Tag Archives: China

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (May 7) released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (i.e. Discovery Bay, see Note 2).     
 
     Twenty-nine beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), nine as Fair (Grade 2) and one as Poor (Grade 3).
 
Grade 1 beaches are:         

Approach Beach	Kwun Yam Beach
Big Wave Bay Beach*	Lo So Shing Beach
Butterfly Beach*	Lower Cheung Sha Beach
Cafeteria New Beach	Pui O Beach
Cafeteria Old Beach	Repulse Bay Beach*
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach*	Shek O Beach*
Chung Hom Kok Beach	Silverstrand Beach*
Clear Water Bay First Beach	South Bay Beach
Clear Water Bay Second Beach*	St Stephen’s Beach
Deep Water Bay Beach*	Ting Kau Beach
Golden Beach*	Tong Fuk Beach
Hap Mun Bay Beach*	Trio Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach*	Turtle Cove Beach
Kadoorie Beach	Upper Cheung Sha Beach
Kiu Tsui Beach

 
Grade 2 beaches are:

Anglers’ Beach	Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach*
Casam Beach*	Middle Bay Beach
Castle Peak Beach	Silver Mine Bay Beach*
Discovery Bay	Stanley Main Beach*
Hoi Mei Wan Beach

 
Grade 3 beach is:

Lido Beach*

 
     Compared with the grading released last week, Butterfly Beach has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and Anglers’ Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 2. Casam Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Silver Mine Bay Beach and Stanley Main Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2; and Lido Beach from Grade 2 to Grade 3.
 
     “The changes are generally within the normal range of fluctuation of the bacteriological water quality of the beaches,” an EPD spokesman said.
 
     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.
 
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666.
 
Note 1: The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has resumed lifeguard services at 16 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk above, from April 16.
 
Note 2: Discovery Bay is a non-gazetted beach without lifeguard service. read more

     The Department of Health (DH) today (May 7) invited interested parties to submit proposals for service provision under the Healthy Teeth Collaboration (HTC).
 
     The HTC aims to: 
 

1. Provide free dental care services to eligible service users through behavioural management, conscious sedation, monitored anaesthetic care or general anaesthesia; and
2. Promote oral health through oral hygiene education to eligible service users and their parents/family members/legal guardians/caregivers.

 
     The current service year for the HTC will run until July 15, 2021. Interested parties are invited to submit proposals for the new service period from July 16, 2021, to July 15, 2024. Applicants must meet all of the following requirements: 
 

1. A non-profit-making entity and exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112);
2. Operating at least one dental clinic with at least one full-time Registered Dentist and one full-time Dental Surgery Assistant for the public at the application closing date;
3. At least one of the Registered Dentists assigned to the HTC must

(i) have worked as a qualified dentist for at least five years in aggregate immediately preceding the application closing date and have experience in providing dental services to persons with an intellectual disability; or
(ii) have received recognised training on provision of dental care services for persons with an intellectual disability; and
     4. Registered in accordance with requirements under section 12 of the Dentists Registration Ordinance (Cap. 156) at the application closing date.  

     The Government will assess the proposals from interested applicants in accordance with the requirements specified in the invitation document, their experience and track record in operating dental clinic(s) and providing dental services to the public and persons with an intellectual disability.
 
     Interested applicants can collect a set of invitation documents from the DH’s Adult Special Dental Care Division at 147A Argyle Street, Kowloon, or request a copy by email (seo_odcp@dh.gov.hk).
 
    Applications should reach the DH at Oral Health Education Division, 1/F, Hospital Authority Building, 147B Argyle Street, Kowloon, at or before 9.30am on May 31, 2021. Late applications will not be accepted. For enquiries, please call the Adult Special Dental Care Division (2515 2039).  read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
  
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (May 7) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$490.6 billion as at the end of April 2021 (end-March 2021: US$491.4 billion) (Annex).
      
     There were no unsettled foreign exchange contracts at end-April 2021 (end-March 2021: US$0.5 billion).
      
     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$490.6 billion represent about seven times the currency in circulation or 47 per cent of Hong Kong dollar M3.
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency.  For the month of May 2021, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
     

May 7	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
May 14	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
May 31	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
May 31	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

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     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed “Twilight” from May 3 to yesterday (May 6). Nine suspected illegal workers and three suspected employers were arrested. One suspected aider and abettor was also arrested.
 
     During the “Twilight” operations, ImmD Task Force officers raided 45 target locations including a bar, a car park, factories, manicure shops, a massage parlour, premises under renovation, a recycling shop, residential buildings, restaurants, retail shops and warehouses. Nine suspected illegal workers and three suspected employers were arrested. The suspected illegal workers comprised four men and five women, aged 21 to 50. Among them, a woman was a holder of a recognisance form, which prohibits her from taking any employment. Meanwhile, one man and two women, aged 42 to 53, were suspected of employing the illegal workers. Also, a woman, aged 47, suspected of aiding and abetting a person who breached her condition of stay in Hong Kong, was also arrested.

     “Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties,” an ImmD spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment should be applied in such cases.
 
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.

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     The Department of Health (DH) today (May 7) announced that the Student Health Service (StdHS) will resume some of its annual health assessments starting from May 10. The StdHS’s annual health assessments for Primary One and Secondary One students in the school year 2020/21 will be gradually resumed at seven of its Student Health Service Centres (SHSCs). 
      
     The seven SHSCs are Chai Wan SHSC, Kowloon City Lions Clubs SHSC, Lam Tin SHSC, Sha Tin SHSC, South Kwai Chung SHSC, Tuen Mun SHSC and Western SHSC. Parents will be notified of the arrangements of the health assessments via their schools.
      
     In addition, limited Special Assessment Centre (SAC) services will continue to be provided to students who require further follow-ups at SACs. These include assessment services provided by clinical psychologists, dietitians, optometrists, audiologists and scoliosis related services.
      
     For enquiries, please contact the centres concerned during service hours, which are Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm (except public holidays). Details of the centres are available at www.studenthealth.gov.hk/english/centre/centre.html.
      
     Meanwhile, the DH will continue to implement stringent infection control measures at service units, of which, all clients with appointments and visitors must put on surgical masks and have their body temperature checked. read more