Tag Archives: China

     The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau today (October 27) launched the GBA Fintech Two-way Internship Scheme for Post-secondary Students to help students acquire practical work experience in fintech companies in Hong Kong and Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
 
     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “The Government has been attaching great importance to nurturing fintech talent. The Scheme will enable students to gain first-hand understanding of the operation of fintech companies and fintech ecosystems of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and equip them early with knowledge in pursuing a career in fintech, thereby enlarging the local fintech talent pool.”
 
     In his 2023-24 Budget, the Financial Secretary announced the introduction of a fintech internship scheme for post-secondary students. The Scheme will provide more than 150 internship positions in Hong Kong and Mainland cities of the GBA (Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai), covering fintech companies of different segments in Hong Kong and the Mainland, including virtual banks, virtual insurers, regtech, wealthtech, credittech and payment tech. More than 30 fintech companies will participate in the Scheme.
 
     The Scheme is targeted at full-time students studying fintech-related subjects in post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong and Mainland cities of the GBA, including higher diploma and associate degree students, undergraduates, master’s degree students or postgraduates. Internship positions in Hong Kong accept applications from Mainland students studying in Hong Kong, as well as Mainland students studying in Mainland cities of the GBA who hold valid permits to enter Hong Kong. Internship positions in Mainland cities of the GBA accept applications from Hong Kong students studying in Hong Kong and Mainland cities of the GBA. The Scheme will provide students with a two-month internship opportunity (with extension up to six months) and a monthly subsidy of HK$12,000 (or RMB10,500).
 
     The winter internship scheme is open for application from today until November 30. The first batch of students is expected to commence internships by the end of this year at the earliest. Details of the summer internship scheme will be announced in the first half of next year.
 
     The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has appointed Cyberport to administer the Scheme. For details of the application procedures and internship positions, please visit the dedicated website of Cyberport (gbafinternship.cyberport.hk/). read more

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (October 27) announced that the Pilot Scheme for Electric Public Light Buses is open now for applications until November 17.       To promote the local appli… read more

     Hong Kong Customs on October 25 detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving a passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 570 grams of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $600,000. 
      
     A female passenger, aged 53, arrived in Hong Kong from Bogata, Colombia via Paris, France, on that day. During customs clearance, Customs officers found her to be suspicious and suspected that she 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 a foreign object concealed inside her body cavity. She was arrested immediately. The arrested woman has excreted a pellet of suspected cocaine weighing about 570g.
      
     A holding charge with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug has been laid against the arrested woman. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (October 28).
      
     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).

  

     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 October 26 to noon today (October 27), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 147 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. 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 10 701 samples of food imported from Japan (including 7 068 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 3 158 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

Police will implement special traffic arrangements at Lan Kwai Fong, Central from October 31 (Tuesday) to November 1 (Wednesday) to facilitate the public celebrating Halloween. Road closure ——————-        The … read more