The seven-week "Let's T.A.L.K. – Child Protection Campaign", organised by the Police Force, concluded successfully today (November 27).
Addressing at the closing ceremony, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Siu Chak-yee, said the campaign aimed to raise public awareness on child protection and enhance the mental health of carers of children through a series of parent-child activities and the “One-stop Child Protection Web Application”. Subsequently, it could facilitate the creation of harmonious families and thus reduce the number of child abuse cases. He noted that with the concerted effort of the community, the number of child abuse cases decreased from 381 cases in the second quarter to 300 cases in the third quarter, representing a drop of more than 20 per cent. Nevertheless, he stressed that protecting children is the responsibility of everyone and concerted effort is crucial in enhancing child protection work. He appealed members of public to carry on the vision of the campaign so that children can grow in an environment full of care and love.
Mr Siu expressed gratitude for the contributions and efforts of various sectors, including sponsors and supporting organisations. He also thanked the public, disciplined forces and uniform groups for their active participation and efforts in promoting the message of child protection.
Under the campaign, two competitions were organised to raise public awareness on child protection and foster parent-child relationships. The "Jumping Jacks Challenge" Video Clip Contest and Parent-child Colouring and Slogan Design Contest, finally collected 2,392 videos and 20,412 entries respectively. The "Jumping Jacks Challenge" Video Clip Contest also set a world record, with the number of videos collected far exceeded the initial target of 1,120 videos, which was set to support the World Children’s Day on November 20. Over 60,000 people participated in the contest, and the videos were full of creativity, while some of them were presented in a humorous way. During the ceremony, the participants voted for the top three winners of the two competitions via electronic voting, while the officiating guests presented awards to the winners.
Other officiating guests attending today’s ceremony were the three campaign ambassadors, Chairperson of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Mr Bernard Chan; the President of Hong Kong Poverty Alleviation Association, Mr Karson Choi; and the former Mainland diving athlete, Olympic gold medalist, Ms Guo Jingjing; as well as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Mr Yuen Yuk-kin; Director of Crime and Security, Mr Chow Yat-ming; and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr Yip Wan-lung.
The campaign was held from October 10 to November 27. Apart from the above parent-child activities, guests from different professional sectors were invited to a thematic seminar held on October 22, to explore ways to prevent child abuse cases.
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