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'including study on setting up of imports quarantine systems for high-risk seafood' covers the 'deep-water coral-reef fish' mentioned by Mr. CHUNG Shu-kun. Just now Mr. Li Wah-ming made it clear that as far as we understood, shellfish should be included. I hope that Mr. Wong Kwok-hing will clearly explain this in his summing-up speech. Please do not talk ambiguously.
I am sure that the general public or the people of Hong Kong attach particular importance to food safety. The reason why the Government too specially brought up the issue of food safety in the recent review of the reorganization of district bodies is exactly the inadequate control over food hygiene, which we raised in the past. If we proposed the setting up of a quarantine system merely for deep-water coral-reef fish today, it would be far from what the general public demands, which arise exactly because a number of problems concerning seafood emerged in the past year while the Council lacks a comprehensive quarantine system as the checking point.
I hope that members of the DAB will also give careful consideration to the wording of their motion when they move one. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. STANLEY NG Wing-fai (in Cantonese):—Just now Mr. Chung Shu-kun criticized Mr. Li Wah-ming. Maybe there is something which he does not understand too well.
I have noticed the problem of food test mentioned by the Democratic Party, particularly the problem of the 'sources' of fish, seafood or shellfish brought up by Mr. Ir Kwok-chung. There are several views I wish to raise in particular.
The core of the problem lies not so much in today's criticisms among the various political parties but the common view of the D of H and some departments of the Hong Kong Government that it is very difficult to implement a source registration system. As the fish caught from the sea might have come from anywhere, the idea of a source registration system had better be dispensed with. In fact, this would affect food safety as well as the business of big fish dealers. I therefore wish to draw your attention particularly to some facts I know.
Firstly, there are certain areas in the sea where coral-reef fish or shellfish live. They are not sharks or whales. They do not travel all over the world.
Secondly, as Mr. WONG Kwok-hing suggested, a rough area might be delineated for the registration system from the sales record and the record of the plate numbers of fishing boats, which might indicate broadly their areas of activities and catch.
Thirdly, some more advanced scientific methods may be used, such as the global positioning system. Members might have heard a few years back about its being used in monitoring vehicle thefts. It is even widely used by the mobile vehicles of the Hong Kong Telecom. A number of fishing boats or sea vessels has also installed the system. Through the satellites, the system provides and
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