Statement by Chief Executive’s Office on surrender of fugitive offender to other jurisdiction

     The Chief Executive's Office today (May 31) issued the following statement in respect of recent media reports on a fugitive surrender request made by the US Government:

     While it is inappropriate to discuss individual surrender cases in public, all requests for the surrender of fugitive offenders are processed strictly in accordance with the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and in the context of relevant agreements concluded with the respective jurisdictions for the surrender of fugitive offenders. For requests received from the US Government for the surrender of fugitive offenders, the Agreement between the Government of Hong Kong and the Government of the United States of America for the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders is applicable.

     On receipt of each and every surrender request from another jurisdiction, the Chief Executive must first issue authority to proceed before the request can be processed further. A decision on whether to issue authority to proceed on the advice of the Department of Justice rests solely and entirely with the Chief Executive under section 6(2) of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503). Such a decision is only to be made after taking into full account the relevant facts and circumstances of each case for the purpose of complying with the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) and the applicable bilateral agreement. Under the above-mentioned Agreement, situations under which a surrender request may be refused are clearly set out. These relevant provisions are reproduced in the Annex.

     In a recent Hong Kong Policy Act Report submitted by the US State Department to the US Congress, it was mentioned that in respect of a fugitive surrender request made by the US Government, the Chief Executive refused the request in October 2017 "at the behest of the Central Government". The statement suggests that the Chief Executive's decision in the case concerned was made in a manner other than in accordance with the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) or the Agreement. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government deeply regrets to see the inclusion of this inaccurate statement in the above-mentioned Report to the US Congress.

     Currently, there is no surrender of fugitive offenders arrangement between the HKSAR and the Mainland. Therefore, no surrender of a fugitive has ever been made to the Mainland. The HKSAR Government deals with any movement of persons in and out of Hong Kong in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.




Meeting of LegCo Subcommittee

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Subcommittee on Securities and Futures (Professional Investor) (Amendment) Rules 2018 will hold its first meeting at 10.45am tomorrow (June 1) in Conference Room 2 of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, members of the Subcommittee will elect a Chairman and meet with the Government.




Hammer Hill Road Swimming Pool reopened

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (May 31) that Hammer Hill Road Swimming Pool in Wong Tai Sin District, closed earlier on due to power failure, has been reopened.




Crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements for public meeting on June 4

Police will implement crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements in the vicinity of Victoria Park on June 4 (Monday) to facilitate the holding of a public meeting at the park.

Crowd safety management measures
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With the exception of Gate 5, all the gates to the event venue will be opened to arriving participants.

Participants are encouraged to use public transport to Victoria Park and enter the venue through two ingress points: from the west via Gates 6 and 7 (entrances near Sugar Street and Great George Street) and from the east through Gate 14 (Hing Fat Street near Lau Sin Street). Participants arriving by MTR are advised to use exits A1 and A2 of MTR Tin Hau Station to reach Lau Sin Street and Gate 14 for convenient access to Victoria Park. Depending on the crowd situation, a queuing system will be initiated at Tin Hau Station Public Transport Interchange and the car park area along Hing Fat Street to facilitate the crowd (See diagram 1).

When the football pitches 1 to 6 are saturated, the marshals will direct the participants coming from the east side to the Central Lawn along the South Boulevard, or direct the participants coming from the west side to the Central Lawn along the West Boulevard and then via the North Boulevard (See diagram 2).

When the Central Lawn is also saturated, the marshals will direct the participants coming from the east side to the Band Stand along the East Boulevard and then via the North Boulevard, or direct the participants coming from the west side to the Band Stand along the West Boulevard and then via the North Boulevard (See diagram 3).

Depending on the crowd situation, a queuing system will be initiated along a section of Gloucester Road service road to facilitate the arriving crowd. Participants are not allowed to gather at Gloucester Road service road at any time to avoid causing obstruction. Police will also implement crowd safety management measures along Gloucester Road service road to facilitate members of the public to enter the park.

For the safety of participants and other venue users, Police have designated both the South Boulevard and Middle Boulevard as the emergency vehicle access (EVA). In the event of an emergency where urgent assistance is required, vehicles may require speedy access along this route. Notices demarcating the EVA will be posted by the Police.

To facilitate the arrival of participants, particularly to the Central Lawn area, Police will open up a section of the EVA between Gate 14 and the junction of Middle Boulevard and South Boulevard till about 8.30pm (See diagram 4). The maintenance of the EVA is of paramount importance for the safety of the attending participants. For such reason, participants are advised not to gather at the EVA at any time. All persons operating promotional or souvenir stalls should also avoid blockage of gates and ingress routes.

On the event day, there will be public announcements inside Victoria Park to keep participants informed of the latest situation and amendments to arrangements. Participants are requested to adhere to the directions given by the event marshals and Police officers on site.

Special traffic arrangements
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A. Road closure

Depending on the prevailing crowd and traffic situation, the following roads may be closed from about 4pm until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

– Sugar Street;
– Great George Street;
– Kingston Street;
– Paterson Street;
– Cleveland Street;
– Northbound Gloucester Road between Causeway Road and Gloucester Road service road; and
– Gloucester Road U-turn slip road between southbound and northbound Gloucester Road underneath Tai Hang Road flyover.

Depending on the prevailing crowd and traffic situation, the following roads may be closed from about 6pm until the crowd has dispersed and traffic resumes normal:

– Southbound Gloucester Road between westbound Gloucester Road and Causeway Road;
– Tai Hang Road flyover;
– Hing Fat Street between Causeway Road and Lau Li Street, except for franchised buses and green minibuses (GMBs);
– Electric Road between Tsing Fung Street and Hing Fat Street, except for vehicles accessing to Park Towers;
– Lau Li Street between Hing Fat Street and Ngan Mok Street, except for vehicles accessing to Park Towers; and
– Yacht Street.

B. Traffic diversions

The following traffic diversions will be implemented during the road closure period:

– Lau Li Street between Electric Road and Hing Fat Street will be re-routed to one-way westbound. Public light buses are not allowed to enter;
– Traffic along eastbound Yee Wo Street cannot turn left to Sugar Street;
– Traffic along westbound Gloucester Road cannot turn left to Cleveland Street or Paterson Street;
– Traffic along northbound Tai Hang Road flyover cannot turn left to Kingston Street and northbound Gloucester Road;
– Traffic along northbound Tai Hang Road will be diverted via eastbound Tung Lo Wan Road;
– Traffic along Victoria Park Road flyover heading for Tai Hang area will be diverted via eastbound Victoria Park Road, Wing Hing Street, westbound King’s Road and Tung Lo Wan Road;
– Traffic along Victoria Park Road flyover heading for Tai Hang Road flyover must turn right to westbound Gloucester Road;
– Traffic along eastbound Causeway Road cannot turn left to Hing Fat Street, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
– Traffic along westbound King’s Road cannot turn right to Hing Fat Street, except for franchised buses and GMBs;
– Traffic along southbound Electric Road must turn left to eastbound Yacht Street or turn right to westbound Tsing Fung Street, except for vehicles accessing to Park Towers; and
– Traffic along northbound Ngan Mok Street must turn right to eastbound Lau Li Street.

C. Suspension of parking spaces and car parks

Parking spaces at Hing Fat Street public car park (except for disabled parking spaces) and disabled parking spaces at Gloucester Road will be suspended from noon to 11.59pm.

During the road closure period, vehicles may not be allowed to enter or leave car parks and hotels on the closed roads.

Actual implementation of the crowd safety management measures and traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to pay attention to special traffic signs and take heed of instructions of Police at scene.




Update on cluster of Rhinovirus cases in Kowloon Hospital

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     Regarding the announcement yesterday (May 30) on a cluster of inpatients infected with Rhinovirus in a male infirmary ward of the Rehabilitation Department, the spokesperson for Kowloon Hospital (KH) gave the following update today (May 31):
 
     One more 76-year-old patient of the ward presented with respiratory symptoms. An appropriate viral test was arranged for the patient and his test result was positive for Rhinovirus. He is being treated under isolation with stable condition.
 
     KH will continue the enhanced infection control measures and closely monitor the situation of the ward. The case has been reported to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow-up.