The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a territory-wide anti-illegal worker operation codenamed "Twilight" from May 27 to 30. A total of 15 illegal workers and seven suspected employers were arrested.
      
     During the operation, ImmD Task Force officers raided 26 target locations including commercial buildings, a constructional site, industrial buildings, a massage parlour, offices, restaurants, a shopping mall, warehouses and a wet market. Fifteen illegal workers and seven employers were arrested. The illegal workers comprised eight men and seven women, aged 23 to 58. Among them, four men and a woman were suspected of using and being in possession of forged Hong Kong identity cards. Meanwhile, three men and four women, aged 30 to 65, were suspected of employing the illegal workers.
      
     "Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him shall be guilty of an offence. Also, visitors are not allowed to take employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid, without the permission of the Director of Immigration. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties," an ImmD spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman warned that, as stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, illegal immigrants or people who are the subject of a removal order or a deportation order are prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining in any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years' imprisonment. The Court of Appeal has issued a guideline ruling that a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment should be applied in such cases. It is an offence to use or possess a forged Hong Kong identity card or a Hong Kong identity card related to another person. Offenders are liable to prosecution and a maximum penalty of a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years' imprisonment.
     
     The spokesman reiterated that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for three years and a fine of $350,000. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence. According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee's identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker's valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty for failing to inspect such a document is imprisonment for one year and a fine of $150,000.
 
     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threat and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent interference, medical services, counselling, shelter, temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments.

     The Transport Department (TD) reached an agreement with the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) today (May 31) to open up real-time arrival data on four of its rail lines.
      
     The MTRCL will release real-time arrival data on four rail lines, namely Airport Express, Tung Chung Line, Tseung Kwan O Line and West Rail Line, in machine-readable format via the Public Sector Information (PSI) Portal "data.gov.hk" managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer for free use by the public and the industry. The TD will pro-actively co-ordinate with relevant Government departments to assist the MTRCL in opening up its real-time arrival data. The data are expected to be available at "data.gov.hk" in the third quarter of this year.
      
     Following New World First Bus Services Limited, Citybus Limited and New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited, the MTRCL is another public transport operator agreeing to open up its real-time data via "data.gov.hk". Opening up data is an important Government policy initiative to promote innovation and technology. The MTRCL's supportive move to echo the Government's open data policy is recognised. The TD will continue to discuss with other bus operators and appeal for their support to open up their real-time data as soon as possible to keep up with the prevailing trend of open data with a view to promoting smart city development and fostering "Smart Mobility".
      
     Meanwhile, and as Chief Executive stated in her policy address in 2018, the Government will fund the development and establishment of a real-time arrival data collection system for green minibuses (GMBs), and the installation of on-board positioning devices on some 3 300 GMBs in Hong Kong. Passengers will be able to access the real-time arrival information of GMBs through the TD's mobile application "HKeMobility". The relevant data will also be released in machine-readable format via "data.gov.hk" to the public free of charge. The TD engaged a technical specialist for conducting a data collection system trial scheme. The scheme involves the installation of different data collection devices on 140 GMBs on 35 GMB routes for testing and selecting suitable technology for the system. The installation commenced since last week and the trial scheme is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Subject to the test results, the TD will start installing the device on all GMBs next year. The TD will launch the real-time arrival information of GMBs in phases from the end of next year with a view to achieving full implementation on a total of 544 GMB routes in the following two years.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, May 31, 2019 is 105.5 (same as yesterday's index).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) today (May 31) published its Annual Report for 2018. The Report reviews the business performance, corporate governance, and initiatives on corporate social responsibility of the HKMC in 2018.
 
     The Report is now available on the HKMC website (www.hkmc.com.hk).

     The Education Bureau (EDB) issued a circular today (May 31) to all public sector schools (including special schools) and schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) to announce the implementation details of the Life-wide Learning Grant (LWL Grant), which will be disbursed starting from the 2019/20 school year with an annual provision of about $900 million.

     The Chief Executive announced in her 2018 Policy Address that public sector schools and DSS schools will be provided with the LWL Grant to support schools in taking forward, based on the present foundation, life-wide learning with enhanced efforts to broaden students' horizons and foster their whole-person development.

     The Secretary for Education, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "Life-wide learning attaches great importance to learning in authentic contexts as it enables students to achieve learning objectives which are difficult to achieve through classroom learning alone. The knowledge, skills, positive values and attitudes that students acquire in experiential learning is important in developing their lifelong learning capabilities and fostering their whole-person development.

     "We hope that schools will make good use of the LWL Grant to organise more out-of-classroom experiential learning activities which are related to daily life and closely linked to the school curriculum, with a view to enhancing the learning interest of students and improving their learning."

     Mr Yeung added, "The scope of the Life-wide Learning Grant is broad, so as to meet the operational needs of schools. We aim to encourage teachers to employ the strategy of life-wide learning to enhance learning and teaching effectiveness. We are hopeful that the learning experiences of our students will become more enriched starting from the coming school year."

     The LWL Grant will be disbursed to schools starting from the 2019/20 school year. Taking a school with 24 approved classes as an example, each primary and secondary school will receive $750,000 and $1.16 million respectively. The LWL Grant should be directly used to enrich students' learning experiences. It can also be used to procure equipment, consumables and learning resources required for taking forward life-wide learning, and defray the expenses incurred by teachers for leading student activities.

     The EDB will be organising relevant professional development programmes and exchange activities to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills in promoting life-wide learning. Schools should encourage their teachers to actively participate in these programmes.