11.
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Police to enforce inviolability of consular premises
Following are a question by the Hon Lee Wing-tat and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Security, Mrs Carrie Yau, at the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Regarding the police's recent action to prohibit petitioners from gaining access to the Japanese Consulate, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
of the detailed legal basis for prohibiting petitioners from gaining access to the Japanese Consulate;
Reply:
(b)
(c)
Mr President.
(a)
(b)
what factors have been taken into account by the police in deciding on the restrictions imposed on the time, venue and target group of such prohibition; and
whether the prohibition has been imposed at the request of the Japanese Consulate or other organizations?
The Hong Kong Government has an obligation to enforce the inviolability of consular premises in Hong Kong in accordance with Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Accordingly, the Police are under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the consular premises against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the consular post or impairment of its dignity and to take such steps as they judge may be necessary for that purpose under the Police Force Ordinance.
In carrying out their duties, the Police would consider what appropriate action should be taken having regard to the circumstances of each case. In the light of an intrusion into the Japanese Consulate on 9 October 1996, the Police considered it necessary to take pre-emptive action to prevent any recurrence. Such action included the exclusion of those persons who had participated in the earlier incident from entering the lift lobby of the consular premises. In so acting the Police were taking lawful measures to preserve the public peace and to prevent injury to life and property.