Drones banned in security move for Xi
Other measures for visit include sealing off train station and road closures
Police will ban the use of drones across Hong Kong, seal off a train station and close roads in a security blanket for President Xi Jinping’s visit for the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover later this week.
The force yesterday said while the threat level remained “moderate”, the ban on drones was made after a “strict risk assessment” that took into consideration the practice of overseas authorities, technological advances with the aircraft and their use in carrying out a potential attack.
Assistant Police Commissioner for Operations Lui Kam-ho also warned that authorities would not allow any acts of violence or public disorder. “We will not tolerate anything that may interfere and undermine the security operation in any event [or] that any person behaves in a manner that threatens life or property and undermines public order or endangers public safety,” he said.
“We will take resolute action.” Xi is expected to arrive at the West Kowloon high-speed rail station tomorrow afternoon and will be escorted into a bulletproof limousine indoors before his convoy leaves the terminus. A source said preparations for the lockdown around the station would begin before midnight yesterday.
Police will set up posts spaced 10 to 20 metres apart along Wui Man Road, Lin Cheung Road and Jordan Road, in addition to relying on water-filled barricades to control access, according to government sources.
“At least four officers will be deployed to patrol between two posts regularly,” one insider said, adding that beyond the highsecurity area, police would also be on guard along stretches such as Nga Cheung Road, Canton Road and Austin Road West. The insider said high-rise observation posts would also be set up in the area.
Across Victoria Harbour on Hong Kong Island, police are restricting access to the area around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, where the main ceremonies, including the inauguration of the new government of John Lee Ka-chiu, will be held.
Police also announced road closures around the exhibition centre starting at 2am today. The public transport interchange at the nearby Exhibition Centre station will be shut at the same time, with 18 bus routes affected. The MTR station will be shut from 1am tomorrow, according to the force.
“We are actually maintaining close contact with our counterparts, making sure of the latest updates,” Lui said. “If there is any latest change in our president’s visit programme, we will correspondingly adjust our security measures and deployment in order to reduce or minimise inconvenience caused to members of the public. That is also our important concern.”
In addition to the citywide ban on drones, the Civil Aviation Department will designate a temporary restricted flying zone in the vicinity of Victoria Harbour and several other areas, according to Lui. A restricted area was also established in waters off the exhibition centre at 1pm yesterday and would remain in place until 11.59pm on Friday, the Marine Department said.
Another source said a heavy police presence and high-profile patrols would be deployed at the West Kowloon Cultural District, although the president was not expected to visit the Hong Kong Palace Museum there.
The Hong Kong Science Park, which Xi is expected to visit, has issued a notice to companies and staff, saying it would implement special arrangements and set up security checkpoints from tomorrow.
The Transport Department also said special arrangements would be in force from today to tomorrow to facilitate police operations. According to the department, some of the roads in the area would be temporarily closed to traffic “until completion of the operation”.
Xi will not stay overnight in the city and is expected to return to Shenzhen by train.
The Shenzhen government yesterday said that to ensure celebrations proceeded smoothly, all drones, light aircraft and helicopters, among other “flying objects”, would be banned in the city between June 28 and July 3. Only flight activities such as aerial photography, television broadcasts, police operations and emergency rescues that had been approved for the handover anniversary would be exempted.
The president is expected to return to Hong Kong by highspeed train on Friday morning. He will officiate at a ceremony to mark the handover anniversary and oversee the swearing-in of Lee and his cabinet at the exhibition centre. After the ceremony, Xi will leave the city.
At least four officers will be deployed to patrol between two posts regularly
GOVERNMENT INSIDER
Nearly 3,000 guests and staff will be placed under hotel quarantine from today in preparation for a two-day visit by President Xi Jinping to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, the Post has learned.
Some officials who decided to “play it safe” have already started their quarantine. They included outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and a few other ministers such as security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung, housing minister Frank Chan Fan and education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, who checked into the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai on Monday night.
They have been working under a “closed-loop” arrangement, an unprecedented measure that means officials only travel between government headquarters in Admiralty and the hotel until today. They are expected to take part in celebratory events the next day at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, according to sources.
“Those who go back to the office these days cannot go out for lunch, cannot take public transport and have to avoid large-scale meetings. Issues are discussed via Zoom meeting when necessary,” a government source said.
Some officials who have itineraries tomorrow will stop going to their offices from today, as they are expected to begin their hotel quarantine.
“From June 29 onwards, everyone will stay in the hotels and will not be allowed to leave or change their rooms. We are allowed to check out at noon on July 1,” said another politician, who will be placed in quarantine.
Extensive measures have been taken for the celebratory events this week.
For the first time, thousands will be put up in two hotels near the convention centre before the event, ahead of their possible encounter with Xi, who is expected to arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow. This includes top officials, government advisers and political heavyweights, as well as tycoons, university chiefs, statutory body heads, diplomats and church leaders.
A source familiar with the situation said nearly 3,000 people would be placed under hotel quarantine.
But some of those invited are not showing a lot of interest in joining the events, as they found the “closed-loop” arrangement that began on June 23 “too harsh”.
“We find the sanitary restrictions – a one-day quarantine at a designated hotel, daily [polymerase chain reaction] tests and only point-to-point transfers between home and office for one week – too stringent,” a Hong Kongbased consul general of a European country said.
He added that most consuls general from European Union countries were still considering whether to attend the July 1 celebrations.
Guests who are joining a possible meeting and phototaking session tomorrow afternoon with the president will check into either the Grand Hyatt or Renaissance Harbour View hotels at noon today, where they would have to undergo a two-day quarantine with PCR tests.
For the hundreds who will only take part in the flag-raising ceremony and the swearing-in inauguration ceremony on Friday, they will go into quarantine tomorrow morning. They include lawmakers and some members of the Executive Council.
Xi will then go to Shenzhen overnight and return to Hong Kong on Friday. He is expected to officiate at a ceremony to mark the handover anniversary and oversee the swearing-in of incoming chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his cabinet at the convention centre. Sources also said that various spots in the city, including the Hong Kong Science Park, the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Hong Kong International Airport, have been preparing for a possible visit by the state leader, but it would be up to Beijing to decide where Xi would eventually go.
Tam Yiu-chung, the city’s sole representative to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body, confirmed he would be placed in quarantine at the Grand Hyatt tomorrow, and would take part in events on both Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute is postponing the release of a survey, after receiving “suggestions from relevant government departments following their risk assessment”, it said in a statement.
It plans to release the report on Tuesday.
Those who go back to the office these days cannot go out for lunch
A GOVERNMENT SOURCE