Skip to main content

Apr exports value down 13%

The value of Hong Kong's total exports decreased to $338.3 billion in April, down 13% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods decreased 11.9% to $374.9 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $36.6 billion, or 9.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in April.   Comparing the three-month period ending April with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 15.4%, while that of imports increased 10.7%.   The Government noted that the value of merchandise exports declined further from a year earlier in April. Exports to the Mainland, the US and the European Union all shrank and exports to other major Asian markets recorded decreases of varying degrees.   Looking ahead, it added that the weakness in the advanced economies will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance, though the expected faster recovery of the Mainland economy should

CE rejects US claims

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement on the National Security Law contained sweeping and totally unsubstantiated remarks which represented blatant interventions into China's internal affairs.   Mrs Lam issued a statement, further to the Government's response this morning on the business advisory released by the US Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury to US businesses and individuals operating in Hong Kong.   She said the Mr Blinken's statement represented utter trampling on the rule of law and once again, double standards of the US administration, adding that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government cannot allow such misguided remarks to go unchallenged.   The Chief Executive pointed out that the National Security Law clearly stipulates that human rights and individual freedoms shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong SAR.   However, under the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights as well as the constitutions of most countries around the world, it is clearly stated that certain basic rights and freedoms of individuals can be restricted through legislation for the purpose of safeguarding national security.   The Hong Kong SAR Government has seen numerous decisions and actions under the US jurisdiction affecting other countries, businesses and individuals justified on grounds of safeguarding the national security of the US. It wondered how such obvious double standards could go unnoticed.   Moreover, the international community has spoken up against the US' interference into China's internal affairs.   At the recently concluded session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, over 90 countries expressed support for China in its efforts in restoring stability in the Hong Kong SAR. These countries clearly stood by the principle of non-intervention under international law as well as the principle of sovereign equality.   Mrs Lam also noted that the great majority of Hong Kong people are patriotic and fully embrace the principle of "one country, two systems". They aspire for peace, stability and personal safety but prior to the enactment of the National Security Law, all these had been put at risk by rioters associated with or incited by external forces to subvert state power, very often under the guise of promoting democracy.   The Hong Kong authorities are taking actions, including the arrests of suspects, in strict accordance with the law, she said.   Mrs Lam emphasised that prosecution decisions are taken by the Department of Justice without any interference and trials are conducted by an independent judiciary. This is the robust legal system that Hong Kong is extremely proud of, and one enshrined in the Basic Law and also embedded in the National Security Law. No other government could or should fetter with these legal proceedings.   She reiterated that it is simply wrong for Mr Blinken to allege that Hong Kong's business environment has deteriorated in the past year.   Hong Kong remains an open and free economy, underpinned by the rule of law and a robust regulatory regime. As fully demonstrated by the relevant statistics, Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre has not changed and business confidence has not been shaken.   Mrs Lam urged the US authorities to view Hong Kong matters in an honest and fair manner, and consider ways to further reward experiences of US businesses and individuals in Hong Kong, instead of intimidating them with the business advisory.
http://dlvr.it/S3wDLj

Popular posts from this blog

Legal officer changes proposed

The Government has proposed to amend the law to allow legal officers of the Department of Justice to be appointed as a senior counsel.   At a media session after attending a Legislative Council meeting today, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng explained the rationale behind the Government's proposal.   She said: “Why is it that my colleagues in the Department of Justice - who by their qualifications are solicitors but are actually arguing very well and very efficiently with great eloquence and efficacy in the Court of Final Appeal - are not being recognised when they are actually even better than their counterparts? That has always been something that sometimes troubles me.   “And for that reason, I have always been thinking about how we are going to overcome that problem.   “Now, what really triggers my determination to take this further forward is when one of our Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions, Vinci Lam, took silk on May 29.   “That really showed that the form
Read more

124 COVID-19 cases reported

The Centre for Health Protection today said it is investigating 124 additional COVID-19 cases. More cases were detected in Kwai Chung Estate. There are also more than 70 preliminary positive cases.   Among the newly reported cases, 33 are related to Kwai Chung Estate, bringing the total number of positive and preliminary positive cases in the estate to 276.   One more positive case was found after an earlier confirmed case occurred at Glory Court, Tsuen Wan Garden, both of them live in units 5 but on two different floors. The centre has co-ordinated with related government departments and conducted an inspection today.    It was preliminarily considered that vertical transmission of virus via pipes is involved.   The centre will issue quarantine orders to residents of unit 5 on all floors of the building who resided there during the incubation period of the relevant cases and transfer them to a quarantine facility.   As it is possible that virus might be ejected from the open
Read more

Govt explains vaccine surplus plan

The Government said it will discuss with the drug manufacturers on how to handle the expected surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses concerning this year's COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.   It made the statement in response to a media report which claimed that Hong Kong will throw away millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses due to low vaccination rate.   The Government noted that as at May 24, out of the two million odd doses each of the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccine which have arrived in Hong Kong, there are 1.05 million and 840,000 unused doses.   It pointed out that the BioNTech vaccine needs to be stored in an ultra-low temperature setting and the vaccines have a relatively short expiry date from the date of manufacture which is around three to four months after arrival in Hong Kong. The vaccines now in storage will expire in mid-August.   The Government observed that the public's demand for the BioNTech vaccine has gradually become sluggish recently.   Compared with the daily
Read more