Transcript of remarks by SCMA at media session

     Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (August 10):

Reporter: The government has said more than once that the independent inquiry is not an option now. People just don't seem to trust the IPCC. So would the government consider a reform within the IPCC? If not, how do you convince the protesters that the IPCC is accountable and they can trust it?

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: Thank you for your questions. The IPCC is set up according to the law. So it has the statutory power to exercise its functions and roles. Actually, the IPCC is dealing not just with the reportable individual complaints against the Police, but has also decided to launch a detailed study on all those events which happened from June to early July. And they are also considering extending the coverage to the events that happened after July 2, including what happened on July 21 in Yuen Long. So the IPCC will act in accordance with the law to do a detailed study, and will try to find out what actually happened, the facts, and will then provide a report. The report will be made public. The work has actually started. I think the best way to do is let the IPCC do these studies, and when the results and outcomes are available, I think it is time we see whether it has actually addressed the concerns.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)