It’s hard to believe, but apparently fears of imminent societal collapse may have influenced the nutjobs that perpetrated both the Newtown, Connecticut gun-o-rama as well as the slashing spree in Henan. No, really. Well, actually we still do not know a lot of the details about the folks responsible for these tragedies. However, the mother […]

One year ago, the last time the U.S. Trade Representative’s office issued its Notorious Markets List, I wrote that China’s’ search engine giant Baidu had cleaned up its act so much in terms of intellectual property infringement that it was removed from the list entirely. This was no surprise as we have seen a visible […]

Customs officers have arrested two drivers in three anti-smuggling operations, and seized electronic products worth $5.76 million.

At about 6.30pm yesterday, officers found several men unloading goods from a trolley onto a wooden vessel at the shoreline near Deep Bay Road, Lau Fau Shan. The officers intervened and the suspects fled.

The officers seized 30 boxes of goods containing 420 tablet computers, 240 smartphones, 154 digital cameras, and 84 camera lenses.

Another two smuggling cases were intercepted at Lok Ma Chau Control Point at about 7pm and 8.30pm. A total of 303 smartphones and two lorries were seized, worth about $2.09 million in total.

Acting on information, customs officers intercepted the two outbound lorries and the phones were found hidden under the truck's chassis. The drivers were arrested for attempting to export unmanifested cargo.

Commissioner of Customs & Excise Clement Cheung signed a deal today to boost ties with Korean authorities.

Attending the 30th Customs Co-operation Conference in Seoul, he signed the agreed minutes for closer co-operation with the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service Joo Yung-sup.

"The conference is a very successful one for the two administrations to exchange constructive ideas and initiatives. With the long-standing co-operation between the two administrations, Hong Kong Customs will further take proactive initiatives to foster a closer and more strategic partnership with the Korean Customs to meet forthcoming challenges," Mr Cheung said.

The two sides also signed an Authorised Economic Operator Mutual Recognition Arrangement Action Plan. The arrangement will provide clearance facilitation to traders at an international level.

Mr Cheung will return to Hong Kong on December 19.