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Transcript of CS's media session
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Following is the transcript of the remarks (English) made to the media by the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, after visiting the Environmental Protection Department this (Thursday) afternoon:
CS: I wanted to say that what happened at the Japanese Consulate General's office yesterday is a very unfortunate incident. I'm sure that the whole community and certainly the media feel that this sort of incident should not happen. Of course very citizen in Hong Kong has freedom of expression, freedom of action. But this action and any expression must comply with local law. We will not tolerate any future breaches of the law.
The police will conduct a thorough investigation of what happened yesterday and we must wait for the police report to be completed before deciding whether further action is required.
I do urge all citizens to... I understand the depth of feeling about the Diaoyu Tai incident, but I hope everyone will express their views or will take action that fully complies with the law, that they will maintain calm and express their views in a peaceful manner.
From this point of view, I notice that those who were involved in yesterday's incident have apologised for their behaviour and have furthermore said that in future any activities in respect of the Diaoyu Tai dispute will be conducted in a peaceful, calm and non-confrontational manner. And I very much welcome that.
Question: Even if they have apologised, if the police found out they have broken the law ...?
CS: I don't want to pre-empt the findings of the investigation. The police will clearly conduct their investigation and complete it as soon as possible and we would have to wait and study that investigation report.
Question: the security has been stepped up, can you explain what ...?
CS: The Police have stepped up the posting of personnel at the Japanese Consulate General's office to prevent a recurrence of this incident. But I do stress again, we will not tolerate any breaches of the law. And I hope that everybody will comply with the law.
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