Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected smuggled electronic chips worth about $6.25 million
Hong Kong Customs yesterday (July 28) detected a suspected smuggling case involving an outgoing cross-boundary private car at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and seized about 225,000 suspected smuggled electronic chips with an estimated market value of about $6.25 million.
Based on risk assessment, Customs yesterday intercepted an outbound private car at the control point. After an inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected smuggled electronic chips in the trunk of the vehicle.
After an investigation, Customs arrested a 39-year-old local male driver and a 50-year-old Mainland male passenger suspected to be connected with the case. They were jointly charged with one count of attempting to export unmanifested cargo and will appear at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (July 30).
Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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 yesterday (July 28) detected a smuggling case involving a cross-boundary private car at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and seized about 225 000 suspected smuggled electronic chips with an estimated market value of about $6.25 million. Photo shows the suspected smuggled electronic chips seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Research Grants Council announces funding results of Areas of Excellence Scheme and Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27
The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The Research Grants Council (RGC) announced today (July 29) the funding results of the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme 2026/27 (14th Round) and the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2026/27 (16th Round), with a record-breaking total of 12 supported projects. Altogether, they received a total funding amount of around $478 million.
Four projects under the AoE Scheme received funding from the RGC totalling $158 million, representing an increase of nearly 10 per cent compared to that of last year. Following a rigorous peer-review process based on academic and scientific merits, the RGC will support three outstanding five-year projects in medical imaging technology, smart manufacturing, and neutron scattering, as well as a one-year exploratory project on sustainable wildlife trade to yield preliminary results.
Concurrently, the RGC allocated $320 million to fund eight TRS projects of strategic importance to Hong Kong's long-term development, comprising seven five-year research proposals and a one-year exploratory project. These initiatives cover the fields of healthcare, green technology and AI. The lists of the awarded projects are set out in Annexes I and II.
The Chairman of the RGC, Professor Timothy W. Tong, said, "While maintaining an overall stable budget, the RGC has successfully extended its support for more basic research projects that are conducive to Hong Kong's long-term development this year. These projects are not merely academic pursuits, but also serve as the engines to drive Hong Kong's future economic transformation, addressing critical societal needs in such sectors as medical imaging technology, sustainable energy, disaster prevention, and business risk management.
"This year's successful proposals fully demonstrate the RGC's proactive approach to aligning with national development strategies, particularly its strong emphasis on AI, smart manufacturing, and advanced materials. These initiatives also contribute to Hong Kong's strategy of driving new industrialisation and fostering tech-driven economic development. With over one-third of this year's selected proposals involving AI applications, it is clear that our researchers have a remarkable ability to transform cutting-edge academic research into practical industry solutions.
"By fostering a dynamic basic research ecosystem in Hong Kong and leveraging the unique strengths of our universities to drive transformative, world-class research, the RGC remains dedicated to consolidating Hong Kong's leading position in global higher education and technological innovation," said Professor Tong.
To ensure that the city's scholarly researches remain closely aligned with national priorities and government policies, the RGC has also introduced "Low Altitude, Aerospace, and Space Technologies" as a new grand challenge topic under the TRS starting from the 2027/28 (17th Round) funding exercise which commenced in mid-July 2026.
Professor Tong expressed his profound gratitude to the panel experts for their valuable contributions throughout the assessment process, as well as local researchers for their continued support for the AoE Scheme, the TRS, and the RGC's work.
Details of the approved projects for the 2026/27 exercise are available on the RGC website (AoE Scheme: www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/aoe/funded_research/aoe14.html and TRS: www.ugc.edu.hk/eng/rgc/funding_opport/trs/funded_research/trs16.html) for reference. A call for proposals for the AoE Scheme and the TRS 2027/28 has been issued on July 24.
Research Grants Council announces funding results of Areas of Excellence Scheme and Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Research Grants Council announces funding results of Areas of Excellence Scheme and Theme-based Research Scheme 2026/27 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
