Speech by SCST at opening ceremony of City University of Hong Kong's "City Quest" programme
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the opening ceremony of City University of Hong Kong's "City Quest" programme today (July 12):
Chairman Ngai (Council Chairman of City University of Hong Kong (CityU), Mr Michael Ngai), 屈總 (Vice President and Chairman of the Group Technology Committee, Xiaomi Corporation, Mr Qu Heng), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to be in the CityU today for the opening ceremony of the "City Quest 尋城記" programme.
Today, we gather here to mark the official launch of a visionary community engagement programme that embodies the spirit of "tourism is everywhere",「香港無處不旅遊」. I was particularly impressed that this programme is inviting every member of the public to become a storyteller of our city through the "hands" by sharing personal narratives about Hong Kong, through the "feet" by becoming docent ambassadors and through the "eyes" by capturing the beauty of Hong Kong. This resonates with what I have been advocating ever since assuming the post as Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, which is "Everyone is a tourism ambassador", 「人人都是旅遊大使」.
With the travel patterns and traveller preferences progressing into more in-depth explorations, the Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots, as led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, with myself as Deputy Leader, has recently announced nine hotspot projects to offer new and more in-depth tourist experiences, with one project in Old Town Central and the other in Kowloon City. The Old Town Central project will take the Central to Mid-Levels Escalator as a conduit connecting various offerings in the vicinity to guide visitors to explore the beauty of our alleys and streets. On the other hand, the Kowloon City project features the "Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey" Movie Set Exhibition as the starting point to extend visitors' experience further in the district. Through these projects, we encourage visitors to experience Hong Kong's authentic local flavour from widened perspectives. I am confident that the "City Quest" programme will complement our hotspot projects to curate more fascinating experiences to a wider audience, thereby bringing more visitors to the unique beauty of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is an international tourist city with significant advantages in developing city walk routes, with our diverse gourmet food, high accessibility and efficient transportation system. I wish the "City Quest 尋城記" programme a success and would love to see more efforts of this kind from different stakeholders in the community in promoting the Hong Kong neighbourhoods.
Before I close, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to City University of Hong Kong and its partners for organising this meaningful programme to promote Hong Kong from fresh perspectives. Thank you very much.
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million
Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases in Tseung Kwan O and Hong Kong International Airport respectively yesterday (May 21) and today (May 22), and seized a total of about 21.8 kilograms of assorted drugs with a total estimated market value of about $7.95 million. Two men and one woman, aged between 38 and 49, were arrested.
In the first case, Customs officers intercepted a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman in Tseung Kwan O during an anti-narcotics operation yesterday afternoon. About 3.8kg of suspected drugs, including ketamine, methamphetamine, etomidate capsules, psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA and a batch of suspected drug packaging paraphernalia were found in their residence in the same district. They were then arrested.
In the second case, a 38-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found about 18kg of suspected ketamine inside his check-in suitcase and 33 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarette inside his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.
The arrested man and woman in the first case have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and one count of possession of apparatus fit and intended for the inhalation of a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (May 23), while an investigation is ongoing for the second case.
Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not 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.
Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
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.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
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) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs detects two dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drugs worth about $7.95 million Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
