Author Archives: hksar gov

     Hong Kong Customs has procured four new High Speed Pursuit Craft (HSPC) under a replacement scheme over the past year to facilitate long-term operational developments towards battling sea smuggling activities.

     The Assistant Commissioner (Boundary and Ports) of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat, today (December 23) said that the replacement scheme is divided into two phases. Under the first phase, two new high-speed boats joined the fleet in May this year. The boats have so far participated in 10 operations, resulting in the seizure of electronic products, high-value food, frozen meat and live fish worth about $78 million in total. In one case, a seizure of about 540 tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen meat with an estimated market value of about $50 million was made, which also stands as the largest recorded seizure of frozen meat in the last decade.

     Another batch of two new HSPC joined on December 18 in the second phase.

     With their advanced performance, the new HSPC are Hong Kong’s fastest government boats of its type. Apart from their speed superiority, the new boats also feature significant improvements in terms of manoeuvrability, endurance and night navigation. Capable of reaching any corner of Hong Kong waters within 45 minutes, the new HSPC help upgrade the fleet’s mobility and responsiveness in combatting smuggling activities at sea.

     Currently, a 22-strong fleet of five types of vessels operates under Hong Kong Customs. Five Sector Patrol Launches, four HSPC, two Shallow Water Craft, two Harbour Launches and nine Inflatable Craft carry out round-the-clock duties in the waters of Hong Kong.

     With the four HSPC coming into force making more tactical operations possible, Mr Chan noted that the department’s law enforcement power has attained a new level, allowing it to be more effective in fighting sea smuggling activities.

     Hong Kong Customs pledges to continue its risk-management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with maintaining close co-operation in its intelligence exchanges with local and overseas law enforcement agencies, to land a solid blow against sea-smuggling activities.

        

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:      Tenders to be held on December 31:   Tender date : December 31, 2019 Paper on offer : EF Bills … read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 23) launched its Food Trader Portal (FTP), a website serving as a one-stop electronic communication platform between food traders and the CFS.
 
     A CFS spokesperson said, “The CFS has actively sought to use IT to enhance its mode of operation and offer online services to assist the trade in recent years. Through the FTP, food traders may complete registration as food importers or distributors under the law, and starting from early 2020 they may also submit applications for import licences and import permission online, and report the arrival of certain imported food consignments around the clock.”
 
     The spokesperson added, “The FTP will be rolled out in phases, starting with today’s launch of the trader registration module which allows food traders to open FTP user accounts to receive food safety and import control notifications electronically and perform tasks online such as renewal of registration and updating of trader information. The functions of the FTP will be further enhanced in early 2020 with the introduction of online application for import licences and import permission for game, meat and poultry. After the completion of this phase, we will again progressively enhance the functions of the FTP to cover applications for the import of milk, frozen confections and eggs.
 
     “With the implementation of the FTP, the CFS will introduce a number of facilitating measures, including the use of simpler formats and application forms for import licences and import permission and extending the operating hours of the Import Licensing Office for processing online application for import licences and more. Food traders will then be able to make use of online services without having to send their staff to submit application forms in person at the CFS.”
 
     In preparation for the rollout of the FTP, the CFS has organised training sessions to provide hands-on experience in use of the FTP for food traders. A series of promotional and tutorial videos on how to use the FTP have been produced and uploaded to the FTP website (www.ftp.cfs.gov.hk). Leaflets providing an overview of the FTP have also been distributed. Two seminars for importers of game, meat and poultry were held in November 2019 to help them get familiarised with the functions and operations of the FTP. About 200 trade representatives attended the seminars.
 
     The spokesperson stressed that while use of the FTP is voluntary, food traders are encouraged to open user accounts early to enjoy the convenient and fast services offered at the FTP.
 
     For more details, please visit the FTP at www.ftp.cfs.gov.hk. read more

     An exhibition entitled “Treasures from Sacred Hill: Song-Yuan Period Archaeological Discoveries from Kai Tak”, featuring around 200 archaeological finds unearthed at the Kai Tak area, will be open from tomorrow (December 24) until February 26, 2020, at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre.
      
     The Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Mr Douglas So; the Commissioner for Heritage of the Development Bureau, Mr José Yam; and the Executive Secretary of the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO), Ms Susanna Siu, officiated at the opening ceremony today (December 23).
      
     Following the closure of Kai Tak Airport in 1998, the planning work for the Kai Tak Development Area created opportunities for archaeological studies around the former Sacred Hill in today’s Kowloon Bay. An abundance of cultural remains of the Song-Yuan period were unearthed, including a huge amount of ceramics produced by various kilns in Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi. Similar products from the same period were exported widely and could be found in shipwrecks along the maritime ceramics route. The exhibition will enable visitors to understand more about the economic development, maritime trade and people’s way of life in the area back then.
      
     Exhibit highlights include green glazed incense burners with an eight trigrams pattern and a green glazed dish with a moulded double fish pattern produced by Longquan Kiln, a brown glazed dragon jar with lugs and a green glazed basin with a phoenix pattern produced by Cizao Kiln, and a Daguan Tongbao bronze coin. Ceramics from the same period on loan from the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong will also be displayed.
      
     Curated by the AMO, the exhibition has free admission. Details can be obtained from the AMO’s website (www.amo.gov.hk) or by calling 2208 4400.

     The Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre is located in Kowloon Park, Haiphong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
 

        

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, December 23, 2019 is 106.5 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, December 21, 2019 was 106.4 (up 0.1 against last Friday’s index). read more