The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the second meeting of the Human Resources Planning Commission this afternoon (June 25).  
      
     The Commission places great importance on nurturing home-grown talent and promoting youth upward mobility in order to complement Hong Kong’s strategic development into a high value-added and diversified economy. 
      
     In this connection, members took stock at this meeting on how education and manpower training can help meet the needs of Hong Kong’s new economy. 
      
     The meeting noted that the Government has adopted a wide range of measures with a view to better adapting the education and training system to groom talent meeting the manpower needs of the evolving society. These include reviewing the primary and secondary curricula, encouraging the post-secondary education sector to offer more programmes responding to manpower needs of relevant disciplines, and promoting vocational and professional education and training as well as continuing education. Members also shared their views on how to better align the education and training strategy with the economic development of Hong Kong based on their expertise in various sectors.
      
     At the meeting, members also discussed the manpower situation of the maritime industry. Members noted that the maritime industry, in particular the shipping sector, has been facing manpower shortage owing to difficulty in recruitment and retention as well as an ageing workforce. Members noted that to drive the long-term development of the industry, the Government established the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board, under which the Manpower Development Committee developed a five-pronged strategy to build an adequate pool of maritime professionals with a view to supporting Hong Kong’s further development into a maritime hub. 
      
     In addition, members were updated on the progress of finalisation of the draft Talent List and the implementation of the Technology Talent Admission Scheme. Having considered the views of the relevant advisory bodies and the Legislative Council Panel on Manpower, the Talent List is being finalised and will be launched through the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme within the next few months. With regard to the Technology Talent Admission Scheme, the Government has sought the views of the Legislative Council Panel on Commerce and Industry and provided briefings to the eligible employers on the details of the Scheme. The Scheme is accepting applications from today.
     

     Hong Kong Customs took enforcement action to combat the sale of counterfeit jewellery on June 22 at a fair held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

     Customs earlier received information alleging the display of counterfeit jewellery for order at a booth at a jewellery fair held at the HKCEC.

     After investigation, Customs officers conducted a test-buy operation on June 22 and successfully ordered 2 000 pieces of suspected counterfeit jewellery as well as seized nine counterfeit jewellery samples at a booth with an estimated market value of about $40,000 in total. A 36-year-old man in charge was arrested.

     The man was convicted of offering to supply goods with false trade description and possession of goods with a forged trademark for the purpose of trade or business, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), and sentenced to a fine of $2,000 and two months' imprisonment suspended for 12 months at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts on June 23.

     Under the TDO, any person who sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

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

     Hong Kong Customs has mounted a special operation at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal to step up enforcement action against drug trafficking. The operation started in May and until this morning (June 25), a total of eight cases had been detected involving the seizure of about 230 grams of suspected dangerous drugs, and apparatus fit for the inhalation of dangerous drugs, with an estimated market value of about $232,000.

     The seized suspected dangerous drugs, including cocaine and a small quantity of ketamine, were found concealed inside the clothes or personal belongings of the arrested persons. Most of the drugs were packed in small packages ready for further distribution. A total of eight men aged between 17 and 39 were arrested. The cases have been duly followed up.

     The operation is ongoing.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.

     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 (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

     Hong Kong Customs will step up enforcement at all control points during the summer holidays to combat cross-boundary trafficking activities of dangerous drugs as well as other prohibited/controlled items. Customs appeals to members of the public, especially young people, not to be manipulated by criminals into defying the law.

  

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

     The Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Mr Howard Lee, together with Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr Chen Dong, and the Vice Mayor of the People's Government of Shenzhen Municipality, Mr Liu Qingsheng, took part in the launching ceremony of the first Shenzhen Fintech Summer Internship Programme (the Programme) designed for students from Hong Kong tertiary education institutions today (June 25) .
 
     The Programme is a joint initiative based on the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the HKMA and the Office of Financial Development Service, the People's Government of Shenzhen Municipality (OFDS) with a view to nurturing talent for fintech. It is also one of the four key programmes of the Fintech Career Accelerator Scheme 2.0 launched by the HKMA. The Programme is organised by the Fin Society, sponsored by the HKMA and supported by the OFDS. It aims at raising the competence of fintect talents in Hong Kong in order to meet the increasing demand from the industry. Under the Programme, 50 students from tertiary educational institutions in Hong Kong will be assigned to eight leading fintech or techfin firms on 6-week internships to experience the fintech ecosystem in Shenzhen.
 
     Mr Lee said, "To build a first-class international fintech centre for Hong Kong and Shenzhen, we must enhance soft power by expanding the fintech talent pool in a sustainable manner in order to invest on this important resource. Hong Kong and Shenzhen have their own edges on fintech development. Hong Kong has a large number of financial elites while Shenzhen has talents for technology and innovation. Strengthening the talent development in the two places can create synergy and mutual benefit, and attract talents from all over the country and the world to establish themselves in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area."

    

     Centuryan Services Limited was fined $50,000 at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 25) for violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
 
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on September 21, 2017, in Hung Hom. While a worker was carrying out pest control work on the roof of a residential building, he fell to death from the unprotected roof edge to the podium floor.