Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ9: Household electrical products supplied through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms Question:
The Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation (Cap. 406G), made under the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406), currently only regulates the safety of household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong. They do not apply to household electrical products supplied to Hong Kong via cross-boundary e-commerce platforms (electrical products). Since 2019, a Cross-border E-commerce Working Group was established between the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and the General Administration of Customs of the Mainland, with the focus on controlling the risks arisen from cross-border e-commerce platforms, including the reporting of unsafe electrical products supplied through these platforms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantity of electrical products supplied to Hong Kong through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms over the past five years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the types, selling prices and non-compliance of the unsafe electrical products supplied through cross-border e-commerce platforms that the EMSD notified the Mainland over the past five years, with the relevant information set out in a table; the ways in which the EMSD conducted spot checks on the relevant products and the standards on which these checks were based;
(3) as the Government has previously stated that, upon receiving notifications from the EMSD regarding unsafe electrical products supplied through cross-border e-commerce platforms, the Mainland Authority will conduct follow-up actions according to the case merits (including proactive measures such as order interception and product delisting) to prevent unsafe electrical products from entering Hong Kong, whether the Government has put in place a similar mechanism or measures to address unsafe electrical products that have already entered the market (such as recall of affected products in Hong Kong); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) as electrical products purchased through cross-border e-commerce platforms have not been issued with certificates of safety compliance of Hong Kong, if a fire or electric shock accident occurs due to non-compliance with Hong Kong safety standards, whether the Government has support measures in place to assist consumers in seeking compensation from the platform or the seller;
(5) as the Government has previously stated that it currently has no plans to amend the relevant regulations governing electrical products supplied to Hong Kong through cross-border e-commerce platforms, whether the authorities will consider drawing on the experience of other jurisdictions and requiring cross-border e-commerce platforms to assume the gatekeeping responsibility for ensuring the compliance of the goods they sell; and
(6) as it has been reported that some cross-boundary e-commerce platforms intend to open physical shops in Hong Kong, adopting an offline mode to display products sold on their platforms (including electrical products), whether the authorities will provide relevant guidelines to ensure that the specifications of non-local electrical products displayed in these physical shops of the e-commerce platforms comply with local legal requirements?
Reply:
President,
In response to the question raised by Dr the Hon Thomas So, the reply is as follows:
(1) to (4) The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) is responsible for administering the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation (Cap. 406G) made under the Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406), which imposes statutory control on the safety of all household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong to safeguard the public when using these electrical products. At present, if anyone purchases household electrical products through a cross-boundary e-commerce platform, or imports them in person for personal use, such conducts are not regarded as a supply in Hong Kong and thus fall outside the scope of control of the Regulation.
Generally speaking, household electrical products supplied by e-commerce platforms on the Chinese Mainland must comply with the safety requirements of the national China Compulsory Certification (3C Certification). Currently, the safety testing conducted under 3C Certification is based on Guobiao (GB) standards, which are generally equivalent to IEC international standards, meaning that the requirements for the main body of the product are largely consistent with those under the Regulation in Hong Kong.
Since 2019, the Cross-boundary E-commerce Working Group has been established under the Cooperation Arrangement on Electrical and Mechanical Products Safety and Energy Efficiency between the EMSD and the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. The Working Group focuses on controlling the risks arising from cross-boundary e-commerce platforms. The EMSD reports to the relevant Chinese Mainland authority, through the Working Group, on household electrical products supplied through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms to Hong Kong that fail to comply with the requirements of the abovementioned safety standards. Upon receipt of the report, the relevant Chinese Mainland authorities will take actions based on the actual circumstances, including requesting the e-commerce platforms to intercept orders, so that users with Hong Kong IP addresses will not be able to place orders for the relevant products. After conducting a risk assessment and confirming that the product is unsafe, the relevant authorities will request the e-commerce platforms to remove the product from shelves. The EMSD has extended the testing coverage of household electrical products, proactively conducted sample checks on cross-boundary e-commerce platforms, and engaged third party testing and certification bodies to conduct safety standard testing. If the relevant products are found to have failed to comply with the safety standards, such as posing potential risks of fire or electric shock, the relevant Chinese Mainland authorities will be informed to intercept the import of the unsafe electrical products into Hong Kong. In the first three months of 2026, after preliminary investigations, there were a total of 15 electrical incidents involving household electrical products. None of which involved products supplied through cross-boundary e-commerce services.
The numbers of unsafe electrical products supplied through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms reported by the EMSD to the Chinese Mainland authority through the Working Group in the past five years (2021 to 2025) are tabulated as follows:
Product types The Government does not maintain the number of household electrical products supplied to members of the public in Hong Kong through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms, nor the sales prices of the reported products.
(5) The issues arising from the purchase of household electrical products through cross-boundary e-commerce platforms are complex and span across different jurisdictions. The Government will continue to monitor whether other regions have feasible solutions that suit Hong Kong’s situation, while exploring room for optimising existing legislation to strike a balance between enforcement feasibility, public convenience, and the protection of consumer interests. Meanwhile, the Government will continue the enforcement work under the existing legal framework, and follow up on the issue through a multipronged approach involving interception at source, strengthened inspections, as well as publicity and education.
Regarding publicity and education, the EMSD has been promoting knowledge on electrical products safety and the potential risks of cross-boundary online shopping through various channels. Relevant measures include the display of promotional materials on electronic screens at boundary control points and inside MTR stations, collaboration with departments such as the Home Affairs Department and the Fire Services Department to organise community activities, as well as placement of media advertisements and publish posts on social media platforms. This year, the EMSD has increased its resource allocation to strengthen the dissemination of household electrical products safety information to the public through mass media channels such as television drama placements, radio broadcasts and newspaper columns, in order to enhance public awareness in a comprehensive manner.
(6) The Regulation applies to all household electrical products supplied in Hong Kong. The EMSD has proactively established a regular communication mechanism with Chinese Mainland e-commerce platforms, highlighting that household electrical products supplied in physical shops must comply with local regulations. Currently, only one major Chinese Mainland e-commerce platform has opened a physical shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, and no household electrical products are displayed in the shop. The EMSD will continue to conduct inspections and monitor developments to ensure that the e-commerce platform concerned continues to comply with the relevant requirements. Issued at HKT 12:29
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ17: Strengthening support for foster care service
Year(as at end 2025) The average number of ordinary foster families available for matching (including relief foster families) per month in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year(as at end 2025)(2) to (3) According to the information of the Central Foster Care Unit of the SWD, the number of registered foster families has increased from 954 in 2021-22 to 1 112 in 2025-26 (as at end 2025), representing an increase of about 16.6 per cent. Whereas the number of foster families withdrawn from service has decreased from 71 to 31, representing a decrease of about 56.3 per cent. The primary reasons for withdrawing from foster care service include caring for other family members or personal plans, such as travelling or taking a break. The number of registered foster families and foster families withdrawn from service in the past five years are tabulated below:
Year(as at end 2025) The age distribution of foster parents in the past five years are tabulated below:
Age distribution of foster parents The Government has been promoting foster-family-friendly measures, including tax exemption for the incentive payments for foster parents. Starting from April 1, 2024, half of the incentive payments (including incentive payment for foster parents/foster parents (emergency) and various extra incentive payments) received under foster care service of the SWD are exempted from income calculation for the purpose of public rental housing application and Well-off Tenants Policies declaration.
To further strengthen support for foster care services and encourage more dedicated individuals to become foster parents, the Government has implemented a series of enhancement measures in recent years, including substantial increase of the incentive payment for foster parents from April 2024. The monthly incentive payment of ordinary foster care service has been increased more than double from around $5,000 to about $11,000; and that for emergency foster care service has been doubled from around $6,600 to about $13,000.Issued at HKT 12:25
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ22: Ensuring safety of aquatic food products imported from Japan Question:
In August 2023, the Government issued the Food Safety Order (the Order) to prohibit the import of aquatic, sea salt and seaweed food products originating from 10 regulated metropolis/prefectures of Japan into Hong Kong. According to the information in the press releases previously issued by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, there has been an aggregate of 30 or so cases in suspected breach of the Order since its implementation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective cycles and numbers of inspections and sample tests conducted by the CFS in accordance with the risk-based principle on aquatic food products imported from Japan since the implementation of the Order; whether the CFS has conducted screening of the customs clearance documents for each consignment of imported aquatic food products; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the number of cases involving entry into Hong Kong by air and by sea among the imported aquatic products and their by-products that have been intercepted for suspected breach of the Order since its implementation; whether the Government has examined the supply and distribution of such products by the importers involved in those cases, and of the respective numbers of licensed food premises and food product sellers involved;
(3) of the following information on the cases in suspected breach of the Order mentioned in part (2): (i) the number of licensed food importers prosecuted (and the number of repeated offenders among them); (ii) the progress of each prosecution case; (iii) the penalties imposed in convicted cases (such as warnings and fines); and (iv) the average amount of fine imposed in each convicted case; and
(4) as the Government hosted five online briefing sessions for relevant trades during the initial implementation of the Order, whether the Government has any plans to host regular briefing sessions for the food importing industry to step up the explanation of the arrangements under the Order, so as to reduce the chance of an inadvertent breach of the Order by the industry?
Reply:
President,
To safeguard food safety and protect public health in Hong Kong in response to Japan’s 30-year plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at Fukushima into the ocean, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has issued a Food Safety Order (the Order) to prohibit all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweed food products originating from 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong starting from August 24, 2023.
For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweed food products that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the FEHD conducts comprehensive radiological tests to verify that their radiation levels do not exceed the guideline levels set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission before they are allowed to be imported.
A reply to the various parts of the Hon Joephy Chan’s question is as follows:
(1) Since the Order commenced operation, the CFS has been screening all customs clearance documents for aquatic, sea salt and seaweed food products imported from Japan and conducting radiological tests on every consignment of these products. As at April 21, 2026, the CFS had taken a total of 140 038 samples from all consignments of the above food products for radiological tests. To date, no samples have been found to exceed the permitted radiation levels.
(2) and (3) Since the Order commenced operation, as at April 21, 2026, the CFS has identified a total of 51 cases of suspected breach of the Order by importers. Among these cases, altogether 37 importers were involved and eight of them were repeat offenders; and 42 cases involved entry into Hong Kong by air and nine by sea. All the aquatic products, sea salt and seaweed food products involved were detained and inspected by the CFS at the boundary control points. None entered the market for supply to licensed food premises or for sale.
The CFS will follow up on each case by, inter alia, notifying the Japanese authorities of the incidents. Prosecution will be instituted against the importers concerned should there be sufficient evidence. Regarding the cases mentioned above, the CFS has instituted a total of 45 prosecutions against the importers concerned. Of these, 43 cases resulted in convictions with fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 while the remaining two cases are being processed.
(4) The CFS has been explaining the Order and other control measures on Japanese imported food products to the trade and stakeholders through various channels. Apart from holding five thematic online briefing sessions, the CFS has also conducted three Trade Consultation Forums and set up a thematic webpage. The webpage provides detailed information on the Order and other control measures on Japanese imported food products, as well as the situation update of radiation tests on Japanese imported food products. As the Order has now been in operation for nearly three years, the industry is generally aware of the requirements. The CFS will conduct further promotion to the industry as necessary, and will continue to announce cases of suspected breaches of the Order by importers so identified via press releases to notify the public and to remind the industry. Issued at HKT 12:22
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
In anticipation of a large number of visitors to Sai Kung East Country Park, Sharp Island and Shui Hau on Lantau Island during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week (May 1 to 5), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (April 29) announced the following preparation and deployment of management work at ecotourism hotspots during the holiday period:
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), together with the banking sector, introduced today (April 29) a new round of support measures to assist local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in navigating the current fast-changing market environment. The measures were announced following a meeting held by the Taskforce on SME Lending. 1. Increase dedicated funds set aside for SMEs: The 18 participating banks in the Taskforce have further expanded the size of dedicated funds set aside in their loan portfolio for SMEs. The total amount has increased from $370 billion in October 2024 to over $450 billion at present, demonstrating the banking sector’s commitment to supporting SMEs. Note 4: Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of Communications (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia, China CITIC International, China Construction Bank (Asia), Citibank, Dah Sing Bank, DBS Bank (Hong Kong), Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), Fusion Bank, Hang Seng Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia), OCBC Bank (Hong Kong), Nanyang Commercial Bank, Ping An Digital Bank, Shanghai Commercial Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases on April 27 and yesterday (April 28), and seized a total of about 50 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds and 3.5kg of suspected ketamine with a total estimated market value of about $11.1 million. Two men were arrested.
In the first case, Customs on April 27 inspected an air cargo consignment, declared as automotive seats arriving in Hong Kong from Singapore, at Hong Kong International Airport through risk assessment. Upon inspection, Customs officers detected suspicious X-ray images in the consignment. Upon examination, Customs officers found a total of about 50kg of suspected cannabis buds with a total estimated market value of about $9.7 million inside false compartments in three automotive seats.
After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers conducted a controlled delivery operation yesterday in Tuen Mun and arrested a 30-year-old man. The arrestee has been charged with trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at the Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (April 30).
In the second case, Customs, through risk assessment, inspected an express parcel from the Netherlands, declared as a dice set that was sent to Hong Kong via the Chinese Mainland yesterday. Upon inspection, Customs officers found about 3.5kg of suspected ketamine concealed inside gaming dice from the parcel. The market value was about $1.4 million.
After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers conducted a controlled delivery operation yesterday and arrested a 29-year-old man in Tai Wo Hau suspected to be connected with the case. The arrestee has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (April 30).
Customs will continue to enhance 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.
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).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (April 29) announced an adjustment to the auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations from May 1 to May 31, 2026, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts for dedicated LPG filling stations.
A department spokesman said that the adjustment on May 1, 2026, would reflect the movement of the LPG international price in April 2026. Due to the impact of the situation in the Middle East, the LPG international price surged in April 2026. The adjusted auto-LPG ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations in May 2026 would range from $4.49 to $5.43 per litre, amounting to an increase of $1.06 to $1.08 per litre.
The spokesman said that the auto-LPG ceiling prices were adjusted according to a pricing formula specified in the contracts. The formula comprises two elements – the LPG international price and the LPG operating price. The LPG international price refers to the LPG international price of the preceding month. The LPG operating price is adjusted on February 1 and June 1 annually according to the average movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index and the Nominal Wage Index.
The auto-LPG ceiling prices for respective dedicated LPG filling stations in May 2026 are as follows:
Location of
Dedicated
LPG Filling Station
Auto-LPG
Ceiling Price in
May 2026
(HK$/litre)
Auto-LPG
Ceiling Price in
April 2026
(HK$/litre)
Kwai On Road, Kwai Chung
4.49
3.42
Sham Mong Road, Mei Foo
4.55
3.49
Wai Lok Street, Kwun Tong
4.61
3.54
Cheung Yip Street, Kowloon Bay
4.66
3.59
Ngo Cheung Road, West Kowloon
4.67
3.60
Yuen Chau Tsai, Tai Po
4.72
3.65
Tak Yip Street, Yuen Long
4.83
3.77
Hang Yiu Street, Ma On Shan
4.86
3.78
Marsh Road, Wan Chai
4.87
3.79
Fung Mat Road, Sheung Wan
4.89
3.82
Yip Wong Road, Tuen Mun
4.99
3.92
Fung Yip Street, Chai Wan
5.43
4.36
The spokesman said that the details of the LPG international price and the auto-LPG ceiling price for each dedicated LPG filling station had been uploaded to the EMSD website (www.emsd.gov.hk) and posted at dedicated LPG filling stations to enable the trades to monitor the price adjustment.
Details of the pricing adjustment mechanism for dedicated LPG filling stations can also be viewed under the “What’s New” section of the department website at www.emsd.gov.hk/en/what_s_new/current/index.html.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Deputy Financial Secretary Secretary, Mr Michael Wong; the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, and the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, met the media after the third reading debate on the Appropriation Bill 2026 by the Legislative Council today (April 29). Following are the remarks by Mr Tse and Ms Chan:
Reporter: Could you briefly talk more about the considerations for introducing the subsidy forminibuses, school buses and taxis using petroleum gas? How would the Government ensure that oil companies and distributors would not mark up their prices under the diesel subsidy arrangement offered by the Government?
Secretary for Environment and Ecology: Our subsidy scheme includes an agreement with the oil companies or the distributors. Under the agreement, they are obliged to submit reports to the Government on a weekly basis about the sources of the oil, the sales volume, the prices, etc, as well as after the scheme, they have to conduct an independent audit to verify all that information. Because the Government knows the price of the oil they buy from the external sources, therefore we can monitor all the changes in oil prices and we know what the changes are. Therefore, with the reporting and auditing system, we are very confident that the oil companies will not be able to rip off the subsidy.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics: Public minibuses and taxis are two important components of our public transport system. On the other hand, we have also minibuses providing student service. In order to ensure that they will continue to maintain a stable and steady service for the general members of the public, we will redeploy internal resources within the Government to provide the $0.5 subsidy per litre for the petroleum supplier companies’ usage.
We will discuss amongst ourselves and identify suitable resources, so as to ensure the measure can be rolled out as soon as possible.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the CUHK Business School Greater Bay Area CEO Forum today (April 29):
Professor Dennis Lo (Vice-Chancellor and President, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)), Professor Lin Zhou (Dean, CUHK Business School), distinguished alumni, ladies and gentleman, The first is building a modernised industrial system and strengthening self-reliance in science and technology. The second area is “AI+”.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ8: Coping with decline in school-age population
District(3) to (5) In view of the ongoing trend of structural decline in the school-age population, the EDB must take timely and appropriate actions to reduce the surplus of school places by various means in the planning for the supply of school places. This includes ceasing to operate, as planned, four time-limited primary schools and actively encouraging School Sponsoring Bodies (SSBs) to relocate public sector schools through fair and competitive School Allocation Exercises from districts with surplus of school places to districts with higher demand for school places or New Development Areas (NDAs). This will not only meet the demand for school places in NDAs, but also balance the supply of school places among districts and help create a stable education environment to achieve a win-win situation.
The EDB has been encouraging SSBs and schools to act according to the circumstances, prepare ahead by taking into consideration the overall situation of Hong Kong, and the district and school circumstances, in order to plan for and formulate the direction most suitable for schools’ long-term development as early as possible to safeguard the interest of student learning. Therefore, apart from the above measures, the EDB has, for the first time, opened up certain options, in the EDB Circular No. 1/2025, for all aided primary schools (regardless of their number of approved P1 classes) and their SSBs to apply. Among all, all aided primary schools and their SSBs may apply for the option of “Merger with other schools”. In order to facilitate the smooth implementation and transition of the approved merger, and ensure that students who need to transfer to other schools due to the merger can receive comprehensive support to adapt to the new learning environment for continuing the primary school curriculum, if a school is merged into another school so as to allow the same cohort of students to continue their primary school curriculum in the school after merger, the school operating subsidised P1 classes after merger may be granted a one-off additional allowance in the amount of at most $1 million to cover the additional expenses incurred during the merger. If, in the year(s) of merger, there are redundant teachers in the school that continues to operate P1 classes, it will be allowed to retain, for three years, the incumbent teachers on the approved teaching staff establishment related to the levels under merger of the two schools in the school year preceding the merger so that the school may have time to adjust the staff strength through natural wastage and other means.Issued at HKT 16:55