Supporting the heroes: fallen fireman's family receives life-changing financial aid
The Government announced today (April 23) that a sum of $6 million under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Family Members of Those Who Sacrifice Their Lives to Save Others will be granted to the family members of brave deceased Fireman Mr Yau Yiu-man.
The late Mr Yau sacrificed his life on January 19, 2024, while attending a rescue operation for a trapped female driver in a traffic accident at Penny's Bay, Lantau Island.
The Chairman of the Committee on Financial Assistance for Family Members of those who Sacrifice their Lives to Save Others which approved the grant, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, paid tribute to the late Mr Yau for his gallant act.
"Despite all the known risks, Mr Yau vividly demonstrated selflessness during the rescue operation. He spared no effort in saving lives, which commands our greatest respect," Mr Sun said.
"We deeply mourn the loss of such an excellent and devoted public servant. The grant represents the Government's recognition of the late Mr Yau's exceptional courage and professionalism of the highest order. We sincerely hope that the financial assistance can provide some relief to his family members."
The Scheme was set up in January 2002 to provide financial assistance to family members of those who lost their lives when attempting to save or protect others. Under the Scheme, the amount of financial assistance for each approved application is worked out according to a formula having regard to the age and normal retirement age of the deceased and the prevailing median monthly employment earnings, with the minimum and maximum levels currently set at $6 million and $12 million respectively.
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.
Source: AI-generated images
