The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary today (December 29) announced the reappointment of four incumbent Recorders of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. All appointments are made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission.

     Mr Martin Hui Siu-ting, SC; Ms Sit Yat-wah, SC; and Ms Rachel Lam Yan-kay, SC, are reappointed as Recorders of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. The reappointments will be for three years commencing on January 1, 2024, upon expiry of their current terms.
 
     Mr Eugene Fung Ting-sek, SC, is reappointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court. The reappointment will be for three years commencing on February 1, 2024, upon expiry of his current term.

     The biographical notes of the appointees are as follows:

Mr Martin Hui Siu-ting, SC

     Mr Hui, SC, was born in 1971 in Hong Kong. He obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1994 and 1995 respectively. He further acquired a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights from the University of Hong Kong in 2013. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1995. He was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2015. He had been working as a legal officer in the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice since 1995 and was a Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions before he left the department in 2019. He has been in private practice since 2019. He was appointed as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2019 and 2020. He has been appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court since 2021.

Ms Sit Yat-wah, SC

     Ms Sit, SC, was born in 1978 in Hong Kong. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2001 and 2003 respectively. She was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 2002. She was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2019. She has been in private practice since 2004. She was appointed as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2020. She has been appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court since 2021.

Ms Rachel Lam Yan-kay, SC

     Ms Lam, SC, was born in 1981 in Hong Kong. She obtained a Master of Arts (Jurisprudence) degree from the University of Oxford, UK, in 2003. She further obtained a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in the United States of America and a Master of Studies degree in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, UK, in 2005 and 2011 respectively. She was called to the Hong Kong Bar and to the Bar in England and Wales (Gray's Inn) both in 2004. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2007. She was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2019. She has been in private practice since 2006. She was appointed as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2020. She has been appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court since 2021.
 
Mr Eugene Fung Ting-sek, SC

     Mr Fung, SC, was born in 1971 in Hong Kong. He obtained a Master of Law degree and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge, UK, in 1995 and 1997 respectively. He completed the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law in London, UK, in 1996. He was called to the Bar in England and Wales (Lincoln's Inn) and in Hong Kong both in 1997. He was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2012. He has been in private practice since 1998. He was appointed as Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court for periods in 2014, 2015 and 2016. He has been appointed as Recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court since 2018.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, December 29, 2023 is 103.2 (down 0.2 against yesterday's index).

     Police today (December 29) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tai Po.

     Wong Wing-hong, aged 63, went missing after he was last seen at a care centre on Plover Cove Road on December 13. Staff of the care centre made a report to Police on the same day.
    
     He is about 1.79 metres tall, 65 kilograms in weight and of medium build. He has a square face with yellow complexion and short grey hair. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, grey trousers and slippers.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Persons Unit of New Territories North on 3661 3115 or email to rmpu-ntn-1@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     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 December 28 to noon today (December 29), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 216 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).
 
     In parallel, 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 22 557 samples of food imported from Japan (including 15 030 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 6 316 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     The Education Bureau today (December 29) announced that, in the 2024/25 academic year, the annual subsidy amount of the Non-means-tested Subsidy Scheme for Self-financing Undergraduate Studies in Hong Kong (NMTSS) will be adjusted upwards from $33,740 of the current academic year to $34,390, in accordance with the movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index.
 
     The adjusted level of subsidy will apply to both new and continuing eligible students. The subsidy is tenable for the normal duration of the programmes concerned. Eligible students enrolling in the relevant programmes will pay a tuition fee with the subsidy applied. Students in need may still apply for student financial assistance from the Student Finance Office of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency in respect of the actual amount of tuition fee payable.
 
     The NMTSS, launched in the 2017/18 academic year, provides a non-means-tested annual subsidy to eligible students pursuing full-time locally accredited local and non-local self-financing undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes offered by eligible institutions in Hong Kong. In line with the policy to promote vocational and professional education and training (VPET) of "The Chief Executive's 2022 Policy Address", with effect from the 2023/24 academic year, the eligibility criteria of the NMTSS have been rationalised to benefit students from different backgrounds, including those with VPET qualifications.
 
     The subsidy applies to all eligible local students enrolling in the programmes covered by the Scheme. Applications for the subsidy need to be made through the institutions concerned. A list of the 15 eligible institutions and programmes for the 2024/25 cohort is in the Annex. For details, please visit the NMTSS website (www.cspe.edu.hk/nmtss).