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 February 14 to noon today (February 15), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 123 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category. 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).

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 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 30 672 samples of food imported from Japan (including 20 544 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 8 622 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (February 15) that with the gradual scaling up of air freight capacity and provision of transit assistance by other postal administrations, postal services of the following destinations will resume from February 16. Details are given below:
 

 
     Additional conveyance time may be required for mail items destined for Cook (or Hervey) Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Tonga, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna as mail items to these destinations have to be transited via other postal administrations.
 
     Members of the public may visit the webpage of Hongkong Post at https://hongkongpost.hk/en/about_us/whats_new/notices/index_id_1393.html on the service availability for overseas destinations.

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (February 15) that with the gradual scaling up of air freight capacity and provision of transit assistance by other postal administrations, postal services of the following destinations will resume from February 16. Details are given below:
 

 
     Additional conveyance time may be required for mail items destined for Cook (or Hervey) Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Tonga, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna as mail items to these destinations have to be transited via other postal administrations.
 
     Members of the public may visit the webpage of Hongkong Post at https://hongkongpost.hk/en/about_us/whats_new/notices/index_id_1393.html on the service availability for overseas destinations.

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (February 15) extended his congratulations to Hong Kong swimming athlete Siobhan Bernadette Haughey on winning a gold medal in the Women's 200m Freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships – Doha 2024.
 
     Mr Yeung said, "Siobhan Bernadette Haughey never stops pushing her limits and making breakthroughs. She delivered a dominant performance during the competition and took her first long-course world title. The achievement brings her to new heights and demonstrates her power and strength as an elite athlete. I'm very proud of her and I wish her success in other competitions."

     The Government launched today (February 15) a two-month public consultation on the proposed subsidiary legislation under the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) (Ordinance). The subsidiary legislation aims to specify libraries, museums and archives, and prescribe conditions for certain permitted acts for use of copyright works under the Ordinance.
 
     With the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 (Amendment Ordinance) coming into effect on May 1, 2023, the Ordinance in force provides strengthened copyright protection in the digital environment while maintaining a balance between copyright protection and reasonable use of copyright works. Among others, the Amendment Ordinance has introduced new and expanded permitted acts to facilitate reasonable daily operations of specified libraries, museums and archives conducive to research, private study as well as knowledge preservation and dissemination. The existing Copyright (Libraries) Regulations (Cap. 528B), which govern the relevant permitted acts under the Ordinance, are therefore in need of an update.
 
     A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) said, "The Government is committed to upholding a robust copyright regime which includes various permitted acts of reasonable use of copyright works by different sectors covering libraries, museums, archives, etc. To enable specified libraries, museums and archives to effectively utilise these permitted acts under the Ordinance while fulfilling their roles in cultural heritage preservation and conservation, it is essential to provide them with a set of clear and up-to-date statutory framework for compliance in appropriate circumstances."
 
     The spokesman added that the Government proposes enacting two pieces of new subsidiary legislation under section 46(1) of the Ordinance to replace the existing one. The proposed legislation seeks to specify the types and classes of libraries, museums and archives which are eligible to do the relevant permitted acts under the Ordinance, and prescribe the applicable conditions for each of these permitted acts.
 
     The consultation document has been uploaded to the respective websites of the CEDB (www.cedb.gov.hk) and the Intellectual Property Department (www.ipd.gov.hk). Members of the public may submit their views by email (libreg_consultation@cedb.gov.hk), fax (2147 3065) or post (Division 3, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau at 23/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong) on or before April 15, 2024.