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March 5th, 2012:

Incinerator

These are the Chinese newspapers reported the JR case. The first and the fifth article (The Sun and Oriental Daily) belong to the same group mentioned Tsang’s likely collusion with the developers in the first and the last paragraph.

郭更質疑指,曾蔭權原本計劃在離任後到深圳福田居住,而另一選址屯門曾咀剛好鄰近福田,在曾咀興建焚化爐,可能影響到曾蔭權的「新

居」和福田發展商的利益,當局選址上可能涉及利益輸送。

Kwok suspected that Tsang’s original retirement plan was to live in Futian, and the other site is coincidentally located in Tsang Tsui near Futian. If the incinerator were to be built in TT, this might affect Tsang’s new home and the interest of the developers. The EPD might have colluded with the developers.

郭續指,當局考慮在屯門曾咀或石鼓洲興建垃圾焚化爐時,聲稱焚化爐不會造成污染,結果以會加劇污染為理由否

決在曾咀興建,與先前的說法自相矛盾。

Kwok continued to point out that when the EPD was making decision between SKC and TT, they claimed that the incinerator would not cause pollution. However, their reason for rejecting TT was that it would further pollute TT. This contradicted their original claim.

太陽 – 20120304 – 石鼓洲建焚化爐市民覆核

成報 – 20120304 – 司法覆核求擱置建焚化爐

成報 – 20120304 – 唐梁何環保論壇首過招 跨區整治有共識 建焚化爐分歧大

文匯 – 20120304 – 長洲坊會主席入稟 反環署建焚化爐

新報 – 20120304 – 石鼓洲填海建垃圾焚化爐 老翁恐污染入稟阻興建

明報 – 20120304 – 倡建焚化爐 台下報噓聲 論壇首同台 唐得分遠遜梁何

明報 – 20120304 – 唐談廢物 台下斥:你咪係囉

明報 – 20120304 – 石鼓洲建焚化爐長洲居民提覆核

星島 – 20120304 – 唐噓聲中堅持建焚化爐

星島 – 20120304 – 石鼓洲建焚化爐 長洲居民申覆核

東方 – 20120304 – 反對焚化爐 居民提覆核

頭條 – 20120304 – 郭卓堅入稟反石鼓洲建焚化爐

Full text of paper submitted by SEN at Special Meeting of LegCo Finance Committee

Hong Kong, Mar. 5 — Hong Kong SAR Government issued the following news release:

Following is the full text of the paper submitted by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, at the Special Meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council today (March 5):

Chairman,

I am delighted to attend the Special Meeting of the Finance Committee today to brief Members on the part of next financial year’s Estimates which relate to the Environment Bureau (ENB) as well as our future work in key policy areas.

Government Resource Commitment in Environment Protection

The Government has attached a lot of importance to protecting the environment and devoted substantial resources and manpower in taking forward this area of work. The amount of funding allocated to ENB’s policy portfolio totalled nearly $60.3 billion under the current term of Government. The annual funding allocation has been on the rise. It more than doubled from $6.3 billion in 2007-08 to $13.9 billion in the next financial year.

In addition to directly providing financial and manpower resources for work in environmental protection, the Government has also allocated a considerable amount of resources in support of different quarters in the community in furthering the environmental cause. They include non-governmental organisations, charitable bodies, schools and residents organisations. In the period of 2008 to end 2011, the Environment and Conservation Fund approved more than 2,000 projects which promote energy saving, waste reduction and recycling, greening, conservation and scientific research on environmental protection. They far exceed the total number of around 1,000 projects approved in the 14 years since the Fund was set up in 1994. The subsidies amount to over $1 billion and have effectively facilitated different sectors of the community to actively undertake environmental projects.

During the past few years, we have carried out extensive work in different environment policy areas. In terms of legislation, we introduced five new ordinances to establish a new regulatory framework in the areas of energy efficiency, air quality, waste reduction and to promote behavioural change in the community. At the same period, some 30 amendments to the principal ordinances or subsidiary regulations were also introduced. I will now give a brief account of what we have done and plan to do in several key areas of our work.

Improving Air Quality

In respect of improving air quality, in the past few years we have made tremendous efforts to reduce emissions from power plants, which are a major source of local emissions. Starting in 2005, we have progressively tightened the emission caps of power plants through signing new Scheme of Control Agreements with the power companies and amending the Air Pollution Control Ordinance. In 2010, the cap on sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the power sector was tightened by 67 per cent. We will keep up the effort to further tighten the emission caps from 2015 onwards by 34 to 50 per cent from the 2010 levels with a view to minimising the pollution caused by power generation.

Air pollution at the roadside is also a major focus of our efforts. We have tightened the statutory specifications of vehicle and industrial fuels to those of the most advanced countries. To reduce roadside air pollution, we intend to raise vehicle exhaust emission standards to the Euro V level. Through subsidies and tax concessions, we encourage owners of diesel commercial vehicles to replace their old vehicles with new ones, and vehicle buyers to choose more environment-friendly cars. With regard to the transport trades, the Government is conducting a trial of retrofitting selective catalytic reduction devices on Euro II and Euro III buses, as well as subsidising franchised bus companies to undertake trials of hybrid and electric buses. The ultimate policy objective is to adopt zero-emission buses across the territory. The $300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund has been effective in encouraging the transport sector to try out green and innovative transport technologies. Within less than a year after its launch, the Fund has received a very positive response with 24 applications approved and grants totalling over $60 million.

The various measures have brought fruitful results. Monitoring data showed that between 2006 and 2010, the ambient concentration of SO2 and respirable suspended particulates (RSP) had dropped by 45 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. Through the joint efforts of the governments of Hong Kong and Guangdong, the air quality of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region has improved following implementation of a range of regional emission reduction measures. From 2006 to 2010, the levels of SO2, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and RSP in the region dropped by 47 per cent, 7 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Looking ahead, the high concentration of NO2 at the roadside is the most prominent air pollution problem facing us. Between 2006 and 2010, the roadside concentration of NO2 increased by 22 per cent. Since emissions of NO2 from poorly maintained petrol and LPG vehicles constitute a major source of roadside air pollution, the Government has proposed to use roadside remote sensing equipment to screen out petrol and LPG vehicles with excessive emissions. The owners of such vehicles will be required to take corrective actions. To facilitate vehicle owners in adapting to the more stringent emissions control, Government will seek approval from the Finance Committee soon for an allocation of $150 million to replace the catalytic converters and associated components of LPG taxis and light buses.

As a result of reduction in emissions from land-based sources and increase in movements of marine vessels, emissions from the latter account for an increasing proportion of Hong Kong’s total emissions. Marine vessels have become the largest local source of RSP emissions, and the second largest emission source of SO2 and nitrogen oxides after power plants. It is therefore necessary to introduce appropriate measures to control such emissions with a view to further improving regional air quality. In last year’s Policy Address, we announced an initiative to explore with the governments of Guangdong, Shenzhen and Macao proposals for requiring ocean-going vessels to switch to low-sulphur diesel while berthing in PRD waters, and setting up an Emission Control Area in the region. We will also discuss with the trades to improve the quality of marine fuels sold locally so as to reduce vessel emissions.

To encourage ocean-going vessels to switch to cleaner fuels when berthing in Hong Kong waters, the Government proposes to reduce by half the port facilities and light dues charged on ocean-going vessels which switch to low-sulphur diesel at berth. The proposed waiver scheme will run for three years and is estimated to cost up to $260 million in terms of public revenue forgone. The Environmental Protection Department and Marine Department are drawing up implementation arrangements for the proposal. At the same time, we will also start discussions with relevant authorities in the PRD region on regional control of marine emissions.

Another important task before us is to update the Air Quality Objectives (AQOs). The new AQOs are set in accordance with air quality targets of the World Health Organization (WHO). Four out of the seven major pollutants, namely NO2, carbon monoxide, lead and SO2, have fully or partly adopted WHO’s ultimate air quality targets, and are broadly on a par with the standards of other advanced regions such as the European Union and the United States. We shall embark on the necessary legislative exercise to implement the new AQOs and the relevant transitional arrangements. Our intention is to introduce the Bill in the LegCo session of 2012-13 and to make the new AQOs statutory standards by 2014. We will also review every five years the feasibility of tightening the AQOs. In addition, to demonstrate the Government’s commitment and to take the lead in applying the new AQOs, the Government has decided that for public works projects with environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies not yet commenced, they will endeavour to adopt the new AQOs as the yardstick for air quality assessments. This will allow newly planned public works projects to align with the more stringent requirements on air quality at the earliest opportunity.

Solid Waste Management

I now turn to waste management which is an imminent issue that we have to work on. The three strategic landfills are expected to approach full capacity one by one in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Our complete reliance on landfilling to handle nearly 10,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) on a daily basis is certainly not sustainable.

Early last year, Government put forward a basket of specific measures under the management strategy, which included proposals on waste reduction and recycling as well as development of modern treatment facilities. Our target is to raise the MSW recovery rate to 55 per cent by 2015. Our policy initiatives on “Reduce and Recycle”, together with extension of landfills as well as introduction of modern treatment facilities, are essential elements in our holistic plan of ensuring proper MSW management. They are intertwined as indispensable components of our comprehensive strategy.

With the continuous expansion of the Source Separation of Waste Programmes, our MSW recovery rate increased from 45 per cent in 2006 to 52 per cent in 2010, which overshoots the original target laid down in 2005. It is comparable to that of other cities at a similar level of development. This could not be achieved without the concerted efforts of the entire community. With the enactment of the Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance in 2008, we are progressively introducing mandatory producer responsibility schemes (PRSs) under this legal framework. In 2009, we implemented the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags (PSBs). The PSB distribution from the 3,000 registered retail outlets covered by the Levy Scheme dropped by as much as 90 per cent. As the next step, in a bid to promote waste reduction at source, we will expedite our work in making legislative proposals to extend the Levy Scheme to cover all local retailers, and to implement a PRS on waste electrical and electronic equipment.

As I just mentioned, introducing modern treatment facilities and timely expansion of the landfills are essential waste management measures. Experience in Europe and other developed cities shows that, even with the implementation of various measures on waste reduction at source, there is still a substantial amount of waste that cannot be recovered which requires treatment. In the context of Hong Kong, even if the target recovery rate of 55 per cent is achieved, there will still be about 8,000 tonnes of MSW that cannot be recovered or recycled and which requires treatment on a daily basis. We are developing a Sludge Treatment Facility which employs state-of-the-art incineration technology. It is expected to be commissioned in 2013. By then, daily disposal of sludge at landfills will be reduced by nearly 1,000 tonnes. It will also demonstrate how modern technology can serve as an effective means in tackling the problem of MSW. Our next step is to discuss our plans on the development of the Integrated Waste Treatment Facilities, and the extension of the three existing landfills in the LegCo. I look forward to discussing the proposed projects with Members in details with a view to coming up with a practicable way forward.

Green Economy

Lastly, I would like to take the opportunity to share our thoughts on the development of environmental industries. I am delighted to find there has been a promising growth in this sector. The value added and employment of environmental industries in 2010 recorded a growth close to 20 per cent and 11.3 per cent respectively over 2009. We will continue our heavy investment in environmental infrastructures, thereby creating jobs and generating business opportunities for the environmental protection and engineering sectors. Besides, Government has been providing impetus to the development of industries and profession related to environmental protection by setting up the EcoPark, promotion of electric vehicles, enacting legislation on buildings energy efficiency, and taking the lead in going green. We will also continue to support the industry’s participation in such activities as environmental exhibitions and trade missions to help build collaboration platform with local and overseas enterprises. With more facilitating policies and measures rolled out, I am confident that green industries in Hong Kong will continue to flourish.

Conclusion

Chairman, the Government will continue to enhance its environmental strategies and take proactive actions to transform Hong Kong into a green city offering quality living. I look forward to receiving the LegCo’s continued support in pursuit of our policies and measures in the coming financial year. Chairman, I welcome Members to put forward their questions on this part of the Estimates and, together with the Permanent Secretary and other colleagues, I would be pleased to answer Members’ questions.

Source: Hong Kong SAR Government

Website: news.gov.hk
Copyright 2012 Hong Kong Government News, distributed by Contify.com
All Rights Reserved

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Hong Kong unveils apron expansion project

Clear the Air says:

well now we do not need the third runway white elephant Tsang legacy.

Have pity on the poor sods living in Tung Chun with the HKZMB and this work underway when the pollution levels

were already high before the start of the works.

Big business +10

Health -5

http://www.airport-world.com/news-articles/item/1427-hong-kong-unveils-apron-expansion-project

Monday, 05 March 2012 11:31 | Written by Joe Bates

Hong Kong unveils apron expansion project

Hong Kong unveils apron expansion project

Hong Kong International Airport today unveiled the HK$2.2 billion west apron development, which it claims will it meet its medium-term demand for additional parking stands.

Located at the western end of the airport island and adjacent to the midfield, the 430,000sqm site will be equipped with 16 parking stands for common use.

A cross-runway tunnel linking the West Apron to the cargo area, built during the construction of HKIA in the 1990s for future growth needs, will also be commissioned to facilitate efficient apron vehicle traffic.

The construction of nine aircraft parking stands, related supporting facilities and the connection of the western airfield tunnel to the cargo area are the key elements of first phase of the development, which is slated for completion in late 2013.

At the end of the second phase in end-2014, the remaining seven stands will be ready for operation.

hkairfield

C K Ng, Airport Authority Hong Kong’s deputy director of airport operations, said: “We are seeing rising demand for aircraft parking spaces due to growing air traffic, continuous fleet expansions by airlines and the introduction of new types of aircraft.

“Currently, passenger and cargo throughput, as well as aircraft movements, have outstripped our baseline growth projections, with both passenger trips and flight movements setting new records in 2011.

“The new parking stands at the west apron will help accommodate the need for parking spaces in the medium-term. Meanwhile, three stands that can cater for new types of aircraft with longer fuselages, such as the B747-8F freighter, have been planned at the West Apron.”

The west apron development will accommodate HKIA’s expected growth in aircraft traffic as the Civil Aviation Department gradually raises the hourly handling capacity of the airport’s two runways from the current 62 flights per hour to 68 by 2015

Hong Kong’s CE Race: About over

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4294&Itemid=164

Leung Chun-ying could be named by default

Hong Kong’s chief executive selection process was restored to a semblance of order last week after Beijing’s original choice, former Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang, basically made himself unselectable.

Beijing did not anticipate skeletons leaping out of the cupboards of their two approved candidates. Due diligence was overlooked. Even less did they anticipate Tang being so inept at handling a series of crises including having dug himself an illegal basement structure at the same time he was in charge of policing illegal structures, costing him respect and credibility.

Because Tang was lost beyond rescue and because property surveyor Leung Chun-Ying was not favored by the city’s oligarchs and its powerful civil service, two more hopefuls almost joined the race – which would have made the circus spin out of control.

The selection criteria requires the winning candidate to secure at least 601 votes from the electoral college of 1,200. Multiple contenders would have messed the carefully calibrated calculus. That was not in the script.

Tsang Yok-sing, president of the Legislative Council, pulled out just before nominations closed. He was advised to do so. The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, or DAB had ‘reserved’ a block of 140 votes pending his decision.

Regina Ip failed to secure the minimum 150 nominations from tycoons, functional constituencies and the DAB – Beijing’s largest above-ground representatives in the Legislative Council and a potent voting block in the Election Committee for chief executive. The baggage Ip carries made the puppet masters nervous. No nod for her.

This was a moment of truth for the former secretary for security, who fancied herself the most competent chief executive choice. The DAB has not forgiven her ingratitude after being gifted its support in the 2008 Hong Kong Island constituency election. The professional constituencies showed her the door.

Oligarchs want Henry to stay. Citizens say nay

It was a disastrous few weeks for Henry Tang. But despite negative feedback from the daily press, disillusioned supporters and the polls, candidate Tang carries on like nothing happened.

The 18 Feb edition of The Economist has him as the “sort of amiable, vaguely trustworthy duffer…” which sums up Henry.

At the first debate held 3 March featuring the three chief executive hopefuls at City University, before a 500-strong audience of the public and environmental activists, the post-debate votes re-confirmed Henry Tang’s rejection – he got 2 percent whereas CY Leung received 63 percent while Albert Ho of the Democratic Party had 23 percent.

Everyone knows that the Democratic Party is unacceptable to Beijing. Albert Ho had earlier jokingly told the Financial Times of London that if he ever got selected by the 1,200 electoral college, it would be finally revealed that he is a mole of the Communist Party.

It will be a huge relief for Hong Kong to be spared Henry Tang. China has to whisper to the selectors accordingly. It cannot risk another massive street march like the 2003 outrage which felled Tung Chee-hwa and Regina Ip for attempting to pass into legislation the flawed Article 23 Security Bill, which would have done away with significant legal and human rights freedoms.

It proved even then that a rubber-stamp legislature to enforce Beijing’s diktat in Hong Kong is not the way to rule. The territory’s citizens are acutely aware of their rights and will face down any government that schemes to whittle away its existing freedoms of assembly, protest and press. So long as Hong Kong is denied the universal franchise promised in the Basic Law, its citizens will remain suspicious and super-vigilant.

Public unforgiving of oligarch-govt collusion

There is a sea-change in public attitudes to the privileged elites. Their ability to flout rules which ordinary citizens have to live by is being aggressively challenged.

The widening wealth gap, unaffordable housing, lack of a safety net for the poorest and enormous budget surpluses not being used to address systemic problems, all rankle. It speaks of an administration badly out of touch with the people it rules.

The rough treatment incumbent chief executive Donald Tsang got in the press and in the Legislative Council for sneakily consorting with tycoons aboard luxury yachts and private jets, and accepting a penthouse below market rent for retirement, was a signal lesson for legislators, civil servants and the next chief executive.

The simmering resentment against big business-government collusion has erupted too strongly for a return to ‘business as usual’.

CY Leung right man at the right time?

Hong Kong lost 15 years through incompetent leaders appointed by Beijing. Tung Chee-hwa was a washout and Donald Tsang a nervous schoolboy waiting to be scolded on ‘work-report’ trips to Beijing. He will be thrashed royally this time round.

Neither had the charisma, conviction nor confidence to drive policies forward to make Hong Kong a better place for its residents. Henry Tang if selected, would stretch that dismal record to 20 years of treading water.

The scandals that crushed Tang’s ambition and ruined Tsang’s legacy, did enormous good in surfacing fundamental issues about the purpose of government and public accountability of officials.

CY Leung has conducted a measured and dignified campaign so far. Accusations of conflict of interest from 10 years ago in the process of bidding for the East Kowloon project across the harbor from the Central District, which seem to have been blown out of proportion by government officials eager to help out the property oligarchs by smearing his campaign, didn’t not rile the public as badly as Henry Tang’s illegal basement and limp denials.

CY is not damned. He has invested serious time visiting the grass-roots to appreciate the needs of the neglected sectors of HK society. He is thoughtful, does his homework and crafts programs which he should now be articulating more forcefully. It is these very qualities which make the oligarchs nervous.

Leung does not need to keep proving his loyalty to Beijing – a constant distraction which drained Donald Tsang. If anyone can speak for Hong Kong and be heard in Beijing, Leung can.

No time to waste

Budget surpluses are there to be deployed judiciously for social good and equitable economic growth. That is a principle the property and construction cartels vehemently oppose. They would rather pour concrete for highways, runways, railways and bridges at huge public expense whether needed or not.

It is the public purse that the cartels in each of these industries scheme to stream into their pockets with the collusion of government. It is time for Hong Kong to plot a new course. The cozy government-big business nexus has to be curbed. A fairer distribution of opportunity and access has to include a broader swathe of small entrepreneurs and medium sized businesses. Housing affordability for the poor and the middle class has to be addressed. It is just too fundamental to be neglected any longer. What about the irresponsible 20-year dodge on improving air quality and reducing traffic pollution? What about fair competition rules to bust cartels?

What about the wasteful Trade Development Corporation running trade exhibitions which the private sector can manage without government subsidies?

If Leung addresses these long-neglected issues in a forthright way, he can reinvigorate Hong Kong and gain the respect of its business sector and residents. He has to carry a big stick to get the civil service moving. They are masters at forming committees to ‘study’ issues and waste time as a tactic for inaction.

He must find a competent and respected chief secretary to replace the woefully inadequate and inarticulate Stephen Lam. He will need an effective civil service overlord who can lead projects, inspire teams and make things happen at speed.

There are also too many consultants feeding at the trough. It will be useful to make all their reports open to public scrutiny. Why should consultant reports on public projects remain government secrets? How many of these consultants are proxies for big business interests?

Is the practice of hiring consultants for every new initiative necessary? Is the civil service incapable of evaluating projects and implementing action plans? CY has to hack through all that fast.

The next chief executive has his work cut out for him. If he gets his act together quickly he can re-energize Hong Kong. He may even get reelected by a landslide through universal franchise in 2017. The one mistake he should not make is to revive the Article 23 Security Bill which HK citizens unequivocally rejected in 2003.

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West not East
written by Dark Knight, March 05, 2012

It was the West Kowloon project they tried to shaft Leung about. Meanwhile the release has opened a can of worms, the Foster submission was disqualified then somehow remarkably won, a gwailo juror was found to have not declared serious business deals of his company with Foster in two UK jobs and lo and behold who was the Chairman of the West Kowloon authority when Sheffield made an abrupt departure because of alleged interference – Yes Henry the duffer. Meanwhile:
http://casinoleaks-macau.com/2-21-2012.html

and from an ICAC conference submission in 2005:
“From the outset, we should recognise that conflict of interest is largely a “perception” issue. That is, it is not a matter of whether you think you have done the right thing. What matters is whether the public thinks you have done the right thing. When determining whether a conflict of interest has arisen, one test we can practically apply is whether you are prepared to discuss the situation openly – the so-called “sunshine test”. In the last analysis, the onus is on you to prove that you have acted properly.”

Public to have say on CE’s conduct

SCMP – March 5, 2012

The public will get their chance to have a say on rules governing the chief executive’s conduct, according the head of a panel with the task of reviewing the code.

Former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang said on Monday the public would be able to attend an open forum on the issue, probably in the middle of next month, as well as make written submissions during the consultation period.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen appointed Li chairman of a five-member independent review panel last week to examine the rules for behaviour of top officials after a conflict-of-interest row erupted over Tsang’s favours from tycoon friends.

“I understand the public are concerned about the matter, and the panel will review the system as quickly as possible,” Li said.

He said the public consultation period would last for about four or five weeks but dates had not been set.

Li said the panel would also consider whether to extend the existing Prevention of Bribery Ordinance to cover the chief executive.

The chief executive is not subject to either the Civil Service Code or the Code for Officials Under the Political Appointment System, which covers bureau chiefs and undersecretaries.

Tsang said he developed his own “internal code” for taking favours from his tycoon friends, opting to pay “market price” for private yacht and jet trips.

But, the chief executive has refused to disclose documents or details relating to his personal code.

“We recognise that there is an opinion that the internal code is insufficient,” Li said.

“That is why the panel is working on a system for the next chief executive to stick to.

“A system is more important than individuals. We need a thorough system to safeguard the clean image of Hong Kong.”

When asked for details of the existing code, Li said he had not had time yet to go through the documents submitted to him.

“We will continue to collect more details,” he said.

Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang

Chief Justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang

CASINO LEAKS a different kind of pollution in the air

http://casinoleaks-macau.com/AboutUs.html

http://casinoleaks-macau.com/2-21-2012.html

February 21, 2012

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) yesterday reported on the story of Hong Kong’s chief executive Donald Tsang Yam Kuen caught attending a banquet at a high-roller VIP club in the City of Dreams resort in Macau. The Chinese-language paper Oriental Daily originally broke the news.

The SCMP, relaying the Oriental Daily story, noted that Tsang was allegedly pictured “sharing a table with tycoon Thomas Lau Luen-hung and Sing Tao News chairman Charles Ho Tsu-kwok.”

Below are a few additional details on some of the principals from the story, and their ties to Macau gaming:

Thomas Lau an investor in Wynn Macau Ltd – According to Wynn Macau’s “Global Offering” filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2009, Thomas Lau Yuen Hung’s (劉鑾鴻) BVI-based firm High Action Ltd agreed to subscribe to over 40 million Wynn Macau shares. See an excerpt from Wynn Macau’s listing document below:

Lau’s brother applied for a Macau concession – Thomas Lau and his brother, Joseph Lau Yuen Hung (劉鑾雄), are partners together in the Hong Kong listed firm Lifestyle International Holdings Ltd (firm’s 2010 annual report), a holding company for the Hong Kong and mainland retail stores SOGO and Jiuguang. Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu Tung (a major shareholder in Macau conglomerate STDM) and members of his family are also directors in Lifestyle.

On December 9, 2001 the SCMP reported that Joseph Lau in tandem with Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum (龔如心) submitted a bid for one of Macau’s gaming concessions under the banner “Baia da Nossa Sehora Entertainment Company” – the actual name was Baía da Nossa Senhora da Esperança Entertainment Company Limited, which was incorporated in 2001 with a registered capital of 400 million Macau Patacas. The venture of course failed to win one of the three initial concessions.

Click here to view the report from Macau’s “Commission for the First Public Tender to Grant Concessions to Operate Casino Games of Chance” to see references to Baía da Nossa Senhora’s failed bid. The document was obtained from a publicly available Clark County, Nevada lawsuit.

MGM Partner Pansy Ho linked to Charles Ho – A reported guest at Donald Tsang’s table, Charles Ho Tsu Kwok (何柱國) heads the Hong Kong-based media conglomerate Sing Tao News Corporation Limited.

Pansy Catilina Ho Chiu King (何超瓊), the daughter of Stanley Ho and chairperson of the listed gaming firm MGM China Holdings Limited, has served as an independent non-executive director at Sing Tao since 2001.

Identity of a junket operator at Li Ying Club – Macau corporate records disclose that the licensed junket firm “Hou Hou Entertainment Limited” operates out of the Li Ying Club in the City of Dreams. The Macau government’s business registry posted the following entry in its business registry on June 7, 2010:

The filing shows that Hou Hou Entertainment appears to operate its own branded VIP club on the second level of the Li Ying Club.

Hou Hou Entertainment, incorporated in Macau in April 2007, is 100% owned by a Hong Kong-based woman named Mak Mei To. She is also the company’s lone director.

Ms. Mak is also affiliated with a number of registered enterprises in Hong Kong. See the chart below, based on Hong Kong Companies Registry filings, for more details:

Company Name Incorp. Director/Ownership (1) Director/Ownership (2) Other individuals affiliated
Greatmean Investment Ltd 17-03-2009 Mak Mei To (100%)
Kingsway Finance Ltd 30-11-2011 Chan Ying Kit (80%) Mak Mei To (10%) Cheung Hoi Ying
Long Well Inc. Ltd 08-10-2009 Mak Mei To (90%) Chan Ying Kit (10%)
Loyal Winner Ltd 12-12-2011 Chan Ying Kit (90%) Mak Mei To (10%)
Mega Venture Investment (Group) Ltd 28-04-2010 Mak Mei To (100%)
Wealth Elegant Ltd 10-09-2004 Mak Mei To (35%) Mok Tung Hei Mok King Hor (30%), Chan Tak Man (30%)

Monday, March 05, 2012 4:45:21 PM

Casino Leaks “leaks” controversial features

05/03/2012 09:47:00

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Like WikiLeaks’ cable intelligence, CasinoLeaks-Macau has also “leaked” some controversial stories on its website, including the connection of imprisoned gang leader Wan Kuok Koi to Macau’s current gaming scene. It also alleges that Wan’s main rival, alleged gang boss Lai Tong Sang has ties to the major junkets, and also that Hong Kong’s chief executive Donald Tsang Yam Kuen’s has links to tycoons related to Macau’s gaming industry.
The website is publishing a series of features, an essay on junkets and VIP gaming in Macau. It began publication with a spotlight on the ongoing corporate connections of Wan Kuok Koi, better known as “Broken Tooth Koi”, a gangster intimately associated with Macau’s gaming scene prior to the arrival of US gaming companies in the early 2000s. He was jailed in 1999 for gang related crimes and is due for release in 2012.
CasinoLeaks explores Wan’s connection to the gaming sector, mostly through the business links of his gang followers (many of them convicted by courts and now released from jail). The website says that some of the companies run by his fellow mobsters still have business relations with some major casinos, among them the Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) founded by tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun; and even to current members of the Macau Legislative Assembly.
The website also covers Wan’s rival, the alleged crime boss Lai Tong Sang, saying that “Lai and his reputed wife…appear to retain ties to junket operators to the present.” According to some Chinese sources, Lai’s gang has expanded to the most profitable VIP gaming rooms during the past decade when Macau’s gaming industry has undergone most rapid development, while Wan was jailed in Coloane.
Some news reports in local and Hong Kong media says Wan is preparing for a return to the gaming industry after his expected release later this year, prompting fears in the casino sector and even in the government that a new round of bloodshed is looming similar to the immediate years before the handover to China.
The website also promises to profile “major VIP room and junket operators, some of whom are linked to alleged organized crime figures”, as well as release information on mainland Chinese involved in Macau’s gambling industry. CasinoLeaks says it has discovered a connection between alleged former associates of Wan and Fujian Province-based Xiamen Airline, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange-listed China Southern Airlines Company Ltd, or China Southern. The website says the associate now still holds nearly half of the shares of the airline’s subsidiary, while the controlling share-holder remains Xiamen Airline.
The website’s launch comes at a sensitive time for US gaming interests in Macau, with Las Vegas Sands and its Macau subsidiary Sands China under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice, while Wynn Resorts and potentially its subsidiary Wynn Macau are also subjects of a preliminary SEC probe. Not to mention Wynn founder Steve Wynn’s fierce dispute with one of its major shareholders, Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, who is accused of bribing Philippines gaming official, trying to set up a casino in the country

http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/34238-CasinoLeaks-leaks-controversial-features.html

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CASINOLEAKS-MACAU NEWS & UPDATES

March 2, 2012

A reputed Macau crime boss from the 1990s has ties to active Macau junket operators according to corporate and property records from the territory.

During the mid-to-late 1990s an individual named Lai Tong Sang (賴東生) was described by dozens of mainstream news outlets, including the South China Morning Post and Canada’s Vancouver Sun and Globe and Mail, as the then leader or, in some cases, the “dragon head” of the Wo On Lok (aka, Shui Fong) triad.

Click HERE to continue reading…

March 1, 2012

Scrolling through the 2011 Interim Report for SJM Holdings Limited, the parent company of Macau casino concession holder Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), you will come across a disclosure concerning “satellite” casinos. The casinos are operated in “accordance with service agreements” with “third party promoters.”

This arrangement has led some gaming analysts to scratch their heads. Gaming scholar I. Nelson Rose in an interview last year with the Macau Daily Times noted that one of the “strange” aspects of Macau gaming regulations is that licensed casino operation “could have these partnerships where people who don’t have concessions can run the casino and share in the profits.”

Click HERE to continue reading…

February 29, 2012

On the heels of a lengthy piece by Macau Business magazine surveying the Macau junket world following the DICJ’s annual release of it licensed junket list, CasinoLeaks-Macau is posting an analysis on “junket turnover” in the market, based on the DICJ’s limited data.

One way the junket market has expressed volatility is through licensee turnover. This is measurable, to a degree. The DICJ junket licensure list includes both individual and corporate license holders. From 2006 to 2012 there were a total of 328 companies and 110 individuals that, at one time or another, held a license as a junket operator in Macau.

Click here to continue reading…

February 28, 2012

CasinoLeaks-Macau is continuing its series examining the corporate network established in the 1990s by members of Wan Kuok Koi’s (aka, Broken Tooth Koi) convicted 14K gang to see if any individuals linked to the companies have had ties to Macau gaming. Previously, we looked into companies connected to Chan Meng Kam’s Golden Dragon Group. Chan, along with several of his relatives and business associates, have had profit participant stakes in Macau gaming operations. Some, such as Chan Meng Pak (陳明白) and Ma Koc Hong (馬國康) are licensed as junket representatives by the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ).

This post will explore another set of companies with past ties to members of Broken Tooth’s gang, with a particular emphasis on Broken Tooth’s younger brother Wan Kuok Hong (also often identified as “Wan Kuok Hung”). We will also reexamine the firm Tong Long Development Company Limited, which we first brought up in a previous posting.

Click here to continue reading…

February 27, 2012

Previously we noted that an individual named Vong Tat Hou was listed as a one-time director and shareholder for the Macau-based firm Global International Tourist Company Limited (in Portuguese: Companhia de Turismo Internacional Wán Yu, Limitada). The name “Vong Tat Hou” was identified by numerous news outlets as one of the members of Wan Kuok Koi’s (aka Broken Tooth Koi) convicted criminal gang. The South China Morning Post reported on December 2, 1999 that Vong had been arrested the previous day by Guangdong Public Security. Vong had been convicted in absentia in Macau earlier that year for triad related crimes, according to the article.

Another director at Global International, Chan Meng Kam, was reportedly identified in U.S. State Department cables as believed to be “linked to the triads.” Chan is member of the Macau Legislative Assembly.

This post will explore Global International in greater detail, including its ties to the mainland China state enterprise.

Click here to continue reading…

February 23, 2012

During the 1990s, Macau 14K leader Wan Kuok Koi (aka “Broken Tooth Koi”) emerged as the then-Portuguese colony’s most infamous crime boss. He was featured in Time and Newsweek magazines. Following a wave of brutal gang violence in Macau in the mid-90s, government authorities arrested and later convicted Broken Tooth along with eight gang associates for triad-related crimes. Many have since reentered society, with Wan himself reportedly the last still serving a prison sentence, though he is scheduled to be released in December of this year.

Prior their jailing, Macau corporate record filings show the names of Wan Kuok Koi and members of his 14K gang were linked to a string of at least 10 Macau-based companies, with an even larger network of business partners and associates (see diagram below). CasinoLeaks-Macau has launched its own endeavor to reconstruct this corporate network and see if anyone formerly (or currently) linked to these companies is still involved in Macau gaming.

This post will focus on three companies: East Dragon Jewelry & Goldsmith Company Limited, Global International Tourist Company Limited, and Tong Long Development Company Limited.

These three companies, each in 1990s Macau corporate record filings list as directors and shareholders the names of convicted 14K gang members, also appear tied to a Macau-based conglomerate called Golden Dragon Group, headed by Chan Meng Kam (陳明金), an elected member of Macau’s Legislative Assembly. Chan, his family members, including Chan Meng Iok (陳明旭) and Chan Meng Pak (陳明白), and Golden Dragon Group, are all involved in Macau gaming.

Chan Meng Kam has also recently received some negative publicity as a result of the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables. The Macau Daily Times, reporting on the cables, disclosed in a September 6, 2011 article the U.S. Hong Kong consulate’s take on Chan Meng Kam: “We have yet to meet anyone who does not believe Chan is linked to the triads.”

Click here to continue reading…

February 21, 2012

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) yesterday reported on the story of Hong Kong’s chief executive Donald Tsang Yam Kuen caught attending a banquet at a high-roller VIP club in the City of Dreams resort in Macau. The Chinese-language paper Oriental Daily originally broke the news.

The SCMP, relaying the Oriental Daily story, noted that Tsang was allegedly pictured “sharing a table with tycoon Thomas Lau Luen-hung and Sing Tao News chairman Charles Ho Tsu-kwok.”

CasinoLeaks-Macau.com is providing a few additional details on some of the principals from the story, and their ties to Macau gaming.

Click here to continue reading…

February 17, 2012

Macau’s most infamous gangster, Wan Kuok Koi, is scheduled to be released from prison in December, according local news sources. Widely known by his moniker “Broken Tooth Koi,” Wan has served a nearly fourteen-year jail term in Coloane Island, following a 1999 conviction for a series of gangland crimes.

Investigative reports on Broken Tooth and the 1990s Macau gambling scene by the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and journalist Bertil Lintner detail how Wan rose up the ranks of Macau’s 14K triad, ultimately claiming a top post in the criminal gang and seizing control over some of the territory’s lucrative VIP gambling rooms – then operating out of Stanley Ho’s STDM casinos. Reportedly, Koi’s high-profile and flamboyant style, coupled with his aggressive moves to claim an ever-greater VIP room market share eventually sparked a bloody street war between the 14K and rival triad factions – most notably the Wo On Lok (or “Shui Fong”) triad. News outlets reported dozens of gangland murders during the late 1990s. High profile kidnappings, car bombings, and assassinations against government officials also occurred. On May 1, 1998 a bomb detonated in police chief António Marques Baptista’s car, although he was unscathed. Broken Tooth was arrested 12 hours later […]

Click here to continue reading.

February 16, 2012

The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) today launched a new website, CasinoLeaks-Macau.com, dedicated to exploring the booming gaming market of Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

The IUOE has over 1,000 casino stationary engineer members in Nevada, and accordingly the security and integrity of Nevada gaming and its institutions are intimately related to our members’ wages, hours, and working conditions. As several Nevada-based gaming companies began establishing casino operations in Macau, we monitored their progress as their success or failure abroad can affect our members in Nevada. We have followed with growing alarm as news outlets and government agencies have reported on alleged organized crime activity, including money laundering, in Macau’s now U.S. $33 billion gaming industry.

Due to a dearth of concrete information on Macau gaming supplied by either regulators (in Macau and in the U.S.) or the casino companies themselves, particularly concerning the VIP room and junket industry, we have begun conducting our own research into Macau, which we will begin to roll out in this website.

To start, we are publishing a list of the owners and directors behind nearly 150 of Macau’s junket companies. To our knowledge no such list exists in the public sphere. We are also providing an initial list of over 600 prominent individuals who have been linked to the Macau gaming industry, along with some of their corporate affiliations. We will be adding to these lists over time. The site will also analyze Macau’s problematic gaming regulations, provide gaming statistics for the territory, and offer details on the six concession/sub-concession holders.

In the coming weeks we will begin providing extensive profiles on Macau’s major VIP room and junket operators, some of whom are linked to alleged organized crime figures.

This lack of transparency in Macau, particularly concerning the junkets and VIP rooms, we believe ultimately undermines the credibility of the whole system. We welcome reader feedback and intel. Help us shed light on Macau.

China Air Quality Standards: Two-Thirds Of Cities Failing (Huffingtonpost.com)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/china-air-quality-standards_n_1315874.html

March 5, 2012

BEIJING — Two-thirds of China’s cities currently fail to meet stricter air quality standards that the government wants to phase in over four years to combat notoriously smoggy skies, a senior Chinese environmental official said Friday.

The State Council, China’s Cabinet, on Wednesday issued new limits on pollutants to go into effect nationwide by 2016. It also said major cities must launch programs this year to regularly monitor additional kinds of pollutants for the first time, including fine particles associated with health problems.

Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing said Friday that the government estimates that two-thirds of Chinese cities currently do not meet the new standards, saying efforts to improve urban air quality will be “very hard work.”

“Our task of air pollution control is huge,” Wu said.

The government revised its air quality standards in response to public pressure over pollution and the lack of thorough information about air quality in China. Demands in Beijing for greater government accountability on air quality were fueled in recent months in part by a Twitter feed set up by the U.S. Embassy giving hourly updates on air quality as measured on the facility’s roof.

Wu said the government plans to set up 1,500 new air monitoring stations around the country.

“We also want to build up public confidence in the data we provide in order to better serve the public,” Wu said.

The new Chinese standards require concentrations of fine particulate matter called PM2.5 to be kept below daily averages of 75 micrograms per cubic meter – more than twice as lenient as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standard of 35 micrograms.

Some Chinese cities generally have much higher amounts than that, and the U.S. Embassy monitoring showed a 24-hour average in the capital Friday of 188.5, a reading that it called “very unhealthy.”

PM2.5 – particles less than 2.5 micrometers in size, or about 1/30th the width of an average human hair – are believed to be a health risk because they can lodge deeply in the lungs, and have been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as lung cancer.

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