28 Apr 2021立場新聞#1354
[Feature] Immigration Ordinance amendment passed at lightning speed; dispute over Hong Kong residents’ entry and exit briefly subsides — refugee rights, Who cares?
關注難民人權的組織批評《入境條例》修訂，開宗明義阻止尋求庇護者來港、加快審核及遣返速度，並提出擴大羈留權、指定會面時聲請人使用的語言等一系列措施，影響尋求庇護者及羈留人士，卻無諮詢有關群體，連聽證會都沒有。
An organisation concerned with refugee and human rights criticised the amendment to the Immigration Ordinance, which explicitly seeks to prevent asylum seekers from coming to Hong Kong, speed up screening and deportation, and introduce a range of measures including expanding detention powers and specifying the language applicants must use during interviews. The measures affect asylum seekers and detainees, yet the groups concerned were not consulted—not even through a hearing.
28 Apr 2021RTHK#1355
Legislative Council Passes Immigration Amendment Bill at Third Reading; John Lee Says It Targets Flights to Hong Kong
立法會三讀通過《2020年入境（修訂）條例草案》，修例將於今年8月1日正式生效。草案賦權政府要求航空公司在航班抵港前，向入境處通報乘客資料；入境處可要求航空公司禁止運載個別乘客。
The Legislative Council passed the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2020 at third reading. The amendment will formally take effect on 1 August this year. The bill empowers the Government to require airlines to provide passenger information to the Immigration Department before flights arrive in Hong Kong; the Immigration Department may require airlines to prohibit the carriage of individual passengers.
28 Apr 2021立場新聞#1356
Legislative Council Resumes Second Reading of Immigration Bill Today; Groups Question Amendment as ‘Locking Down Hong Kong’ and Urge Review to Be Suspended
《2020年入境（修訂）條例草案》在立法會上恢復二讀。根據草案，保安局局長可賦權予入境處處長，指示「某運輸工具可或不可運載某乘客或該運輸工具的某乘組人員」，當中包括抵港或離港的所有航班。換言之，當局可禁止任何人離開香港，並不限於其出境目的，例如旅遊、出國讀書或移民。
The Legislative Council resumed the second reading of the Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2020. Under the bill, the Secretary for Security could authorise the Director of Immigration to instruct that “a particular transport may or may not carry a particular passenger or a particular crew member of that transport”, including all flights arriving in or departing from Hong Kong. In other words, the authorities could prohibit anyone from leaving Hong Kong, regardless of the purpose of their departure, such as travelling, studying overseas or emigrating.
26 Apr 2021RTHK#1348
RTHK: Assistant Director of Broadcasting Brandon Kwok Fung Chau resigns, leaves on July 9
香港電台證實，助理廣播處長（電台及節目策劃）周國豐已因家庭理由提出請辭，7月9日正式離任。
RTHK confirmed that Assistant Director of Broadcasting (Radio and Programme Planning) Brandon Kwok Fung Chau had resigned for family reasons and would formally leave on July 9.
26 Apr 2021RTHK#1349
Former Registrar of Companies Says New Search Restrictions Affect Hong Kong’s Financial Centre Reputation
公司註冊處前處長鍾悟思在《明報》撰文，指政府提出限制查冊的建議未經公眾諮詢就直接提交立法會。若實施新規定，將削弱香港商界的核心問責制、透明原則以及公司治理標準，影響香港作為國際商業和金融中心的形象及聲譽，建議政府重新考慮。
Former Registrar of Companies Gordon William Ewing Jones wrote in Ming Pao that the Government’s proposal to restrict company searches was submitted directly to the Legislative Council without public consultation. If implemented, the new rules would weaken the core accountability system, transparency principles and corporate governance standards of Hong Kong’s business community, affecting the image and reputation of Hong Kong as an international business and financial centre. Gordon William Ewing Jones recommended that the Government reconsider the proposal.
26 Apr 2021眾新聞#1350
Civil Human Rights Front: Police say group may have breached Societies Ordinance, demand information on income sources, expenditure and more
民陣召集人陳皓桓稱到警署報到期間，收到社團事務主任的文件，指民陣涉嫌違反《社團條例》，要求民陣在5月5日前向社團事務主任提供6項資料，包括民陣曾舉辦公眾遊行及集會的日期及地點、成立以來所有收入紀錄，以及解釋去年曾參與致聯合國人權事務高級專員聯署的原因。
Civil Human Rights Front convenor Figo Chan said that, while reporting to a police station, he received documents from a Societies Officer stating that the group was suspected of contravening the Societies Ordinance. The documents required the Civil Human Rights Front to provide six items of information to the Societies Officer by 5 May, including the dates and locations of public marches and rallies it had organised, all records of its income since its establishment, and an explanation of why it had participated last year in a joint letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
24 Apr 2021立場新聞#1347
Immigration Ordinance: Government condemns claims amendment would effectively lock down Hong Kong as “misleading”; civic groups say harsh language should not cover up bill’s problems
保安局再次發聲明，不點名批評聯合陣線故意曲解條文為限制香港居民出入境自由，是「散播謠言，蠱惑人心」，並重申現時修訂條文屬主體法例，一般較為概括，草案獲立法會通過及生效後，會另設附屬法例，訂明具體細節及清晰條文。聯合陣線發言人指，保安局聲明無回應工會提出的質疑或大律師公會的建議。聯合陣線促請政府接納大律師公會建議，暫停法案恢復二讀，並就修訂舉行公聽會。支聯會副主席亦回應指法律權力界線由主體法例決定，若主體法律沒寫清楚，行政機關便可任意撰寫具體附屬法例條文。
The Security Bureau issued another statement, criticising the Joint Alliance without naming it for deliberately misinterpreting the provisions as restricting Hong Kong residents’ freedom to enter and leave the territory, describing this as “spreading rumours and misleading the public”. It reiterated that the current amendments are part of the principal legislation and are generally broad in nature. If the bill is passed by the Legislative Council and comes into force, subsidiary legislation will be introduced to set out the specific details and clear provisions. A spokesperson for the Joint Alliance said the Security Bureau’s statement did not respond to the concerns raised by trade unions or the recommendations of the Hong Kong Bar Association. The Joint Alliance urged the Government to accept the Bar Association’s recommendations, suspend the resumption of the bill’s second reading, and hold a public hearing on the amendments. The vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China also responded that the boundaries of legal powers are determined by the principal legislation; if the principal law is not clear, the executive authorities could arbitrarily draft the specific provisions of the subsidiary legislation.
23 Apr 2021明報#1345
Two Communications Authority officers parachuted into RTHK as manager and assistant manager
繼本月12日高級政務主任張恩慈出任港台高級經理（特別支援）及前行政署長蔡潔如19日起出任廣播處長顧問後，兩名通訊事務管理局主任將於26日起出任港台經理（特別支援）及助理經理（特別支援）。
Following the appointment on the 12th of Senior Administrative Officer Cheung Yan-chi as RTHK Senior Manager (Special Support), and the appointment from the 19th of former Director of Administration Kitty Kit Yu Choi as Adviser to the Director of Broadcasting, two Communications Authority officers will take up the posts of RTHK Manager (Special Support) and Assistant Manager (Special Support) from the 26th.
23 Apr 2021獨媒#1346
National security office to permanently set up in Tai Kok Tsui, flanked by primary and secondary schools
政府公布將大角咀一幅由兩部分組成、總面積約1.15萬平方米的政府用地，批予中央駐港國家安全公署，用以設立永久辦公室及附屬設施。兩截用地中間隔著一間中學及一間小學。
The Government announced that a government site in Tai Kok Tsui comprising two parcels with a total area of about 11,500 square metres would be allocated to the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for a permanent office and ancillary facilities. The two parcels are separated by a secondary school and a primary school.
22 Apr 2021立場新聞#1342
[Immigration Ordinance] Civil groups fear bill could effectively lock Hong Kong down, urge government to state clearly that provisions will not obstruct residents’ entry or departure
《2020年入境（修訂）條例草案》有條文讓保安局局長可訂立規例，賦予入境事務處處長權力，指示運輸工具可或不可運載某乘客。保安局多次強調條文防止潛在免遣返聲請人抵港，並實行《國際民用航空公約》要求的預報旅客資料系統。但大律師公會2月曾發表文件，關注條文賦予入境處處長不受約束的權力，認為草案理應規定局長只可在針對入境而非離境航班的情況時，才有權禁止該人登上運輸工具。「關注鎖港條例工會聯合陣線」、支聯會及民陣關注草案有條文可限制市民出入境，有機會「變相鑽港」。
The Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2020 contains provisions allowing the Secretary for Security to make regulations granting the Director of Immigration the power to direct whether a transport operator may or may not carry a particular passenger. The Security Bureau has repeatedly stressed that the provisions are intended to prevent potential non-refoulement claimants from arriving in Hong Kong and to implement the Advance Passenger Information System required under the Convention on International Civil Aviation. In a paper issued in February, the Hong Kong Bar Association expressed concern that the provisions would give the Director of Immigration unfettered powers, and said the bill should stipulate that the Secretary may prohibit a person from boarding a means of transport only in cases involving flights bound for Hong Kong, rather than departing flights. The Trade Union Joint Front Concerned about the Anti-Closure of Hong Kong Bill, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and the Civil Human Rights Front are concerned that provisions in the bill could restrict residents’ entry into and departure from Hong Kong, potentially resulting in Hong Kong being effectively “locked down.”
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
