The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London (London ETO) supported the Chinese Cinema Project in presenting a special season dedicated to Ann Hui, one of Hong Kong's most acclaimed directors, at The Garden Cinema in London, United Kingdom (UK), from June 9 to 21 (London time).

     The "Celebrating Ann Hui" season features five of director Hui's pivotal works spanning various stages of her career, including her debut "The Secret", the family drama "Summer Snow" and the critically acclaimed "A Simple Life". Additionally, the programme presents a special screening of the documentary "Keep Rolling", which reflects director Hui's accomplishments in the film industry over the past decades. The screenings are accompanied by introductions from notable film experts, thereby enhancing the cultural experience for the local audience.

     The Director-General of the London ETO, Mr Gilford Law, addressed the audience before the screening of "Summer Snow". Mr Law highlighted the efforts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in supporting Hong Kong's creative industries and further reinforcing Hong Kong's role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange as underpinned by the National 14th Five-Year Plan. "Director Hui is a testimony to Hong Kong's reputation as the 'Hollywood of the East'. For those who are curious about the cultural ground that has shaped and is shaped by her, please visit Hong Kong and experience the vibrancy and diversity of our city," he added.

     The Chinese Cinema Project is dedicated to promoting the work of Chinese filmmakers in the UK via regular screenings and cultural promotion. The "Celebrating Ann Hui" season is expected to greet over 300 guests through the six screenings until late June.

        

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 11) raided a suspected illicit cigarette storage centre in Tsuen Wan and seized about 230 000 suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $1.05 million and a duty potential of about $770,000. About 20 000 suspected illicit cigarettes seized were "cheap whites", accounting for about 9 per cent of the total seizure.
      
     During an anti-illicit cigarette operation conducted in Tsuen Wan last night, Customs intercepted a suspicious man holding a carton box and a nylon bag on Sha Tsui Road. About 10 000 suspected illicit cigarettes were seized from the man and he was subsequently arrested. Later, Customs officers escorted the 48-year-old man, who claimed to be a construction worker, to a residential unit of a tenement building nearby for a search, and further seized about 220 000 suspected illicit cigarettes therein.
      
     An initial investigation revealed that the suspected illicit cigarette storage centre involved in the case was mainly used to supply illicit cigarettes to residents in Tsuen Wan. Customs will continue to trace the source of the illicit cigarettes, and the likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.
      
     The arrested man has been charged with "dealing with goods to which the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance applies" and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on July 10.
      
     Customs will also continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis for interception at source as well as through its multipronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to spare no effort in combating illicit cigarette activities.
      
     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette 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).

  

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hok-fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (June 12):

Question:

     It is learnt that since the SARS outbreak in 2003, the Department of Health (DH) has been conducting temperature checks for people arriving in Hong Kong; in the case of travellers entering Hong Kong through land boundary control points (BCPs) in private vehicles, DH has arranged for its staff to conduct body temperature checks for the drivers and passengers on board in an instant by using contactless thermometers. However, some members of the public have relayed to me their doubts about the effectiveness of such practice. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the aforesaid measure has been introduced for over 20 years, whether the Government has assessed if (i) the measure has achieved the original intention of the relevant policy, and (ii) the practice of arranging for dedicated staff to check the body temperature of drivers and passengers of private vehicles is economically efficient;

(2) of the respective numbers of travellers crossing the boundary on foot and in vehicles whose body temperature was detected to be abnormal during temperature screening in each of the past five years, and the Government's procedures for handling such cases, e.g. whether it had denied entry of the travellers concerned; if so, of the number of travellers who had been denied entry and sent to the hospital immediately; and

(3) of the manpower and resources deployed by the Government for conducting on-the-spot temperature checks at land BCPs in each of the past five years, together with the costs of the mobile temperature-checking devices involved?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Department of Health (DH), our reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Hok-fung is as follows:

(1) In accordance with the power conferred by the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance and with regard to the guidelines of the International Health Regulations, the DH of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government enforces various preventive measures at boundary control points (BCPs) to prevent the introduction or spreading out of infectious diseases into or from Hong Kong. Since 2003, trained health screening staff have been conducting body temperature screening for all arrivals (including travellers and drivers in cars) at all BCPs. According to the mechanism, the staff would perform further health assessments for travellers with confirmed fever or in need (such as travellers who self-reported being unwell) to understand their symptoms, travel history, contact history, etc, so as to make appropriate referrals and follow-up, including compulsory referral of travellers with suspected infection of certain statutory notifiable infectious diseases to Hong Kong public hospitals.

     The HKSAR Government has been maintaining close co-operation with entry-exit health inspection and quarantine authorities of the Mainland to safeguard the well-being and safety of residents and visitors of the two places. The Health Bureau and the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) signed the Co-operation Arrangement for Entry-exit Health Inspection and Quarantine between the GACC and the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (Co-operation Arrangement) in 2023. Under the normalisation arrangements for epidemic prevention and control, the two parties agreed to focus on the health inspection and quarantine of their respective inbound personnel traveling between the HKSAR and the Mainland BCPs.

     The HKSAR Government will maintain close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities and actively review the entry health inspection and quarantine arrangements (including temperature screening) from the public health perspective, taking into account factors such as cost-effectiveness and appropriateness.

(2) The numbers of inbound travellers with fever confirmed during temperature screening at land BCPs and mandatory referrals to public hospitals since 2019 are as follows: 
 

# In general, the number of inbound travellers entering via private car lanes is much lower than the number of travellers using the arrival hall.
* During the COVID-19 epidemic (especially from 2020 to 2022), the number of inbound and outbound travellers dropped significantly, and only two land BCPs remained open for private car passenger clearance services most of the time.
^ As of May 31.

(3) The DH deploys appropriate manpower to carry out health screening work based on the design of each BCP and its passenger and vehicle flow. There are currently 10 land BCPs in Hong Kong. Regarding vehicle lanes, according to the operation mode of the BCPs, the DH will deploy a health screening staff at each inbound vehicle lane to perform temperature screening. From 2019 to 2023, the numbers of health screening posts of the DH at land BCPs are as follows:
 

     Depending on the vehicle flow, the average number of inbound private car lanes opened at each BCP ranges from two to 32. Currently, the average number of health screening posts at inbound private car lanes per day is about 120, which is higher than that before the COVID-19 epidemic mainly due to the full commissioning of the Heung Yuen Wai BCP in 2022-23 and the increasing vehicle flow of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Besides, during the COVID-19 epidemic, the DH deployed relevant personnel to assist in implementing various rigorous measures to prevent imported cases, such as inbound health declaration, compulsory quarantine, etc.

     In recent years, the DH has engaged outsourced service contractors to provide health screening services at most land BCPs. The health screening work at the remaining BCPs is handled by the contract staff of the DH. The total relevant expenditure of the DH from 2019 to 2023 was approximately $1.28 billion. As the service scope of the health screening contract signed between the DH and the contractors covers all related work at BCPs (including temperature screening, health assessment, providing medical assistance to travellers in need, and health education), the DH cannot provide a breakdown of figures of the resources involved in conducting temperature screening at land BCPs.

     â€‹The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau today (June 12) held the "Appreciation and Sharing Session for Yau Tsim Mong District Care Teams and Local Community for Follow-Up Work of No. 3 Alarm Fire in Jordan" to express gratitude to the District Services and Community Care Teams (Care Teams) in Yau Tsim Mong District for their follow-up work in the aftermath of the No. 3 alarm fire that broke out in Jordan in April this year. The Bureau also announced the launch of the Care Team Outstanding Service Awards Scheme.
      
     Speaking at the Session, the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, said Care Teams in Yau Tsim Mong District mobilised all 20 teams with over 200 members and volunteers for five consecutive days after the outbreak of the fire, taking turns to be on duty from dawn to dusk. They cared for the affected members of the public, fully demonstrating the "We Care We Serve" spirit. Government departments, and those affected, appreciated the care and efforts of the Care Teams.
      
     Miss Mak said that Care Teams in the 18 districts have been deployed to respond to various incidents in the past, and the results of all aspects of work have been evident to everyone. To recognise and honour their service, the Government will launch the Care Team Outstanding Service Award Scheme. Several awards will be set up to respectively appreciate the Care Teams, the Care Team members, volunteers and partnering organisations that have provided outstanding services. Results are expected to be announced in the fourth quarter of this year, which is the first anniversary of the full operation of the Care Teams.
      
     The Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Ms Shirley Lam; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; Acting Director of Home Affairs Mr Te Chi-wang; and the District Officer (Yau Tsim Mong), Mr Edward Yu, also attended the Session.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Mizuho Bank, Ltd. relating to fraudulent websites, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the websites concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.