ENG-2000 — Page 165

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

commits a criminal offence. This new legislation will come into effect on April 1, 2001.

After the commencement of the Prevention of Copyright Piracy Ordinance in August 1998, optical disc factories are required to apply for a licence from the Commissioner of Customs and Excise. The department maintains stringent control on all optical disc factories to prevent them from engaging in copyright piracy activities. As at the end of 2000, 83 licensed optical disc factories and 500 optical disc production lines were registered by the department.

A Special Task Force, comprising 185 Customs officers, was established in June 1999 to take action against illicit manufacturing and retailing of optical discs. Large- scale operations were carried out at 'black-spot' retail outlets and at licensed optical disc factories involved in piracy. Vigorous enforcement actions were also taken to eradicate underground factories.

During the year, seven unlicensed optical disc production lines worth $18.5 million and 8.39 million copies of pirated discs worth $156 million were seized, and 2 736 persons were arrested. In addition, counterfeit and falsely labelled goods valued at $42 million were seized and 493 persons were arrested.

An Anti-Internet Piracy Team, comprising seven officers, was formed in the department to tackle the Internet piracy problem. Commencing operation in 2000, the team detected six Internet piracy cases within the year resulting in total seizure of pirated goods and equipment valued at $170,900 and the arrest of 14 persons.

World Customs Organisation

The World Customs Organisation (WCO) aims at enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administrations and facilitating trade by achieving harmony and uniformity in customs procedures world-wide.

The Customs and Excise Department has been actively taking part in the work of the WCO. In July 2000, under the name of 'Hong Kong, China', the department was elected as a Vice-Chairman of the WCO representing the Asia Pacific Region for a term of one year.

As a Vice-Chairman of the WCO, the department works closely with the Chairman and members of its Policy Commission in formulating policies and strategies to achieve the missions of the organisation. The department also assumes responsibility for co-ordinating regional efforts in areas such as compliance and facilitation, customs co-operation, reform and modernisation, training and integrity development and communication. In collaboration with the WCO's member administrations in the region, the department has devised a Regional Strategic Plan (RSP) that steers customs activities in the Asia-Pacific region. The RSP will continue to be in force until June 2002.

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation

Since March 1993, the Customs and Excise Department has been participating in the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) and the Subcommittee on Customs Procedures (SCCP). The CTI co-ordinates the work of APEC in liberalising and facilitating trade and investment, and the SCCP works towards achieving harmonisation and simplification of customs procedures in the Asia-Pacific region. In

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