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Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, to a question by Dr Hon Lam Tai-fai in the Legislative Council today (March 26):
Question:
As an international metropolis, Hong Kong is often bustling with various mega sports events as well as cultural, tourism and commercial activities, while members of the public enjoy the rights of procession, assembly and demonstration. There are views that the Government should stay more vigilant on matters relating to public safety, and strengthen its counter-terrorism capability and its ability to handle major security incidents that might be caused by large-scale assemblies or processions (including the "Occupy Central" movement), with a view to safeguarding the personal safety of members of the public and their properties, as well as maintaining social order. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining the risk level of terrorist attacks for Hong Kong; the current risk level; whether they will re-assess the risk level of terrorist attacks for Hong Kong in light of the recent international situation; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether the authorities have regularly assessed if they have sufficient capability, manpower, experience and equipment to cope with potential terrorist attacks (such as bomb explosions or violent incidents at the Central Government Offices, the Hong Kong International Airport, the MTR or other public transport modes); if they have, of the details;
(3) of the number of drills on handling terrorist attacks and major public safety incidents conducted by the authorities in the past five years, the government departments involved, the number of participants and the effectiveness of such drills;
(4) whether there were intelligence exchanges between the Police and the mainland public security authorities in the past five years, so as to safeguard Hong Kong from terrorist attacks; if not, of the reasons for that;
(5) whether the Police exchanged views with the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison in the past five years, on safeguarding Hong Kong's security and national security; if not, of the reasons for that;
(6) as it was reported that a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) had pointed out during a group discussion session at the 12th NPC that, in light of the terrorist attack that occurred recently in Kunming, it was necessary for Hong Kong to expeditiously enact legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law for the purpose of maintaining the sovereignty and public safety, of the latest stance of the authorities on this issue, and whether they will conduct public consultation in this regard; if they will, when they will do so; if not, of the reasons for that;
(7) of the respective numbers of public assemblies, demonstrations and public processions held in each of the past five years, the number of participants in such activities, the number of relevant complaints received, the number of cases of assaults on police officers related to these activities and the respective numbers of people arrested, convicted and injured (including police officers, participants of processions and passers-by);
(8) of the circumstances which the Police, in the course of handling the activities mentioned in (7), will take into account when deciding the police manpower required to be deployed and determining whether it is necessary to deploy off-duty police officers and police officers from other police districts; the respective numbers of police officers that can be deployed from various police districts;
(9) whether it has assessed the possibility of the trunk roads in Central being blocked for a prolonged period as a result of one of the actions of the "Occupy Central" movement; if the assessment outcome is that such a situation is very likely, of the expected scale of the action concerned (including the number of people participating in the demonstrations), the police manpower required to be deployed during the course of the action, and whether the Police have already commenced the formulation of the corresponding security arrangements; whether the Police have assessed if they have sufficient capability, manpower, experience and equipment to cope with the emergencies that may occur during the course of the action; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that; and
(10) whether it has assessed the impact of the trunk roads in Central being blocked for a prolonged period on the economy, traffic, tourism, social order and public safety; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has always attached great importance to public safety, public order and safeguarding the life and property of citizens. Regarding the items raised in the question, the Administration's replies are as follows:
(1) The Hong Kong Police Force (the Police) has put in place a well-established mechanism of assessing the terrorist threat against Hong Kong. The assessment takes into account a wide range of local, regional and international factors, including the currently available intelligence, recent incidents and the trend of international terrorist activities. The Police have always maintained close liaison with the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of other places, and have gathered intelligence through various channels for timely risk assessment. At present, the threat level of terrorist attacks against Hong Kong remains "moderate".
(2) Strengthening counter-terrorism efforts is one of the Operational Priorities 2014 of the Commissioner of Police. The Police will continue to adopt preventive measures, including monitoring terrorist trends to ensure the Police readiness, and providing security advice for and deploying counter-terrorist patrols at critical infrastructure and sensitive premises. Besides, the Police will ensure preparedness by conducting regular training and multi-agency exercises to practise and enhance counter-terrorist contingency plans. To combat terrorism, the Police will deploy counter-terrorist resources strategically to ensure a timely, effective and coordinated response.
(3) To enhance relevant agencies' capabilities in combating terrorism and coping with major incidents, relevant Police formations conduct training, exchange and multi-agency exercises regularly. In the past five years, the Police conducted a total of 142 counter-terrorism and major incident exercises, with participants from relevant government departments and stakeholders.
(4) and (5) The Police have maintained close communication and liaison with law enforcement and intelligence agencies of other places (including mainland agencies), and have gathered intelligence through various channels for timely risk assessment of the terrorist threat against Hong Kong. The Police have also maintained communication with the Hong Kong Garrison of the Chinese's Liberation Army. They have been discharging their duties in accordance with the law respectively. The Hong Kong Police Force is a professional law enforcement agency and will take decisive actions in accordance with the law to resume public order and safety in response to any acts which violate the laws, or jeopardise peace and public order. The details of the liaison between the Police and the above mentioned agencies belong to sensitive information, and therefore should not be disclosed.
(6) The HKSAR is constitutionally obliged under Article 23 of the Basic Law (BL23) to enact laws for national security. However, as the current priorities of the HKSAR Government are social and livelihood issues, we do not have any plans to enact laws in respect of BL23. In case any legislation in relation to BL23 is to be taken forward in the future, the HKSAR Government will fully consult the community for a broad-based consensus on the legislative proposals. Any legislative proposals to be drawn up have to be consistent with Basic Law provisions related to the protection of various rights and freedom, and relevant international conventions.
(7) The number of public order events organised in Hong Kong, the number of people prosecuted and convicted for assaulting police officers during public order events, and the number of reportable complaints in connection with public order events in the past five years (from 2009 to 2013) are listed in the Annex.
(8) The Police will conduct comprehensive risk assessments and examinations, taking into account the purpose, nature and number of participants of individual public order events as well as the strategies and experiences in handling similar events in the past, before deciding on the necessary manpower deployment and appropriate crowd management measures to ensure that such public order events can be conducted in a safe and orderly manner. The number of police officers available for deployment from various police districts belongs to operational information, and therefore could not be disclosed.
(9) and (10) The Administration is very concerned about the "Occupy Central" initiated by some members of the community. We understand that there are concerns from quite a number of organisations and individuals over the impact of "Occupy Central" on the community, including disruption of social order, damage to the local economy and the business environment, etc. We have to reiterate that when expressing their aspirations, participants of public meetings, demonstrations or processions should abide by the laws of Hong Kong and conduct such events in a peaceful and orderly manner. They should not engage in any behaviour to the detriment of public order or any act of violence. Any occupation of trunk roads in Central, collective paralysis of traffic, or blocking-up of public thoroughfares, etc. will cause grave impact on public safety and public order, and even to the extent of jeopardising provision of emergency services to the public, thereby threatening lives and property of the public.
The Hong Kong Police Force is a professional law enforcement agency with extensive experiences and capabilities in handling large-scale public order events. Similar to their approach in handling other large-scale public order events, the Police will conduct assessments on the so-called "Occupy Central" for formulating contingency plans and overall strategy. They will also flexibly deploy manpower in the light of the prevailing circumstances to ensure public safety, maintain public order and minimise the impact of the event on the public.
As at present, the Police are keeping a close watch of the development. In organising a public order event with the number of participants exceeding the limit prescribed in the law, a person should approach the Police as early as possible for discussion of specific arrangements so that corresponding measures can be formulated and adopted, whereby facilitating the concerned activities to be conducted in a peaceful manner, minimising the impact on members of the public and road users, and ensuring public order and public safety.
Ends/Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:50
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