Road closures, no-fly zones amid Xi sighting
www.thestandard.com.hk
Jane Cheung 29 Jun 2022
Xi Jinping is spotted in Wuhan as traffic measures in Wan Chai are explained and police check MTR stations and the HKCEC. SING TAo
Exhibition Centre MTR Station will be closed tomorrow and on Friday while drones will be banned across Hong Kong - with a stepped-up no-fly zone for aircraft around Victoria Harbour - during President Xi Jinping's expected visit for handover celebrations.
Police said yesterday they will offer personal protection and an escort fleet for Xi and core security areas will be set up in places he visits and passes.
Xi was said to have been spotted at Zuoling New Town, Wuhan, Hubei province yesterday. A photo circulated online showed him visiting an agricultural park.
It is believed that he will continue to head south to Shenzhen, where he will take the express rail to Hong Kong on Thursday. He will return to a Shenzhen hotel to stay overnight and come back to the SAR on Friday morning.
The assistant police commissioner for operations, Lui Kam-ho, said pavements, footbridges and flyovers will be temporarily closed when Xi's fleet passes by, while crowd and traffic-control measures will be taken in the "core security zone," which will be set up around the president as he moves through the city.
The area near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North, where the inauguration ceremony for John Lee Ka-chiu's government will be held on Friday morning, will be another core security zone. The HKCEC peninsula will be closed from 2am today.
It will cover the area across Expo Drive, Expo Drive East, Expo Drive Central and Convention Avenue, as well as sections of Fleming Road, Fleming Road Flyover, Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Lung Wo Road. Parts of Wan Chai North, including Harbour Road, will face temporary closure.
People and cars entering the peninsula face identity and security checks. Exhibition Centre Station and the bus terminal at HKCEC will be closed tomorrow and on Friday, affecting 18 bus routes.
Lui said: "The East Rail Line will operate as usual, but it will not stop at Exhibition Station. [Passengers] will have to head to Admiralty Station instead."
The MTR Corp said the station will reopen at 2pm on Friday.
"Frequent flying tasks will be deployed by the Government Flying Service and police throughout the president's visit and the Civil Aviation Department will designate a no-fly zone in the vicinity of Victoria Harbour," Lui said. He added they banned drones "after studying their latest technology, including carriage of weight and flying distance, as well as the geographic locations of places the president will visit."
Lui said assessments have shown Hong Kong is subject to medium terrorism risks, with no intelligence pointing to possible attacks. But with the rise of local terrorism, including seizure of firearms and explosives over the past two years, the force is highly concerned about the risk of Xi being attacked, he added.
Although police have not received any applications for public assemblies tomorrow and on Friday, protest and petition areas will be set up outside security zones.
"If officers spot anyone dressed in attire different from others in security zones, they will approach them," he said.
Asked if the heavy security confirms Xi's physical attendance, Lui said the plan was made on the condition that Xi is visiting. The force remains in communication with relevant authorities, he added.
The chair of the pro-democratic party League of Social Democrats, Chan Po-ying, said it will not organize its signature July 1 protest on Friday.
National People's Congress Standing Committee delegate Tam Yiu-chung said there will be group photos and meeting time at events tomorrow evening.
[email protected]
www.thestandard.com.hk
Jane Cheung 29 Jun 2022
Exhibition Centre MTR Station will be closed tomorrow and on Friday while drones will be banned across Hong Kong - with a stepped-up no-fly zone for aircraft around Victoria Harbour - during President Xi Jinping's expected visit for handover celebrations.
Police said yesterday they will offer personal protection and an escort fleet for Xi and core security areas will be set up in places he visits and passes.
Xi was said to have been spotted at Zuoling New Town, Wuhan, Hubei province yesterday. A photo circulated online showed him visiting an agricultural park.
It is believed that he will continue to head south to Shenzhen, where he will take the express rail to Hong Kong on Thursday. He will return to a Shenzhen hotel to stay overnight and come back to the SAR on Friday morning.
The assistant police commissioner for operations, Lui Kam-ho, said pavements, footbridges and flyovers will be temporarily closed when Xi's fleet passes by, while crowd and traffic-control measures will be taken in the "core security zone," which will be set up around the president as he moves through the city.
The area near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North, where the inauguration ceremony for John Lee Ka-chiu's government will be held on Friday morning, will be another core security zone. The HKCEC peninsula will be closed from 2am today.
It will cover the area across Expo Drive, Expo Drive East, Expo Drive Central and Convention Avenue, as well as sections of Fleming Road, Fleming Road Flyover, Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Lung Wo Road. Parts of Wan Chai North, including Harbour Road, will face temporary closure.
People and cars entering the peninsula face identity and security checks. Exhibition Centre Station and the bus terminal at HKCEC will be closed tomorrow and on Friday, affecting 18 bus routes.
Lui said: "The East Rail Line will operate as usual, but it will not stop at Exhibition Station. [Passengers] will have to head to Admiralty Station instead."
The MTR Corp said the station will reopen at 2pm on Friday.
"Frequent flying tasks will be deployed by the Government Flying Service and police throughout the president's visit and the Civil Aviation Department will designate a no-fly zone in the vicinity of Victoria Harbour," Lui said. He added they banned drones "after studying their latest technology, including carriage of weight and flying distance, as well as the geographic locations of places the president will visit."
Lui said assessments have shown Hong Kong is subject to medium terrorism risks, with no intelligence pointing to possible attacks. But with the rise of local terrorism, including seizure of firearms and explosives over the past two years, the force is highly concerned about the risk of Xi being attacked, he added.
Although police have not received any applications for public assemblies tomorrow and on Friday, protest and petition areas will be set up outside security zones.
"If officers spot anyone dressed in attire different from others in security zones, they will approach them," he said.
Asked if the heavy security confirms Xi's physical attendance, Lui said the plan was made on the condition that Xi is visiting. The force remains in communication with relevant authorities, he added.
The chair of the pro-democratic party League of Social Democrats, Chan Po-ying, said it will not organize its signature July 1 protest on Friday.
National People's Congress Standing Committee delegate Tam Yiu-chung said there will be group photos and meeting time at events tomorrow evening.
[email protected]
