Tang talks tough on would-be marchers

Playing down safety risks and encouraging people to join public demonstrations is "irresponsible," Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung declared yesterday.

Tang was responding to remarks by two former members of the now-defunct Confederation of Trade Unions about how authorities should protect rights guaranteed under the Basic Law and not "exaggerate" national security risks.

The pair, ex-chairman Joe Wong Nai-yuen and ex-committee member Denny To Chun-ho, are awaiting police approval to hold a Labor Day march on May 1, for which they applied in their personal capacities.

They were questioned by police on Saturday on how funding and media coverage would be handled - and also how they would avoid "violent groups" from hijacking the march.

Tang made his remarks about safety risks before he took off for Beijing yesterday.

He also referred to a women's rights march that had been scheduled for March 5 being canceled by the organizer as someone planned to hijack the march, though police did not provide details when making that claim last month.

But the opposition League of Social Democrats claimed four of its members received warnings from national security officers not to join the Women's Day march.

Tang also underlined yesterday that organizers are responsible for ensuring demonstrations are held safely, even though police have the abilities to maintain order and safety.

Organizers "can't just organize the event and say: 'You police can deal with it, I'm not doing anything,'" he added. "That's not how it works."

He said organizers would be legally responsible if they failed to ensure their activities were not hijacked. "If you don't obey the law I'll just arrest you!"

Without naming names, Tang also condemned people who played down safety risks, saying that would be "irresponsible."

Asked when the police would decide whether to approve the May 1 rally, Tang said the force will notify the organizers within the legally stipulated time frame - 48 hours before an event starts.

Before Tang's words of warning, Wong said on radio that he did not see any chance of violent groups hijacking the march, adding he was confident the police would be able to maintain order.

"Considering the current state of law and order in Hong Kong the police are definitely capable of controlling a march of 500 people," he said.

He also said the organizers - To and himself - were not told the rules they had to follow to be granted a letter of no objection.

And he would discuss the matter of having participants wear identification tags - a measure taken by officers at an anti-reclamation rally last month - if the police brought up the matter.

But he did not see such a need as "in a real state of 'normalcy' there is no need to identify the participants."

He also reiterated points made in a statement co-signed by To, saying they did not receive any funding and they were organizing the march with their own money.

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com