Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (June 4):
Reporter: Good morning, Mr Lee. Some English questions. Firstly, as mentioned by another reporter, would Hong Kong residents still be able to publicly mourn June 4 from Causeway Bay tonight, and would the recent arrests in the police department be counterproductive and instead remind people of the upcoming June 4? Second question, with regard to the HKU (The University of Hong Kong) Council, what do you think of the root cause of this infighting that appears to be going on inside the HKU Council? Do you stand on the side of the council or on the side of the Vice Chancellor on this matter? And as the Chancellor of HKU, what are you going to do to help resolve the infighting and protect the school's reputation and operation? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The Government’s position on public events is very clear. All activities by any person must be conducted according to the law. No activities that contravene the law should take place. The Government of course will take action in accordance with law which includes the Public Order Ordinance, the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. I have said in my beginning speech that we should not forget the pain that we all went through in the attempted "colour revolution", which took place in 2019. The threat to national security is real, and such activities can happen all of a sudden, and different people may use different excuses to hide their intention. So it is important that we all bear that in mind to be on guard all the time against attempts to cause trouble to Hong Kong particularly disturbing public peace. The Hong Kong Government will ensure that all activities that take place in public must be conducted within the law, and for any activities that contravene the law, law enforcement agencies will take action accordingly.
Regarding the HKU, I have noted media reports regarding some internal matters about the HKU. The HKU is a successful university that belongs to the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region). Hong Kong citizens and I myself, of course, have high expectations of good governance in the HKU. I have caused action to learn more about what is happening, and I have tasked the Education Bureau to learn more about what is happening. They will report to me and then I shall discuss with them the way forward.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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