MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese):

President, we can see in recent days that the rioters are utterly out of control for they would block roads all over the territory, vandalize shops and transport vehicles and also set them on fire. More outrageously, they would resort to vigilantism indiscriminately on some members of the public expressing different political views or taking photographs, thereby rendering the lives of two people now in critical condition. Even foreign tourists would not be spared. A few days ago, a Japanese tourist who took photographs unknowingly was beaten by the rioters and ended up with his head wounded and bleeding. This has aroused the concern of the Japanese Government and affected Hong Kong's international image.

 

May I ask the Government what measures it has to combat these acts or crimes of indiscriminate vigilantism? For instance, can the efforts in arresting the assailants be stepped up and prosecution initiated as expeditiously as possible, so as to make those people realize what criminal liability they will have to bear and what punishment they will be subjected to? In particular, tourists have no knowledge of many issues when they visit Hong Kong. In that case, how can the safety of tourists be protected in Hong Kong? Will the Secretaries or the Chief Secretary for Administration please answer this supplementary question.

 

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, it is the responsibility of the SAR Government if the personal safety of any individual is threatened in Hong Kong. Therefore, we would definitely exert our utmost to protect the personal safety of the public. Yet, the problems we now face are very serious, hence we would exhaust our resources and abilities to step up our efforts at arresting the assailants and initiate prosecution as expeditiously as possible, as suggested by Mr YIU.

 

The Police are now handling a rather large number of cases and it takes time to deal with the investigations given the manpower pressure at present. Therefore, with a view to enabling the Police to handle the cases more effectively, we will increase the manpower of the Police Force, including conducting recruitment exercises. In addition, as an interim measure, we will also recruit some retired police officers to rejoin the Force to assist in the investigation of some criminal cases. As I mentioned just now, we hope to step up our efforts at arresting the assailants and initiate prosecution in the shortest possible time.

 

We are also strengthening our work on intelligence gathering and analysis, which includes the approach to collecting evidence and intelligence in different fields under the entire criminal investigation system, so as to ascertain the identity and whereabouts of the violent persons who have committed crimes.

 

With respect to the safety of tourists, we would often give explanations to various representatives of consulates in Hong Kong on the actual situation of Hong Kong presently, and notify them of the locations where processions and protests would take place to enable them to stay more vigilant and take care of their personal safety. That said, after all, protecting the personal safety of Hong Kong people or anyone in Hong Kong is certainly the responsibility of the SAR Government. The Police will make every effort to ensure that they can do the best in protecting personal safety.

 

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese):

President, I thank Mr YIU Si-wing for his supplementary question. The example quoted by him points to exactly the gravest concern of the tourism sector. If a traveller were injured due to whatever reasons, the efforts we have made beforehand might all go down the drain. Yet, I believe it has nothing to do with whether the person is a tourist or not. Each and every one of the people of Hong Kong and those visitors to Hong Kong should be protected by the law. As such, I echo with the earlier remark made by the Secretary for Security, that the Government will definitely make its best endeavours to do a good job in this respect.

 

Nevertheless, it is true that, as mentioned by Mr YIU, many diplomatic and consular missions or foreign chambers of commerce have discussed the issue with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and expressed their concerns over the past period of time. Presently, there are still 40 countries having issued travel advice to their citizens in respect of the situation of Hong Kong. Among them, several countries have issued travel warnings which are more serious in nature, and Japan is one of them as they are more concerned about this.

 

Regarding the work on this front, apart from the stringent enforcement actions taken by law enforcement agencies, many host organizations―including the trade represented by Mr YIU Si-wing―have also done a lot of work during this period of time. For instance, travel agencies would provide more information on the locations which one can shy away from.

 

What is more, I also mentioned yesterday that during the past period of time, many large-scale commercial, trade and tourism events, such as some large-scale events organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, could still be held as scheduled. However, we would not leave the travellers to make arrangements on their own, but the host organizations often have to do a great deal of extra work such as setting up some local contact points, arranging for transport and providing advice for the travellers or organizations, etc. We will, in collaboration with the trade and relevant representatives, keep up the good work in this respect.

 

In closing, I believe no one wishes that anyone―be they Hong Kong people or travellers―would be subject to these attacks.