The Secretary for Justice castigates the violent mob in London today (November 14, London time) causing her serious bodily harm on her way to an event venue. The Secretary immediately made a report to the London Police and requested the Police to take the case seriously and put the culprits to justice.

     The Secretary denounces all forms of violence and radicalism depriving others' legitimate rights in the pretext of pursuing their political ideals, which would never be in the interest of Hong Kong and any civilised society. 
 

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) expressed profound sadness at the passing of an outsourced cleansing service contractor worker, and is now providing necessary assistance to his family.

     The senior worker was suspected to be hit in his head by hard objects hurled by rioters during his lunch break near the North District Town Hall on November 13 (Wednesday). He sustained critical injury and subsequently passed away at the Prince of Wales Hospital yesterday (November 14) night.

     A spokesman for the FEHD said," We are very saddened by the incident and extend our deepest condolences to the family members of the deceased worker. We have requested the service contractor to follow up the labour insurance and compensation matters promptly. With the consent of the family of the deceased, we have referred the case to the Social Welfare Department for follow-up. We will continue to maintain close contact with the deceased family and provide all appropriate support and assistance to them as far as practicable."

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government expresses outrage over the malicious acts of the rioters. The Police will make every effort to investigate the case to bring offenders to justice.

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin (HKETO Berlin), continues to support the Hong Kong film industry by again sponsoring the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival in Warsaw, the only Polish film festival devoted to East and Southeast Asian cinema. The festival runs from November 13 to 20 (Warsaw time) in its 13th edition.

     Following the festival's tradition of providing exposure to the diversity and richness of Hong Kong cinematography, the film event is presenting one of the most varied selections of Asian cinema, including several films from Hong Kong. In this year's edition, the festival is featuring a "Fruit Chan Retrospective", presenting to Polish audiences some of the director's finest cinematic offerings including "Made in Hong Kong", "Little Cheung", "Durian Durian", "Hollywood Hong Kong", "Dumplings" and "Three Husbands".
      
     On November 17 (Warsaw time), the festival audience has a unique opportunity to participate in a Master Class with Fruit Chan, who is also meeting with audience members after the screenings of his films. The "Fruit Chan Retrospective" and the Master Class are accompanied by the premiere of the book "Made in Hong Kong", highlighting the most compelling contemporary phenomena and trends in Hong Kong cinematography of the last two decades. The monograph devoted to Hong Kong is the second publication by the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival dedicated to Asian cinematography. Other films from Hong Kong, namely "Still Human", directed by Oliver Chan, and "Fagara", directed by Heiward Mak, are also featured in the prestigious Asian Cinerama section of the Festival.

     Hong Kong is an established arts and cultural hub of Asia. Known for its inexhaustible supply of film talents, the city attracts young filmmakers and actors who bring inspiration and new ideas that further enrich its film industry. Creative industries are important economic drivers for Hong Kong, enhancing the economy's innovation capacity and driving its future growth. Hong Kong has a leading edge in key creative sectors such as film, television, music, design, architecture, advertisement, comics and animation, games and digital entertainment, printing and publishing.

About HKETO Berlin

     HKETO Berlin is the official Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Poland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.

  

     In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government made the following response today (November 14) to a report issued by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission:

     "Since the return to the Motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The 'one country, two systems' principle has been fully and successfully implemented. The HKSAR Government will continue to implement the 'one country, two systems' principle resolutely in accordance with the Basic Law.

     "Safeguarding human rights and freedoms is a constitutional duty of the HKSAR Government. Article 4 of the Basic Law stipulates that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the HKSAR and of other persons in the Region in accordance with law. Human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, in addition to the Basic Law. The HKSAR Government attaches great importance to human rights and freedoms and is determined to safeguard them.

     "At the same time, the HKSAR Government has a duty to implement and uphold the Basic Law and to ensure that all elections will be conducted in accordance with the Basic Law and relevant electoral laws. There is no political screening.

     "The Basic Law clearly stipulates that the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Any suggestion for 'Hong Kong’s independence' is a blatant violation of the Basic Law and a direct affront to the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of the PRC. 'Hong Kong's independence' runs counter to the successful implementation of 'one country, two systems' and undermines the HKSAR's constitutional and legal foundations as enshrined in the Basic Law. Relevant international human rights convention and court cases have clearly pointed out that freedom of speech is not absolute.

     "The HKSAR Government is committed to safeguarding the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong. Article 63 of the Basic Law entrenches the constitutional principle of prosecutorial independence. The conduct of all criminal prosecutions of the Department of Justice (DoJ) is free from any interference. Decisions to prosecute or not, as the case may be, must be based on an objective and professional assessment of the available evidence and the law, and be in accordance with the published Prosecution Code. No political consideration is being taken into account at all. There is no question of ‘political prosecutions’ as alleged by the report.

     "In respect of the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 (the Bill), the Chief Executive announced on June 15 that the Bill was suspended and later made it clear that all the legislative work had come to a complete halt. The Chief Executive further announced on September 4 that the HKSAR Government would formally withdraw the Bill and the Secretary for Security withdrew the Bill at the Legislative Council meeting on October 23.

     "In the past few months, there were a series of protests and public order events in Hong Kong. Some of them eventually became violent and illegal incidents, causing damage to district and community facilities as well as injury to members of the public. In response, the Police have been exercising restraint and have been carrying out enforcement actions in strict accordance with the law. The purpose of Police's enforcement actions is to protect the life and property of the general public, bring offenders to justice and restore public order as soon as possible.

     "In addition, the Independent Police Complaints Council is conducting a fact-finding study on the handling of large-scale public order events since June, including corresponding actions by the Police, to ascertain the facts and will prepare a report. The content of the report will be made public.

     "Also, the HKSAR Government has launched a diversified dialogue platform and will invite community leaders, experts and academics to conduct an in-depth and independent examination of the social conflicts in Hong Kong and the deep-seated problems that must be addressed.

     "Concerning constitutional development, universal suffrage of 'one person, one vote' for selecting the Chief Executive and electing all members of the Legislative Council is enshrined as an ultimate aim in the Basic Law. To achieve this aim, the community needs to engage in dialogues, premised on the legal basis and under a peaceful atmosphere with mutual trust, with a view to narrowing differences and attaining a consensus agreeable to all sides. The HKSAR Government will assess the situation carefully and take forward constitutional development in accordance with the Basic Law and the relevant Interpretation and Decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

     "Regarding strategic trade control, Hong Kong is a separate customs territory under the Basic Law. We have been implementing comprehensive control on import, export and re-export of strategic commodities in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong and international control lists, carrying out rigorous enforcement, and maintaining close co-operation with the United States (US) and other trading partners. Over the years, we have been closely collaborating with the US administration and achieved satisfactory results in preventing illegal diversion of strategic commodities. Our efforts in this regard are recognised by the relevant authorities. We regret deeply that despite our repeated explanation, the report has still erroneously cited a totally irrelevant case to cast doubt on Hong Kong's strategic trade control system."

     The spokesman reiterated that foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR.

     Police today (November 14) arrested a 63-year-old man in suspected connection with a murder case in Sau Mau Ping this morning in which a 55-year-old woman died.

     At 11.43am, Police received a report from a 70-year-old woman that she failed to contact her 55-year-old female friend. She also found some blood stains outside her friend’s unit at Sheung Fu House in Upper Ngau Tau Kok Estate. Police officers sped to the scene and found the 55-year-old woman lying unconscious on the floor. She was later certified dead at scene.

     Initial investigations revealed that the deceased’s head had been attacked with a knife. Police seized a knife, in suspected connection with the case, at scene.

     The deceased’s 63-year-old husband was arrested in Ta Kwu Ling this afternoon for murder. He is being detained for further enquiries.

     Post-mortem examinations will be conducted later to ascertain the cause of death of the deceased.

     Investigation by the District Crime Squad of Sau Mau Ping District is underway.