Author Archives: hksar gov

     â€‹The Working Group on Patriotic Education under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee (CBLPSC) today (May 30) announced that it would organise a mascot and a logo design competition with the theme of “Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community”. Students from primary and secondary schools, as well as tertiary institutions, are invited to participate in the competitions with a view to enhancing awareness and sense of patriotism among the youth. This will promote the mainstream values characterised by patriotism with affection for our country and Hong Kong and in conformity with the principle of “one country, two systems”. The working group will send invitation letters to schools today to encourage students to participate in the competitions.
      
     The Chairman of the CBLPSC and the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said, “Patriotic education is a long-term process that requires continuous and dedicated efforts. Patriotic education also needs to begin from an early age and embed into the daily study and lives of students through interesting and diverse means that will subtly guide them to cultivate an awareness of patriotism and strengthen their patriotic sentiments. Students are welcome to participate in the mascot and logo design competitions, which are enjoyable and interesting patriotic education activities.”
      
     “We hope that through the competitions, young people will be encouraged to showcase the spirit of ‘Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community’ through creative and artistic means, so that patriotic education can better spread across schoolyards and take root in the hearts of our next generation,” Mr Chan added.
      
     The Convenor of the Working Group, Ms Starry Lee, said, “The young are the pillars of society’s future, and one of the important targets for our patriotic education promotion. I encourage their active participation in this competition, unleashing their creativity to show  the love of our country, the love of Hong Kong and the love of the community, through producing distinctive mascots and logos of unique design, so as to strengthen the sense of national belonging and national identity.”
      
     The “Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community” Mascot and Logo Design Competitions are organised by the Working Group on Patriotic Education and administered by the Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group. Each of the two competition categories on mascot design and logo design mentioned above respectively is divided into primary, secondary and tertiary sections. Participants may join more than one competition category, but each participant can only submit one entry for each category.
      
     In these two competition categories, there will be one champion, one first runner-up, one second runner-up and one merit award for each section. To encourage students to actively participate in the competitions, there will also be a Most Supportive School Award. All winners will be awarded certificates. The champion, first runner-up and second runner-up will also be awarded annual passes to the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The winning entry may be adopted by the Government and featured in promotional materials in future.
      
     Submission of entries for the competitions opens today till July 15, 2024. The results are expected to be announced this September or October. read more

     The "Quarterly Report on General Household Survey" for January to March 2024 is now available for access and download.      The report contains statistics on labour force, employment, unemployment and und… read more

     Hong Kong Customs on May 23 seized about 10 000 suspected counterfeit goods with a total estimated market value of about $8.9 million at the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal.

     Through risk assessment, Customs on that day inspected a 40-foot container arriving in Hong Kong from Nansha, Guangdong. After inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected counterfeit goods within the container, including watches, sunglasses, clothes, footwear and mobile phone accessories.

     An initial investigation revealed that the batch of suspected counterfeit goods would be transhipped to overseas regions.

     The investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue to strengthen co-operation with the Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies and take stringent enforcement action against cross-boundary counterfeit goods activities based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trademark is applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
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     Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting 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).

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     The Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), together with Regional Anti-Triad Units and District Anti-Triad Squads launched a new round of registration for the RenoSafe Scheme today (May 30)…. read more

     With effect from June 1, the Government will regularise the Pilot Scheme on Immigration Facilitation for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors and expand the scope of the scheme to cover more authorised host organisations and an additional designated activity. Upon regularisation, the scheme will be named the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors.
      
     The pilot scheme has been welcomed by the industry since its launch and has been operating in an orderly manner. As of the end of March this year, the pilot scheme benefited over 16 600 non-local talents from nearly 120 countries/regions, and facilitated their coming to Hong Kong to participate in various short-term events and activities, such as the International Chinese New Year Night Parade, the InnoEX, the Asian Financial Forum, the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races and more. The scheme is conducive to bringing together talent worldwide for exchanges in Hong Kong, giving full play to Hong Kong’s strength as a place of “connect and excel” under “one country, two systems”.
      
     To respond more fully to the needs of various sectors, the Government decided, after a review, to regularise the pilot scheme and expand five of the original sectors, including adding 18 new authorised organisations and expanding a designated short-term activity. Details are set out at the Annex. After regularisation, the scheme will continue to cover the existing 12 sectors, and other arrangements will remain unchanged:
 

• Medical and healthcare;
• Higher education;
• Arts and culture;
• Sports;
• Heritage;
• Creative industries;
• Innovation and technology;
• The Hong Kong Laureate Forum;
• Aviation;
• International/mega events;
• Finance; and
• Development and construction.

     The Government launched the two-year pilot scheme in June 2022 to provide immigration facilitation for visitors participating in short-term activities in designated sectors, with a view to facilitating business, promoting development of relevant sectors and raising Hong Kong’s international profile. Under the pilot scheme, organisations authorised by relevant government bureaux or departments can issue invitation letters to relevant non-local talents in their sectors. Invited persons may come to Hong Kong and participate in designated short-term activities as visitors without the need to apply for employment visas or entry permits from the Immigration Department (ImmD). Invited non-local talent are talent in shortage or whose participation in designated short-term activities in Hong Kong is conducive to economic development or achieving relevant policy objectives. They may participate in the designated short-term activities for up to 14 consecutive calendar days upon each arrival, and receive remuneration for the designated activities concerned. At present, the scheme covers 12 sectors with a total of some 400 authorised organisations.
      
     For more information on the scheme, please visit the ImmD’s website (www.immd.gov.hk/eng/services/visas/stv.html). read more