The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, arrived in Shanghai today (September 5) to meet with the Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, Dr Wu Jinglei, to exchange views on the co-operation in the medical and health field between Shanghai and Hong Kong. She also led a delegation to visit Longhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine to learn about the development of Chinese medicine hospitals.

     Professor Chan said, "During the Fourth Plenary Session of the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Conference held in Hong Kong last month, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government identified clear directions for a number of areas of co-operation. Regarding medical and health matters, Shanghai and Hong Kong have agreed to deepen co-operation in four areas, namely the development of Chinese medicine, hospital management, public healthcare and medical services.

     "I am grateful to Shanghai for supporting the development of the first Chinese medicine hospital in Hong Kong. They shared with us the advantages and resources in the field of Chinese medicine; supported the academic exchange in Chinese medicine and the flow of healthcare professionals between the two places; facilitated the standardisation of Chinese medicine in both places; and strengthened the co-operation in terms of international classification of diseases.

     "Hong Kong is pushing forward with the development of its first Chinese medicine hospital. With the support of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine has recommended two experts in Chinese medicine from Shanghai to take part in the relevant committee for the preparation of the Hong Kong Chinese medicine hospital in the capacity of Mainland consultants and offer expert advice on the planning, construction and operation of the Chinese medicine hospital."

     The delegation also visited Longhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine today to understand the operation of the studios of a famed traditional Chinese medicine doctor, the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Oncology and medical wards.

     Professor Chan said, "During today's visit, members of the delegation gained a better understanding of the operation of the hospital and its valuable experience in areas including scope of service, management mode, manpower training and scientific research, which will assist us in developing the first Chinese medicine hospital which can meet the service needs of Hong Kong people."

     The delegation will proceed to Seoul, Korea, tomorrow (September 6). During their stay in South Korea, the delegation will visit the Association of Korean Medicine, the National Medical Center, the Kyung Hee University Oriental Hospital at Gangdong and the National Rehabilitation Center. Professor Chan will also call on officials of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Korea and meet with Hong Kong people living there.

     The delegation includes the Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Health), Ms Elizabeth Tse; the Project Director of the Chinese Medicine Hospital Project Office, Dr Cheung Wai-lun; and representatives of the Food and Health Bureau and the Hospital Authority. Members of the Chinese medicine hospital's user group have also joined the visit.

      

     Forty citizens who helped the Police fight crime were commended at the Good Citizen Award (GCA) Presentation Ceremony today (September 5).
     
     Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (Management), Mr Kwok Yam-shu, noted that crime figures in the first half of 2018 decreased by 6.2 per cent year-on-year to 26 550 cases, marking a record low since 1977. He attributed the low crime rates in Hong Kong in recent years to the concerted efforts of the Police and citizens. He also commended the GCA recipients for taking the initiative to help the Police fight crime, adding that they demonstrated the spirit of bravery and mutual help.

     Also officiating at the ceremony, Dr Cheng Kam-chung, a member of the Fight Crime Committee, said that the low crime rate in Hong Kong was achieved through long-term mutual trust and co-operation between the Police and the community. He hoped members of the public would continue to help Police fight crime and maintain law and order of the society.

     General Committee Member of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Ms Chan Sui-kuen, praised GCA recipients as role models for citizens at the ceremony. She hoped more citizens would join the league to promote such acts of bravery and justice.

     With the help of the awardees, more than 30 persons were arrested for a variety of offences including trafficking in dangerous drugs, theft, robbery, arson with intent, indecent assault and outraging public decency.

     The youngest awardee, Mr Liu Kin-leung, aged 19, helped intercept and subdue a man who took upskirt photo of a female. The man was convicted of outraging public decency and sentenced to three weeks’ imprisonment.

     The eldest awardee, Mr Wu Wing-hong, aged 67, helped identify a male culprit who stole a passenger’s properties on a flight to Hong Kong. The man was convicted of theft and sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment.

     Presented twice a year, the Award is organised by the Police Public Relations Branch and sponsored by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Each of the awardees receives a certificate and a cheque of $3,000. Since 1973, more than 4,000 persons have been commended over the years.

        

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Dr Law Chi-kwong, on child abuse today (September 5) after attending "The 17th Hong Kong Occupational Safety & Health Award" Forum and Award Presentation Ceremony:
 
Reporter: What are the determining factors? Given the several recent high-profile cases, what are the factors that your bureau is considering when it comes to calls to review the law with regard to child abuse?
 
Secretary for Labour and Welfare: It's too early to talk about what the factors are. There seems to be a need to look at, at least to explore, if there is any possibility or need to review the existing legislation, and whether they are adequate in terms of dealing with this kind of, you can say, crimes. Although we are not very sure (whether) increasing the sentence will have any additional deterrent effect or not, somehow by looking at what the judges have said and what the community has been responding, there is a need for us to explore if there is a need for such review.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Hong Kong's advances in innovation and technology (I&T) have been in the spotlight in Germany over the past week thanks to the efforts of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin) and other organisations. 

     On August 29, the Director of HKETO Berlin, Mr Bill Li, visited Aachen in Germany and met with the Head of the Department of Operative Technology Management at the renowned Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT), Mr Toni Drescher. Mr Drescher is also the Chief Executive Officer of KEX Knowledge Exchange AG (KEX), a spinoff from the Fraunhofer IPT, and Director of the INC Invention Center on the Aachen Campus of RWTH, one of the top 100 universities in the new Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The INC Invention Center housed in the KEX office is a place where companies can find a network of I&T experts, information managers and business model specialists who help turn ideas into innovations. KEX is teaming up with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to replicate the INC Invention Center in Hong Kong to support Hong Kong enterprises in smart products and services invention, time-to-market development and prototyping by leveraging the intensive expertise and diverse technology networks of KEX and the HKPC.

     Hong Kong was also present at this year's IFA, a trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, held in Berlin from August 31 to today (September 5). The Hong Kong Pavilion hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), a public corporation set up by the Hong Kong Government to foster the development of I&T in Hong Kong, showcased what the city has to offer as a hub for I&T development. 

     The HKSTP delegation led by the Corporation's Head of Electronics & ICT Clusters, Smart City Platform, Mr Peter Yeung, further strengthened multilateral ties with scientists, entrepreneurs and experts when visiting Berlin's noted European Energy Forum Campus (EUREF Campus), which hosts around 100 companies from the focus sectors of energy, sustainability and mobility. HKSTP delegates exchanged ideas with their EUREF Campus counterparts on digitisation, smart mobility, smart living and smart government.

     During the past week's promotional efforts, German enterprises and researchers were briefed on how Hong Kong is preparing for the future. Asia's world city is not only widely acknowledged as the world's freest economy and China's international financial centre but is also advancing in I&T. Local and international talents, world-class research facilities and robust intellectual property protection underpin Hong Kong's growing success in I&T.

     Among the renowned overseas institutions that have set up operations in  Hong Kong is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which launched its Innovation Node, a collaborative space that aims to connect the MIT community with unique resources, in the city in 2015. The Swedish Karolinska Institutet also reached out to Hong Kong: its Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine functions as a technology hub exploring novel technologies, including genome editing, reprogramming, single cell transcriptomics, biomedical engineering, and 3D tissue imaging technologies.

     The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area comprises the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao and the nine municipalities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province. The essence of the Bay Area development is to leverage the comparative advantages of every Bay Area city to the largest extent; deepen co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao; facilitate in-depth and organic regional integration; and drive co-ordinated regional economic development. Hong Kong's connectivity within the Bay Area will be further enhanced by the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which will commence operation on September 23, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge expected to complete by the end of 2018. 

     The steadily improving connectivity in the region is emphasised by the fact that Hong Kong will host FinTech Week from October 29 to November 2 with the financial technology event taking place in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The event is one of the largest conferences on the international calendar, and is expected to attract more than 8 000 senior executives and feature over 200 of the world's top financial technology founders, investors, regulators and academics who are shaping the future of financial services by driving a technological revolution across Asia and globally. Hong Kong's hosting of this signature event is further proof of the city's emerging status as Asia's hub for I&T.

     For more information about FinTech Week, please visit www.fintechweek.hk, and for more facts about the Bay Area, please see www.bayarea.gov.hk.

About HKETO Berlin

     HKETO Berlin is the official Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Germany as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland. 

    

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (September 5) that 50 cartons of sweet potato (a total of 250 kilograms) from Chiba Prefecture and 10 cartons of yam (a total of 40 kilograms) from Gunma Prefecture, Japan were illegally imported into Hong Kong, breaching the relevant Food Safety Order. None of the products concerned have entered the market. The CFS is following up on the case.
      
     A spokesman for the CFS said, "The CFS inspected a consignment of food imported from Japan and found that the above-mentioned products from Chiba and Gunma Prefectures therein were not accompanied with radiation certificates and exporter certificates issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, breaching the relevant Food Safety Order. The products concerned have not entered the market and have been marked and sealed by the CFS. The Centre has taken samples of the products concerned for testing of radiation level and no radiation has been detected.
      
     "According to the Order, the import of vegetables, fruit, milk, milk beverages and dried milk from four Japanese prefectures, namely Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma, must be accompanied with radiation certificates and exporter certificates issued by the MAFF of Japan. The CFS conducts a radiation test on each consignment of Japanese food imported, and requires importers not to sell the products until the test result turns out to be satisfactory. The aforementioned illegal imports were detected by the CFS during inspection and the products concerned did not enter the market. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the CFS' gate-keeping work."
      
     The CFS has informed the Japanese authorities concerned of the incident, and will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. Prosecution will be instituted against the importer concerned should there be sufficient evidence. Investigation is ongoing.