The Security Bureau (SB) today (November 18) held an induction course for members of the new-term SB Youth Uniformed Group Leaders Forum to launch training activities in the coming year, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shenzhen University to jointly promote Hong Kong-Shenzhen youth development and co-operation on cultural exchanges, deepening the Leaders Forum's work in nurturing young people.

     Witnessed by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, and the Director General of the Youth Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Zhang Zhihua, the MOU was signed by the Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Patrick Li, and Vice President of Shenzhen University Mr Wang Yongcheng, enabling the two sides to co-organise activities in the coming three years with 15 students from Shenzhen University joining activities of the Leaders Forum to enhance exchanges between youths in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

     Noting at the signing ceremony that Shenzhen University has the nation's top academic talent and teaching resources, Mr Tang said that the university will provide teaching guidance and arrange visits for the Leaders Forum, including visits to government departments, scientific research and cultural institutions as well as major enterprises, to assist members to obtain a deeper understanding of the country's development. He said the SB will also organise training camps with distinctive features of the disciplined services and visit activities to provide teamwork and leadership training, and hold seminars on different themes as well as study tours to allow members to learn more about the country and broaden their horizons.

     The two-day, one-night induction course of the Leaders Forum is being held at the Hong Kong Police College in Wong Chuk Hang. In addition to training in discipline, physical fitness and team building, a number of distinguished personalities from different sectors were invited to share their experiences, including the Permanent President of the Leaders Forum, Mr Chan Hak-kan, who analysed the current situation of Hong Kong society; the founder of Bastille Post, Mr Lo Wing-hung, who will explain the ecology of the media and its social functions; teachers from Shenzhen University, who explored patriotic education; Hong Kong table tennis athlete Mr Wong Chun-ting, who will share how to rise to challenges to reach new heights; and Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award winner in 2023 Ms Sandy Lau, who will share youth and community work. The Leaders Forum's Founding Chairman, Mr Yeung Fun-bun; and Presidents Mr Cheung Wah-fung and Mr Kwan Chi-ping also shared their successful experiences at a seminar.
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     The SB established the Leaders Forum in October last year to deepen the participation of government departments and civil services in youth work. There are 29 members aged between 16 and 25 in the new term of the Leaders Forum. All participants are distinguished members of various youth uniformed groups of disciplined services with great potential, and have been chosen as members of the Leaders Forum following rigorous selection.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration and Chairperson of the Commission on Children (CoC), Mr Chan Kwok-ki, officiated at the "Let's T.A.L.K. and Walk with Kids" Child Protection Campaign Award Presentation Ceremony 2023 this afternoon (November 18). The "Walk with Kids" thematic campaign of the CoC, the "Let's T.A.L.K. – Child Protection Campaign" of the Police and the "Strengthening Families and Combating Violence" publicity campaign of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) joined forces to show the Government's commitment to stepping up public education on child protection at the family, institutional and community levels.

     Delivering his opening remarks at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that it takes more than the efforts of the Government to provide a safe and stable environment to foster the diversified development and growth of the next generation, which requires the participation of the whole community. In particular, the CoC he chairs has been uniting relevant policy bureaux, departments and all sectors of society to tender advice and suggestions in building consensus. Apart from launching publicity and promotional activities, the CoC continues to explore and drive the implementation of various policy initiatives to enhance child protection.

     Mr Chan said, "One of the key initiatives is the establishment of a mandatory reporting mechanism to ensure early identification and intervention of serious child abuse cases. The Government has introduced the relevant Bill into the Legislative Council. We will fully assist in its scrutiny and strive for its early passage and the full implementation of the mechanism. The Government will also strengthen relevant support measures, including drawing up a Mandated Reporters' Guide, and providing training for different categories of mandated reporters on their statutory obligation, which is very important. We will also increase the number of residential child care and foster care service places to provide emergency placement for children in need."

     He added that the Government would continue to join with all sectors of society in steadfastly implementing the Youth Development Blueprint. It will enable all round the next generation of Hong Kong to widen their horizons, strive for self-improvement, grasp opportunities ahead and unleash their potential, so as to build a better Hong Kong.

     Accompanied by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee; the Director of Social Welfare, Miss Charmaine Lee; the Consultant Community Medicine (Family and Student Health) of the Department of Health, Dr Thomas Chung; and the Convenors of the four Working Groups under the CoC, Mr Chan hosted the ceremony and led participants in the slogan "Let's T.A.L.K. and Walk with Kids" to appeal to all sectors of society to act in concert on child protection.

     In the third year of the Police's Child Protection Campaign, in collaboration with the CoC, the SWD and the Community Chest, activities including the Virtual Run Challenge, the "Dress Casual – Show Your Care" Post Design Competition, the Metaverse Exhibition and the enhancement of the "Child Protection WebApp" were launched to raise public awareness of child protection. Among them, the Virtual Run recorded 7 390 kilometres from over 5 000 participants, setting a world record for the most participants in a virtual run with child protection as the theme under the Sustainable Development Goals. The Dress Casual Post Competition received over 400 entries, raising funds for member agencies of the Chest providing child protection and welfare services.

     Summing up the achievements of the Campaign, Mr Siu highlighted the crucial role played by different sectors, including parents, teachers and social workers, in the upbringing of children. It is also essential to have a harmonious social environment and a stable legal system to facilitate children's healthy development. Mr Siu said that the number of child abuse cases in the first 10 months of 2023 showed an upward trend compared to the same period in 2022 and some children fell into online traps. The Police are strengthening efforts including holding a number of seminars in early 2024 with professionals from the welfare, education, clinical psychology and other sectors to explore protecting children from threats of online sexual offenses.

     In addition, the SWD invited artistes Kaki Sham and Margaret Chung to play the roles of parents in two micro-movies on the theme of "Protecting Children Begins with the Family", which convey how violence damages both the physical and mental well-being of children and the parent-child relationship as well as reminding parents to release emotions when under stress and seek help from family, friends or professionals when necessary. Highlights were shown at the ceremony and the public may visit the Heart and Hut YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/@heartandhut2478) for their full versions. On top of TV and radio Announcements in the Public Interest and social media publicity, the SWD also stepped up publicity in the community via public transport networks, entrances and exits of road harbour crossings and government buildings across the territory.

     Also officiating at the ceremony were the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Chow Yat-ming; the Director of Crime and Security of Police, Mr Yip Wan-lung; the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), Ms Chung Wing-man; and Ambassadors of the Child Protection Campaign Ms Guo Jingjing and Mr So Wa-wai. Over 80 awards were presented at the ceremony.

     Prior to the ceremony, Mr Chan hosted the CoC's "Walk with Kids" stakeholder engagement event and expressed his gratitude to various sectors of society for their support for the CoC's work. He said that the CoC's work covered various aspects, including exploring and implementing children-related policy initiatives, rolling out a series of publicity, promotional and public engagement activities, and launching nearly 130 promotional and public educational projects to date through non-governmental organisations, schools and child concern groups funded by the Funding Scheme for Children's Well-being and Development. He added that the CoC launched the "Walk with Kids" thematic campaign this year and played a leading role in systematically integrating the promotional efforts of the Government and various sectors of society to achieve synergy.

     Through sharing sessions and an exhibition, the stakeholder engagement event on the theme of "review and outlook" reviewed the CoC's work since its establishment in June 2018, and views on future work priorities were exchanged. Some 100 stakeholders of the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors as well as representatives of the funded organisations attended the event today.

    

     Hong Kong Customs on November 16 detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving an incoming passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 530 grams of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $650,000.

     A male passenger, aged 42, arrived in Hong Kong from Nairobi, Kenya, via Doha, Qatar, on that day. During Customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside his body cavity. He was then escorted to the hospital for examination. Upon examination, a doctor confirmed that foreign objects were concealed inside his body cavity. He was arrested immediately. As at 1pm today (November 18), the arrested person has excreted 48 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 530g in total.

     The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on November 20.

     Following the resumption of normal travel and exchanges with the Mainland and other parts of the world, the number of visitors to Hong Kong has also been increasing steadily. Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities 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).

  

     The Fight Crime Committee (FCC) today (November 18) held the 2023 Fight Crime Conference at the Central Government Offices with near 500 participants exchanging views on topics relating to law and order and crime-fighting strategies in Hong Kong.

     Officiating at the conference, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said that this year’s conference carried a special meaning as it was the first one held after the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), and with promoting the safeguarding of national security as one of its themes. He said that while pursuing high-quality development in Hong Kong, it is necessary to stay alert to threats and dangers in times of peace and not allow the resurgence of serious violence. He emphasised that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has to complete the legislative exercise for Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2024, and together with the NSL, improve the legal regime to safeguard national security in the HKSAR.

     Mr Lee said that the conference also covered the drug situation in the community and scams as well as Internet deception, all of which are current topics of concern for members of the public. He encouraged the FCC and the District Fight Crime Committees to continue to raise the law-abiding awareness of members of the public and assist the Government to prevent and fight crimes effectively. 

     In his welcoming address, the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Chairperson of the FCC, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said that since its inception 50 years ago, the FCC has been a defender and a facilitator of Hong Kong's law and order. He said that he hoped the FCC and District Fight Crime Committees would play three roles, namely as a "defender of national security" to shoulder the responsibility of safeguarding national security; a "facilitator in district governance" to maintain an environment of law and order; and an "advocate who keeps pace with the times" to join hands with law enforcement agencies in combatting the myriad of online and telephone scams, in order to make Hong Kong a safer and more stable home.

     The conference comprised three plenary sessions, namely: (1) national security education in the community; (2) drug problem; and (3) deception and cybercrime, with the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC; the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; and the Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, as moderators respectively. Members of the FCC and the District Fight Crime Committees were invited to share their experiences. 

     In his closing remarks, Mr Tang said that the sharing at the conference was very meaningful, enabling participants to have a deeper understanding of the relevant content. He said he would actively consider and follow up as appropriate the suggestions put forward in the meeting in order to take forward the key areas of work relating to national security, drug problems, scam prevention and crime fighting.

     Other officials attending the conference included the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak; the Acting Secretary for Education, Mr Sze Chun-fai; the Permanent Secretary for Security, Mr Patrick Li; the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming; the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Wong Kwok-hing; and the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung.

    

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 18) that Fanling Swimming Pool in the North District has been temporarily closed for cleaning and superchlorination following the discovery of a small amount of vomit in the pool.

     It will be reopened at 6pm today.

     The department appeals to swimmers to be considerate and to keep the swimming pools clean. They are advised not to swim after a full meal and should use the toilet facilities if necessary before swimming.