â€‹Hong Kong Customs yesterday (March 24) detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving an incoming passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 1.5 kilograms of suspected liquid cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1.5 million.
      
     A female passenger, aged 52, arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside her body cavity. She was then escorted to the hospital for examination.
      
     Upon examination, the woman was confirmed by a doctor to have foreign objects concealed inside her body cavity. She was arrested immediately. As at 6pm today (March 25), the arrested woman has excreted 44 pellets of suspected liquid cocaine weighing about 1.5kg in total.
      
     A holding charge with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug has been laid against the arrested woman. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (March 26).
      
     Following the increasing number of visitors to Hong Kong, Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
      
     With Easter holidays approaching, Customs believes that the local demand for drugs will increase. The department will therefore further step up enforcement action to fiercely combat different kinds of dangerous drug trafficking activities during the long holidays. Customs again reminds the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking 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 Civil Service College (CSC) has launched the Executive Series on "Connecting with the World – ASEAN". The second seminar in the series, on the topic of "The Future of Global Financial System: Challenges and Opportunities for ASEAN and Hong Kong" was delivered by Distinguished Fellow, Asia Global Institute, the University of Hong Kong, Mr Andrew Sheng, at the CSC today (March 25).
 
     Addressing the seminar, the Head of the CSC, Mr Oscar Kwok, said the Executive Series is one of CSC's key initiatives to develop civil servants' international perspectives. The overwhelming response to the Executive Series is a testament to the collective recognition of the significance of the subject matters covered by the Series and their relevance to the work of senior civil servants. In a fast-changing world with all its volatility, complexity, and unpredictability, the one consensus that everyone can have is that changes are afoot. The global financial system that emerges at the end of these changes will be a very different one from today's. As new doctrines and systems are being developed, civil servants should actively anticipate new developments, position themselves to cater for a new reality, and seek to involve themselves in shaping the new reality's emergence in order to turn challenges into opportunities.
 
     About 200 civil servants in the directorate and senior ranks from 50 bureaux/departments attended the seminar today, including about 60 officers from Hong Kong, and from Mainland Offices and overseas Economic and Trade Offices of the Government in Beijing, Bangkok, Berlin, Brussels, Dubai, Geneva, Jakarta, London, Singapore and Tokyo who joined the seminar via video conferencing.
 
     The Executive Series on "Connecting with the World – ASEAN" is designed to further broaden the international perspective of directorate and senior civil servants. It covers subjects pertaining to the changing international dynamics and the development of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, including economies of emerging markets, opportunities and challenges from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the role and positioning of ASEAN, diversity of ASEAN economies, etc. Prominent experts are invited to speak and engage in in-depth discussions with participants.

        

     The Government today (March 25) announced the latest COVID-19 vaccination arrangements for XBB mRNA vaccine (XBB vaccine). Starting from March 27, all persons aged 6 months or above who are still not vaccinated or have not yet completed initial doses, may receive XBB vaccine as their initial vaccination to replace ancestral strain vaccines and bivalent vaccine.

Vaccination arrangements for high-risk priority groups

     According to the earlier recommendation by the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases (JSC) under the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health, for high-risk priority groups, a booster dose is recommended to be given at least six months after the last dose or COVID-19 infection (whichever is later), regardless of the number of doses received previously. High-risk priority groups currently may receive XBB vaccine as a choice for initial and booster vaccination.

     High-risk priority groups include persons aged 50 or above including those living in residential care homes, adults aged 18 to 49 with underlying comorbidities, persons aged 6 months or above with immunocompromising conditions, pregnant women and healthcare workers.

Initial vaccination arrangements for non high-risk priority groups

     The JSC earlier recommended that XBB vaccine to be extended to the initial vaccination of non high-risk priority groups. Non high-risk priority groups are only required to receive initial vaccination but do not require booster vaccination.

     After reviewing the current supply for XBB vaccine, the Government will extend XBB vaccination to non high-risk priority groups for initial vaccination from March 27. In other words, all persons aged 6 months or above who are still not vaccinated or have not yet completed initial doses may choose to receive XBB vaccine as their initial vaccination. The Government online booking system (booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/forms/index.jsp) will be updated at 9am on March 27 to facilitate XBB vaccination for eligible members of the public to receive XBB vaccine. For the list of venues providing XBB vaccination, please visit (www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/xbb_venues_dec2023_eng.pdf). For people who have made an online booking to receive other vaccines, XBB vaccines will be provided to complete their initial vaccination in venues offering XBB vaccination services.

Vaccine supply (including introducing XBB toddler and paediatric formulation)

     The JSC considered that XBB vaccines could provide enhanced protection against JN.1, which has become the predominant COVID-19 variant in Hong Kong. The Government has launched the XBB vaccination arrangement since December 14 last year and has procured about 200 000 doses relevant vaccines. As at yesterday (March 24), about 126 000 of them have been administered. Also, the Government has recently procured some additional 14 000 doses of XBB toddler and paediatric formulation (i.e. 9 600 doses of Comirnaty Omicron XBB.1.5 toddler formulation and 4 800 doses of paediatric formulation). The vaccines have arrived in Hong Kong and will be administered as initial doses or booster doses starting from March 27. The Government will continue its close monitoring on the demand for XBB vaccines and ensure a sufficient vaccine supply for the public.

     Meanwhile, the JSC agreed that that all available COVID-19 vaccines in Hong Kong, including inactivated virus and mRNA vaccines, are effective in reducing death and severe COVID-19 infection. Members of the public may choose to receive an available COVID-19 vaccine based on personal choice.

     The CHP pointed out that the overall local COVID-19 activity is still high. Surveillance data revealed that the positive detection rate in early March (March 3 to 16) has exceeded the level recorded in the past six months. During the same period, the weekly number of severe cases including deaths with cause of death preliminarily assessed to be related to COVID-19 was over 50, which has also exceeded the level of about 30 cases weekly earlier this year. The CHP appealed to members of the public to complete their initial doses and high-risk groups to receive booster doses. The Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations currently provide ample time slots of free XBB vaccination for eligible persons. For available booking time slots of various vaccination outlets, please visit booking.covidvaccine.gov.hk/centre/index.html.

     â€‹Details of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme can be found at the CHP's website (www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/106934.html).

     Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the One Earth Summit today (March 25):
 
Poman (Founder of the Institute of Sustainability and Technology, Professor Poman Lo), Ms Neo (Managing Director of the Centre for Nature and Climate of the World Economic Forum, Ms Neo Gim Huay), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good evening!
      
     I have much pleasure to join you this evening at the Gala Dinner of the One Earth Summit. I trust you have had an immensely rewarding and engaging day thus far, filled with insightful discussions on finding the right solutions to address climate change and various sustainability issues. At this Gala Dinner, we gather not only to celebrate the successful conclusion of this Summit, but also look forward to continuing our conversations in addressing the pressing challenges ahead. 
      
     The title of this inaugural "One Earth Summit", vividly reminds us that it is this one planet that we all share as home. The World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record by clear margin. And here in Hong Kong, we also experienced the hottest day in March for over 140 years. Extreme weather events have become regular news in the media. There is no alternative but we must act together with the utmost urgency before it is too late.
      
     As a good global citizen, Hong Kong has been making proud contributions in combating climate change. First and foremost, we have set out clear targets to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, and halve our carbon emissions by the year 2035. We are taking concrete actions to achieve our targets, under a four-pronged strategy: net-zero electricity generation, green buildings, green transport, and waste reduction. 
      
     But that only marked the beginning of a long journey. And we are doing more. Just as in this year's Budget, more initiatives have been rolled out for a greener future. For example, in the green finance area, we will extend the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme for three years. This scheme is designed to provide financial support to issuers and borrowers for their expenses related to green bond issuance and external review. Furthermore, we are expanding its scope to cover transition bonds and loans. 
      
     In addition, in the next few months, we will roll out a new subsidy scheme to support early-stage green fintech ventures to foster the better integration of fintech and green finance.
      
     In fact, green transition calls for massive investments, and there is a huge funding gap. According to the WMO, to reach the 1.5°C target in the Paris Agreement, annual climate finance investments need to grow by more than six times to reach around US$ 9 trillion by 2030 and US$ 10 trillion through to 2050. 
      
     As Asia's green finance centre, with green and sustainable bonds issued by us accounting for one-third of Asia's total, Hong Kong is well-positioned to help match funds with green projects. Besides, we possess high-quality professional services that help ensure projects' alignment with international green standards. We have also put in substantial resources in education and training programmes to nurture talents. We are fully committed to cultivating a comprehensive green and sustainable finance ecosystem that will support the great green transformation.
      
     Hong Kong is also a rising centre for green technology. Our Science Park and Cyberport are home to some 200 green tech firms, and some of them have successfully tapped into the Mainland and overseas markets with cutting edge technologies. We are also working with our sister cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) which are not only strong in technology and innovation, but also in outcome application, commercialisation and advanced manufacturing. The GBA as a whole is rapidly rising as an international green tech and green finance centre.
      
     Besides finance, we are also taking steps to support green bunkering and the use of sustainable aviation fuels and photovoltaic technology in Hong Kong.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, I cannot better conclude my speech by expressing my sincere appreciation to Po Man, and the organisers of this Summit, the Institute of Sustainability and Technology, and the World Economic Forum, for providing a platform for the much needed discussion on this important subject of green transition and carbon neutrality. We keenly look forward to more collaborations with our global partners in other sustainability endeavours. I wish you all a wonderful evening, and the best of health, business and environment in the time to come. Thank you!

    

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

     Legislative Council Members conducted a site visit to Tsz Wan Shan area today (March 25) to follow up on issues raised by a deputation relating to a request for provision of Tsz Wan Shan station on the East Kowloon "Crossing-the-Hill" Line.
 
     Accompanied by representatives of the Government, Members visited various locations on Hammer Hill Road, Po Kong Village Road, Tsz Wan Shan Road and Shatin Pass Road to gain a deeper understanding of the geographical environment and actual situation of the area.
 
     During the visit, Members exchanged views with representatives of the Government and urged the Government to proactively study technical feasibility proposals of different new transport systems.  Members also hoped that the Government could construct a smart and green mass transit system in Tsz Wan Shan area with a view to resolving the transport inconvenience faced by residents of the area.
 
     Members who participated in the visit were Mr Tang Ka-piu (Convenor), Mr Luk Chung-hung and Mr Yang Wing-kit.