Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

As of noon today, donations received by the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had reached about $3.4 billion. Combined with the $300 million in startup capital from the Government, this takes the fund to a total of around $3.7 billion.

Concurrently, 1,392 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms. Another 3,163 residents are living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or the Housing Society.

On the Government’s online platform for donated supplies, about 1,800 registrations have been received, with approximately 30% submitted by organisations. About 19,600 donated items, covering various categories, have been distributed.

The Housing Department continued to remove the burnt scaffolding on the external walls of Wang Cheong House, Wang Tai House and Wang Sun House.

For the sake of safety, the department will conduct assessments along with the Police Force on a timetable for removing the scaffolding on the remaining four affected buildings. Additionally, the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit has completed the extraction of concrete core samples from the seven affected buildings at Wang Fuk Court.

The Development Bureau earlier announced a new mechanism for sampling and testing scaffold nets for external walls in Hong Kong. The Buildings Department is preparing a new practice note for registered contractors and will meet with the industry next week.

The bureau is also moving ahead at full steam arrangements to ensure there are sufficient designated laboratories and a suitable site for off-site sampling work.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Professional Services GoGlobal Platform, initiated by the Department of Justice with support from the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), was officially launched today, marking a new stage of collaborative support from Hong Kong’s professional services sector for Mainland enterprises going global.

Under the steer of Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan, the platform implements an initiative announced in the Chief Executive’s Policy Address. He will work to promote Hong Kong’s legal services and collaborate with other professional service sectors such as accounting and finance to support Mainland enterprises with ambitions to expand overseas.

Mr Cheung said at a launch ceremony that professional services firms in Hong Kong are renowned for their international outlook, uncompromising professional standards and nuanced understanding of both Chinese and global contexts, and can offer Mainland enterprises comprehensive support.

Since the establishment of the CEDB’s Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (the GoGlobal Task Force), many Mainland enterprises have expressed a strong desire to use Hong Kong as a “launchpad” for global expansion, he added.

The goal of the Professional Services GoGlobal Platform is to collaborate with the Trade Development Council in building a deeper and broader cross-professional services platform, enabling enterprises to enjoy a customized experience.

It will provide useful reference material for Mainland enterprises by integrating information related to Hong Kong’s professional services, including their previous successes in supporting Mainland enterprises expanding overseas. It will also publish lists of professional services providers supporting overseas expansion, facilitating precise connections between Mainland enterprises and Hong Kong’s providers.

Mr Cheung added that to promote the platform’s work and provide a source of strategic advice, the Department of Justice will establish the Expert Committee on Professional Services for Going Global, consisting of Mainland and Hong Kong experts from the legal, financial, accounting and business sectors.

Highlighting that matching Mainland enterprises with Hong Kong professional service firms is a common goal of the GoGlobal Task Force and the platform, Mr Cheung said the latter will bring the city’s firm’s together to support enterprises going global while the task force will directly engage with Mainland enterprises, serving as a pivotal contact point for them to leverage Hong Kong as a launchpad.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau said at the ceremony that as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” connecting the Chinese Mainland and the world, Hong Kong possesses unique advantages.

He said the city can assist Mainland enterprises in expanding their business overseas and addressing various challenges and difficulties they may encounter when going global, such as cross-border capital management, risk management, laws and regulations, cultural differences and talent recruitment.

At the launch ceremony, Dr Cheung released the inaugural edition of the Collection of Success Stories: Hong Kong’s Professional Services Supporting Chinese Mainland Enterprises Going Global, which includes case studies spanning various professional domains across different industries and investment locations.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Executive John Lee today expressed sorrow over the passing of former Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Gregory So, and extended his condolences to Mr So’s family.

Mr So joined the Government in 2008 as Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development, and served as Secretary from 2011 to 2017. He also served on various advisory and statutory bodies, spanning areas such as public healthcare services, education and district governance.

“Mr So had dedicated years of service to the community through his work in the Government and different public offices, contributing to the city’s development in the economy, trade, tourism, information technology, telecommunications and creative industries,” said Mr Lee. 

“He had made significant contributions to Hong Kong with his professional knowledge and dedication. He was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star in 2012.

“I am saddened by the passing of Mr So. I extend my deepest condolences to his family.”

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau also expressed deep sorrow over Mr So’s passing.

He said: “Mr So had made immense contributions to Hong Kong’s economic and trade developments by taking forward various policies and measures, and forging co-operation between Hong Kong and other economies.”

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Police Force’s National Security Department has arrested nine men on suspicion of committing “unlawful drilling” offences under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

The arrestees, aged between 20 and 25, were netted in an operation mounted recently in various districts.

Investigations found that a syndicate conducted unlawful drilling inside a unit of an industrial building in Kowloon. The training encompassed firearm drills, use of tactical knives and combat techniques.

Offensive weapons were seized in the operation.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, on matters related to the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po at a media session today (December 12):

Reporter: Good afternoon, Mr Lee, some English questions. Firstly, would the Independent Committee have less investigative power to summon evidence and witnesses unlike a commission of inquiry, especially when the circumstances may not have officially been constituted as a crime yet? How would the Government intend to address this potential issue? With regard to your nine-month time frame as you mentioned, is this enough time? And do you foresee a possibility that you’ll have to extend due to, as you mentioned, the complex and large-scale issues that the committee has to face? And the second question, on the potential redevelopment of Wang Fuk Court, what’s the Government’s plan and time frame on it so far? Does it have an idea where these funds will come from? And also, do you foresee a challenge in getting a consensus from the thousands of residents involved? Thank you. 

Chief Executive: First of all, it is a mammoth task for the Independent Committee (Independent Committee Established in Relation to the Fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po) to achieve examining two very big issues. The first is regarding the causes and circumstances that led to the fire, including the examination of fire service installations and equipment in the buildings, and the supervision and responsibility for their effective operation; whether the construction safety requirements, standards, supervision and day to day maintenance regime for the building maintenance and renovation works were adequate; regarding the building maintenance and renovation works, whether the prevailing list of materials meeting safety standards is comprehensive, and whether related verification and testing systems are effective; the roles and responsibilities of personnel with supervisory roles across all stages, including government offices, authorised professionals, contractors and others; and the liabilities arising from the aforementioned issues. For just this theme, under this topic, you can say the amount of issues to be examined is already a lot. 

     Then the Independent Committee will have to look at another very important issue, which is, regarding large-scale building maintenance and renovation works, to examine whether there are systemic problems such as undue connected interests, conflicts of roles, or improper collusion across all stages of the works; and whether bid-rigging corruption or irregularities were involved in the tendering process of these works. You can see this second issue is an issue that has been troubling a lot of Hong Kong people, because we all live in buildings, and we all, at some stage, will be doing large-scale renovation work, so it affects everybody. We have been seeing cases where a lot of problems have arisen. We should indicate that there are systemic problems, as I have highlighted in this second topic. 

     So you are right, nine months is a very challenging time indeed, but I want to solve the problem as quickly as possible. I want to give what I regard as a realistic time frame, provided the Independent Committee is given sufficient means to manoeuvre. While ensuring the examination is just, they can streamline the procedure and be given more flexibility, so that they can finish their work within the nine months. I also have given them a reserve power; that is, if the Independent Committee considers, while examining all these complicated issues, there may be one which they think, by exercising the power that is given to a statutory commission of inquiry, will help them complete their work, then I am very willing to consider a recommendation by the Independent Committee to seek appointing them as the commission of inquiry. This is the reserve power I will give to them. First, to tell everybody that we must co-operate and assist the Independent Committee to do its very important job, because when the Independent Committee wants to exercise statutory powers, they will be given according to the law and the procedure with the CE-in-Council, considering the recommendation and then deciding to appoint a commission of inquiry with the Independent Committee functioning as such. That will help the Independent Committee to finish all the different issues they want to address within the nine months. 

     I also have mentioned that the Independent Committee can always submit interim reports for issues that they believe have finished their work and let the Government take immediate action. I am very grateful to Mr Justice Lok, because he wants to really help Hong Kong as a whole to address and solve all these problems. He shares the same belief as I do, to ensure that we can do it as soon as possible. I must express my sincere gratitude to the three members of the Independent Committee. It is a big responsibility and challenging tasks within only nine months, but they all have the passion and the love for Hong Kong to be so courageous to take up this responsibility. I am really thankful to them. I take my hat off to them.

     Regarding the long-term housing issues for the victims and the families who suffer in this Tai Po big fire, of course, I am very concerned about the arrangements that may be made possible to take care of their needs, but they have very divergent needs, obviously, because we have so many families, and each family may have their own thinking. There have been a lot of views about what we can do, and I have explained them in my opening. What is important is to listen to what they want. I think they may want things very differently, and whether we will be able to have different options for different families to choose is important, so collecting views from them is very important. Everybody has a very good heart, trying to help them, but I think it will be up to them to tell us what they want, even though there may be different wants and different needs. At the same time, they are still undergoing a difficult period of big transition. While I ask the Task Force (Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements) to collect views, I think they have to do it in a very tactful manner. We do not want to upset the families while they are at this difficult time. There may be a process for the Task Force to go through to talk to the families in a tactful and right way at the right moment of time as well. That may take a little bit of time, but as I have always asked my people to do, we always want to finish all these things as soon as possible, because the sooner we address all these issues and problems, the quicker we can recover our normal life. I do remember the important message given by Dr CC Lam (Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Dr Lam Ching-choi) when he talked about the importance of mental health and psychological health, which is we should try to come back to normal, day-to-day life as soon as possible. That will be helping not just society but, most importantly, helping the victims and helping their families to go through this difficult time. We will work on that.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Hong Kong Customs detected a trafficking case involving air cargo and a drug trafficking case involving a passenger at Hong Kong International Airport, and shut down a suspected dangerous drugs distribution centre in Tai Po, seizing a total of about 15 kilograms of suspected ketamine, 1kg of suspected cannabis buds, 40 capsules of suspected etomidate, 660 grams of suspected liquid etomidate, 8g of suspected cannabis oil and 1.7kg of suspected heroin, with a total estimated market value of about $8.9 million. Three males were arrested.

In the first case, through risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Customs officers on December 4 inspected an air parcel, arriving in Hong Kong from Belgium declared as carrying an office display product, at Hong Kong International Airport. Upon inspection, about 15kg of suspected ketamine, with an estimated market value of about $6.1 million, was found concealed inside the parcel.

After follow-up investigations, Customs officers conducted a controlled delivery operation yesterday (December 11) and arrested two male consignees, aged 46 and 29, in Sha Tin and Tai Po respectively. Customs officers then escorted the 29-year-old arrested man to his premises in Tai Po for a search and further seized about 1kg of suspected cannabis buds, 40 capsules of suspected etomidate, 660g of suspected liquid etomidate and 8g of suspected cannabis oil, with a total estimated market value of about $2.1 million.

The second case involved a 25-year-old male passenger arriving in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand, today (December 12). During customs clearance, Customs officers found 1.7 kg of suspected heroin with an estimated market value of about $680,000, concealed in his carry-on suitcase. The man was subsequently arrested.

The investigation of the first case is ongoing. The arrested person in the second case has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and he will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (December 13).

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

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.

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 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

     The Task Force on Mental Health Support Following the Tai Po Fire under the Advisory Committee on Mental Health (ACMH) held the second meeting today (December 12) to discuss multiple measures to provide mental health support to families and members of the public affected by the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. The ACMH adopted the stepped care model on mental health and provides services covering prevention, early identification, targeted assessment and referral to specialist services, to take care of the mental health needs of the affected residents and members of the public from different aspects.

     The Chairman of the ACMH, Dr Lam Ching-choi, said, “In the face of this unfortunate incident, we must build a more comprehensive mental health support network. The Task Force is co-ordinating and enhancing multiple measures, aiming to provide timely and appropriate support to every affected family, accompany them through their pain, and help them rebuild their lives.”

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) is holding a series of eight roving exhibitions themed “Saying NO to Objectionable Information” at shopping malls and government premises starting today (December 12). Through a range of interactive experiences such as exhibition panels, game booths and educational videos, the exhibition aims to enhance the public’s understanding of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) (COIAO) and promote healthy Internet use among children and young people.
 
     The first roving exhibition is open from 10.30am to 6.30pm at G/F, Atrium, Domain Mall in Yau Tong for three consecutive days starting today. Members of the public are welcome to visit. Details of the exhibition are available on OFNAA’s website.

     The Director of Film, Newspaper and Article Administration, Mr Chaucer Leung, visited the first roving exhibition today, during which he said, “OFNAA has been conducting publicity and educational work as well as working with various stakeholders to help children and young people develop the concept of the proper use of the Internet. I invite the public to bring their children to the exhibition to help them understand the importance of rejecting harmful materials.” Mr Leung also exchanged views with the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors of the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors Scheme 2025, thanked them for assisting in promoting the message of safe and healthy use of the Internet, and encouraged them to set a good example among their peers.
 
     In addition, OFNAA has actively strengthened interdepartmental collaboration through the past few months, working in conjunction with the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Customs and Excise Department to promote information on the COIAO and the message on healthy Internet use to young people, teaching staff members and the public through social media and talks. Initiatives include participating in the Primary Principals Liaison Meeting and briefing principals of participating schools on OFNAA’s support to schools; partnering with the Hong Kong Police Force to organise 13 “Wise Use of Internet” talks to share common online pitfalls with 2 600 members of the Junior Police Call as well as primary and secondary school students; and organising a talk for members of “Customs YES” to promote the message of rejecting harmful materials.
 
     With the aim of promoting the message of rejecting harmful materials to children and young people in a more targeted manner and enhancing their understanding of the COIAO, OFNAA also reached out to schools by introducing in-school mobile promotion stations in the current school year. The initiative seeks to allow the concept of healthy Internet use to take root firmly on campuses through enjoyable educational experiences fostered by activities including interactive games, case sharing, role play, quiz competitions and exhibitions. The first two sessions of in-school mobile promotion stations were held this week at primary and secondary schools in Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O respectively, and the remaining 18 sessions will be held in the coming three months in various districts. It is expected that the initiative would attract about 4 000 participants.
 
     With the rising popularity of emerging platforms such as video streaming platforms, video sharing platforms and social media among children and young people, OFNAA will also enhance multimedia publicity efforts to produce animated promotional videos for uploading onto the Internet and for playback at various publicity programmes. Students will also be encouraged to share the videos with their friends, thereby promoting the message of rejecting harmful materials among peers. The animated videos will be released by the end of the month.
 
     OFNAA will continue to organise a series of programmes to actively promote the message of staying away from obscene and indecent content on the Internet, including talks, workshops, roving drama for schools, webinars, as well as the Healthy Information Student Ambassadors Scheme and the Healthy Chinese Public Speaking Competition. For details, please visit OFNAA’s website.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     ​The Government has established today (December 12) an Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Mr Justice David Lok has been appointed as the Chairman, and Mr Chan Kin-por and Dr Rex Auyeung Pak-kuen have been appointed as Members.

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, is extremely concerned about the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po, which resulted in multiple casualties, and announced on December 2 that an independent committee led by a judge would be established to review the causes of the incident and related issues to prevent similar tragedies in the future.————