Officers of the Information Systems Wing of the Hong Kong Police Force reached new heights at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, which was held between April 17 and 21 in Geneva, Switzerland, and garnered five Gold Medals and one Silver Medal in total, including a prestigious Gold Medal with the Congratulations of Jury.
      
     This year, the Information Systems Wing of the Hong Kong Police Force participated in the event with a theme of Reinventing of Public Safety for six digital entries regarding Smart Rescue Solutions and Intelligence Patrol, showcasing its achievements in technology-driven digital policing, enhancing technological applications to elevate public safety and improve public services.
      
     These six solutions, five of which had been patented, utilise cutting-edge local technology to revolutionise the traditional search and rescue process and daily police patrol to save lives and maintain public order, setting a new milestone in existing work pattern.
      
     Following a highly competitive judging process with international expert judges reviewing all the entries, the six entries demonstrating the innovative technological solutions professionally presented by the Force won one Gold Medal with the Congratulations of Jury, four Gold Medals and one Silver Medal in the "Security, Search & Alarm" category. The Force's six winning entries include:
      
     1) HKSOS Mobile Application – Safeguarding citizens' lives with the new automatic and dynamic risk assessments and prediction function (Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury);
      
     2) Signal Radar Rescue Drone – Unique rescue drone with matchless capability for ultra-long range detection of SOS signals in the most difficult terrains without mobile coverage (Gold Medal);
      
     3) HKSOS Emergency Wireless Mesh Connectivity – Providing data connectivity to remote places without mobile coverage (Gold Medal);
      
     4) R-Map – Interactive multifunctional rescue map and mobile application designed to streamline interdepartmental rescue responses (Silver Medal);
      
     5) Techsense – The world's smallest and lightest operational earpods to provide accurate real-time monitoring and ensure safety of search and rescue personnels (Gold Medal); and
      
     6) i-Patrol – A mobile application that utilises AI to analyse real-time crime information and past crime hotspots, enhancing the intelligence-led policing capabilities of police officers (Gold Medal).
      
     With the remarkable achievements of the team's second participation in the Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Information Systems), Ms Kwan Chui-ching, felt particularly honored by the HKSOS's previous achievement of winning the Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury for its "Smart Rescue" concept at last year's exhibition. This year marked the successful rollout of HKSOS, which brought the concept to reality and has been enthusiastically embraced by the public. The project's "AI Mode" received high praise at this exhibition, earning the project the same prestigious award again, which greatly motivated the research and development team.
      
     The Force's projects drew significant global interest, particularly from Swiss Police's search and rescue teams who highly appreciated the technology and practical applications of HKSOS. Its exceptional detection capabilities have been demonstrated in tests on snowy mountains by the Swiss Police and Hong Kong Police, proving its effectiveness in snow rescue operations.
      
     The President of the Jury of the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Mr David Taji, highly praised and acknowledged the level of sophistication and creativity of the Hong Kong Police's technology projects.
 

            

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, April 22, 2024 is 106.1 (up 0.1 against last Saturday's index).

     â€‹The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, April 20, 2024 was 106 (down 0.1 against last Friday's index).

     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 April 19 to noon today (April 22), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 402 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category, in the past three days (including last Saturday and Sunday). 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 150 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 44 623 samples of food imported from Japan (including 29 297 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 11 982 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

     Hongkong Post announced today (April 22) that, as advised by the postal administration of Mexico, mail delivery services previously impacted by a hurricane have returned to normal.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (April 24) at 11am and Thursday (April 25) at 9am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill 2024 will resume and Members will speak on the Bill.

     Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, all of which require written replies.

     The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.