Talking about a 'rewarding business', one would possibly associate it with the profit derived from commercial dealings.
As a civil servant, I would not have imagined having a 'rewarding business'. Never. Not until the moment when I witnessed Mrs Regina Ip, Secretary for Security, receiving a cheque for US$0.9 million from General McCaffrey, Director of the US President's Office of National Drug Control Policy at the Mess on June 21, 2000. The cheque represented half of the drug proceeds confiscated by the US government pursuant to substantial investigative assistance rendered by our Financial Investigation Group. The reward did not come along with the cheque. It is the job satisfaction and pride in meeting yet another challenge, in breaking yet another record. This is for the very first incident when HKSAR received a share of confiscated drug proceeds from a foreign country. The amount of asset shared is symbolic. What counts is the recognition of the importance of international cooperation in combating drug dealings and ripping off drug traffickers' ill-gotten gains.
The battle against international drug trafficking and money laundering activities is still going on. Only with concerted efforts among international law enforcement community, we can conquer drug culprits and prosper our 'rewarding business'.
It was announced on July 1, 2000 by the HKSAR Government that Deputy Commissioner Raymond Li Wai-man was awarded the Customs and Excise Medal for Distinguished Service in recognition of his 33 years' exceptional and distinguished service and contributions to the Department, and the community.
Chief Superintendent Ronny Tsang Hing-kam, Senior Superintendents Wong Man-on and Calvin Leung Ho, Superintendent Virginia Szeto and retired Superintendent Johnny Chow wing-keung were respectively awarded the Customs and Excise Medals for Meritorious Service for their valuable service of exceptional ability, merit and exemplary conduct.
On the other hand, Assistant Superintendent Kwok Kai-chiu, Senior Inspector Victor Kim Tak-wo and Senior Customs Officer Choi Kwok-hing were awarded the Ombudsman's Award 2000 in recognition of their fairness, impartiality and efficiency in the performance of their duties and their exemplary praiseworthy efforts over a sustained period of time.
Hong Kong, China is, for the first time, elected as the World Customs Organization (WCO)'s Vice Chairman for the Asia Pacific Region during the 95th / 96th Customs Cooperation Council Sessions held between July 6 and 8, 2000 in Brussels, Belgium. The tenure of the vice-chairmanship is two one-year terms commencing July 2000. Upon assumption of the office, Hong Kong Customs will be responsible for fostering close cooperation amongst regional member administrations. In consultation with other members of the region, a Regional Strategic Plan will be formulated later this year to set out the future directions of the region for the two years ahead.
Immediately before the Council Sessions, the 43rd WCO Policy Commission was held between July 3 and 5. Issues discussed in these meetings included budgetary and financial matters, communication strategy, technical assistance, review of training, reform and modernisation programmes, and strategic plan for coming years. The Hong Kong delegation, comprising the Commissioner John C Tsang, Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Wong and Acting Assistant Superintendent Linda Tsui, attended both the Policy Commission and Council Sessions.
After the WCO meetings in Belgium, the delegation paid a three-day official visit to the French Customs Administration in Paris between July 11 and 13. During the visit, a review was conducted on bilateral cooperative relations since the signing of a cooperative arrangement in July 1996. Taking the opportunity, both sides also exchanged views on various matters of concern, including revenue fraud and airport control.
During the stay in Paris, the delegation also attended a luncheon jointly organised by the Economic and Trade Office (Brussels) and the France-Hong Kong Society where the Commissioner gave a talk to the French business community about Hong Kong's recent economic situation, efforts in intellectual property rights protection and enforcement against smuggling of illegal immigrants.
Pursuant to the signing of the "Customs Co-operative Arrangement" between Hong Kong Customs and the Customs General Administration of PRC (CGA) on March 1, the first Liaison Officers' Meeting was held in Shanghai between June 19 and 22.
Led by Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Wong, the Hong Kong Customs delegation comprised Senior Superintendent Wong Man-on, Superintendent Alex Liu and Inspector Chan Yin. The CGA delegation was led by Mr Zhang Guosheng, Assistant Commissioner, CGA Investigation Bureau. Before the meeting, Hong Kong Customs delegation had a discussion regarding future cooperation, Annual Review Meeting and APEC matters with Mr Liu Yulin, Assistant Commissioner, International Cooperation Department.
The 1st Liaison Officers' Meeting was held in an amicable and co-operative atmosphere. Both administrations had sincerely exchanged their views and identified measures to enhance co-operation in combating smuggling activities. At the end of the meeting, both administrations affirmed a series of strategies to combat smuggling between two places which included inter alia, the exchange of intelligence; the launching of parallel operations; and the speeding up of the feasibility study on sharing of import and export data to combat smuggling and evasion of tax. In the meeting with Mr Liu, both administrations discussed the arrangements relating to Annual Review Meeting and Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) action plans.
After the meeting, the Hong Kong Customs delegation visited Shanghai Customs College, Shanghai Customs Import / Export Declaration Centre and Pudong International Airport.
The Director of United States' National Drug Control Policy, General Barry McCaffrey, visited the Department on June 21, 2000.
During the one day stopover, General McCaffrey was briefed by senior officers of the Department on anti-narcotics work. He also viewed the Customs cargo examination facilities at Kwai Chung Container Terminals. After the tour of visit, he highly appreciated the HKSAR's efforts in combating local and global drug-related crimes and praised Hong Kong's lasting co-operation with US law enforcement agencies.
Last year, the US Government unveiled a list of 26 countries, including Hong Kong, deemed to be major drug producers and transit points. After
General McCaffrey's visit at Ship Search and Cargo Command, he had made the following comment to the press at the Kwai Chung Cargo Examination Compound, "After what I've seen here, I can strongly recommend to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that Hong Kong be removed from the global majors list".
Rear-Admiral Russ Shalders, the Director-General Coastwatch, Australian Customs Service, and Mr Chris Wall, Senior Australian Customs Representative, visited the Customs Marine Base at Stonecutters on August 21, 2000. They were met by Senior Superintendent Calvin Leung, Superintendent Chan Wing-shing and Assistant Superintendent Ng Yan-kwong
The objectives of the visit were to exchange experiences on maritime anti-smuggling work and enhance mutual understanding. During the tour of visit, Rear-Admiral Shalders introduced the new Australia Customs Intelligence System, which provides a centralised one-stop intelligence data base to assist all enforcement agencies working at sea. Senior Superintendent Calvin Leung briefed the visitors on the organisation and functions of the Marine Enforcement Division with foci on the Marine Base and new patrol launches.
The visitors toured around the Marine Base and viewed the new patrol launches. They were deeply impressed, in particular, by the design of the launches and the advanced infra-red thermal imager on board. In winding up the visit, Rear-Admiral Shalders expressed the hope that similar visits could be arranged in future to boost bilateral cooperation.
At the invitation of the Chinese History and Culture Educational Foundation for Youth, 40 members of the Department, including Service members and officers of the Trade Controls Branch, formed an exchange delegation to visit Beijing and Changsha, Hunan Province between June 26 and July 1, 2000. The delegation, led by Deputy Commissioner Li Wai-man and Superintendent Pang Lock-yuen, was the largest duty visit delegation ever in the history of Hong Kong Customs.
Our delegates first arrived in Beijing where we visited national heritage like the Great Wall and the Forbidden Palace. We also attended the National Flag Raising Ceremony at the Tiananmen Square and viewed the military performance demonstrated by the People's Liberation Army. Moreover, we had the honour of meeting the Vice-Premier, Mr Qian Qichen, at the Great Hall of the People.
We then proceeded to Changsha to carry on with our visit. We were exhilarated by the overwhelming welcome and warm hospitality of Hunan Provincial officials and Changsha Customs. Besides sightseeing, we also had the opportunity to participate in a seminar with our Customs counterparts. We talked about our duties and responsibilities, organisation structures and terms and conditions of employment. Quoted from the vote of thanks delivered by Deputy Commissioner , "There are no strangers among Customs." Although there were a lot of differences, we still felt a special bond between us.
Through the visit in Beijing and Changsha, our delegates were deeply impressed by the modernisation and well-developed transportation network of the two cities and the expansion wing of the International Airport in Beijing. It is also through this visit that we could understand more about the culture and history of the Mainland.
The launching of two new Customs patrol launches CE8 "Sea Reliance" and CE9 "Sea Fidelity" laid another milestone in the history of Customs fleet.
On July 19, 2000, Commissioner John C Tsang and his wife were invited to the ship building site in Huangpu, Guangdong to officiate at the launching ceremony. Among the participants were the mainland Customs officials, surveyors and professional mariners form the Marine Department, staff of ship builder and representatives of the Department.
The launches would soon be delivered to Hong Kong for interior furnishing and installation of electronic equipment. Other than advanced navigation and surveillance equipment like thermal imager, computerised intelligence system, electronic narcotics and explosive scanning device, the new launches will also be equipped with a professional davit which can launch inflatables during inclement weather within seconds. Indeed, this is the most advanced davit system used in Asia.
The new launches, together with new Marine Base at the Stonecutters, signify the beginning of a new and exciting era for the Customs fleet in anti-smuggling missions. We are confident that new launches and facilities will foster a more effective Customs control in the territorial waters.
The Director General of Royal Thai Customs, Mr Somchainuk Engtrakul, led a delegation to visit the Department on June 3, 2000.
During his visit, Mr Somchainuk Engtrakul, accompanied by the Commissioner and other senior officers, made a tour of the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau Head Office.
The highlight of the visit was the showing of a surveillance video depicting the whole course of smashing a mobile drug store in a carpark compound and the arrest of two heroin traffickers with the seizure of $4 million worth of heroin effected by customs drug investigators on the same day. Mr Somchainuk Engtrakul also viewed the drug exhibits of the case after the video show.
On June 19, 2000, Ship Search and Cargo Command held a Strategic Trade Control Seminar at the Lecture Theatre of Hospital Authority Building. The prime objective of the Seminar was to enhance the knowledge of the sea-freight industry on the licensing and enforcement control system of strategic commodities in Hong Kong. Senior Inspector Yuen Chi-kau of the Special Inspection Unit, Mr Cheung Sai-yan of the Trade Licensing Investigation Bureau and Miss Angela Liu from the Trade Department were invited as guest speakers.
The audience comprised 118 representatives from the sea-freight industry and container terminal operators. Through comprehensive presentations by the speakers, discussions, question and answer session, and refreshment gathering, participants were briefed on the legal framework, government policies, licensing system and enforcement strategies regulating the strategic trade. In order to fulfil Hong Kong's obligations in the control on strategic goods, it was very important for us to have an effective control system. To uphold the system, concerted efforts of government departments and members of the sea-freight industry were indispensable.
Starting from July 17, 2000, travellers may see a different type of Customs dogs, namely passive-alert dogs (PADs), working in the HK International Airport. At present, two PADs, "Holly" and "Barney", trained and procured from the UK, are serving in the Narcotics Dog Unit.
While PADs have been used for some years in many countries, our Narcotics Dog Unit is the first local law-enforcement canine team to employ PADs to screen travellers and small luggage at Customs checkpoints. Their effectiveness is beyond doubt. In a recent duty visit to the Tokyo Customs Canine Training Centre in Japan, I learnt that their canine teams effected a total of 15 drug cases in Narita Airport, with eight of them being uncovered by PADs.
By and large, PADs work in all areas leading from the aerobridges to the Customs counters, especially baggage reclaim areas and departure lounges in the airport.
By September 2000, it is expected that the Narcotics Dog Unit will acquire six more PADs, including four trained and procured from the UK and two jointly trained by the Hong Kong Police Dog Unit and our Narcotics Dog Unit. We sincerely hope that these PADs will make significant contributions to our anti-narcotics work.
"Namaste" is the first Nepalese word that every foreign learner should know. The word has a spectrum of meanings. It means "good morning", "good afternoon", "good evening", "hi", "hello" and even "good-bye".
It is just the start of the Nepalese Language and Cultural Sensitivity Training Course. This six-day training course was jointly organised by the Royal Nepalese Consulate General and the Department between June 28 and July 10. Twenty officers from Airport Command and Control Points Command participated in this course. Introduction to Nepalese language, basic expressions and job-related dialogues were the major topics. The three teachers from the Royal Nepalese Consulate General were extremely patient and enthusiastic in introducing Nepalese culture to us. Not only did we have the chance to see the common Nepalese native products, but also we could taste typical Nepalese snacks prepared by one of our Nepalese teachers.
During the course, all participants showed great interest in learning the rhythmic language. In return, our efforts were affirmed by our Nepalese teachers. That was what they used to say, " I am sure the Nepalese travellers will understand what you are saying." Undoubtedly, every participant had a good time in attending this course. I am confident that this course has achieved its goal in enhancing the cultural understanding and communication skills of our frontline officers which would in turn foster co-operation from the travellers.
I have an interesting question to share with you before ending this article: "Try to guess the length of cloth needed to make one set of female Nepalese national costume?"
The answer is n-i-n-e yards.
To effectively search for illicit fuel plants hidden in remote areas, an aerial reconnaissance was conducted on June 28, 2000 by a team of Diesel Oil Enforcement Division (DOED) officers led by Senior Superintendent Calvin Leung. The reconnaissance was conducted onboard an eight-seater fixed-wing airplane provided by the Government Flying Services (GFS). The airplane, equipped with video shooting device at its fuselage, was able to capture suspicious activities on selected sites.
After a short briefing at the GFS conference room, the officers boarded the airplane. The airplane flew in a clear sky, which was a must for a successful aerial reconnaissance. In order to detect suspicious sites, the officers had to exert concentration in viewing through the powerful telescopes and bear the jolt of a fast-moving airplane.
The airplane flew over a pre-planned routing around the territory. The aerial reconnaissance was fruitful and several suspicious sites were identified. Subsequent follow-up ground surveillance had led to the smashing of two oil detreating plants in Yuen Long and Ping Che, Fanling. In view of the fruitful result, aerial reconnaissance will continue to be employed for detecting the illicit plants.
Mr Albert Lau Kwing-yiu, retired Chief Trade Controls Officer, defeated some 450 players, aged over 60, from more than ten countries and clinched the winning title in the 10th World Veteran Table Tennis Championship held in Vancouver, Canada between May 22 and 27, 2000.
Mr Lau had worked in the Trade Controls Branch of the Department for 25 years before he retired and joined his family in Boston, USA at the end of 1994. He played a key role in promoting table tennis in the Department with stacks of trophies and medals. He won twice the US Open Table Tennis Championship for veterans, in 1996 and 1999.
Mr Walter Neil, former Superintendent, wrote to the Editor and expressed his kind appreciation on the Customs News. In his letter, Mr Neil also congratulated the Department for being elected as the Vice Chairman of the World Customs Organization for the Asia Pacific Region. Having attended the opening ceremony of the new Marine Base at the Stonecutters in March 2000, he was also deeply impressed by the modern facilities and equipment, which had captured his recollection on the Department's old berth "Shek Ma Tau" with Revenue Launches steered by Marine Department officers.
The Customs News Editorial Board records with deep regrets the deaths of Chief Trade Controls Officer Yu Chiu-yan, Acting Senior Inspector Ko Man-kit, former Senior Inspector Ma Hok-shing, former Senior Customs Officers Li Ka-siu and Ng Chi-chuen which occurred between May and August 2000.