LCQ22: Countering terrorist activities and handling emergency incidents
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Question:
Given Hong Kong’s dense population, it will be too ghastly to contemplate the consequences in the event that Hong Kong falls victim to terrorist attacks. Regarding the enhancement of capabilities of countering terrorist attacks, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of counter-terrorism exercises conducted by the authorities in each of the past five years, (ii) the contents of such exercises, (iii) the government departments and related organisations that took part in the exercises, and (iv) the number of personnel who took part in the exercises;
(2) whether the authorities will invite public participation in future counter-terrorism exercises to allow members of the public to grasp directly the ways to counter terrorist attacks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) how the authorities will heighten public preparedness in countering terrorist attacks, including reminding members of the public to stay vigilant and the ways to safeguard personal safety during terrorist attacks; of the current manpower and expenses required for such efforts each year;
(4) in the past five years, (i) of the number of visitors who were suspected terrorists refused entry into Hong Kong by the authorities each year, and (ii) whether the authorities encountered any difficulty in intercepting terrorists from entering Hong Kong (if so, of the details and ways of handling); whether the authorities have reviewed the existing immigration procedure to see if there are any loopholes (if there are loopholes, of the measures to plug such loopholes); and
(5) given that in recent years terrorist attacks have occurred in a number of European and South Asian countries which are frequently visited by Hong Kong people for sight-seeing, of (i) the number of Hong Kong people who sought, while they were travelling abroad, assistance from the authorities in the past five years due to local occurrence of terrorist attacks, and (ii) the details of the assistance offered by the authorities, including the manpower and expenses involved; whether the authorities will allocate additional resources to strengthen the assistance offered to such Hong Kong people; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In recent years, terrorist activities have gone rampant around the globe while their modi operandi have become more diversified. Hong Kong has a robust legal framework and adequate enforcement capability to guard against and tackle terrorist activities. We must also keep a close watch on the international trends of terrorist activities, stay vigilant and step up preventive measures. Our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) and (2) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, in particular the Police, conducts regular exercises against major incidents and terrorist attacks to test the counter-terrorism (CT) response capabilities and plans of various departments and relevant organisations. In the past five years (2012 to 2016), the Police conducted a total of 259 CT and major incident contingency exercises, most of which are joint exercises participated by different government departments and public organisations. In response to the changing CT landscape in recent years, the Police conduct CT exercises in various forms and on different themes. Nine regular CT exercises have been conducted in the first five months of 2017. The most recent one was the large-scale CT exercise codenamed "Hardshield" which was conducted in May 2017. In addition to the Police, other participating departments include the Fire Services Department, Customs and Excise Department, Government Flying Service, Civil Aid Service and St. John Ambulance Brigade, involving more than 900 people.
(3) To enable the public in knowing the necessary measures and first aid methods in case of emergency, the Security Bureau (SB) has produced booklets teaching the public how to handle suspicious or emergency incidents, such as ways to handle suspicious objects, suspected bombs and mails containing suspicious powders/substances; as well as emergencies in public areas or transport. The information has been uploaded to SB's website (www.sb.gov.hk/eng/emergency/advice/advice.html). Besides, SB's mobile application "Safeguard HK" disseminates realtime information to the public from time to time, such as updates on major emergencies and Outbound Travel Alerts, and provides the public with practical information on security in daily lives and during travels.
Through various different social media such as "Hong Kong Police Mobile Application", "Hong Kong Police YouTube", "Hong Kong Police Facebook" and "Hong Kong Police Instagram", the Police continue to instill among the public safety knowledge and anti-crime awareness, thereby enhancing their alertness and responsiveness to major dangerous incidents.
The above public education initiatives are part of the routine duties. The manpower and expenditure involved are not calculated and quantified separately.
(4) The Immigration Department (ImmD) exercises effective immigration control in accordance with the law at boundary control points to prevent entry of persons who may pose a threat to the law and order of Hong Kong. In the light of terrorist threat assessments and actual circumstances, ImmD also takes appropriate control measures and steps up interception and examination of suspected persons at various boundary control points. Meanwhile, ImmD also includes information of visitors suspected of being linked to terrorist activities in a watch list so as to prevent such persons from attempting to enter Hong Kong. Any such persons found at boundary control points will be refused permission to land and referred to the relevant law enforcement agencies for follow-up.
ImmD will continue to strengthen intelligence exchange with the law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong as well as those in other places through different channels. It will also enhance the training on terrorist detection and handling for frontline staff with a view to strengthening their capability in dealing with terrorists and enforcement of law.
ImmD does not maintain the figures mentioned in the question.
(5) The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) endeavours to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong. Upon receipt of requests for assistance from Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong, the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit (AHU) of ImmD will immediately seek to understand the situation through various channels including the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR, the Chinese Diplomatic and Consular Missions, offices of the HKSAR Government in the Mainland or overseas or relevant government departments. The AHU will provide practicable assistance to the subjects having regard to the actual circumstances of the cases and the requests of the assistance seekers, such as contacting the family members of the Hong Kong residents in distress, assisting the persons concerned in applying for/replacing their travel documents, co-ordinating with the relevant units for corpse handling arrangement of the deceased or medical transfer of the casualties with a view to helping them return to Hong Kong as early as possible, etc. The AHU will send officers to the place of incidents to provide immediate assistance to the subjects and their family members when necessary, including visiting the casualties, meeting with the local officers concerned to understand the situation of the affected Hong Kong residents, urging the local hospitals to provide appropriate treatment, etc.
ImmD does not maintain a breakdown of the number of Hong Kong residents who sought, while travelling abroad, assistance from the AHU due to local occurrence of terrorist attacks. The numbers of requests for assistance received by ImmD in the past five years and the nature of the cases are set out in the table at the Annex.
As it is part of the routine of the AHU to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents outside Hong Kong, the manpower and expenditure involved in handling cases of a particular nature are not calculated and quantified separately.
Ends/Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:15
Issued at HKT 16:15
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