Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Department of Health (DH) today (July 15) participated in the 1st National Conference of Traditional Chinese Medicines Scientific Supervision (Conference) to discuss the scientific regulation and development of Chinese medicines.
      
     The Conference was held under the guidance of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) from July 14 to 15 in Beijing, with participants taking part in person or online. The conference aims to build an exchange platform on Chinese medicines regulation and promote high-quality development of Chinese medicines. The event featured sub-forums for exchanging views and discussing issues such as the development, evaluation and approval of novel Chinese medicines, regulation of Chinese medicines in terms of quality and safety, and scientific regulation and international harmonisation in relation to traditional medicines.
      
     In his video speech at the Sub-forum on Scientific Regulation and International Harmonisation in Relation to Traditional Medicines, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, expressed his gratitude to the NMPA for enabling the convening of the Conference, further bringing about the reform of Chinese medicines’ evaluation and approval system, and contributing to the high-quality development of Chinese medicines. The DH was also invited to deliver a keynote address on the regulation of Chinese medicine and progress in enhancing the safety and quality of Chinese medicines in Hong Kong at the same sub-forum.
      
     “During the COVID-19 epidemic, Chinese medicine has been demonstrating its strong effectiveness in epidemic prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and has laid the foundations for overcoming COVID-19 in our country. To this end, Hong Kong needs to further enhance and refine the regulatory system to ensure the safe use, quality and efficacy of Chinese medicines,” Dr Lam said.  
      
     Dr Lam added that with the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong will focus on giving full play to the advantages of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute to promote the inheritance, innovation and development of Chinese medicines, and to push forward talent nurturing and technology transfers, in order to allow “modernised Chinese medicines” to take root in the Greater Bay Area, and to promote Chinese medicines to “go global”.
      
     The Conference, as a valuable exchange platform for the modernatisation of Chinese medicines regulation, would facilitate co-operation and exchanges between the Mainland and Hong Kong comprehensively, and Hong Kong’s active integration into the overall national development. The DH will continue to implement regulatory measures for Chinese medicines, and promote the inheritance and innovative development of Chinese medicines in Hong Kong through the testing and scientific research of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute. With the staunch support of the motherland, Hong Kong will give full play to its unique advantages and perform its role as an important bridge and window of Mainland China to the rest of the world to further promote Chinese medicines overseas.
      
     Representatives from relevant regulatory authorities of the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Japan, Thailand, the United States and European Union countries, and the World Health Organization, as well as experts from related research institutions participated in the Sub-forum on Scientific Regulation and International Harmonisation in Relation to Traditional Medicines to share their experiences. read more

     â€‹The Government today (July 15) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” (declaration) effective from 5.30pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tai Po (i.e. Chung Chun House, Chung Nga Court, Tai Po, excluding the non-domestic units on G/F, see Annex.) are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing are required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” have undergone testing and the test results are mostly ascertained. The Government aims at finishing this exercise at around 9.30am tomorrow (July 16). The operation may be extended depending on test results.
 
     A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. Having reviewed a basket of factors, including the viral load in sewage, the information of relevant positive cases, and other circumstantial factors, and conducted a risk assessment, the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area.”
 
     The Government will set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 11.30pm today. Arrangements will be made for persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo a nucleic acid test at specimen collection stations where dedicated staff will collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs. Persons subject to compulsory testing must stay at their place of residence until all test results are ascertained to avoid cross-infection risk. The Government will make arrangement to facilitate specimen collection for people with impaired mobility. 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, are not required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
 
     The Government spokesman said, “We understand that this exercise will cause inconvenience to the public. The Government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the ‘restricted area’ as soon as possible. The aim is to strive to complete testing of all identified persons subject to compulsory testing and confirm the results, and finish the exercise at around 9.30am tomorrow. The Government will make a public announcement when the declaration expires officially. In the cases in which employees are unable to go to work because of the declaration, the Government hopes their employers can exercise discretion and not deduct the salaries or benefits of the employees.”
 
     If staying in the “restricted area” will cause unreasonable hardship to individuals who are not residents in the area when the declaration takes effect, government officers may exercise discretion and allow that person to leave the area after considering the individual circumstances. That person must have followed the instructions to undergo testing and leave his/her personal information for contact purposes.
 
     According to the compulsory testing notice to be issued today, any persons other than those specified above who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from July 9 to July 15, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, must undergo compulsory testing on or before July 17, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, for prudence’s sake, vaccinated persons and persons who have recently been tested are also required to undergo testing.
 
     The Government will provide food packs and necessity packs for persons subject to compulsory testing, so as to facilitate the meal arrangements and daily needs of some persons subject to compulsory testing. In addition, the Home Affairs Department has set up a hotline (Tel: 2835 1473) which starts operation at 5.30pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
 
     The Government appeals to persons subject to compulsory testing for their full co-operation by registering and undergoing testing, and waiting for the results patiently at home. The Government will strictly follow up on whether the persons concerned have complied with the compulsory testing notices and “restriction-testing declaration”. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person would 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 compulsory testing order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (July 15) that it registered 25 lease modifications, two land exchanges and one lot extension in the Land Registry during the quarter ending June 2022, of which 15 were modifications of … read more

     Hong Kong Customs mounted anti-illicit cigarette special operations last week in view of the arrival of the summer holidays. A total of 20 relevant cases were detected and a total of about 97 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $270 million and a duty potential of about $180 million were seized across the territory. Customs has so far this year seized about 259 million suspected illicit cigarettes, signifying vigorous law enforcement results.

     One of the cases detected last week set a record for the largest cigarette smuggling case detected by Customs in the past 21 years. In this case, Customs officers on July 6 intercepted a container truck near Ha Tsuen Road, Yuen Long, and seized about 14 million suspected illicit cigarettes inside a 40-feet container. After an initial investigation, Customs officers searched six more containers at two container yards nearby and further seized about 64 million suspected illicit cigarettes inside the containers. During the operation, a total of about 78 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $220 million and a duty potential of about $150 million were seized. A 58-year-old male driver suspected to be connected with the case was arrested and seven containers suspected to be involved in the case were detained. 

     Investigation is ongoing. Customs will continue to trace the source and the flow of the illicit cigarettes. The likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.

     Including the suspected illicit cigarettes seized in this operation, Customs has seized about 259 million suspected illicit cigarettes this year as at yesterday (July 14), an increase of about 21 per cent compared to the figure for the same period last year.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis for interception at source as well as through its multi-pronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to spare no effort in combating illicit cigarette 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.

     Customs reminds members of the public that it is an offence to buy or sell illicit cigarettes. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

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

  

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs today (July 15) announced that the first Tobacco Detector Dog Team has been set up to further strengthen Customs’ capability in interception at source to combat the smuggling of illicit tobacco into Hong Kong, enhancing enforcement effectiveness in combating illicit cigarettes. 

     Further to the establishment of the first Firearm Detector Dog Team in December last year, Customs has trained tobacco detector dogs and dog handlers on its own to realise a development strategy formulated by the Customs Canine Force (CCF) along the direction of diversification and to expand the detector dogs’ sniffing ability.

     Apart from training the current four types of detector dogs, namely drug detector dogs, explosive detector dogs, cash detector dogs and firearm detector dogs, the CCF has self-developed a tobacco detector dog training programme for the first time to train the detector dogs’ abilities to intercept tobacco. After training, the tobacco detector dogs can sniff out different types of tobacco products, including cigarettes and cigars, in a bid to assist Customs officers to combat illicit cigarette activities on all fronts.

     The tobacco detector dogs this time were selected from the Springer Spaniel puppies bred under the canine breeding co-operation between Customs and the Fire Services Department in February last year. They received regular training for 12 weeks when they reached 1 year old and officially became tobacco detector dogs after passing examinations.

     The newly formed Tobacco Detector Dog Team comprises four sub-teams, with each having a dog handler and a detector dog. The tobacco detector dogs are able to assist Customs officers to carry out efficient and effective assessment on cargo consignments carried by large conveyances. Coupled with intelligence analysis and risk management, Customs’ clearance efficiency and enforcement capability to intercept illicit cigarettes at the control points will be greatly enhanced.

     The self-bred working dogs have officially performed duties after puppy nurturing with care and professional training. This has proven the professionalism of Customs in three aspects, namely canine breeding, puppy nurturing and staff training, and the achievement in developing detector dog management as one of the branches of professionalism for the department.

     The Tobacco Detector Dog Team has been deployed to the airport, land boundary control points and container terminals to provide effective support to the department in combating tobacco smuggling activities.