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Following is a question by the Hon Howard Young and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, in the Legislative Council today (June 21):
Question:
As Hong Kong citizens who travel abroad independently are not taken care of by professional tour escorts or local tourist guides, when they encounter accidents or natural disasters outside Hong Kong, they are often helpless and their family members in Hong Kong do not know whether they are safe or their whereabouts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the measures to ensure the safety of Hong Kong citizens while they travel abroad independently;
(b) how it will assist those who travel independently and are stranded abroad;
(c) whether it has considered asking outbound travellers to voluntarily file a record with the Immigration Department about their length of stay abroad, especially when they may travel to places where Hong Kong travellers seldom visit; if not, where any disaster or incident happen in such places, how the authorities know at the earliest opportunity the number of Hong Kong travellers staying there; and
(d) whether it will step up publicity on matters to be noted by individuals travelling abroad independently?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) attaches great importance to the provision of assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress when they are travelling abroad, whether on package tours or self-arranged trips. A mechanism has been put in place to that end. Following the tsunami in South Asia in 2004, the Security Bureau has formulated a Contingency Plan for Emergency Response Operations outside the HKSAR (EROOHK) to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress or involved in major disasters overseas. Incidents are classified according to their severity under a three-tier emergency response system of EROOHK. The Chinese Embassies/Consulates overseas also provide consular protection and services to Hong Kong Chinese residents. The Government of the HKSAR has been working closely with the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR (OCMFA). OCMFA strives to provide quick assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress or involved in accidents abroad through the local Chinese Embassies/Consulates.
Apart from reviewing the above mechanism from time to time, the Government of the HKSAR has implemented other measures to enhance the assistance provided to Hong Kong residents in distress outside Hong Kong. For instance, the area covered by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong has been extended to five provinces/region, namely Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hainan, and since April 2006, staff of the Immigration Department (ImmD) have been deployed to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress in these provinces/region. The Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing will continue to provide assistance to Hong Kong residents in distress in other provinces/regions in the Mainland.
As regards the four parts of the question raised by the Hon Howard Young, following consultations with relevant bureaux and departments, we would like to set out the replies below:
(a) Hong Kong residents who are abroad for business or visit purposes should pay attention to their personal safety. Hong Kong residents who are abroad and need assistance may contact the Chinese Embassy/Consulate in their destination or call ImmD's 24-hour hotline (Tel:(852)1868). The telephone numbers and addresses of the Chinese Embassies/Consulates overseas can be obtained from ImmD (Tel:(852)2824 6111) or on its website (http://www.immd.gov.hk/ehtml/embassy.htm).
As regards travel protection, according to the Travel Agents Ordinance, Chapter 218, Laws of Hong Kong, if a Hong Kong resident taking part in an outbound travel activity arranged by a licensed travel agent is injured or killed in an accident in the course of the activity, he is entitled to the protection of the Travel Industry Compensation Fund. The protection covers medical expenses at the place of accident (up to $100,000), funeral expenses at the place of accident or transportation cost for returning the remains of the deceased (up to $40,000) and expenses relating to compassionate visit by relatives (up to two relatives, each not exceeding $20,000).
(b) Hong Kong residents who are stranded abroad and need assistance may contact the local Chinese Embassy/Consulate or call ImmD's hotline. Depending on the situation and wish of the Hong Kong residents concerned, the Government of the HKSAR will liaise and work closely with OCMFA and the local Chinese Embassy/Consulate or relevant Embassy/Consulate and other organisations concerned to quickly provide practicable assistance to them, such as helping them to return to Hong Kong as early as possible.
(c) Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents travel abroad every day and their destinations and length of stay vary. They may not be able to report last-minute changes to their itineraries to the Government of the HKSAR in time. Moreover, as those who have voluntarily filed a record with the Government of the HKSAR may represent only a fraction of the Hong Kong residents in the place where a disaster or incident has occurred, the information gathered can hardly reflect truly and fully the situation pertaining to Hong Kong residents in that place. In view of the above and resource considerations, ImmD has no plan to implement the proposal of requesting outbound Hong Kong travellers to voluntarily file a record about their destinations and their length of stay there. As far as we understand, such a scheme of filing records is not a common practice abroad.
As mentioned above, Hong Kong residents who are abroad and need assistance may contact the Chinese Embassy/Consulate in their destination or call the 24-hour hotline of ImmD. In cases of extraordinary or serious incidents where Hong Kong residents may be involved, ImmD will immediately remind the public of its hotline through the media. The Government of the HKSAR will also contact immediately the Chinese Embassy/Consulate at the place concerned through OCMFA to find out the situation pertaining to Hong Kong residents there.
(d) The Government of the HKSAR reminds the public through different channels from time to time to take precautionary measures when travelling abroad, such as noting down useful contact numbers and considering taking out suitable travel insurance. ImmD also endeavours to publicise the hotline "1868" and reminds members of the public the usual things to note when travelling abroad with the use of posters. The hotline "1868" is also publicised on the leaflets entitled "Guide to Assistance Services to Hong Kong Residents in the Mainland" and "Guide to Consular Protection and Services Outside Chinese Territory". The posters are uploaded to ImmD's website and displayed at ImmD offices and control points for easy reference. Where necessary, ImmD will publicise the hotline and things to note when travelling abroad through the media at appropriate times like before festive holidays.
The Tourism Commission, the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers already launched a joint publicity campaign promoting travel insurance last year to encourage members of the public to take out travel insurance which suits their needs before travelling, whether they are going on package tours or self-arranged trips. The campaign included an Announcement in the Public Interest, a poster and an educational pamphlet entitled "Travel Insurance - What you need to know".
In addition, OCI introduced a new category of insurance agents - "travel insurance agents" - in May this year whereby travel agents and their staff, after passing the "Travel Insurance Agents Examination" and registering as "travel insurance agents", can promote and sell travel insurance to their clients. This arrangement aims to encourage and facilitate members of the public to take out travel insurance at the same time when they make arrangement for their tours with the travel agents in order to better protect themselves when travelling.
As regards health protection, the Department of Health (DH) has set up a website on Travel Health Service (http://www.travelhealth.gov.hk), which provides important information on outbreaks of infectious diseases in different parts of the world and travel health advice. Pamphlets on health education are also distributed at control points and airline check-in counters for flights to places affected by avian influenza or on such flights. DH will also inform the travel industry on the latest development of any infectious diseases in places outside Hong Kong and provide relevant health advice through the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council.
Furthermore, the two Travel Health Centres of DH provide directly a range of services for travellers including health risk assessment, travel health education, vaccinations and medications.
Ends/Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:00
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