Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹The Government yesterday (July 19) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” effective from 5.30pm yesterday, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Wong Tai Sin (i.e. Tan Fung House, Choi Hung Estate, Wong Tai Sin) were required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing were required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” had undergone testing and the test results were mostly ascertained. All persons in the “restricted area” who have tested positive in the past 14 days, including positive cases identified either by nucleic acid tests recorded by the Department of Health (DH) or by rapid antigen tests that have been self-declared to the DH, were not required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
 
     In addition, the Government issued a compulsory testing notice yesterday, requiring persons, other than those specified above, who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from July 13 to 19, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, to undergo compulsory testing on or before July 21, 2022.
 
     The Government finished the compulsory testing exercise at around 9.30am today (July 20) and carried out enforcement action in the “restricted area” afterwards to verify that all people in the “restricted area” had undergone compulsory testing in accordance with the requirements of the relevant declaration and compulsory testing notice. The Government announced that the enforcement operation ended at around 1.10pm today.

     The Government provided food packs for persons subject to compulsory testing to facilitate their meal arrangements. Anti-epidemic proprietary Chinese medicines donated by the Central People’s Government or procured with the co-ordination of the Central People’s Government and rapid antigen test kits were also distributed to persons subject to compulsory testing to help them fight against the virus. The Buildings Department also set up a hotline for people restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance.
　
     The Government thanks persons subject to compulsory testing for their support and understanding. With everyone’s co-operation and efforts, coupled with the efforts of the testing contractors throughout the night, residents have been informed about their testing results by SMS notification. After finishing the compulsory testing exercise at around 9.30am today, the Government took enforcement action in the “restricted area” immediately to verify that all people in the “restricted area” had undergone testing according to the requirements of the declaration and the compulsory testing notice. Persons who could present an SMS notification containing a negative testing result as proof of having undergone the compulsory testing could leave the “restricted area” through the designated exit after providing personal information to a prescribed officer. The enforcement operation was completed at around 1.10pm. Test records of around 516 persons subject to compulsory testing were checked. Fifty-one persons were found not having undergone compulsory testing and compulsory testing orders were issued to them. Taking into account the above situation, the Secretary for Health revoked the “restriction-testing declaration” in accordance with Cap. 599J (see attachment).
 
     The Government reminds the 154 households who have not answered the door to undergo a nucleic acid test as soon as possible after reading the notices put up by the Government, in the hope of eliminating the possible risk of further spread of the virus in the community.
 
     The Government thanks all participating government staff, the testing agencies and the venue set-up contractors for their hard work. The Government is also grateful to those subject to compulsory testing for their support and understanding, and their full co-operation during this period in undergoing testing and waiting for the results at home.
 
     The Government will seriously follow up on the compliance situation of the compulsory testing notices and the “restriction-testing declaration” by persons subject to compulsory testing. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be liable to a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person will also be issued with a compulsory testing order, requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender may be liable to a fine of level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs conducted an enforcement action on July 6 and arrested six female staff members of a vacation club marketing company suspected of engaging in unfair trade practices for making misleading omissions in the course of selling vacation club memberships, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO). Customs officers today (July 20) mounted an enforcement action again and arrested three persons for suspected contravention of the TDO.

     During a follow-up investigation into the aforementioned case, Customs officers discovered that another female staff member of the vacation club marketing company, in the course of selling vacation club memberships, was suspected of omitting or hiding material information from customers that additional charges would be required after paying the membership fee in order to use the relevant services. Customs officers subsequently arrested the 23-year-old female staff member and a 35-year-old male director of the company today.

     In addition, Customs officers found that one of the six female staff members arrested earlier was suspected of engaging in unfair trade practices for making misleading omissions in the course of selling vacation club memberships at another vacation club marketing company. Customs officers therefore arrested a 37-year-old female director of the company concerned today.

     An investigation is ongoing and the three arrested persons have been released on bail pending further investigation. 

     Customs again reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.

     Under the TDO, any trader who engages in a commercial practice that omits or hides material information or provides material information in a manner that is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely, and as a result causes, or is likely to cause, an average consumer to make a transactional decision, commits an offence of misleading omissions. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years. The management staff will also be liable if the offence is committed with their consent or connivance or is attributed to their neglect.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).  read more

     The Outreach Music Interest Courses organised by the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will launch two new online parent-child programmes in addition to over 80 Chinese and Western musical instrument foundation classes and music workshops. These courses will be held from August to January next year and members of the public are welcome to join.

     The two new parent-child online summer courses, “Wandering Europe with Music Maestros” and “Wonderful Music World of 4Bs”, will introduce participants to renowned musicians such as J S Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Bartok through interactive games and activities. Each of these courses costs $400 for each parent and child pair.

     Other Outreach Music Interest Courses, including a workshop on Composition and Orchestration for Symphonic Band (Advanced); a “Let’s e-Orch!” workshop; elementary courses on the little harp, kalimba, keyboard, ukulele, classical guitar and folk guitar; Western music theory (Grades 1 and 2); aural training; instrumental enrichment courses for liuyeqin, zhong-ruan, pipa, erhu, viola, cello and percussion (glockenspiel and practice pad); ensemble training of Chinese instruments; and basic training on liuyeqin, zhong-ruan, pipa, yangqin, zheng, erhu, violin, viola, cello and percussion (glockenspiel and practice pad), are still open for applications. The course fees range from $320 to $1,070. 

     All courses are conducted in small groups in Cantonese. Participants of online courses are required to prepare their own electronic device equipped with a wireless or broadband data connection, a webcam and Zoom software in advance. Other courses will be held at different venues across the territory. If the venues are closed due to the pandemic, some of the classes will be conducted online. Course prospectuses and application forms are now available at the Music Office website www.lcsd.gov.hk/musicoffice. Places are limited and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis at all Music Office music centres. 

     For enquiries, please call 3842 7773, 2596 0898 or 2598 8335.
 
     In order to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, visitors are required to scan the “LeaveHomeSafe” QR code before being allowed to enter the venues managed by the LCSD for necessary contact tracing if a confirmed case is found. In accordance with the Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599L) and relevant requirements of administrative instructions, all persons entering indoor venues under the management of the LCSD must comply with the requirement of the Vaccine Pass. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Law Reform Commission:

     The Cybercrime Sub-committee of the Law Reform Commission published the Consultation Paper on Cyber-Dependent Crimes and Jurisdictional Issues today (July 20), making preliminary proposals for law reform to address the challenges to protection of individuals’ rights caused by the rapid developments associated with information technology, the computer and internet, and the potential for them to be exploited for carrying out criminal activities.

     This consultation paper comprises the first part of the study on cybercrime. It addresses five cyber-dependent crimes, which are crimes that can be committed only through the use of information and communications technology devices, where such devices are both the tool for committing the crimes and the target of the crimes. The five cyber-dependent crimes are illegal access to program or data, illegal interception of computer data, illegal interference of computer data, illegal interference of computer system, and making available or possessing a device or data for committing a crime.

     Currently, no single ordinance in Hong Kong deals with cybercrime specifically. Different offences are covered in the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200) (CO) and the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap 106) (TO), some of which are outdated. The Sub-committee has considered the laws of seven other jurisdictions, namely Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Mainland China, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States. A comparative study reveals that these jurisdictions have all provided for the five cyber-dependent crimes and their related jurisdictional issues either by enacting bespoke cybercrime legislation, or dedicating a part of their codified law to cybercrime.

     The main recommendations in the paper are:

(i) A new piece of bespoke legislation on cybercrime should be enacted to cover the five types of offences proposed in the paper and to prescribe their applicable jurisdictional rules;

(ii) There should be a new offence of unauthorised access to program or data, subject to a statutory defence of reasonable excuse. This offence would apply no matter whether access to a computer is obtained by telecommunications or not, and would therefore enhance the existing section 27A of the TO (which only targets unauthorised access to a computer by “telecommunications” as defined in that ordinance). In view of the potentially serious harm that an offender may further cause after accessing program or data, the Sub-committee proposes that unauthorised access with intent to carry out further criminal activity should constitute an aggravated offence;

(iii) There should be a new offence of unauthorised interception, disclosure or use of computer data carried out for a dishonest or criminal purpose. This offence would apply to data generally, including metadata (i.e. information about a communication), data in transit and data momentarily at rest during transmission, and would therefore offer better protection to communications by members of the public than the existing section 27(b) of the TO (which is predicated on a telecommunications context);

(iv) The existing provisions regarding “misuse of a computer” in sections 59(1A), 60 and 64(2) of the CO should be transposed into the new legislation to provide for the offences of illegal interference of computer data and computer system. The new legislation should retain the breadth of the existing law, and the opportunity can be taken to refine the statutory definition of “misuse of a computer”, e.g. by incorporating notions such as “impair the operation of any computer” into it;

(v) After the provisions on “misuse of a computer” are reorganised in the above manner, a provision corresponding to the existing section 62 of the CO (possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property) should be introduced in the new legislation to include an offence of knowingly making available or possessing a device or data for committing a crime. The relevant elements of this offence would be made out as long as the primary use of the device or data is for committing an offence, regardless of whether or not it can be used for any legitimate purposes. An aggravated offence would occur where the perpetrator intends to use the device or data to commit an offence. To avoid over-criminalisation, a statutory defence of reasonable excuse would apply to both the basic and aggravated forms of the offence;

(vi) The nature of cybercrime justifies extra-territorial application of Hong Kong law. Hong Kong courts should have jurisdiction in a case where connections with Hong Kong exist. As an illustration, Hong Kong courts may assume jurisdiction if the perpetrator’s act has caused or may cause serious damage to Hong Kong; and

(vii) Recognising that the severity of the harm caused by cybercrime has a wide range, each of the five proposed cyber-dependent offences has two maximum sentences, one applicable to summary convictions (two years’ imprisonment) and the other to convictions on indictment (14 years’ imprisonment).

     When devising the above recommendations, the Sub-committee observes the guiding principles of balancing the rights of netizens and the interests of persons in the information technology industry against the need to protect the public’s interest and right not to be disturbed or attacked when using or operating their computer system.

     The Sub-committee welcomes views, comments and suggestions on any issues discussed in the consultation paper, including:

(i) whether there should be any specific defence or exemption for unauthorised access for cybersecurity purposes;

(ii) whether there should be exemptions from criminal liability for interception and use of data (including metadata) in favour of any professions and businesses;

(iii) whether the proposed offence of illegal interference of computer system should provide for lawful excuses for both cybersecurity professionals and non-security professionals; and

(iv) whether there should be a defence or exemption for the offence of knowingly making available or possessing computer data that can only be used to perform a cyberattack.

     All views should be submitted on or before October 19 to the Secretary of the Cybercrime Sub-committee, Law Reform Commission, by mail (4/F, East Wing, Justice Place, 18 Lower Albert Road, Central), by fax (3918 4096) or by email (hklrc@hkreform.gov.hk).

     The consultation paper and the executive summary can also be accessed on the Commission’s website at www.hkreform.gov.hk. Hard copies of the consultation paper are also available on request from the Secretariat of the Law Reform Commission at the above address.

  

     The Information Services Department (ISD) is taking part in this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair from today (July 20) to July 26 under the theme “Unlimited Exploration”. The booth is located at Stall D37 in Hall 1A of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

     More than 70 government titles are on sale at the fair, with most of them being sold at a 25 per cent discount or below. A number of specially priced books are also on sale including the “Hong Kong Culture Snapshot” series (Chinese version only) and “The Temple Gardens of Hong Kong”, with discounts ranging from 60 to 85 per cent.

     Customers buying publications at the ISD booth may pay in cash or with an Octopus card, and will receive a souvenir in return.

     To help save the environment, plastic bags will not be handed out at the booth. Purchasers are asked to bring their own carry bag.