The following is issued on behalf of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region:
âApril 15, 2024 (Monday) is the National Security Education Day. The Committee on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the National Security Committee) will hold an opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre that morning.
The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council Mr Xia Baolong, together with all the leading officials of his office in Beijing, will attend the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day via video link. Director Xia will officiate at the ceremony and deliver a keynote speech.
The Chairman of the National Security Committee and Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mr John Lee, expressed a warm welcome to Director Xia for attending the opening ceremony of the National Security Education Day online with all the leading officials of his office.
Mr Lee said, "The National Security Education Day of this year is particularly meaningful for Hong Kong. This year marks the 10th anniversary of a holistic approach to national security put forward by President Xi Jinping. It is also the first National Security Education Day after the HKSAR has accomplished its mission under Article 23 of the Basic Law, and the first National Security Education Day after the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance took effect."
"The prevailing geopolitics has become increasingly complex, and national security risks and threats remain imminent. The means taken to endanger national security can come in many different forms and persist, and the threat can emerge all of a sudden. The public should remain vigilant. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance requires the HKSAR to promote national security education and to raise the awareness of abiding by the law through public communication, guidance, supervision and regulation. The activities of the National Security Education Day organised by the National Security Committee help raise the awareness and the sense of responsibility for safeguarding national security among Hong Kong citizens, reminding them of staying alert to national security risks," said Mr Lee.
Ensuring safety: a look into inspecting japanese imported aquatic products
In response to the Japanese Government's plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
From noon on April 26 to noon today (April 29), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 381 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the "aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt" category, in the past three days (including last Saturday and Sunday). No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS's thematic website titled "Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan" (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 150 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD's website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO's website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 46 606 samples of food imported from Japan (including 30 476 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 12 334 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.
Source: AI-generated images
