Tag Archives: China

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:      The Hong Kong Observatory has issued the Very Hot Weather Warning.      To prevent heat stroke, avoid pro… read more

     Subsequent to the smooth resumption of classes of Secondary 3 (S3) to Secondary 5 (S5) on May 27, Primary 4 (P4) to Secondary 2 (S2) students will also resume classes next Monday (June 8) as scheduled. The Education Bureau… read more

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the media with the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC; the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee; the Commissioner of Police, Mr Tang Ping-keung; and the Director of the Chief Executive’s Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki in Beijing this afternoon (June 3). Following is the transcript of remarks of the session:
 
Reporter: The British Prime Minister has pledged to give up to 3 million Hongkongers the right to live and work in the UK if this national security law is passed. What’s your response to that and to the international condemnation that this law has drawn?
  
Chief Executive: I can only say that the international community and some of the foreign governments have been adopting blatant double standards in dealing with this matter and commenting on this matter. It is within the legitimate jurisdiction of any country to enact laws to protect and safeguard national security. USA is no exception, UK is no exception. Why should they object, resist or even condemn and take sanctions against Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China for taking similar actions to protect …
 
Reporter: You don’t believe that breaches the 1997 handover agreement?
 
Chief Executive: We are operating in accordance with the Basic Law. The Basic Law provides for “One Country, Two Systems”. The important pillar in “One Country, Two Systems” is “One Country”. Without “One Country”, there is no “Two Systems”. So, when the “One Country” concept, the sovereignty issue, is now undermined by the events that we have seen in Hong Kong – the advocacy of independence and even violence verging on terrorist activities- the Central Government has no alternative but to take action, especially having regard to the fact that after 23 years, despite the faith put in the Hong Kong SAR to enact local legislation to safeguard national security, we could not do it. As the Chief Executive, I have to confess that with the current Legislative Council and the political climate in Hong Kong, there’s no way that in the foreseeable future we could do it. Hong Kong people’s confidence lies in “One Country, Two Systems” and all the strengths and competitive advantages of Hong Kong. It does not lie in what individual foreign governments have to say about Hong Kong.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

    

     Police today (June 3) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tsing Yi.      Man Kim-lam, aged 41, went missing after he was last seen in Cheung On Estate on May 26 a… read more

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 2) and today (June 3) detected two illicit cigarette cases and seized a total of about 15.9 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $43.3 million and a duty potential of about $30.3 million in Yuen Long and the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound respectively. Customs has so far this year seized about 85 million suspected illicit cigarettes, a figure that already exceeds the annual seizure amounts for each of the last six years.

     Customs officers yesterday conducted an anti-illicit cigarette operation in Yuen Long and seized about 8 million suspected illicit cigarettes from a metal shed. A goods vehicle suspected to be involved in the case was detained. Customs is now tracing the source of the illicit cigarettes.

     Moreover, through intelligence analysis, Customs officers today selected for inspection a seaborne transshipment container arriving from Vietnam heading for the Philippines via Hong Kong at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound. The container was declared to be containing tissue. Upon inspection, Customs officers found about 7.9 million suspected illicit cigarettes in the container.

     Investigations of the two cases are ongoing.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis for interception at source as well as through its multi-pronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to combat illicit cigarette activities.

     Customs made an annual seizure of 52.1 million suspected illicit cigarettes in 2014, followed by 71.9 million, 63 million, 60.7 million, 53.4 million and 55 million respectively in the next five years.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).