Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by the Hon Stanley Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (November 29):
      
Question:

     Earlier on, the Immigration Department (ImmD) neutralised an illegal worker syndicate which had arranged for illegal workers to take up employment at more than 50 restaurants. In addition, it has been reported that some “snake-heads” have used guerrilla tactics to arrange for illegal workers to work on a casual basis in different work premises. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      
(1) of the respective numbers of illegal workers and employers of illegal workers prosecuted in each of the past five years and this year to date, as well as the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons;
      
(2) of the number of crackdown operations conducted by the Government against illegal workers in each of the past five years and this year to date, as well as the average manpower from the Police and the ImmD deployed in each of such operations; whether it has reviewed the adequacy of the manpower deployed in such operations;
      
(3) whether it has assessed the changes in the employment of illegal workers since the introduction of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme; and
      
(4) whether it has studied how to step up the crackdown on illegal workers?

Reply:
      
President,
      
     The Government is committed to combatting illegal employment, with a view to protecting job opportunities for local workers. The Government’s reply to the question raised by the Hon Stanley Ng is as follows:
      
(1) According to the record of the Immigration Department (ImmD), the number of illegal workers prosecuted and the number of employers of illegal workers prosecuted are tabulated below:
 

Year	Number of illegal workers prosecuted	Number of employers of illegal workers prosecuted
2018	1 341	283
2019	1 157	246
2020	615	164
2021	815	185
2022	539	138
2023 (January – October)	747	95

     From 2018 to end-October this year, illegal workers and employers of illegal workers who were convicted had been sentenced to imprisonment or fine. In terms of imprisonment period, illegal workers were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 10 days to 40 months, whereas employers of illegal workers were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from seven days to nine months. In terms of fines, illegal workers were fined ranging from $1,000 to $30,000, whereas employers of illegal workers were fined ranging from $1,000 to $400,000.
      
(2) According to the ImmD’s record, the number of anti-illegal worker operations (including joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force (Police)) is tabulated below:
      
Table 1

Year	Number of operations
2018	16 108
2019	14 147
2020	13 612
2021	16 132
2022	15 759
2023 (January to October)	14 628
Total	90 386

     According to the Police’s record, the number of anti-illegal worker operations by the Police is tabulated below:

Table 2

Year	Number of operations [Note]
2018	171
2019	89
2020	36
2021	163
2022	130
2023 (January to October)	124
Total	713

Note: the above operation figures include the joint operations with the ImmD, which may have been reflected in Table 1. The Police do not maintain the breakdown of the relevant joint operations.

     The ImmD and the Police will, depending on operational needs, risk assessment and other considerations, flexibly arrange sufficient manpower to continuously conduct intelligence-led enforcement operations against illegal employment related activities.  Law enforcement agencies will continue to monitor illegal employment activities in Hong Kong, conduct joint operations when necessary to vigorously combat relevant crimes, and regularly review and adjust manpower strategies.
      
     The number of staff deployed in each operation of the ImmD and the Police involves details of operations which should not be disclosed.
      
(3) and (4) To alleviate the manpower shortage in various sectors, the Labour Department (LD) on September 4, 2023 launched the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) to enhance the coverage and operation of the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS), including suspending the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled/low-skilled posts from the SLS for two years.
      
     If an employer has violated relevant labour/immigration laws, terms of the Standard Employment Contract or the ESLS requirements, administrative sanction in the form of withdrawal of approval granted to import workers and debarment from participation in the ESLS for up to two years will be imposed.  According to the information provided by the LD, since the launch of ESLS on September 4, 2023 till end-October, there was no administrative sanction case involving employers having breached immigration laws.
      
     The ImmD will continue to spare no effort in mounting territory-wide operations against illegal employment in full swing and conduct joint enforcement operations with the Police where necessary. The ImmD continues to step up enforcement actions against illegal workers, and conducted a monthly average of nearly 1 500 operations against illegal employment from January to October 2023, representing around 10 per cent increase compared with the monthly average of such operations in 2021 and 2022.
      
     The Police has all along been closely monitoring the trend of illegal workers related offences, and make assessment and appropriate deployment, including strengthening intelligence collection, conducting inspections on black spots where illegal workers work and gather (such as construction sites and restaurants, etc), as well as maintaining close liaison with relevant Government departments, exchanging intelligence timely and conducting joint enforcement operations, for example, the interdepartmental anti-crime and anti-illegal worker joint operations codenamed “Champion” and “Powerplayer” with the ImmD and the LD, in order to combat illegal workers and relevant illegal activities in Hong Kong.
      
     The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation of illegal employment, and timely conduct necessary enforcement operations, with a view to safeguarding the stability of local employment market and protecting workers’ rights. read more

     The Government Property Agency is inviting tenders for a three-year licence of a fee-paying public car park on portions of the Ground Floor and the First Floor of North District Government Offices, 3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong.

     The premises should be used for the purpose of a fee-paying public car park for the parking of private cars and light goods vehicles only.

     The tender notice was uploaded today (November 29) to the Agency’s Property Portal: www.gpaproperty.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 9/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, during the period from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, except public holidays. The documents can also be downloaded from the Agency’s website.

     Interested tenderers who wish to attend a site inspection should make a prior appointment with the Government Property Agency by calling 3842 6783 on or before December 7.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Logistics Department Tender Box situated on the Ground Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, before noon on December 20. Late tenders will not be accepted. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Yang Wing-kit and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (November 29):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that in recent months, bedbug infestations have spread from European countries such as France and the United Kingdom to South Korea where bedbugs can be found in public places such as hotels, cinemas and gosiwons. On the other hand, with the post-epidemic boom of “revenge travel” around the world, some pest control experts opine that bedbugs might be imported to Hong Kong in large numbers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has assessed the risks and consequences of a bedbug outbreak in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether it will set up a mechanism to monitor and make public the distribution and spread of bedbug infestations in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) whether it will improve the dedicated thematic webpage on “Bed Bugs” in the website of the Centre for Health Protection under the Department of Health, including the provision of additional contents such as the Government’s preparatory work and contingency plans, recommended bedbug control products for purchase, a list of vendors selling bedbug control products, and a list of countries/regions affected by bedbug infestations, as well as set up a hotline providing the relevant information; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(4) of the types and stocks of bedbug control equipment and insecticides currently used by the Government, and whether it will procure additional bedbug control equipment and insecticides; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(5) whether it has plans to set up bedbug control squads in the event of a bedbug outbreak to help the underprivileged groups deal with bedbug infestations in their flats, as well as to distribute bedbug control products (in particular bedbug spray) to members of the public in need; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(6) whether it will issue to all schools, hospitals, public housing estates, venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, cinemas, public transport operators, among others, in Hong Kong, guidelines on bedbug prevention and control as well as disinfection and cleansing, including requesting the MTR Corporation Limited to carry out regular disinfection with steam cleaners at MTR stations and the West Kowloon Station of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, and requesting the Airport Authority Hong Kong to carry out disinfection in the same manner at the airport during bedbug outbreaks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Bedbugs are common in tropical and subtropical areas, but less common in cold areas. There is speculation that climate change might have led to sudden proliferation of bedbugs in cold areas, hence causing local attention. Bedbugs are not uncommon in Hong Kong, and the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) has pointed out that there is no evidence that bedbugs can transmit diseases. Nevertheless, considering that bedbug infestation from other places may be brought into Hong Kong through passengers and transportation (such as aircraft and cruise ships, etc.), the Government attaches great importance to the problem, and has taken prompt actions to strengthen the prevention of bedbug transmission.
 
     In consultation with the CHP of the DH, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) and the Housing Department (HD), my reply to the question raised by the Hon Yang Wing-kit is as follows:
 
(1) Relevant departments of the Government have maintained close communication with the frontline sectors (including the Airport Authority, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), cruise terminals, the hotel sector, the public transport sector and the pest control sector, etc.) and have conducted risk assessments on the possibility of local outbreaks arising from the import of bedbug infestation. According to the relevant sectors, there have been no noticeable indications of imported bedbug infestation. They are confident that the problem could be managed and have taken proactive measures, including performing sustained deep cleansing and disinfestation work as well as strengthened anti-bedbug work, on premises and in transportation under their purview to safeguard the first line of defence.
 
     The Government will continue to monitor the development of the situation. It will also strengthen its communication with relevant sectors, continue to provide technical and information support as well as step up publicity and education work, with a view to preventing the import of bedbug infestation with all sectors concertedly.
 
(2) Bedbugs typically inhabit near places where human sleep, for example under mattresses and carpets, behind the walls, and inside the cracks of furniture. Public places in general are not their harbourages or habitats. Therefore, it is relatively difficult to set up a monitoring system for bedbug infestation in public places. Bedbugs are not a vector, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has not provided any advice or guidelines on their surveillance.
 
     The Government will continue to maintain close communication with the relevant sectors in order to grasp and assess the situation of the import of bedbug infestation on premises and in transportation under their purview. Moreover, the Pest Control Steering Committee (the Committee), which comprises members from three policy bureaux and 21 government departments and organisations, has established a notification system in relation to bedbug infestation. Under the notification system, if there is a bedbug infestation outbreak on a department’s premises, the department concerned needs to notify the Committee.The Committee will discuss the direction of anti-bedbug work and follow-up measures, and report the progress of the relevant work to the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration. The Committee will also make public its work where necessary.
 
(3) Regarding the dissemination of information, a thematic webpage on bedbugs has been set up on the website of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). The webpage gives detailed information on the biological properties of bedbugs (including that bedbugs may cause skin irritation as a result of their biting, and that they are not important media in transmitting diseases), and provides effective ways of bedbug prevention and control for public reference. In addition, factors to be considered in selecting a pest control company have been uploaded onto the FEHD’s website to facilitate the public in purchasing suitable services to tackle bedbug infestation on private premises. For enquiries on tackling bedbugs, the public may contact the FEHD at 2868 0000. At present, the WHO has not drawn up a list of the countries/regions affected by bedbug infestation.
 
     Moreover, the CHP of the DH will update the health information on its thematic webpage on bedbugs as appropriate.
 
(4) Currently, if the FEHD finds any discarded furniture items in its public refuse collection points infested with bedbugs, it will spray a synthetic-pyrethroid pesticide with residual effect on such items, so as to prevent the spread of bedbugs to nearby areas. As the FEHD has a sufficient stock of the pesticide and there is abundant supply in the market, it has no plan for additional procurement at the moment.  
 
(5) Regarding the bedbug infestation problem among the underprivileged, the FEHD will contact the HAD and seek assistance from the District Services and Community Care Teams in disseminating practical information on maintaining home and environmental hygiene and preventing and eliminating bedbugs to residents of subdivided units and “three-nil” buildings. For tenants living in public housing estates who are unable to deal with bedbugs by themselves, staff of the estate offices under the HD will, depending on the situations, provide them with assistance or refer the cases to social welfare organisations for follow-up.
 
     The FEHD will continue to provide technical advice on the prevention and control of bedbugs for social welfare organisations and volunteer groups that assist underprivileged families in dealing with the bedbug problem. It will also assist the relevant groups by clearing the discarded articles during their anti-bedbug operations.
 
(6) The Government will continue to strengthen the publicity and education work on preventing the import of bedbug infestation. Besides on-site inspections at the airport and cruise terminals as well as distribution of promotional leaflets by the FEHD and the DH earlier on, the relevant government departments have disseminated guidelines and leaflets on bedbug prevention and control to the hotel and tourism sector and the public transport sector (including the Airport Authority, the MTRCL as well as land and sea transport operators), etc., with a view to reducing the risks of importing bedbugs at source and enabling the sectors to grasp the effective ways for prevention and elimination of bedbugs. Upon receipt of reports of suspected bedbug detection, the MTRCL will conduct thorough inspections on the trains and carry out deep cleansing with steam.
 
     In addition, the Committee has disseminated the relevant guidelines and leaflets to its members and other stakeholders, so as to enhance the knowledge of the contractors of the departments’ premises and the general public on the ways to prevent the import of bedbug infestation and to handle bedbugs. read more

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Ngan Man-yu and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (November 29):
 
Question: 
 
     It is learnt that the CHOICE Magazine published by the Consumer Council (CC) (the monthly magazine) protects the rights and interests of consumers through product testing and market research, a complaint repository and product quality monitoring. The print version and the online version of the monthly magazine are both sold at $12 per copy and per issue. Individual articles of the online version are available on subscription at $8 ‍per article, and online articles published for five or more years are all made available free of charge for reading by consumers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
 
(1) the sales of the monthly magazine (with a breakdown by a single issue of the print version as well as a single issue and a single article of the online version) and the number of downloads of the online free articles in each of the past three years; and
 
(2) the measures put in place by the CC to strengthen the promotion of the monthly magazine, including whether it will consider making the online version of the monthly magazine available for free download, so as to enable more people to know about the work of the CC, thereby promoting the protection of consumers’ rights and interests; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Consumer Council (Council) has been publishing the CHOICE Magazine since 1976. Each issue of the monthly magazine features a wide range of topics, including product tests as well as surveys, studies and complaint cases on products and services, providing consumers with comprehensive information.
 
     At present, the CHOICE Magazine offers print and online versions, both at $12 per issue. Consumers may also purchase individual articles online at $8 per article. In each issue of the online version of the CHOICE Magazine, some articles are available to consumers for free. Articles that have been published for five years or more are all free of charge for consumers’ reading. In addition, consumers may also subscribe the print or online version of the CHOICE Magazine on annual terms at a discounted price.
 
     Regarding the two parts of the question, my reply is as follows:
 
(1) The sales of the CHOICE Magazine and the online page views of its articles in the past three years are set out in the table below on a yearly basis:
 

	2020	2021	2022
Sales of the print version
– Single issues	114 772 copies	109 183 copies	101 658 copies
– Annual subscriptions	112 381 copies	99 268 copies	93 688 copies
Sales of the online version
– Single issues	6 802 copies	4 806 copies	4 883 copies
– Annual subscriptions	45 673 copies	47 803 copies	45 709 copies
– Individual articles	11 531 pieces	10 403 pieces	11 615 pieces
Online page views of the articles (Note 1)	839 740 page views	2 757 749 (Note 2) page views	2 648 801 page views

(2) The Council has all along been promoting the CHOICE Magazine through a multi-pronged approach, so as to disseminate useful consumption information to consumers.
 
     The Council holds a press conference on the CHOICE Magazine every month to fully publicise the test results in the monthly magazine. Infographics and multimedia resources are also provided to facilitate the media to grasp and report the content. This enables consumers to receive information on the test results of the monthly magazine through the reports of the media and enhances their understanding of the monthly magazine.
 
     Furthermore, the Council sets up a booth at the Hong Kong Book Fair every year to promote the CHOICE Magazine and to attract new subscribers. At the same time, the Council strengthens the interaction with consumers through publishing the content of the monthly magazine on its website and social media channels (Facebook, YouTube and WeChat) as well as running prize quizzes. In recent years, the Council has published more free-of-charge articles of the CHOICE Magazine on its website, and has set up a column named “Shopping Guide”, which consolidates the information from previous issues of the monthly magazine in a reader-friendly way to provide timely references for consumers.

     The measures abovementioned are conducive to raising consumers’ awareness of the content of the CHOICE Magazine and enlarging its readership continuously. Meanwhile, they also allow more consumers to learn about the work of the Council, facilitating the protection of consumers’ rights and interests.
 
     Along with the rapid development of technologies, the reading habits of consumers and the way they receive information have been evolving. The Council is considering the views of different stakeholders to review its marketing strategy, with a view to enabling the public to obtain consumption information with greater convenience.
 
Note 1: The Council does not collate the page view statistics on charged or free-of-charge articles respectively.
 
Note 2: The Council launched a new website in August 2021, integrating the original website of the Council with the website of the CHOICE Magazine and revamping the mode of reading the CHOICE Magazine online, hence the relevant page views had increased. read more

     Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Cyberport 20th Anniversary Celebration cum Cyberport Entrepreneurship Programmes Graduation Ceremony 2023 today (November 29):

Simon (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Simon Chan), Peter (Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Mr Peter Yan), George (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Dr George Lam), distinguished guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen,

     Good morning. It’s really my great pleasure to be here today to celebrate Cyberport’s 20th anniversary and the graduation of a new batch of young start-ups. With double happiness and achievements, it is indeed a great day to remember and celebrate. 

     Cyberport has been a powerhouse in our ICT (information and communications technology) sector in the past two decades. Growing from strength to strength, Cyberport’s community has reached an impressive number of 2 000 technology companies and start-ups on its 20th year of operation, which means a double in the past five years. 

     Working from a relatively small footprint yet exhibiting an exceptionally high degree of efficiency and energy, Cyberport has made no small achievement as an ICT flagship in Hong Kong. This vibrant community have attracted over $38 billion of investment. Apart from the seven notable unicorns covering all three major clusters in fintech, smart living and digital entertainment, Cyberport takes pride in nurturing many innovative ideas and exciting business ventures.  

     Just for the renowned Hong Kong ICT Awards held earlier, 25 start-ups from the Cyberport community grabbed 28 awards from the most competitive arena, including the prestigious Winner of Award of the Year, one Grand Award and seven Gold Awards across eight categories.

     Many of Cyberport’s achievements as a melting pot of ICT talent and entrepreneurs are attributable to the start-ups home-grown here. They started their adventure at Cyberport with a big idea at a small table. Financial support aside, Cyberport grows together with the start-ups on this platform where people brew their business ideas over co-working space, leverage the extensive network of experts and investors, and immerse themselves in the supportive culture.

     The more than 200 graduates today are the best testimony to Cyberport’s remarkable journey with the start-ups. The entrepreneurship programme empowers our start-ups to materialise their ideas into commercial solutions and market breakthroughs. I am going to see some of these showcases in a moment, and I will be delighted to hear from you the ups and downs you have undergone in touching this first goalpost in your business.

     Twenty years past, Cyberport awaits much more excitement in the years to come. A new expansion block will soon be in place, just two years’ time from now at the waterfront, to bring more space for development to the Cyberport community. 

     Another exciting development is Cyberport’s initiative to establish the Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre in phases starting from 2024. This supercomputing facility will be the first of its kind and scale in Hong Kong. I am sure our start-ups, R&D (research and development) community and local industry are looking forward to this and will take a keen interest in the commissioning of the strategic infrastructure very soon.

     Before I close, I wish to congratulate again on the 20th anniversary of Cyberport and the graduates of the Entrepreneurship Programme. Your passion and devotion to innovation bring us all here. On behalf of the Government, I thank you for your hard work, and wish you great successes in the future endeavours.

     Last but not least, December 10 is another big day for Hong Kong. Please call on your family, friends and I&T (innovation and technology) partners to vote at the District Council Ordinary Election together, for a better community and a better Hong Kong. Thank you very much.

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