Water barriers disappear as order restored

Water barriers outside government headquarters set up two years ago have been removed, which Chief Secretary for Administration John Lee Ka-chiu said symbolized the restoration of order in Hong Kong.

And two-meter-high barriers outside the central government's Liaison Office in Sai Wan have also been removed.

So were those outside the Legislative Council complex adjacent to the government headquarters in Admiralty.

Writing on his blog yesterday, Lee noted that removing the barriers outside government headquarters restored the complex's proper look and made access to the headquarters easier.

As the headquarters "is the symbol of the administration's core," he said, the restored appearance symbolizes "the safety, stability and faith in Hong Kong."

And given that safety and normality has been restored, Lee added, it consolidated Hong Kong's development as well as its prosperity.

Under Beijing's 14th five-year plan, Lee went on, there would be "endless opportunities" in the Greater Bay Area development plan and the Qianhai proposal, and "I am confident Hong Kong will have brilliant prospects."

His blog came hours after workers removed the water barriers outside the Admiralty facilities that have been in place since the anti-fugitive bill movement bit in 2019.

Workers from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department also used high-pressure washers to clean roads occupied previously by the barriers.

The barriers at the Liaison Office were removed early yesterday, but a police presence was maintained in the vicinity.

Citizens welcomed the police decision to remove the barriers.

"The unrest has died down for over a year and there was no more vandalism and large-scale protests," one said in Tamar Park, "so the barriers should have been removed a long time ago."

Others noted that the national security law stopped the violence and chaos, so they could not understand why the barriers were not removed last year as they also blocked people from using Tamar Park.

Protesters vandalized government buildings and organizations during riots that rocked the SAR from June 2019, while radicals defaced the national emblem outside the Sai Wan building the following month.

Police stepped up security near the Westpoint building in which the Liaison Office is housed, including stationing officers at the entrance besides sighting the barriers.

As trouble waned in the wake of the implementation of the national security law in June last year, many barriers erected outside other places were removed, including outside police headquarters in Wan Chai, which were taken away last October.

Lee also noted yesterday that National Day festivities went off smoothly on Friday in contrast to two years ago when more than 100 molotov cocktails were hurled and fires were set at more than 68 locations, leading to the arrest of 300 people.

He said the national security law has been effective in keeping destructive and external forces at bay, while the "patriots administering Hong Kong" principle made the legislature more rational.

The expectation was that the legislature would pass 40 bills in this legislative year, he added, and that would be twice the average of bills in previous years.

At the same time, the legislature's Finance Committee is expected to approve HK$280 billion in beneficial funding.

And among tasks completed was work on 10,000 lampposts and 200 road structures that had helped create 300 temporary jobs to ease unemployment.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com