The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority: The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), annou… read more
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (November 6) that the Jazz Concert by Eliane Elias scheduled for November 23 (Thursday) at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall has been cancelled since the p… read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, November 6, 2023 is 105.7 (down 0.2 against last Saturday’s index).
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, November 4, 2023 was 105.9 (down 0.5 against last Friday’s index). read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (November 8) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Stamp Duty (Amendment) (Residential Properties) Bill 2023 will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debate on the Bill will be adjourned.
On Members’ motions, Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon will move a motion on reviewing public finance policies. The motion is set out in Appendix 1. Mr Tony Tse, Dr Hoey Simon Lee and Dr Wendy Hong will move separate amendments to Reverend Canon Koon’s motion.
Mr Stanley Ng will move a motion on accelerating the construction of community facilities for a smart city and bridging the digital divide. The motion is set out in Appendix 2. Professor William Wong, Mr Duncan Chiu, Ms Elizabeth Quat, Mr Lee Chun-keung and Dr Lee will move separate amendments to Mr Ng’s motion.
Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats. 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 November 3 to noon today (November 6), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 253 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category, in the past three days (including last Saturday and Sunday). 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 12 542 samples of food imported from Japan (including 8 345 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 3 658 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.
read more