Special traffic arrangements on Hong Kong Island

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements to facilitate a public order event to be held on Hong Kong Island this Sunday (January 27).

Road closure
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Phase I (from 3pm on January 26 to 3pm the following day)

ï¹£ The general pick-up/drop-off and loading/unloading area on Lung Wo Road north of Star Ferry Multi-Storey Car Park.

Phase II (from 3am to 10.30am on January 27)

– Yiu Sing Street; and
– Eastbound Lung Wo Road between Yiu Sing Street and Edinburgh Place.

Phase III (from 3am to 12 noon on January 27)

– Part of the fast lane of Man Po Street;
– Part of the slow lane of southbound Man Yiu Street;
– Yiu Sing Street;
– Lung Wo Road, except the slow lane of westbound Lung Wo Road between Tim Wa Avenue and Edinburgh Place;
– Road A2;
– Eastbound Road P2 between Road D11 and Expo Drive;
– Part of the fast lane of westbound Road P2;
– Northbound Road D11;
– Legislative Council Road, except for vehicles heading to Legislative Complex; and
– The slow lane of eastbound Lung Wui Road.

Traffic diversions
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     In connection with the above road closures, the following traffic diversions will be implemented:

– Traffic along southbound Man Yiu Street or eastbound Man Cheung Street cannot enter eastbound Lung Wo Road; and traffic along southbound Man Yiu Street or eastbound Man Po Street cannot enter eastbound Yiu Sing Street. Affected vehicles will be diverted via southbound Man Yiu Street, eastbound Connaught Place, southbound Connaught Place, eastbound Connaught Road Central, eastbound Harcourt Road, northbound Tim Mei Avenue and eastbound Lung Wui Road; and

– Traffic along northbound Edinburgh Place east of Hong Kong City Hall, northbound Legislative Council Road or westbound Road P2 cannot enter westbound Lung Wo Road; and traffic along eastbound Lung Wui Road or westbound Fenwick Pier Street cannot enter northbound Road D11. Affected vehicles will be diverted via eastbound Connaught Road Central or southbound Fenwick Pier Street, eastbound Harcourt Road, eastbound Gloucester Road, northbound Fenwick Street, westbound Fenwick Pier Street, Fenwick Pier Street flyover, westbound Harcourt Road, westbound Connaught Road Central and northbound Man Yiu Street.

Suspension of parking spaces
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     All motorcycle parking spaces at the general pick-up/drop-off and loading/unloading area on Lung Wo Road north of Star Ferry Multi-Storey Car Park will be suspended.

     Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts mentioned above will be towed away without prior warning.

     Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.




Hong Kong Customs celebrates 2019 International Customs Day (with photos)

     The Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Hermes Tang, officiated at a reception today (January 25) in celebrating the 2019 International Customs Day (ICD).

     This year, the World Customs Organization (WCO) devotes ICD to the theme of "SMART borders for seamless Trade, Travel and Transport", which aims at facilitating the cross-boundary movement of goods, people and transportation through advanced technology and modernised customs management.

     Officiating at the reception, Ms Cheng said that Hong Kong Customs has an important role to play in the creation of smart boundaries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She recognises Hong Kong Customs' dedicated efforts in moving towards smart boundary management by establishing an innovative clearance regime and building up a close partnership with other Customs administrations and the business sector.

     Ms Cheng added that the Trade Single Window and the Hong Kong Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme offer the benefits of advanced technology and business knowledge that help saving time and cost for traders. Through setting up of a prioritised clearance facility at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point, companies accredited under the AEO Programme can further enjoy seamless priority clearance within the Greater Bay Area.

     In his remarks, Mr Tang highlighted the twin roles of Hong Kong Customs as both the "trade facilitator" and "community guardian" in the highly-connected world. Using the acronym "SMART", he shared with the reception's participants the philosophy of frontiers transformation: "Secure", "Measurable", "Automated", "Risk management-based" and "Technology-driven", by which Hong Kong Customs uses to meet the public expectations.

     Mr Tang added that Hong Kong Customs would proactively promote the development of SMART boundaries in the Greater Bay Area by leveraging on technology and innovation and explore facilitation measures with the Mainland and Macao Customs. Marking the 110th anniversary of the department's establishment, Hong Kong Customs will remain committed to its motto of "Serve the Community with Commitment and Excellence".

     Hong Kong Customs has celebrated the ICD since Hong Kong became a member of the WCO in 1987. At the reception, Ms Cheng presented WCO Certificates of Merit to officers of Hong Kong Customs in recognition of their efforts contributing to facilitating trade, travel and transport.

     About 370 guests, including Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, HKSAR Government officials, Consuls General, foreign Customs attaches and representatives from Customs administrations of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as private sector stakeholders, attended the reception.

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Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected ketamine (with photo)

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (January 24) seized about 4.2 kilograms of suspected ketamine with an estimated market value of about $2 million at Hong Kong International Airport.

     A male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand yesterday afternoon. During Customs clearance, Customs officers found 17 packets of suspected ketamine wrapped as snacks in his luggage. The man was then arrested.

     The arrested man, aged 27, has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (January 26).

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

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

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Transcript of remarks by STH

     Following is the transcript of remarks at a media standup by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, after attending the Hong Kong Housing Authority Regular Open Meeting today (January 25):

Reporter: There are a number of calls from the members just now for the redevelopment of old housing estates, will the government take this suggestion seriously and is there plan to change the eligibility criteria for elderly applicants for PRH?
 
Secretary for Transport and Housing: As of today, we have no plan to change the eligibility of the elderly but we will keep close watch on government policy, community aspiration and on-going development. As far as the redevelopment of public (rental) housing (is concerned), we do have taken it very seriously in terms of the availability of public rental housing for those in need of adequate housing and also to expedite the moving in (of the tenants) of the public rental housing. Also we have to take into account the cost-effectiveness of redevelopment, the potential of redevelopment. All these factors we have to take into account so as to make the best use of public housing resources to enable more people to live in public rental housing, and also subsidised sale flats.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)




Unlicensed food factory raided in Yuen Long (with photo)

     â€‹The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), jointly with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), raided an unlicensed food factory in Tin Sam Village, Yuen Long, this morning (January 25).
      
     A 74-year-old man was arrested and will be charged with keeping livestock without a licence and operating an unlicensed food factory (for dressing quails), which are in contravention of Section 3 of the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping) Regulation (Cap 139L) and Section 31(1) of the Food Business Regulation (Cap 132X).
      
     During the operation, FEHD and AFCD officers seized 11kg of dressed quails, 2577 live quails, 2933 quail eggs and three hatchers.
      
     Under the Food Business Regulation (Cap 132X), anyone operating an unlicensed food factory commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and imprisonment for six months upon conviction.
      
     "The FEHD will continue to take stringent enforcement action against unlicensed food factory activities," a spokesman for the FEHD said.
      
     "Members of the public can report any suspected unlicensed food factory activities by calling the FEHD hotline 2868 0000."

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