Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony held today

Exciting showdown at the basic law quiz competition: who will take home the prize?

Jointly organised by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE) and the Working Group on Local Community under the Constitution and Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, the Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony was held today (April 21). This year's competition received an overwhelming response, attracting a record-breaking number of over 42 000 participants.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Acting Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung, said that the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) stemmed from the Constitution. Article 31 of the Constitution stipulates that "the state may establish special administrative regions when necessary". The formulation of the Basic Law and the "one country, two systems" principle were also based on the Constitution. Under the "one country, two systems" principle, the Central Government authorises the HKSAR to enact laws on its own to prohibit acts that endanger national security in accordance with Article 23 of the Basic Law. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance officially took effect upon gazettal on March 23, ensuring the effective protection of national security and enhancing social stability and harmony. With safety comes stability; with stability comes prosperity.

He added that the HKSAR Government has been dedicated to enhancing public understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law, while the ceremony is one of the flagship events of the HYAB. He said he was delighted to know that the number of participants this year reached a record high and thanked the public for their support for the competition.

The quiz competition covered the relationship between the Constitution and the Basic Law, the Basic Law and its history and the National Security Law. The competition comprises the Family, Senior Primary School, Secondary School and Open categories. To tie in with the quiz competition, the organisers hosted four seminars in February and March to introduce the Constitution and the Basic Law to secondary and primary school students.

The HYAB has long been working closely with the CPCE in promoting the Constitution, the Basic Law and the National Security Law at the community level through various channels and diversified means, including publishing parent-child magazines, creating websites and social media pages, organising competitions, seminars and exhibitions, as well as sponsoring eligible organisations to organise various promotional and exchange activities on civic and national education.

Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony held today Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony held today Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Basic Law Quiz Competition Final and Prize Presentation Ceremony held today Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

High-level meeting with japanese officials: urgent concerns over fukushima's nuclear contaminated water discharge

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, met the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Takahashi Mitsuo, and the Consul-General of Japan in Hong Kong, Mr Kenichi Okada, today (May 3) upon request and discussed about the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water in Japan.

Mr Tse reiterated at the meeting that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has come to the view that there is currently no guarantee from the Japanese authorities that their purification and dilution system can operate continuously and effectively in the long term, and that the discharge will not pose any potential risks to food safety and marine ecology. Safeguarding food safety and public health in Hong Kong is the responsibility of the HKSAR Government, thus corresponding precautionary measures must be taken. The HKSAR Government will closely monitor developments of the discharge, so as to obtain more monitoring and scientific data in order to further examine the impact of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water discharge on food safety, and keep under review relevant counter measures. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.

In response to the Japanese Government's earlier decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear PowerStation into the sea, 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 aquatic products, sea salt, and unprocessed or processed seaweed from Japan that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety 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.

Besides, all vegetables, fruits, milk, milk beverages and dried milk originating from Fukushima are banned from importing into Hong Kong while such foods originating from the four prefectures nearby Fukushima, i.e. Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma, are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate and an exporter certificate issued by the Japanese authority. Chilled or frozen game, meat and poultry, and poultry eggs originating from the above five prefectures are allowed to be imported on the condition that they are accompanied with a radiation certificate issued by the Japanese authority which shows the radiation levels do not exceed the guideline levels of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

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