The National Security Department (NSD) of the Hong Kong Police Force　conducted an enforcement operation yesterday afternoon (October 16) and arrested a 57-year-old man in Tuen Mun, for being suspected of “doing an act or acts with seditious intention”, contravening Section 9 and 10 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200).

     Investigation revealed that the arrested man was suspected of repeatedly publishing posts with seditious intention on social platforms, with content provoking hatred towards the Central Authorities and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, advocating “independence of Hong Kong”, demanding sanctions against government officials and inciting the use of violence.

     Police conducted searches at the arrested man's residence with a court warrant. Some electronic communication devices used to publish seditious messages were seized.     

      NSD laid a holding charge against the arrested man with one count of "doing an act or acts with seditious intention" this afternoon (October 17).

     The case will be mentioned at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow morning (October 18).

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 (October 17) that due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty, Mui Wo Swimming Pool in Islands District has been temporarily closed to ensure the safety of swimmers.

     It will be reopened at 8.30am tomorrow (October 18).

     The Drinking Water Safety Advisory Committee, accompanied by the Director of Water Supplies, Mr Tony Yau, visited the advanced water treatment facilities in Tai Po Water Treatment Works (TPWTW), the Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) System and the Floating Solar Power (FSP) System in Plover Cove (PC) Reservoir this afternoon (October 17).

     The expansion of TPWTW was completed in 2018. The expansion not only increased the daily output capacity of TPWTW to meet the fresh water demand but also introduced several advanced water treatment technologies.

     The Advisory Committee first toured the Central Control Centre at TPWTW to learn about its operation, the advanced water treatment process and the Integrated Treatment Information & Tele-alert System which assists in water quality monitoring. 

     They then visited the ozone generation plant to know about the use of ozone as an advanced and efficient drinking water disinfection technology which can reduce the chlorine consumption by around 30 per cent. After that, they arrived at the first on-site chlorine generation facility in Hong Kong. The facility can generate the chlorine amount on demand and largely eliminate the risk of chlorine leakage during transportation and storage of liquid chlorine. The above facilities can help enhance the operational safety and flexibility of drinking water disinfection.

     They then visited the USV System for use in the water quality monitoring in PC Reservoir. Each USV is equipped with a Global Positioning System and an automatic water quality monitoring and sampling unit. It enables simultaneous monitoring of water quality at different locations in the reservoir and automatic generation of visualised water quality reports. The Water Supplies Department is currently enhancing the intelligence of the USV System to increase the efficiency of water quality monitoring, including intelligent route planning and intelligent water quality monitoring and sampling capabilities, by allowing the USV System to automatically plan cruise routes and respond in real time to changes in water quality.

     Lastly, they visited the FSP System in PC Reservoir. The pilot project can generate as much as 120 000 units (kilowatt-hours) of electricity annually, reducing around 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission. The pilot project will lay a solid foundation for a long-term development of renewable energy with some useful reference data for the future implementation of large-scale floating photovoltaic farms in Hong Kong.

          

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
 
     The spokesperson for Tung Wah Eastern Hospital (TWEH) made the following announcement today (October 17):
      
     Six patients (aged 52 to 89) in a female medicine and rehabilitation ward had presented with fever or respiratory symptoms since October 9. Appropriate tests had been arranged for the patients and their test results were positive for Influenza A virus. Among the patients, an 89-year-old woman passed away on October 16 due to her underlying illness, while the others are still hospitalised under medical surveillance, and are in isolation in stable condition.
      
     Infection control measures have already been stepped up according to established guidelines. The hospital will continue to closely monitor the health condition of the patients in the ward concerned.
      
     TWEH has reported the cases to the Hospital Authority Head Office and the Centre for Health Protection for necessary follow up.

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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sports and Public Works Subcommittee conducted a joint visit to the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) today (October 17) to inspect its major venues to better understand the updated implementation progress.

     Accompanied by the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, and the Commissioner for Sports, Mr Sam Wong, Members first visited the KTSP Experience Centre and received a briefing by the representatives of KTSP Limited on an overview of the KTSP project and its site model. Members also viewed KTSP's construction site and visited the hospitality suite mock-up at the KTSP Experience Centre.

     Members then headed to the construction site of KTSP to visit the Main Stadium and observe the Indoor Sports Centre and Public Sports Ground. Members noted that KTSP, with a project cost of $31.9 billion and occupying an area of about 28 hectares, will provide modern and multi-purpose sports and recreation facilities. These include a 50 000-seat Main Stadium, a 10 000-seat Indoor Sports Centre, a 5 000-seat Public Sports Ground and about 14-hectare landscaped open space upon completion. KTSP will not only allow the staging of more large-scale international sports events, but also provide the general public with leisure and sports facilities for community use, thereby facilitating sports development in Hong Kong. The Government expects that the major facilities of KTSP will be completed by the end of 2024 by phases to allow the hosting of some of the events of the 15th National Games in Hong Kong in 2025.

     At the invitation of KTSP Limited, a total of 14 members of the Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sports and Public Works Subcommittee joined the visit.