kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
Transcript of remarks by SCMA on National Anthem Bill
26.1.2019

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, on the National Anthem Bill at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (January 26): Reporter: Have you discussed with any international schools about the proposed law as they will also be covered? Any of them expressed concerns about the matter? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: The Education Bureau has got in touch and discussed with the international schools and they will continue to do so. I understand the international schools basically understand the requirements (under the National Anthem Bill) and the Education Bureau will continue to follow up and to provide the necessary support. Under the National Anthem Bill, the Secretary for Education will issue directions for inclusion of the national anthem in primary education and in secondary education. I don't think the international schools will have major difficulties in doing that because the international schools themselves embrace diversity and respect for the signs and symbols of other countries. We will follow up on that. The actual implementation will be school-based and rely on the expertise and professional judgements of the schools and teachers. If they have any problem, the Education Bureau will provide them with all the necessary support. (Please also refer to the Chinese part of the transcript.)
SCMA inspects community testing centre at City Hall (with photo)
10.9.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, this afternoon (September 10) visited the City Hall community testing centre of the Universal Community Testing Programme to learn about the centre's operation and to show support for the medical staff and others working there. Mr Tsang was briefed by the personnel of the Federation of Medical Societies of Hong Kong, which is in charge of the operation of the City Hall testing centre, on the venue's setup and testing workflow. Since the commencement of the Testing Programme, the Federation's medical team has stayed committed to its work and delivered professional specimen taking services for the public, for which Mr Tsang offered his sincere gratitude. He said he was pleased to know that the centre has implemented effective infection control and social distancing measures so as to ensure that the testing process is safe, speedy and convenient. The Government announced yesterday that 57 community testing centres across all of the 18 districts will continue to provide the testing service to members of the public from September 12 to 14. The testing centre at City Hall that Mr Tsang paid a visit to today is one of the centres that will extend its service until September 14. Mr Tsang appealed to the public to make appointments for testing as soon as possible in order to identify and cut the silent virus transmission chains in the community and thereby let Hong Kong step away from the epidemic and allow for the gradual resumption of normal daily lives and economic activities. For details of the Universal Community Testing Programme and a list of testing centres and their service hours, please visit the Testing Programme's website at www.communitytest.gov.hk .
Transcript of remarks by SCMA on National Anthem Bill
27.5.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, at a media session before attending the Legislative Council meeting today (May 27): Reporter: There are protests springing up across Hong Kong and also some in Kowloon, mainly because people are concerned about freedoms, with the imminent national anthem and national security legislation. How do you, as the minister, alleviate people's concerns? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: For the NPC (National People's Congress)'s legislation about national security, there is a principle of the legislation under which the Hong Kong people's freedoms will be preserved. So I don't think the new legislation will have any influence on our freedoms. Thank you. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SCMA inspects operation of medication delivery scheme for Hong Kong people in Guangdong and Fujian (with photos)
4.5.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, visited the temporary operation centre for the special scheme introduced for delivering prescription medications to Hong Kong people in Guangdong and Fujian with urgent needs for medications this afternoon (May 4) to learn more about the drug delivery services. He also gave encouragement to the participating volunteers and expressed gratitude for their huge support for the scheme. Under the compulsory quarantine arrangements, many Hong Kong people who are staying in Guangdong Province and Fujian Province are unable to conduct day trips to Hong Kong to attend follow-up consultations or replenish their prescription medications and return to the Mainland on the same day as they have done previously. To address the concern that the prescription medications taken by these Hong Kong residents may be running out, the Government introduced a special scheme on February 24 to deliver prescription medications to them, with priority given to those who will run out of prescription medications by end April. Mr Tsang was pleased to learn that as at April 29, arrangements had been made to deliver prescription medications to more than 7 600 Hong Kong residents in need. He expressed gratitude to the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) for offering voluntary services for the drug delivery scheme with its well-established service networks on the Mainland. Mr Tsang also thanked the Pharmaceutical Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Care Foundation for deploying pharmacists to the temporary operation centre to help verify the drug records and patients' information, and extended gratitude to colleagues from various government departments for participating in the scheme. Mr Tsang said, "As the expiry date for the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) is extended to June 7, 2020, the special scheme will also be extended and give priority to cases in which the prescription drugs will run out on or before that date." Hong Kong residents who are in need of the service can call the Social Welfare Department's 24-hour Hotline (Tel: 2343 2255), or the hotline of FTU's Hong Kong office (Tel: 3652 5833) from 9am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday, for details.
Transcript of remarks by SCMA on Liaison Office and National Anthem Bill
23.4.2020

The following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, at a media session in the Legislative Council Building today (April 23): Reporter: Is the Liaison Office (the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) (LOCPG) not governed by any law under the Basic Law? It's a question that has been asked by many reporters but you have been ignoring that. Second question is what are you going to do with the National Anthem Law concerning the impact of LegCo's House Committee? Critics have cited your hard-line approach regarding previous immigration issues in handling opposition in other countries as one of the reasons why you have been promoted to this post, as well as your loyalty to the Central Government. How will you respond to those critics? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: The LOCPG is representing the Central People's Government to oversee the implementation of the Basic Law and "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong. Of course, they have the right and obligation to see whether the Basic Law and "one country, two systems" are being implemented rightly in Hong Kong. So, it is not reasonable for them (the critics) to make such a remark. When situation so arises, they (the LOCPG and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council) made the comments which I think it is okay. Reporter: So it's not governed by any law under the Basic Law? And my other two questions - House Committee and National Anthem Law? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: For the National Anthem Bill, we are still waiting for the House Committee to have the Chairman (elected) so that the meeting can start and we can resume second reading. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Transcript of remarks by SCMA at media session on LegCo election
7.4.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 7) after attending the special meeting of the Legislative Council Finance Committee: Reporter: Regarding the LegCo election, would the Government consider postponing it? Secondly, on RTHK asking questions to WHO on Taiwan, how does that show, even by asking questions, that it's assumed to breach the One-China Principle? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: Regarding your second question, I have already responded to it last Saturday and at the meeting just now. So I will not repeat. As regards the LegCo election, the first point is that the Electoral Affairs Commission and the Registration and Electoral Office are doing all the necessary preparatory work for the LegCo election, including voter registration, consultation on the guidelines on election-related activities in respect of the Legislative Council Election and making arrangements for recruiting polling staff and finding polling stations. All this preparatory work is ongoing. We are doing our utmost to do it. Secondly, because of the epidemic situation, we have to monitor it closely to assess its impact on the society, the public health risks and the possible effect on the LegCo election. So it is too early to say. We will monitor it closely and make an assessment so that we are in a position to do the steps about the gazettal of the polling date. But it's clear that the Legislative Council Ordinance has set out the timeline, including the time range that the election should be held, the period for nomination and time allowed for campaigns, etc. We would adhere to what is laid out in the Ordinance and plan our work accordingly. Thank you very much. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Transcript of remarks by SCMA at media session on LegCo election and RTHK programme
4.4.2020

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, at a media session today (April 4) after attending a radio programme: Reporter: Secretary, if the epidemic continues till the summer, do you think there is room for the LegCo election to be moved back a little bit? Also, I want to ask about RTHK's interview with the WHO representative. We have referred to Taiwan as a "place" throughout the whole episode and also asked the representative whether they would reconsider Taiwan's membership. How does that violate the One-China Principle? Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs: As regards your first question about the LegCo election, LegCo election is a very important activity. It's for the voters to cast their votes, to elect their representatives in the Legislative Council. The Electoral Affairs Commission and the Registration and Electoral Office are doing all the necessary preparation work for this, including, for example, voter registration, consultation on the guidelines (on election-related activities in respect of the Legislative Council Election). All this preparation work is ongoing, but of course we will closely monitor the situation, especially the effect of the epidemic on this, and will review the situation as appropriate. As regards the interview with the WHO representative, I think it's very clear that the membership of the WHO is confined to sovereign states. Hong Kong's participation in the WHO is as a member of the Chinese delegation. So I think the issue on the membership of the WHO is clear enough. As regards the handling of the interview by RTHK, I think we have looked at it from the angles of RTHK as a government department and also RTHK as a public broadcasting authority. We would look at the issue and review it in accordance with the One-China Principle and the Charter that governs the work of RTHK. These matters are being handled by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau. Their position has already been articulated very clearly. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
SCMA gives masks to underprivileged groups (with photos) 
19.3.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited three families in Sham Shui Po today (March 19) to understand the impacts of the epidemic on their daily life and send them face masks and anti-epidemic disinfectant packs. In view of the tight global supply of face masks as a result of the epidemic outbreak, the Government has earlier announced that all face masks donated by various sectors to the government be sent to non-government organisations for their distribution to the elderly and underprivileged groups. The aim is to share resources with the community with a view to fighting the virus together. Mr Nip today delivered the donated face masks to the Society for Community Organisation for sending to the elderly, underprivileged families and new arrivals in need. Mr Nip also paid visits to a singleton elderly and two new-arrival families, handing them masks, alcohol-based handrub and sanitary packs. He also explained to them the health tips to fight the disease. Mr Nip said that mutual support from various sectors in the community is crucial in fighting the epidemic. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will keep up its anti-epidemic effort under the three major principles, i.e. speedy response, full preparedness as well as openness and transparency. He also appealed to the community to stay united regardless of backgrounds and races, and to always maintain personal hygiene, minimise social contacts and avoid non-essential travel in a joint effort to win this "anti-epidemic battle".
HKSAR Government sends two flights to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province to Hong Kong (with photos/videos)
4.3.2020

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today (March 4) sent the first batch of chartered flights to Wuhan to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei Province to Hong Kong. The first batch of chartered flights landed in Hong Kong at around 5pm and 10pm respectively, and successfully brought back 244 Hong Kong residents in Hubei Province. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of Immigration, Mr Erick Tsang, led the Hong Kong team this morning to the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to co-ordinate the mission, and took the second chartered flight back to Hong Kong. Members of the Hong Kong team include staff from the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, the Immigration Department, the Department of Health (DH) and the Hospital Authority. Taking the first two chartered flights to Hong Kong include 200 Hong Kong people stranded in Wuhan, including two Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education candidates, and 44 people in other parts of Hubei Province who have an urgent need to return to Hong Kong, including 13 pregnant women, and ten people suffering from serious illnesses or urgent cases in need for medical treatments in Hong Kong. To cater for operational needs, the Government deployed nine medical staff to board on the flights, including doctors and nurses in the obstetrics and gynaecology specialty. All people who were taking the chartered flights back to Hong Kong have undergone health assessment by the DH staff in an early stage to check whether they have developed symptoms such as fever. The Hubei Provincial Government also conducted verification to ascertain that all who were allowed to board the flight were not confirmed cases or suspected cases of COVID-19, and were not close contacts of confirmed patients. Before boarding, the people concerned had undergone multiple temperature checks at various checkpoints to ensure that they were not having fever, or developing abnormal vital signs, respiratory tract symptoms and other signs of infectious diseases, and they were also required to put on protective gears. Upon the arrival of the chartered flights, the DH staff briefed the returnees about the quarantine arrangements and checked their body temperature. They were then taken to the quarantine centre in Chun Yeung Estate by pre-arranged coaches to undergo 14 days of quarantine observation. Upon their arrival at the quarantine centre, they will also undergo laboratory test to ascertain whether they are infected with COVID-19 virus. The security and healthcare staff are on duty round-the-clock at the quarantine centre. Transport services for leaving and entering the centre will be provided to people under quarantine. Without written permission from a health officer, people under quarantine cannot leave the centre and will not move around in the community. The HKSAR team will depart for Wuhan tomorrow morning to bring back another batch of about 240 Hong Kong people home.
SCMA explains to ethnic minorities measures to fight COVID-19 (with photos)
27.2.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, visited the Islamic Union of Hong Kong today (February 27) and met with the ethnic minorities (EM) from the Union to explain to them Hong Kong's anti-epidemic measures. He also appealed to the EM community to stand together with the Government to fight the epidemic. In a meeting with Union representatives, Mr Nip briefed them on the Government's measures against COVID-19, the latest infection situation in Hong Kong and related health information. He also listened to their sharing on the impact of the epidemic on their daily life, and presented to them promotional leaflets on health education as well as surgical masks. Mr Nip said that owing to the epidemic, members of the public have been facing difficulty in sourcing masks. In view of this, the Government has been sending the masks donated by various sectors to non-government organisations for them to distribute to underprivileged groups. At the same time, the Government will continue to increase the overall supply of surgical masks through a multi-pronged approach. Mr Nip also introduced to them the thematic website on COVID-19 ( www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/index.html ) set up by the Government to enhance the dissemination of epidemic information. The website integrates news updates from related government bureaux and departments, provides the latest updates on COVID-19, such as figures relating to the epidemic, measures undertaken by bureaux and departments, clarifications made and public health education information, as well as various practical information. To enable the EM to keep abreast of the latest updates, some website content has been translated into different languages, including Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Sinhala, Bengali and Vietnamese. The EM can also make use of interpretation services provided by the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents to obtain the relevant health information if necessary. Mr Nip said that the Government would keep up the effort to disseminate anti-epidemic information to the EM in a timely manner. He also appealed to members of the public to support the Government's anti-epidemic work by reducing social contacts, including refraining from going to crowded places and attending social gatherings, and staying home as much as possible to minimise the risk of the spread of the disease.
SCMA inspects prevention and control measures at West Kowloon Station of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (with photos)
9.1.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, today (January 9) inspected the prevention and control measures adopted at the boundary control point of the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in response to the cluster of pneumonia cases detected in Wuhan, before departing for Guangzhou. Mr Nip inspected the health surveillance measures at the boundary control point in response to the cluster of pneumonia cases detected in Wuhan. He said he was glad to learn that the health authorities had already stepped up preventive measures and arranged for all inbound travellers from the two high-speed trains that stop at Wuhan to have their body temperature checked with additional hand-held infrared thermometers with a view to taking timely action to follow up on any suspected cases. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health has also deployed additional manpower to enhance body temperature checks on other inbound travellers and hand out health information pamphlets and answer travellers' enquiries at the health counter set up in the Station's arrival hall. He then proceeded to the ticketing concourse to meet with staff members of the MTR Corporation to learn more about their health surveillance measures. He learnt that cleaning and disinfection had been stepped up at the Station and for incoming express trains from Wuhan, and disinfection facilities have also been set up for travellers. Mr Nip expressed gratitude to all staff members of relevant departments and organisations for their commitment in work and for their dedication in safeguarding the health of the public and travellers. With regard to Hong Kong residents in the Mainland, Mr Nip said that the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, the four economic and trade offices and the 11 liaison units in the Mainland have uploaded the relevant and latest health information on their websites and WeChat official accounts to facilitate their easy access to all relevant information. Mr Nip stressed that relevant government bureaux and departments are well prepared and stand ready to quickly respond to rapid change of the virus and would provide the latest and accurate information to members of the public in an open and transparent way. He appealed to members of the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and outside Hong Kong and to strengthen personal and environmental hygiene standards. A dedicated webpage ( www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102465.html ) has been set up by the CHP to provide relevant information and health advice.
SCMA to visit Guangzhou
8.1.2020

The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, will depart for Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon (January 9) to visit Hong Kong enterprises stationed at the Tianhe Hong Kong and Macau Youth Association entrepreneurship base. He will also officiate at the large-scale promotional event "Chic HK" organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and address the event's dinner reception. Mr Nip will return to Hong Kong in the evening on the same day.