The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (August 18) announced at a sharing session on the reintroduction of a local rice variety, Fa Yiu Tsai, that the variety is now available in the market.

     Speaking at the sharing session, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Dr Leung Siu-fai, said, "The AFCD has been committed to the selection and promotion of new crop varieties to farmers to diversify the local agricultural industry."

     In view of the re-emergence of rice farming in recent years, the AFCD obtained the seeds of Fa Yiu Tsai from a seed bank in 2019. These seeds were sent to the seed bank by the authorities in the 1960s. The AFCD hopes local farmers can produce the quality rice variety and conserve local varieties with historical origin through cultivating the rice variety again.

     The AFCD conducted cultivation trials at the Tai Lung Experimental Station of the department for seed saving of the variety, and co-operated with the Hong Kong Seed Technology and Education Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, which is funded by the Sustainable Agricultural Development Fund, for genome sequencing. The growth and seed purity of Fa Yiu Tsai were found to be stable. It is suitable for local cultivation. The AFCD distributed seeds to local farmers for cultivation trials and provided technical support to them to promote cultivation of the local quality rice.

     Dr Leung said that the AFCD hopes to create more opportunities for the local agricultural industry and facilitate its sustainable development by continuous introduction of new crop varieties.

     After tasting, some rice experts said that Fa Yiu Tsai was grainy and hence took up sauces or condiments more readily, and best fitted Hong Kong cuisine.

     The Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO) has collaborated with a local rice supplier to promote Fa Yiu Tsai. Consumers can order Fa Yiu Tsai harvested earlier this year (in July) through the VMO's "Local Fresh" mobile application.

     Enquiries about the sale of Fa Yiu Tsai can be made to the VMO at 2387 4164.

        

     A Government spokesman announced today (August 18) that the supply of fresh food from the Mainland yesterday (August 17) was sufficient and stable.

     According to the latest information, the volume of vegetables sold through the wholesale markets of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Vegetable Marketing Organization was about 790 tonnes. The average wholesale prices of choi sum and pak choi stood at $7.60 and $6.80 per catty respectively yesterday. The supply of eggs to the wholesale market remained steady, with the average daily supply standing at about 3.5 million for the past week, comparable to the average daily supply on a normal day last year.

     The total supply of chilled meat from the Mainland yesterday was about 31 tonnes. The supply of live pigs was plentiful.

     The supply of chilled poultry from the Mainland was about 150 000 head yesterday, and about 11 000 live chickens were slaughtered locally. The supply was abundant.

     Regarding the rice supply, in compliance with the requirement by the Government, stockholders of rice have to maintain the reserve stock of rice at a level sufficient for consumption by the local population for 15 days. The trade generally stocks double the required amount, which is sufficient for one month's consumption by Hong Kong citizens. In recent years, the import and consumption of rice in Hong Kong has stood at a steady level of around 320 000 to 330 000 tonnes per year. The import quantity (including reserve stock) as of end-June 2022 was 30 400 tonnes. Suppliers also maintain a reserve for food that can be stored, such as frozen meat, for around three months' stock generally.

     The Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities and major food suppliers to ensure a stable food supply.

     The AFCD updates and publishes the fresh food supply information daily. Members of the public may visit the AFCD website for updates on daily supplies and wholesale prices of fresh food (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_fresh/agr_fresh.html).

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (August 18) chaired the 14th meeting of the Commission on Children.

     Chairing the meeting of the Commission for the first time, Mr Chan said, "The Government attaches utmost importance to the well-being of children and is committed to providing a safe and nourishing environment for the healthy and happy growth and optimal development of our children to achieve their fullest potential. Together with members of the Commission, we would make the best effort to harness the combined strengths of various government bureaux and departments and team up with different sectors and professions in society, in order to safeguard the well-being of children and build a pro-child Hong Kong."

     At the meeting, members were briefed by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) on the Interim Report of the Committee on Review of Residential Child Care and Related Services (Review Committee) on its first-phase review, which focused on the services of Residential Child Care Centres (RCCCs) and Residential Special Child Care Centres for children aged under 6. Members noted that the Review Committee had made 31 recommendations for improvement. On service quality, the report recommended to enhance the manning ratio of child care workers in RCCCs and additionally provide Child Care Aides; introduce cross-disciplinary professional support; strengthen training for staff; introduce a registration mechanism for superintendents under which applicants should complete training courses on child protection when joining the service, receive ongoing training after joining the service, and bear the responsibility of reporting suspected child abuse cases, etc. On service regulation and monitoring, the report recommended to step up efforts of inspection, including incorporating health inspectors served by nurses and former law enforcement agency staff in the Child Care Centres Advisory Inspectorate of the SWD, setting up service quality groups formed by the Justices of the Peace and persons from different professional sectors for surprise inspections; introducing new technologies to the closed-circuit television system in RCCCs to promptly identify any improper behaviour by staff, etc. On service planning, apart from increasing the provision of more residential child care services premises, the report recommended to strengthen recruitment and support to foster care parents for providing more family-based care services. Members welcomed the various recommended measures and offered views on their implementation. They also noted that the Government would follow up on the recommendations formulated in the review report in order of priority; and that the Review Committee would commence the second phase of the review on other types of residential child care services with a targeted completion by next March.

     Members were also consulted on a proposal to mandate designated professionals to report suspected child abuse cases to the relevant government authorities' specified categories of child abuse/neglect cases, the non-compliance of which will lead to criminal liability. Members noted that the Labour and Welfare Bureau has commenced the relevant legislative work and expressed views on five key parameters, including the target to be protected; categories of practitioners to be designated as mandated reporters; types of suspected cases to be reported; level of penalty; and safeguard provisions for mandated reporters. Members also noted the proposed reporting channel, training for the mandated reporters and administrative support measures on child protection. The Government would organise stakeholder engagement sessions on the proposal in September for the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the Government plans to take forward the proposal by introducing a bill to the Legislative Council within the 2023-24 legislative session.

  

     The Lands Department announced today (August 18) that the tender for a site, Rural Building Lot No. 1220 at Chung Hom Kok, Hong Kong, has been awarded to the highest tenderer, China Telecom Global Limited, on a 30-year land grant at a premium of $180,000,000.

     The other tenderer was GB21 (Hong Kong) Limited.

     Rural Building Lot No. 1220 has a site area of about 1,836 square metres and is designated for external telecommunications station purposes.
      
     The tenderers must be incorporated companies registered under the Companies Ordinance which either are holders of Unified Carrier Licences (UCLs) granted by the Communications Authority (CA) who are authorised to provide cable-based and/or non-cable based external telecommunications services in Hong Kong, or have obtained an approval-in-principle from the CA for the grant of a UCL to provide such telecommunications services in Hong Kong. The tenderer that has been awarded the grant of Rural Building Lot No. 1219 (the Party) and any company connected with the Party were not eligible to participate in this tender exercise for disposal of Rural Building Lot No. 1220.

     Hong Kong Customs and the Marine Police yesterday (August 17) mounted a joint anti-smuggling operation and detected a suspected smuggling case involving a cargo vessel in the south-western waters of Hong Kong. About 22 tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen meat with an estimated market value of about $3.4 million were seized.

     Customs officers and Marine Police officers conducted a joint anti-smuggling operation and spotted a suspicious cargo vessel in the waters off Cheung Chau last night. Several men on the cargo vessel, suspected of participating in smuggling activities, were unloading goods onto a high-powered speedboat. Customs officers and Marine Police officers immediately took action and intercepted the cargo vessel. The batch of suspected smuggled frozen meat was seized on board the vessel. 

     During the operation, Customs officers arrested five men aged between 27 and 48 who were suspected to be connected with the case.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs stresses that it will keep up its enforcement action and will continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities by proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with mounting targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times and maintaining close co-operation in its intelligence exchanges with local and overseas law enforcement agencies to land a solid blow against relevant activities.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. 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.

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