On August 16, the Acting Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, met the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Mr Tetsushi Sakamoto, and the Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong, Mr Kenichi Okada. The Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Miss Diane Wong, and the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, also attended the meeting.
Mr Cheuk highlighted Hong Kong's advancing from stability to prosperity and expressed the wish to promote exchanges and cooperation with Japan on various fronts.
Regarding Japan's request for lifting the import ban on Japanese aquatic products, Mr Cheuk responded by expressing concerns over the ongoing discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean in Fukushima, pointing out that the spillover effect was unprecedented. There is currently no guarantee from the Japanese authorities that their purification and dilution system can operate continuously and effectively in the long term. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the society are highly concerned about safeguarding food safety and public health in Hong Kong, and must take a prudent approach and exercise strict control. Mr Cheuk stressed that the HKSAR Government would closely monitor the development of the discharges and keep the corresponding measures under review.
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