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Author Archives: hksar gov

Hong Kong Customs steps up enforcement to combat illicit cigarettes activities before Lunar New Year (with photo)

     Hong Kong Customs conducted a special operation to combat illicit cigarettes activities on January 7 and 15. During the operation, Customs seized a total of about 31 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $86 million and a duty potential of about $59 million. A man was arrested.

     Customs officers first intercepted a container truck in Ping Che, Fanling, in the afternoon of January 7 and seized about 10 million suspected illicit cigarettes inside a 40-foot container. A 69-year-old man was arrested. 

     Customs officers later searched a 40-foot container at a metal hut in Ping Shan, Yuen Kong, in the afternoon of January 15 and seized about 10 million suspected illicit cigarettes. After a follow-up investigation, officers searched another 40-foot container at a logistics site in Tsing Yi and further seized about 11 million suspected illicit cigarettes.

     During the operation, Customs detained a container truck and three containers suspected to be connected to the case.

     Investigations of the above-mentioned two cases are ongoing. Customs will continue to trace the source and flow of the illicit cigarettes. The likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.

     With the Lunar New Year around the corner, Customs will continue to step up enforcement to vigorously combat illicit cigarette activities through risk assessment, intelligence analysis and interception at source before and during the holiday.

     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.

     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.
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     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).

Photo  
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LCQ11: Manpower of Police

     Following is a question by the Hon Lai Tung-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):

Question:

     In the 2020-2021 financial year (up to February 28, 2021), the number of vacancies at the Rank and File level of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) stood at 4 744, representing an increase of 124.9 per cent over the preceding financial year. Regarding the manpower of the Police, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective up-to-date numbers of vacancies at and numbers of recruits of (i) the Gazetted Officer rank, (ii) the Inspector rank and (iii) the Rank and File level of the HKPF since the current financial year; whether the numbers of recruits have met the recruitment targets for the current financial year;

(2) whether the HKPF increased the staffing establishment of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police in the past three years; if so, of the relevant figures; and

(3) whether the HKPF implemented further measures last year to retain talents and alleviate the work pressure of frontline staff; if so, of the details, and whether such measures included expanding the eligibility for extension of service beyond retirement age to include police officers of all ranks?

Reply:

President,

     The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has been adopting proactive strategies and measures to recruit and retain talents in order to meet its operational needs and services. The HKPF has formulated detailed human resources and strategic plans to strengthen its efforts on recruitment, staff training and career development etc. Vacancies will be filled through recruitment, promotion and various extension of service measures.

     My reply on various parts of the question is as follows:

(1) The vacancies at the Gazetted Officer rank, the Inspector rank and the Rank and File level of the HKPF in the past two financial years are tabulated below:
 

Ranks Number of vacancies each year  
2020-21                  2021-22
(as at December 31, 2021)
Gazetted Officer 47 35
Inspector* 467 484
Rank and File* 4 744 5 187

     The recruitment targets and recruitment numbers at the Gazetted Officer rank, the Inspector rank and the Rank and File level of the HKPF in the past two financial years are tabulated below:
 
Ranks Recruitment targets and numbers each year
2020-21 2021-22
(as at December 31, 2021)
Recruitment targets Recruitment numbers Recruitment targets Recruitment numbers
Gazetted Officer  / / / /
Inspector* 225 158 195 119
Rank and File* 1 620 596 1 350 423

 *Police Constable and Inspector ranks are recruited via open recruitment; Sergeant, Station Sergeant, Senior Inspector of Police, Chief Inspector of Police and Gazetted Officer ranks are promoted internally. 

(2) The Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force (HKAPF) plays an important role in supporting the regular force. In the past three years, while the establishment of the HKAPF maintained at 4 501, the average number of auxiliary officers deployed each day (calculated based on work shifts of eight hours per each auxiliary officer) has increased from about 560 in financial year 2019-20 to about 710 in financial year 2021-22 (as at November 30, 2021) in view of the operational needs. The HKPF will continue to promote the recruitment of the HKAPF in supporting frontline policing work.

(3) The implementation of the option for officers to choose to retire at the raised retirement age (Option) by the Civil Service Bureau in July 2018 allows officers appointed to the civil service on or after June 1, 2000 but before June 1, 2015 and are appointed on permanent terms under the Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme, regardless of their ranks, to choose to retire at the raised retirement age. Regarding the HKPF, the retirement age of police officers taking the Option will be raised to 60. Moreover, to meet the operational needs and long-term manpower challenges, the HKPF launched the Continued Service of Police Officers Beyond Prescribed Retirement Age Scheme (CSPO Scheme) in April 2021, allowing all serving police officers at non-directorate level, who joined the Government before June 1, 2000, to extend their service up to the age of 60. The HKPF will be able to retain more than 17 000 police officers in the coming 10 odd years through the implementation of these two strategies for retention of human resources.

     The HKPF has been adopting proactive recruitment strategies based on the human resources situation in the market to attract high calibre candidates who possess the competence to become a police officer. The HKPF has disseminated recruitment and publicity information through various social media platforms, and has organised regular recruitment activities and projects, such as the Police Recruitment Experience and Assessment Day, Auxiliary Police Recruitment Express, Police Recruitment On-air, Police Mobile Recruitment Station, Police Mentorship Programme, Police Mentorship Programme Outreach (Mainland/ overseas network), Auxiliary Undergraduate Scheme, Project ACHIEVE, Police Recruitment Buddies Scheme, and the education and careers expo etc.

     The HKPF will continue to monitor the human resources situation, implement effective mechanism to formulate holistic plans and assess future manpower needs, and regularly review officers’ establishment in order to meet the service needs of the community. read more

LCQ4: Support for tourism industry

     Following is a question by the Hon Yiu Pak-leung and a reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):
 
Question:
 
     Some practitioners of the tourism industry have relayed that the industry has been hard hit by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic. Although the Chief Executive has recently announced the launch of the fifth-round measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund to assist those industries affected by the epidemic, such measures are just a drop in the bucket to the tourism industry. The tourism industry hopes that the Government will conduct policy planning and provide continuous support for the industry in a systematic manner, so as to expand the room for business for the industry as far as possible. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that the Government has again tightened the anti-epidemic measures, and that various tourism-related activities have to be suspended causing the industry to suffer heavy losses, whether the Government will draw up criteria for the expeditious resumption, upon easing of the epidemic situation, of tourism activities such as local tours, “cruise-to-nowhere” travel and the “Free Tour” programme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for; and
 
(2) whether it will, by drawing reference from the earlier practice of offering short-term jobs to tourism practitioners, consider creating temporary posts related to anti-epidemic work or guided tours for local hotspots for frontline tourism practitioners who are underemployed, so as to retain talents for the tourism industry; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
Acting President,
 
     Thank you for the Hon Yiu Pak-leung’s questions.
 
     With the continuous outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, both outbound and inbound tourism has remained at a standstill.
 
     The Government fully understands that tourism is the most affected industry, and has been supporting the trade in various ways.
 
     To cope with the harsh business environment, the Government has so far provided financial support of over $3.42 billion to the trade. Premising on the effort to contain and combat the epidemic, the Government has also been striving to open up room for the operation of the tourism industry, including the following measures to support the trade when the epidemic situation was relatively stabilised in the past year.
 
     Two theme parks, organisation of local group tours as well as “cruise-to-nowhere” itineraries were allowed to re-open or resume conditionally, and the admission or relevant participant capacity was gradually relaxed.
 
     The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) rolled out five rounds of “Free Tours” and “Staycation Delights” to encourage the public to spend locally and experience local tourism.
 
     The Green Lifestyle Local Tour Incentive Scheme (GLIS) was extended to open up more extensively tourism themes and attractions, and promoting local tourism in the long run, etc.
 
     On subsidies, coupled with the latest round of the scheme supporting the tourism industry announced last Friday, the Government has rolled out a total of six rounds of direct subsidies to the travel trade under the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF). In addition, the Government provided support to the trade through the topped-up GLIS in the latest round of the AEF and the Travel Agents Incentive Scheme .
 
     Reply to the two parts of the question raised by the Hon Yiu Pak-leung is as follows:
 
(1) In view of the latest development of the epidemic situation, the Government announced on January 5 and January 14, 2022, the tightening of social distancing measures with effect from January 7 and their extension until February 3 respectively with a view to containing the latest wave of the epidemic as early as possible. Some tourist facilities and activities, including themes parks, local tours and “cruise-to-nowhere” itineraries, as well as other premises have to be temporarily closed or suspended from service. 
 
     On January 14, the Chief Executive announced the sixth round of measures supporting the tourism industry under the AEF, the $570 million support includes the provision of $270 million cash subsidies to the travel trade and injection of $300 million to extend GLIS.
 
     As mentioned above, apart from providing support to the trade, the Government has also been encouraging and assisting the trade to open up and expand the market, in particular the local market before the recovery of cross-boundary/border travel. The Government is delighted to see that the scheme on green local tours is welcomed by the trade and the public. As at the end of last year, about 700 travel agents have applied for the scheme, accounting for about half of the total number of licensed travel agents, and the subsidy involved has almost reached the scheme’s original ceiling of $100 million.
 
     The announcement made last Friday on the injection of $300 million to the scheme has responded to the call from trade and made better preparation for the recovery of the industry.
 
     The measures mentioned above aim at helping the tourism industry expeditiously resume their businesses upon easing of the epidemic situation. Nevertheless, the control and development of the epidemic situation is the prime consideration of how and when to resume.
  
(2) To relieve the unemployment situation owing to the epidemic and the anti-epidemic measures, the Government has created time-limited jobs under the AEF in 2020 and 2021. Under the second phase of the Job Creation Scheme, we have proactively employed around 1 900 practitioners of the tourism industry to assist in operational and administrative support services at Community Vaccination Centres, vaccination centres at public hospital and Mobile Vaccination Stations set up by the Government. We will look for similar opportunities and consider using similar ways to assist practitioners of the trade.
 
     In addition, the subsidy for local tour scheme indirectly and directly provides more job opportunities to the trade.
 
     We understand that what the industry hopes for the most at the moment is the resumption of cross boundary travel with the Mainland and Macao as soon as possible when the epidemic has stabilised, and that to be followed gradually by the same with overseas economies. It is expected that with the gradual recovery of cross-boundary/border travel, the mode of tourism around the globe may become different from the current mode. When planning itineraries in future, travellers may consider more elements including the risks of epidemic and the required arrangements including testing and quarantine, which may incur potentially higher costs. Competition to attract tourists will also become more intense than before.
 
     If Hong Kong is to compete with the rest of the world for tourist sources, it must provide travel experience that is more in-depth and of higher quality and with richer content. To pursue this, the Government, in the past few years, have been following the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry promulgated in early years, and working with the trade to enhance the themes and attractions of the tourism industry through different channels in the areas of culture, history, art, conservation, locality, etc. We will continue to closely liaise and study with the trade through the HKTB and the Tourism Commission, and put forward more measures to restore the ability and confidence of the industry.
 
     The implementation of the plans mentioned above will definitely provide more and diversified job opportunities to the tourism industry, and enhance and retain talents for the industry in the long run. read more

LCQ5: The Northern Metropolis Development Strategy

     Following is a question by the Hon Tony Tse and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (January 19):
 
Question:
 
     The Government has put forward the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy in the 2021 Policy Address with a view to driving Hong Kong’s economic as well as innovation and technology development, increasing housing supply, and at the same time formulating and implementing a conservation policy. However, some members of the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape sectors hold different views regarding the details of the proposed 2 000-hectare conservation area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the study basis for the total area, site distribution, conservation proposals, etc. of the aforesaid conservation area, and whether it will conduct further studies and make amendments in the light of the views of the sectors;
 
(2) regarding the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park which will cover an area of around 520 hectares of the aforesaid conservation area, as some members of the sectors consider that some sites within the Park have relatively low ecological conservation value, and that incorporating such sites into the conservation area will affect the enormous development potentials to be brought about by a number of existing and proposed MTR stations as well as the Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Zone in the vicinity of the Park, whether the Government will review afresh the relevant planning so as to optimise the development potentials of the land concerned; and
 
(3) as some members of the sectors are worried that the planning and conservation studies for the Northern Metropolis will slow down and even bring a halt to the progress of the public and private development projects which are underway or awaiting vetting and approval, how the Government will prevent the occurrence of such situations and whether it will take measures to expedite the progress of the existing development projects in the district in order to increase the land and housing supply in the near future?
 
Reply:
 
Acting President,
 
     The Chief Executive announced in October last year the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy (Development Strategy) which proposed for the first time to adopt a proactive conservation policy, and to resume private fish ponds and wetlands with conservation value in Deep Bay (including areas around Tsim Bei Tsui, Nam Sang Wai, Fung Lok Wai, Tai Sang Wai, San Tin/Sam Po Shue, Hoo Hok Wai, Sha Ling/Nam Hang) and, together with the adjoining Government land, to establish a system of Wetland Conservation Parks (WCPs) to create environmental capacity, so that Hong Kong can strike a proper balance between conservation and development and achieve “Co-existence of Development and Conservation”.
 
     Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Tse is as follows:
 
(1) The Northern Metropolis in the New Territories has diverse habitats, including large areas of wetlands such as fish ponds, marshes and mangroves, whereas the Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay area is designated as an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention. The wetlands in the Northern Metropolis are ecological environment which are priority areas for conservation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even in Southern China. The Development Strategy aims to adopt more proactive conservation measures to protect the ecological value of these areas to build a comprehensive wetland conservation system.
 
     The wetland conservation system as proposed in the Development Strategy is estimated to have a total area of about 2 000 hectares (ha), which includes the existing Hong Kong Wetland Park (about 62 ha), the Mai Po Nature Reserve (about 370 ha), the proposed establishment of three WCPs (i.e. Nam Sang Wai WCP (about 400 ha), Sam Po Shue WCP (about 520 ha) and Hoo Hok Wai WCP (about 300 ha)), the expansion of the Hong Kong Wetland Park (about 240 ha), as well as establishment of Sha Ling/Nam Hang Nature Park (about 4 ha) and Tsim Bei Tsui/Lau Fau Shan/Pak Nai Coastal Protection Park (about 145 ha). These areas cover ecologically important fish ponds and marshes, which are internationally and regionally important foraging ground and habitat for migratory waterbirds.
      
     As the Development Strategy is a conceptual strategic plan, the locations and estimated areas of the proposed WCPs shown in the Development Strategy report are for illustrative purposes only and do not reflect the exact locations or areas. In order to determine the exact locations/areas and management model for the three new WCPs, the Sha Ling/Nam Hang Nature Park and the expansion of the Hong Kong Wetland Park, as well as to assess the effectiveness of the relevant measures in creating environmental capacity, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will launch a strategic feasibility study within this year and consult stakeholders in due course. In addition, the Development Bureau will commence a feasibility study on the development potential of the Tsim Bei Tsui, Lau Fau Shan and Pak Nai areas within this year, while the Environment Bureau will in parallel explore the area to be reserved for the coastal protection park through this study.
 
(2) Regarding the future development of the Sam Po Shue wetland area, the Government is advancing the San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node project, with the aim to commence the first batch of works in 2024. This development node will be mainly for innovation and technology uses and, together with the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Lok Ma Chau Loop, will form the San Tin Technopole, which will generate a synergy effect with the Innovation and Technology Zone on the other side of the Shenzhen River.
 
     At the same time, the Sam Po Shue area covers a large area of ecologically important fish ponds and wetlands, which provide foraging ground and habitat for migratory waterbirds and other wildlife, and constitute an important part of the Deep Bay wetland ecosystem. The local fish pond operators in Sam Po Shue have also been actively conducting habitat management work for years to provide foraging ground and habitat for waterbirds. The ecological value of fish ponds has been enhanced while conserving the local cultural heritage of traditional aquaculture. The proposed Sam Po Shue WCP will be included in the AFCD’s strategic feasibility study to be commenced this year.
      
     The Government will strive for the co-existence of development and conservation in the planning of the Northern Metropolis, with a view to achieving sustainable development.
 
(3) Regarding the establishment of the WCP system proposed in the Development Strategy, the Government will conduct further study to work out the exact locations and areas of the proposed WCPs.
         
     The planning and development of a development project involves a process. Generally speaking, for development projects involving statutory planning procedures, even when the developer has obtained planning permission from the Town Planning Board (TPB), the developer will still be required to fulfill the approval conditions timely and commence the approved development within a set time frame. For example, the development project’s conservation and management plan, etc. must comply with all requirements and conditions imposed by the Government in order to be considered having fulfilled the relevant planning requirements. The development project shall also comply with other statutory requirements. For instance, some development projects will still need to conduct the statutory environmental impact assessment in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (the Ordinance) to demonstrate that the environmental impacts arising from the development could fully comply with the requirements of the Ordinance and obtain an environmental permit. 
 
     Even though the AFCD will commence a strategic feasibility study this year to work out the areas and management model of these WCPs, relevant private development project owners can still follow up on the relevant planning requirements or approval conditions with relevant departments. The AFCD’s strategic feasibility study will fully consider the impact on the overall function and operation of the WCP system arising from different private development projects within the area of each proposed WCP which have fulfilled the relevant planning requirements or already been granted with planning permission, in formulating the overall strategy.
      
     Regarding development applications within the Northern Metropolis that have yet to obtain statutory planning approval or are newly received, they will be handled in accordance with the established mechanism, including being considered based on the existing statutory plans, the planning intention of the relevant land use zoning, and relevant planning considerations. Relevant Government departments will carefully consider the specific development proposals and conservation plans of the projects from different policy and technical perspectives, including whether the projects fulfill the policy intentions described in the Development Strategy (including the development of the WCPs and the overall wetland conservation objective), and provide comments for the TPB’s consideration.
 
     Thank you, (acting) President. read more