Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (May 21):
Reporter: Good morning. Some English questions. Over the weekend, the head of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Henry Tang hoped that the Government can reply to the authority's financial proposals promptly. What is the progress at the moment? Secondly, several days ago, YouTube announced that it has taken off dozens of videos of the “2019 protest song” since the injunction order came into effect. Does the Government have any plans to request other online platforms to do the same? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The West Kowloon Cultural District is designed to self-finance after some big government endowments. It is supposed to be a self-financing and self-running institution. That is the KPI set by the Government for the West Kowloon Cultural District. We appreciate that it is facing some difficulties in financing its day-to-day operation in the long run. Yes, the Government is in communication with the governing body of the West Kowloon Cultural District. We will discuss possible options, but whatever is eventually decided, one important point, I think, for everybody to note, is that government money must be spent very carefully. Whatever option is eventually agreed, it is important that there will be KPIs set for some of the development and operation of the West Kowloon Cultural District. We have high expectations of the successful operation of the West Kowloon Cultural District, and it has been creating value for Hong Kong. In many areas, it has been doing a job which satisfies the expectations and wishes of the community and the Government, but we want to ensure that there will be a long-term viable financing plan with good KPIs, and we will be in communication with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to achieve that purpose. A decision will be made very soon.
In regard to the song in question, which you have asked, the court order is an injunction against four specified acts in relation to the song in question. We have noted that there is no link (as specified in the injunction) shown on any local platform relating to the song, and also Google search (in Hong Kong) doesn't show any link to the song in question (as specified in the injunction) either. We will continue to monitor the situation to see whether there is any non-compliance with the court order. If we notice such instances, then we will notify the platform of the contents of the court order. I believe that operators in general operate within the law. We will continue to monitor the situation.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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