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The Bill, in localising these enactments, will:
prohibit whaling in the waters of Hong Kong;
prohibit unlicensed use of any ship or aircraft registered in Hong Kong for whaling outside the waters of Hong Kong;
protect certain types of whales from whaling activities and prohibit unlicensed taking of other types of whales; and
prohibit unlicensed use of any factory situated in Hong Kong for treating of whales.
A spokesman for the Economic Services Branch said there were no whaling activities in Hong Kong waters and there had been no applications under the existing legislation for licences to operate whaling ships or factories.
"It is good for Hong Kong's environmental credentials that it should remain associated with long-standing international controls over whaling," the spokesman said, adding that the localisation proposals had been agreed in the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group.
End
Consultation guidelines closely followed in health project
All the departments involved in the construction of the Kowloon Bay Primary Health Care Centre and Nursing Home for the Elderly have followed closely the established government guidelines for public consultation.
This was stated by a spokesman for the Health and Welfare Branch in response to the findings of an investigation by the Office of the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints (COMAC) into a complaint regarding insufficient consultation on the project.
In its report published today (Friday), COMAC concluded that the complaint was substantiated.