Tag Archives: China

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Kennedy Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, in the Legislative Council today (December 4):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that in the first eight months of this year, a total of 132‍ theft cases occurred on board aircraft to Hong Kong, representing a drastic 164 per cent increase over the same period of last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following information in respect of board aircraft theft cases that occurred in the first eight months of this year: the major flight routes involved, the value of the stolen properties, the number of persons arrested, the nationalities of the persons arrested, and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
 
(2) whether the authorities have looked into the reasons for the upsurge in the number of board aircraft theft cases, and what actions and measures have been taken to prevent the occurrence of such theft cases;
 
(3) whether the authorities will make good use of technology (e.g. facial recognition technology), require Hong Kong-based airlines to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the cabins of their aircraft, as well as deploy security guards on board their flights, so as to combat thefts on board aircraft; and
 
(4) whether the Government will co-operate with airlines to enhance training for air crew members, as well as adopt more ways to widely educate and publicise among members of the public, so as to raise the awareness of air crew members and members of the public of the prevention of theft cases on board aircraft; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Hong Kong Police Force (the Police) have all along been paying close attention to and seriously combatting thefts on board aircraft. Apart from publicity and education, the Police have maintained close co-operation with the airport community to raise crime prevention awareness. Meanwhile, the Police have also strengthened intelligence gathering and adopted a multi-pronged strategy to curb and combat thefts on board aircraft.
 
     The reply to the Member’s question is as follows:
 
(1) Regarding the 169 theft cases that occurred on the Hong Kong-bound flights between January and October 2024, about 70 per cent were short-haul flights arriving from Southeast Asia, with the main places of departure including Malaysia, Thailand, India and Vietnam; about 20 per cent were flights from the Middle East, departing from Dubai, Turkey and Doha; seven per cent were flights from the Mainland China, Japan and South Korea; and the remaining three per cent were flights from the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland. The stolen property consisted mostly of cash in various currencies, expensive jewellery, watches and credit cards, with a total value of about HK$4.32 million.
      
     From January to October 2024, the Police arrested four persons of Chinese nationality on suspicion of theft on board aircraft. One of the arrested persons is on remand pending trial, while another has been released on bail pending further investigation. For the remaining two cases, since there was insufficient evidence or the witnesses were unwilling to return to Hong Kong to testify, the charges against the arrested persons were withdrawn after consultation with the Department of Justice.
 
(2) According to the Police records, the figures of thefts occurring on the flights to Hong Kong from 2018 to October 2024 are as follows:
 

Year	No. of cases
2018	103
2019	147
2020	10
2021	0
2022	3
2023	92
2024 from January to October	169

     The table above shows that in both 2018 and 2019, over a hundred theft cases on board aircraft were recorded, while the number dropped to single digits during the pandemic. With the easing of the pandemic, Hong Kong resumed normal cross-boundary travel in early 2023. Air traffic has recovered steadily with a drastic increase in the number of flights and inbound travellers. The number of theft cases on board aircraft have also recorded a significant increase in 2024, which might be due to the fact that the Police have stepped up publicity to encourage more people to report crimes, or the overall economic situation.
      
     To prevent and combat thefts on board aircraft, the Police have been maintaining close contact with airport stakeholders, including airlines, the Hong Kong Airport Authority and the Aviation Security Company Limited, to strengthen intelligence-led enforcement operations. For example, a database of suspects is set up to gather intelligence for crime analysis. Meanwhile, intelligence exchange with airlines is stepped up to identify at an early stage the relatively high-risk routes and periods where crimes are committed. Crime prevention seminars are also held on a regular basis, reminding airlines to pay attention to these routes, and to increase the alertness among air crew in a bid to prevent crimes.
 
(3) Currently, there are no international policies regulating the installation of CCTV or arrangements of security staff on duty inside cabins, nor are these common practices generally adopted by airlines. With issues such as personal privacy and human resources being taken into account, these arrangements may not conform to the principle of proportionality. As such, the Government have no plans to impose requirements in this regard for the time being.
 
(4) The Police have been maintaining close liaison with the airlines and extending the scope of education and publicity to the general public, so as to increase the awareness of air crew and the public on prevention of thefts on board aircraft.
 
     Specifically, from January to October 2024, the Police organised 38 seminars on topics such as thefts on board aircraft and crime prevention, explaining the crime trends and common modus operandi to a total of 937 airport stakeholders from 38 airlines, so as to heighten the vigilance and crime prevention awareness among frontline airline staff and to prevent crime at an early stage. In general, crime prevention seminars organised regularly by the Police for various sectors in the community will also include messages that remind the public to properly secure their personal belongings when travelling. 
      
     Through the regularly organised crime prevention seminars, promotional video clips and pamphlets produced by the Police are broadcast and distributed to the airport stakeholders and various sectors in the community, travellers are reminded that they should safeguard their personal belongings and should never put cash or valuables inside the overhead compartments in the cabin, so as to avoid giving chances to thieves.
      
     In addition, news about detection of theft cases on board aircrafts are disseminated to the media by the Public Relations Wing of the Police. Along with the purpose of enhancing the travellers’ alertness, this also serves to remind the public not to defy the law, and that theft is a serious crime for which offenders are liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years.
      
     To further combat thefts on board aircraft, in addition to placing promotional leaflets at suitable locations at the airport, the Police are discussing with the airlines the launch of a new round of publicity and education and appeal for their support to convey crime prevention messages to travellers by actively broadcasting the Police’s promotional video clips in-flight and placing leaflets at check-in counters. For any theft cases identified, the Police call on travellers to report as soon as possible to enable the Police to carry out investigation at the earliest. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chu Kwok-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (December 4):
 
Question:
 
     It has been reported that some students were recently found to have allegedly submitted fake results documents for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) when applying for and during enrolment to a university in Macao. The relevant authorities in Macao have now stepped up verification for academic qualifications and examination results, while the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) has also filed a police report on the incident. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of enquiries received by the HKEAA from institutions outside Hong Kong for establishing the authenticity of the HKDSE results in the past five years;
 
(2) of the number of cases involving suspected forgery of the HKDSE results documents uncovered by the HKEAA in the past five years;
 
(3) of the existing anti-forgery features in the HKDSE certification documents including result notice, statement of results and certification of results; whether the HKEAA has explored enhancements to anti-forgery measures for such documents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(4) whether the Government will, by drawing reference from the practice of the Ministry of Education to establish the China Higher Education Student Information website, consider providing a unified platform that collates information on students’ academic qualifications, student status and public examination files, and offers online verification services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) is a widely recognised academic qualification in Hong Kong and abroad. It is also an important credential for further studies and employment of candidates. The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to the verification of the HKDSE results to maintain the confidence of people at home and abroad in the HKDSE qualifications. Falsification or provision of fake academic qualifications is a serious offence. If any person attempts to use false documentation of results, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) will certainly refer the case to law enforcement agencies for follow-up action. The reply to the question raised by the Hon Chu Kwok-keung is set out below:
 
(1) and (2) In the past five years, the HKEAA has received one enquiry from a non-local tertiary institution about the authenticity of the HKDSE results held by its students. After verification, the HKEAA found that the HKDSE results of the students involved in this case were forged.
 
(3) Documents such as the HKDSE results notice, certificate, statement of results and certification of results issued by the HKEAA have multiple security features, including the use of watermarked fibre paper and microprinting technology for lettering. The HKEAA has also provided candidates, tertiary institutions and employers with result verification services (Note 1) to ensure that they can obtain or verify candidates’ public examination results directly from official sources.
 
     The HKEAA will annually review the various operational arrangements for the current HKDSE cohort for continuous improvements. It will also review and optimise the results verification services and security measures where necessary.
 
(4) It is understood that, as regards post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong, the Joint Universities Computer Centre, which is established by 19 post-secondary institutions and organisations (Note 2), has successfully developed and launched an inter-institutional academic certificate verification platform using blockchain technology. Post-secondary institutions and students may choose to use the platform at their own discretion. Participating institutions can digitalise and upload academic certificates of graduates to the platform, in order to allow students to share their credentials with relevant persons via the platform when seeking employment or further studies. The platform streamlines the verification of academic qualifications and helps combat forgery of credentials. As for the HKDSE, the HKEAA will closely monitor the situations and study the feasibility of developing an electronic results verification solution to enhance the efficiency of service. The EDB will closely monitor the application and development of the aforesaid qualification verification platforms and explore the feasibility of establishing a more comprehensive verification platform at a suitable juncture.
 
Notes:
1. The services include:
(a) HKDSE results extraction service: The HKEAA currently provides direct access to the results of the HKDSE for over 20 local and non-local universities, institutions and admission authorities, including the majority of the local tertiary institutions, Joint University Programmes Admissions System Office, the EDB, the respective joint admission offices of the Mainland and Taiwan, as well as a number of self-financing institutions in Hong Kong. After obtaining the consent of the student applicants concerned, the institutions may obtain the HKDSE results of the student applicants concerned directly from the HKEAA on the release date of the HKDSE or on a specified date, and the whole process is conducted without the intervention of a third party, so as to ensure the authenticity of the information; and
(b) Provision of Certification of Results: The HKEAA maintains records of candidates’ results in public examinations since its establishment in 1977. Tertiary institutions or employers who need to check the public examination results of individual applicants may request the applicants to apply to the HKEAA for the issue of a “Certification of Results”, which will be sent directly to the organisations specified by the applicants to certify the results of their public examinations.
 
2. Including the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee; and the Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Saint Francis University, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Vocational Training Council, Construction Industry Council, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Tung Wah College, UOW College Hong Kong and University of Macau. read more

     In view of the emergency martial law declared in Korea, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today (December 4) reminds Hong Kong residents who are already there or intend to visit Korea to attend to personal safety. The Immigration Department (ImmD) has contacted the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (OCMFA), the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Korea (Embassy), the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC) to understand the situation. The ImmD has not received any request for assistance from Hong Kong residents so far.

     A Government spokesman said, “Residents who intend to visit Korea or are already there should monitor the situation, exercise caution, attend to personal safety, avoid large gatherings of people and pay attention to local announcements on the latest situation.”

     The Security Bureau (SB), in view of the emergency martial law declared, has already updated the Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) webpage for Korea and will continue to closely monitor the situation there. Any update will be issued through the media, the SB mobile app and the OTA webpage (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/ota).

     The ImmD will continue to maintain close contact with the OCMFA, the Embassy, the TIA and the TIC to monitor the development.

     Hong Kong residents in Korea who need assistance may call the 24-hour hotline of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the ImmD at (852) 1868, call the 1868 hotline using network data or use the 1868 Chatbot via the ImmD mobile application, send a message to 1868 WhatsApp assistance hotline or 1868 WeChat assistance hotline, submit the Online Assistance Request Form, contact the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Korea at consular protection hotline: (82) 27550572, contact the Chinese Consulate-General in Busan at consular protection hotline: (82) 1085198748, contact the Chinese Consulate-General in Gwangju at consular protection hotline: (82) 623618880 or contact the Chinese Consulate-General in Jeju at consular protection hotline: (82) 647228802. 

     Hong Kong residents are encouraged to use the online Registration of Outbound Travel Information service (www.gov.hk/roti) of the ImmD to register their contact details and itinerary when outside Hong Kong. The information provided allows the ImmD to disseminate practical information to them through appropriate means, including SMS on mobile phones, on a timely basis when necessary. read more

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… read more

     Following is the speech by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Dr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the Thailand National Day Reception in Hong Kong today (December 3):
 
Consul-General Chaiyakam (Consul-General of Thailand in Hong Kong, Mr Chaturont Chaiyakam), Deputy Commissioner Fang (Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Fang Jianming), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good evening. I am delighted to be here tonight in celebration of the Kingdom of Thailand’s National Day, together with the birthday anniversary of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and Thailand’s Father’s Day, too.
 
     For the great nation of Thailand, it’s a triple celebration. For Hong Kong, tonight is also a welcome opportunity to pay tribute to the country of Thailand – our longstanding friend, business partner and happiest holiday destination.
 
Hong Kong-Thai business ties
 
     Let me begin with business and trade. Our bilateral trade is strong, reaching more than US$19 billion last year, with an average annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent from 2019 to 2023.
 
     And you know we like to invest in each other’s opportunities. At the end of 2022, Thailand ranked 11th in inward direct investment (IDI) into Hong Kong, with an IDI stock of US$18 billion. And Hong Kong was 14th, overall, in outward direct investment (ODI) into Thailand, with an ODI stock counting a very auspicious US$8.8 billion.
 
ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreement
 
     I have no doubt that trade and investment will expand in the years to come. It helps that we established a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok in 2019, and that the ASEAN-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement entered into full force in February 2021.
 
     Our Free Trade Agreement has also made possible the Economic and Technical Co-operation Work Programme, set up for best practice-sharing and capacity-building. 
 
     In the past five years, the Programme, which is funded by Hong Kong, has approved 35 projects covering a range of trade and investment initiatives. Five of them are with Thailand. They’re focused on areas ranging from eco-friendly packaging and food supply, to textiles and garments, and the cold-chain development of fisheries. The projects enable technical assistance and knowledge transfer. And I am pleased to say that Hong Kong will support the Programme for another five years, boosting its funding by 20 per cent a year, beginning in 2025.
 
Hong Kong’s accession to Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
 
     The natural next step in our co-operation, and progress, is for Hong Kong to become a member of RCEP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. We are grateful for Thailand’s support of our accession to RCEP. It will surely boost trade and investment, benefiting all concerned.
 
Legal co-operation
 
     As Deputy Secretary for Justice, I am proud to say that Hong Kong’s legal framework offers significant advantages for Thai businesses and investors. Our longstanding commitment to the rule of law encourages an environment conducive to investment, cross-border transactions and dispute resolution.
 
     The 2019 MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Department of Justice and Thailand’s Office of the Judiciary, marked a significant step in our legal collaboration. 
 
     The initiative has inspired increased legal exchanges and professional development opportunities, benefiting both our legal communities. And I look forward to continuing legal co-operation between us.
 
Tourism and Thai student scholarships
 
     As I touched on at the outset, Thailand is more than one of the world’s great travel destinations. For many Hong Kong people, it’s a second home, rich in culture, hospitality and, yes, culinary delights, too. 
 
     And it’s reassuring to hear that Thai tourism is returning to pre-Covid numbers, with foreign tourist arrivals up 24 per cent, year-on-year, through the first eight months of 2024.
 
     The relationship between Hong Kong and Thailand extends beyond trade and business. In fact, since 2017, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been awarding Belt and Road Scholarships to exceptional Thai students to study here. This programme will surely continue to foster greater academic and youth exchanges between the two regions.
 
     And now, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a toast: To His Majesty of the King of Thailand, and to everlasting friendship between the peoples of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the People’s Republic of China, and the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China. read more