â€‹The Government today (November 19) urged employers to make flexible work arrangements for staff to return to work having regard to traffic and road conditions occurring during the day. This will help maintain good labour-management relations and ensure the safety of employees and the smooth operations of establishments.

     "For staff who cannot report for duty on time on account of conditions in road traffic or public transport services, employers should give due consideration to the circumstances of individual employees and handle each case flexibly," a Government spokesman said. 

     "The Government will similarly handle government employees in such situations with understanding. For staff who are unable to report to work on time because of traffic problems, they should inform their immediate supervisors as soon as possible and their departments will handle the cases flexibly."

     The Central People's Government, on the recommendation and nomination of the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, has approved the appointment of Mr Tang Ping-keung, Deputy Commissioner of Police, as Commissioner of Police and the removal of Mr Lo Wai-chung from the post of Commissioner of Police with effect from today (November 19). Mr Lo proceeded on pre-retirement leave on the same day after serving the Hong Kong Police Force for 35 years.

     Commenting on the appointment of Mr Tang Ping-keung, Mrs Lam said, "Mr Tang has served in the Hong Kong Police Force for over 30 years and has extensive experience in criminal investigation, international liaison as well as operational command. He has distinguished performance and possesses proven leadership skills. I am confident that he will lead the Police Force in meeting the challenges ahead."

     Speaking on the retirement of Mr Lo Wai-chung, Mrs Lam said, "Upon taking up the appointment as Commissioner of Police in May 2015, Mr Lo has made commendable efforts in maintaining Hong Kong as one of the safest cities in the world. He has demonstrated dedication and determination in safeguarding Hong Kong and upholding the rule of law in dealing with the social unrests in the past few months. On behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, I convey my heartfelt appreciation to Mr Lo for his contribution to the HKSAR and I wish him a happy retirement."

     The Government also announced the appointment of Mr Siu Chak-yee, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, as Deputy Commissioner of Police today.

     The following are biographical notes on Mr Lo Wai-chung, Mr Tang Ping-keung and Mr Siu Chak-yee:

Mr Lo Wai-chung
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     Mr Lo Wai-chung joined the Hong Kong Police Force in July 1984 as a Probationary Inspector. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent of Police in 2005, Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2009 and Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2011. He was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Police in 2013 and took up the Commissioner of Police post in May 2015.

     Mr Lo has held a variety of posts during his 35 years of service in the Police Force, responsible for crime investigations, security and operations as well as management work. Between 1999 and 2002, he was seconded to INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France, where he worked as a Liaison Officer and was subsequently promoted to Assistant Director heading the INTERPOL Asia & South Pacific Branch. He was Chief Superintendent (Security) and Deputy Regional Commander (Kowloon West) between 2005 and 2009, Assistant Commissioner (Security) from October 2009 and Director of Crime and Security from January 2011. He served as Deputy Commissioner (Operations) and Deputy Commissioner (Management) between August 2013 and May 2015. He was appointed as Commissioner of Police in May 2015.

     During his career in the Police Force, Mr Lo has received many awards. He was awarded Commissioner's Certification of Academic Merit in 1985; Commanding Officer's Commendation in 1989; Commissioner's Commendation in 1995; Hong Kong Police Long Service Medal in 2002 with the first, second and third Clasps in 2009, 2014 and 2017 respectively; Hong Kong Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2009 and Hong Kong Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2014.

Mr Tang Ping-keung
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     Mr Tang Ping-keung joined the Hong Kong Police Force in June 1987 as a Probationary Inspector. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent of Police in 2012, Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2015, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2017 and Deputy Commissioner of Police in November 2018. He was appointed as Commissioner of Police on November 19, 2019.

     Mr Tang has served in many different posts in the Police Force, responsible for criminal investigation, international liaison and operations work. Between 2006 and 2008, he was seconded to INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France where he worked as a Specialised Officer and was subsequently promoted as the Head of Criminal Organisation and Violent Crime Unit. He served as District Commander (Yuen Long), Deputy Regional Commander (Hong Kong Island), Regional Commander (Hong Kong Island) and Assistant Commissioner (Personnel) between 2012 and 2017. He was Director of Operations from January 2017 and took up the post of Deputy Commissioner (Operations) in November 2018.

     During his career in the Police Force, Mr Tang has received many awards. He was awarded Commissioner's Certification of Academic Merit in 1988, four Commanding Officer's Commendations between 1997 and 2005, Commissioner's Commendations in 1999 and 2003, Hong Kong Police Long Service Medal in 2010 with the first Clasp in 2017 and Hong Kong Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2018. 

Mr Siu Chak-yee
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     Mr Siu Chak-yee joined the Hong Kong Police Force in December 1988 as a Probationary Inspector. He was promoted to Chief Superintendent of Police in 2013, Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2017 and Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police in 2018. He was appointed as Deputy Commissioner of Police on November 19, 2019.

     Mr Siu has served in various posts in the Police Force, responsible for frontline operations, criminal intelligence-related duties and personnel management. He was District Commander (Kowloon City) and Chief Superintendent (Human Resources Branch) between 2013 and 2017. He was Assistant Commissioner (Personnel) from January 2017 and took up the post of Director of Operations in November 2018.

     During his career in the Police Force, Mr Siu has received many awards. He was awarded five Commanding Officer's Commendations between 1995 and 2006, Commissioner's Commendation in 2006, Hong Kong Police Long Service Medal in 2006 with the first and second Clasps in 2013 and 2018 respectively and Hong Kong Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2016.
 

      

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

     The special meeting of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Development originally scheduled for today (November 19) at 8.30am in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex will be held at 9am.

     The Transport Department (TD) today (November 19) appealed to members of the public to pay attention to the traffic situation and the latest public transport service arrangement this morning before starting their journey.

     As at 6am today, the latest public transport situation is as follows:

(I) MTR

     All MTR lines maintain services today. Except the Airport Express Line, the train service will end at 11pm.

     Whampoa, Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hung Hom and University stations are closed. Entrances/Exits at some stations will also be closed. Train services may be suspended or adjusted due to incidents. Members of the public are advised to continue to stay tuned to the latest traffic news.

     From start of service, East Rail Line service will be provided between Mong Kok East and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau stations (not stopping at University Station). Free shuttle bus service running between Tai Po Market and Kam Sheung Road stations will be arranged during morning and evening peak periods.

    West Rail Line service will end at Austin Station. Kwun Tong Line service will end at Ho Man Tin Station.

     Light Rail Route 751P is substituted by Route 706. Routes 614, 614P, 751 and 761P will be diverted. Light Rail Vehicles will not stop at Chestwood and Yau Oi stops.

(II) Hung Hom Cross Harbour Tunnel

     Due to the damage of the Administration Building and toll plaza, and the traffic management system has been damaged, the Hung Hom Cross Harbour Tunnel (both bounds) cannot be opened soon. Motorists crossing harbour must use Western Harbour Crossing and Eastern Harbour Crossing. To deal with the surge in traffic flow, the TD has urged the tunnel operators to closely monitor the situation and strengthen control measures when necessary. The TD has coordinated with franchised bus companies to increase the frequency of the cross harbour bus routes as appropriate.

(III) Franchised bus

     Major roads in Kowloon East and Yau Tsim Mong District in Kowloon are yet to be opened due to continued road blockages. Some bus routes may be temporarily diverted or suspended. The major affected road sections include Chatham Road South near the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (both bounds), Nathan Road between Argyle Street and Salisbury Road (both bounds), Hong Chong Road (both bounds) and East Kowloon Way (both bounds). Police will implement road closure, traffic control and diversion measures depending on the traffic conditions on site.

(IV) Ferry services

     Currently, inner harbour ferry routes have tried to strengthen their services to address the passenger demand. The TD will, together with with the ferry operators and the trade, study measures to further strengthen the inner harbour ferry services and carrying capacity as far as practicable.

     About 160 sets of traffic lights are still under urgent repair. Those in Yau Tsim Mong and Yuen Long are seriously affected. Motorists and pedestrians are advised to be patient and pay attention to road safety when passing through the affected junctions.

     As traffic conditions and railway services may change within a short period of time, the TD urges commuters using public transport services to allow more travelling time and plan their journey in advance. Details of the latest traffic news are available at TD's website (www.td.gov.hk/en/home/index.html) or mobile application "HKeMobility".

Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

     The fire danger situation today (November 19) is red and fire risk is extreme. The countryside is extremely vulnerable to fire. If you are planning to spend the day in the countryside, please take pre-cooked food for a picnic and take all measures to prevent hill fires. The penalty for lighting fires illegally in the countryside is $25,000 and a year's imprisonment.