Hong Kong Customs on December 4 detected a suspected smuggling case involving a speedboat in the vicinity of Lau Fau Shan, Yuen Long. A batch of suspected smuggled goods, with an estimated market value of about $6.9 million, was seized.

     During the small hours on that day, Customs conducted an anti-smuggling operation in Lau Fau Shan and spotted a speedboat heading towards the waterfront. Later, several suspicious persons gathered at the waterfront were seen transferring a batch of goods from a metal hut onto a nearby sampan and were about to sail towards the said speedboat. They were suspected of engaging in smuggling activities.

     Customs officers immediately took action, and the above-mentioned persons swiftly jumped onto the sampan and speedboat, and fled to Mainland waters. 

     Afterwards, Customs officers discovered inside the metal hut three plastic jerry cans with altered structures, filled with suspected smuggled electronic components and electronic devices. 

     During the operation, around 8 100 pieces of new electronic components and around 90 used mobile phones, with a total estimated market value of about $6.9 million, were seized.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement actions against cross-boundary smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

    

     The Government today (December 13) announced that Professor John Chai Yat-chiu has been reappointed as the Chairman and Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee as the Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) for two years from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.

     Four new members have been appointed to the ACE. They are Mr Cheung Chi-wah, Ms Grace Kwok May-han, Professor Qiu Jianwen and Mr Jonathan Wu Sheung-kai.

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, said, "I warmly welcome the reappointment of Professor Chai and Professor Leung as the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman respectively of the ACE as well as the appointment of the four new members to the Council. I am looking forward to the continued support of the ACE to the development of environmental protection and conservation policies.

     "I thank the outgoing members, namely Ms Carmen Chan Ka-mun, Dr Sylvia Chan May-kuen, Ms Christina Tang Pik-han, Professor Dan Tsang Chiu-wa and Dr Wong Kwok-yan, for their valuable advice and contributions to the ACE in the past years."

     The appointments are published in the Gazette today. Information on the composition and the work of the Council is available at: www.eeb.gov.hk/en/boards_committees/advisory_council/maincontent.html.
 
     The full membership of the new term of the ACE is as follows:

Chairman:
* Professor John Chai Yat-chiu

Deputy Chairman:
* Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee

Members:
Mr Cheung Chi-wah
* Ms Ada Fung Yin-suen
* Mr Eric Ho King-fung
* Ms Linda Ho Wai-ping
* Mr Alex Kwan King-fai
Ms Grace Kwok May-han
* Dr Theresa Kwong Fuk-ning
* Professor Alexis Lau Kai-hon
* Professor Dennis Leung Yiu-cheong
* Mr Simon Ng Ka-wing
* Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong
Professor Qiu Jianwen
* Mr Albert Su Yau-on
* Professor Wong Kam-bo
Mr Jonathan Wu Sheung-kai
* Dr Raymond Yau Man-hung
* Dr William Yu Yuen-ping
 
* Serving members

     The Department of Health (DH) today (December 13) announced that the Shek Wu Hui Elderly Health Centre (SWH EHC) will be relocated to the eighth floor of the North District Community Health Centre Building, 3 Wai Wo Street, Sheung Shui, with effect from December 16 (next Monday) to continue to provide services for the elderly. The reprovisioned centre will be named the North District Elderly Health Centre. Service hours are from 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm on Mondays to Fridays (except Saturday, Sunday and general public holidays).

     The reprovisioned elderly health centre will provide a more spacious and comfortable environment that is convenient for wheelchair users and will help enhance the overall service standard. Clients who have made appointments at the SWH EHC will receive phone or SMS reminders reminding them to receive services at the new location. 

     There are currently 18 Elderly Health Centres in Hong Kong providing primary healthcare services to the elderly aged 65 and above on a membership basis. Services including health risk assessment, health education, counselling and curative treatment are provided from a family medicine perspective using a multidisciplinary team approach.

     For more information on the DH's Elderly Health Service, please visit its website.

     The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) today (December 13) gazetted a notice to invite tenders for the contract for Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area Second Phase Development – Contract 6 – Site Formation and Engineering Infrastructure Works (Contract No. YL/2023/06). The closing time for the tender is noon on February 21, 2025.

     The works mainly include: 
1. site clearance and formation (including land decontamination works) for about 62 hectares of lands, together with provision of associated engineering infrastructure;
2. construction of district distributor and local roads connecting Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area to Ping Ha Road and Ha Tsuen Road;
3. construction of a sewage pumping station;
4. construction of associated works including water mains, drainage and sewerage works, cycle tracks, footpaths, box culverts, slope works, retaining structures, street furniture, landscaping works, electrical and mechanical works and other ancillary works; and 
5. implementation of environmental mitigation measures (including noise barriers) and environmental monitoring works for the works mentioned above.

     The works are scheduled to commence in mid-2025 and will take about 55 months to complete.

     The CEDD has commissioned Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited to design and supervise the works. Interested contractors can download the tender forms and other particulars from the e-Tendering System (e-TS). Tenderers must submit tenders in electronic format via the e-TS.

     Details of the tender notice are available on the CEDD website (www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/tender-notices/contracts/tender-notices/index.html). For enquiries, please call Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited at 3447 6109 during office hours.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold the second public hearing on "Nano and Advanced Materials Institute" (Chapter 1) of the Director of Audit's Report No. 83 tomorrow (December 14) at 9am in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex.
 
     Six witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by the PAC members.
 
     The programme for the public hearing is as follows:
 
Subject: Nano and Advanced Materials Institute
(Chapter 1 of the Director of Audit's Report No.83)
Date: December 14 (Saturday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 1

Witnesses:
Professor Sun Dong
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry

Mr Ivan Lee
Commissioner for Innovation and Technology

Mrs Elina Chan
Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Research and Development Centres)

Professor Cheng Shuk-han
Chairwoman, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

Mr Andy Fung
Chief Executive Officer, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

Ms Jenny Yiu
Chief Operating Officer, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

     The PAC is chaired by Mr Shiu Ka-fai, and its Deputy Chairman is Mr Paul Tse. Other members are Ms Yung Hoi-yan, Mr Luk Chung-hung, Mr Edmund Wong, Mr Louis Loong and Ms Carmen Kan.