The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Works Subcommittee will hold a meeting at 8.30am tomorrow (March 25) in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex.
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, Mr Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, today (March 24) welcomed the acceptance by the Chief Executive of the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC) on the appointment of the Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (Mr Justice Cheung), Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, as the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from January 11, 2021. The Chief Justice noted that the Government would be seeking the endorsement of the Legislative Council of the recommended appointment. He stated that pending such endorsement, it would not be appropriate to comment further except to state that he has every confidence that Mr Justice Cheung will, if appointed, make an outstanding Chief Justice, that he will continue to uphold the rule of law and protect judicial independence, and that under his leadership, the Judiciary will continue to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the individual.
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal is the final appellate court in Hong Kong. It consists of the Chief Justice and the permanent judges. Non-permanent judges may be invited to sit. The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) provides that the Chief Justice shall be the head of the Judiciary and shall be charged with the administration of the Judiciary and such other functions as may from time to time be lawfully conferred on him.
Mr Justice Cheung stated that he is honoured by the Chief Executive's acceptance of JORC's recommendation on the appointment. He said that he is fully conscious of the community's high expectations of the Judiciary and that if appointed he will do his utmost to ensure that the rule of law and judicial independence are maintained and that the rights and freedoms of the individual are safeguarded.
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, has accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC) on the appointment of the Honourable Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung (Mr Justice Cheung), Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal, as the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal with effect from January 11, 2021. Subject to the endorsement of the Legislative Council, the Chief Executive will make the appointment under Article 88 of the Basic Law.
Mrs Lam said, "It gives me great pleasure to accept the JORC's recommendation to appoint Mr Justice Cheung as the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. I sincerely congratulate Mr Justice Cheung on this impending appointment. Mr Justice Cheung is a highly competent judge with exceptional qualities and leadership. He is a person of high integrity and commands strong respect both within the Judiciary and from the legal profession. As Chief Judge of the High Court for over seven years, he possesses strong administrative experience in the operation of the Judiciary.
"The rule of law is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. An independent Judiciary plays a pivotal and indispensable role in upholding the rule of law and in ensuring the fair administration of justice; these are well recognized strengths of Hong Kong's judicial system. Throughout the years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been rendering all necessary support to the Judiciary in sustaining effective judicial administration. We have been meeting in full the resource requirements of the Judiciary, implementing the Judiciary's proposals on the remuneration and statutory retirement ages for judges and judicial officers, and taking forward the new High Court and new District Court projects. The Government will continue to provide the same support to Mr Justice Cheung and members of the Judiciary."
Mrs Lam took the opportunity to thank the Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li who will be retiring in January 2021 for his staunch commitment and relentless efforts in safeguarding the rule of law and promoting the international status of the Judiciary, particularly amongst the common law jurisdictions. She also commended his sterling contribution in enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of judicial administration.
"The achievements of Chief Justice Ma have left behind a world acclaimed Judiciary that will maintain its stature in the hands of his successor. With his solid judicial experience, I am confident that Mr Justice Cheung will discharge his duties as the head of the Judiciary with distinction," Mrs Lam said.
Article 88 of the Basic Law provides that the Chief Executive shall appoint judges of the courts of the HKSAR on the recommendation of an independent commission composed of local judges, persons from the legal profession and eminent persons from other sectors. The commission, JORC, consists of the incumbent Chief Justice, the Honourable Mr Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li, as Chairman, the Secretary for Justice and seven other members (two judges, one barrister appointed after consultation with the Bar Council of the Hong Kong Bar Association, one solicitor appointed after consultation with the Council of the Law Society of Hong Kong and three persons not connected with the practice of law).
Article 90 of the Basic Law provides that the Chief Executive shall obtain the endorsement of the Legislative Council on the appointment of the judges of the Court of Final Appeal, including the Chief Justice. The Government will now proceed to seek the endorsement of the Legislative Council of the recommended appointment.
The curriculum vitae of Mr Justice Cheung is at the Annex.
With a large number of Hong Kong residents returning from overseas countries in which the COVID-19 epidemic situation has been increasingly severe recently, the number of imported cases in Hong Kong has surged rapidly and some clusters with community-acquired cases have been detected. After consideration by major members of the Steering Committee cum Command Centre chaired by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, enhancements were announced by Mrs Lam yesterday (March 23) for the anti-epidemic measures in four aspects, responding quickly to the latest developments of the disease.
The four aspects of the measures are as follows:
(1) Preventing imported cases and cutting the virus transmission chain
To further prevent imported cases and cut the global and local virus transmission chain as far as possible, the following measures will be implemented with effect from 0.00am on March 25, tentatively for 14 days:
Taking into consideration the practical situation, a small number of persons can be exempted from the above immigration restrictions and/or quarantine requirements, including:
The Immigration Department will handle each case in accordance with immigration policy, the actual situation and established procedures.
(2) Early Identification of asymptomatic inbound travellers
The Government will expand its current practice of random virus testing against asymptomatic inbound travellers by mandating that all arriving persons from the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe and the United States must have virus tests with an aim of identifying infected but asymptomatic cases as early as possible. The relevant travellers will be given a specimen container on arrival and will each be required to collect their deep throat saliva sample at a specific time and deliver it to one of the designated clinics as instructed by the Department of Health. If a sample tests positive, the Department of Health will arrange for the person to be admitted to hospital for isolation and treatment immediately. If the test result is negative, the person concerned will still be required to complete the 14-day home quarantine.
(3) Stringent enforcement actions to combat breaches of quarantine orders
The law enforcement agencies will enhance enforcement and strictly combat offenders breaching quarantine orders, including setting up a hotline as soon as possible for members of the public to report such cases to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement. On March 22 and yesterday, the Police intercepted several suspected offenders. The Police and the Department of Health immediately started investigation and are proactively collecting more evidence for the Department of Justice to consider prosecution. All the people concerned were subsequently sent to quarantine centres. In addition, the Police have placed people who have been found to have left their dwelling places without permission on the wanted list.
The Government once again reminds all persons under compulsory quarantine to strictly comply with the quarantine order and not to defy the law.
(4) Reducing social contacts and gatherings further
To further reduce social contacts and gatherings, the Government will invoke the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599) to introduce legislation to temporarily prohibit the sale and supply of alcoholic drinks by about 8 600 restaurants, bars and clubs with liquor licences in Hong Kong. Details of the relevant legislation will be announced later.
The Government will also discuss with members of the restaurant industry on ways to further reduce gatherings (such as wedding banquets and other celebration activities) and how restaurants can reduce customers' risk of infection during meals. If the effect of voluntary actions taken by the industry is not good, the Government will consider introducing regulations through the above-mentioned legislation.
In addition, the Government will request the clubs on private recreational leases to immediately close all of their recreational and sports facilities, changing rooms and play rooms for young children in the clubs. The Government also appeals to other private clubs and gymnasia to adopt the same measure to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus.
Mrs Lam said, "Since the situation continues to evolve drastically, the Government must make prompt responses to roll out more measures, and it will continue to do so down the road.
"With the concerted efforts of Hong Kong people to maintain social distancing as much as possible over the past two months, the anti-epidemic work has yielded certain positive results. The number of confirmed cases, nonetheless, has increased significantly with the return of a large number of Hong Kong residents from overseas, jeopardising the situation. I urge every member of the public to put up with the inconvenience in their daily lives, and in particular call on those returnees from overseas who are under compulsory quarantine to strictly observe the quarantine order. I have no doubt that as long as we stay united to work together, we can definitely win the fight against the epidemic."