The Vision 2030 for Rule of Law International Symposium, co-organised by the Department of Justice, the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council and the Asian Academy of International Law, was held today (May 26) in a hybrid format, bringing together officials and renowned legal experts and academics from all over the world to examine the understanding and practice of the rule of law under various jurisdictions. The Vision 2030 Task Force Report was also launched at the Symposium.

     The Symposium, also one of the celebratory events for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), was launched by the welcoming remarks made by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, followed by an opening speech by the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, Mr Liu Guangyuan. Judge Xue Hanqin of the International Court of Justice and the Chairman of the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council and former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Professor Surakiart Sathirathai, also delivered their keynote speeches.

     At the three panel sessions, eminent speakers from varied fields shared their valuable experience and insights on three seminal issues: (1) rule of law under international law; (2) fundamental elements of the rule of law; and (3) practice of the rule of law in different cultural contexts, thereby facilitating mutual exchanges on the understanding and practice of the rule of law among different jurisdictions.

     In her closing remarks, the Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, said that the Vision 2030 for Rule of Law (Vision 2030) initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2020 was inspired by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular its Goal 16 which advocates "promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensuring equal access of justice for all". She said that as an international city with a strong rule of law tradition, Hong Kong is most willing to contribute to Goal 16, hoping that not only Hong Kong but those jurisdictions with which the city interacts will further strengthen the development and practice of the rule of law.

     Ms Cheng also officiated at the launch of the Vision 2030 Task Force Report, which details the fruits of the Department of Justice's and the Task Force's intensive work since the launch of Vision 2030 in devising a methodology for objectively reviewing the development and practice of the rule of law as well as on promoting the proper understanding and recognition of the rule of law, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of inclusive and fair societies at both the local and international levels.

     For more information on the Vision 2030 for Rule of Law International Symposium, please visit www.legalhub.gov.hk. For the full text of the Vision 2030 Task Force Report, please visit www.v2030.hk.

      

     A 56-year-old woman was sentenced to imprisonment for seven days suspended for 12 months and fined $2,000 by the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (May 26) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C).

     The woman was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that she must conduct quarantine at home for seven days. Before the expiry of the quarantine order, she left the place of quarantine on August 26, 2021, without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer. She was charged with contravening sections 8(1) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was sentenced by the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today to imprisonment for seven days suspended for 12 months and fined $2,000.

     Breaching a compulsory quarantine order is a criminal offence and offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months. A spokesman for the Department of Health said the sentence sends a clear message to the community that breaching a quarantine order is a criminal offence that the Government will not tolerate, and solemnly reminded the public to comply with the regulations. As of today, a total of 237 persons have been convicted by the courts for breaching quarantine orders and have received sentences including immediate imprisonment for up to 14 weeks or a fine of up to $15,000. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached the relevant regulations.

     The Task Force of Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong. In addition to road transport arrangements, transportation of goods by water and railway is already in service.
 
     A spokesperson for the THB said that the "Sea Express" water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials. The current supply of fresh food from the Mainland is stable.
 
     Currently, there are three water transportation routes between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, namely (1) from Shenzhen Yantian International Container Terminals to Hong Kong Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (KTCT); (2) from Shenzhen DaChan Bay Terminals to KTCT; and (3) from China Merchants Port (South China) Management Center (Shenzhen Mawan, Shekou and Chiwan Container Terminals) to Hong Kong River Trade Terminal and elsewhere. Together with the water transportation routes from other cities in Guangdong Province, including the routes from Guangzhou Lianhuashan Port, Nansha Port, Huadu Port, Zhongshan Huangpu Port and Zhuhai Doumen Port to different terminals in Hong Kong, the water transport capacity amounts to tens of thousands of tonnes daily.
 
     The spokesperson said today (May 26) that Shenzhen operated 50 cargo vessel trips and transported around 5 420 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cross-boundary supplies by water yesterday (May 25), equivalent to about 21 930 tonnes of goods, of which around 10 TEUs (about 20 tonnes) were fresh food and around 5 410 TEUs (about 21 910 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
 
     Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 423 000 TEUs of cross-boundary supplies have been transported, equivalent to about 2 129 950 tonnes of goods, of which around 1 760 TEUs (about 15 060 tonnes) were fresh food and around 421 240 TEUs (about 2 114 890 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
 
     To further ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong through land transport, a trial run of cargo transfer was conducted by the THB at a yard situated on Kam Pok Road, San Tin, Yuen Long, and it was completed smoothly. The THB will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to fully take forward cargo transfer arrangements on the Hong Kong side. It is a contingency measure in response to the latest epidemic situation in the city so as to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong, ensuring both smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong.
 
     Meanwhile, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department (TD) has arranged for dedicated staff to conduct rapid antigen tests for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points (BCPs) from February 28 onwards. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. In order to further improve the accuracy of the tests, the TD has already switched to use rapid nucleic acid tests at the BCPs. Starting from April 21, the sampling method for rapid nucleic acid tests has been further changed to nasopharyngeal swabs. A total of 3 204 rapid nucleic acid tests were conducted yesterday in which 15 drivers preliminarily tested positive. The TD has passed the cases to the Department of Health for follow-up.
 
     The THB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, with a view to complementing the supply through road, water and railway transport, enhancing capacity and efficiency as well as optimising the flow of cross-boundary supplies.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority today (May 26) announced information regarding patients who tested positive via admission screening or testing with patients or staff members identified as close contacts and nosocomial COVID-19 infection cases.
 
     The following are the statistics of patients who tested positive via admission screening or by testing in public hospitals with patients or staff members identified as close contacts:
 

 
     Thorough cleaning and disinfection operations have been performed in the affected areas by the hospitals. The hospitals will continue to closely monitor the health conditions of patients and staff members, and communicate with the Centre for Health Protection on the latest situation.
 
     There have been no clusters of nosocomial infection cases reported in public hospitals today.

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that happened in Tseung Kwan O this afternoon (May 26) in which a man died.

     The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the accident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause.