Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, at a media session at the Legislative Council Complex this morning (December 18):
Reporter: Mr Lee, why did the Government fail to tell the people that there would be temporary checkpoints in the middle of the bridge and as a result the Hong Konger who was supposed to go to Macao was sent to Mainland China?
Secretary for Security: First of all, I think everybody should understand what a jurisdiction really encompasses. In a jurisdiction which belongs to a particular place that means the law enforcement agencies can enforce the law within its jurisdiction according to the need and according to the actual circumstances. For security operations, it would be up to the responsible jurisdiction to make the operational plan and also the other arrangements which include letting people know how they would operate. In that principle, it would be up to the Zhuhai law enforcement agencies to make that announcement.
I think it is important for people to understand once you leave the jurisdiction of Hong Kong, then you will be subject to the law of the other jurisdiction. That is a lesson, that is a message, that is an important legal concept that I think people of Hong Kong must know, so that they will understand at what point they may be subject to which jurisdiction and what laws.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Follow this news feed: East Asia