Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, called on the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and met with its Party Secretary and Chairman, Mr Zheng Shanjie, in Beijing today (December 20) to exchange views on the proactive integration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) into national development.

     Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the NDRC’s support for Hong Kong’s efforts in consolidating and realising its development of the “eight centres” as outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan. He also thanked the NDRC for its support all along for Hong Kong’s participation in and promotion of such national strategies as the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Belt and Road Initiative. The NDRC’s support has facilitated Hong Kong’s better integration into national development, providing new and greater contribution to the high-quality development of the country, Mr Lee said.

     He said that the HKSAR Government is committed to consolidating and continuously enhancing Hong Kong’s development of the “eight centres” under the 14th Five-Year Plan to provide impetus for the city’s competitiveness and sustainable economic growth, including developing “headquarters economy” to explore the immense opportunities brought about by the national and international dual circulation; capitalising on and unleashing the city’s advantages in financial services and deepening mutual access with the Mainland’s financial market; expanding the city’s global economic and trade networks and promoting regional co-operation; promoting the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint and adopting an industry-oriented approach to promote new industrialisation in Hong Kong; and actively promoting the development of cultural and creative industries by capitalising on the city’s advantages as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

     Mr Lee said the HKSAR Government has published the Northern Metropolis Action Agenda, which adopts an industry-driven approach as its key planning axle in forging Hong Kong’s deeper integration into the overall development of the GBA. He added that the development of the Northern Metropolis will facilitate Hong Kong’s closer co-operation with other GBA cities, creating a strong growth impetus for Hong Kong and injecting new vigour into the development of the entire GBA. The HKSAR Government renders its full support to the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone promulgated by the Central Government, and will work with the Shenzhen Municipal Government to foster the synergistic development of the Hong Kong Park and the Shenzhen Park and achieve complementarity.

     Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to the NDRC for its continuous support for the HKSAR Government’s proactive efforts in taking forward the above work.

     Mr Lee departed for Hong Kong this afternoon.

  

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 is 104.1 (down 0.3 against  yesterday’s index). read more

     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 19 to noon today (December 20), 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).
 
     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 21 111 samples of food imported from Japan (including 14 031 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 5 864 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today (December 20) announced that the SMS Sender Registration Scheme will first be implemented in the telecommunications sector from December 28, with a view to helping members of the public verify the identities of SMS senders and beware of call and SMS scams.
 
     Under the Scheme, all Registered Senders will use Registered SMS Sender IDs with the prefix “#” to send SMS messages to local subscribers of mobile services. The Scheme will first cover the telecommunications sector. Members of the public may visit the OFCA’s website (www.ofca.gov.hk/ssrs) to check the list of the first batch of telecommunications service providers participating in the Scheme (see Annex).
 
     A spokesman for the OFCA said that the OFCA has always been committed to, from the perspective of telecommunications services, assisting the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) in combating fraudulent calls and SMS messages. Following the establishment of the working group with the HKPF and the telecommunications sector in early September last year to jointly study and implement a series of feasible technical measures, the launch of the Scheme will further help stop fraudsters from masquerading as telecommunications service providers in sending SMS messages to mobile service users.
 
     “The Scheme aims at helping members of the public identify Registered SMS Senders to stop fraudsters from sending scam SMS messages masquerading as other companies or organisations. Taking the telecommunications sector which is the first batch of participants in the Scheme as an example, only those telecommunications service providers being Registered Senders under the Scheme will be able to send SMS messages using their Registered SMS Sender IDs with the prefix ‘#’,” the spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman added that other SMS messages with sender IDs containing “#” but not sent by Registered Senders will be blocked by the telecommunications networks. Subscribers of mobile services are not required to apply for the service, install any mobile apps or change their handset settings. The Scheme is not applicable to SMS messages of which receiving parties are expected to reply to the senders via phone numbers.
 
     The OFCA reminds that under all circumstances, members of the public should stay highly vigilant when receiving SMS messages from unknown senders, and must not disclose to unidentified senders any personal information, bank account numbers or credit card details, transfer money or access any hyperlink in the SMS messages, to avoid suffering any loss. Should there be any doubt, they should report it to the HKPF immediately.
 
     The OFCA will closely monitor the implementation of the Scheme and will discuss with other sectors and government departments to encourage more sectors that use SMS to communicate with customers to participate in the Scheme, to further expand the Scheme and to assist law enforcement agencies in combating scam activities.
 
     The OFCA will also continue to collaborate with the HKPF and the telecommunications sector to enhance education and publicity in a comprehensive manner to ensure that anti-fraud messages can be delivered to all members of the public to remind them to always stay vigilant upon receipt of calls and messages. read more

     Police today (December 20) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Cheung Sha Wan.      Zhang Yiqi, aged 32, went missing after she was last seen on Cheung Sha Wan Road on De… read more