Tag Archives: China

     A man who smuggled 18 live endangered turtles and three live endangered lizards into Hong Kong was convicted and sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment today (December 27) for violating the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169).

     A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said, “Customs officers intercepted a 27-year-old male passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, at Hong Kong International Airport on May 14. Upon inspection, 18 live endangered turtles (including 12 Burmese starred tortoises, a radiated tortoise and five Asian leaf turtles) and three live endangered lizards (black tree monitors) were found packed around his outer thighs. The man was subsequently arrested. After investigation, an AFCD veterinary officer found that the animals were subjected to unnecessary suffering and their health and welfare had been neglected during the transportation.”

     Charges were laid against the man for breaching the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, by illegally importing species listed under Appendix I and Appendix II of the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Burmese starred tortoise and radiated tortoise are listed in Appendix I while Asian leaf turtle and black tree monitor are listed in Appendix II) and animal cruelty. He pleaded guilty earlier and was convicted at the District Court today. The starting points for sentencing for the charges under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance were 36 months’ and 12 months’ imprisonment respectively. A one-third reduction was given for his guilty plea. The court ordered partly consecutive sentences of imprisonment for a total of 30 months behind bars.

     According to the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.

     Also, according to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, any person by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, causes any unnecessary suffering to any animal commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for three years upon conviction.

     The spokesman stressed, “The Government is committed to protecting endangered species and safeguarding animal welfare. The AFCD will remain vigilant and continue to monitor and combat illegal activities involving endangered species and animal cruelty.”

     Members of the public may call 1823 to report any suspected irregularities to the AFCD and visit the AFCD website: www.cites.hk regarding the control of endangered species in Hong Kong.

  

     Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau; the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health (ACMH), Dr Lam Ching-choi; and the former Chairman of the ACMH, Mr Wong Yan-lung, SC, at a media session after officiating at the kick-off ceremony of the Mental Health Support Hotline this afternoon (December 27):

Reporter: How do you expect the public’s demand for the hotline service? Are you worried that there will not be enough manpower handling a large amount of calls? The second question is, for those who are not willing to seek help through the hotline, how can the Government provide help to them or prevent the mental health issues from worsening?

Secretary for Health: We understand that mental health is not a simple medical issue. It is a problem which requires cross-bureau, cross-disciplined support to improve the mental health of our people. For this hotline, I have very conflicting thoughts on the future demand. Of course, we want to make sure that those who need the service will call the line, and we will have very good response from the public. On the other hand, we obviously want to see that the mental health problem is not worsening. Our service provider has a very flexible approach in the service. It provides a 24-hour, real-time, person-to-person response to any call. We have at least six staff members on the line at any time. If there is any surge in demand at any particular time, there will be on-call service for that. We want to ensure that we can cope with the service demand in case there is a need.

Former Chairman of ACMH: The Government is expecting more people calling this hotline upon the launch, so additional manpower is in place. However, there is also an automatic system. If, for any reason, nobody answers the call, it will be recorded. I think that, within half an hour, there will be someone calling back so as to make sure that each caller will receive a response. I think that will be important. 

     You also mentioned the additional measures to reach out to the people who are reluctant to call. I think that it is absolutely valid. That is why the hotline is only one of the many measures to be taken. It is an important one, but at the same time for those who are more reluctant, like those who are carers and those who are reluctant to seek help because of the issues they are suffering, I think that we have to reach out to them proactively. For example, I did mention that we can do more outreach work at the clinics while carers and patients are waiting at the lobbies outside clinics. There will be people reaching out to them, with more information provided to them. I think that this is one of the measures that we can take, but we have to be proactive to reach out to these people. 

     I just want to mention that those who are English-speaking can also call this hotline. There are some arrangements in place for interpretation service. Necessary and appropriate referral will be put in place.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said that, regarding the illegal operation of the concrete batching plants (CBP) at 20 and 22 Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong, the department is handling the cases in a serious manner and the evidence collected will be passed on to the Department of Justice (DoJ) for consideration and follow up in accordance with the law.

CBP at 22 Tung Yuen Street

     Since the appeal lodged by the CBP at 22 Tung Yuen Street had been dismissed by the Air Pollution Control Appeal Board (the Appeal Board), the EPD has been taking stringent enforcement actions against the plant. An investigation confirmed that the plant’s total silo capacity still exceeds 50 tonnes. By December 2023, the EPD had initiated a total of 32 prosecution summonses against the plant for not complying with the air pollution abatement notice served and operating without a valid licence. These cases are currently being handled by the Court. Meanwhile, the EPD has also applied for an injunction, which is being scheduled for hearing by the Court, to stop the CBP operation from causing public nuisance. The EPD is following up with the DoJ to apply to the Court to schedule the hearings of these prosecution and injunction cases as soon as possible, so as to prevent the concrete batching plant from causing air pollution and public nuisance.

     The Court of First Instance of the High Court handed down a decision on December 13, 2023, pointing out that on whether the CBP at 22 Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong, is required to have a Specified Process Licence (SPL) to operate, China Concrete Co. Limited (China Concrete) had disclosed no reasonable causes of action and abused the legal process by filing a civil claim against the EPD. The Court allowed the DoJ’s application to strike out China Concrete’s claims and ordered the costs of the proceedings be paid by China Concrete.

CBP at 20 Tung Yuen Street

     Since the Appeal Board dismissed an appeal lodged by China Concrete against the refusal of its application for renewal of a SPL for the CBP at 20 Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong, by the EPD on November 22, 2023, the CBP’s SPL has ceased to be in force. The EPD had then taken enforcement actions and conducted a joint operation with the concerned departments on November 28, 2023. EPD officers are collecting evidence and will pass the evidence collected on to the DoJ for considering initiating prosecutions under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance.

     In addition, the EPD is working on legislative amendments to the Air Pollution Control Ordinance to enhance enforcement power for closing illegal premises, so as to allow the department to handle similar cases more efficiently and effectively in the future. The amendments to the Ordinance are set to be introduced into the Legislative Council in the first quarter of next year. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 27) that in view of notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) about outbreaks of highly pathogenic … read more

     The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, signed a new agreement on the supply of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong from 2024 to 2026 with the Director General of the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province, Mr Wang Lixin, in Guangzhou today (December 27). The Director of Water Supplies, Mr Tony Yau, also attended the signing ceremony.
 
     The current agreement will expire on December 31. The new agreement continues to adopt the “package deal deductible sum” approach which enables Hong Kong to import Dongjiang water based on the city’s need. In years with more local yield and the amount of Dongjiang water required is below the preset annual supply ceiling, a price deduction, according to the actual amount of water supplied, will be made to the annual ceiling water price. This approach provides greater flexibility in the control of water storage level, preventing wastage of Dongjiang water resources and saving pumping cost for water delivery. The new agreement also continues to adopt benchmarks on water supply volume applicable under the existing agreement.
 
     In the new agreement, the annual ceiling water price will have an annual increase of 2.39 per cent, which is worked out with reference to the mechanism that takes into account changes in the price indices of Guangdong and Hong Kong, and the exchange rate between Renminbi and Hong Kong dollars. Under the new agreement, the Guangdong side will maintain the quality of the Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong in compliance with Type II waters in the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water, which is the highest national standard for surface water applicable to human consumption.
 
     On the same day, Ms Linn held a working meeting with the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province to exchange views on the Dongjiang water supply and water quality monitoring work. Ms Linn thanked the Guangdong authorities for investing in infrastructure to safeguard the water supply and water quality for Hong Kong, as well as providing support on the relevant policy and implementation work. Ms Linn said, “We are very grateful for the nation’s support for Hong Kong. The continuous supply of Dongjiang water since 1960s has helped Hong Kong to solve the long-term problem of water shortage. Dongjiang water currently makes up about 70 to 80 per cent of fresh water consumption in Hong Kong, meeting the needs of people’s livelihood and social development.”
 
     2025 will mark the 60th anniversary of Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong. The Development Bureau plans to launch a series of activities which will enable the public to learn about the history and current situation of Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong, as well as the nation’s immense support and care rendered to Hong Kong through this mega water supply project.
 
     Afterwards, Ms Linn and officials from the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province visited Gaoxinsha Pumping Station in Nansha, Guangzhou, to see the Water Resources Allocation Project in the Pearl River Delta Area. The project will realise the diversion of water from Xijiang River to the eastern part of the River Delta Area to provide a new source of water to Guangzhou Nansha, Shenzhen, Dongguan, etc, and an emergency backup source of water for Hong Kong, thereby further safeguarding the security of Hong Kong’s water supply.