21 Aug 2023獨媒#8221
Tik Chi-yuen says NPC’s 8.31 framework represents greatest social consensus, calls for developing “democracy” to regain public support
行政長官李家超將於10月25日發表任內第二份的《施政報告》，在立法會自稱「唯一非建制」的新思維預計周三（23日）與李家超會面，就《施政報告》提交建議書。主席狄志遠今日表示，現時人心仍然不穩，民主仍是大部份市民的訴求，而「人大831」方案過去為中央政府、建制派及市民所接受，是「社會相對上最大共識」，他認為可以此為起點，盡快啟動討論雙普選的時間表。
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will deliver his second Policy Address in office on 25 October. New Thinking, which describes itself in the Legislative Council as the “only non-establishment” party, is expected to meet Lee on Wednesday (23 October) to submit proposals for the Policy Address. Chairman Tik Chi-yuen said today that public sentiment remained unsettled and that democracy was still the demand of most members of the public. He said the NPC’s 8.31 framework had previously been accepted by the Central Government, the pro-establishment camp and the public, making it “the greatest social consensus relatively speaking”. He believed this could serve as a starting point for launching discussions on a timetable for universal suffrage for both the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council as soon as possible.
21 Aug 2023光傳媒#8222
District consultations’ new normal: pre-selection, media barred, politics off the agenda
特首李家超昨日（20日）舉辦《施政報告》地區諮詢會，聽取市民意見。諮詢會不開放傳媒採訪，《明報》報道指，約120位出席的「市民」，全部由民政及青年事務局推薦參與，發言的人大多是「地區三會」等政府諮詢組織成員。民主黨主席羅健熙回覆《光傳媒》時，直指諮詢會並沒有開放給當區市民參與，僅安排指定人士參加，「同搵佢地去政總（諮詢）完全冇分別」。
Chief Executive John Lee held a district consultation session on the Policy Address yesterday (20th) to hear the views of members of the public. The media were not allowed to cover the session. Ming Pao reported that all of the approximately 120 “members of the public” who attended had been recommended by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, and that most of those who spoke were members of government advisory bodies such as “district "the three committees"”. Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei told Guang Media that the consultation had not been open to residents of the district, with only selected individuals arranged to attend: “It’s exactly the same as getting them to go to the Central Government Offices for (consultation)—there’s no difference at all.”
21 Aug 2023獨媒#8223
One Punch Bookstore Holds Siu Ka-chun Book Sharing; Police Visit to Investigate Reported National Security-Related Violation
獨立書店一拳書館昨日舉辦邵家臻的新書《坐監情緒學》分享會，期間遭警方上門調查，並抄下所有人的身份證。分享會嘉賓、在囚支援平台「候鳥」創辦人朱江瑋表示，對警方上門未感太驚訝，大部份參加者的心情未受影響。警方回覆《獨媒》指，接獲舉報稱書店進行國安相關的違規事情，上門調查後未有發現任何刑事成份及國安相關的事情，沒有拘捕任何人。
Independent bookstore One Punch Bookstore held a sharing session yesterday for Siu Ka-chun’s new book, 《Emotional Studies of Imprisonment》. Police visited during the event to investigate and recorded the identity card details of everyone present. Kong Wai Chu, founder of the prisoner support platform “Migratory Birds” and a guest at the session, said he was not very surprised by the police visit and that most participants’ mood was unaffected. Police told inmediahk.net they had received a report alleging that the bookstore was involved in national security-related violations. After investigating, they found no criminal element or national security-related matter and made no arrests.
21 Aug 2023獨媒#8224
Tender for Fringe Club’s Central Premises Adds National Security Clause; Contract May Be Terminated Immediately for Conduct “About to Occur” That Is Adverse to National Security
藝穗會中環會址將於明年4月約滿，文化體育及旅遊局今日公開招標，邀請非牟利營運者提交建議書，營運及發展上址作文化藝術用途，合約為期3年。局方在說明書指發展須配合政府政策，包配加強國家《十四五規劃綱要》中賦予香港的文化藝術中心定位，強調政府有權以申請者可能導致發生危害國家安全罪行，或為維護國家安全及保障香港的公眾利益，而取消其申請資格。即使相關行為未發生，當政府合理地認為情況「即將出現」，都可以即時終止服務協議。
The lease of the Fringe Club’s Central premises will expire in April next year. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau issued an open tender today inviting non-profit operators to submit proposals to operate and develop the premises for cultural and arts purposes under a three-year contract. The tender documents state that the development must align with government policies, including reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as a cultural and arts centre assigned to it under the National 14th Five-Year Plan Outline. They emphasise that the government has the right to disqualify an applicant if it may result in the commission of an offence endangering national security, or to safeguard national security and protect the public interest in Hong Kong. Even if the relevant conduct has not occurred, the service agreement may be terminated immediately if the government reasonably considers that the situation is “about to occur”.
19 Aug 2023獨媒#8217
Charles Tsu Kwok Ho: Once Called on John Lee to Urge Carrie Lam Not to Push the Amendment — “He Didn’t Even Really Understand the Sanctions Against Him”
前全國政協委員何柱國日前接受陶傑訪問，重提2019年反修例事件，指在當局推出《逃犯條例》修訂前，曾先後向時任行政長官林鄭月娥、保安局局長李家超勸諫，不然將引來美國制裁，但二人並未接納。他更透露曾在馬會咖啡店內，向李家超解釋修例的後果，但對方「連制裁佢都唔係幾明」：「我知道，因為連林鄭月娥都唔係幾明，佢係一個專門管保安嘅，佢唔係做生意佢唔會聽得明，但我亦都解釋過俾佢聽。」
Former National Committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Charles Tsu Kwok Ho recently told Chip Tsao in an interview, revisiting the 2019 anti-extradition amendment events, that before the authorities introduced the amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, he had separately advised then Chief Executive Carrie Lam and Secretary for Security John Lee that it would otherwise bring US sanctions, but neither accepted his advice. He further disclosed that he had explained the consequences of the amendment to John Lee at a Jockey Club café, but Lee “didn’t even really understand the sanctions against him”: “I knew, because even Carrie Lam didn’t really understand. She was someone who specialised in security; she wasn’t in business, so she wouldn’t understand it. But I also explained it to her.”
18 Aug 2023Renews#8212
Pornography-themed doujin event “SS Fei Hung Sik Sik Zai” cancelled after opposition from law enforcement departments
以色情為主題的同人活動「SS 緋空色色祭」，因執法部門反對決定取消。該活動原訂 9 月 3 日，在觀塘 The Wave 舉行，主辦方公布指，昨日(17/8)收到政府「執法部門」通知，再次審查活動內容後，若主辦方繼續舉行，「不排除會於當日強制終止活動」，唯有決定取消。
The pornography-themed doujin event “SS Fei Hung Sik Sik Zai” has been cancelled after opposition from law enforcement departments. The event was originally scheduled to be held at The Wave in Kwun Tong on 3 September. The organiser announced that it received notice from the government’s “law enforcement departments” yesterday (17/8) stating that, after reviewing the event’s content again, they could “not rule out forcibly terminating the event on the day” if the organiser proceeded. The organiser therefore decided to cancel it.
18 Aug 2023集誌社#8214
North China floods | Largest allocation in 20 years approved, with seven organisations including a CPPCC association receiving funding for the first time; Disaster Relief Fund refuses to disclose details
因應北京、天津、河北省等地洪災，特區政府周一（14日）從賑災基金撥款 6500 萬元予九個賑濟項目，涉香港北京社團總會、港區省級政協委員聯誼會基金等九間機構。
《集誌社》翻查賑災基金由 2003 年至今的年報，發現撇除過去政府層面捐贈現金、以單一賑災計劃而言，今次 6500 萬撥款是 20 年來最大筆撥款；而九個機構中，七個過去從未獲基金撥款，大部分機構宗旨與賑濟無關。
翻查過去三年紀錄，基金每次撥款皆會發放新聞稿，公布每項賑災計劃中獲撥款的機構及金額、有關用途和預期受惠人數，與今次僅公布九間機構名稱不同。《集誌社》兩度向賑災基金查詢 6500 萬撥款詳情，包括各機構獲得撥款等，秘書處回覆只重申新聞稿內容，不肯透露每間機構各自獲批多少撥款；而三間獲撥款機構則回覆查詢指，詳情參閱政府新聞公告。
In response to flooding in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, the HKSAR Government on Monday (14th) allocated $65 million from the Disaster Relief Fund to nine relief projects involving nine organisations, including the Hong Kong Federation of Beijing Associations and the Hong Kong CPPCC (Provincial-level) Members Association Fund.
The Collective reviewed the Disaster Relief Fund’s annual reports from 2003 to the present and found that, excluding cash donations made at government level in the past, the $65 million allocation was the largest in 20 years for a single disaster relief programme. Seven of the nine organisations had never previously received funding from the fund, and most of the organisations’ objectives were unrelated to relief work.
A review of records from the past three years found that the fund had issued a press release for each allocation, announcing the organisations receiving funding and the amounts allocated for each relief project, as well as the purposes and expected number of beneficiaries. This differed from the latest announcement, which only named the nine organisations. The Collective twice asked the Disaster Relief Fund for details of the $65 million allocation, including the amounts approved for each organisation. The secretariat only reiterated the contents of the press release and declined to disclose the amount approved for each organisation. Three funded organisations responded that details could be found in the government’s press announcement.
16 Aug 2023明報#8205
Hong Kong’s Mid-year Population Reaches 7.5 Million, First Rise in Three Years, Mainly Driven by 170,000 Arrivals Including 30,000 One-way Permit Holders
政府統計處昨發表香港人口臨時數字，今年中約為749.8萬，較去年中734.6萬增逾15萬，回升至接近2019年高峰水平，升幅主要來自3.1萬單程證持有人和14.3萬其他香港居民移入。政府解釋，去年下半年防疫措施逐步放寬，留在外地的香港居民返港，加上內地及海外人士來港，令今年上半年錄得大量居民淨移入。
The Census and Statistics Department yesterday released provisional population figures for Hong Kong, putting the population at about 7.498 million in mid-year, an increase of more than 150,000 from 7.346 million in the middle of last year and close to the 2019 peak. The rise was mainly attributable to the arrival of 31,000 One-way Permit holders and 143,000 other Hong Kong residents. The Government explained that the gradual relaxation of anti-pandemic measures in the second half of last year prompted Hong Kong residents who had remained abroad to return, while people from the Mainland and overseas also came to Hong Kong, resulting in a substantial net inflow of residents in the first half of this year.
16 Aug 2023HK01#8206
Legal-sector lawmaker opens office in Yuen Long; Ambrose San Keung Lam says the Liaison Office’s Legal Department suggested it and residents’ complaints must be handled
立法會法律界議員林新強位於元朗的辦事處運作近1年，今日（16日）舉行開幕禮，被問到為何在元朗開辦事處，林新強說他是新界人，亦是因為中聯辦法律部提點要開辦事處。林新稱，原本無意開設，但看完《基本法》之後，知道有憲制責任處理市民申訴，因此決定開辦事處為市民服務。
The Yuen Long office of Legislative Council legal-sector representative Ambrose San Keung Lam has been operating for nearly a year and held its opening ceremony today (16th). Asked why the office was opened in Yuen Long, Ambrose San Keung Lam said that he was from the New Territories and that the Liaison Office’s Legal Department had also advised him to open an office. Ambrose San Keung Lam said he had originally not intended to open one, but after reading the Basic Law, he realised that there was a constitutional responsibility to handle residents’ complaints, and therefore decided to open the office to serve the public.
14 Aug 2023獨媒#8192
ICAC discloses corruption investigation at CUHK; former chief investigator says treatment of Rocky Tuan and his wife was “not ideal and unfair”
廉政公署日前罕有在案件調查階段發聲明，確認調查香港中文大學轄下一所醫學中心，有人涉嫌貪污及挪用公款等指控，更持手令到中大搜證，更有「消息」流出案件涉及中大心血管基因組醫學中心，而中心由中大校長段崇智妻子羅聞亞主理。前廉政公署執行處總調查主任查錫我今早在電台節目表示，廉署有責任保障受查人的權利，今次做法「唔係太理想」，尤其段崇智近來身處「熱廚房」，廉署公布的消息「難免令人有聯想」，對當事人相當不公平。
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) recently issued a rare statement during the investigation stage of a case, confirming that it was investigating allegations of corruption and misappropriation of public funds involving a medical centre under The Chinese University of Hong Kong. It also obtained a warrant to search CUHK for evidence. Information was subsequently circulated suggesting that the case involved CUHK’s Centre for Cardiovascular Genomics and Medicine, which is headed by CUHK President Rocky Tuan’s wife, Lo Man-nga. Former ICAC Executive Department Chief Investigator Stephen Shik Ngor Char said on a radio programme this morning that the ICAC had a responsibility to protect the rights of people under investigation. He said its handling of the matter was “not ideal”, particularly as Rocky Tuan had recently been in the “hot kitchen”; the information released by the ICAC would inevitably lead people to make associations and was considerably unfair to those involved.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
