The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (July 4) attended a food waste recycling promotion event held at Ping Shek Estate in Kwun Tong, marking the completion of the expansion of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)'s food waste collection scheme to all public rental housing (PRH) estates across the territory, which was accomplished two months ahead of the original target.
 
     The EPD, in collaboration with the Housing Department and the Hong Kong Housing Society, launched the Food Waste Collection Scheme in PRH Estates in late October 2022, targeting to collect food waste by setting up food waste smart recycling bins (FWSRBs) in all of the 213 PRH estates in the territory by the end of August this year and cultivate residents' good habits of food waste recycling. As of the end of June this year, the EPD has installed a total of 740 FWSRBs covering all of the PRH estates, which was two months ahead of the original target.
 
     "Since taking office, the current-term Government has made great efforts to expedite strengthening recycling facilities, especially on the collection of domestic food waste, which accounts for 30 per cent of municipal solid waste. The expansion of the Food Waste Collection Scheme to all PRH estates across the territory ahead of schedule fully demonstrated the Government's determination and achievements in promoting waste reduction and recycling," Mr Tse said.
 
     He added that the food waste collected from PRH estates will be delivered to various food waste treatment facilities for conversion into electricity and compost. The EPD will continue to install FWSRBs in newly developed PRH estates and has planned to provide additional FWSRBs with priority given to PRH estates with higher quantities of collected food waste, starting from the third quarter of this year. The department will also progressively increase the number of FWSRBs in other PRH estates, with the goal of providing at least "one FWSRB per PRH block" within two years to facilitate the public's food waste recycling.
 
     In addition to PRH estates, the Government has been supporting the installation of FWSRBs in private residential buildings and rural villages for collecting food waste through the Recycling Fund and the Environment and Conservation Fund. At the end of last year, the EPD also collaborated with the Environmental Campaign Committee to roll out the Pilot Scheme on FWSRBs in Private Housing Estates, under which FWSRBs are provided for free to private housing estates with over 1 000 households. The EPD will expand the existing scheme to cover private housing estates with fewer than 1 000 households. Details will be announced in the third quarter of this year.
 
     To enable residents living in single-block residential buildings or "three-nil buildings" to participate in food waste recycling in the coming year, the EPD will further enhance various schemes for food waste collection in the domestic sector, including setting up 100 food waste recycling spots that provide night-time food waste collection services in the form of kerbside collection booths at fixed times and locations, and also establishing food waste recycling points at about 100 Refuse Collection Points. Moreover, the EPD has installed FWSRBs for public use in four GREEN@COMMUNITY facilities (GREEN@SHAM SHUI PO, GREEN@EASTERN, GREEN@SAI KUNG and GREEN@SHA TIN) and at Lockhart Road Market, and is preparing to expand it to GREEN@TUEN MUN by mid-July of this year.
 
     The awareness of waste reduction and recycling in the community has increased in general. With the introduction of various measures to facilitate public participation in food waste recycling, together with publicity and education as well as the provision of GREEN$ rewards to encourage active participation of the public, the EPD expects that the quantity of food waste recycled will progressively increase, and it will continue to encourage more residents to participate in food waste recycling through various means.

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. relating to a fraudulent website, which has been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the website concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     The Home Affairs Department will continue to open 19 community halls/community centres as temporary heat shelters today (July 4).
 
     The temporary heat shelters will remain open for people to take refuge from the heat when the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force. From 10.30pm to 8am the next day, the temporary heat shelters will also provide bedding and a sleeping place for people in need. The shelters are manned by duty attendants.
 
     For further information, please call the department's hotline before midnight on 2572 8427.
 
     The heat shelters are located at:
 
Hong Kong Island:
———————
 
Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun
 
Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay
 
Southern –
Lei Tung Community Hall
Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau
 
Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai
 
Kowloon Districts:
——————
 
Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom
 
Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin
 
Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po
 
Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan
 
Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei
 
New Territories Districts:
————————–
 
Islands –
Tung Chung Community Hall
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building, 39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung
 
Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung
 
North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling
 
Sai Kung –
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex, 38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O
 
Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin
 
Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun
 
Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long
 
Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai
 
     In addition to the above heat shelters, a number of community halls/community centres can also be used for taking refuge from the heat during their operating hours. For their address details, please browse the following document: www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/public_services/emergency_services/List_CH_CC_Day_E.pdf.

     Hong Kong Customs on June 28 detected a suspected case of using an ocean-going vessel to smuggle goods to India at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals. A large batch of suspected smuggled computers, with an estimated market value of about $10 million, was seized.

     Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs discovered that criminals intended to use ocean-going vessels to smuggle goods. Strategies were thus formulated and an ocean-going vessel preparing to depart from Hong Kong to India was identified for inspection.

     Customs officers on June 28 mounted an operation and seized a large batch of suspected computers inside a container which was declared as containing artificial flowers aboard the vessel.

     An investigation is ongoing. The likelihood of arrests is not ruled out.

     Customs is the primary agency responsible for tackling smuggling activities and has long been combating various smuggling activities at the forefront. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, with targeted anti-smuggling operations carried out at suitable times to disrupt these 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) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).

  

     The Ministry of Education and the Education Bureau (EDB) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (July 4) cohosted the Mainland-Hong Kong Teachers Exchange and Collaboration Programme 20th anniversary celebration opening ceremony and conference at South China Normal University in Guangzhou. Over 400 representatives from the education departments of various Mainland provinces and municipalities, Mainland expert teachers (METs) who participated in the programme in the past, and representatives from the Hong Kong education sector attended the events.
 
     The Deputy Director of the Office of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Mr Shu Gangbo; the Permanent Secretary for Education of the HKSAR Government, Ms Michelle Li; Deputy Director-General of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province Dr Feng Wei; the First-level Inspector of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR, Mr Liu Maozhou; and Vice President of South China Normal University Professor Yang Chengwei, officiated at the opening ceremony.
 
     Addressing the ceremony, Ms Li said that it is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation to place importance on teaching and learning, which has been passed down from generation to generation, adding that strengthening the teaching force is the most important fundamental task for building a leading country in education.
 
     She said that the programme had delivered fruitful results over the past 20 years, thanks to the unwavering support from the Ministry of Education; the Department of Education of Guangdong Province; the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the LOCPG in the HKSAR; and the education departments of various provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, as well as the dedication of all the METs who took part in the programme in the past. They have all contributed significantly to the education profession in both Hong Kong and the Mainland.
 
     She said that, as this year coincides with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the EDB of the HKSAR Government, with the support of the Ministry of Education, will pilot the Resource Teacher and Principal Training Programme to nurture Hong Kong teachers and principals with potential through the teacher training and exchange base at South China Normal University. The teachers and principals will also receive guidance from Mainland experts recommended by the Ministry of Education, further strengthening exchanges and collaboration between the two places and raising the quality of education with concerted efforts.
 
     The Mainland-Hong Kong Teachers Exchange and Collaboration Programme was launched in the 2004/05 school year. Every year, the Ministry of Education selects outstanding teachers, and teaching and research fellows from different provinces and municipalities across the country, and sends them to Hong Kong to collaborate with schools and provide professional guidance on various subjects and cross-curricular areas (e.g. STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics) education and Chinese culture). So far, more than 800 METs have travelled to Hong Kong and more than 1 000 Hong Kong primary and secondary schools and kindergartens have participated in the programme.