Police will implement special traffic arrangements in Causeway Bay, Jardine’s Lookout and Southern District on January 19 (Sunday) to facilitate the holding of a public event on Hong Kong Island. Road closure ——–… read more
A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (January 16) that in order to combat the illegal act of littering from vehicles, the FEHD launched a trial scheme in November last year to pilot the installation of Internet Protocol (IP) cameras on roads with central dividers in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po districts and the use of footage for prosecution against registered vehicle owners or relevant offenders. Due to the promising results of the trial, the FEHD will extend the scheme to suitable roads across the territory to enhance enforcement efficiency.
The spokesman said, “The FEHD has noticed that irresponsible drivers or passengers tend to litter from vehicles, which not only affects environmental hygiene but also poses a danger to other road users. Additionally, it increases the burden on cleansing staff who have to clear the waste from central dividers. Over the past two months, 14 cases of littering, which involved plastic bottles, tissue papers and cigarette boxes, were successfully identified by the IP cameras installed at central dividers of four locations in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po districts. The FEHD will initiate prosecutions against the people involved with the collected footage.”
The FEHD will continue to apply technologies to enhance service and enforcement efficiency. Currently, IP cameras have been widely installed at illegal refuse dumping blackspots, utilising artificial intelligence to assist in detecting and collecting evidence for combating illegal refuse dumping activities. The above trial scheme is the first application of IP cameras on central dividers.
The spokesman appealed to road users to keep roads clean. Refuse should be disposed of at appropriate locations after alighting.
Pursuant to the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap. 132BK), any person who litters from any specified vehicle shall be liable to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months.
Members of the public may report littering from vehicles through the 1823 government hotline or via the electronic or paper-based forms. Such forms can be obtained from the District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD, the District Offices of the Home Affairs Department, or downloaded from the FEHD’s website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/forms/vehlitform.html). read more
The Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Occupational Safety and Health), Mr Vincent Fung, inspected a construction site at the airport in Chek Lap Kok today (January 16) to remind contractors, employers and employees, including imported workers and workers of different ethnicities, to pay more attention to work safety.
Mr Fung said, “Contractors and employers must conduct task-specific risk assessment prior to the commencement of high-risk operations, with safe work method formulated and implemented. Employees must also co-operate with contractors and employers by following the safe work method and using appropriate personal protective equipment to protect themselves and others. Contractors and employers must also ensure that putlogs of scaffolds at construction sites are properly installed and that unauthorised alterations to scaffolds (including putlogs) are prohibited, to ensure the stability of scaffolds in full compliance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety or Code of Practice for Metal Scaffolding Safety.”
Mr Fung added, “With Chinese New Year around the corner, employees may become less aware of work safety as they may have to rush to complete work before the long holidays. Employers and frontline supervisors should step up monitoring to ensure workplace safety. Employers and employees should also be more vigilant, check their workplaces thoroughly and take adequate safety precautions after the holidays.”
In light of the recent serious accidents at construction sites for new works, the Labour Department (LD) will commence a territory-wide Special Enforcement Operation from January 20, focusing on work processes such as scaffolding works, curtain wall installations and lifting processes, with a view to curbing unsafe work practices. If any violations of the occupational safety and health legislation are detected, the LD will take stringent enforcement actions immediately, including issuing suspension notices and improvement notices as well as initiating prosecutions without prior warning.
The LD will continue enhancing publicity, including disseminating safety messages to contractors, employers, employees and duty holders through the LD’s website, the “OSH 2.0” mobile application and “Work Safety Alerts”. The LD has also recently added “Safety Hints” to “OSH 2.0” for the speedy dissemination of short messages with relevant preventive measures following fatal work accidents or serious accidents to prevent their recurrence.
Mr Fung emphasised that the LD has attached great importance to the occupational safety and health of construction workers. In 2024, the LD conducted 74 410 safety inspections at construction sites, with 4 567 suspension notices/improvement notices issued and 2 388 prosecutions initiated. The LD will continue formulating and refining the strategies of inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, as well as education and training in a timely manner, while encouraging and assisting the industry in applying technology to further enhance the safety level in the construction industry.”
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (January 16) announced that samples taken from a licensed pig farm in Yuen Long had tested positive for the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus. … read more
Further to the external merchandise trade statistics in value terms for November 2024 released earlier on, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (January 16) the volume and price statistics of external merchandise trade for that month.
In November 2024, the volume of Hong Kong’s total exports of goods decreased by 0.6%, while the volume of imports of goods increased by 3.1% over November 2023.
Comparing the first eleven months of 2024 with the same period in 2023, the volume of Hong Kong’s total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 5.1% and 3.3% respectively.
Comparing the three-month period ending November 2024 with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the volume of total exports of goods and imports of goods decreased by 4.6% and 1.6% respectively.
Changes in volume of external merchandise trade are derived from changes in external merchandise trade value with the effect of price changes discounted.
Comparing November 2024 with November 2023, the prices of total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 2.7% and 2.5% respectively.
As regards price changes in the first eleven months of 2024 over the same period in 2023, the prices of total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 3.7% and 3.3% respectively.
Price changes in external merchandise trade are reflected by changes in unit value indices of external merchandise trade, which are compiled based on average unit values or, for certain commodities, specific price data.
The terms of trade index is derived from the ratio of price index of total exports of goods to that of imports of goods. Compared with the same periods in 2023, the index increased by 0.2% in November 2024 and 0.4% in the first eleven months of 2024.
Changes in the unit value and volume of total exports of goods by main destination are shown in Table 1.
Comparing November 2024 with November 2023, declines were recorded for the total export volume to India (-27.8%), the USA (-5.8%) and Taiwan (-2.6%). On the other hand, the total export volume to the mainland of China (the Mainland) (1.0%) and Vietnam (38.5%) increased.
Over the same period of comparison, the total export prices to the USA (4.3%), Taiwan (4.3%), the Mainland (3.0%) and Vietnam (2.6%) increased. On the other hand, the total export prices to India decreased by 3.6%.
Changes in the unit value and volume of imports of goods by main supplier are shown in Table 2.
Comparing November 2024 with November 2023, increases were recorded for the import volume from Taiwan (31.9%), Singapore (26.3%), Korea (7.2%) and Japan (2.7%). On the other hand, the import volume from the Mainland decreased by 0.8%.
Over the same period of comparison, the import prices from all main suppliers increased: Korea (7.7%), Singapore (4.1%), Taiwan (3.4%), Japan (1.8%) and the Mainland (1.3%).
Further information
Details of the above statistics are published in the November 2024 issue of “Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Index Numbers”. Users can browse and download the report at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1020006&scode=230).
Enquiries on merchandise trade indices may be directed to the Trade Analysis Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4918). read more