In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on July 5 to noon today (July 8), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 371 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category, in the past three days (including last Saturday and Sunday). No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
 
     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 150 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 65 635 samples of food imported from Japan (including 42 278 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 15 842 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     A man who went missing in Ngau Tau Kok has been located.

     Nguyen Duc-hung, a foreign man aged 63, went missing after he was last seen at Choi Hay House, Choi Fook Estate on July 4 morning. His family made a report to Police on the next day (July 5).

     The man was located in a hospital on Waterloo Road, Yau Ma Tei today (July 8). He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 8) held a sharing session at Pui Kiu Middle School on the first anniversary of President Xi Jinping's reply letter of encouragement to students of Pui Kiu Middle School to review how the EDB and the education sector have realised the spirit laid down in President Xi's reply letter and to plan the way forward.
 
     Speaking at the event, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said that President Xi's reply letter on July 24 last year conveyed his earnest expectations for the young generation of Hong Kong. Over the year, the EDB has been striving to live up to the spirit of President Xi's reply letter and nurture young people's affection for and sense of belonging to the country, driven by the mission to cultivate values and nurture talent. Apart from continuous enhancement of the curriculum, development of learning and teaching resources and the provision of professional development for teachers, the EDB has been supporting schools in organising diversified life-wide learning activities, including Mainland exchange programmes (MEPs) and study tours, with a view to broadening students' horizons.
 
     Dr Choi expressed her gratitude for the staunch support from the education sector and the enthusiastic participation of students in a wide variety of MEPs and study tours. She said that upon the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland early last year, the EDB had promptly launched Mainland study tours on the senior secondary subject of Citizenship and Social Development, attracting participation from nearly 95 000 students so far. Furthermore, MEPs for students provide over 100 000 exchange places every year, which are sufficient for every student to join an MEP at least once in the primary and secondary stages. Under the Sister School Scheme, more than 930 publicly funded schools have established more than 2 800 sister school pairs with their Mainland counterparts. For the five-year Greater Bay Area Career Exploration Tours Programme launched this school year, there have been over 100 participating secondary schools.
 
     Dr Choi said that the EDB will continue to optimise various MEPs and study tours, providing more opportunities for students to understand the country's latest developments and achievements from multiple perspectives, and assisting them to combine reading and travelling.
 
     The sharing session was attended by over 400 participants, including the Director-General of the Department of Educational, Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Dr Wang Weiming; the supervisor of Pui Kiu Middle School, Mr Jasper Tsang; Constitution and Basic Law Student Ambassadors, and teachers and students from over 10 secondary schools.
 
     At the sharing session, teacher and student representatives of Pui Kiu Middle School shared their inspirations gained from President Xi's reply letter. The student representatives talked about how Mainland visit activities enabled them to delve into the history and culture of the country. The teacher representative outlined how the school's work aligned with curriculum development in promoting patriotic education inside and outside the classroom. Students from Pui Kiu Middle School and other schools then engaged in group sharing sessions on their learning experiences related to aerospace development, exchange activities on the Mainland and in the Belt and Road regions, and physical and aesthetic development.
 

      

     The Government launched today (July 8) a two-month public consultation on the enhancement of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) (CO) regarding the protection for artificial intelligence (AI) technology development.

     A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) said, "The copyright regime is an important part of the intellectual property (IP) regime. On one hand, it protects the economic rights of creators in receiving remuneration from their fruits of creativity, and on the other hand, it properly balances the legitimate interests of copyright owners and the public interest."

     Continuously enhancing the local copyright regime is one of the key policies to develop Hong Kong into a regional IP trading centre as set out in the National 14th Five-Year Plan. Following the implementation of the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 in May last year to strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment, the consultation explores further enhancement of the CO regarding the protection for AI technology development as announced in the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address.

     The spokesman added, "The rapid advancement of AI technology, particularly generative AI, has induced revolutionary impacts on diverse domains and industries, as well as a number of copyright issues, arousing worldwide concerns. Major economies around the world have conducted studies and consultations on the relevant issues in recent years. Under the existing CO, works generated by generative AI (AI-generated works) are already protected by copyright. To further enhance Hong Kong's copyright regime to ensure that it encourages creation and investment in creativity while supporting innovation, we have reviewed the relevant legislation in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions as well as the prevailing market situations. The consultation document looks into the following issues relating to generative AI and copyright comprehensively, and sets out our views for public consultation:

(a) Copyright protection of AI-generated works;
(b) Copyright infringement liability for AI-generated works;
(c) Possible introduction of specific copyright exception; and
(d) Other issues relating to generative AI."

     The consultation document has been uploaded onto the websites of the CEDB (www.cedb.gov.hk) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) (www.ipd.gov.hk). Members of the public may submit their views and relevant information by email (AI_consultation@cedb.gov.hk), fax (2147 3065) or post (Division 3, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong) on or before September 8.

     The Government will also hold a public forum on August 2 (Friday) to further collect and listen to the views of the public. Interested parties are welcome to attend. Details of the forum are as follow:

Time: 7.30pm – 8.30pm
Venue: 1/F, Lecture Hall, Hong Kong Science Museum, 2 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon
Language: Cantonese (with simultaneous English interpretation)

     Those interested in attending the forum can register through the IPD's website (www.ipd.gov.hk/en/publicforum2024/index.html) on or before July 26. For enquiries, please email businesscentre@ipd.gov.hk.

      The Education Bureau (EDB) today (July 8) reminded parents that the results for Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) 2024 (including results at the discretionary places (DP) and central allocation (CA) stages) will be announced tomorrow (July 9).
 
SSPA results
———————
 
      A total of 51 393 students participated in the SSPA System for this allocation cycle. Based on the total number of students allocated DP and the first three choices through CA, the overall satisfaction rate is 91 per cent. According to the number of students allocated DP and the first choice through CA, the satisfaction rate is 79 per cent.
 
      The respective satisfaction rates for DP and CA are:
 
* Among the students allocated DP, 67 per cent were allocated the first choice; and
 
* For students allocated through CA (including Part A for Unrestricted School Choices and Part B for Restricted School Choices), 81 per cent of students were allocated the first three choices and 62 per cent were allocated the first choice.
 
      The EDB hopes parents and students will accept the allocation results with a positive attitude. The learning effectiveness of students does not hinge merely on the schools to which they are allocated, but rather on whether students have a proactive mindset in learning. It is important for parents to continue to support and encourage their children, and to avoid burdening children with their own expectations.
 
Announcement of allocation results and completion of admission registration procedure
————————————————————————————————————
 
      All Primary Six students participating in this year's SSPA System should return to their school tomorrow to collect the Allocation Slip and Admission Slip. Parents who have registered as SSPA e-Platform (eSSPA) users with "iAM Smart" or "iAM Smart+" (www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/reg.html) may also view their children's allocation results via the eSSPA starting from 10am on the same day. If parents have provided a mobile phone number on the Secondary One Choice of Schools Form to indicate their consent to receiving the result via the number, they will receive the result of their children via SMS message starting from around 10am tomorrow. Please refer to the series of related videos and the Parent's Guide on the bureau's homepage (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/secondary-spa/general-info/sspa_eplatform_parents_guide.html) for details on creating and logging into an eSSPA account, as well as viewing the allocation results via the eSSPA.
 
      All students must report to their allocated secondary schools this Thursday or Friday (July 11 or 12) for registration. In case neither the students nor their parents or guardians are able to return to the school and collect the Allocation Slip and Admission Slip in person, the parents or guardians should authorise a representative in writing in advance to collect the documents and complete the registration procedure on their behalf.
 
      Should any parent or guardian have genuine difficulties in collecting the Admission Slip and registering with the allocated school personally or through an authorised representative, he or she should inform the schools concerned or the School Places Allocation Section (SSPA) of the EDB before the end of the registration period so that alternative arrangements for registration can be made. Failure to do so will be taken as giving up the place allocated.
 
      In case of inclement weather or other special circumstances on the day for announcement of the allocation results or on the days for registration, all schools and parents should pay attention to announcements on radio or television for special arrangements for announcement of the allocation results or registration.
 
      For enquiries about the allocation results, students and parents may call the School Places Allocation Section (SSPA) of the EDB on 2832 7740 or 2832 7700 during office hours.