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Following is a question by the Hon Sophie Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (January 26):

Question:

The tsunami in South Asia last month resulted in hundreds of Hong Kong residents travelling in Southern Asia losing contact with their families, and some of them were injured or died. The Government has been criticized for underestimating the number of Hong Kong residents affected by the disaster at the initial stage, and the support team comprising officers from various Government departments was not sent to the stricken regions until four days after the incident, which was considered to be a slow response. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to set up a standing mechanism to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in danger outside Hong Kong, which includes a one-stop telephone hotline, if it will not, of the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

The earthquake and tsunami disaster that occurred on December 26, 2004 led to a very large number of casualties in the affected countries around the Indian Ocean, including Hong Kong residents travelling in those places. We are saddened by the catastrophe and we extend our deepest sympathy to the bereaved families.

The Government has paid close attention to this incident and the situation of the Hong Kong residents stricken by the disaster right from the start. On the day of the incident (December 26), in accordance with the system under which we provide assistance to Hong Kong residents involved in emergencies while they are outside of Hong Kong, we got in touch with Chinese diplomatic and consular missions posted to the affected countries and cities through the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong to request assistance for our residents involved in the disaster. The relevant consular staff immediately attended the affected areas to evaluate the situation and to provide practical assistance to stricken Hong Kong residents. On the same afternoon, our own immigration officers were ready to go, but due to the closure of the Phuket Airport their departure could not be made immediately. At the same time, medical and ambulance personnel were on stand by for deployment to the affected areas. We also began to publicise through the mass media the established hotline of the Immigration Department's Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit (AHU), and deployed additional staff to handle requests that might come in through the hotline. On the second day (December 27), two immigration officers were despatched to Phuket on the first available flight to evaluate the situation, followed later on the same day by two additional members of staff each to Phuket and Sri Lanka. The Thailand and Sri Lanka contingents were reinforced by four and two immigration officers respectively on December 28. The size of the emergency assistance team was continually reinforced, until it was over 160 by December 30, with personnel from the Security Bureau, Police Force, Immigration Department, Hospital Authority, Civil Aid Service and Auxiliary Medical Service. The team performed essential services of various kinds and helped to trace missing persons in Phuket and other popular tourist destinations in the region.

As indicated above, the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Scheme run by the Immigration was immediately activated. Following that we have been formulating and organising our response drawing on relevant components of our established "Contingency Plan for Natural Disasters" as appropriate. This plan provides guidelines on the crucial components of an emergency response, such as the roles and responsibilities of designated parties involved in the response; arrangements for decision-making, communication and command, etc. The plan caters for disasters occurring in Hong Kong. We think that we should improve further on our emergency response system by establishing specific guidelines catering for disasters outside Hong Kong similar to the recent tsunami disaster, drawing on relevant components of our existing guidelines modified in the light of the experience we have gained from tackling the recent tsunami disaster.

Under the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Scheme we have an established hotline (telephone number: 28293010), which is widely publicised through the mass media upon occurrence of serious accidents and casualties involving Hong Kong residents. This number is published through the Immigration Department's website (http://www.immd.gov.hk), as well as the 'Guide to Consular Protection and Services Outside Chinese Territory' and 'Guide to Assistance Services to Hong Kong Residents in the Mainland' obtainable at the Information Office and departure halls of immigration control points of the Immigration Department. In the review mentioned above, we will consider whether and how we could improve further on the hotline arrangement.

Ends/Wednesday, January 26, 2005

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