Tag Archives: China

     Owing to the thunderstorm warning, the flag-lowering ceremony to be conducted at Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai at 6pm today (June 11) will be cancelled.       If the thunderstorm warning is cancel… read more

     The Marine Department (MD), in collaboration with the search and rescue (SAR) agencies in Guangdong and Macao as well as several Hong Kong government departments, including the Guangdong Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the Macao Marine and Water Bureau, the Macao Customs, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Government Flying Service, the Fire Services Department and the Civil Aid Service, smoothly conducted a joint maritime SAR exercise in the waters off Ha Mei Wan, Lamma Island, today (June 11).
 
     A spokesman for the MD said, “The objective of the SAR exercise is to test the communication efficiency, co-ordination capabilities and resource deployment among the SAR agencies in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The exercise also aims to strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and neighbouring regional SAR centres to enhance their response capabilities in the event of future major maritime emergency incidents.”
 
     The exercise simulated a collision between a cross-boundary high-speed passenger ferry carrying around 70 passengers from Macao to Hong Kong and a local oil tanker in the waters north of Shek Kwu Chau. The accident caused damage to the ferry’s hull; two passengers on board went missing after falling overboard, and many passengers were injured. Following the collision accident, the local oil tanker caught fire, trapping a seriously injured crew member in the engine room.
 
     Under the co-ordination of the MD’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, the participating SAR units took various contingency measures to carry out SAR operations. These operations included traffic regulation in the surrounding area to ensure safety at the scene to search for and rescue the missing persons who had fallen into the sea, extinguishing the fire on board the oil tanker, providing on-the-spot first aid to the injured, and deploying a helicopter to transfer the seriously injured to hospital for treatment. The exercise lasted about three hours, mobilising 17 SAR vessels, a helicopter and a total of more than 230 people.
 
     The MD regularly conducts exercises with various SAR units and maritime stakeholders to strengthen co-operation with SAR centres in neighbouring areas and provide effective and rapid SAR services.

              

     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.
 
     From noon on June 10 to noon today (June 11), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 190 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 142 751 samples of food imported from Japan (including 93 902 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 32 690 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     â€‹The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (June 11) announced that the monthly gravidtrap index for Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in May was 8.6 per cent, at Level 2, indicating that the distribution of A… read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 10) seized about 1.3 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1 million in Hung Hom. A 33-year-old man suspected to be connected with the case was arrested. 

     During an anti-narcotics operation conducted in Hung Hom yesterday afternoon, Customs officers intercepted a suspicious man and seized about 1.3kg of suspected cocaine inside a rucksack carried by him. The man was subsequently arrested. Customs officers later escorted him to a residential premises nearby for a search and further seized a batch of suspected drug packaging paraphernalia. 

     The arrestee has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and will appear at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (June 12).

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities 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).