Hong Kong Customs and Marine Police today (November 7) conducted an anti-smuggling joint-operation and detected a suspected smuggling case using fishing vessel in the Southeast waters of Hong Kong. A large batch of suspected smuggled goods including office equipment, musical instruments and sports gears with an estimated market value of about $700,000 were seized.
      
     Officers from Customs Marine Joint Task Force, Marine Police Small Boat Division, Marine Police Regional Task Force and Marine Harbour Division spotted a suspicious fishing vessel in the Southeast waters of Hong Kong this morning and later intercepted the vessel off Ninepin Group. The batch of suspected smuggled goods were seized onboard the vessel.

     In the operation, a 53-year-old male coxswain and a 44-year-old male crew member were arrested. The fishing vessel involved was also detained for further investigation.

     Investigation is ongoing. 

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Hong Kong Customs and Marine Police will continue to take stringent enforcement action to combat sea smuggling activities.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

    

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, Mr Peng Qinghua, at Government House this evening (November 7).

     Mrs Lam welcomed the visit to Hong Kong by Mr Peng and his delegation to attend a series of events of the second Sichuan‧Hong Kong‧Macao Cooperation Week. She said this year's Cooperation Week is the first large-scale event of Sichuan Province and Hong Kong to enhance co-operation in various areas between the two places since she and Mr Peng co-chaired the First Plenary of the Hong Kong-Sichuan Co-operation Conference in Sichuan in May this year. Noting that the Cooperation Week covers a wide variety of events, Mrs Lam said she and Mr Peng attended a promotional conference on logistics co-operation between Sichuan and Hong Kong and added that she was pleased to witness the signing of a framework agreement on enhancing development of logistics channels between the governments of both sides to strengthen co-operation in areas including transport development, logistics business and related talent and technology. She said she and Mr Peng will also attend an economic and trade co-operation forum of the Cooperation Week and the opening ceremony of Sichuan Week 2018 of Ocean Park tomorrow morning, and she wished the Cooperation Week every success.
 
     Mrs Lam said the recent commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, as well as the upcoming opening of the new land-based Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point, will strengthen Hong Kong's participation in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and its future overall advancement. Mrs Lam said she has learnt about Sichuan's new airport construction and infrastructure development for a sea-land channel and expressed the hope that both places would leverage on each other's geographical advantages to explore further co-operation between Sichuan and Hong Kong in areas including airport management, air transport and logistics, nurture of related talent and e-commerce.

  

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) has seized the opportunity of a major European arts, science and technology festival featuring a Hong Kong artist, Wong Chi-yung, to promote Hong Kong as a creative and technology hub.

     The International Meeting in Performing Arts and Creative Technologies (IMPACT) Festival, which is funded by the European Union's European Regional Development Fund to foster experimental art, science, technological and industrial collaboration, is being held from November 3 to 20 in five European cities, namely Liège, Hasselt and Eupen in Belgium; Maastricht in the Netherlands; and Aachen in Germany. One of the festival's pillars is IMPACT Lab, an incubator of artistic and technological projects which aims to bring together artists, academic researchers and industrialists to work on a common challenge. This is the first time that the IMPACT Festival has featured a Hong Kong artist. 

     Wong Chi-yung's 20 metre by 5m light installation "To see the world in a grain of sand" was selected by the IMPACT Festival in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Centre, and is being exhibited at the Theatre of Liège in Belgium, the Festival's overall co-ordinator, for the duration of the event. HKETO, Brussels is pleased to be one of the main sponsors of the exhibition, which is also supported by the Belgium-Hong Kong Society.  

     The experiential, cross-disciplinary installation concept developed by Wong was conceived as a meditative journey composed of a combination of light, sound and tactile experiences. Visitors are invited to experience their sensations to better communicate with their own thoughts, corporeal rhythms and emotions. 

     Speaking at the opening reception for the exhibition at the Theatre of Liège on November 6 (Liège time), the Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Fiona Chau, said the exhibition of a creative lighting art installation by an artist from Hong Kong at the IMPACT Festival is a valuable occasion to showcase Hong Kong as an international hub for arts and technology.  

     "Creativity, innovation, arts and culture thrive in our dynamic city. In recent years Hong Kong has become Asia's international arts scene and the world's third largest art market by auction sales, with many galleries, art fairs and festivals. Hong Kong is currently building one of the largest cultural projects in the world, the West Kowloon Cultural District, which stretches across 40 hectares of harbourfront land and will include, among others, a new visual arts museum," Miss Chau said.  

     Miss Chau added that Hong Kong will contribute its capability in scientific and technological research and its institutional strengths and unique advantages under "one country, two systems" to the help develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international innovation and technology hub.

     The IMPACT festival will also feature a "Hong Kong meets IMPACT" talk on November 7 during which Wong; the General Manager of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, Ms Connie Lam; and the Artist in Labs Director of Zurich University, Ms Heidi Wiley, will speak about the project and relations between arts, sciences and technologies.

     The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, accompanied by the Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung, and the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Victor Lam, attended the 5th World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, today (November 7).

     Yesterday (November 6), after arriving in Wuzhen, Mr Chan, Dr Chung and Mr Lam called on the President of the China Internet Development Foundation (CIDF), Ms Ma Li. Both sides agreed to strengthen co-operation, including to support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in holding the annual Internet Economy Summit next year.

     Approved by the State Council, the CIDF has a wide scope of work, including enhancing international exchanges and co-operation in relation to Internet development.

     Mr Chan attended the opening ceremony of the Conference this morning, and took part in the plenary session in the afternoon to further understand the world’s leading technological achievements in Internet-related areas.

     Joined by Dr Chung and Mr Lam, Mr Chan met with the representatives of a large-scale cross-border e-commerce platform to exchange views on future trends in the Internet's development. Mr Chan said that e-commerce and financial technologies (fintech) have become the main engines to promote economic growth, given their fast development across the world. He added that Hong Kong has been enjoying the advantage of an environment conducive to developing e-commerce and fintech because of its well-developed capital market, a financial regulatory regime on par with international standards, the free flow of capital, the rule of law and a level playing field for business.

     He said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to put in resources to actively promote the development of e-commerce and fintech in the city.

     Later, they met with Hong Kong delegates attending the WIC.

     Organised by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the People's Government of Zhejiang Province, the three-day conference under the theme of "Creating a Digital World for Mutual Trust and Collective Governance – Towards a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace" has attracted representatives from governments, enterprises and international organisations. There are 19 sub-forums covering a range of popular topics, from artificial intelligence, fifth-generation mobile services and big data to cyber security.

     Tomorrow (November 8), Mr Chan will attend a sub-forum with a theme of "FinTech  and Construction of a Social Credit System" and deliver a speech on the development of financial technology in Hong Kong.

     Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon of the same day (November 8).

      

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is today (November 7) investigating a case of severe enterovirus (EV) 71 infection, and again urged the public and institutions to maintain strict hand, personal and environmental hygiene.

     A boy, aged 11 with good past health, has presented with fever, cough and runny nose since October 30. He was admitted to Tuen Mun Hospital for treatment on November 3. He developed convulsion and upper limbs weakness on November 4 and was subsequently transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit for further management on the same day. The patient is now in a critical condition.
 
     His rectal swab specimen tested positive for EV71 upon laboratory testing. The clinical diagnoses were EV71 infection and encephalomyelitis.

     Initial enquiries revealed that the patient had no travel history during the incubation period. His father has upper respiratory tract infection symptoms recently and is in a stable condition. His other home contacts have remained asymptomatic.
 
     The CHP's epidemiological investigations also revealed that there is a hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreak in the school, Po Leung Kuk Fong Wong Kam Chuen Primary School in Tuen Mun, where the patient attended. Apart from the patient, eight boys aged 11 to 12 have developed HFMD symptoms since October 28. They all sought medical attention and no hospitalisation was required. They are now in a stable condition.
 
     Officers of the CHP have conducted a site visit to the school and advised the management on necessary infection control and preventive measures. As a precautionary measure, the school was advised to suspend classes in Primary 5 and Primary 6. The school has been put under medical surveillance.

     The CHP's investigations are ongoing.

     "EV71 is one of the causative agents for HFMD. The infection is transmitted from person to person by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, saliva, fluid from blisters, or the stool of infected persons. Good personal and environmental hygiene are the most important measures to prevent EV71 infection," a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     "HFMD is common in children while adult cases may also appear. It is usually caused by enteroviruses such as Coxsackie virus and EV71. It is clinically characterised by maculopapular rashes or vesicular lesions occurring on the palms, soles and other parts of the body such as the buttocks and thighs. Vesicular lesions and ulcers may also be found in the oral cavity. Sometimes patients present mainly with painful ulcers at the back of the mouth, namely herpangina, without rash on the hands or feet," the spokesman said.
 
     "The local HFMD activity is currently at high level. The usual peak season for HFMD and EV71 infection is from May to July. A smaller peak may also occur from October to December. As young children are more susceptible, parents should stay alert to their health. Institutional outbreaks may occur where HFMD can easily spread among young children with close contact," the spokesman added.

     To prevent HFMD, members of the public, especially the management of institutions, should take heed of the following preventive measures:

* Maintain good air circulation;
* Wash hands before meals and after going to the toilet or handling diapers or other stool-soiled materials;
* Keep hands clean and wash hands properly, especially when they are dirtied by respiratory secretions, such as after sneezing;
* Cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing and dispose of nasal and oral discharges properly;
* Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as furniture, toys and commonly shared items with 1:99 diluted household bleach (mixing one part of bleach containing 5.25 per cent sodium hypochlorite with 99 parts of water), leave for 15 to 30 minutes, and then rinse with water and keep dry. For metallic surfaces, disinfect with 70 per cent alcohol;
* Use absorbent disposable towels to wipe away obvious contaminants such as respiratory secretions, vomitus or excreta, and then disinfect the surface and neighbouring areas with 1:49 diluted household bleach (mixing one part of bleach containing 5.25 per cent sodium hypochlorite with 49 parts of water), leave for 15 to 30 minutes and then rinse with water and keep dry. For metallic surfaces, disinfect with 70 per cent alcohol;
* Children with EV71 infection are advised to refrain from going to schools or group activities such as parties, interest classes and swimming until two weeks after fever has subsided and all the vesicular lesions have dried and crusted to prevent the spread of disease;
* Avoid going to overcrowded places; and
* Parents should maintain close communication with schools to let them know the latest situation of the sick children.

     The public may visit the CHP's page on HFMD and EV71 infection for more information.