Tag Archives: China

     Hong Kong Customs on March 7 detected a suspected smuggling case involving a river trade vessel. A large batch of suspected smuggled goods with a total estimated market value of about $24 million was seized.

     Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs suspected that criminals were using river trade vessels to smuggle goods to the Mainland and thus formulated strategies to combat these activities. On March 7, a river trade vessel departing from Hong Kong and bound for Nansha of Guangzhou was selected for inspection. Upon examination, Customs officers onboard the vessel found large batches of suspected smuggled goods, including over 25 000 skincare products, about 3 500 bottles of fragrance oil, about 50 000 electronic parts, about 2 500 mobile phones, about 50 kilograms of birds’ nests and about 650kg of suspected scheduled red sandalwood.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Being a government department primarily responsible for tackling smuggling activities, Customs has all along been combating various smuggling activities proactively at the forefront. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to fiercely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, along with mounting targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to land a solid blow against relevant activities.

     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. 

     Under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, any person importing, exporting or possessing specimens of endangered species not in accordance with the Ordinance commits an offence and will be liable to a maximum fine of $10 million and imprisonment for 10 years upon conviction with the specimens forfeited.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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 Regional High-Level Conference on IP Protection held by Hong Kong Customs concluded today (March 14).

     In his concluding remarks delivered on the conference, the Deputy Commissioner (Control and Enforcement) of Customs and Excise, Mr Mark Woo, said that the conference had yielded fruitful results with participants reaching consensus in three major aspects. Firstly, in “Enforcement”: continuing to consolidate and improve the co-operation mechanism for IP protection and law enforcement in the Asia-Pacific region; collaborating with relevant international organisations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), Interpol, and Europol to further fight against cross-boundary infringing activities; and establishing intelligence sharing mechanisms and joint enforcement and capacity-building programs with the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific and the WCO Asia Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building, so as to comprehensively crack down on IP crimes. Secondly, in “Engagement”: strengthening information exchanges, training, prosecution, and public education in the field of IP to deter IP violations through collaboration with different stakeholders. Thirdly, in “Education”: continuing to implement promotion and education campaigns to raise public awareness about the economic, health and safety issues caused by infringement activities, and organising seminars and activities regularly to encourage young people to respect IP.

     In this three-day conference, Hong Kong Customs also held bilateral meetings with India and the Philippines Customs respectively. During the meeting with the Indian Customs, both exchanged views on combating money laundering and cross-boundary trafficking of wildlife, aiming to enhance collaboration and facilitate a more comprehensive intelligence information exchange. The meeting with the Customs administration of the Philippines focused on strengthening contact and communication regarding IP and combating transnational drug trafficking issues to bring about closer co-operation. In addition, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, took the opportunity to have a meeting with the Deputy Leader of the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Leading Group, the Director-General of the Guangzhou Administration for Market Regulation, Mr Zhao Junming; Executive Vice President of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment Mr Cao Hongying; and the Chair of the Quality Brands Protection Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (QBPC), Mr Michael Ding, to strengthen collaboration with Mainland law enforcement agencies and industries in the protection of intellectual property rights.

     On the third day of the conference, Hong Kong Customs signed a memorandum of understanding on IP protection co-operation with the QBPC, which aims to further reinforce the partnership in various scopes of IP and anticipates four major benefits. First, through close collaboration, Hong Kong Customs will gain a better understanding of the market information on the Mainland’s IP industry, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of combating cross-border infringement. Second, by holding regular seminars that allow Mainland enterprises and trademark holders to share forgery-proof features of goods and authenticity techniques, Hong Kong Customs can enhance its enforcement capabilities and confidence. Third, Hong Kong Customs aims to deepen Mainland enterprises’ and brand owners’ understanding of Hong Kong’s trademark registration system and filing procedures, and encourage QBPC members to undergo IP registration procedures in Hong Kong. By leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages as a platform, they can actively and confidently engage in IP trading. Fourth, by exploring the establishment of a mechanism for information sharing of IP recordation among the customs authorities of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, the connection between the three customs authorities and the IP industry can be strengthened.

     Also, through presentations and discussions on IP-related topics, representatives from different law enforcement agencies and industry stakeholders explored enforcement effectiveness and strategies from multiple angles and established stronger co-operation and information exchanges.

     As many as 200 participants, including representatives from law enforcement agencies, the WCO, Interpol, Europol and the business sector, attended the conference.

              

     As a large number of grave sweepers are expected on the day of the Ching Ming Festival (April 4), a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (March 14) appealed to grave sweepers to avoid gr… read more

     The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, attended the launch ceremony of the Pilot Scheme on Food Waste Smart Recycling Bins in Private Housing Estates at Sceneway Garden in Lam Tin today (March 14), witnessing the introduction of the first batch of food waste smart recycling bins (FWSRBs) into large-scale private housing estates.
 
     To support the Government’s initiative to expand the food waste collection network, the Environmental Campaign Committee has subsidised through the Environment and Conservation Fund to support the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to roll out the Pilot Scheme on Food Waste Smart Recycling Bins in Private Housing Estates. The Scheme, which started accepting applications at the end of December last year, provides eligible large-scale private housing estates with free FWSRBs, including installation and relevant maintenance services, for a period of two years.
 
     During the launch ceremony, Mr Tse said, “Domestic food waste accounts for about 70 per cent of the total amount of food waste disposed of in landfills, and over 60 per cent of the population in Hong Kong resides in private residential buildings. Therefore, we have launched this Scheme to facilitate food waste recycling for residents. I am pleased to learn that the Scheme has received an overwhelming response since its launch, with over 100 housing estates submitting applications as of early March this year. We have gradually approved the applications and started the installation of the FWSRBs. It is expected that in 2024-25, along with various programmes to support private residential buildings under the Recycling Fund and the Environment and Conservation Fund, over 300 FWSRBs will be put into service in private housing estates.”
 
     The FWSRBs provided by the Scheme are equipped with overflow prevention and odour abatement devices to maintain environmental hygiene. The FWSRBs are also connected to the EPD’s GREEN$ Electronic Participation Incentive Scheme platform. When residents participate in food waste recycling, they not only contribute to environmental protection but also earn GREEN$ points for redeeming gifts. In addition, through the application of Internet of Things technology, operational data is uploaded in real time to the central data system directly, which facilitates real-time monitoring of the operation of the devices.
 
     Due to the positive response from housing estates, the EPD is now considering expanding the Scheme to accept applications from private housing estates with fewer than 1 000 units. Further details will be announced in due course.
 
     In addition to private housing estates, the EPD is working together with the Housing Department and the Hong Kong Housing Society to expand at full steam the smart food waste recycling services, aiming to substantially complete the installation of over 700 FWSRBs in 213 public rental housing estates (a total of approximately 1 500 blocks) across the territory by August this year, covering about one-third of the population in Hong Kong.

      

     The Hong Kong Flower Show 2024 will be held at Victoria Park from tomorrow (March 15) until March 24, running from 9am to 9pm daily. This year’s flower show features angelonia as the theme flower and “Floral Joy Around Town” as the main theme.
 
     Angelonia, also known as “angel flower”, has uniquely petite flower shapes and a refreshing fragrance. Heavily covered with little flower buds, its stem produces lush and bushy flowers when in full bloom. Angelonia, literally “fragrant colourful sparrow” in Chinese, looks like little birds jumping about when swaying in the breeze, bringing joy and smiles to its viewers. The theme flower wall for this year’s flower show features four giant angelonia models embedded with orchids of different colours. The wall contrasts beautifully with the multi-hued sea of tulips in front of it – a magnificent sight to behold. Swathes of angelonia will also appear in a parterre entitled Angels in a Floral Sea, likely to be a popular photo spot.
    
     Several landscape displays this year are themed around fairy tales, namely The Journey to the West, Arabian Myths, The Candy House, Jack and the Beanstalk, as well as The Wizard of Oz. Running along the central axis of the showground from the Hing Fat Street entrance to the Sugar Street entrance, the finely crafted displays exude a childlike and dreamy ambience. Among them, The Wizard of Oz features the iconic Rainbow Mountain from the story, offering an immersive experience for visitors to join the protagonists’ adventure. The Candy House, on the other hand, is a spectacular horticultural display made with the help of over 1 000 schoolchildren. Visitors can view the attractively shaped goodies from a close distance, and sit on chairs modelled on coffee cups to take photographs.
 
     This year on the central lawn, a sunflower field (15 metres by 25m) carpeted with 5 000 sunflowers forms a wondrous scene brimming with life. Also on the lawn is a rose garden with over 4 000 fragrant roses of some 30 species. The European-style garden has a floral wall and a trellis arch complete with decorative windows and doors, garden lighting and decorative seats. At night, the garden will be softly lit to become a romantic backdrop.
 
     And to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a thematic floral wall adorned with carnations will be mounted at the Hing Fat Street entrance of the flower show. This year, a total of 229 organisations including 81 exhibitors from 12 countries, namely mainland China, Indonesia, Korea, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland, Malaysia and the United States, will be taking part in the show.
   
     Of particular note is an all-new light show named Journey of Floral Shadows, with each showing to run for approximately five minutes. It will be held at 7.30pm, 8pm and 8.30pm every night. Three-dimensional light sculptures will be projected onto the angelonia theme flower wall and the sea of tulips for visitors to appreciate the exhibits anew under the stars.
 
     This year’s flower show will continue to promote various eco-friendly and waste reduction measures such as encouraging participating organisations, contractors, volunteers and visitors to implement the 3R principles – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – to achieve the goal of a “Green Flower Show for All”.
 
     To support environmental protection, members of the public are encouraged to bring their own water bottles and green shopping bags. The showground will also display QR codes for visitors to download the location map and information on the theme flower and landscape displays etc, as part of the effort to reduce waste.
 
     In addition to angelonia and other flowering plants, the event will also showcase a rich profusion of potted plants, floral arrangements and landscape displays by local, mainland and overseas organisations. Commercial stalls will be erected to sell snacks, beverages, flowers and horticultural products. A vast range of educational and recreational fringe activities, such as floral arrangement demonstrations, gardening lectures, music and cultural performances, will be offered for visitors of all ages.
 
     For more details of the flower show and its admission fee arrangements, please visit the event webpage (www.hkflowershow.hk/en/hkfs/2024/index.html) or call the enquiry hotline at 2601 8260.
 
     The flower show is organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust is supporting the flower show for the 12th consecutive year and has been its major sponsor since 2014. This year’s flower show is one of the events under “Art March” of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.