The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to attend the 2023 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Medical Products Administration Conference in Zhuhai today (October 25), and introduced the new initiatives in "The Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address" of developing Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub.
 
     The Conference was organised by the Guangdong Provincial Medical Products Administration (GDMPA) with the aims of sharing work experience on drug regulation, promoting the implementation of the Work Plan for Regulatory Innovation and Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Device in the GBA (Work Plan), enhancing the working mechanism for regulatory collaborations on drugs and medical devices in the GBA, and pushing forward the innovation development on regulating drugs and medical devices in the region.
 
     The Conference was chaired by the General Director of the GDMPA, Mr Jiang Xiaodong. Deputy Commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration Mr Zhao Junning also sat in on the Conference. Representatives from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao held in-depth exchanges on various aspects at the Conference, including the current situation of drugs and medical devices regulation, the implementation of the Work Plan, and suggestions on the way forward.
 
     Professor Lo introduced to the representatives of Guangdong and Macao the new initiatives just announced by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address of developing Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub, including the setting up of a preparatory office for the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, which will be a step towards the transition to the "primary evaluation" approach in approving applications for registration of new pharmaceutical products, as well as promoting co-operation of the clinical trial networks between Hong Kong and the Mainland, so as to further leverage Hong Kong's medical strength and enhance medical standards. He said, "We expect these new initiatives can attract more local, Mainland and overseas pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises to conduct research and development and clinical trials in Hong Kong, and build up the capacity, recognition and status at different stages to ensure that the eventual approval mechanism of drugs and medical devices of Hong Kong would be widely recognised internationally and by the Mainland.
 
     "Our objective is to protect the health and safety of the public through the establishment of a more active and efficient regulatory and registration system of drugs and medical devices, and to expedite the clinical application of the most advanced drugs and medical devices to patients."
 
     The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, also introduced the latest developments on the regulatory mechanism of drugs, medical devices and Chinese medicine at the Conference. He said, "Hong Kong has all along been endeavouring to enhance the regulatory system on drugs. In the future, we will further improve the arrangements for approving applications for registration of pharmaceutical products with a view to maintaining Hong Kong's drug regulatory system at an advanced international level and further strengthening Hong Kong's world-leading position in drug development."
 
     Separately, a pilot run of the risk communication mechanism on drugs and medical devices in the GBA was also discussed at the Conference. This communication mechanism is one of collaboration items in the Memorandum of Understanding on Drugs and Medical Devices Monitoring and Co-operation in the GBA signed by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao early this year.
 
     The Hong Kong delegation will return to Hong Kong this evening. Other members of the delegation include Deputy Secretary for Health Mr Eddie Lee; the Assistant Director of Health (Drug), Mr Frank Chan; the Assistant Director of Health (Health Sciences and Technology), Dr Alice Wong; and the Assistant Director of Health (Chinese Medicine), Dr Edmund Fong.

        

     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (October 25) congratulated Wu Man-ying on winning a gold medal in Lawn Bowls Women's Single B7 for the Hong Kong, China Delegation at the 4th Asian Para Games Hangzhou.
 
     Mr Yeung said, "Wu was ambitious and fearless when playing against strong opponents. We are so happy to see that her long and tough training finally paid off when she claimed the gold medal. We hope she would reach new heights of sporting glory in the future."

     The Transport Department (TD) today (October 25) announced that auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held on November 12 (Sunday) at Meeting Room N201, L2, New Wing, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
      
     "A total of 240 approved PVRMs will be put up for public auction. A list of the marks has been uploaded to the department's website, www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_registration_mark/index.html," a department spokesman said.
      
     The reserve price of each of these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.
      
     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following points:
      
(1) Bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after successful bidding:
      
(i) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) the identity document of the purchaser (if the purchaser and the successful bidder are different persons);
(iii) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation (if the purchaser is a body corporate); and
(iv) a crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed. Successful bidders may also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS), but are reminded to note the maximum transfer amount in the same day of the payment card. Payment by post-dated cheque, cash, credit card or other methods will not be accepted.
      
(2) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the Memorandum will not be permitted.
      
(3) A PVRM can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.
      
(4) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations.
      
(5) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed.
      
(6) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.
      
     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein. For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be sent to the TD for processing," the spokesman added.
      
     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_registration_mark/pvrm_auction/index.html.

     The flag presentation ceremony for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Delegation to the 1st National Student (Youth) Games (NSYG) was held at Ma On Shan Sports Centre, Sha Tin today (October 25).
      
     The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Chef de Mission of the Delegation, Mr Kevin Yeung, officiated at the ceremony and presented the HKSAR regional flag to the President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Delegation, Mr Timothy Fok.
      
     Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Yeung said the Government is committed to promoting the development of sports and vigorously nurturing young athletes by supporting and encouraging them to take part in various major sports events for enhancing their performance level. Hong Kong's young athletes have attained remarkable achievements at various international competitions in recent years, in particular at the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, where many medal winners were young athletes and achieved an encouraging result.
      
     Jointly organised by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, the General Administration of Sport of China and the Communist Youth League of China, the 1st NSYG will be held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, from November 5 to 15. The NSYG, merged from the National Student Sports Games and the National Youth Games, aims to facilitate interactions and exchanges among young athletes in sports to raise the level of competition and performance of sports, as well as identify potential athletes.
      
     The Delegation will send a total of 720 athletes to take part in the finals of 34 sports of the Games, including the School Category of athletics, swimming, table tennis, badminton, cheerleading, wushu and shuttlecock; and the Open Category of cycling, fencing, triathlon, equestrian, sailing, rowing, judo, handball, taekwondo, athletics, swimming (swimming, diving, artistic swimming, water polo), gymnastics (artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics), golf, football, basketball (basketball and 3-on-3 basketball), volleyball (volleyball and beach volleyball), table tennis, badminton, tennis, sport climbing, breaking, baseball/softball, wushu (taolu), finswimming, modern pentathlon, acrobatic gymnastics and roller sports.

     Also attending the ceremony today were the Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism and Honorary Adviser of the Delegation, Mr Joe Wong; the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs and Honorary Adviser of the Delegation, Ms Shirley Lam; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services and Deputy De Mission of the Delegation, Mr Vincent Liu; the Commissioner for Sports and member of the Organising Committee of the Delegation, Mr Sam Wong; and the Chairman of Elite Sports Committee, Mr Cheng King-leung.
      
     For the latest information of Hong Kong athletes participating in the Games and the NSYG, please visit the LCSD's dedicated webpage (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/nsyg/2023/index.html).

    

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (October 24) detected two drug trafficking case involving internal concealment and baggage concealment respectively at Hong Kong International Airport. About 826 grams of suspected cocaine and about 7 kilograms of suspected heroin were seized with a total estimated market value of about $7 million.
      
     The first case involved a 50-year-old male passenger who arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers found him to be suspicious and suspected that he 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 3pm today (October 25), the arrested man has excreted 59 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 826g in total.
      
     The second case involved three local men, aged between 24 and 28. The first arrested man arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. During customs clearance, about 7kg of suspected heroin were found concealed inside his check-in baggage. The man was subsequently arrested. 
      
     After a follow-up investigation, two local men suspected to be connected with the case were arrested at the airport last night.
      
     Investigations of both cases are 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/).