Owing to the maintenance works on the flag poles and the podium at the Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai, the flag-raising ceremony scheduled at 8am today (June 13) will be suspended.

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

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

     Due to security reason, the Central Government Offices (CGO) will be temporarily closed today and tomorrow (June 13 and 14).

     Staff working in the CGO should not go to the workplace and should work in accordance with the contingency plans of their respective bureaux or departments. All visits to the CGO will be postponed or cancelled.

     â€‹Hong Kong Customs seized about 2 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds and about 6 kilograms of assorted products containing suspected tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC) and solutions suspected of containing nicotine with an estimated market value of about $300,000 in total at Hong Kong International Airport and in Tsim Sha Tsui on June 3 and yesterday (June 11) respectively. 

     Customs officers inspected an air consignment from the United States at Hong Kong International Airport on June 3 and seized the batch of suspected cannabis buds. 

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers yesterday seized the batch of assorted products containing suspected THC and solutions suspected of containing nicotine weighed about 6 kilograms at a retail shop selling smoking products in Tsim Sha Tsui. Three persons suspected to be in connection with the case were arrested. They include a 29-year-old woman, a 40-year-old man and a 30-year-old man. 

     Investigation is ongoing. 

     Customs will maintain close contact with Hong Kong Post and the logistics industries to step up action against drug trafficking through postal parcel or express courier channels.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Customs also reminds that cannabis and THC are classified as dangerous drugs under the Ordinance. Importation of products (including food and drinks) containing cannabis or THC into Hong Kong is prohibited unless the relevant provisions in the Ordinance are complied with. In order to avoid breaching the law inadvertently, special attention should be paid to the packaging labels of food and drinks.

     Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

    

     Following is the translation of the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam today (June 12):
 
Fellow citizens,
 
     Throughout the day, you could all see the distressing scenes in the Admiralty area. These acts of rioting, which damage social peace and disregard the law, are intolerable in any civilised society that respects the rule of law.
 
     Clearly, this is no longer a peaceful assembly but a blatant, organised riot, and in no way an act of loving Hong Kong.
 
     This morning, some people in total disregard to public safety occupied and blocked carriageways, paralysed traffic and gravely disrupted order in society.
 
     Starting in the afternoon, some people repeatedly charged toward the police cordon line and carried out dangerous and even life-threatening acts, including setting fire, using sharpened iron poles and bricks to attack the Police and damaging nearby public facilities, thereby posing serious threats to the safety of the general public, the young people who intended to express their views peacefully, the reporters, police officers and civil servants. We must strongly condemn them.
 
     I understand that the amendment to the ordinance by the Government this time has drawn strong positive and negative opinions in society and the Government has actively responded and explained many times. The fact is that since the return to the Motherland, issues involving the Central Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Mainland and Hong Kong, will be used by some people to stir up controversies and disputes. Intense confrontation is surely not the solution to ease disputes and resolve controversies.
 
     I hope you can all calm down to consider that this is not the first time in recent years that we have seen such riotous scenes. Hong Kong is a free, open and pluralistic society that values different opinions on everything. However, there is a bottom line in regard to the means of expressing an opinion, be it a supporting or opposing view. If a goal can be reached by radical and violent means, such scenes will become more severe, which will definitely put Hong Kong in harm's way.
 
     I hope that society will return to order as soon as possible and I don't want any more people to get injured in the riot. I appeal to all citizens who love this place to stay away from violence. I believe that any problem can still be resolved in Hong Kong, a civilised society, in a peaceful, rational and law-abiding manner for the overall interests of Hong Kong.

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (June 12) expressed its strong opposition to the class boycott and teachers' strike initiated by an educational body. The bureau reiterated that schools should not be used for expressing political aspirations as that would not only affect normal school operations but also unfairly drag under-aged students into political turbulence at the expense of their learning opportunities.

     The EDB also thanked school heads and teachers for their commitment to work, calling on them to continue to protect their students and to serve them with professionalism.

     Meanwhile, the EDB is concerned that traffic in the Wan Chai and Central and Western Districts has been seriously disrupted, which may affect students going to school tomorrow. The bureau urges schools to continue to adopt contingency measures under school-based mechanisms and exercise flexibility in handling individual students' lateness or absence. The bureau also calls on schools to make suitable arrangements, take proper care of students on campus, maintain communication with parents and, when class is dismissed, allow students to return home only under safe conditions.

     The EDB respects the right of members of the public including teachers and students to express their views on social issues in a peaceful and lawful manner. It calls on students to put their personal safety above everything else at all times, stay away from dangerous places, particularly in the vicinity of the Central Government Offices and the Legislative Council Complex in Admiralty, and not take part in riots or any unlawful activities.

     The bureau is closely monitoring the situation and will make special announcements when necessary.