22 Jul 2022同文#2250
John Lee admits instructing waiver of national flag hanging fees; questions remain over safety responsibility
去年國慶日前後有市民在元朗懸掛逾千支國旗，被收費 14.7 萬元，路政署表示收到要求後酌情豁免並安排退款，同時承認署方並無豁免機制。由於事件引來「愛國陣營」向特首李家超投訴，令人質疑特首有否施壓。李家超昨晚（21日）在社交專頁上發文指關注事件，並指已指示有關部門豁免費用，以及制訂有效和適當措施避免同類事件發生。
Around National Day last year, members of the public put up more than 1,000 national flags in Yuen Long and were charged HK$147,000. The Highways Department said that, after receiving a request, it exercised discretion to waive the fee and arranged a refund, while acknowledging that it had no mechanism for fee waivers. The incident prompted complaints to Chief Executive John Lee from the “patriotic camp”, raising questions over whether the Chief Executive had exerted pressure. In a post on his social media page last night (21st), Lee said he was concerned about the incident and had instructed the relevant departments to waive the fee and formulate effective and appropriate measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
21 Jul 2022同文#2245
Highways Department Charged for Hanging National Flags on Roadside Lamp Posts; Kuk Wing-yin’s Criticism Draws Patriotic Lawmaker into Complaint, Prompting Fee Waiver and Swift Refund
建制專欄寫手屈穎妍前日（19日）在專欄中指，去年有市民向路政署申請，在國慶日前後於元朗一帶的公路燈柱懸掛 1,200 多面國旗為期 20 日，被徵收 14.7 萬多元，屈批評路政署濫向愛國人士收費屬荒謬。路政署指原本沒有豁免收費的機制，但之後收到立法會議員信函要求酌情豁免團體費用，有關豁免收費的具體安排快將完成，署方會盡快通知團體退款安排，變相承認無中生有豁免收費機制。
Pro-establishment columnist Kuk Wing-yin wrote in her column the day before yesterday (19th) that last year a member of the public applied to the Highways Department to hang more than 1,200 national flags on road lamp posts in the Yuen Long area for 20 days around National Day and was charged more than $147,000. Kuk criticised the Highways Department for absurdly charging patriotic people. The department said there had originally been no mechanism for waiving the fee, but it later received a letter from a Legislative Council member requesting discretionary exemption of the group’s charges. The specific arrangements for waiving the fee will soon be completed, and the department will notify the group of the refund arrangements as soon as possible, effectively acknowledging that a fee-waiver mechanism had been conjured up from nowhere.
21 Jul 2022獨媒#2246
Kuk Wing-yin protests HK$140,000 charge for hanging national flags; exemption mechanism introduced, Highways Department says refunds coming
去年有愛國組織於國慶期間，向路政署申請在路邊燈柱懸掛逾1,200支國旗，事後收到署方發出逾14萬元收費。建制派專欄作家屈穎妍昨日在報章專欄指控路政署濫向愛國人士收費，批評是荒謬。路政署晚上回覆《獨媒》查詢指，路燈維修承建商需在旗幟懸掛期間巡查，每支旗幟徵收港幣6元巡查費是既定標準。署方指沒有豁免收費的機制，惟其後收到立法會議員信函，已「積極」跟進，並指審批豁免程序快將完成，將向團體退款。
Last year, a patriotic organisation applied to the Highways Department to hang more than 1,200 national flags on roadside lamp posts during the National Day period. It subsequently received a bill of more than HK$140,000 from the department. In a newspaper column yesterday, pro-establishment columnist Kuk Wing-yin accused the Highways Department of improperly charging patriotic people, calling the arrangement absurd. The department told The Witness in the evening that the contractor responsible for maintaining the street lights had to inspect the flags while they were displayed, and that the HK$6 inspection fee per flag was a standard charge. It said there was no mechanism to waive the fees, but after receiving a letter from a Legislative Council member, it had been “actively” following up. The approval process for the waiver is nearly complete, and the organisation will be refunded.
20 Jul 2022獨媒#2241
Law Reform Commission proposes five cybercrime offences; computer interference endangering lives could incur life imprisonment
法律改革委員會建議訂立針對網絡罪犯的五大罪行，涵蓋非法取覽程式或數據、非法截取或干擾電腦數據、電腦系統，以及提供或管有用作犯罪的器材或數據。另外法改會亦建議，若受害人、目標電腦或系統、罪行「主要元素」在香港發生，香港法庭應有司法管轄權。至於刑罰，法改會建議一般刑罰定於2年至14年，若涉及「加重罪行」，例如藉干擾電腦而危害他人生命，可處終身監禁。
The Law Reform Commission has proposed creating five offences targeting cybercriminals: unauthorised access to programmes or data; unauthorised interception of or interference with computer data; interference with computer systems; and providing or possessing equipment or data for use in committing offences. It also proposed that Hong Kong courts should have jurisdiction if the victim, the target computer or system, or a “major element” of the offence occurs in Hong Kong. As for penalties, the Commission proposed general terms of imprisonment ranging from two to 14 years, while “aggravated offences”—such as endangering a person’s life by interfering with a computer—could carry life imprisonment.
14 Jul 2022獨媒#2215
Innovation and Technology secretary clarifies that LeaveHomeSafe never intended or was able to track users by real name, but admits phone-card real-name registration and the app’s linkage to mobile phones ultimately brought “the two things together”
沒有摘要。
13 Jul 2022明報#2212
First “Front Office Exchange” held today; John Lee hopes it will mark a new starting point for improving executive-legislative relations
首場「前廳交流會」分為三節，早上9時15分開始，至10時45分結束。李家超會後表示，議員在會上指出一些實際問題，雙方交流坦誠，認為首次交流會已有成果，有信心日後能發揮得更好。
The first “Front Office Exchange” was divided into three sessions, beginning at 9:15am and ending at 10:45am. John Lee said after the meeting that lawmakers had raised some practical issues and that the exchanges between the two sides had been candid. He said he believed the first exchange had produced results and was confident that future exchanges could perform even better.
13 Jul 2022NOW#2213
John Lee reiterates that LeaveHomeSafe red code will apply only to confirmed cases in first phase
特首李家超承認三色健康碼會分階段推行，首階段針對確診及海外抵港人士，將來或按疫情調整。
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu acknowledged that the three-colour health code would be introduced in phases. The first phase would target confirmed cases and people arriving from overseas, and could be adjusted in future according to the epidemic situation.
12 Jul 2022獨媒#2205
Former Tuen Mun district councillor Cheung Kam-hung arrested yesterday; ICAC: suspected of inciting others to cast invalid votes
前中大學生會會長區倬僖及前區議員張錦雄去年立法會選舉期間轉載帖文，涉嫌煽動他人投白票，被廉政公署拘捕。
Former CUHK Student Union president Owen Au Cheuk-hei and former district councillor Cheung Kam-hung were arrested by the ICAC after reposting posts during last year’s Legislative Council election, allegedly inciting others to cast blank ballots.
12 Jul 2022有線#2207
Multi-functional smart lampposts being installed progressively across districts; high-definition cameras or police sensors not ruled out
政府資科辦表示，未有放棄多功能智慧燈柱計劃，正陸續在各區加裝，不排除增設高清鏡頭。
The Government’s Office of the Chief Information Officer said it had not abandoned the multi-functional smart lamppost project and was progressively installing the lampposts in various districts. It did not rule out adding high-definition cameras.
11 Jul 2022NOW#2199
Lo Chung-mau: Studying real-name registration for LeaveHomeSafe and introducing a “red, yellow and green” health code
醫務衛生局局長盧寵茂表示，正研究為安心出行實名制，期望加快通關手續，並在程式內推行仿效內地的「紅黃綠」健康碼。
Secretary for Health and Welfare Lo Chung-mau said the government was studying real-name registration for LeaveHomeSafe, hoping to speed up clearance procedures, and would introduce a “red, yellow and green” health code in the app modelled on that used in the mainland.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
