I am very pleased to announce the publication of this inaugural issueof "Customs News". I intend this to be a quarterly departmentalnewspaper for distribution to all serving and retired members of thedepartment. Copies may also be circulated to overseas agencies suchas customs administrations in the region.
In the Customs modernisation programme I emphasize on improvement in internal communication and fostering a sense of belonging among staff. Publication of "Customs News", I am sure, will contribute greatly to these aspects.
"Customs News" will be a forum for dissemination of information about direction and development of the department as well as activities and achievements of the staff. It will cover not only professional aspects of customs work but also social aspects of members' professional life.
There will be columns on significant customs issues and latest technologies affecting customs work; major tasks and new initiatives undertaken by the department; departmental acquisition of new skills and equipment; development of departmental capital work projects; departmental activities in welfare, sports and recreation; and personnel news including news about retired members. There will be serious as well as light-hearted articles. A Readers Column will be included for exchange of ideas. You will be welcome to make contributions.
have harboured the idea of publishing a departmental newsletter for the past 15 years. I am very glad that the idea has at last been put into reality with support of the directorate and the hard work of headquarters staff. I am deeply indebted to everyone concerned and I am grateful to the editorial board.
The service of the department in recent years has been outstanding particularly in the area of protection of copyright and trademark.
The Chief Executive, the Honourable TUNG Chee-hwa, said this at the passing-out parade held at the Customs and Excise Training School on January 17, 1998.
Mr Tung noted that after the establishment of the Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong continued to function effectively as a separate customs territory under the existing trading systems and committed itself to the successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" concept.
"The Customs and Excise Department undertakes a wide range of responsibilities, including revenue collection, anti-narcotics and anti-smuggling work, protection of intellectual property rights and consumer interests, trade facilitation as well as trade controls, " he said. He pointed out that as an important financial and trading centre in the world, Hong Kong had been playing an active role in the protection of intellectual property.
The department, which is also responsible for all operations in the detection of pirated and counterfeit goods, works closely with overseas law-enforcers as well as trademark and copyright owners in its fight against acts of infringement.
Mr Tung told the officers at the parade that he was confident that they would continue to step up their action in combating piracy and counterfeiting for the protection of intellectual property rights.
"I am also pleased to note that your department is in the process of modernization in areas such as information technology and human resource management. New computer systems are being installed. Equipment has been upgraded for greater safety and better duty performance," Mr Tung said.
He noted that arrangements had also been made for the building of new customs launches and that the Customs Headquarters building was on the drawing board.
"All these point to the fact that the department is a progressive and forward-looking organization, move forward into a new era and continue to play an important role in the Special Administrative Region," Mr Tung concluded.
Thirty-one probationary inspectors and 106 probationary Customs officers took part in the parade on that day.
To prepare for the challenges in the years ahead, the department is undergoing a process of modernization and has already launched a number of new projects, including new computer systems, construction of the Kwai Chung Customhouse, additional customs launches, new installations for customs at Chek Lap Kok and planning for a customs headquarters building.
This was stated by the Commissioner when hosting a year-end press briefing to review the work of the department in 1997.
Last year had been an important one in our history, Commissioner said, adding that Hong Kong re-united with the Motherland to become a Special Administrative Region of China and had remained a separate customs territory.
"We have maintained our full capability as a customs service and continued to function in the way that we were used to," he said.
The separate customs territory status underpins Hong Kong's trading autonomy and is one of the key factors in the "one country two systems" principle.
"As the customs department of a separate customs territory, we have maintained a healthy and growing co-operative relationship with our mainland colleagues but we make our own decisions. We have continued to participate in international conferences and maintained and developed our relationship with other customs administrations and law enforcement agencies around the world," he added.
At the press conference, the Commissioner highlighted the range of responsibilities of the department and the achievements in various areas of work in the past year.
In view of the growing number of retired officers, the department has considered that there is a need to establish a better link and communication between the department and retired staff, as well as among retired officers. In this connection, the management has contemplated assisting in setting up an association for retired officers of this department (official name of the association is under consideration). It is the management's intention that setting up of the new association will achieve the following:
The change in personal circumstances during the transition to retirement, indeed, presents an exceptional opportunity to a person to reassess his life. While no one can offer an individual person a blueprint for the perfect retirement, only the person concerned who himself can decide about what he wants his retirement to be.
For those who are approaching retirement, beginning to experience retirement, or enjoying retired life, it will be an encouraging and meaningful circumstance when an association be established by our former colleagues - where one can seek assistance and encouragement from his former colleagues whom have performed similar work for years, share valuable pre-and-post retirement experience, keep in touch with the department, and receive information and news of his concern.
Any former or serving colleagues who wish to participate in setting up the proposed association may contact Service Welfare Officer Mr Pang Chi-ming (Tel. 2231 4377)
The Customs and Excise Department home page was launched on the Internet on 24 December 1997. World-wide Internet users can now obtain comprehensive and up-to-date information about the activities of the department by visiting the web site at "http://www.info.gov.hk/customs/". The contents of the homepage will be regularly reviewed with a view to providing more and up-to-date information to the public.
The Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Excise (Control and Intellectual Property), Mr Vincent Poon Yeung-kwong appealed to members of the public to provide more information to combat piracy.
Speaking at a signing ceremony for an anti-piracy reward scheme on December 10, 1997. Mr Poon noted that the scheme signalled the determination of both the government and copyright organisations to further combat piracy.
Six copyright organisations-International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Motion Picture Association, Business Software Alliance, Software Publishers Association, Nintendo, and Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Association Limited, have contributed a total reward of $1.2 million in the fight against piracy.
While paying tribute to the associations for their support in combating piracy, Mr Poon noted that rewards ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 would be paid to any person who provided information leading to the seizure of pirated CD-ROMs and production equipment as well as the successful prosecution or conviction of persons so connected.
The reward scheme was operated in an attempt to repress piracy activities in their production line and retail market level, he added.
"We have been stepping up enforcement action to protect intellectual property rights in Hong Kong," Mr Poon stressed.
The department had, in the first 10 months of 1997, seized 3.3 million pirated CD-ROMs, a three-fold increase as compared with the seizure made in 1996, he said.
Information on anti-piracy can be passed to the department by calling the 24-hour customs hotline 2545 4546.
The celebration this year for the International Customs Day was held at the Customs and Excise Service Senior Officers' Mess on 26 January 1998. Mr Kwong Kei-chi, Secretary for the Treasury, was the principal guest. In addition, over 220 senior government officials, representatives of trade associations and private partners, consulate staff, members of the Executive and the Provisional Councils, and dignitaries attended the function.
Celebration of the International Customs Day was an annual event for Customs and Excise Department. The idea of having an International Customs Day came from the World Customs Organization.
In 1982, the World Customs Organization approved such an idea as a means of promoting customs cooperation in the interests of international trade and forging closed links between customs officials of different customs administrations.
In 1984, the World Customs Organization formally adopted 26th January as the International Customs Day which commemorates the anniversary of its first meeting on 26 January 1953.
As a member of the World Customs Organization since 1 July 1987, Hong Kong subscribes to the objectives of the Organization. On 26 January 1988, Hong Kong Celebrated International Customs Day for the first time. The celebration has since taken place every year.
Customs officers are going to enforce a new piece of legislation entitled the "Prevention of Copyright Piracy Bill" which aims at combating and preventing pirated optical discs at source.
The Bill, which was introduced by the Secretary for Trade and Industry into the Provisional Legislative Council (PLC) for consideration on 21 January 1998, proposes a compulsory licensing system for the manufacture of optical discs and requires optical discs produced in Hong Kong to be permanently embossed or marked with a code indicating their source of manufacture.
The new legislation would help Customs officers to identify the local factories for the manufacture of optical discs, empower them to inspect these factories and ensure that the production of optical discs in these factories is lawful. Besides, the source identification code would assist our officers in the tracking process and provide an easy way for consumers to identify legitimate optical discs from illegal ones.
We anticipate that the Bill would be supported by the PLC. If everything goes smooth, the new legislation will come into operation in mid-1998. We have asked for 13 additional post for the implementation of the licensing scheme.
The Inter-Branch Soccer Tournament 1997 / 98 was held on 8.1.98 at Ma Chai Hang Sports Ground, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon. The results were:
Ship Search & Cargo Command Team
Marine & Land Enforcement / Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau Combined Team
A-Branch and Civil Secretariat Combined Team
The Badminton Competition 1997 was held on 15.1.98 at Harbour Road Indoor Games Hall, Wanchai, Hong Kong. The results were: -
Poon Fai-hung (SCO 8303)
Li Kwok-ying (TCO)
Kwok Miu-chi (Insp)
Fung Ching-bo (CO 8894)
Lau Pui-wah (COII)
Chan Hon-man (SI)
The sports and Recreation Club will organise a Gala Day on 22.2.98 at Customs & Excise Training School at Perowne Barracks. All staff and family members are cordially invited to participate in this event.
The 6th Customs Regional Soccer Tournament will be hosted by our department in early March this year. The Tournament will take place at Sham Shui Po Sports Ground, Kowloon between 3.3.98 and 8.3.98. Japan, Thailand, Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong Customs Administrations will participate in the Tournament.
Can you believe that a 18K gold necklace costs only HK$60? Visit Chung Ying Street, Sha Tau Kok and try your luck! Well, you may realise that it is quite unlikely to have such a good bargain in reality. Even with the rapid decrease of the gold price in recent years, it has not been possible to have so cheap a price.
Last year, the Trading Standards Investigation Bureau (TSIB) received several complaints from residents in the Mainland on fineness deficiency of the gold articles sold at certain gold and jewellery shops in Chung Ying Street, Sha Tau Kok. Acting on the complaints, TSIB officers raided the shops which were alleged of selling fake 18K gold articles. Investigations revealed that the shops were selling gold-plated articles as 18K gold articles. The gold-plated articles were mingled with genuine 18K gold articles for sale in a bid to make people believe that they were genuine gold articles. Besides, the original prices of these articles were usually labelled at several hundreds or a thousand dollars although the actual price offered was less than a hundred. At a first glance, it seemed that you were being offered gold articles at a very competitive price. You would find the offer so irresistible!
Government Chemist's analytical reports confirmed that the so- called "18K" gold articles were not made of gold. They were actually made of lead or copper-zinc alloy coated with a thin layer of gold.
According to our enforcement statistics, the department had successfully prosecuted 16 those shops in 1997 for violations of the precious metal marking orders, resulting in a total court fines of HK$40,000 and forfeiture of the goods concerned. Furthermore, TSIB colleagues have recently smashed a manufacturing centre in Tuen Mun for the manufacture of fake gold articles and seized over 600 pieces of bracelets, worth HK$180,000. The owner of the manufacturing centre will be prosecuted. To combat similar malpractice, our colleagues at the Lo Wu Control Point also arrested 3 persons last year for possession of fake gold articles on entering Hong Kong. After TSIB's investigation, they were all convicted by the court. Two of them were each sentenced to three months' imprisonment while the other one was fined HK$10,000.
How can we identify the genuineness of gold articles? Frankly speaking, it is rather difficult for us to make a judgment just by their appearance. To assist our investigation, an electronic gold tester is used. During the screen test, a sample of the precious metal is connected to the tester at a point where the positive and negative charges are contacted. The indicator of the tester will display a reading of the fineness of gold or platinum content of the sample. If the fineness of the gold article is confirmed to have been overstated, the article will be seized and referred to the Government Laboratory for formal testing. With the aid of the testing report issued by the Government Chemist, we are able to track down dishonest gold traders.
The objective of the enforcement of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Gold and Gold Alloy) Order 1984 and the Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Platinum) Order is to protect the interest of consumers. Under the said laws, gold or platinum articles supplied in the course of trade must bear a marking of fineness of gold or platinum content. Traders are also required to display notices specifying the requirements of the laws at the point of supply. Any person who contravenes the said legislation may be prosecuted. The maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 plus an imprisonment for five years.
The department owns a holiday house on Lantau Island and rents another one on Cheung Chau Island.
The Pui O Holiday House was purchased in 1988 with the generous donation from Mr Steve Lau Hon Wah. It is a popular holiday resort for staff of the department. At the end of 1997 it was closed for renovation work, and was reopened on 24 January 1998. The expenses of renovation was again paid by Mr Steve Lau Hon Wah. The department is most grateful for his generosity.
Office of Service Administration & Training
9/F Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Fax: 2815 3558
The "Customs News" is a departmental newsletter aiming at strengthening the communication between the management and staff. It is a forum for dissemination of information on various aspects of work life in the department. It is also a forum for us to exchange ideas.
Your contributions, can be in Chinese or in English or both, and with photographs to supplement its contents, are welcome. You may share with your colleagues your working experience or any interesting issues of your office with which not all others are familiar. Your views and opinions on various aspects of the development of the department are also welcome.
Please write to the Editorial Board of "Customs News", Office of Service Administration and Training, Customs and Excise Department Headquarters, 9/F, Harbour Building, No.38, Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong. Please also provide name, office and contact telephone number.
For further enquiries, please feel free to contact SI Leung Shung-chi at telephone number 2852 3373.
The department is planning to employ a consultant to conduct a staff opinion survey. It's main objective is to obtain the opinions of staff on various aspects of their work environment and perception on issues which will have an impact on the department's service culture and initiatives.
A series of HRM programmes are being planned for implementation in the department. The programme in the pipeline is the "Performance Management System" (PMS) of Customs Officer Grade staff which will be launched in March this year. In view of the impact, scale and complexity of the PMS programme and other key HRM programmes being planned, it is essential and important that comprehensive opinions are obtained from staff and quantitative information is generated for the department to identify potential issues, obstacles and problems for changes; to align and establish linkages between these HRM programmes; and to utilise more effectively the resources to carry out the programmes.
The staff opinion survey will be a census of all Service members and staff members of Trade Controls Officer Grade. The survey will cover the following main areas: -
Discussion is being held with the Civil Service Bureau on the funding for and appointment of consultant. Staff opinions will be collected and analysed by the consultant and all information will be kept in strict confidence. It is planned to conduct the survey in March / April 1998.
In 1998, the department will introduce a new performance appraisal system for Customs Officer Grade.
The new system incorporates core competencies into the performance assessment criteria. In addition, a panel system will be established to ensure consistency in assessment standards. The competencies were developed by a consultancy firm LLA Pacific Ltd through a year's study and review.
Mr M O Wong, Senior Staff Officer, said there were many advantages in adopting competency-based assessment criteria. These include: -
He added that officers would also be appraised of their functional competencies under the new system. Functional competencies are job specific, necessary for discharging duties such as surveillance and ship rummaging techniques.
He further said training would be provided to enable all Customs Officer Grade officers and their supervisors to familiarize with the new system. 21 officers have been given appropriate training as trainers. 1-day workshops will be held for all Chief Customs Officers and Senior Customs Officers, starting from end of December 1997. 1 / 2-day briefing sessions will be held for all Senior Inspectors, Inspectors and Customs Officers.
On 12 December 1997, the Finance Committee approved HK$560 million for this department to construct a Customhouse at Container Port Road South, Kwai Chung (adjacent to the existing C&E Cargo Examination Compound) The Customhouse and the existing C&E Cargo Examination Compound occupy a site of about 6,325 square metres, and the Customhouse will provide a total floor area of about 13,000 square metres.
The project includes the construction of a 10-storey main building and a 3-storey dangerous good godown. The main building will provide facilities, such as offices, detention rooms, seizure stores, dog kennels, vehicle parking spaces, C&E warehouse and officers' mess to various commands, namely, Marine and Land Enforcement Command, Office of Dutiable Commodities Administration and Ship Search and Cargo Command.
The Kwai Chung Customhouse will centralise most of our offices and facilities relating to containerised cargo activities under one roof for providing better clearance services.
The construction of the building is scheduled to start in April 1998 and complete in August 2001.
18 officers were promoted to the rank of Trade Controls Officer on 12 December 97.
27 officers were promoted to the rank of Senior Inspector on 15 January 98.
Congratulations!
We welcome the following persons joining the department recently: -
Besides, 146 colleagues have joined the department as probationary Customs Officers in January 98.
On 30 December 1997, the following 5 officers were commended by the Commissioner for their outstanding work performance: -
| AS | CHAN Shiu-keung |
|---|---|
| A / AS | CHENG Sik-chau |
| SI | CHAN Jan-cheong |
| SI | TANG Yi-hoi |
| CCO | NGAN Yim-yuen |
At the presentation ceremony, 51 officers were also commended by: -
Since the last quarter, the following senior officers have retired: -
| Senior Superintendent | Tong Kwan-sik |
|---|---|
| Superintendent | Fan Shui-kee |
| Assistant Superintendent | Lo Wing-yiu |
| Chief Trade Controls Officer | Lee Kay-chun |