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Following is a question by the Hon Kam Nai-wai and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Miss Adeline Wong, in the Legislative Council today (June 27):
Question:
The death of Mr Li Wang-yang (Mr Li), a democracy activist on the Mainland, caused 25,000 Hong Kong people taking to the street to participate in a march on June 10 this year to demand an investigation by the Central Government into the cause of his death. On June 13 this year, more than 1,500 members of the public participated in the memorial gathering for Mr Li outside the old Legislative Council Building. The Chief Executive (CE) and the Secretary for Food and Health (SFH) have also indicated that there are questionable points in the case of Mr Li. Furthermore, after the death of Mr Li, it has been reported that his family members are under continuous surveillance, or have even been put under house arrest. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows which mainland authorities had received the views of Hong Kong people on the aforesaid incident relayed to by CE; the channels through which the authorities concerned received the views; whether the viewpoints of CE and SFH that the cause of Mr Li's death is questionable had been included in such views;
(b) given that the State President will come to Hong Kong to attend the ceremony to celebrate the reunification of Hong Kong on July 1 this year, whether the Government of the current term and that of the new term will relay Hong Kong people's views on the aforesaid incident to the State President; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that it has been reported that quite a number of members of the public are concerned about Mr Li's family members being put under surveillance and house arrest, whether the Government will relay to the Central Government such views of the public and urge the Central Government to set Mr Li's family members free?
Reply:
President,
On behalf of the Administration, I give the following consolidated reply to the three parts of the question raised by Hon Kam Nai-wai:
(a) The Administration notes that people from various sectors of the community have expressed concerns about the incident concerning Mr Li Wang-yang in different ways recently. Under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", the prime responsibility of the Chief Executive (CE) is to safeguard the right of expression enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong.
The CE shared his views on the incident at the Question and Answer Session in the Legislative Council held on June 14 and made it clear that he had already conveyed the views of the people of Hong Kong to the Central Authorities. The Administration also notes that some Hong Kong Deputies to the National People's Congress indicated that they had conveyed the relevant views to the Central Authorities.
(b) The CE reports the latest social developments in Hong Kong and the views of the people of Hong Kong on issues of public concern at each of his meetings with the state leaders.
The CE-elect has also indicated that he would convey to the Central Authorities any issues relating to our country which were of concern to the people of Hong Kong. He will also report the latest situation in Hong Kong when he meets with the state leaders, including issues of public concern and the views of the public.
(c) The HKSAR Government has been acting in accordance with the Basic Law and the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" to safeguard the freedom and right of expression enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong and conveys the views of the Hong Kong community to the Central Authorities from time to time.
Ends/Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:37
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