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2024
Customs expressed that it is highly concerned after a chain fitness and beauty group suddenly announced that it would be suspending operations at all branches today. It explained that it had received four complaints as of 4.30pm today regarding the chain group concerned. Apart from appealing to consumers who have purchased fitness or beauty services from the chain group to contact the department as soon as possible, Customs stated that it will contact complainants for case details in order to commence an investigation. It also set up a dedicated team to follow up with a view to handling the cases promptly and stressed that it will continue to closely monitor the situation. Should there be any violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), Customs made it clear that will take decisive enforcement action. In addition to reminding traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO, Customs reminded consumers to procure services at reputable shops and consider prudently before making decisions for consumption with prepayment. After purchasing services, they should keep the relevant records, such as transaction receipts and contracts, which can become basic information in case a complaint is lodged in the future, it added.
Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung, while leading a delegation, called on Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and State Council Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong in Beijing this evening. During the meeting with Mr Xia, Mr Tang expressed gratitude to the central government for its long-standing and staunch support for the Security Bureau and its disciplined services. He also briefed Mr Xia on the key areas of work. Mr Tang and the delegation, which includes directorate officers from six disciplined services, arrived in Beijing yesterday to commence a five-day study and exchange programme organised by the Ministry of Public Security. After watching a flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square this morning, the delegation attended sharing sessions and study courses held at the National Academy of Governance and the International College of Defence Studies of the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army. Mr Tang will lead the delegation to visit the National Anti-Fraud Center tomorrow morning, and will travel to Fujian in the afternoon to meet the provincial leaders and officials of the Provincial Public Security Department. Mr Tang plans to depart for Jiangsu on September 8 where he will attend the 2024 Conference of Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang) on September 9, along with Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee. Mr Tang will return to Hong Kong on September 10.
Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung will lead directorate officers from six disciplined services to visit Beijing and Fujian on a study and exchange trip from tomorrow. Mr Tang will attend sharing sessions and study courses at the National Academy of Governance and the International College of Defence Studies at the National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army, and meet Mainland officials. Members of the delegation will include Commissioner of Customs & Excise Louise Ho, Director of Immigration Kwok Joon-fung, Commissioner of Correctional Services Wong Kwok-hing, Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung, Government Flying Service Controller West Wu, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) Chow Yat-ming, and directorate officers of the relevant departments. On September 9, Mr Tang and Commissioner of Police Siu Chak-yee will attend the 2024 Conference of Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang) in Jiangsu. The security chief will return to Hong Kong on September 10. During his absence, Under Secretary for Security Michael Cheuk will be Acting Secretary.
The Immigration Department today implemented the Advance Passenger Information System, which requires aircraft operators to comply with the Immigration (Advance Passenger Information) Regulation by transmitting to the department advance information about flights and passengers heading to Hong Kong. The department said the arrangement allows Hong Kong to meet the Convention on International Civil Aviation’s aviation security requirements and to align the city with other aviation hubs worldwide. It added that it enhances the department’s passenger clearance and enforcement capabilities, allowing it to prevent undesirables, including potential non-refoulement claimants, from boarding flights heading to Hong Kong. The department explained that during check-in for Hong Kong-bound flights, aircraft operators will capture the required advance passenger information from travellers’ travel documents and transmit the data for each traveller, along with aircraft information, to the system. The system will instantly process the information and provide a response message for each traveller back to the aircraft operator. Messages will direct operators to allow or not allow specific travellers to board the aircraft. To allow sufficient time for over 100 aircraft operators to connect to the system and ensure it runs in a smooth and orderly manner, the rollout will be carried out in phases, the department added. A transitional period of around 12 months will also be adopted. The offences and defences, and the miscellaneous provisions under Parts 4 and 5 of the regulation will come into effect after the transitional period. The department stressed that the freedom to travel and the right of Hong Kong residents to enter or leave Hong Kong are guaranteed under Article 31 of the Basic Law and Article 8 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights. It added that such freedoms and rights are not affected by the system’s implementation and that the system will not issue a no-board direction against Hong Kong permanent residents who enjoy the right of abode in Hong Kong.
Police’s National Security Department today arrested a man and a woman, aged 41 and 28, on suspicion of committing an act or acts with seditious intention, contravening Section 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Police conducted searches at the arrested people’s residences with a court warrant, where light boxes, materials for making light boxes and relevant electronic communication devices were seized. The arrestees are now being detained for investigation. The investigation revealed that the arrested woman was suspected of publishing fraudulent “last words” of the deceased in relation to a recent suicide case, while the arrested man was suspected of persistently placing so-called “memorial light boxes” in various places, with contents provoking hatred towards the central authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. An enforcement action is ongoing. Police remind the public that committing an act or acts with seditious intention is a serious offence, and offenders are liable to seven years’ imprisonment on first conviction. Members of the public are urged not to defy the law.
A delegation of 2024 Paris Olympic Games Mainland Olympians, including 22 athletes and three coaches, met members of the disciplined services and auxiliary services, as well as their youth uniformed groups, today. Held at the Fire & Ambulance Services Academy, the event involved some 900 participants. In an opening speech, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung remarked that members of the public will be able to vividly recall the moments when they watched the Mainland Olympians strive for honours for the country. Acknowledging the athletes’ resilience, skills, and selflessness in contributing to the country, he said these are qualities that are shared by the disciplined services. He also expressed hope that members of the disciplined services and youth uniformed groups would take the chance to learn from the Olympians, while showing them the highest respect and admiration. During the event, the Mainland Olympians – representing 10 different sports – displayed their skills and shared their experiences with the audience. In a subsequent group activity, the heads of various services, along with members of the services and of the youth uniformed groups, formed teams with the athletes to pull special-purpose vehicles and a fixed-wing aircraft, in a demonstration of co-operation.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today said it strongly disapproves of remarks by foreign officials and anti-China bodies slandering freedom of the press in Hong Kong. Following a Hong Kong District Court decision which found Chung Pui-kuen, Lam Shiu-tung and Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited guilty in a case involving seditious publications by Stand News, officials from the US, the UK and the European Union, as well as anti-China organisations, anti-China politicians and some foreign media made untruthful and purely political remarks smearing press freedom in the city, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said in a statement. The Hong Kong SAR Government said the court, in outlining its reasons for the verdict, had highlighted that according to Article 19(3) of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, the media and its personnel must – when publishing opinions, information and articles – observe and discharge “special duties and responsibilities”, including the protection of national security, public order, public health and morals. The court also cited precedents under the European Convention on Human Rights which outlined that journalists are entitled to the protection of the freedoms of expression and of the press on the basis that they act in good faith and on an accurate factual basis, and provide reliable and precise information. Moreover, the verdict stated that the ideology of Stand News was that of “localism”, which excluded China. It said Stand News became a tool to smear and vilify the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government during the “anti-extradition amendment bill” incidents. The court also ruled that the Stand News articles concerned in the case attacked the National Security Law, the Crimes Ordinance, and relevant law enforcement and prosecutorial processes, without any objective basis. It added that the articles spread hatred and anti-government sentiment through disinformation, attacked law enforcement, and glorified rioters’ behaviour. In its reasons for the verdict, the court also quoted the Court of Appeal’s judgment on the case of Tam Tak-chi, which highlighted that sections 9(1) and (2) of the Crimes Ordinance, when properly read together with the fundamental right to free expression, clearly indicate that criticising the Government, or the administration of justice, or raising objections to government policies or decisions, however vigorously, does not constitute a seditious intention. This provides further clarity in differentiating between lawful and unlawful speeches, the Government remarked. Additionally, in its judgment on the application for leave to appeal by Tam Tak-chi, the Appeal Committee of the Court of Final Appeal said sufficiently precise lines are drawn between unlawful seditious incitement and lawful constructive criticisms under the Crimes Ordinance. The Hong Kong SAR Government added that in light of the widespread social unrest in 2019, treating speech and publications disseminated with seditious intent as threats to national security and prohibiting them is in alignment with protecting national security and public order, and does not exceed what is reasonably necessary. It reiterated that the public, including journalists, commentators and columnists, nevertheless do enjoy and exercise freedoms of the press and of speech in accordance with the law, and without fear of unwittingly violating the law. They should not to be misled by the scaremongering claims of external forces, the Government advised. Separately, the Hong Kong SAR Government highlighted that the US and some other Western countries have also carried out law enforcement actions against the dissemination of disinformation, incitement of hatred, and the glorification of violence in their own countries. For instance, a British journalist was reportedly arrested by UK police for allegedly violating the UK Terrorism Act while working on coverage related to Palestine. The disparagements of the District Court’s verdict by Western countries only exposes their double standards, the Hong Kong SAR Government stressed. It added that they should immediately cease their malicious attacks and smear campaigns against Hong Kong’s freedom of the press.
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam and Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan today attended a consultation session to listen to views and suggestions from the legal and dispute resolution sectors on the upcoming Policy Address. About 30 representatives and stakeholders from the sectors attended the session, which was held by the Department of Justice at Justice Place, and was titled “International Legal & Dispute Resolution Services Centre”. The attendees expressed their professional views, put forward suggestions, and held discussions with the officials on how to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international legal and dispute resolution services centre, and further leverage the advantages of its common law system. Mr Lam said the representatives proactively offered their insights on promoting Hong Kong’s status as an international legal and dispute resolution services hub, with a view to advancing Chinese modernisation and the joint construction of foreign-related rule of law in the country.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has stated that the conviction of all three defendants in a case involving seditious publications signifies that justice has been firmly upheld. The District Court found Stand News editors-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and Lam Shiu-tung, and Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Limited – the company that operated Stand News – guilty as charged. In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said that any individual or organisation that incites hatred and engages in acts and activities endangering national security can never escape sanction under the law. In its verdict, the court stressed that the ideology of Stand News was that of “localism”, which excluded China. It said Stand News became a tool to smear and vilify the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government during the “anti-extradition amendment bill” incidents. The court found that the Stand News articles concerned in the case attacked the National Security Law, the Crimes Ordinance, and relevant law enforcement and prosecutorial processes, without any objective basis. It added that articles spread hatred and anti-government sentiment through disinformation, attacked law enforcement, and glorified rioters’ behaviour. The court further held that Chung Pui-kuen and Lam Shiu-tung, while holding chief editorial positions at Stand News, had knowledge and approved of the seditious intent of the articles. It found that as a publishing platform, Stand News operated with the intention of inciting hatred against the central authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government, as well as hatred against the administration of justice. The court highlighted that according to the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, the media and its personnel must – when publishing opinions, information and articles – observe and discharge “special duties and responsibilities”, including the protection of national security, public order, public health and morals. The court also cited decisions under the European Convention on Human Rights outlining that journalists are entitled to the protection of the freedoms of expression and of the press on the basis that they act in good faith and on an accurate factual basis, and provide reliable and precise information. In its press statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights guarantee fundamental rights, while clear lines are drawn between unlawful seditious expressions and lawful constructive criticisms under the Crimes Ordinance. The provisions are unambiguous, it said. It added that, as demonstrated in the court’s reasons for its verdict, Stand News completely disregarded objective facts and contravened the “special duties and responsibilities” which journalists must observe under international human rights conventions. It stressed that the claims made by individual media organisations, and by anti-China and destabilising individuals, as well as by foreign politicians and organisations with vicious motives, accusing the court of suppressing freedom of the press in its verdict, are utterly unfounded. Distortion of hatred-inciting words and acts into “journalistic work” is the gravest insult against professional journalists in Hong Kong, the Government said. The Hong Kong SAR Government said it will continue to enforce the law resolutely, decisively and rigorously, with a view to preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment against acts and activities endangering national security.
From July 10, non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents became eligible for newly launched travel permits, known as Mainland Travel Permits for Hong Kong & Macao Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens). Among those who have welcomed the new cards are members of the city’s ethnic minority communities, who say the policy gives them more motivation to visit the Mainland and can enhance their sense of belonging to the country. Enthusiastic response Kowloon City District Council member Rizwan Ullah has been assisting individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds in applying for the new travel permits. He calculates that he has helped approximately 600 applicants since the scheme’s launch and typically receives around 15 inquiries per day. Reflecting on the community’s enthusiastic response to the cards, he said: “Many more people will apply, and when they see others posting on social media about their visits to Mainland China, this will become a push and pull factor.” Mr Ullah, who is of Pakistani descent, was eager to visit the Mainland himself on the day that he obtained his own permit. He and a friend, Mohammad Ilyas, drove to Sheung Shui and then took the MTR to Lok Ma Chau station, where Mr Ullah tried out his new card. “Before we had this travel card, we faced many difficulties,” said Mr Ilyas. “I personally accompanied my friend and waited a maximum of two hours.” For his part, Mr Ullah highlighted that having the permit not only reduces the amount of time he has to queue at boundary crossings but means he no longer has to spend time applying for a visa. Explaining that the convenience offered by the card has kindled his enthusiasm for travelling to the Mainland, he elaborated that it enhances his access to various opportunities there, whether in relation to research, business, tourism or cultural experiences. He said this can also benefit his understanding of the country and strengthen his sense of belonging to it. Greater convenience Mrs Hui, a Hong Kong permanent resident who arrived as an immigrant from Vietnam over a decade ago, immediately applied for the new permit when it became available. She said travelling to the Mainland as a Vietnamese passport-holder tended to be inconvenient. “I tried to visit my husband’s hometown of Chaoshan during Easter and waited over an hour at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station for the high-speed rail. It was embarrassing because my family and friends had to wait for me.” After receiving her new permit, Mrs Hui said she is more likely to travel to the Mainland with her family, and hopes to explore the country with her daughter. “I would like to take my daughter to Beijing, visit the Palace Museum, walk on the Great Wall, and sightsee in Shanghai. I want her to learn more about the country’s development, culture, and history.”