Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, will depart for London, the United Kingdom (UK), in the early hours on September 26 (Wednesday) for a duty visit.      During… read more

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements this Sunday (September 23) to facilitate two public events to be held on Hong Kong Island. (1)            The follow… read more

     Police advise motorists that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Sha Tin to facilitate the race meeting tomorrow (September 22).      The arrangements will come into effect two h… read more

     The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today (September 21) published an Information Memorandum (IM) for the auction of spectrum in the 900 MHz band and the 1800 MHz band for the provision of public telecommunications services in Hong Kong. Parties interested in bidding for the spectrum may apply to take part in the auction scheduled for December 2018.

     The Communications Authority (CA) announced on December 19, 2017 its decision to adopt a hybrid administratively-assigned cum market-based approach to re-assign/assign 200 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band and 1800 MHz band upon the expiry of the existing assignments. Under the hybrid approach, each of the four incumbent spectrum assignees (namely China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited, Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited, Hutchison Telephone Company Limited and SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited) would be offered a right of first refusal (RFR) for the re-assignment of 20 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. The remaining 70 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, together with 50 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band and any spectrum not taken up by the incumbent spectrum assignees under the RFR would be assigned through auction.

     “As all four incumbent spectrum assignees accepted the RFR offer in early September 2018, a total of 120 MHz of spectrum, comprising 50 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band and 70 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, will be available for bidding in the coming auction,” a spokesman for OFCA said.

     “For the purpose of the auction, the 50 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band will be divided into five frequency bands, each with a bandwidth of 10 MHz. The 70 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band will be divided into four frequency bands, three of which with a bandwidth of 20 MHz and one with a bandwidth of 10 MHz. To avoid an unduly high concentration of spectrum holding in the hands of a single assignee, a spectrum cap of 90 MHz will be imposed on the aggregate amount of spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands which may be acquired by any assignee, with a sub-cap of 20 MHz for spectrum in the 900 MHz band which may be acquired by any successful bidder.

     “The Government has set the auction reserve price at HK$38 million per MHz. The actual amount of spectrum utilization fee payable will be determined in the auction,” the spokesman added.

     Detailed arrangements of the auction are set out in the IM, which can be downloaded from OFCA’s website (ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_1107/900_MHz_and_1800_MHz_Auction_IM.pdf). Parties interested in participating in the auction should submit their applications to the OFCA from November 15 to 16, 2018. read more

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a territory-wide anti-illegal worker operation codenamed “Twilight” from September 18 to 20. A total of 13 illegal workers, seven suspected employers and two overstayers were arrested.
      
     During operation “Twilight”, ImmD Task Force officers raided 27 target locations including residential buildings, industrial flats, restaurants, shops, residential flats and a village house under renovation. A total of 13 illegal workers, seven employers and two overstayers were arrested. The illegal workers comprised five men and eight women, aged 26 to 58. Among them, a man and two women were holders of recognisance forms, which prohibit them from taking any employment. Furthermore, six women were suspected of using and being in possession of forged Hong Kong identity cards. Meanwhile, six men and a woman, aged 26 to 67, were suspected of employing the illegal workers. Furthermore, two male overstayers, aged 43 and 47, were arrested.
       
     “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 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, as a standard procedure, will 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.