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Following is the year-end statement for 2001, by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Raymond Wong Hung-chiu, at today's (February 1) press conference:

The Customs and Excise Department made significant achievements on various fronts in the past year, viz. in our boundary enforcement role, in our role in trade facilitation, in the areas of co-operation with other Customs administrations and in the development of our internal organisation. To meet proactively the demands in association with our dual role as an enforcement agency and a trade facilitator without compromising the integrity of our control system, we have ventured to further promote the use of intelligence and risk management in our operations with the back-up of extensive application of information technology (IT). The year of 2002 will surely be another aspiring year for us to continue to pursue the intelligence-led operational mode across the Department with a view to increasing our effectiveness of contraband detection and enhancing trade facilitation so as to quicken cargo/passenger movement. The following is an account of our achievements in 2001, which includes four major areas - Achievements In Enforcement, Advancements On Trade Facilitation, Progress In Customs Co-operation, and Development In Internal Organisation.

A. ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENFORCEMENT

(1) Revenue Protection

2. On revenue protection, duties collected in 2001 were $6,942.6 million, a decrease of 5.5 per cent against $7,348.6 million in 2000. It was mainly attributed to the lowering of duty rate for light diesel oil with ultra low sulphur content and the increased use of duty-exempt LPG as fuel by taxis. The number of LPG taxis increased from 4 225 in 2000 to 14 129 in 2001.

(a) Fight against Illicit Fuel

3. There was a drastic drop in seizure of hydrocarbon oil from 4.5 million litres in 1 443 cases in 2000 to 1.6 million litres in 926 cases in 2001, mainly due to the reduction in illicit diesel oil activities in the territory. Smuggled diesel oil seizures were 0.9 million litres in 310 cases in 2001. Of the seizures, 0.7 million litres were for export to the Mainland while the remaining 0.2 million litres were for local market. The trend of smuggling diesel oil from the Mainland to Hong Kong has declined as a result of the legislative amendment on statutory limit of the sulphur content of light diesel oil. The factors accounting for the drop in seizures include:-

(i) continuous vigorous enforcement actions taken by the Department;

(ii) deterrent effect of the following legislative amendments introduced in July 2000 and February 2001:-

-disqualification of driving licence for repeated offender;

-increase of maximum penalty;

-presumption of diesel oil sulphur content in excess of 0.035 per cent by weight as dutiable goods; and

(iii) publicity and education to the public on the consequences of using and dealing in illicit fuel through the mass media.

4. As for illicit motor spirit, 231 214 litres were seized in 351 cases in 2001 denoting a 24.8 per cent increase comparing with 185 217 litres seized in 319 cases in 2000.

5. The concerted inter-departmental efforts have greatly contained the problem of illegal filling stations in the territory. Illicit motor spirit is highly flammable which poses fire hazard to residents nearby especially in residential area. It is a matter of serious concern and we will spare no effort in clamping down the illicit trade. In 2001, the Department smashed 487 illegal filling stations. The number of black spots for illicit fuel activities dropped drastically from around 110 in 2000 to about 35 in December 2001.

6. In 2001, users of illicit fuel were fined in the range of $500-$5,000, operators were fined in the range of $3,000-$30,000 and imprisoned from one day to eight months, whereas smugglers were imprisoned from four to six months. Totally, there were three cases of disqualification of driving licence from four to six months involving repeated offenders.

(2) Fight against Illicit Cigarettes

7. Turning to cigarettes, the Anti-Illicit-Cigarette Task Force (AICTF) continues with vigorous enforcement actions against illicit cigarettes. The Department seized in total 340 million sticks of cigarettes in 2001. Notwithstanding a drop of 3.8 per cent in the number of cases effected in 2001 as compared to 18 373 cases in 2000, the quantity seized is 153 per cent higher when compared to the seizure of 134 million sticks of cigarettes recorded in 2000. In 2001, buyers were fined in the range of $100 to $2,000, whereas peddlers were fined in the range of $2,000 to $10,000 and imprisoned from two to 12 months.

8. The vigorous enforcement action and repeated seizures made by the Department have achieved major results. On sale and purchase of illicit cigarettes, the average number of persons arrested per month in 2001 had increased by 31.5 per cent over that in 2000. Street sales are also declining. The number of black spots for sale of illicit cigarettes declined from about 100 in early 2000 to about 20 in recent months. Retail prices of illicit cigarettes in the black market have also increased from an average of $90 per package of 200 sticks in early 2000 to $110 in recent months. The latest black market price of popular brands has increased from $120 to $150 per package of 200 sticks. These changes reflect that the Department's action has reduced the supply and quantity of illicit cigarettes.

(2) Anti-narcotics

9. In 2001, the Department arrested 835 drug offenders, an increase of 3.7 per cent when compared with 2000. Among the arrested persons, 101 were involved in major drug offences. A total of 22 manufacturing, attenuating and distribution centres were smashed. The number of drug offenders aged under 21 decreased by 47 per cent to 44. Most of the offences committed by the young offenders were on possession of psychotropic drugs. During the year, officers seized 46.3 kg of heroin, 48.5 kg of ketamine, 23 663 tablets and 9.6 kilograms of MDMA (ecstasy), 189.7 kilograms of cannabis, 25.6 kilograms of methamphetamine (ice), 24.6 kilograms of cocaine, and 36 275 tablets of other psychotropic drugs.

10. Heroin remains the predominant drug of abuse in Hong Kong. MDMA (ecstasy) was the second most widely abused drug in the territory in early 2001 but it has recently been replaced by ketamine. The majority of the methamphetamine (ice) seized in Hong Kong was for local consumption, though some were for re-export to other Southeast Asian countries due to the keen demand and high profit margin there.

(3) Anti-piracy

11. With its enormous success on the anti-piracy front, the Special Task Force (STF), comprising 147 members, has been turned into a permanent establishment since June 2001. The STF has not only suppressed the retail activities of pirated discs but also served as a mobile brigade in giving flexible strategic support to other formations to reinforce enforcement in other high risk areas when necessary. In 2001, the Department detected 12 301 copyright cases, arrested 1 684 persons and seized about 8.95 million pirated discs with a total value amounting to $180 million.

12. In 2001, we noticed the emerging trend of the involvement of more young persons, being lured by copyright piracy syndicates, in street-level peddling of pirated optical discs. To combat the problem, we must promote greater awareness amongst the young people by:-

(i) delivering talks to students and youngsters in school programmes or community events about the importance of respect for copyright, and the consequence of committing copyright offences; and

(ii) launching media publicity to draw the attention of youngsters, parents and school teachers to the seriousness of copyright offences, and in particular appeal to the young people to stay away from the piracy trade.

We are also working in collaboration with the Social Welfare Department to try to establish a referral system whereby juvenile offenders caught in piracy cases will be provided with necessary assistance and counselling services.

13. At the manufacturing level, our sustained efforts against copyright piracy syndicates have driven the underground large-scale production out of Hong Kong. In 2001, the modus operandi of pirated optical disc production rapidly changed to smaller scale replication in workshops that were housed in domestic flats. The copyright pirates have now switched to using computers and CD-R Writers to make pirated optical discs. Nevertheless, we successfully smashed 44 small production facilities of this kind with seizures of 1 473 CD-R Writers at a total value of $3.89 million in 2001.

14. On April 1, 2001, the Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000 came into operation, which brought about legislative amendments to help prevent copyright piracy. These amendments included measures to combat bootlegging of movies and corporate use of infringing copyright works. The amended ordinance makes it clear that anyone who knowingly possesses an infringing copy of computer software, movie, television drama or music recording for the purpose of, or in the course of, trade or business will commit a criminal offence. Since its implementation, we detected seven corporate piracy cases in 2001 involving seven companies using infringing software in their business. Eleven persons were arrested and computer equipment worth over $147,960 were seized.

(4) Anti-counterfeiting

15. While maintaining a high profile against copyright piracy, we have accorded equal stringent enforcement actions against trademark counterfeiting. In 2001, we detected 977 cases involving offences under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance. Total seizures amounted to 51.1 million pieces of counterfeit goods at a total value of around $214 million.

(5) Anti-smuggling

(a) Fight against Alien Smuggling

16. Enforcement activities against human smuggling continue to be high on our agenda. In addition to maintaining close working relationship with the Police and the Immigration Department, we continue to enhance cooperation with the local shipping industry. Five seminars were conducted last year to upkeep their vigilance and encourage referrals of questionable shipments and doubtful clients to the local law enforcement agencies.

(b) Fight against Goods Smuggling

17. Smuggling of general merchandise between Hong Kong and the Mainland is still a matter of serious concern for both sides. Common items smuggled to the Mainland included vehicles, vehicle parts, vegetable oil, marked oil, telecommunication equipment, electrical appliances and computer accessories. Conversely, cigarettes and meat remained the popular items smuggled from the Mainland into Hong Kong. Price differential is the main reason underlying the problem.

18. Enforcement results in 2001 were very encouraging in terms of the value of goods seized. The total value of seizures was over $507 million which represented an increase of 100 per cent when compared to $253 million recorded in the previous year.

19. To further suppress smuggling activities, we have taken the following measures:-

(i) setting up a Control Points Investigation Division (CPID) of 34 officers in February 2001 to strengthen the Department's enforcement capabilities through proactive intelligence collection and investigation;

(ii) creation of the Cargo Research and Analysis Units under the Control Points Command, the Ship Search and Cargo Command and the Airport Command in March 2001 to reinforce intelligence analysis work at the operational level; and

(iii) enhancing co-operation and intelligence exchange with the Mainland Customs in curtailing smuggling activities.

20. To further facilitate our detection of anti-smuggling activities on all fronts, we have arranged the procurement of various equipment as listed below.

(i) Carbon Dioxide Detector

21. Twenty-two additional units of carbon dioxide detectors were procured in March 2001 for use by field officers to enhance their detection capability against human cargo smuggling activities. The Department is currently equipped with a total of 27 units of this kind of detector.

(ii) Mobile X-ray Vehicle Scanning System

22. Two sets of mobile X-ray vehicle scanning system were procured at $67.93 million, which were put in use in August 2001 at the land boundary control points and the Kwai Chung Container Terminal respectively. Between August and December 2001, they assisted in the successful seizures of $72.49 million worth of contraband and the arrest of 14 persons. We have planned to acquire two more sets to enhance our operations.

(iii) Fixed X-ray Vehicle Inspection System

23. The contract for the installation of two sets of fixed X-ray vehicle inspection system at Lok Ma Chau Control Point at a cost of $113.8 million was awarded. The construction of the fixed x-ray building commenced in February 2001 and the installation work will start in April 2002. It is estimated that the system may commence operation by January 2003. Each system is able to process 288 vehicles per day. On average, it will take 15 minutes to process one fully loaded 40-foot container without offloading and unpacking the cargo inside manually.

(iv) Speedboats

24. Four high-speed pursuit crafts, at a maximum speed of 50 knots with each costing about $8 million, will be acquired for enhancing the capability of our Customs fleet in intercepting high speed vessels engaged in smuggling activities across the boundary. They are expected to be put into operation, in two phases, at the end of 2002 and the first quarter of 2003 respectively.

(6) Anti-illegal Textile Transshipment

25. The re-organisation of our Trade Controls Branch in April 2001 has greatly enhanced our enforcement capability in the fight against illegal textile transshipment. We conducted more real time production notification checks on textiles exports, and additional manpower resources were re-deployed to blitz check operations which were proven effective in stopping illegal transhipment activities. We examined 28 997 textiles consignments during 1 074 blitz checks and detected 315 cases of illegal textiles transhipment with seizures worth $54.45 million.

26. On factory-based enforcement activities, we conducted 38 405 consignment checks, 2 685 consignment and factory inspections and 446 audit checks.

27. Altogether 335 manufacturers and exporters were prosecuted for offences relating to illegal transshipment of textiles and clothing, and offending goods valued at around $150 million were seized.

(7) Consumer Protection

28. Our role in consumer protection is to ensure that toys, children's products and consumer goods supplied on the market are reasonably safe; gold and platinum contents on jewellery are correctly marked, and goods sold to the consumers are of the weights and measures they pay for.

29. We prosecuted two persons and 15 companies for trading in toys and children's products which did not meet the prescribed safety standards or specifications. Products involved included latex balloons, battery-operated drawing boards, children's cots, bunk beds and baby walking frames. Seven persons and 13 companies were prosecuted for trading in unsafe consumer goods which included pillows, condoms, baby carriers, children's metal folding chairs and household chemicals. Besides, three persons and 12 companies were prosecuted for failing to comply with the Gold and Platinum Marking Orders and 66 persons and one company for selling goods short of purported weight or using defective or inaccurate weighing equipment in trade.

(8) Strategic Trade Control

30. To maintain a free flow of strategic commodities for legitimate commercial and research use while at the same time to prevent Hong Kong from being used as a conduit for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, monitoring and controlling of the import and export of strategic commodities have always been kept up. We examined 120 326 packages of imported and exported cargo, conducted 3 652 licensing checks and carried out 184 investigations. Altogether 37 persons/companies were prosecuted, resulting in total fines of $1.25 million. Strategic commodities worth $440,000, including CD-ROM kits, PC cards, processors and sodium fluoride, were seized.

B. ADVANCEMENT ON TRADE FACILITATION

31. With a view to enhancing traffic flow and achieving faster cross-boundary Customs clearance to further increase facilitation, the Department has initiated a number of measures as depicted below.

(1) Automatic Vehicle Recognition System (AVRS)

32. Aiming at shortening the Customs clearance time of cross-boundary vehicles, we have planned to install 42 sets of AVRS at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok Control Points. The system will automatically capture vehicle registration numbers of cross-boundary goods as they move to strategic points at the boundary, which will then transfer the data to the computerised Land Boundary System. The use of the AVRS should increase the accuracy and speed of input of vehicle registration numbers, enhancing further our capacity for vehicle processing. It is expected that installation work will commence in September 2002 and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2003.

(2) "One-Stop-Clearance" for Immigration and Customs

33. To increase vehicle clearance capacity without expanding the land boundary control points, the "One-Stop-Clearance" arrangement was introduced under which an Immigration and a Customs officer jointly man a clearance kiosk so that a boundary-crossing vehicle stops only once for both immigration and customs clearance. The ultimate goal is to increase vehicle flow by reducing clearance time.

34. The "One-Stop-Clearance" arrangement has been put on trial at Lok Ma Chau Control Point since October 1, 2001. Two southbound lanes, each with two kiosks manned jointly by Customs and Immigration officers, were designated for the trial. So far, an increase of 13.1 per cent to 17.7 per cent in the flow of the two lanes was recorded in the first three months of the trial.

(3) Electronic Data Interchange - Road Manifest (ROMAN)

35. To cope with the increasing growth of land freight transport, the existing mode of manually processing road manifests at the land boundary has to be reviewed. As a result, a feasibility study commenced in April 2001 on EDI processing of road manifests through the ROMAN system. It is expected that ROMAN will provide an opportunity for electronic submission of cargo manifests by truckers, a step forward to the full automation of cargo clearance for all modes of transport. The study is scheduled for completion by March 2002.

36. The Department has made significant steps in trade facilitation in areas other than the road mode transport. A summary is provided below.

(1) Intermodal Transshipment Service

37. To facilitate intermodal transshipment of consignments via Hong Kong, special arrangements were made to allow transshipment cargo to be cleared once either at the import or export control point. This arrangement was first implemented for northbound air-land transshipment cargo in August 2000. Once cleared, cargo will be loaded on designated trucks under company seals and transported to Lok Ma Chau Control Point without the need for further physical clearance.

38. With the Marine Cargo Terminal (MCT) commencing its operation in April 2001, intermodal transshipment service was extended to sea cargo imported at MCT for outbound transshipment via air, or vice versa.

(2) Electronic Data Interchange - Manifest (EMAN)

39. To step up facilitation for the trading community, we joined with the Trade and Industry Department and the Census and Statistics Department to embark on developing the EMAN system. The system will provide a one-stop channel for submission of manifests in respect of cargo transported by rail, ocean/river and air, which will then disseminate the manifest data received to different government departments for various purposes. The first phase of EMAN which focuses on building an infrastructure for receiving cargo manifests electronically will roll out in April 2002 while the second phase will work on the integration of backend systems. The whole system is expected to complete by 2004.

(3) Electronic Data Interchange - Dutiable Commodities Permit (EDI-DCP)

40. Traders importing or exporting dutiable commodities, which include alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl-alcohol, need to apply for a Dutiable Commodities Permit (DCP). With a view to providing greater convenience to these traders in doing business, thereby enhancing their capability to meet business demand, the EDI-DCP system was developed in 2001 to facilitate the application and processing of DCPs electronically. With the aid of EDI-DCP, traders no longer need to submit their applications in person at our offices, and the processing time for a permit is shortened from two working days in the past to half a working day. Following the completion of all testing, the system rolled out successfully on January 10, 2002. To allow the industry to adapt to the change, a six-month transitional period allowing both paper and EDI applications has been put in place. All applications for DCPs shall be submitted using EDI services with effect from July 21, 2002.

(4) Open Bond System

41. The pilot scheme of Open Bond System was implemented at five selected warehouses from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2001. During the period, Customs officers originally stationed at these warehouses to supervise the movement of dutiable goods were withdrawn. Customs control was instead exercised through documentary verification, random checking and post-transaction auditing. The performance of the pilot scheme was encouraging with supportive feedback from the warehouse operators. We intend to implement the new system in June 2002 after the necessary legislative amendments are in place. The new system should bring significant benefits to the industry, including minimising Customs intervention in their commercial activities, facilitation of the vast majority of low risk transaction, improving trade facilitation, speedier clearance of cargo and reduced compliance costs.

(5) One-Stop Advisory Centre for Cargo Clearance Matters

42. To provide a more efficient and user-friendly advisory service on cargo clearance matters, the Department established in our existing home page a One-Stop Advisory Centre for Cargo Clearance Matters, which was officially launched on 31 December 2001.

43. The web site (http://www.info.gov.hk/customs/cargo /home.html) contains information on import and export declaration, cargo clearance procedures, types of prohibited articles, requirements in application of licences/permits, temporary imports and exports of goods under ATA Carnets, downloadable forms, frequently asked questions and hyper linkages to the concerned departments. At present, the web site has linked up to 10 departments to provide up-to-date information to traders on import and export of goods into and out of Hong Kong.

C. PROGRESS IN CUSTOMS CO-OPERATION

44. In 2001, Hong Kong Customs continued to play a very active part in the World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia Pacific Region. After serving a one-year term as the WCO Vice-chairman for the Asia Pacific Region, we were re-elected in June 2001 for a second term until June 2002.

45. During the year, we hosted two successful regional seminars, one on express consignment clearance and the other on intellectual property rights enforcement, with active participation of regional members and the related industries. In April 2002, a WCO Regional Conference of Heads of Administrations for the Asia Pacific Region will be held in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Customs, as the Vice-chairman for the Region, will be hosting the Conference. Heads of 26 regional members will be invited to participate in the Conference to review the regional work undertaken in the past two years and to map out the strategic directions of future endeavours for the Region. To foster Customs cooperation in the Region, a Regional Co-operative Arrangement will be signed at the Conference.

46. Apart from co-operating with other local law enforcement agencies, we also work very closely with the Mainland and other overseas Customs administrations and law enforcement agencies to suppress and detect transnational crimes. Proactive intelligence exchange has produced excellent results. The significant cases are as follows:-

In Hong Kong

(i) The seizure of 30 kg of heroin concealed inside a containerized shipment of 1 350 boxes of fresh durian, which was intended for Taiwan from Bangkok while in transit via Hong Kong.

(ii) The seizure of 45 kg of ketamine from two express mail parcels from the Mainland to Cambodia via Hong Kong.

(iii) The seizure of 26 million sticks of cigarettes (totalling a value of $29 million and duty potential of $21 million).

In the Mainland

(i) The arrest of three foreigners conspiring to smuggle five kilograms of "ice" into Hong Kong and the subsequent prosecution taken against them in the Mainland with documentary evidence provided by the Department.

(ii) The seizure of RMB$5.4 million worth of vehicles, dismantled vehicles and vehicle parts.

In Other Overseas Countries

(i) The seizure of 59 kg of heroin from a containerised consignment in New York and the arrest of six persons, including the masterminds of the shipment, in Thailand.

(ii) The seizure of six container-loads (totalling 56 million sticks) of cigarettes in Cambodia, Indonesia, Germany, Spain, South Africa and Panama.

D. DEVELOPMENT IN INTERNAL ORGANISATION

(1) Enhanced Productivity Programme (EPP)

47. Under the EPP, the Department will deliver a saving of $92.8 million over three years from 2000-01 to 2002-03, equivalent to five per cent of our baseline operating expenditure, through the deletion of 286 posts and reduction of $10.6 million in general departmental expenses.

48. Apart from meeting the target saving, the Department has also achieved productivity gains through cost-effective manpower deployment, streamlining of work procedures and re-engineering of the delivery of services, re-organisation and re-distribution of duties, office automation and use of enhanced IT, and wider application of the intelligence-based mode of operation.

(2) Code on Conduct and Discipline

49. Following a review of the Code, we distributed in February 2001 the second edition of the Code to all our staff members, including non-civil service contract staff, for reference and compliance. We also updated the video on the Code and placed copies at the Department's self-learning centres for viewing by our staff. To further promote and sustain an ethical environment in the Department, an Integrity Steering Committee, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, was set up in 2001 and will meet regularly to develop and monitor the departmental Integrity Action Plan.

50. In addition, we shall continue to strengthen the working partnership and cooperation with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on the formulation of the departmental corruption prevention strategies. Apart from our regular meetings with the Corruption Prevention Department and the Operations Department of ICAC with a view to identifying and eliminating corruption opportunities, interactive workshops, which serve as a forum for mid-level supervisors of both departments to exchange operational experience and knowledge, will be held regularly. The first workshop was held in January 2002.

(3) Information System Strategic Study (ISSS)

51. It is fully recognised that information is a vital resource, and the proper and effective use of IT can be a crucial factor for improving the overall efficiency, effectiveness and economy of a department. Under this concept, the Department commenced the conduct of ISSS in December 2001. The study aims to assess the current IT infrastructure and requirements of the Department in light of the latest trend of technologies, identify the Department's long-term potential for IT development with regard to its business and operational strategies, and recommend a departmental IT strategic plan covering development and implementation over the next five years. We believe that the approach of strategically linking the Department's IT needs to the business direction will result in improved service to the public. It will also result in on-going productivity gains to help the Department to better re-deploy its resources to meet changing priorities and new challenges. The study is expected to complete by the third quarter of 2002.

(4) Organisation (Root and Branch) Review

52. In the year, we drew up an implementation plan to take forward all the 73 recommendations arising from the review, after having gone through an intensive internal communication and staff consultation process. In brief, the recommendations seek to appropriately refocus the Department's activities through business process re-engineering, flexibly re-deploy staffing resources and strategically improve core functions in the areas of intelligence handling, IT development and human resources management. Thirty-eight of these 73 recommendations are placed under high priority for implementation. Amongst all, they included the setting up of the new Office of Service Administration (OSA) and Office of Training and Development (OTD) in June 2001. The new OTD has been set up with a view to maximising our training resources to enhance the training and development functions of the Department while the new OSA has been tasked the focussed role of mapping the career development strategy of service members for succession planning.

(5) Training

53. Recognising staff as the greatest asset of the organisation and the driving force for improvement, the Department attaches great importance to training. The newly established OTD undertakes to devise training and development plans and activities in achieving the Department's missions and goals as well as inculcating a continuous learning culture for building a professional Customs with integrity. We expect that the provision of proper and sufficient training will not only help our officers perform their duties in their present posts more competently and confidently, but will also groom and better prepare them for changes and greater responsibilities at higher ranks.

54. During the year, the Department continues to run a variety of basic, technical and specialist courses for our officers. Overseas training opportunities have also been provided to enable officers to gain wider exposure and sustain personal growth. In addition, we have set up 11 self-learning centres at various locations to promote the continuous self-learning culture within the Department.

E. CONCLUSION

55. I have been in post as Commissioner for six months since July 2001, during which I visited various formations and took the initiative to have a better understanding of the work of my frontline officers. In the familiarisation process, I felt by heart the dedication and professionalism of every member of my staff, without whom it had not been possible for all our achievements in the past year. Through our concerted efforts, we have achieved great strides in our control and enforcement role, our trade facilitation commitment, as well as our international profile. Internally, we have strengthened our organisation structure and striven for the best value-for-money in the provision of services.

56. Looking ahead, with the recent advocacy of developing Hong Kong into an international and regional transportation and logistics hub, the Department would have to take an active role in complementing the work for enhancing the logistics trade in Hong Kong, in addition to our continuous commitments as an enforcement agency. We will continue to take all necessary measures to facilitate the flow of logistics by way of improving facilities at the control points, simplifying rules and procedures for cargo clearance, developing relevant IT projects, maintaining close liaison with our Mainland counterparts and entering into partnership with the industry. We will continue to work hard to review and look for initiatives to fulfill our dual role as the gate-keeper and trade facilitator.

End/Friday, February 1, 2002

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