Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:
Yellow fire danger warning
The fire danger situation today (April 5) is yellow and the risk of fire is high. People are urged to prevent fires breaking out and hikers should also be vigilant.
​Hong Kong Customs seized about 9 kilograms of assorted products containing suspected tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC) and solutions suspected of containing nicotine with an estimated market value of about $45,000 at Hong Kong International Airport and in Cheung Sha Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui on March 31, April 1 and April 3 respectively.
Customs officers inspected an air mail parcel from the United States at Hong Kong International Airport on March 31 and seized about 2 kilograms of assorted products containing suspected THC. Customs officers then intercepted another air mail parcel and seized about 4 kilograms of assorted products containing suspected THC in Cheung Sha Wan on April 1. Both parcels were mailed from the United States to the same consignee address in Hong Kong.
After follow-up investigation, Customs officers yesterday (April 3) seized a small amount of suspected cannabis and a batch of assorted products containing suspected THC and solutions suspected of containing nicotine weighed about 3 kilograms in a retail shop selling smoking products in Tsim Sha Tsui. A 34-year-old man suspected to be in connection with the case was arrested.
Investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs will maintain close contact with Hong Kong Post and the logistics industries to step up action against drug trafficking through postal parcel or express courier channels.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Customs also reminds that cannabis and THC are classified as dangerous drugs under the Ordinance. Importation of products (including food and drinks) containing cannabis or THC into Hong Kong is prohibited unless the relevant provisions in the Ordinance are complied with. In order to avoid breaching the law inadvertently, special attention should be paid to the packaging labels of food and drinks.
Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to the Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin) held gatherings for members of the Hong Kong community in Berlin, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, on April 1 (Berlin time) and 3 (Vienna time) respectively.
About 200 Hong Kong residents attended the gatherings, including those who have been living, working or studying in Berlin or Vienna, as well as young people who joined the working holiday schemes agreed between Hong Kong and Germany and between Hong Kong and Austria.
At the gatherings, the Director of HKETO Berlin, Mr Bill Li, introduced the latest developments in Hong Kong, especially the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Hong Kong Section of the Express Rail Link, which both greatly enhance Hong Kong's connectivity with the Mainland of China. With the many opportunities coming up in Hong Kong, he also encouraged the young people to make good use of their stays in Europe to widen their exposure and develop an international perspective, and said he looked forward to welcoming them in Hong Kong in their future pursuit of careers and aspirations. Moreover, Mr Li wished the Hong Kong community in the two places a happy and prosperous Year of the Pig.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 Awards Presentation Ceremony this evening (April 4):
Professor Tuan (Chairman of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 Grand Judging Panel, Professor Rocky Tuan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It's a pleasure to be here once again for the annual Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology Awards Presentation Ceremony. This year marks the 13th edition of the event.
Let me say upfront how much I enjoyed meeting the grand award winners earlier this evening. It was a welcome opportunity to see the faces behind Hong Kong's future. One among them will take home the "Award of the Year" honour, and I look forward to presenting that much anticipated award in just a few minutes.
During my chats just now with the award winners, it struck me just how much the ICT Awards reflect Hong Kong's business and community life. The award categories include digital entertainment, fintech, start-ups, smart business, smart living, smart mobility, smart people and student innovation. In short, there is very little in the Hong Kong economy and community, in our business and social lives, that doesn't look to technology for its future and its success.
That is why my Government has invested about HK$100 billion in innovation and technology (I&T) programmes and initiatives, from promoting R&D to boosting our research, technology and science infrastructure and nurturing talent. That commitment is slowly paying off, and this gala evening may just underline that.
Tonight, the spotlight is on ICT, a critical I&T pillar and a key contributor to such sectors as fintech, healthcare, robotics and artificial intelligence. ICT is also a core component in many smart city applications. In the 2019-20 Budget, we allocated HK$6 billion to boost our ICT system's hardware and to develop talent. We also set aside HK$5.5 billion for the expansion of Cyberport, including its Smart-Space, which will offer more opportunities for start-ups.
Actually, I recently paid a visit to Smart-Space 8. It's located in a revitalised industrial building in Tsuen Wan, created under the Government's Space Sharing Scheme for the Youth. There I had the pleasure of meeting a number of young entrepreneurs, and I'm pleased to see one of them among this evening's award winners. Rest assured, we will continue to create such facilities for our start-ups and, no less important, enhance R&D opportunities in our universities.
This year's budget, let me add, allocated HK$500 million for the establishment of information technology Innovation Labs and related activities in all publicly funded secondary schools. Our goal is to stimulate students' interest in I&T, particularly in such areas as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data analytics, and encourage the talented students to pursue a career in those fields.
Speaking of careers for young people, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will vastly expand career opportunities, especially for our young people in the coming years and decades. That includes the I&T sector. To start with, the Greater Bay Area, with a population of 70 million and a collective GDP worth some US$1.6 trillion, represents a huge market for our I&T innovations. Further, the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area are renowned for their advanced manufacturing capability, while Hong Kong's deep and liquid capital market provides an excellent platform for raising funds. The Greater Bay Area will therefore be the perfect place for innovators to turn their idea into products and services. In addition, we have put in place various support schemes for our young entrepreneurs. Just last month, the Guangdong province announced that they would offer young entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao the same training, capital and rental support as those available to Guangdong young people. We are grateful to the Guangdong Provincial Government for this initiative, which will provide an extra incentive for our young people to pursue a career in the Greater Bay Area.
In short, ladies and gentlemen, we are living in an era of opportunity. With their innovative products and services, this year's award winners have shown that they have all it takes to succeed. I challenge them to continue their commitment to I&T excellence, and create a better future for all of us.
Finally, my thanks to the committees and judging panels of this year's ICT Awards. I am grateful as well to the organisers of the eight award categories and to many others for their considerable time and effort in making this year's Hong Kong ICT Awards a resounding success.
I wish you all a very enjoyable evening. Thank you very much.
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (April 4) reported the latest number of cases of dengue fever (DF), and again urged the public to maintain strict environmental hygiene, mosquito control and personal protective measures both locally and during travel.
From March 15 to April 3, the CHP recorded four imported DF cases. The patients had been to Cambodia (one case), Fiji (one case), Myanmar (one case) and multiple countries (one case, who had been to Indonesia and Singapore) during the incubation period.
As of yesterday (April 3), 35 cases had been confirmed this year, all of which were imported cases. The cases were mainly imported from Indonesia (seven), Malaysia (seven) and Thailand (six).
DF remains endemic in some areas of Asia and beyond. The latest figures for 2019 revealed that 13 677 cases had been recorded in Thailand, 2 278 in Singapore (since December 30, 2018) and 66 in Japan. In the Americas, the latest figures indicated that 229 064 and 8 759 cases were filed in Brazil and Mexico respectively in 2019.
The public should take heed of the following advice on mosquito control:
To reduce the risk of infections spread by mosquitoes, apart from general measures, travellers returning from areas affected by DF and Zika virus infection should apply insect repellent for 14 days or at least 21 days respectively upon arrival in Hong Kong. If feeling unwell, seek medical advice promptly and provide travel details to the doctor. DEET-containing insect repellents are effective and the public should take heed of the tips below:
* For children who travel to countries or areas where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic or epidemic and where exposure is likely, those aged 2 months or above can use DEET-containing insect repellents with a DEET concentration of up to 30 per cent.
The public may refer to the CHP's tips for using insect repellents for details.