Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Hong Kong’s ‘national security priority’: stop cross-border lobster smuggling

Hong Kong’s ‘national security priority’: stop cross-border lobster smuggling

Decision comes after new customs chief Louise Ho says combating lobster smuggling into the mainland is ‘vital task in safeguarding national security’.

Hong Kong authorities have made it a national security priority to stop smugglers crossing the border with goods from countries which have frosty relations with mainland China, a government source has said.

This was revealed after the city’s first female customs chief, Louise Ho Pui-shan, explained why the smuggling of Australian lobsters into the mainland was a national security issue, given the frayed relations between the two countries.

However, the source did not say on Friday which countries were involved and the type of goods being targeted.

Hong Kong’s new customs chief Louise Ho.


“Smuggling of goods into the mainland through illegal channels affects the revenue of import tariffs imposed by mainland authorities,” he said, adding that where food products were concerned, they could pose health risks as they lacked certificates to ensure they were safe for consumption.

He said it was “our job to prevent and stop these goods from being smuggled into our country in order to safeguard national security”.

Relations between China and Australia hit their lowest point in decades after Canberra banned Huawei Technologies Co from its 5G network and later called for an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus. Since then Beijing has imposed import restrictions on Australian beef, barley, coal, cotton and wine, with the unofficial ban on lobster imports coming in October last year.

During Ho’s inaugural press briefing on Thursday, the new commissioner said she expected her officers would take the initiative to combat acts that could pose national security risks, citing the recent joint operation between Hong Kong customs and mainland authorities in the seizure of Australian lobsters.

She said Australia stopped exporting lobsters to the mainland in November. Criminals then took the opportunity to send the crustaceans from Australia into Hong Kong by airmail and used speedboats to smuggle them into the mainland.

“These smuggling activities will undermine the country’s trade restrictions on Australia,” Ho said.

“Combating lobster smuggling is a vital task in safeguarding national security. This is also our new national security role.”

Following the commissioner’s comment, Australia said it was seeking answers from the mainland on why its lobster exports had been blocked.

Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization is reviewing China’s trade practices, after Australia claimed they were inconsistent with WTO rules. Hong Kong is an independent member of the WTO.

Australia’s ambassador to the WTO said on Thursday its exports of a dozen commodities, including lobsters, had been affected by Beijing’s “trade disruptive measures”.

Australian lobster exports to the mainland, previously worth US$527 million a year, had been “significantly impacted following the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) notification on 5 November 2020 they would be subjected to enhanced inspection”, a spokesman for Australian trade minister Dan Tehan said on Friday.

“The Australian government continues to seek further information from GACC on this matter.”

Asked to respond to Ho’s comment, he said: “The trade in Australian rock lobster to Hong Kong fully complies with importing country requirements”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×