The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation:

     The 56th Meeting of the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation (HKCPEC), which will be held on August 8 (Wednesday), is now open for public enrolment.

     The Chairman of the HKCPEC, Professor Matthew Lee, will chair the meeting. The meeting will cover the HKCPEC's activities and its participation at Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) events in 2017 and the first half of 2018, as well as the activities of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during the period.

     The meeting will be held at 2.30pm in Room 1827, 18/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City.

     Members of the public are welcome to attend the open session of the meeting. In view of the limited seating capacity at the meeting venue, admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested in attending the meeting are requested to enrol with the HKCPEC Secretariat by noon on August 6 (Monday).

     For enquiries, please contact the HKCPEC Secretariat on 2398 5449 or 2398 5594.

     The HKCPEC was established in March 1990 to co-ordinate Hong Kong's participation in the PECC. In line with the nature of the PECC, the composition of the HKCPEC is tripartite, comprising members from the Government, the business sector and academia.

     The PECC is a non-governmental organisation set up in 1980 to develop closer co-operation in trade and economic issues among economies in the region. For more information, please visit www.pecc.org.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients infected with Rhinovirus in a female ward for severe intellectual disability, the spokesperson for Siu Lam Hospital made the following update today (July 30):
 
     Three more patients (aged 26 to 42) in the ward presented with respiratory symptoms. Appropriate viral tests were arranged for the patients and their test results were positive for Rhinovirus. The patients concerned are being treated under isolation with stable condition.
 
     Admission to the ward has been suspended and restricted visiting has been imposed. Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. All other patients in the ward are under close surveillance.
 
     The cases have been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.

     Hong Kong Customs has stepped up enforcement actions during the summer holidays to combat illegal activities of different types and today (July 30) reminded young people to never become involved in such activities.

     A Customs spokesman said that criminals often lure students and young people into carrying various prohibited or controlled items such as dangerous drugs, arms, ammunition, weapons, animals and plants, endangered species and powdered formula during the summer holidays. Young people may also be tricked into joining activities related to illicit cigarettes and pirated or counterfeit items.

     The spokesman stressed that Customs has stepped up holiday mobilisation for stringent enforcement actions at boundary control points, inside the territory and on Internet platforms.

     Customs reminds members of the public to stay alert in particular to recruitment posts on unfamiliar websites and social media platforms. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry prohibited, controlled, duty-not-paid, pirated or counterfeit items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people, and their home address should not be allowed for other people's use for parcel delivery.

     The spokesman also called for those who travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland to pay attention to the legal and standard differences between the two places. In particular, possession of an air gun with muzzle energy under 2 joules does not constitute an offence in Hong Kong but may breach laws in the Mainland. Travellers should be aware of the discrepancies to avoid any potential law violation.

     Customs has also stepped up monitoring and enforcement actions against infringing activities during the holiday period. Young people are urged not to participate in Internet or physical shop piracy and counterfeiting activities.

     On top of taking stringent enforcement actions, Customs has also strengthened its publicity and education efforts at boundary control points and Internet platforms to remind people, in particular the youth, to stay alert and follow the law at all times.

     Customs reminds that smuggling activities, trafficking or possession of dangerous drugs and selling or possession for sale of pirated or counterfeit goods, as well as buying or selling or possession of illicit cigarettes, are serious crimes. People should not risk their future as offenders will be criminally liable once convicted. A criminal record will be kept and the consequences are especially far-reaching for young people.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, the maximum penalty for trafficking in a dangerous drug is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     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.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the maximum penalty for any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years upon conviction.

     Under the Copyright Ordinance, the maximum penalty for any person who possesses an infringing copy of a copyright work with a view to selling it is a fine of $50,000 per infringing copy and imprisonment for four years upon conviction. Any person who, for the purpose of a circumvention business, or in the course of a circumvention business, sells or lets for hire a relevant device, or provides relevant service in order to allow circumventing an effective technological measure which has been applied in relation to a copyright work, is liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for four years.

     Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting endangered species including agarwood, orchids, ivory, American ginseng, pangolin scales, dried seahorse and live turtles without a licence is liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.

     Hong Kong Customs has all along adopted a zero-tolerance approach against illegal activities and is determined to step up enforcement actions during the summer holidays. The spokesman reiterated that in order to combat various kinds of illegal activities, the department will continue to strengthen customs clearance supervision through risk management and intelligence analysis, apart from conducting joint operations with other enforcement agencies.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illegal activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). All information received by Customs will be kept in confidence.

        

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), announces today (July 30) the relevant per annum interest rate for the fourth interest payment of Silver Bond Series due 2019 (Issue Number 03GB1908R) (the Bonds) issued under the Retail Bond Issuance Programme of the Government Bond Programme.
      
     According to the Issue Circular dated July 15, 2016 for the Bonds, the fourth interest payment of the Bonds is scheduled to be made on August 13, 2018, and the relevant interest rate is scheduled to be determined and announced on July 30, 2018 as the higher of the prevailing Floating Rate and Fixed Rate. 
      
     On July 30, 2018, the Floating Rate and Fixed Rate are as follows:
 
                    Floating Rate: +2.30%(Annex)
                    Fixed Rate: +2.00%
      
     Based on the Floating Rate and Fixed Rate set out above, the relevant interest rate for the fourth interest payment is determined and announced as 2.30% per annum.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Housing Authority:

     Ballots were drawn openly today (July 30) for the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2018 under a newly launched electronic balloting system. The Chairman of the HA Subsidised Housing Committee, Mr Stanley Wong, officiated at the ballot drawing.
 
     "Over 60 000 applications were received, with about 26 200 from family applicants and about 34 300 from one-person applicants under the WSM 2018. The quota set under the WSM 2018 is 2 500, with 2 250 allocated to family applicants and 250 to one-person applicants. The open ballot conducted today will determine the priority sequence of the last two digits of the application numbers held by applicants of the scheme. Based on the ballot results, the HA will randomly generate the order of all applicants under the family and one-person applicant categories by computer," a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     According to the random order, the HA will conduct detailed vetting to determine whether individual applicants meet the eligibility criteria. Approval letters will be sent to eligible family and one-person applicants in October 2018 for them to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase, which will have a validity period of 12 months from the issue date, within two weeks from the issue date of the approval letters to purchase a flat with premium not yet paid in the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Secondary Market from the HA or in the Flat-for-Sale-Scheme Secondary Market from the Hong Kong Housing Society.
 
     The WSM 2018 will provide a quota of 2 500 for applicants to purchase their flats with premium not yet paid and the quota for family and one-person applicants is set at the ratio of 9:1. According to the alienation restrictions under the WSM, a buyer is not allowed to sell the flat in the secondary market within the first two years from the first assignment after purchase. He or she can sell the flat with premium not yet paid to a nominee from the HOS Secondary Market by the HA starting from the third year onwards upon the first assignment. In addition, he or she may sell the flat in the open market at any time upon payment of the premium.
 
     WSM buyers who purchase flats sold under the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme Flats 2018 will be subject to new alienation restrictions, i.e. they are not allowed to sell their flats in the open market with the premium paid for the first five years from the first assignment.
 
     The ballot results for the WSM 2018 have been uploaded to the dedicated webpage on the HA/Housing Department website (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/mini-site/sms-white-form-2018/en/index.html). The random order of all applications under the family and one-person applicant categories generated from the ballot results by computer will be uploaded to the webpage tomorrow (July 31) and displayed at the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, estate offices and District Tenancy Management Offices of the HA, estate offices of the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department and the Sham Shui Po Housing Information Centre. Applicants may also call the HA hotline 2712 2712 for enquiries.