Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible: Here is an item of interest to swimmers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (January 18) that due to big… read more
Hong Kong Customs today (January 17) conducted an operation to combat the sale of counterfeit health product drink. A total of about 250 boxes of suspected counterfeit health product drink and… read more
The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) announced today (January 17) that the number of clearance points under the Single E-lock Scheme (the Scheme) in Guangdong Province increased from 32 last year to 51 this month, including the first customs clearance point set up in Zhuhai. The Scheme enhances cargo clearance efficiency and also benefits cargo shipments that are transhipped through Hong Kong using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB).
The Scheme was launched in March 2016 targeting intermodal transhipment cargoes between Guangdong and Hong Kong. Such transhipment cargoes include foreign goods arriving in Hong Kong by air which will be transhipped to the Mainland by land and vice versa. The two customs administrations make use of single e-lock technology and GPS devices to monitor the condition of goods during transportation. Accordingly, duplicated inspections of shipments by the respective customs authorities at the land control points can be reduced, resulting in streamlined clearance processing and speedy cargo flow.
The Scheme is operating smoothly and has been well received by the industry. Last year, more than 6 million cargo shipments were handled under the Scheme.
To cope with the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Bay Area), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been actively exploring with the Mainland authorities the extension of the Scheme to more parts of the Bay Area. Clearance points under the Scheme in Guangdong Province increased from 32 to 51 this month, covering various cities in the province, seven of which are in the Bay Area.
A spokesman for the C&ED said, “We welcome the expansion of the customs clearance points in Guangdong Province under the Single E-lock Scheme, including the first customs clearance point set up in Zhuhai. Expansion of the Scheme not only facilitates the industry, but also ties in with the logistics industry to make use of the new HZMB.
“Today we saw the first truck on the HZMB carrying goods from Guangzhou to Hong Kong International Airport.
“The level of cargo clearance facilitation for transhipment cargo between Hong Kong and the Mainland will be further promoted with the extension of the Scheme. The growth of the logistics and trade industries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao not only promotes the economic development of the Bay Area, but also strengthens Hong Kong’s position as a trading and logistics hub and enhances the city’s competitiveness.”
Looking forward, the C&ED will continue to explore actively with its Mainland counterparts for an extension of the Scheme to cover more parts of the Bay Area. It will also further encourage the logistics industry to participate in the Scheme to explore more business opportunities in the context of Bay Area development and the opening of the HZMB.
Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the “Masters of Abstraction” Gala Dinner this evening (January 17):
Mrs Wetzlar (Managing Director, Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation, Mrs Ruth Wetzlar), Mr Ong (Chairman, Innovative Business Foundation, Mr Michael Ong), Mr Badge (photographer, “Masters of Abstraction”, Mr Peter Badge), distinguished laureates, professors, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening.
It is a great pleasure to join you for today’s “Masters of Abstraction” Gala Dinner.
Allow me, first, to welcome to Hong Kong the five Fields Medal, A.M Turing Award and ACM Prize in Computing Laureates here with us this evening. Each of you, through transformative research and scholarship, has made your indelible mark in the fields of computing science or mathematics. In doing so, you have profoundly shaped our world, our lives and our future. For that, we are all very grateful.
My thanks, as well, to the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation. The Foundation’s annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum offers promising young researchers around the world the opportunity to interact with laureates of the three prestigious prizes I’ve noted, together with winners of the Abel Prize and the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize. For one week, they engage in free-flowing, cross-generational dialogue with esteemed laureates in Heidelberg, home to Germany’s oldest university. And I am pleased to say that I said this with first-hand experience, as my younger son Joshua was a participant in the Heidelberg Laureate Forum in 2015.
Last summer, I had the distinct pleasure of joining the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. I understand that annual gathering of Nobel Laureates and brilliant young scientists inspired the Heidelberg Laureate Forum founders. Together, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the Heidelberg Laureate Forum connect the next generation of scientific leaders.
That, ladies and gentlemen, resonates with my ambitions for Hong Kong, a city long celebrated for connecting companies from the Mainland of China and all over the world. Here, they trade and invest, do business, find partners and, ultimately, excel. My vision is to apply that business connect-and-excel model to innovation and technology.
Indeed, since becoming Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in July 2017, I have placed innovation and technology development at the top of my policy agenda. To that end, I’ve launched an eight-pronged strategy to promote innovation and technology in Hong Kong. To date, my Government has committed US$10 billion towards a variety of innovation and technology initiatives, ranging from boosting research funding for universities to building a huge new science park in cooperation with the Shenzhen Government.
Hong Kong enjoys full support from the Central People’s Government under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. For more than two decades, since the return of Hong Kong to our motherland, the “One Country, Two Systems” principle has given us benefits available to no other economy. As the multilateral business bridge between the Mainland and the rest of the world, Hong Kong has flourished in business and finance. And I have no doubt that singular advantage will help power our success in innovation and technology as well.
World-class talent, of course, is essential to realising that vision. It’s why, last June, we launched the Technology Talent Admission Scheme. It enables our technology companies and institutes to admit on a fast track basis overseas and Mainland technology talent in such technology areas as biotech, AI, cybersecurity, robotics and data analytics.
In addition, last August, we established another scheme, the Technology Talent Scheme. The postdoctoral hub programme funds companies looking to recruit postdoctoral talent for scientific research and product development. The Scheme also funds local companies on a two-to-one matching basis, training their staff in high-end technologies, especially those related to Industry 4.0, through the Re-industrialisation & Technology Training Programme.
My Government is equally committed to STEM education. We are determined that our future generations adapt and thrive in a technology-driven world. STEM education’s success cannot be achieved in schools alone. Close co-operation between government, academia and technology companies is essential. And that collaboration must be both global and local, if we are to compete with the world in the 21st century of boundless opportunity. Which is why I am delighted that the five distinguished Laureates with us this evening will share their wisdom with young Hong Kong scientists and students at a university forum tomorrow.
I’m hopeful, as well, that tonight will be the beginning of a long and mutually rewarding relationship between Hong Kong and the Heidelberg Laureate Forum. To that end, my Government, our universities and research institutes have been pleased to promote the 2019 Heidelberg Laureate Forum, which takes place this September, to our young mathematicians and computing scientists, encouraging their interest and participation.
My thanks to Michael Ong and his Innovative Business Foundation for organising tonight’s event and for his continuing efforts in promoting science and technology in Hong Kong.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all a very enjoyable evening and a New Year blessed with health, happiness and the universal blessings of scientific progress. Thank you very much.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 17) said that two kinds of prepackaged protein bars manufactured in the United States might contain an allergen, peanuts, but it was not declared on the products’ food labels. Consumers who are allergic to peanuts are advised not to eat the products concerned. The trade should also stop using or selling the products concerned immediately.
Product details are as follows:
(1) Product name: Protein Bar, Chocolate Sea Salt
Brand: RXBAR
Place of origin: US
Net weight: 52 grams/1.83 ounces per pack (12 packs per box)
Best-before date: June 30, 2019
(2) Product name: Protein Bar, Mango Pineapple
Brand: RXBAR`
Place of origin: US
Net weight: 52 grams/1.83 ounces per pack (12 packs per box)
Best-before date: April 21, 2019
“The CFS, through its Food Incident Surveillance System, noted a notice issued by the US authorities concerned that several kinds of RXBAR products are under recall because they may contain peanuts but undeclared on the food label,” a spokesman for the CFS said.
Upon learning of the incident, the CFS immediately followed up with major local importers and retailers. Preliminary investigation revealed that an online vendor, Action Panda, had imported a total of eight boxes of the affected batches of the two abovementioned products and some of them were sold. The vendor has stopped sale and removed from shelves the affected batches of products and will initiate a recall according to CFS’ instructions. Enquiries about the recall can be made to the vendor’s hotline at 5211 8027 during office hours.
“Peanuts are a known food allergen. Those who are allergic to it may develop symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, asthma and rash upon consumption. In severe cases anaphylactic shock may even develop,” the spokesman said.
He advised consumers who are allergic to peanuts not to consume the products concerned. Those who feel unwell after consuming them should seek medical treatment.
The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) require that all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong should list out the food’s ingredients in its label. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 and six months’ imprisonment.
The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Investigation is on-going. read more