Tag Archives: China

     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 7 to noon today (February 8), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 146 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 29 865 samples of food imported from Japan (including 20 009 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 8 372 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements to facilitate the holding of Well Wishing Festival in Lam Tsuen during the Lunar New Year period. Road closure and traffic diversions ———————————— … read more

     Police will implement crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements to facilitate worshippers visiting Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin during the Che Kung Festival period. Crowd safety management measures —… read more

     The Transport Department (TD) today (February 8) reminded the public that the following special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in various locations on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon to facilitate t… read more

     The Government today (February 8) launched a public consultation on legislative proposals to introduce a licensing regime for providers of over-the-counter (OTC) trading services of virtual assets (VA). The consultation will last for two months until April 12, 2024.

     In the Policy Statement on Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong issued in October 2022, the Government stated its commitment to enhancing the regulatory framework for VA activities under the “same activity, same risks, same regulation” principle. In this respect, the licensing regime for VA service providers established under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615) (AMLO) commenced operation in June 2023 to regulate the operations of VA trading platforms.

     As some fraud cases have shown the involvement of VA OTC operators, the Government sees a need to regulate OTC services under the AMLO, so as to mitigate the money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks and protect investors. The salient points of the legislative proposals are as follows:
 
a. requiring any person who conducts a business in providing services of spot trade of any VA for money in Hong Kong to be licensed by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise (CCE);
 
b. covering all VA OTC services irrespective of whether the services are provided through a physical outlet and/or other platforms;
 
c. providing powers for CCE to supervise the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing conduct of licensees, and enforce the statutory and regulatory requirements under the new regime; and
 
d. providing transitional arrangement to facilitate the effective implementation of the regulatory regime.
 
     A Government spokesman said, “The legislative proposals constitute an important element in the Government’s efforts to develop a robust and transparent regulatory environment for the sustainable development of VA and Web3. The proposed licensing regime for VA OTC service providers will effectively mitigate the ML/TF risks of the VA activities concerned and cater for investor protection.”

     The consultation document is available on the webpage of the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau at www.fstb.gov.hk/fsb/en/publication/consult/doc/VAOTC_consultation_paper_en.pdf.

     Members of the public and stakeholders are welcome to submit their views on the proposals to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau by post (24/F, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong) or by email (vaotc-consult@fstb.gov.hk) on or before April 12, 2024. read more