Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, welcomed the Central Government’s promulgation of the Overall Development Plan for the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone (Qianhai Overall Development Plan) and the Overall Development Plan for the Guangdong-Macao Zone in Hengqin (Hengqin Overall Development Plan) on December 21. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will lead all sectors of the community to seize the new opportunities brought about by the development of Qianhai and Hengqin, captialise on Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages under the “one country, two systems” principle and join hands in taking forward the high-quality development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
     As clearly stated in the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Qianhai is one of the major Co-operation platforms in the GBA. The development of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone (Qianhai Co-operation Zone) is an important initiative for supporting Hong Kong’s social and economic development; fostering a higher level of co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao; and establishing a new development paradigm in pursuing opening-up. With the Central Government’s promulgation of the Plan for Comprehensive Deepening Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Co-operation Zone in September 2021, the size of the Qianhai Co-operation Zone increased significantly from 14.92 square kilometres to 120.56 square kilometres, which has further expanded its scope of development as well as enabling high-end professional services in Hong Kong to further capitalise on their advantages. The HKSAR Government has all along attached great importance to the co-operation with Qianhai, and maintained close liaison with the Guangdong Provincial Government, Shenzhen Municipal Government and Qianhai Authority. Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government has stepped up its efforts to support the professionals and enterprises across different sectors to participate proactively in the development of Qianhai and to take forward the development of the GBA.
 
     The Qianhai Overall Development Plan provides a comprehensive view of the strategic positioning, development objectives, spatial layout, industry planning, business environment, urban planning, quality living environment, and governance model of the Qianhai Co-operation Zone, among other things. Its objective is to promote the demonstrative and leading roles Qianhai plays in the development of the GBA, further deepening the collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
 
      “President Xi Jinping emphasises high-quality coordinated regional development, and shows care for Qianhai’s development and opening up. The Qianhai Overall Development Plan sets a clear direction for Qianhai’s development and opening up. The HKSAR Government is grateful for the Central Government for the various policy initiatives outlined in the plan, which are not just of benefit to Hong Kong but will also contribute to the development of the GBA and our country. In particular, measures in the areas of financial services, legal services, professional services and information technology services, as well as those facilitating Hong Kong and Macao residents setting up businesses, working and living in Qianhai, and Hong Kong residents of foreign nationalities travelling in the Mainland cities of the GBA, will remarkably expand the scope of development for Hong Kong talents and enterprises,” said Mr Lee.
 
     “As I announced in the 2023 Policy Address, the Northern Metropolis will adopt an ‘industry-driven’ approach as its key planning axle, integrate deeply with the overall planning of the GBA, with a view to forging a major hub for Hong Kong’s integration into the overall development of our country. Being one of the four major zones in the Northern Metropolis, the ‘high-end professional services and logistics hub’ covering Hung Shui Kiu and the surrounding area and connecting the Qianhai Co-operation Zone, will provide financial and professional services, on top of capitalising on the locational advantages of the boundary control points for developing the modern logistics industry.”
 
     “With the promulgation of the Qianhai Overall Development Plan, Hong Kong-Shenzhen co-operation will scale new heights at which the two cities can fully leverage the ‘dual engines’ roles to drive the development in the GBA, thereby developing the GBA into a world-class innovation platform and growth pole.”
 
     Under “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of our country and being closely connected to the world, and is the only world-class city that can capitalise on both the China advantage and the international advantage. Having direct access to the huge Mainland market and strong international connectivity at the same time, Hong Kong serves as a bridge linking the Mainland and the rest of the world. Hong Kong offers a first-class business environment that is highly market-oriented and internationalised underpinned by the rule of law. Hong Kong also serves as an international financial, maritime and trading centre as well as an aviation hub. Hong Kong will consolidate and enhance its own advantages, and deepen co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, so as to support Qianhai in continuing to seek more policy breakthroughs being implemented on a pilot basis. Hong Kong will also assist Qianhai in expediting the alignment of rules and harmonisation of mechanisms, promoting a deeper level of opening up and innovation of the financial industry, accelerating the development of science and technology services industry, raising the level of internationalisation of its professional service sector, as well as broadening the level of opening up in areas such as trade and legal services.
 
     Moreover, the Hengqin Overall Development Plan will greatly promote new industries for Macao’s economic diversification. It has demonstrated the country’s key strategic planning to enrich the practice of “one country, two systems” which will inject an essential impetus for the long-term development of Macao.
 
     “As two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macao have all along been upholding the principle of ‘one country’ while leveraging the benefits of ‘two systems’. Under the principle of complementarity, both cities embrace the role as the core cities of the GBA and core engines for regional development. Hong Kong will grasp the unlimited opportunities brought about by coordinated regional development, so as to make contribution to the high-quality development of Hong Kong and the entire GBA,” Mr Lee said. read more

     Led by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, the delegation of the Development Bureau (DEVB) concluded the visit to Shanghai today (December 21).

     In the morning, the delegations of the DEVB and the Legislative Council Panel on Development met with Vice Mayor of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government Mr Zhang Xiaohong, to introduce the objectives of the visit and learn about the latest development of Shanghai. Ms Linn said that frank and fruitful exchanges were conducted with relevant government authorities during the visit, covering areas including development of new districts, renewal of old districts and building of resilient cities. She looked forward to continuous experience sharing between the two places in the future. 

     After that, the delegations visited West Bund International AI Tower, West Bund Media Port and West Bund Financial City to understand the overall planning and development progress of the waterfront area in Xuhui District. The delegations then visited century-old Zhangyuan to learn about the successful cases of revitalisation of heritage buildings through public and private partnership.

     Upon completion of the visit, Ms Linn was invited to attend the signing ceremony of the memorandum of co-operation between the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) and the Shanghai Construction Consultants Association as well as the plaque presentation ceremony for the new liaison office of the HKIS at the Shanghai Xuhui Hong Kong Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. Ms Linn said the establishment of the Shanghai liaison office is a milestone for professional exchanges between Shanghai and Hong Kong, laying a good foundation for the development of professionalism on surveying between the two places.

     The delegations returned to Hong Kong in the evening after the visit to Shanghai.

            

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (December 21) said that it is continuing to closely monitor the local situation of SARS-CoV-2 virus and assess the risk. The recent prevalence of XBB variant in Hong Kong has decreased comparing with the past few weeks, while there is an increased prevalence of BA.2.86 and its descendant lineages. With the weather becoming cool, an increasing trend in activity of respiratory viruses including SARS-CoV-2 virus is expected. The CHP reminds high risk persons to wear a surgical mask when visiting public places, and the public should also wear a surgical mask when taking public transportations or staying at crowded places. The high risk group should receive COVID-19 vaccines and booster dose at appropriate times.

     The CHP has been monitoring the local situation of COVID-19 through ways such as sewage surveillance, institutions and schools outbreak report, number of severe/death cases in public hospital, and relevant laboratory figures on human infections etc. The CHP has also been monitoring the development of variants to understand the activity of the virus in Hong Kong and whether emergence of new variant strains would lead to unusual situations. The CHP will announce the latest surveillance data in its weekly COVID-19 & Flu Express.

     According to the latest surveillance data as of mid-December, although the activity of SARS-CoV-2 virus remained at a relatively low level, sewage surveillance and relevant positive specimens laboratory figures both showed a slight increase from the low level. The genetic characterisation result revealed that the proportion of XBB and its descendant lineages has decreased compared with that in last few weeks, while the proportion of variant BA.2.86 started to increase and the variant JN.1, which was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a Variant of Interest (VOI) lately, also belongs to the descendant lineage of BA.2.86 variant.

     Deriving from the sewage surveillance results as of yesterday (December 20), XBB and its descendant lineages still accounts for over 70 per cent, and BA.2.86 and its descendant lineages (including JN.1) accounts for 25 per cent, while JN.1 accounts for 15 per cent among all variants. For human infections, among the specimens from severe/death cases tested by the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch of the CHP, the proportion of specimens identified as XBB and its descendant lineages dropped from nearly 100 per cent in the past to 82 per cent recently, while that of BA.2.86 and its non JN.1 descendant lineages is 12 per cent, and that of JN.1 is 6 per cent.

     According to information from the WHO, the earliest JN.1 sample can be traced back to late August this year. Although JN.1 has been transmitted in various places worldwide, there is no evidence that JN.1 poses additional public health risks at the global level as compared with other circulating variants (such as XBB and its descendent lineages) and as such the overall risk of JN.1 is assessed to be low. Due to its strong growth advantage, the number of infections caused by JN.1 is expected to increase globally, though there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date. On the other hand, XBB vaccine is effective against JN.1.

     A spokesman for the CHP said that dominant COVID-19 variant will change from time to time. The latest surveillance data revealed that JN.1 has been spreading in the local community. However, no evidence shows that JN.1 will cause more severe diseases when compared with XBB and its descendant lineages. Recently, the number of reported local severe and fatal COVID-19 cases are about the same as that earlier when approximately all of the cases concerned are XBB. With reference to local data and overseas epidemiological trend, the proportion of JN.1 is expected to increase gradually and possibly replace XBB as the dominant variant in Hong Kong.
 
     The spokesman added that the activity of SARS-CoV-2 virus generally increase in winter. Taking into account the JN.1 has a higher transmissibility, and the chance for families and friends to get together or travel during Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year holidays, local COVID-19 cases are anticipated to rise and reports on relevant severe cases and deaths will also increase with the increasing community infection.
 
     The CHP reminds high risk groups to receive a COVID-19 booster as soon as possible. Regardless of the number of COVID-19 vaccines doses received previously, they could receive a booster dose to be given at least six months after the last dose or COVID-19 infection (whichever is later). The Government’s free COVID-19 vaccination programme currently provides ample time slots to cater to scheduling requirements. High-risk groups should receive vaccination in a timely manner for enhanced personal protection. Furthermore, members of the public who have respiratory symptoms should refrain from work or attending classes at school, and seek medical advice promptly with a view to lowering the risk of transmission.
 
     ​For the latest information, please visit the latest weekly COVID-19 & Flu Express issued today. As for vaccination, the public may visit the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme website. read more

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs has recently received reports from a number of members of the public stating that a chain pain treatment centre is engaging in unfair trade practices to sell prepaid treatments and is suspected of contravening the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).

     Hong Kong Customs is highly concerned about the incident and deployed more than 40 officers today (December 21) to conduct an investigation at the nine outlets of the trader concerned in different districts.

     As at noon today, Customs has received a total of 23 reports. Customs officers have successfully contacted all the complainants and will investigate each reported case in depth.

     Customs will continue to keep a close watch on the trade practices of the concerned pain treatment centre and its related industry. If any traders are found to be in breach of the TDO, the department will take decisive enforcement action.

     Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO. Consumers are also reminded to procure services at reputable shops and think prudently before making decisions for consumption involving prepayment. After purchasing services, consumers should keep the transaction receipts and related records, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future.

     Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence if the trader applies a false trade description to a service provided, or offered to be provided, to a consumer. A trader commits the offence of aggressive commercial practices under the TDO if he/she uses harassment, coercion or undue influence, thereby restricting or impairing consumers’ freedom of choice and conduct in making transactional decisions. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/). read more

     “Customs YES” organised a three-day historical and cultural study tour to Hunan from December 19 to 21. The Deputy Commissioner (Control and Enforcement) of Customs and Excise, Mr Chan Tsz-tat, led a delegation of 35 “Customs YES” members to visit Hunan, the hometown of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, with an aim of enhancing members’ understanding of the great figure and the speedy customs clearance procedures through the implementation of the Hunan-Guangdong-Hong Kong Single E-lock Scheme (SELS).
      
     The delegation arrived on December 19 at Changsha, Hunan, by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Express Rail Link, and visited the International Cargo Station at Changsha Huanghua International Airport to learn about the collaborations between both Customs administrations in conducting real-time cargo monitoring through the implementation of the SELS and the adoption of advanced technology, thus expediting the cargo transshipment flow. The delegation then headed to the command centre at Changsha Customs Headquarters to learn about the history, work and facilities of the Changsha Customs District. During the visit, Mr Chan also met with the Deputy Director General of the Changsha Customs District, Mr Wei Yongliang, discuss the future development of the SELS and express gratitude for the Changsha Customs District’s dedicated support for the study tour.
      
     The delegation later visited the Changsha Customs Modern History Museum at the Customs office of the Juzizhou scenic area in Changsha to learn about the history of Changsha being opened up as a free port, and the impacts and developments of the establishment of the Changsha Customs District. Members also viewed the Young Mao Zedong statue and enjoyed the night view of Changsha in the scenic area.
      
     Mr Chan yesterday (December 20) led the delegation to travel to Chairman Mao’s birth place, Shaoshan. They visited the Mao Zedong Bronze Statue, where they laid a wreath and stood in silence to pay tribute and commemorate the 130th anniversary of Chairman Mao Zedong’s birth. They then visited Chairman Mao Zedong’s former residence and the Mao Zedong Relic Museum to learn about his life story, through which their sense of national pride was strengthened.
      
     In addition, the delegation visited the Dishui Cave where Chairman Mao lived in seclusion, and enjoyed a large-scale drama, “The Most Memorable Shaoshan”, through which they learnt about Chairman Mao’s life and struggles in his political career, thereby enriching their knowledge of the history of modern Chinese revolution. Later on, the delegation visited the China Resources Hope Town in Shaoshan, where the group joined an agricultural experience and gained an understanding of the work of poverty alleviation and sustainable economic development in Hunan.
      
     Today (December 21) is the last day of the trip. The delegation visited Yuelu Academy, which was one of the four most prestigious academies in ancient China, and appreciated the traditional architecture of this ancient academy with a history of over one-thousand years.
      
     Looking ahead, “Customs YES” will organise more exchange activities in order to deepen the youth’s understanding of the profound history and culture of the country, and strengthen their sense of national identity and national pride.