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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Kwok-hung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, in the Legislative Council today (November 4):
Question:
On the 5th of last month, the Police launched the Hong Kong Police Facebook page (FB page), aiming to provide a platform for more direct and interactive communication with the public so as to reach out to different sectors of the community. At a press conference held on the same day, a police spokesperson pointed out that any person committing an offence on the Internet, same as in the physical world, would face the consequence of criminal sanctions. Quite a number of members of the public have complained to me, alleging that the Police not only have not responded to their comments posted on the FB page, but also have deleted their comments without giving any reason. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the FB page is managed by police officers; if so, of the number and ranks of the police officers involved, and whether they work on shifts on a round-the-clock basis;
(2) of the annual public expenditure on operating the FB page;
(3) of the respective numbers of (i) "likes" obtained, (ii) people who have posted comments, (iii) comments posted in total, (iv) comments to which the Police have not responded; and (v) comments which the Police have deleted, since the launch of the FB page;
(4) whether it has assessed if the Police's practice of not responding one by one to the comments and enquiries posted by the public on the FB page is contrary to the original intention for launching the FB page and disregarding public comments and enquiries; whether the Police will consider responding to the comments one by one; if they will not, whether the Police only wish to boast about their performances by one-way communication with the public through the FB page;
(5) on what grounds that the administrator of the FB page deleted the public comments; whether it has assessed if the practice of deleting public comments has created the perception that the Police are unwilling to listen to public opinion and accept criticism, deceiving themselves and others, and reluctant to face the reality; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether the administrator of the FB page will take the blame for the practice of deleting public comments and resign;
(6) whether, since the launch of the FB page, the Police have investigated any offence suspected to have been committed by members of the public when posting their comments on the FB page; if they have, of the number of persons suspected to have committed such offences, and whether prosecutions have been instituted against such persons;
(7) given that some members of the public have posted comments on the FB page, requesting the Police to take stern law enforcement actions and immediately institute criminal prosecutions against the following persons: (i) the police officers who had allegedly given false evidence when the court was hearing cases relating to the Occupy Central movement and, as a result, were criticised by the magistrate or judge, (ii) the seven police officers who allegedly assaulted a protester in Tamar Park, Admiralty on October 15 last year, and (iii) the police superintendent (now retired) who allegedly assaulted protesters on November 26 last year, whether the Police have assessed if the persons posting such comments have committed any offence; if they have assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the offences concerned, the number of persons who have committed such offences, as well as the number of persons who have been arrested by the Police so far; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons why the Police have not responded to such comments so as to achieve the purpose of communicating with members of the public;
(8) of the respective numbers of comments relating to the persons mentioned in (7)(i), (ii) and (iii) above posted on the FB page, that the Police have deleted since the launch of the FB page; and
(9) whether the Police have made any performance pledge in respect of the time for the administrator of the FB page to respond to the enquiries made by the public; if they have, of the time pledged?
Reply:
President,
The Government's reply to the Hon Leung Kwok-hung's question is as follows:
(1),(2),(4),(5) and (9) To further enhance public understanding of police work, disseminate anti-crime messages and reach out to different sectors of the community, the Police have established a 19-member new section, led by a Superintendent of Police, under the Police Public Relations Branch (PPRB). In addition to the promotion of the social media of the Police, including Hong Kong Police Mobile Application, Hong Kong Police YouTube and Hong Kong Police (HKP) Facebook, the new section is responsible for mass media liaison and other relevant support duties. Since such work falls within the periphery of the PPRB's general operations, there is no separate breakdown of the financial resources involved.
Same as the other aforementioned social media of the Police, the HKP Facebook serves as a complementary tool in strengthening public contact of the Police in addition to conventional modes of communication. Prior to the introduction of the HKP Facebook Page, the Police had made reference to the experience of overseas law enforcement agencies and other government departments in enhancing public communication through Facebook pages. Expecting to relay anti-crime messages through the Facebook Page in a lighter and livelier manner, the Police wish to let the public further understand and support police work.
As stated in the disclaimer of the HKP Facebook Page, the Police may not reply or immediately respond to all messages therein. The HKP Facebook administration team is also not operating round the clock. Members of the public shall call 999 in case of emergency or call the Police hotline on 2527 7177 for non-urgent enquiries.
While respecting freedom of speech and right to expression of the public, following the Facebook Company's cyber security advice to its corporate clients, the Police have indicated in the disclaimer of the HKP Facebook Page that any posts involving foul languages, violence and threats, intimidation and harassment, abuse and insult, sexual description, privacy, illegal activities, advertisement or misrepresentation shall be removed.
(6) and (7) The Police always respect the right of expression of the public and welcome members of the community to give their views on police work. Meanwhile, the Police also hope that the public, in their courses of exchange and discussion, will at the same time respect the related rights of other people.
Hong Kong is a society that upholds the rule of law, and all citizens should abide by its laws. Most of the laws that apply to the real world are also applicable to the Internet. Anyone who commits an unlawful act, whether in the real world or in the cyber world, shall be criminally responsible and brought to justice. For any offences on the Internet, the Police will, as always, collect evidence and take arrest actions when necessary. To date, no arrest actions were taken by the Police in respect of the comments on the HKP Facebook Page.
(3) and (8) As at October 30, 2015, there were over 30 posts published on the HKP Facebook Page with more than 48 000 Likes. The Police do not have statistical information on other relevant figures.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:22
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