Month: April 2026

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government said today the Road Cargo System (ROCARS) for handling advance road cargo information will cease operating from May 1, with the first batch of Phase 3 services under the new Trade Single Window (TSW) launching on the same day.

User data from ROCARS will be automatically migrated to the TSW system. Users are not required to re-register and only need to log in with their existing accounts to use the new TSW services.

ROCARS will cease operating from midnight on May 1, while the TSW system is expected to launch in the early morning of the same day. During the system “cutover” period, cargo clearance services at land boundary control points will remain as normal.

Customs urged operators to plan ahead with regard to the submission of advance road cargo information and the completion of relevant bundling arrangements, so as to ensure smooth cross-boundary transportation flows during the cutover period.

Call 2117 3348 or send an email for enquiries.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Air-Land Fresh Lane has reached another milestone. A shipment of live lobsters weighing 986 kilograms arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (April 22) by air from Canada, and was immediately transhipped by a cross-border refrigerated truck across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) directly to Macao. This marks the first consignment of overseas fresh products delivered to Macao via Hong Kong utilising the Fresh Lane, realising a seamless “Overseas-Hong Kong-Macao” one-stop delivery.
 
The extension of the Fresh Lane to Macao was attributed to the concerted efforts and co-operation of the governments of Hong Kong and Macao. This was also the first time that Hong Kong Customs applied the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Three-Places-One-Lock Scheme (Hong Kong-Macao Section) to the Fresh Lane, implementing closed-loop management with real-time monitoring throughout the entire process by using the same e-lock and GPS devices.
 
In addition, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has exempted the registration requirement of food importers participating in the Fresh Lane, further expediting the food clearance procedures and facilitating business. This allows fresh products to be transported directly to Macao using the “Through Truck Transportation” model after customs clearance at the air cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), ensuring a seamless end-to-end process. The new arrangement has significantly shortened clearance time, reduced losses of fresh aquatic products, and helped preserve the freshness of the ingredients. Macao importers have also expressed satisfaction with the new operation model, noting that it has effectively improved logistics efficiency and preserved product quality.
 
The Fresh Lane has successfully facilitated the transhipment of over 420 tonnes of overseas fresh products to the Chinese Mainland since its launch last year, achieving remarkable results and positive feedback from the industry. The transhipped products include chilled tuna, live lobsters, live geoducks, live eels, cherries and grapes.
 
Hong Kong Customs has always adhered to its mission of “stringent enforcement and trade facilitation” and has been working closely with the trade industry to promote a series of innovative trade facilitating measures, thereby consolidating Hong Kong’s leading position as an international aviation hub. Looking ahead, Hong Kong Customs will continue to promote the use of the Fresh Lane, further deepen co-operation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and advance the high-quality integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
 
The Air-Land Fresh Lane was fully launched on September 26, 2025, aiming to utilise the strengths of HKIA and the HZMB to facilitate overseas fruits, chilled and live seafood being imported into the Mainland with streamlined customs clearance while empowering high-quality fresh products from the Mainland to go global, thereby developing the HZMB into a “green channel” for fresh products.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Acting Secretary for Education, Dr Sze Chun-fai, today (April 23) presented certificates to awardees under the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund (GSF) and the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund (SPEF) for the 2025/26 academic year at the GSF and SPEF Joint Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 2026.

Over 6 600 meritorious post-secondary students received scholarships and awards, amounting to about $210 million in total. Both the GSF and the SPEF also give recognition to meritorious post-secondary students with special educational needs (SEN) through the Endeavour Merit Award and the Endeavour Scholarship. This year, a total of around 690 SEN students were given awards/scholarships.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Sze said Hong Kong’s post-secondary education system enjoys an international reputation, with local universities ranking among the top in global rankings for the most international universities. This not only demonstrates the strength of Hong Kong’s post-secondary education sector, but also attests to the effectiveness of the Government’s long-term commitment to investing in education and enhancing educational competitiveness. The Education Bureau (EDB) has been consistently adhering to the principle of integrity and innovation, integrating itself into the overall national development. It has been seizing the opportunities brought about by the country’s Belt and Road initiatives and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to deepen Hong Kong’s role as an international post-secondary education hub and a cluster of talent, while striving to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand globally.

Dr Sze encouraged the awardees to continuously equip themselves, and strive to realise their personal aspirations, thereby commencing the pursuit of dreams from Hong Kong while giving back to society and contributing to the country.

The GSF was established in 2008 to attract outstanding local students to advance their studies at home, and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the GSF, namely Scholarships for Outstanding Performance, Belt and Road (B&R) Scholarship, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Merit Award. Scholarships and awards are offered to students studying full-time publicly funded sub-degree, undergraduate-level and above programmes in Hong Kong. Up to mid-April this year, about 2 100 students received scholarships/awards in the 2025/26 academic year, including about 1 200 local students and about 900 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 1 500 students were at an undergraduate level and above, while about 600 students were at the sub-degree level. In addition, the B&R Scholarship was introduced to encourage students from B&R countries/regions to pursue studies in Hong Kong. In the 2025/26 academic year, 150 students from 33 B&R countries/regions were awarded this scholarship for the first time.

The Self-financing Post-secondary Scholarship Scheme (SPSS) was established under the SPEF in 2011 to promote the quality and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary sector. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the scheme, namely Outstanding Performance Scholarship, Best Progress Award, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Scholarship. These scholarships and awards are offered to students pursuing full-time locally accredited self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate programmes. In the 2025/26 academic year, the SPEF offered scholarships and awards to about 4 000 local students and about 500 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 2 500 of them pursued undergraduate studies, while about 2 000 students were at the sub-degree level.

A list of participating institutions is in Annex I. A broad distribution of the scholarship recipients is set out in Annex II. Details of the scholarships and awards under the GSF are available on the EDB’s website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/local-higher-edu/publicly-funded-programmes/scholarship.html). Those under the SPSS as well as the SPEF are available on the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education’s website (www.cspe.edu.hk/en/index.html).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed “Lightshadow” to combat illegal food delivery couriers from April 13 to yesterday (April 22). A total of eight suspected illegal workers and four suspected aiders and abettors were arrested.

     The ImmD has long been highly vigilant against the problem of illegal employment and has taken vigorous and effective enforcement actions. The ImmD has mounted intelligence-led focused operations in multiple targeted locations. During the operation codenamed “Lightshadow”, eight suspected illegal workers and four suspected aiders and abettors were arrested by ImmD Task Force officers. All arrested suspected illegal workers were non-ethnic Chinese males aged 22 to 51. All of them were found to be holders of recognisance forms and were non-refoulement claimants, which prohibits them from taking any employment in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the four suspected aiders and abettors were Hong Kong residents aged 31 to 44. The three men and one woman were arrested for being suspected of a conspiracy to defraud delivery platforms by selling or renting their food delivery courier accounts to the illegal workers.

     An ImmD spokesman warned, “As stipulated in section 38AA of the Immigration Ordinance, an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land is prohibited from taking any employment, whether paid or unpaid, or establishing or joining any business. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to three years’ imprisonment. As stipulated in section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance, the Chief Executive may make a deportation order against an immigrant, prohibiting the immigrant from being in Hong Kong at any time thereafter if the immigrant has been found guilty in Hong Kong of an offence punishable by imprisonment for not less than two years.”

     The spokesman stressed that it is a serious offence to employ people who are not lawfully employable. Under the Immigration Ordinance, the maximum penalty for an employer employing a person who is not lawfully employable, i.e. an illegal immigrant, a person who is the subject of a removal order or a deportation order, an overstayer or a person who was refused permission to land, has been significantly increased from a fine of $350,000 and three years’ imprisonment to a fine of $500,000 and 10 years’ imprisonment to reflect the gravity of such offences. The director, manager, secretary, partner, etc, of the company concerned may also bear criminal liability. The High Court has laid down sentencing guidelines that the employer of an illegal worker should be given an immediate custodial sentence.

     According to the court sentencing, employers must take all practicable steps to determine whether a person is lawfully employable prior to employment. Apart from inspecting a prospective employee’s identity card, the employer has the explicit duty to make enquiries regarding the person and ensure that the answers would not cast any reasonable doubt concerning the lawful employability of the person. The court will not accept failure to do so as a defence in proceedings. It is also an offence if an employer fails to inspect the job seeker’s valid travel document if the job seeker does not have a Hong Kong permanent identity card. Offenders are liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $150,000 and to imprisonment for one year. In that connection, the spokesman would like to remind all employers not to defy the law by employing illegal workers. The ImmD will continue to take resolute enforcement action to combat such offences.

     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) and/or forced labour victims. When any TIP and/or forced labour indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP and/or forced labour elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP and/or forced labour victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP and/or forced labour victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

     For reporting illegal employment activities, please call the dedicated hotline 185 185, fax at 2824 1166, email anti_crime@immd.gov.hk, or submit the “Online Reporting of Immigration Offences” form at www.immd.gov.hk.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Three incoming passengers were sentenced to three to ten months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 each by the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (April 23) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

The first case invloved a 40-year-old incoming male passenger. During customs clearance, Customs officers seized 145 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $652,500 and a duty potential of about $479,300, from his personal baggage at Hong Kong International Airport on April 14. The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.

The second case involved a 20-year-old incoming male passenger. During customs clearance, Customs officers seized 64 400 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $322,000 and a duty potential of about $212,900, from his personal baggage at Hong Kong International Airport on April 21. The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.

The third case involved a 29-year-old incoming male passenger. During customs clearance, Customs officers seized 12 588 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $56,600 and a duty potential of about $41,600, from his personal baggage at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (April 22). The passenger was subsequently arrested. He was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 today.

Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences. 

Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years. 

Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette 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).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The “Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” exhibition will be staged at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) starting from tomorrow (April 24). The exhibition features over 100 sets of selected paintings and artefacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in the United States, the Palace of Versailles in France and the HKMoA, presented together for the first time in Hong Kong, including paintings, prints, lacquerware, sculpture, ceramics and glassware, inviting visitors to explore the wonders and fun of gardens in the East and West from a fresh perspective.
 
     Addressing the opening ceremony held today (April 23), the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, said that this touring exhibition, which began at the Palace Museum in 2025 and arrived in Hong Kong today, connects the regional culture of the East and West through historical gardens. The HKMoA, as the grand finale, will exclusively feature a selection of art treasures. The exhibition not only fully showcases the distinctive features of gardens from East and West and the rich cultural heritage from different regions, but also highlights Hong Kong’s vital role as a window for mutual exchange and learning between Chinese and Western civilisations. She added that the country advocates “shaping tourism with cultural activities and promoting culture through tourism”. Culture and tourism have always been highly complementary to each other. With Labour Day Golden Week approaching, she believes the exhibition will attract local art lovers and tourists, as well as boost consumption in the surrounding area.
 
Other officiating guests included Deputy Director of the Palace Museum Mr Wang Yuegong; the Deputy Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy and Trustee of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Mrs Ann Kung; the Pritzker Chair of Arts of Asia and the Executive Director of Initiatives in Asia of the AIC, Dr Wang Tao; the Chairman of the Art Sub-committee of the Museum Advisory Committee, Professor Desmond Hui; the Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Miss Eve Tam; and the Museum Director of the HKMoA, Dr Maria Mok.
 
This exhibition serves as a guide to garden aesthetics. Curated around a central theme of garden landscaping and ingeniously using set designs by the curatorial team, the exhibition takes the audience on a journey through the threefold experience of garden landscaping, activities in the garden and the appreciation of artworks inspired by garden culture, allowing them to appreciate the grand gardens of kings and nobles, including Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty and King Louis XIV of France.

     Highlight exhibits include the “Spring Ablution at the Orchid Pavilion” by Wen Zhengming, one of the “Four Masters of Wu School” from the Ming dynasty, which recreates the gathering at the Orchid Pavilion, a scene long celebrated through the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, from the collection of the Palace Museum; the grandeur of imperial gardens in the Qing dynasty is reflected in the “Imperial Summer Resort”, which integrates traditional blue-and-green painting features with Western perspective techniques; the “Nanxi Thatched Hall” by Ming dynasty painter Wen Boren, which depicts the ideal garden retreat of Jiangnan literati where the cottage blends seamlessly with nature; Monet’s “Water Lilies” and “Water Lily Pond” from the AIC; and Zhang Daqian’s “Entrance of Bade Garden” and “Splashed-colour Landscape” from the HKMoA’s collection, highlighting the visions of two masters and offering visitors inspiration for garden design. Other highlight exhibits include “The Enceladus Fountain” and “The Water Theatre” from the Palace of Versailles.
 
Notable garden owners such as Emperor Qianlong, King Louis XIV of France, Claude Monet and Zhang Daqian “share” the stories behind the creation of their iconic gardens through audio guides and interactive kiosks. The exhibition features a scenographic recreation of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in the education corner, enhanced with technology to provide visitors with an immersive experience. Through interactive engagement with a virtual wine cup, visitors can enjoy the beauty of blooming flowers. Furthermore, a DIY kit is included with the limited-edition exhibition pamphlet. Visitors can also download the instructions and additional paper patterns using the QR code on the pamphlet and design their ideal garden with their favourite elements, enriching the experience beyond their visit.
 
The exhibition will run from April 24 to July 29 at the Special Gallery on the second floor of the HKMoA (10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon). Admission is free. The exhibition is co-presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Palace Museum in partnership with the AIC, and is co-organised by the HKMoA and the Palace Museum in partnership with the AIC. It is exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy.
 
To ensure a better visiting experience, crowd control measures for the exhibition will be implemented with flexibility. In the event of overcrowding, timed admission ticketing may be arranged. Visitors are advised to follow on-site notices and to stay updated through HKMoA’s official website, Instagram, Facebook or VisitHKMuseums on Xiaohongshu.
 
The HKMoA will organise a series of special programmes, including guided tours, talks and workshops. The first talk from the “Zoom-in World Treasures” Talk Series will be held on April 25 at 2.30pm at The Hall at the HKMoA. The speaker, Senior Engineer of the Heritage Architecture Department of the Palace Museum, Ms Li Yue, will share her insights on Qianlong Garden: Art, Legacy and Conservation.
 
For details of the exhibition and activities, please visit hk.art.museum/en/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events/blooming-the-art-of-gardens-in-east-and-west.html.