraudulent website and an internet banking login screen, which have 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 website or login screen 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 following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
 
     The 2025-26 Budget promulgates a number of financial measures relating to the higher education sector. The Chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC), Mr Tim Lui, welcomes the Government’s approval of the recurrent funding to the UGC-funded universities for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 triennium (2025-28 triennium) as well as the allocation of an additional $1.5 billion for a new round of the Research Matching Grant Scheme. They represent the continuous investment in the future, which injects impetus into the higher education sector, while promoting the effective use of resources in the universities as they forge ahead.
 
     The recurrent funding for the UGC-funded universities in the 2025-28 triennium has reflected the magnitude of efficiency savings applied government-wide, i.e. a progressive 2 per cent reduction each year cumulatively to achieve total savings of about $2.8 billion. In addition, the UGC-funded universities will return $4 billion from their balances of the General and Development Reserve Fund (GDRF) to the Government on a one-off basis in the 2025-26 financial year. Together with the savings of $1.2 billion following the increase in the tuition fee level in the 2025-28 triennium, such measures will yield benefits that worth $8 billion to the public coffer altogether.
 
     In accordance with the established mechanism, the recurrent subvention requirement of the UGC-funded sector in the 2025-28 triennium amounts to $70.9 billion, whereas the recurrent funding as approved by the Government is $68.1 billion. In other words, there is a reduction of $2.8 billion over three years, resulting in a 4 per cent average reduction rate.
 
     The UGC-funded universities retain their unspent recurrent grants from the UGC as the GDRF to buffer against variations in cash flow requirements. As of June 30, 2024, the aggregate balance of the GDRF of all universities totalled $11.1 billion. The $4 billion to be returned to the Government accounts for more than one-third of such reserve funds.
 
     Mr Lui said, “Over the past years, the Government had allocated abundant resources to propel the vibrant development of our higher education sector, including various new UGC initiatives for universities to step up their roles in nurturing talent and advancing scientific research. With such support, we have garnered international reputation for our higher education sector that we take pride in. At this critical juncture, the higher education sector is demonstrating their solidarity with the wider community. The UGC believes that our universities will continue their efforts in advancing excellence in teaching and research with valuable public resources, thereby contributing towards developing Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education and building our nation into a leading country in education.” 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 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 February 25 to noon today (February 26), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 216 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 118 161 samples of food imported from Japan (including 77 535 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 27 426 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more