MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): Chairman, I oppose all amendments to the Budget because many of the justifications are unfounded. I will elaborate my views on some of these amendments. Firstly, regarding the amendment to head 151, it is simply groundless to reduce the annual estimated expenditure of the Security Bureau on salaries under personal emoluments. The Security Bureau, which has a wide range of responsibilities, is the head of all disciplined forces, including the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF"), the Fire Services Department, the Correctional Services Department, the Immigration Department ("ImmD"), the Customs and Excise Department and the Government Flying Service. It is tasked to maintain law and order in Hong Kong and bring convenience to the public. Over the years, all disciplined forces under the Security Bureau have contributed to public safety, convenient services, good social order and rising international status. The low crime rate in Hong Kong has undoubtedly allowed Hong Kong to stay as one of the safest cities in the world.

 

Ever since last June, the everyday life of Hong Kong people has been greatly affected by black violence and the novel coronavirus epidemic. Thanks to the efforts of all disciplined forces, which perform their duties faithfully to maintain public order in the territory, the adverse impacts are minimized.

 

During this critical period, we can all see that the head officials of the Security Bureau have led their departments to stand up to difficulties and challenges under pressure. Let me take ImmD as an example. In the past few months, the frequent revision of immigration policies by different countries as an effort to contain the spread of novel coronavirus, plus massive flight cancellations, have caused many Hong Kong residents stranded in the Mainland and overseas cities in great worry. They contacted ImmD through different channels, and I myself also received some requests for assistance which were later referred to the Security Bureau and ImmD for follow up. By following up on such cases, I have learnt more about the work of relevant departments under the contingency mechanism. For instance, I saw how they contacted the Mainland authorities concerned, the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, embassies of China in other countries, foreign Consulates-General in Hong Kong and other relevant organizations, and how they liaised with airlines for flight arrangement when there was no direct flight to Hong Kong or the flights in certain cities were all cancelled. It was because of the effective cooperation of the Security Bureau, ImmD and other departments concerned that detailed and proper arrangements could be worked out to bring back Hong Kong residents from Hubei, Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan, Morocco and Peru.

 

The Hong Kong Government is now working hard to arrange Hong Kong residents stranded in India and Pakistan to return to Hong Kong in batches. During the evacuation process, government officers have to carefully devise protective and testing measures to safeguard their participating colleagues from infection. We can easily imagine how difficult and burdensome their work is. If it had not been the effective mechanism established by the Security Bureau and ImmD, many Hong Kong residents stranded overseas would still have been stranded in fear. The opposition camp, while blaming the Secretary for Security, should ask themselves honestly: Were the efforts made by the Secretary and the Security Bureau really as futile as they claimed?

 

Secondly, as regards head 122, the reason given by Members for cutting the budget for HKPF is a complete reversal of black and white. The opposition camp has deliberately smeared the Police out of political purposes since the protests against the proposed legislative amendments kick-started in June last year. Their strategies include creating a common enemy for the brainwashed youngsters; bombarding the Police with criticism by quoting specious cases or negative scenes through "yellow media", irresponsible teachers and politicos to misconstrue normal enforcement actions of the Police; and badmouthing the Police continuously by juicing up negative stories. The opposition camp has achieved quite a success in misleading lots of ignorant people, especially the innocent youth, and tarnishing the long-built reputation of the Police.

 

The Hong Kong Police has all along been committed to serving the people since the reunification. According to the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, the Hong Kong Police ranked the world's sixth―significantly higher than their counterparts in western countries such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada―in terms of "reliability of police services". This fact proves that the Hong Kong Police is world renowned for their quality.

 

As noted by Members, the Police are always quite restrained at the beginning of violent protests. However, protesters are well organized and employ strategic means to provoke the Police by playing different roles, including suspected reporters and volunteer first aiders. The opposition Members and people present on the scene will also disturb the Police constantly, with the intention of causing the Police to make mistakes or distracting the Police's attention during the operations, thereby creating an opportunity for rioters to do damage. It is observed that rioters have become increasingly daring under cover of others. At first, they just used umbrellas, bamboo sticks and iron rods as weapons. Later, they have turned to use incendiary bombs, bows and arrows, knives and improvised explosive devices. In the most recent days, even powerful explosive has been found. The protests are so violent that they have become organized terrorist activities.

 

Apart from the use of force, the opposition camp also seeks to damage the morale of the Police psychologically. In addition to cyber-bullying, they doxx police officers and their family members by all means. They have totally crossed the bottom line of morality in Hong Kong. Their purpose is to hit the Police's morale and undermine the governance credibility of the SAR Government and the Police. Fortunately, the Police Force of Hong Kong is so outstanding that its officers remain strong and continue to perform their duties faithfully under pressure.

 

Commissioner of Police Chris TANG has breathed new life into the Police after taking office. He is a leader who goes first by visiting the front line frequently and facing the media boldly. He also plans ahead proactively to deal with violent protests. Chairman, in the past 10 months, the Police not only had to handle unprecedented riots and maintain daily public safety, but also had to assist in containing the spread of novel coronavirus. One can easily imagine how great their pressure was. Therefore, the public should not readily believe the rumours which discredit the Hong Kong Police. Rather, they should objectively observe the Police from different angles, cherish and support them. This time, the proposed increase in the Police's budget is no cause for criticism. On the other hand, it is a total disregard of facts for the opposition camp to demand cutting the budget for the Police. All they want is to make use of this debate to further smear the Police, but I do not think any Hong Kong people with a sense of justice will be deceived by them anymore.

 

Thirdly, regarding head 152, the proposed reduction of the Hong Kong Tourism Board's ("HKTB") yearly budget for reinforcing Hong Kong as "Events Capital of Asia" sounds pointless to me. Chairman, the number of inbound visitors has plummeted over the past few months. Even in the Labour Day Golden Week, the daily number of inbound visitors remained low at 100 or so. All tourism-related industries are in plague and many sectors have suffered. According to the latest figures, retail sales have nosedived by over 40% and the resulting economic loss and unemployment situation are much worse than expected. Members of the public thus hope that the epidemic will soon be over for the economy and tourism of Hong Kong to rebound quickly.

 

Therefore, it is reasonable for the Government to allocate in the Budget an additional $790 million to give HKTB sufficient funds for tourism promotion. Considering the current development of the epidemic, I think Hong Kong and some of our neighbouring countries or cities will be among the first to control the epidemic. Hong Kong's inbound tourism may then recover. Adequate funding is hence necessary for HKTB to promote Hong Kong in full swing at the right time to revitalize local economy.

 

Hong Kong, by holding numerous events over the years, has established considerable reputation and developed some sort of influence as an events city in the region. The staging of events can certainly enhance the tourism appeal of Hong Kong. It is hence necessary to earmark $277 million in the HKTB's budget for promoting Hong Kong as the "Events Capital of Asia". In recent years, the reinforcement of Hong Kong's position as the "Events Capital" has become a strategy for Hong Kong to promote tourism. In 2010, the Government set up the Mega Events Fund ("MEF") to support various events organized by non-profit organizations with the aim of enriching tourists' travel experiences. The Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong Tennis Classic and Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival were among the successful events funded by MEF. After MEF expired, HKTB has taken over its work to reinforce Hong Kong's position as the "Events Capital".

 

As tourism is a pillar industry in many countries and places, different countries are willing to put in resources for staging events. Owing to the disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments in last June, the organizer of the Formula E Championship decided to cancel the race in Hong Kong and hold it in Marrakesh, Morocco. This is one of the examples showing how fierce the competition is for hosting this kind of expensive sports events. Once the hosting right is lost, it is very difficult to get it back. Chairman, when the epidemic is over, it is believed that all tourist cities will allocate additional resources for tourism to revitalize the economy. They may also take measures to attract new tourists. Hong Kong has the ability and resources needed for taking the first-mover advantage upon the recovery of tourism. The Government has already earmarked adequate provision for promoting Hong Kong's tourism and supporting the industry in the year to come, including, of course, the funding for event organization.

 

Fourthly, regarding the amendment to head 51, I think it is short-sighted to propose cutting the operation expenditure of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") Hong Kong Port for the year. HZMB is important in many ways. First of all, this convenient and efficient traffic route has brought much commuting convenience to the residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Western Guangdong, giving a boost to the economy and employment in the three places. It also facilitates Hong Kong people (especially retirees) to work and buy a home in the Mainland, thereby easing the housing pressure in Hong Kong. Besides, HZMB can expand the passenger base of the Hong Kong International Airport to Guangdong and Macao, reinforcing the Airport's position as a transportation hub in the region.

 

Secondly, HZMB has tourism value. Earlier on, HZMB was elected as one of the "seven wonders of the modern world" in the United Kingdom as it had set multiple records with its enormous construction challenges. The 55-kilometre HZMB consists of bridges, artificial islands and tunnels. Its immersed tunnel is the world's longest, widest, deepest and biggest, leaving incredible records in architectural history. Given its various world architectural records, HZMB has become a sightseeing spot. Many tourists are caught up in the fever to visit it by taking different means of transportation.

 

Recently, the HZMB Authority has set out to open an artificial island of HZMB for sightseeing by adding tourism elements. In the six-story integrated operation centre on the island, exhibition halls, observation decks, tea lounges, shopping facilities and coach parking spaces will be provided. Visitors can look at HZMB and the Lantau Island from far, and watch aircraft landing and taking off at the Hong Kong International Airport. They may also be lucky enough to see the Chinese White Dolphins. The artificial island will become another popular tourist spot in Hong Kong welcomed by both locals and overseas visitors. The economic value and tourist interest of HZMB have hence made the Bridge one of the important infrastructures in Hong Kong. For Members proposing to reduce the provision for HZMB, they have simply exposed their ignorance of the value of HZMB.

 

Chairman, I so submit.