A South Korean man was jailed for two years on Monday after he left a boarding pass in a toilet at Hong Kong International Airport to enable a mainland Chinese man to illegally enter Australia seven years ago. Image | SCMP What’s Going On? Self-professed businessman Lee Joon-ho, 50, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to obtain services by deception and one count of making a false representation to an immigration officer. He was sentenced and jailed in Hong Kong after appearing in the District Court on Monday. Lee was arrested when he arrived at the airport last November and admitted that in December 2011, he acquired a boarding pass to Sydney with his real passport and purported to depart for Australia on Qantas Airways to an immigration officer at clearance. Once in the airport’s restricted area, Lee left the boarding pass inside a toilet stall for the Chinese national, who entered the area using his real passport and a ticket to a mainland city, to pick up. Image | SCMP Lee told investigators he was following an intermediary’s instructions and would receive a flight ticket to Shanghai, according to Ng Chi-hong, chief immigration officer at the Anti-Illegal Migration Agency. The mainland man who picked up Lee’s pass was stopped and arrested by immigration officers when he attempted to board the plane with a fake passport, which had Lee’s identity information. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail in January 2012 for making a false representation and using a forged travel document. Procuring Boarding Passes? No Way! The mainland man said he paid a total of 120,000 yuan (US$17,500) to illegally enter Australia to look for a job. Lee was identified as the facilitator by investigators following up on the case but was only arrested six years later because “we didn’t have enough evidence to prove he provided his boarding pass for someone else”. Image | SCMP “This is an individual case and we don’t think it was syndicated criminal activity” . Little more than a month ago, a Frenchman was sentenced to 30 months in jail for procuring boarding passes and transferring them to other travellers for cash and free flights. Hong Kong is an international transport hub, outlaws might make use of this for criminal activities. Since then, the Anti-Illegal Migration Agency, founded in 2004, conducts daily patrols in the airport and collaborates with foreign immigration authorities as well as diplomatic missions in the city to fight illegal immigration with forged travel documents and the illegal transfer of Hong Kong passports.
Category Archives: 新闻资讯
China Exempts Foreign Interests Gains In Local Bonds Investment!
According to the report of China Knowledge, during the State Council Meeting presided by Premier Li Keqiang on Aug 31, 2018 , the cabinet has announced its plans to exempt interest gains on onshore bond by foreign institutions from corporate income tax and value-added tax in coming three years. © Image | China Knowledge Open up bond market and increased foreign investment Amidst trade disputes with the U.S.,the Chinese government is putting in greater effort to open up its bond market and increased foreign investment, in an attempt to boost its financial market. Onshore bonds To date China’s total onshore bond market has reached almost USD 12 trillion, and foreign buying is on strong momentum since several schemes were introduced by the Chinese government to allow foreign participation. The China Hong Kong Bond Connect introduced last year is new channel for foreign institutional investors to buy into onshore bonds which average USD 1 billion a day. © Image | Google
Safe to Use Didi Hitchhiking Service In China? Do You Think So?
Today’s Topic Is it safe to use Didi hitchhiking service in China? Recently, the Didi passenger murder incident keeps simmering and sparks wide public rage on the safety of the car-hailing service and the platform. You may have heard that, after a flight attendant was killed in the Didi hitchhiking for only 110 days, another similar incident occurred. On August 24, a 20-year-old girl from Yueqing City, Wenzhou, was raped, killed and forced to transfer 9,000 yuan to the suspect’s account through WeChat before the murder. In addition to the apology statement, Didi also halts its “hitch” ride services across China starting Monday. Image | Weibo How does Uber handle this problem? A few years ago, Uber launched its own hitchhiking business, Uber Pool. Many Americans associated this business with hunting women, and even called it “New Tinder”. Image | Google Like the Didi, incidents of Uber drivers harassing or harming passengers have also been reported. In the past four years, at least 121 Uber drivers have been accused in the United States, including 103 Uber drivers and 18 Lyft drivers. They are suspected of having rape, forcibly touching, and kidnapping. In this regard, Uber’s changes are To check the drivers’ background and hire third-party companies to closely monitor. If a driver is charged with a crime, Uber will be notified immediately. Since early July, Uber began to test the system and so far, 25 drivers have been disqualified. To add an emergency button in the Uber app that allows passengers to call the police in an emergency. Once the call is connected, the passengers do not need to tell their address and Uber will automatically locate the GPS, passenger information, vehicle appearance, license plate and etc. The plate number will be automatically shared to the police dispatcher in real time. At the same time, it is convenient for passengers to share their locations with friends or family members. After the driver is complained for the first time, Uber customer service can block his/her account for at least 7 days. If the passengers encounter danger and their family members want the driver’s information (such as license plates, real photos, etc.), they only need to report the passenger’s personal information such as the ID number proves that you are the passenger’s family.
Good News! To Enjoy Entry & Exit Services on WeChat!
110 online e-government services were officially lunched on “Yueshengshi” (a mini program within WeChat) at a press conference held by the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department on August 29th, including a service platform for expats living in Guangdong. 110 online e-government services were lunched on August 29th. (Photo: Soutcn.com) “Since May this year, more than 5 million people have enjoyed the services provided by ‘Yueshengshi’, including entry & exit, traffic management and more,” said Sun Taiping, Deputy Director General of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. “It is expected that once 110 services are launched, people can save themselves the trouble of filling in 1180 information and submitting 258 documentation.” “A total of 243 online e-government services will be fully launched by the end of this year.” added Sun. Police demonstrating the services available on “Yueshengshi”. (Photo: Southcn.com) In terms of the entry and exit services for expats, spokesman of Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department indicated that the services are already available in three pilot areas, including Foshan, Dongguan and ports in Zhuhai. The service area for expats living in Guangdong Through this service area, expats living in Foshan and Dongguan, as well as foreigners who enter Chinese mainland from ports in Zhuhai, can make an appointment to apply for visa renewal (C, F, G, J2, L, M, Q2, R, S2, X2), permanent residences and port visa. A spokesperson for the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department stated that expats living in Guangdong and foreigners who enter the Chinese mainland from ports in Zhuhai can make an appointment; selecting both the time and location and fill in their personal information in advance, with no need to wait in line. In this way, the talent flow through the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area will be enhanced, leading to quicker and more comprehensive development of the region. At present, the service area homepage is in Chinese. “The English version will be released later,” said Liu Chenghong, Deputy Director of the Entry & Exit Bureau of Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department. “If all goes well in the pilot areas, such services will be put into operation throughout Guangdong.” How to Use It? 1 Long press the QR-Code 2 Click here 3 Click the service area 4 Click Expat services 5 Service type 6 Make an appointment 7 Fill in the information 8 Choose the place and time 9 Fill in your personal information 10 Confirm your appointment Nationwide, Guangdong took the lead in improving public services by launching the “Digital Government” reform act on May 21st. The province phased its launch of the special reform — the Yueshengshi Mini Program on WeChat, enabling local residents to complete a great deal online in a much more efficient way than ever before available. The mini program also offers specially designed features for the disabled, including nine basic services related to living allowances, taxation and application for a new disability certificate. Earlier, this required the individual to go to government departments multiple times in person, but now they need only go to the hospital once and the rest of the procedures can be completed online. The platforms also offer special discount codes for taking buses, buying medicine from pharmacies, and can even help solve labor disputes.