On October 21, the State Council appointed Ho Ho As Director of Customs and Excise in accordance with the nomination and recommendation of Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with immediate effect. Ho became the first female customs officer of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department since its establishment in 1909 and the first female chief ever to be promoted from the Disciplined Force to the highest level.
On the same day, in addition to the background of He Peishan's swearing-in site for the first time, the background of the large national emblem appeared differently, and the focus of future work she revealed was also worthy of attention. She said that the future work has a long way to go and will lead the team to face various challenges, including working to maintain national security and preventing terrorist activities.
One of the key tasks she mentioned as an example is "combating lobster smuggling in Australia".
Since October last year, the export of Australian lobsters has been blocked due to quarantine procedures Chinese mainland. Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said that after investigation, some lawbreakers saw that it was profitable and chose to first airlift lobsters from Australia to Hong Kong for storage, and then find an opportunity to transport them to the mainland. Recently, the number of Australian lobster imports into Hong Kong has soared, and Hong Kong Customs has detected a number of cases of lobster smuggling.
Screenshot of the report of Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao
According to Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao, on the morning of October 21, under the oath of Carrie Lam, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ho Washi-shan was sworn in as customs and excise director, and she was honored to receive the appointment, especially thanking the central government and the chief executive for their trust. From the photos released by the Press Office of the Hong Kong SAR Government, it can be seen that during the oath taking by Ho, there was a large national emblem in the background, which was different from the past when officials took the oath.
According to the Information Department of the HKSAR Government, Ho joined the Customs and Excise Department as Customs Inspector in February 1991. She was promoted to Customs Supervisor in 2010, Senior Customs Supervisor in 2013, Assistant Customs Officer in 2017 and Deputy Customs Director in 2019.
After assuming the post of customs director, Ho Pei Shan was called the "first sister" of the customs by many Hong Kong media, and when she met with media reporters after taking office, she said that in the future, she will strive to maintain customs security in four major aspects, among which she will be committed to safeguarding national security and preventing terrorist activities. She described that customs is the first line of defense at border ports, an important checkpoint to cut off national security and local terrorism, and to obtain materials and equipment through foreign channels.
On October 21, Ho Washishan was sworn in at the scene pictured from the Information Office of the Hong Kong Government
It is worth noting that Ho also gave a special example of a recent frequent incident, that is, the problem of lobster smuggling in Australia, and said that this problem undermined trade restrictions.
For example, she said, Hong Kong and mainland customs have recently joined forces to crack down on lobster smuggling, which stemmed from the fact that in October last year, the mainland imposed strict inspection and quarantine measures on Australian lobster, and the export of this product was Chinese mainland blocked due to quarantine procedures, so it could not follow the formal route to enter the mainland market.
"It seems like an ordinary smuggling case, but these smuggling activities will undermine the trade restrictions imposed by the state on Australia." He Peishan said so.
According to the Hong Kong Government News Network, on October 15, the Hong Kong Customs held a press conference to report on several recently detected cases of lobster smuggling.
Recently, the number of Australian lobster imports into Hong Kong has soared, and after the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department has paid attention to the situation, it has set up a project team to strengthen intelligence exchanges with the law enforcement departments of the Mainland, and together with the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs, the Guangdong Coast Guard, the Shenzhen Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau and the Gongbei Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau, it has conducted in-depth analysis of intelligence and studied risks.
Smuggled lobster seized by Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department pictured from Hong Kong media
In July, mainland law enforcement uncovered a suspected case of smuggling lobsters at sea, seizing about 2,200 kilograms of Australian lobster, valued at about HK$1.7 million (about 1.406 million yuan), arresting seven people and seizing two fishing boats, Hong Kong Customs said.
In August and September, Hong Kong Customs detected two suspected cases of smuggling lobsters at sea in Hong Kong waters, seizing about 3,100 kilograms of Australian lobster, valued at about HK$2.5 million (about 2.069 million yuan), arresting six people, and seizing a fishing boat.
After investigation, it was found that some lobster importers in Hong Kong were suspected of deliberately overstating or underreporting Australian lobster imports. On October 12, Hong Kong Customs raided a number of suspected smugglers across hong Kong and found about 228 tons of undeclared Australian lobster with a market value of about HK$180 million (about 149 million yuan), and seven people were arrested.
In fact, as early as July this year, the Australian media also noticed that some lobster products were smuggled through Hong Kong to Chinese mainland despite trade restrictions.
According to Australian media outlet 9NEWS, a speedboat from Australia to Chinese mainland was intercepted by Hong Kong officials in May this year, which found Australian rock lobsters.
Screenshot of Australia's Ninth News report
"Most smuggled lobsters are Australian rock lobsters." A Hong Kong seafood trader said that although direct imports have been banned, mainland consumers have become accustomed to the taste of these lobsters, and the demand in the mainland market is still large.
The live smuggled lobsters were transported from Perth to Hong Kong and frozen before and en route, only to be thawed by fresh seawater after customs clearance. The incident also highlights that such Australian lobster products are entering the Chinese mainland market through "grey channels", i.e. unauthorized trade routes.
According to us media Bloomberg in October and June, Hong Kong has become the largest importer of Australian lobster since October last year, and as of April this year, the monthly trade volume has increased by more than 20 times.
In this regard, Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asian Trade Center in Singapore, said that during the epidemic, Hong Kong citizens have more opportunities to eat lobster at home, but the volume of lobster trade imported into Hong Kong has increased by 20 times in just half a year, which is "impossible"! At the time, he speculated that Hong Kong had become a "gray area" for Australian lobster smuggling in the mainland.
China is the largest export market for Australian lobster. Australian government figures show that in 2018-2019, the country's lobster exports totaled A$752 million ,534 million, of which about 94 percent was sold to China.
After exports to China were blocked, australian domestic lobster prices plummeted. Australian shrimp farmers bluntly said that the Chinese market is crucial to the Australian lobster industry, "which is the biggest industry crisis witnessed in 50 years".
On 21 October, Ho stressed that the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department will crack down on smuggling at sea in a multi-faceted manner, including cooperating with the Mainland law enforcement authorities to crack down at the source, and will also use the Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance to appropriately freeze and confiscate the proceeds of crime, while conducting interception operations at sea, and has established relevant hotlines with mainland law enforcement units.
She also revealed that in response to the COVID-19 epidemic and the increasingly serious situation of smuggling by sea, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department is examining whether there is room to amend the legislation to make law enforcement more effective.
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