Tag Archives: China

The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
 
     The Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC), Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, called on the Election Committee (EC) members to bring their Hong Kong permanent identity card and EC name badge to vote in the 2022 Chief Executive (CE) Election tomorrow (May 8).
 
     After inspecting the main polling station at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai with EAC members Mr Arthur Luk, SC and Professor Daniel Shek as well as the Returning Officer, Mr Justice Keith Yeung Kar-hung, Mr Justice Fung said arrangements at the polling station are ready.
 
     The law stipulates that a poll will be held in a contested election as well as in an uncontested election for the CE election. The CE shall be elected by the EC members by secret ballot on a one-person, one-vote basis. Only the members whose names are on the final register of the members of the EC may vote. There is only one validly nominated candidate in the election. Nearly 1 500 EC members may cast either a “support” vote or a “not support” vote. The candidate shall be returned at the election if the number of valid “support” votes obtained by him exceeds 750, and be appointed by the Central People’s Government to become the next term of CE.

     However, if the number of valid “support” votes obtained by the candidate does not exceed 750, the candidate shall not be returned at the election. The Returning Officer shall publicly declare that no candidate is returned at the election, and terminate the proceedings for the election. There will then be another round of nomination and election.
　　
Polling stations and polling arrangements
 
     Mr Justice Fung said, “Due to the increase in the number of the EC members, anti-epidemic and social distancing requirements, there will be no less than 70 ballot paper issuing desks and about 100 voting compartments in the main polling station. The distance between the facilities in the polling station will be widened as far as possible. In order to reduce the flow of people at the main polling station, the polling hours will be extended to two and a half hours which are from 9am to 11.30am. A suggested time slot will be assigned to the EC members, according to the five EC sectors to which they belong, to vote at the main polling station. Relevant information together with a polling notice have been delivered to each EC member earlier. We call on the EC members to arrive at the main polling station to vote according to the suggested time slots.”
 
     The Electronic Poll Register will be used for issuing ballot papers at the main polling station for the CE Election for more efficient and accurate issuance of ballot papers. The EC members only need to present the original of their Hong Kong permanent identity card or other specified alternative documents to the polling staff for collecting ballot papers.
 
     He said, “The ballot is secret and conducted in a confidential manner, and the EAC attaches great importance to voting secrecy. Pursuant to the law, ballot papers will not be printed with numbers. Polling staff are prohibited from recording which particular ballot paper is issued to an EC member. After being issued a ballot paper, the EC member should proceed to a voting compartment alone and use the chop bearing the ‘tick’ mark provided at the polling station to vote. The EC member should fold the ballot paper so that the marked side is inside, and then insert the folded ballot paper into the ballot box.
 
     “The EC members are not allowed to communicate with others in the polling station, especially not to tell others his/her voting choice or show others the choice on his/her ballot paper. The use of electronic devices for communication, take photographs, or make video or audio recordings in the polling stations is forbidden. After leaving the polling station, the EC members have the right to decide whether to disclose their voting choice.”
 
     Apart from the main polling station at the HKCEC, the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) has also set up a polling station at Penny’s Bay Community Isolation Facility (Penny’s Bay Polling Station) and a dedicated polling station at Happy Valley Police Station (polling hours are from 9am to 11.30am).

     The Penny’s Bay Polling Station is for the EC members who cannot go to the main polling station to vote due to local isolation/quarantine measures on the polling day. Its polling hours are from 9am to 10.30am. Affected EC members should contact the REO to pre-register for voting at the Penny’s Bay polling station. Once the poll is closed, the ballot papers will be disinfected and then delivered to the central counting station cum media centre for counting with other ballot papers.
 
Measures in response to COVID-19
 
     In light of COVID-19, the REO will implement a number of anti-epidemic measures in the polling and counting stations. A fever detection system will be installed at multiple entrances of the HKCEC where the main polling station is located to conduct temperature checks on those who arrive at the main polling station. Electoral staff with fever symptoms will not be allowed to perform election duties. If the candidate or his agents have fever symptoms, they will not be permitted to enter the polling and counting stations, and he may assign other agents as replacements to monitor the polling and counting processes. The EC members with a fever will be directed by polling staff to special voting compartments to vote. Special voting compartments will be thoroughly disinfected after each use.

     Mr Justice Fung said, “At present, there is no electoral law requiring electors to use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ mobile application or comply with the Vaccine Pass requirements before entering polling stations, but we encourage the EC members to use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ and comply with the Vaccine Pass requirements when entering the main polling station. The REO will post the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ QR code of the main polling station at the passage leading to the main polling station in the HKCEC. However, whether the EC members use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ and meet the requirements of Vaccine Pass will not affect their voting rights. The candidate and his agents, as well as all polling staff should use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ app and comply with Vaccine Pass requirements when entering the main polling station.”
 
     As for the counting station and its media centre, except the exempted persons (i.e. persons who are aged below 12 or aged 65 or above, and those with disabilities that render use of the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’ mobile application difficult), all entrants must use the ‘LeaveHomeSafe’. The exempted persons are required to complete a record form to register their names, the first four digits or letters of their identification documents, their contact numbers and the date and time of their visits. In addition, due to the implementation of the Vaccine Pass, except the persons who hold a specified Medical Exemption Certificate and other exempted persons, all persons entering or staying at the central counting station cum media centre are required to have received at least two doses of vaccination.
 
Counting arrangements and election result announcement
 
     Once the poll is closed, all ballot boxes will be delivered to the central counting station cum media centre at the HKCEC where the count will be conducted manually by counting staff. The candidate, his election agent and counting agents may observe the counting in the counting area, while members of the public can observe the counting in the public gallery. Given that social distancing should be maintained among the people in the venue, there will be about 400 seats in the public gallery. Admission to the public gallery will be opened from 10.30am tomorrow on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public admitted to the public gallery will be required to wear a wristband provided by the REO for identification purpose.
 
     After the completion of the count, the Returning Officer will announce the election result at the central counting station. An announcement of the election result will be displayed outside the counting station and a Gazette notice will be published on the same day.
 
     For enquiries, please call the election hotline on 2891 1001 or visit the election website (www.elections.gov.hk) for more information on the election.

            

     The Government announced today (May 7) that in order to fight the coronavirus epidemic, the Environmental Protection Department and the Drainage Services Department have been collecting sewage samples for virus testing in all d… read more

     The Government today (May 7) exercised the power under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J) to make a “restriction-testing declaration” (declaration) effective from 3pm, under which people (hereafter referred to as “persons subject to compulsory testing”) within the specified “restricted area” in Tseung Kwan O (i.e. Tak On House, Hau Tak Estate, Tseung Kwan O, excluding social service units thereat and non-domestic units on G/F, see Annex) are required to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing. Persons subject to compulsory testing are required to stay in their premises until all such persons identified in the “restricted area” have undergone testing and the test results are mostly ascertained. The Government aims at finishing this exercise at about noon tomorrow (May 8). The operation may be extended depending on test results.
 
     A Government spokesman said, “Under Cap. 599J, the Government can, according to the needs of infection control, make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’. Having reviewed a basket of factors, including the viral load in sewage, the information of relevant positive cases, and other circumstantial factors, and conducted a risk assessment, the Government decided to make a ‘restriction-testing declaration’ for the relevant area.”
 
     The Government will set up temporary specimen collection stations at the “restricted area” and request persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo testing before 10pm today. Arrangements will be made for persons subject to compulsory testing to undergo a nucleic acid test at specimen collection stations where dedicated staff will collect samples through combined nasal and throat swabs. Persons subject to compulsory testing must stay at their place of residence until all test results are ascertained to avoid cross-infection risk. The Government will arrange for door-to-door specimen collection for people with impaired mobility. All persons in the “restricted area” who have tested positive in the past three months, including positive cases identified either by nucleic acid tests recorded by the Department of Health (DH) or by rapid antigen tests that have been self-declared to the DH, will not be required to undergo testing in this compulsory testing exercise.
 
     The Government spokesman said, “We understand that this exercise will cause inconvenience to the public. The Government has made arrangements to carry out testing for all persons present in the ‘restricted area’ as soon as possible. The aim is to strive to complete testing of all identified persons subject to compulsory testing and confirm the results, and finish the exercise at around noon tomorrow. The Government will make a public announcement when the declaration expires officially. In the cases in which employees are unable to go to work because of the declaration, the Government hopes their employers can exercise discretion and not deduct the salaries or benefits of the employees.”
 
     If staying in the “restricted area” will cause unreasonable hardship to individuals who are not residents in the area when the declaration takes effect, government officers may exercise discretion and allow that person to leave the area after considering the individual circumstances. That person must have followed the instructions to undergo testing and leave his/her personal information for contact purposes.
 
     According to the compulsory testing notice to be issued today, any persons other than those specified above who had been present at the above building for more than two hours from May 1 to 7, 2022, even if they were not present in the “restricted area” at the time when the declaration took effect, must undergo compulsory testing on or before May 9, 2022. As a mutant strain is involved, for prudence’s sake, vaccinated persons and persons who have recently been tested are also required to undergo testing.
 
     For the 2022 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) candidates who are within the “restricted area” and need to sit the HKDSE on the following day, or examination personnel who need to take up invigilation duties for HKDSE on the following day, the Government appeals to them to go to the temporary specimen collection stations setup within the “restricted area” before 8pm today and present to the prescribed officer the relevant documents (including the identification documents and HKDSE admission forms, or a certification letter issued by the school of the examination personnel) proving their identities. These HKDSE candidates and examination personnel will be given priority testing with a view to enabling them to obtain test results on the following day as early as possible. The priority testing arrangement also applies to the family members who live together with these HKDSE candidates and examination personnel, so as to identify those HKDSE candidates and examination personnel who have become close contacts of confirmed cases for making quarantine arrangement.
 
     If any HKDSE candidate or examination personnel needs to leave the “restricted area” for the examination centre before the declaration is revoked, he/she can make a request to the prescribed officers within the “restricted area”. The prescribed officer may allow the candidate or the examination personnel to leave the “restricted area” after verifying his/her testing result(s) and recording the relevant information. For the safety of all candidates and examination personnel, only those candidates and examination personnel who have obtained negative test results will be allowed to enter the examination hall. For details, please read the relevant information issued by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority earlier www.hkeaa.edu.hk/DocLibrary/HKDSE/PPT_2022DSE_compulsory_testing_arrangements_eng.pdf.
 
     In addition, the Civil Service Bureau has set up a hotline (Tel: 6485 5096) which has started operation at 3pm today for residents restricted by the declaration to make enquiries and seek assistance. The Social Welfare Department will also provide assistance to the affected persons.
 
     The Government appeals to persons subject to compulsory testing for their full co-operation by registering and undergoing testing, and waiting for the results patiently at home. The Government will strictly follow up on whether the persons concerned have complied with the compulsory testing notices and “restriction-testing declaration”. Any person who fails to comply with the compulsory testing notices commits an offence and may be fined a fixed penalty of $10,000. The person would also be issued with a compulsory testing order requiring him or her to undergo testing within a specified time frame. Failure to comply with the compulsory testing order or the “restriction-testing declaration” is an offence and the offender would be liable to a fine at level 5 ($50,000) and imprisonment for six months. read more

     The Labour Department (LD) is investigating a fatal work accident that happened in Yau Ma Tei this morning (May 7) in which a man died.      The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of… read more

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, inspected this morning (May 7) the final stage of preparatory work of the main polling station and central counting station for the Chief Executive Election at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, including the set-up of main polling station, epidemic prevention measures, security arrangements and counting procedures. She also gave encouragement to electoral staff participating in rehearsal sessions there.
 
     Speaking to the electoral staff on-site, Mrs Lam said, “The 2022 Chief Executive Election was the third major election under the improved electoral system. It is vital that all electoral staff are well versed in their duties and procedures to ensure the smooth conduct of this election. I hope that every colleague will be fully committed to making this a historic election for Hong Kong.”

     She said that the Central Government’s improvement to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s electoral system has provided a robust safeguard for fully implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”. The Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections and the Legislative Council General Election were conducted last year on September 19 and December 19 respectively. The Government will, as in the past, spare no effort to ensure the 2022 Chief Executive Election will be conducted in a fair, open and honest manner efficiently and orderly.

     She also appealed to members of the Election Committee to cast their votes in the 2022 Chief Executive Election tomorrow (May 8).