************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Kam-lam under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure and a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, in the Legislative Council today (December 4):
Question:
It has been reported that recently, the political situation in Thailand has deteriorated rapidly, with anti-government demonstrators attempting to occupy the government headquarters in Bangkok, the capital, and paralyse the Government's operation. There was even a shooting incident last weekend, resulting in five dead and 57 injured, and the Thai Government immediately imposed "curfew" in Bangkok. Besides, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong indicated that as at Monday of this week, about 40 group tours, totalling about 1,000 Hong Kong people, still stayed in Bangkok. There are worries about their personal safety, and so far only some travel agencies have announced suspension of the departure of group tours. Some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that unless the authorities have issued a black Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for Thailand, quite a number of people who have enrolled in group tours will travel to Thailand in the coming period (especially during the travelling peak season in Christmas). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the authorities' current assessment of the situation in Thailand (especially in Bangkok); whether the OTA for Thailand will be raised to the black alert so that the relevant government departments and travel agencies will expeditiously adopt corresponding measures to protect the personal safety of Hong Kong people who are staying in or going to travel to Thailand; whether the Government has discussed with the travel agencies about raising the OTA and suspending the departure of group tours to Thailand;
(b) whether the Government knows the number of Hong Kong people who are still staying in Bangkok at present, including the number of people who are travelling in group tours and that of independent travellers; of the measures currently adopted to provide instant safety information and assistance proactively to travel agencies and independent travellers; whether the Immigration Department (ImmD) has looked into the requests for assistance from Hong Kong people in Thailand through the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand; and
(c) whether the authorities have made preparation in case of further deterioration of the situation in Bangkok which results in emergencies, actions can be taken immediately, including providing chartered flights to carry Hong Kong people back to Hong Kong and sending ImmD's officers there to provide Hong Kong people with assistance?
Reply:
President:
My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows -
(a) The HKSAR Government has been closely monitoring the situation in Thailand. Since early November this year when a number of large-scale demonstrations took place in Thailand, the Security Bureau (SB) has been gathering information on the local situation through different channels, including the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR (OCMFA), the Chinese Embassy in Thailand, the Thai Consulate-General in Hong Kong, the travel industry and the media. We have also made reference to the travel information and alerts issued by other countries.
In view of Thailand's latest situation which may change shortly, we have uploaded the latest situation onto SB's Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) webpage. We have also notified residents who have registered their itineraries and contact details through the Immigration Department (ImmD)'s Registration of Outbound Travel Information (ROTI) service and the GovHK Notifications Apps. For example, on November 25, the Thai Government implemented the Internal Security Act in Bangkok and surrounding areas empowering the officials and military to take emergency measures including the imposition of curfew in serious cases; on November 30 and December 1, violent clashes, including gunshots, occurred in the area of Ramkhamhaeng University in northern Bangkok, resulting in casualties; in the evening of December 1, 2013, the Thai Government urged people in Bangkok to stay indoors from 10pm that night to 5am the next day for safety reasons. The HKSAR Government has informed Hong Kong residents these developments through the above-mentioned channels.
In view that the situation in Thailand (Bangkok) remains tense with the possibility of deteriorating, which shows no sign of early resolution, the HKSAR Government decided to raise the OTA for Thailand (Bangkok) to Red at noon on Monday (December 2). Residents intending to visit Bangkok should adjust their travel plans and avoid non-essential travel. Those already there should monitor the situation, attend to personal safety and avoid protests and large gatherings of people. The OTA for other parts of Thailand remains at Amber.
The SB will continue to closely monitor the latest situation and review the OTA for Thailand and Bangkok. Any update will be issued through the media, the bureau's OTA webpage and the GovHK Notifications Apps.
(b) According to the latest information from the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council, as at December 4, there are 23 Hong Kong tour groups with about 461 members in Bangkok/Pattaya/Hua Hin. We will continue to disseminate the latest information through the media, the bureau's OTA webpage and the GovHK Notifications Apps.
Since the HKSAR Government raised the OTA for Thailand (Bangkok) to Red at noon on Monday, the ImmD has issued updated information to 423 residents who have registered under the ROTI and are currently in Thailand or intend to travel to Thailand this month. We encourage residents to register their itineraries and contact details through the ROTI before departure so that ImmD can disseminate practical information to them on a timely basis when necessary.
The ImmD has been obtaining the latest situation through the OCMFA and the Chinese Embassy in Thailand. To date, the Chinese Embassy has received one assistance request from a Hong Kong resident who has lost contact with his friend in Bangkok but has soon re-established contact. The ImmD has not received any assistance requests to date.
(c) The SB has formulated a Contingency Plan for Emergency Response Operations outside the HKSAR for providing assistance, in accordance with the contingency plan, to Hong Kong residents whose personal safety is affected by large-scale natural disasters or sudden incidents outside Hong Kong. When Hong Kong residents encounter large-scale incidents abroad, we will maintain close contacts with the OCMFA and the local Chinese Diplomatic or Consular Missions to provide practical assistance to them.
The contingency plan covers the assessment of whether normal flight operations are able to effectively address the demands of stranded Hong Kong residents wishing to return in case of emergency. When necessary, we will contact major local airlines to reserve certain seats (reserved seats) or charter special flights (chartered flights) to bring back stranded Hong Kong residents if possible.
It is worth mentioning that there is no direct linkage between whether "reserved seats" or "chartered flights" would be arranged and the issue of an OTA by the SB. The former depends on whether normal flight operations are able to effectively respond to the demands of bringing back stranded Hong Kong residents under special circumstances. The OTA, on the other hand, serves to provide an appropriate alert to Hong Kong residents, based on the risk assessment and threats to personal safety of Hong Kong residents in the event of major incidents.
Ends/Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:39
NNNN
