Hong Kong rally requests should be carefully vetted to protect national security, freedoms, John Lee says ahead of planned Labour Day protest
- City’s leader says organisers are responsible for ensuring rallies do not violate ‘national security, public security, public order, and also respect rights and freedoms of others’
- Remarks from Lee come as former union chair Joe Wong vows to stand by application to hold a 500-strong protest on May 1
Applications for public rallies in Hong Kong should be carefully vetted to ensure participants will not violate criteria such as national security and the rights of other residents, the city’s leader has said, calling on organisers of a planned Labour Day protest to comply with the law.
“I think we should be careful when organisers want to organise public activities, and that they should think of the responsibilities of ensuring such activities will be carried out in a lawful manner,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday told a media briefing before a weekly Executive Council meeting.
“That means it will not contravene national security, public security, public order and also respect the rights and freedoms of others.”
His remarks came as Joe Wong Nai-yuen, former chairman of the now-defunct Confederation of Trade Unions, said he and ex-committee member Denny To Chun-ho would stand by their application to hold a 500-strong protest on May 1.
Lee said residents could express their opinions in many ways, but reminded rally organisers that they would be responsible for the event’s compliance with the law.
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, during a visit to the city earlier in the month said protests were not the only ways for the public to voice its concerns.
Soon afterwards, a pro-Beijing union opted to withdraw its application to hold a Labour Day protest.
Downplaying safety risks of Hong Kong rallies ‘irresponsible’: security chief
On Monday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said organisers should be responsible for ensuring marches were held in a safe and orderly manner.
He added that they should “take reasonable actions” to identify “genuine participants”, accusing those who downplayed the risks of protests as being “irresponsible”.
Asked about the long wait to approve Wong and To’s Labour Day protest, city leader Lee said Hong Kong’s police commissioner had a “clear responsibility” under the Public Order Ordinance to consider all applicable factors, and whether additional requirements were needed.
80 Hongkongers march against reclamation plan in first legal protest in 3 years
In March, Hong Kong marked its first authorised protest after three years of coronavirus restrictions, with 80 Tseung Kwan O homeowners marching against a reclamation plan in the area.
Demonstrators, however, were asked by police to put on numbered lanyards and had their banners and leaflets checked by officers beforehand – new requirements that some legal experts have described as disproportionate.
The force has authorised several public activities and processions since the start of April, mostly charity or religious events. According to police data, two fundraising events and a religious one were held last Sunday, but no rallies have been approved as of Tuesday for May 1.
