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 May 29 to noon today (May 30), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 158 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 55 324 samples of food imported from Japan (including 35 796 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 13 888 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     â€‹The Working Group on Patriotic Education under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee (CBLPSC) today (May 30) announced that it would organise a mascot and a logo design competition with the theme of "Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community". Students from primary and secondary schools, as well as tertiary institutions, are invited to participate in the competitions with a view to enhancing awareness and sense of patriotism among the youth. This will promote the mainstream values characterised by patriotism with affection for our country and Hong Kong and in conformity with the principle of "one country, two systems". The working group will send invitation letters to schools today to encourage students to participate in the competitions.
      
     The Chairman of the CBLPSC and the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said, "Patriotic education is a long-term process that requires continuous and dedicated efforts. Patriotic education also needs to begin from an early age and embed into the daily study and lives of students through interesting and diverse means that will subtly guide them to cultivate an awareness of patriotism and strengthen their patriotic sentiments. Students are welcome to participate in the mascot and logo design competitions, which are enjoyable and interesting patriotic education activities."
      
     "We hope that through the competitions, young people will be encouraged to showcase the spirit of 'Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community' through creative and artistic means, so that patriotic education can better spread across schoolyards and take root in the hearts of our next generation," Mr Chan added.
      
     The Convenor of the Working Group, Ms Starry Lee, said, "The young are the pillars of society's future, and one of the important targets for our patriotic education promotion. I encourage their active participation in this competition, unleashing their creativity to show  the love of our country, the love of Hong Kong and the love of the community, through producing distinctive mascots and logos of unique design, so as to strengthen the sense of national belonging and national identity."
      
     The "Love our Country, Love Hong Kong, Love our Community" Mascot and Logo Design Competitions are organised by the Working Group on Patriotic Education and administered by the Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group. Each of the two competition categories on mascot design and logo design mentioned above respectively is divided into primary, secondary and tertiary sections. Participants may join more than one competition category, but each participant can only submit one entry for each category.
      
     In these two competition categories, there will be one champion, one first runner-up, one second runner-up and one merit award for each section. To encourage students to actively participate in the competitions, there will also be a Most Supportive School Award. All winners will be awarded certificates. The champion, first runner-up and second runner-up will also be awarded annual passes to the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The winning entry may be adopted by the Government and featured in promotional materials in future.
      
     Submission of entries for the competitions opens today till July 15, 2024. The results are expected to be announced this September or October.

     The "Quarterly Report on General Household Survey" for January to March 2024 is now available for access and download.

     The report contains statistics on labour force, employment, unemployment and underemployment for the first quarter of 2024. It also contains detailed analyses of the characteristics of different categories of members of the labour force, including their age, sex, educational attainment, employment status, occupation, industry, hours worked per week and monthly employment earnings, etc. Information on duration of unemployment for the unemployed is also presented.

     Users can browse and download the report at the website of the Census and Statistics Department (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050001&scode=200).

     The summary of broad survey findings published in the report is shown in Table 1 attached.  Enquiries about the contents of the report can be directed to the General Household Survey Section (3), Census and Statistics Department (Tel: 2887 5508 or email: ghs@censtatd.gov.hk).

     Hong Kong Customs on May 23 seized about 10 000 suspected counterfeit goods with a total estimated market value of about $8.9 million at the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal.

     Through risk assessment, Customs on that day inspected a 40-foot container arriving in Hong Kong from Nansha, Guangdong. After inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected counterfeit goods within the container, including watches, sunglasses, clothes, footwear and mobile phone accessories.

     An initial investigation revealed that the batch of suspected counterfeit goods would be transhipped to overseas regions.

     The investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue to strengthen co-operation with the Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies and take stringent enforcement action against cross-boundary counterfeit goods activities based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, any person who imports or exports any goods to which a forged trademark is applied commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
     â€‹
     Members of the public may report any suspected counterfeiting 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 Organized Crime and Triad Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), together with Regional Anti-Triad Units and District Anti-Triad Squads launched a new round of registration for the RenoSafe Scheme today (May 30). Subsidised buildings or housing estates which have been granted the subsidies under the third round of Operation Building Bright 2.0 Scheme (OBB 2.0) and Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme (FSW Scheme) will be progressively registered to the scheme.

     Between April 1 and September 30, 2023, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) accepted applications for the third round of OBB 2.0 and FSW Scheme. Upon conclusion of the application period, over 1,600 applications were respectively received for the two subsidy schemes. URA will start issuing Approval-in-Principle letters to approved buildings or estates in batches today.

     Launched in 2013, the RenoSafe Scheme adopts a multi-pronged approach to prevent and combat criminal infiltration in building maintenance projects and related tendering procedures through inter-departmental collaboration. Apart from the HKPF, participating government departments and public organisations include the Buildings Department, the Competition Commission, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, the Home Affairs Department, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Property Management Services Authority, and the URA.

     Registration for the RenoSafe Scheme is a mandatory requirement for buildings or housing estates participating in subsidies under various government-funded building maintenance schemes such as OBB 2.0 and FSW Scheme. The OBB 2.0 and FSW Scheme aim to assist more flat owners in conducting prescribed inspections and repairs under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and fulfilling the Fire Safety Directions issued under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance. Upon registration, buildings or housing estates are required to fulfill a series of obligations, such as displaying relevant publicity materials; actively co-operating with relevant government departments and organisations, including notifying the Police in advance of the details of meetings and elections of the buildings or housing estates concerned, providing relevant records; and taking the initiative to provide information on suspected unlawful acts.

     The participating government departments and public organisations are committed to providing a range of support services to RenoSafe Scheme members, including professional advice on building maintenance works and related aspects, a 24-hour police hotline for public enquiries or referrals on building maintenance works-related matters; providing direct contact channels with relevant government departments, as well as round-the-clock operational support provided by the Police.

The Police will proactively contact buildings or housing estates that have been approved under the third round of OBB 2.0 and FSW Scheme in batches for registration. At the same time, the Police also appeal to buildings or housing estates that have not applied for any government-funded building maintenance schemes or have not been granted any relevant government subsidies to enroll in the RenoSafe Scheme. This will enable participating government departments and public organisations to maintain liaison with the owners, monitor building maintenance-related crimes, and take timely enforcement actions to facilitate the smooth implementation of building maintenance works to prevent and combat building maintenance-related crimes.

     Members of the public may visit the Police website at www.police.gov.hk/ppp_en/04_crime_matters/cpa/cpa_renosafe.html for more details on the RenoSafe Scheme. Interested parties or those who have information on related crimes, please contact the 24-hour police hotline at 2527 7887.