The Secretary for Security exercised the powers conferred by sections 89(1) and 89(4) of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (6 of 2024) today (June 12) to specify six persons who have absconded the United Kingdom and are subject to warrants of arrest issued by the court for being suspected of having committed offences endangering national security, and to specify the measures to be applied against the relevant absconders by notices published in the Gazette. Details are set out in G.N. (E.) 15 of 2024 and G.N. (E.) 16 of 2024.

     The six specified relevant absconders include male Law Kwun-chung, male Mung Siu-tat, male Lau Cho-dik, male Cheng Man-kit, male Fok Ka-chi and male Choi Ming-da. All of them continue to engage in acts and activities endangering national security after they have absconded the United Kingdom. Thus, the police applied to the court for the arrest warrants in accordance with the law and put them on the wanted list in July 2023 and December 2023 respectively.

     The following four measures are applicable to all six relevant absconders: "Prohibition against making available funds etc. or dealing with funds etc.", "Prohibition against certain activities in connection with immovable property", "Prohibition in connection with joint ventures or partnerships with relevant absconders" and "Cancellation of HKSAR passports etc.". Besides, the measures of "Suspension of qualification to practise" and "Temporary removal from office of director" are applicable to individual relevant absconders. The offences endangering national security suspected to have been committed by the relevant absconders and the measures applied against the relevant absconders are detailed in the Annex.

     A Government spokesperson stressed that "These lawless wanted criminals are hiding in the United Kingdom and continue to blatantly engage in activities that endanger national security. They also make scaremongering remarks to smear and slander the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. More so, they continue to collude with external forces to protect their evil deeds. We therefore have taken such measure to give them a strong blow."

     The Police would like to remind members of the public that except under the authority of a licence granted by the Secretary for Security, any person, whether directly or indirectly, making available any funds or other financial assets or economic resources to a relevant absconder, or dealing with any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to, or owned or controlled by, a relevant absconder; leasing, or otherwise making available, immovable property to a relevant absconder, or leasing immovable property from a relevant absconder; or establishing a joint venture, partnership or any like relationship with a relevant absconder, or investing in such a joint venture, partnership or any like relationship commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for seven years. The Police will take strict enforcement action against the relevant offences. Members of the public are advised not to break the law.

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 (June 11) that the Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool in Yuen Long District has been temporarily closed for cleaning and superchlorination following the discovery of a small amount of vomit in the pool.

     It will be reopened at 6.30am tomorrow.

     The department appeals to swimmers to be considerate and to keep the swimming pools clean. They are advised not to swim after a full meal and should use the toilet facilities if necessary before swimming. 

     A delegation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) led by the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, and a delegation of the Shenzhen Municipal Government led by Vice Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government Mr Luo Huanghao held a task force meeting on the collaboration for the planning and development of Hong Kong-Shenzhen control points at the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of Shenzhen this afternoon (June 11) to continue taking forward the relevant work in the planning and development of boundary control points (BCPs).

     Mr Tang said that Hong Kong and Shenzhen have been maintaining close exchanges in actively taking forward relevant projects of BCPs since the last task force meeting held at the Central Government Offices of the HKSAR. Mr Tang also expressed his gratitude for Shenzhen's meticulous arrangements for the team to visit the redevelopment site at the Huanggang BCP to learn about the latest progress.

     The two delegations discussed the development of land BCPs, including reporting progress and exchanging views on the redevelopment projects of BCPs in Huanggang and Sha Tau Kok. Concluding the meeting, Mr Tang expressed his hope that the BCPs of Hong Kong and Shenzhen can continue their close co-operation to facilitate the flow of people and integration of the two sides, and that Hong Kong and Shenzhen can work together to explore more development opportunities.

     Other HKSAR Government officials attending the meeting were representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, the Architectural Services Department, the Planning Department and the Transport Department.

    

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

     At the invitation of the Government, the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Housing visited the Choi Hing Road Light Public Housing project (Choi Hing Road project) in Ngau Tau Kok today (June 11) to learn about the latest progress of the Light Public Housing (LPH) project.
 
     Members first received a briefing from the Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, on the Choi Hing Road project. Members then toured the show flats of the Choi Hing Road project to gain an overview of its design and facilities. Members learnt that each LPH unit will be equipped with a self-contained toilet, shower area, open cooking space, and basic facilities such as an electric water heater.
 
     The first batch of LPH will be ready for occupation in the first quarter next year, and the Choi Hing Road project, providing around 2 300 units, is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of next year at the earliest. During the visit, Members exchanged views with the Government on the ancillary transport and community facilities of the Choi Hing Road project. Member also look forward to the completion of the project so that people with housing needs could receive the most pragmatic assistance.
 
     Members who participated in the visit were the Chairman of the Panel, Mr Stanley Ng; Panel members Mr Kwok Wai-keung, Mr Andrew Lam, Mr Leung Man-kwong, Ms Carmen Kan and Dr So Cheung-wing; as well as non-Panel members Dr Tik Chi-yuen and Dr Ngan Man-yu.

    

     The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) of Hong Kong and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) of Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Singapore today (June 11) to further strengthen co-operation in combating scam calls and messages as well as managing spam communications.
      
     Signed by the Director-General of Communications, Mr Chaucer Leung, and the Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms and Post) of the IMDA, Ms Aileen Chia, at a bilateral meeting, the MOU seeks to strengthen strategic collaboration, support and exchange of information between Hong Kong and Singapore in areas including regulatory practices, public education and development of technical solutions to address and mitigate issues relating to scam and spam communications (including calls and Short Message Service (SMS) messages).
      
     "Through the timely exchange of information and co-operation, the MOU enables the two regulatory agencies to share insights about the latest market trends and developments, and to more effectively address the growing threats and nuisance brought by cross-border communications faced by the people of the two places. The even closer partnership and collaboration between OFCA and the IMDA that has ensued will help develop a more robust telecommunications regulatory regime for both jurisdictions," Mr Leung said.
 
     OFCA and the IMDA have a fine tradition of conducting annual bilateral meetings since 2004. Over the 20-year close relationship, areas of discussion and experience sharing have included the landscape and development of telecommunications markets, regulatory and enforcement issues, and initiatives in stepping up public education and publicity on communications and anti-scam/spam matters.

     To protect telecommunications users against frauds and maintain the integrity of Hong Kong's communications infrastructure, OFCA has been collaborating with various government departments in implementing a range of measures to tackle scam and spam communications from the perspective of telecommunications services, including:​

(a) launching the SMS Sender Registration Scheme in December 2023 to help identify genuine SMS messages and fully implementing the Real-name Registration Programme for Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Cards (the RNR Programme) since February 2023 to enhance the integrity of the mobile communications regime;
(b) providing designated telephone numbers to government departments and public organisations for communication with the general public;
(c) directing telecommunications service providers to block and suspend services of suspected fraudulent numbers and suspicious websites as referred by the Police, and monitor calls originating from their networks to detect any irregular/suspicious activities;
(d) working closely with various call-filtering apps developers and major telecommunications service providers to encourage wider use of call-filtering services to manage and safeguard incoming calls; and
(e) stepping up public education and publicity efforts to raise public awareness against phone scams, including collaboration with Legislative Council Members and district councillors on series of promotional campaigns.

     Through the above joint efforts, by the end of April this year, telecommunications service providers had rejected 2.21 million registration requests and cancelled 1.67 million non-compliant pre-paid SIM cards' registrations under the RNR Programme. Following referrals by the Police, over 9 700 website links were blocked and more than 3 800 phone numbers were suspended or blocked due to suspected involvement in fraudulent activities. In addition, around 690 000 local phone numbers with suspicious calling patterns were also suspended by telecommunications service providers.