Tag Archives: China

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements in the New Territories from November 23 to 26 to facilitate the holding of Oxfam Trailwalker 2023.       Road Closure ————  &nb… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (November 22):

Question:

     HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been implemented since May this year and has been successively extended to the three road harbour crossings (RHCs). Motorists are required to install toll tags (i.e. vehicle tags or class tags) on their vehicles to facilitate detection by the system and deduction of tunnel tolls from the pre-set toll payment accounts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective percentages of successful and unsuccessful detection of toll tags by the detection system among the vehicles installed with toll tags since the implementation of HKeToll;

(2) as some motorists have relayed that large sums of fine had been incurred due to repeated failures of the detection system in detecting the class tags, whether the authorities will set a cap on the amount of fine before the operation of the detection system becomes totally reliable, so as to provide motorists with a certain level of protection; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) as it has been reported that tunnel tolls were charged to some motorists for vehicles parked in the car parks because the system had wrongly detected the passing of such vehicles through tunnels with HKeToll, whether it has compiled statistics on the number of such detection error cases since the implementation of HKeToll; of the number of related complaints handled by the toll service provider, and the details of the relevant handling mechanism; and

(4) as the authorities have reduced the number of vehicle passing lanes at the toll plazas of the three RHCs after the implementation of HKeToll, there are views pointing out that with such an arrangement, traffic congestion which used to occur at the toll plazas has been extended to the upstream carriageways, whether the Government has examined if the capacities and vehicular flows of the three RHCs during peak hours after the reduction of vehicle passing lanes have caused traffic congestion in the upstream carriageways (e.g. whether the condition of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel has affected the traffic at Hong Chong Road, East Kowloon Corridor, Princess Margaret Road, etc; the condition of the Eastern Harbour Crossing has affected the traffic at Lei Yue Mun Road, Island Eastern Corridor, Kwun Tong Bypass and Tseung Kwan O Road; and the condition of the Western Harbour Crossing has affected the traffic at Connaught Road West, etc); if traffic congestion has occurred in the upstream carriageways as a result, of the details, as well as the improvement measures to be taken by the authorities?

Reply:
 
President,

     To promote Smart Mobility, HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been progressively implemented at the government-tolled tunnels and Tsing Sha Control Area this year, enabling motorists to settle tunnel tolls remotely using toll tags without having to stop or queue at toll booths for payment, thereby saving motorists’ time and bringing more convenience to them. With the help of the equipment installed at the toll area of the tunnels, the relevant systems process remote payments through detection of toll tag using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, coupled with the reading of the vehicle registration mark using the automatic number plate recognition technology. The Transport Department (TD) and the toll service provider have been closely monitoring the operation of the system and making adjustments to the system as necessary to further improve the HKeToll service.

     Having consulted the TD, our reply to the question raised by the Hon Kenneth Lau is as follows:

(1) Over 99 per cent of the toll tags installed in accordance with the guidelines could be detected by the relevant systems of HKeToll, as attested by repeated tests conducted by the TD. For vehicles affixed with toll tags, the detection accuracy may be affected by various factors, such as whether the tags have been installed correctly according to the TD’s guidelines, and whether there is interference from other electronic devices in the vehicle such as dashboard cameras or radio antennas, etc.

(2) As of November 14, over 810 000 vehicle tags were issued, accounting for more than 99 per cent of all the licensed vehicles in Hong Kong. Among them, about 92 per cent of the vehicles have opened HKeToll accounts, and about 73 per cent of the vehicles have set up automatic payment means. As a result, most of the vehicles can pay the tolls automatically and instantly. Those registered vehicle owners who have not yet set up automatic payment means can pay the outstanding tolls through various payment methods within 14 business days after passing through the tunnel.
 
     Earlier on, the media reported that some registered vehicle owners/drivers had received surcharge notices. According to TD’s investigation, the registered vehicle owner concerned had not set up an automatic payment means and had not topped up his account in a timely manner, resulting in an insufficient balance in his account. Despite the notifications issued by the HKeToll system to remind the registered vehicle owner to pay the outstanding toll in time, the registered vehicle owner failed to handle the payment promptly and thus missed the deadline for paying the outstanding tolls within 14 business days and was surcharged.
 
     The Government understands that, some registered vehicle owners had not set up automatic payment means or failed to pay outstanding tolls in time during the initial period of the implementation of HKeToll, perhaps because they were not fully aware of the service arrangements and operation. Therefore, during the initial period of the implementation of HKeToll, the TD would exercise discretion in handling the relevant surcharges on a case-by-case basis, and the surcharges involved would be waived under reasonable circumstances (for example, the surcharge involved was incurred before the registration of HKeToll account and the registered vehicle owner has subsequently registered an account and set up an automatic payment means; or the registered vehicle owner was not aware of unsuccessful automatic payment). In fact, with the smooth implementation of HKeToll at various government-tolled tunnels/Control Area, motorists have gradually become accustomed to using HKeToll to pay tolls, and the number of registered vehicle owners who have set up automatic payment means has also increased. It is envisaged that the chance of defaulting on toll payments in the future would be slim.
 
     The TD has stepped up the publicity through HKeToll website videos, radio, television, tunnel broadcasts, variable message signs, posters, leaflets, social media platforms, newspapers and magazines, etc, to remind and give instruction to registered vehicle owners to complete the three-step process for setting up HKeToll service as soon as possible: (i) installation of a vehicle tag, (ii) opening an HKeToll account and (iii) setting up an automatic payment means, so as to enjoy the convenience brought by the HKeToll. Motorists in need can also approach the four customer service centres and four service outlets, as well as the consultation counters at 21 MTR stations across the territory for assistance. Details of the HKeToll customer service are at Annex.
 
     As for the proposal to set an upper limit on surcharge, the Government is of the view that the existing discretionary arrangements for handling surcharge cases have been effective in encouraging registered vehicle owners to become familiar with the HKeToll service, while at the same time balancing the need for taking time to adapt by registered vehicle owners.

(3) In the past five months or so, complaints related to toll payment accounted for an average of about 0.023 per cent of the overall traffic flow using HKeToll. In October this year, the relevant figure has further dropped to about 0.016 per cent (about 70 cases per day), mainly involving a small number of private cars that did not have vehicle tags affixed, and some of them may not have sufficiently legible vehicle registration marks to be accurately identified by the automatic licence plate recognition system. In this case, manual image review would be carried out by the toll service provider, and human errors occasionally occur during the process. Among the complaints received relating to HKeToll service, we have not found any cases where toll tags of HKeToll users were mistakenly detected by car parks.
 
     Upon receipt of complaints, the TD will actively follow up with the toll service provider. In addition, the toll service provider has also developed dedicated programs to enhance the system’s capability to recognise vehicle registration marks. The situation has improved. In respect of complaint handling time, the toll service provider can generally reply to complaints within 10 business days, and for more complicated cases, they will complete the investigation and reply within 21 business days.

(4) In order to ensure smooth traffic flow, the TD and relevant departments have comprehensively considered various factors including the road environment, traffic conditions, and public transport services, etc, of each tolled tunnel and control area when formulating temporary and permanent traffic arrangements (including finalising the number of traffic lanes) for the implementation of HKeToll.
 
     The road capacity of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) and the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC) is constrained by the fact that there are only two traffic lanes in each of the north and south bound tunnel tube. The traffic demand during peak hours on weekdays has already exceeded the design capacity of the two tunnels. Therefore, the implementation of HKeToll alone will not bring about significant improvement to the existing congestion situation at the CHT and EHC.
 
     It is observed that the traffic flow at the CHT during morning and afternoon peak hours and the traffic conditions of the connecting roads upon implementation of HKeToll were in general similar as before. The current temporary traffic arrangement at the toll plaza of the CHT has already taken into account the traffic conditions of the upstream connecting roads and reduced the need for weaving as far as possible, so as to bring about a more orderly traffic near the toll plaza.
 
     As for the EHC, after the implementation of HKeToll, motorists traveling to Hong Kong Island via the Kwun Tong Bypass no longer need to weave for opting for the AutoToll lane or the manned toll lane. The average queue length at Kwun Tong Bypass during morning peak on weekdays has been shortened by about 700 meters as compared what was before the implementation of HKeToll. However, as temporary traffic arrangements are being implemented in the area around the toll plaza for conducting road works, the traffic from the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel to the EHC is slightly affected, which may cause traffic queues during the busiest hour on weekday mornings. We expect that upon completion of the road works, the traffic lanes will be straightened to achieve a smoother drive.
 
     As for the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), the traffic conditions from Connaught Road West westbound towards the WHC have not changed significantly after the implementation of HKeToll.
 
     The TD will continue to monitor the traffic conditions of various tunnels after the implementation of HKeToll and the new toll plan, and formulate appropriate traffic management measures where necessary. We will also continue to closely monitor the operation of HKeToll, make continuous improvements and adjustments to the system, and conduct rigorous tests regularly to prepare for the upcoming implementation of HKeToll at Tate’s Cairn Tunnel on November 26, time-varying toll at the three road harbour crossings on December 17, and the HKeToll at Aberdeen Tunnel within this year. read more

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Dominic Lee and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (Nov 22):
 
Question:
 
     The Government has, since May this year, launched HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, so that motorists can pay tunnel tolls remotely without the need to stop their vehicles or queue up for making payment at toll booths anymore. The Government currently implements HKeToll at three government tolled tunnels, and expects to implement the service at all government tolled tunnels by the end of this year. There are views that HKeToll makes road traffic smoother than before (e.g. there will not be traffic congestion arising from the balance of a motorist’s stored value facility account being insufficient to pay the tunnel toll) and saves time for motorists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has considered implementing HKeToll in government car parks; if so, of the details and timetable;

(2) whether it will consider inviting operators of private car parks to adopt HKeToll as an additional payment means and a way to enter and leave car parks;

(3) whether it will study replacing parking meters provided on the roadside with HKeToll; and

(4) as many motorists have relayed that they have received deceptive SMS messages purportedly sent from HKeToll claiming that they have outstanding payments and luring them into clicking on the link to a fraudulent HKeToll webpage to carry out transactions, whether the authorities will step up efforts to educate motorists, so as to remind them of the official channels for paying outstanding tunnel tolls?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     To promote Smart Mobility, HKeToll, a free-flow tolling service, has been progressively implemented at the government-tolled tunnels and Tsing Sha Control Area this year, enabling motorists to settle tunnel tolls remotely using toll tags without having to stop or queue at toll booths for payment, thereby saving motorists’ time and bringing more convenience to them.  With the help of the equipment installed at the toll area of the tunnels, the relevant systems process remote payments through detection of toll tag using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, coupled with the reading of the vehicle registration mark using the automatic number plate recognition technology. The Transport Department (TD) and the toll service provider have been closely monitoring the operation of the system and making adjustments to the system as necessary to further improve the HKeToll service.
 
     Having consulted the TD, our reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Dominic Lee is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) The Government’s plan is to first implement HKeToll at all government-tolled tunnels and Tsing Sha Control Area. When the relevant technology becomes more prevalent, the TD would consider extending the service to other road-traffic related purposes when appropriate, such as payment of parking fees by remote means at government carparks; for private carparks, it is believed that individual operators would have their own commercial and operational considerations as to whether or not to install the relevant systems.
 
(3) The application environment for on-street metered parking spaces is different from that of tunnels. In particular, the installation of overhead toll collection equipment is necessary for implementing HKeToll. Having considering a number of factors (such as roadside space, installation costs, maintenance and the appropriate technology, etc), the TD considers it more appropriate and cost-effective to continue to use on-street parking meters. The existing parking meters already accept remote payments through the “HKeMeter” mobile application, and at the convenience of the public, there are various electronic payment methods available for use.
 
(4) The TD is very concerned about the recent emergence of counterfeit websites pretending to be HKeToll service, attempting to deceive users into making payments and obtaining their vehicle registration marks and credit card information. As soon as any such counterfeit websites comes to the TD’s attention, the TD will immediately refer them to the Police for follow-up actions and timely disseminate information to the public through press releases to remind the public to avoid being deceived.
 
     The TD has stepped up publicity through its website and “HKeMobility” mobile application to remind motorists to beware of the fake messages. The HKeToll service does not send any text messages or emails with hyperlinks to vehicle owners, nor does it direct them to the linked websites to make transactions. Should there be any need for paying outstanding tolls online, members of the public must log in the HKeToll website (hketoll.gov.hk) or its mobile application and follow the relevant instructions to complete the transaction.
      
     To further enhance public education, a dedicated page on “Beware of Fraud” will be added to the HKeToll website and mobile application at the end of this month to strengthen the promotion of anti-fraud information, to guard against counterfeit websites, and to provide more practical information on protecting personal data and credit card information for users’ reference. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (November 22):
 
Question:
 
     Some members of the community have pointed out that while electrical products sold in Hong Kong must abide by the requirements of legislation relating to product safety, energy efficiency labelling, waste disposal, consumer goods safety, etc, some electrical products which are ordered via cross-border e-commerce platforms and directly delivered by suppliers outside Hong Kong to consumers in Hong Kong (cross-border e-commerce platform EPs) have not complied with the requirements of the relevant legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the existing legislation regulating electrical products sold in Hong Kong; whether cross-border e-commerce platform EPs are likewise required to comply with the requirements of such legislation; if not, of the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether it has found cases in which cross-border e-commerce platform EPs have not complied with the requirements of the legislation mentioned in (1); if so, of the number of relevant cases in each of the past five years and the details of the law enforcement actions taken (set out in a table); if not, whether it will conduct investigations;
 
(3) whether it has received reports of incidents happening to cross-border e-commerce platform EPs in the past five years; if so, of the number of cases in each of those years, with a tabulated breakdown by type of incidents;
 
(4) whether the Consumer Council and the Government have received complaints involving cross-border e-commerce platform EPs in the past five years; if so, of the number of cases in each of those years, with a tabulated breakdown by type of complaints; and
 
(5) whether it has reviewed and taken measures to improve the situation of cross-border e-commerce platform EPs not complying with the requirements of the legislation mentioned in (1); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
Regarding the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai, in consultation with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the reply is as follows:
 
(1), (2) and (3) The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is responsible for the enforcement of the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation (the Regulation) made under the Electrical Ordinance (Cap. 406). The Regulation provides statutory control over all household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong, with a view to enhancing safety of the public in the use of these products. According to the Regulation, suppliers of household electrical products are required to ensure that household electrical products have been issued a certificate of safety compliance and comply with applicable safety standards before supply. Besides, according to the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance (Cap. 598) (the Ordinance), energy labels are required to be shown on the prescribed products for supply in Hong Kong, to inform consumers of their energy efficiency performance. Currently, the Regulation and the Ordinance are not applicable to household electrical products supplied to Hong Kong from e-commerce platforms operated in the Mainland or overseas.
 
     The EMSD conducts sample checks for household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong (including electrical products supplied online and offline), and engages third party testing and certification bodies to conduct testing on the relevant safety standards for selected electrical products. If relevant products are suspected to be in violation of the Regulation, the EMSD will conduct follow-up investigations. 
 
     As regards the Ordinance, the EMSD also conducts sample checks for the listed models in the market for compliance monitoring testing by independent accredited laboratories to check whether the relevant product conforms to the energy efficiency information on the energy label. If a listed model is found to be not conforming to the performance requirements, its reference number will be removed from the record of listed models and the model will no longer be allowed to be supplied in the market. The EMSD announces such non-compliant products to consumers.
 
     The number of cases in violation of the Regulation and the Ordinance in the past five years are set out in the table below:
 

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Cases in violation of the Regulation	81	135	97	67	53
Cases in violation of the Ordinance	3	0	8	4	4

Remarks: The Regulation and the Ordinance apply only to household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong. The figures above only include cases of household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     The number of incident cases involving household electrical products in the past five years are set out in the table below:
 

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Incident cases involving household electrical products	51	42	36	46	50

 
     There are various causes for the above-mentioned incidents involving household electrical products. Some of the incident cases were not related to the safety standards of the household electrical products. The EMSD does not maintain the breakdown of the number of cases involving electrical products supplied by cross-border e-commerce platforms. 
 
(4) The numbers of complaints involving electrical products from cross-border e-commerce platforms which the Consumer Council received in the past five years are set out in the table below by complaint categories:
 

Complaint category*	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Sales practice	4	0	0	3	0
Delayed delivery	1	0	1	0	1
Price/charge dispute	0	1	1	1	0
Product quality	1	0	2	0	3
Service quality	0	1	0	0	0
Repair and maintenance services	0	0	1	1	2
Contract variation/ termination	0	0	1	0	0
Suspected unsafe product	1	0	0	0	0
Wrong model	0	0	0	1	0
Total	7	2	6	6	6

* If a case involved more than one complaint category, it was counted towards the most relevant category.
 
(5) In response to the upward trend of citizens purchasing household electrical products on e-commerce platforms in recent years, since mid-2023, the EMSD has been publicising to the public through social media platforms the precautions for purchasing electrical and mechanical products on e-commerce platforms, including electrical safety instructions. The EMSD is also producing a short video focusing on safety precautions when purchasing electrical and mechanical products on e-commerce platforms, and is planning to release it on social media platforms to strengthen the relevant publicity.
 
     Besides, the Cross-border E-commerce Working Group was established under the Cooperation Arrangement on Electrical and Mechanical Products Safety and Energy Efficiency between the EMSD and the General Administration of Customs People’s Republic of China in 2019. The work of the Working Group focuses on controlling the risks arisen from cross-border e-commerce platforms, including the reporting of non-compliant electrical and mechanical products supplied from cross-border e-commerce platforms via the established reporting mechanism, and the arrangement of publicity and education work to the trade of cross-border e-commerce platforms. On average, the EMSD reported to the Mainland authority each year more than ten pieces of different models of electrical products supplied from Mainland cross-border e-commerce platforms to Hong Kong, most of which failed to comply with the applicable safety standards of Hong Kong. After receiving the notifications, the Mainland authority will conduct follow-up actions according to the details of the cases, including taking measures such as proactively incepting orders. The EMSD also co-organises policy and regulation briefings with the relevant Mainland authority every year, to explain to personnel of companies of cross-border e-commerce platforms, manufacturers of mechanical and electrical products and testing institutions the relevant laws and regulations, as well as instructions for the supply of mechanical and electrical products in Hong Kong. The purpose is to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the regulations related to the export of household mechanical and electrical products to Hong Kong of the cross-border e-commerce industry in the Mainland.
 
     Furthermore, the EMSD, on behalf of Hong Kong, attended the Joint Regulatory Advisory Committee on Electrical and Electronic Equipment meeting cum workshop under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, introduced the safety requirements under the Regulation, and discussed the regulatory regime of e-commerce platform with the representatives of member economies, with a view to enhancing the technology and safety standards of household electrical products supplied in the region. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (November 22):

Question:

     According to the Code of Practice in Times of Typhoons and Rainstorms (the Code) published by the Labour Department, employers should not require employees other than essential staff to report for duty during the period when (i) the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above or the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force or (ii) “extreme conditions” exist. There are views pointing out that given the frequent occurrence of extreme weather in recent years, employees encounter enormous difficulties and even face extremely high risks while commuting to or from work during the period when such weather warning signals are in force or extreme conditions exist. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it is learnt that some employers have not complied with the Code or have devised guidelines on their own, making it necessary for general employees who are originally not required to report for duty to report for duty when the aforesaid weather warning signals are in force or extreme conditions exists, whether it has assessed if such arrangement involves variation of employment contracts; if so, how the authorities ensure that the rights and interests of the employees concerned are protected; as the Code has no legal effect, how the authorities ensure compliance with the relevant guidelines by employers;

(2) given the absence of legislation at present to regulate the arrangements for employees to work under extreme weather or extreme conditions, whether the Government will study enacting legislation to strengthen the protection for employees when they commute to or from work under such circumstances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it will review if the scope of protection of employees’ compensation insurance policies taken out by enterprises that operate as usual during the period when the aforesaid weather warning signals are in force or extreme conditions exist has comprehensively covered situations in which employees encounter accidents and are injured or die in their entire journey to or from work and in the course of work under such circumstances?

Reply:

President,

     The Labour Department (LD) has published the “Code of Practice in Times of Typhoons and Rainstorms” to provide guidelines for employers and employees in respect of work arrangements in times of tropical cyclones, rainstorms and “extreme conditions”. Taking into account the operations of organisations, we encourage employers to make prior work arrangements which are reasonable and practicable and consult the employees during the process. The work arrangements should be given prime consideration of the safety of employees and the situation of travelling to and from home and the place of work, and be implemented flexibly.

     My reply to the Hon Kwok’s question is as follows:

(1) Whether employers’ implementation of work arrangements in times of tropical cyclones, rainstorms and “extreme conditions” would involve a variation of the terms of employment contracts shall be subject to the facts of individual cases and cannot be generalised. If employers and employees have questions on relevant work arrangements, the Labour Relations Division of the LD is pleased to provide assistance. Besides, the Code reminds employers to comply with labour laws, including the Employment Ordinance, the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance and the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, etc. If employees suspect that their employers have violated the relevant legislation, they can make a report to the LD. The LD will continue to enhance the publicity of the Code through various channels.

(2) According to the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, if an employee sustains an injury or dies as a result of an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment irrespective of the weather conditions under which the work is performed, his employer is in general liable to pay compensation under the Ordinance.

     The Ordinance also protects employees in respect of compensation for accidents happened during traveling to and from work under adverse weather conditions. Specifically, an accident to an employee resulting in injury or death is deemed to arise out of and in the course of his employment if it happens when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above or a Red/Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force, or within the period (including any extended period) during which “extreme conditions” exists, while traveling from his place of residence to his place of work by a direct route within a period of four hours before the time of commencement of his working hours for that day, or from his place of work to his place of residence within a period of four hours after the time of cessation of his working hours for that day. The employer would be liable to pay compensation in the above circumstances under the Ordinance.

(3) The Ordinance specifies that no employer shall employ any employee in any employment unless there is in force a policy of insurance to cover his liabilities under the laws (including the common law) for injuries at work in respect of all his employees. Therefore, the policy of insurance taken out by employers must cover his liabilities under the Ordinance and the common law, including his liabilities for the work injury protection to employees who sustain injuries in accidents happened when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above or a Red/Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force, or within the period during which “extreme conditions” exists. read more