The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 is 105.2 (down 0.1 against yesterday's index).

     The Government today (July 31) announced the appointments to the Betting and Lotteries Commission for a two-year term from August 1, 2019, to July 31, 2021. 
      
     Four members have been newly appointed to the Commission, including Dr Chan Po-ling, Ms Amy Fung Dun-mi, Mr Howard Ling Ho-wan and Mr Wong Hin-wing, while Ms Winnie Chiu Wing-kwan, Ms Josephine Lee Yuk-chi, Ms Viola Man Yee-wai and Dr Jennifer Ng Chui-yiu will retire.  The Chairman and other incumbent members have been re-appointed to the Commission.
      
     The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the four outgoing members for their valuable advice and contributions to the work of the Commission. 
      
     The full membership of the Commission with effect from August 1, 2019, is as follows:
 
Chairman
——–
Mr David Fong Man-hung
 
Members
——–
Dr Chan Po-ling
Mr Kenneth Fok Kai-kong
Ms Amy Fung Dun-mi
Reverend Ho Chi-dik
Ms Elaine Ho Yee-lin
Mr Lai Tat-shing
Mr Lau Kwok-fan
Ms Fonnie Leung Fung-yee
Mr Howard Ling Ho-wan
Ms Lu Hai
Mr Andrew Wan Siu-kin
Mr Wong Hin-wing
Commissioner of Police or representative
Permanent Secretary for Education or representative
Director of Home Affairs or representative
 
     The function of the Commission is to advise the Secretary for Home Affairs on the regulation of the conduct of horse race betting, football betting and lotteries in accordance with the provisions of the Betting Duty Ordinance.  Under the Ordinance, the Chairman and members of the Commission are appointed by the Chief Executive.

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 31) released the findings of its food safety report for last month. The results of about 12 000 food samples tested were satisfactory except for 10 samples which were announced earlier. The overall satisfactory rate was 99.9 per cent.
      
     A CFS spokesman said about 1 100 food samples were collected for microbiological tests, some 3 600 samples were taken for chemical tests and the remaining 7 300 (including about 7 000 taken from food imported from Japan) were collected to test radiation levels.
      
     The microbiological tests covered pathogens and hygienic indicators, while the chemical tests included pesticides, preservatives, metallic contaminants, colouring matters, veterinary drug residues and others.
      
     The samples comprised about 3 300 samples of vegetables and fruit and their products; 700 samples of cereals, grains and their products; 500 samples of meat and poultry and their products; 1,000 samples of milk, milk products and frozen confections; 1 600 samples of aquatic and related products; and 4 900 samples of other food commodities (including beverages, bakery products and snacks).
      
     The 10 unsatisfactory samples comprised two fruit samples detected to have pesticide residues exceeding the legal limits; a grass carp sample, a roast eel sample and a freshwater grouper sample found to contain malachite green; a sample of tossed noodles with shredded chicken and a sample of Hainanese chicken rice found to contain Salmonella; a swordfish sample detected to have mercury exceeding the legal limit; a sample of Shanghai noodles detected to have excessive preservative and a sample of vegetarian bean curd roll detected to have a non-permitted preservative.
      
     The CFS has taken follow-up action on the unsatisfactory samples, including informing the vendors concerned of the test results, instructing them to stop selling the affected food items and tracing the sources of the food items in question.
      
     Since the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap 132CM) came into effect on August 1, 2014, as of June 30 this year, the CFS has taken over 178 800 food samples at the import, wholesale and retail levels for testing for pesticide residues. The overall unsatisfactory rate is less than 0.2 per cent.
      
     The spokesman added that excessive pesticide residues in food may arise from the trade not observing Good Agricultural Practice, e.g. using excessive pesticides and/or not allowing sufficient time for pesticides to decompose before harvesting. The maximum residue limits (MRLs) of pesticide residues in food set in the Regulation are not safety indicators. They are the maximum concentrations of pesticide residues to be permitted in a food commodity under Good Agricultural Practice when applying pesticides. In this connection, consumption of food with pesticide residues higher than the MRLs will not necessarily lead to any adverse health effects.
      
     The spokesman reminded the food trade to ensure that food for sale is fit for human consumption and meets legal requirements. Consumers should patronise reliable shops when buying food and maintain a balanced diet to minimise food risks.

     Three women and a man were fined from $8,000 to $12,000 at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 31) for contravening the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance.
 
     The courts heard that in January this year, officers of the Office of the Licensing Authority (OLA), the Home Affairs Department, inspected three suspected unlicensed guesthouses on Reclamation Street, Jordan Road and Shantung Street in Kowloon. During the inspections, the OLA officers posed as lodgers and successfully rented rooms in these guesthouses on a daily basis.
 
     According to the OLA's records, these guesthouses did not possess licences under the Ordinance on the days of inspection. The man and women responsible for operating and managing the premises were charged with contravening section 5(1) of the Ordinance.
 
     A department spokesman stressed that operating or managing an unlicensed guesthouse is a criminal offence and will lead to a criminal record. Upon conviction, the offender is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and two years' imprisonment.
      
     The spokesman appealed to anyone with information about suspected unlicensed guesthouses to report it to the OLA through the hotline (Tel: 2881 7498), by email (hadlaenq@had.gov.hk), by fax (2504 5805) using the report form downloaded from the OLA website (www.hadla.gov.hk), or through the mobile application "Hong Kong Licensed Hotels and Guesthouses".

     The Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Joshua Law, today (July 31) met, at the Central Government Offices, non-ethnic Chinese (NEC) university students participating in the government internship programme to learn about their internship experience.  He encouraged them to be well-prepared for their career development.

     Mr Law said, "The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) introduced a pilot internship programme within the Government for NEC university students this year.  We hope to help young NEC gain work experience and enhance their competitiveness for employment.

     "NEC are members of the Hong Kong family. The Government is committed to providing a wide range of services to support their integration into the community," he said.

     "This internship programme is not our only initiative to strengthen support for NEC.  In respect of civil service appointment, we strive to provide NEC with equal access to government job opportunities as other applicants.  Noting that NEC face a major difficulty in meeting the Chinese language proficiency requirements when applying for government jobs, the CSB completed in early 2018 a comprehensive review on the Chinese language proficiency requirements for all the civil service grades.  In ensuring that such requirements are no more than necessary for the performance of the job, we hope to create more opportunities for NEC to seek employment in the Government.   We will continue our efforts in this regard."

     This year, a total of 16 NEC university students were posted to various government departments for an internship lasting about eight weeks.  Some placements were relevant to the provision of public services to NEC communities or required knowledge of NEC languages or cultures.  This not only gave play to the interns' strengths, the interns were also able to see for themselves the Government's efforts in strengthening support for NEC communities.
    
     One of the interns, Miss Kulsoom Bibi, was posted to the Recruitment, Training and Examination Group of the Fire Services Department, where she assisted with recruitment and publicity work.  Apart from acquiring hands-on work experience, she was pleased that her suggestions on the design of the department's recruitment webpage were taken on board by the department.  She had a fruitful time during the internship and would like to thank her supervisors for placing confidence in her.
    
     Another intern, Miss Sumanjit Janday, was posted to the Race Relations Unit of the Home Affairs Department.  She took part in various publicity events organised by the department, such as roving exhibitions and talks, where she introduced the culture of NEC and promoted understanding of their social integration.  She was also invited to give feedback, from the perspective of a NEC, on the host of programmes and services provided by the unit.  She was glad to find out more about the Government's support services for NEC, and to enhance her understanding of the unique culture and history of other ethnic groups through the internship programme.

     Both Miss Bibi and Miss Janday shared the view that the Government's ongoing review of the Chinese language proficiency requirements for all civil service grades would provide more opportunities for NEC to join the Government to serve the community.

     Two secondary school students who were participants of the "Be a Government Official for a Day" programme also joined Mr Law in attending the tea gathering.