The following is issued on behalf of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region:

     The Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Committee) strongly condemned individual United States (US) lawmakers for grossly interfering in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) matters by requesting a bill of sanctions in an attempt to intimidate the HKSAR officials, prosecutors and judges.

     A spokesman for the Committee said, "Since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL) more than three years ago, Hong Kong community has gradually recovered from the chaos arising from the advocate for "independence of Hong Kong", secession, and terrorist violence that emerged during the Hong Kong version of the "colour revolution" back in 2019 that seriously jeopardised our nation's sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity. Citizens have returned to normal life and the vibrant business environment has been restored. The cooperation with the Mainland in financial, trade, economic, innovation and technology, cultural and other fields has further been deepened. This is the reality that US politicians with ill intentions are unwilling to see."

     The spokesman said, "the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China. The HKSAR Government has the constitutional duty to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests of our nation. The Committee fully, faithfully and resolutely upholds the principle of 'one country, two systems'. It expresses strong indignation at and vehemently condemns foreign politicians who spread various false narratives in their rowdy attempt to interfere in the duties of the HKSAR officials, the prosecution functions of the Department of Justice, and the judicial powers exercised independently by the courts."

     The spokesman stressed, "We firmly oppose any foreign countries or external forces interfering in the affairs of the HKSAR in any manner. Any attempt to interfere is unpopular and doomed to fail."

     The spokesman said, "The Committee will steadily establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanism for the HKSAR to safeguard national security, fully and faithfully implement the NSL, and effectively prevent, suppress and punish in accordance with the law acts and activities that endanger national security. At the same time, it shall safeguard the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people in accordance with the law. Its overarching goal is to ensure the steadfast and successful implementation of 'one country, two systems'."

     A record high of more than 300 Hong Kong enterprises are participating in the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) being held from today (November 5) to November 10 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, led a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government delegation to attend the opening ceremony and relevant events today.
 
     Mr Lee, together with the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, attended the opening ceremony of the CIIE and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum (Hongqiao Forum) this morning.
 
     Later, Mr Lee accompanied Premier Li Qiang in touring the Hong Kong Exhibition Area at the China Pavilion. Under the theme "Hong Kong – New Contributions in the New Era", the Hong Kong Exhibition Area showcased how the HKSAR has been giving full play to the advantage of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under "one country, two systems" in the 26 years since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the achievements as well as a series of development blueprints.
 
     In the afternoon, Mr Lee attended the Hongqiao Forum and delivered a speech at the parallel session on "Channelling Global Business through Hong Kong" jointly organised by the HKSAR Government, the Ministry of Commerce and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). This year the Hongqiao Forum, which is themed "Joining Hands in Development, Opening Up for the Future", features Hong Kong as the theme of a parallel session for the first time.
 
     Mr Lee said, "The national development offers the best opportunities for Hong Kong. With our country’s staunch support, Hong Kong will enjoy greater room for development. We will continue to give full play to our unique role as a connecting platform in 'going global and attracting foreign investment' for the country.
 
     "Hong Kong is not only a 'super-connector' but also a 'super value-adder'. In addition to fostering collaboration, we also offer diversified professional services, comprehensive networks and solutions. We welcome international and Mainland enterprises to build their business here and leverage Hong Kong’s advantages to achieve 'win-win co-operation'."
 
     A number of leaders of Hong Kong's commercial and industrial sectors were invited to the Forum to share their insights on Hong Kong's unique position and advantages in different areas. They included the Group Chairman of the Fung Group, Dr Victor Fung; the Chairman of Esquel Group, Ms Marjorie Yang; the Chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Dr Peter Wong; the Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam; the Vice Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Chairman of M Plus Museum Limited, Mr Bernard Chan; and the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of SenseTime, Dr Xu Li.
 
     In addition, Mr Chan delivered a speech at the parallel session on "Revitalizing Real Economy with Financial Resources" to elaborate how Hong Kong would make use of its unique status and advantages under the "one country, two systems" principle, in promoting financial services to better serve the needs of the real economy, thereby contributing to the country's high-quality development and global green transformation.
 
     Mr Chan said, "Hong Kong is a prime window connecting the capital markets and investors of the Mainland and the world, a premier service platform for our country's high-level two-way opening up, and the most preferred gateway for Mainland capital and enterprises to go global, and international investors and businesses to enter the Mainland market. Looking ahead, we will continue to expand and deepen the mutual access between the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong, and assist in promoting Renminbi internationalisation in a prudent and orderly manner."
 
     On the invitation of the Ministry of Commerce, Mr Lee also attended the "Invest in China Year" Summit held during the CIIE to share with participating Mainland and overseas enterprises on how Hong Kong capitalises on the distinctive advantages to attract foreign enterprises and assist Mainland enterprises in going global.
 
     Mr Lee was then accompanied by Mr Yau and the Chairman of the HKTDC, Dr Peter Lam, to visit and show support to Hong Kong enterprises at the Hong Kong Product Pavilion and Hong Kong Service Pavilion set up by the HKTDC at the Enterprise and Business Exhibition. A total of 60 Hong Kong enterprises showcase quality Hong Kong products and services covering food, innovation and technology, professional services, logistics, information technologies, finance, architecture, design, as well as branding and market promotion at the pavilions, an increase of 28 per cent compared with last year. The exhibition area of Invest Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Service Pavilion highlights Hong Kong's advantages, while that of the Hong Kong Tourism Board promotes Hong Kong's latest tourism appeal.
 
     Mr Lee will return to Hong Kong tomorrow (November 6).

        

     Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs internal concealment cases involving two passengers at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 2.2 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $2.7 million over the past two days (November 3 and 4).

     The first case involved a 48-year-old male passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Entebbe, Uganda via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 3. 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, the man was confirmed by a doctor to have foreign objects concealed inside his body cavity. He was arrested immediately. As at 4pm today (November 5), the arrested man has discharged 68 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 1kg in total.

     The second case involved a 34-year-old female passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday. During Customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside her body cavity. She was then escorted to the hospital for examination. Upon examination, the woman was confirmed by a doctor to have foreign objects concealed inside her body cavity. She was arrested immediately. As at 4pm today, the arrested woman has discharged 98 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 1.2kg in total.

     The arrested man of the first case was laid a holding charge with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (November 6). For the second case, an investigation is ongoing.

     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 Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (November 5) reported an update on the investigations of the suspected Mycobacterium abscessus infection cluster. Currently, the suspected Mycobacterium abscessus infection cluster involved a total of 17 females.

     The CHP has set up an enquiry hotline (2125 2372) for the related cases, which operates from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) from 9am to 5.30pm. The hotline also operated from 9am to 1pm yesterday (November 4) and today to receive enquiries. The hotline was set up on November 3 and as of 1pm today, 11 calls were received, among which five females, aged 25 to 32, said that they had received relevant injection services and developed compatible symptoms.

     In addition, the CHP has not identified new premises involved in the cases since the set up of the hotline. The CHP again appeals to persons who have patronised the following premises, or have arranged and received relevant injections via the following Instagram social media accounts after which presented with relevant symptoms, should seek medical attention and call the hotline immediately. Officers of the CHP will assess their condition and arrange for follow-up as appropriate.
 

     Based on information obtained in a preliminary investigation, the CHP cannot rule out the possibility of illegal medical practice. Investigations are ongoing.

     The DH reminded members of the public that injection procedures should only be performed by a locally registered doctor. Customers should look for his or her full name against the list of registered doctors of the Medical Council of Hong Kong as well as his or her professional qualifications and relevant experience. The DH also urged the public to observe the health advice below before receiving injections:

• Understand the procedure, potential risks and complications before receiving injections. Consult a doctor for an informed decision;
• Do not receive an injection in the case of a history of allergy to the injection, or infection or inflammation on the injection site;
• Request the full name of the doctor in writing if referred by a beauty service provider for the procedure, as well as the professional qualifications and relevant experience; and
• If symptoms develop, such as fever or feeling unwell, seek medical attention immediately.

     The public may visit the DH's webpage on the differentiation between medical procedures and beauty services and the Drug Database of the Drug Office for more information. 

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     â€‹The spokesman for the Hospital Authority (HA) made the following announcement today (November 5) regarding the service arrangement of some elective surgeries due to the Field Safety Corrective Action notice against an insufflator device issued by the supplier:

     The HA received notification from the Department of Health (DH) that the Field Safety Corrective Action notice was issued by the supplier against an insufflation device (Olympus High Flow Insufflation Unit, Model UHI-4), which is mainly used for laparoscopic or endoscopic surgeries, due to its risk of causing patients' arrhythmias and cardiac arrest during operations. After the assessment, as a precautionary measure, the HA decided to suspend the use of 142 insufflation devices of the model concerned immediately in public hospitals to dovetail with the concerned notice.

     The HA is very concerned about the incident and, upon receiving notification from the DH, immediately worked with different hospital operation theatres to assess the situation. The HA has implemented a series of contingency measures, including using alternative devices of other brands or models, and deploying alternative devices among hospitals to maintain emergency surgeries. In addition, the HA has requested other suppliers to support the services by providing alternative devices in stock urgently. It is expected that the first batch of alternative devices will be distributed to public hospitals within the coming week.

     In order to mobilise resources to maintain emergency surgeries, it is estimated that around 30 elective surgeries, mainly laparoscopic minimally invasive surgeries, scheduled at Tuen Mun Hospital, Pok Oi Hospital and Caritas Medical Centre are required to reschedule in the coming week. Healthcare staff are notifying patients affected and will reschedule their operations as soon as possible. Emergency surgeries in public hospitals are not affected.

     The HA has contacted the supplier to express concerns regarding the safety corrective action of the devices and requested it to resolve the problems, together with taking remedial measures to minimise the impact on patient services as soon as practicable.

     The HA will continue to closely liaise with the DH and the supplier to follow up on the incident.