Briefing by the Secretary for Security on the Chief Executive’s 2020 Policy Address
Assisting juveniles in rehabilitation
Apart from referring juveniles issued with Superintendent’s cautions to EDB, the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) or non-governmental organizations (“NGO”) to facilitate their rehabilitation,Mr CHAN Chun-ying asked whether the Administration has other plans to follow up with juveniles who had committed illegal acts because of their political belief.
S for S said that for juvenile offenders who had expressed contrition,the Government would further consider strengthening education via Police’s supervision and NGOs’ follow-up work under PSDS.
National security
Mr CHAN Chun-ying sought information on the manpower support in implementing the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“the National Security Law”).
S for S said that manpower pressure for law enforcement and prosecution work was a persisting challenge. Another challenge is that the officers should have suitable experience, mindset and integrity, etc. That said, the Government would actively deal with manpower-related issues, and had to overcome various objective factors gradually.
Handling of non-refoulement claims
Mr CHAN Chun-ying noted with concern that about 13 000 non-refoulement claimants still remained in Hong Kong as at end October 2020, and the number of applications for judicial review (“JR”) pending handling by the court was over 8 000. He asked whether SB would liaise with the Judiciary to clear the long JR queue.
S for S thanked for members’ suggestions. While JR was a bottleneck in the handling of non-refoulement claims, he noted that the Judiciary had revised some requirements so as to expedite the handling of cases by the Court of Appeal. SB would also liaise with the Judiciary to explore further means to break through the bottleneck, having due regard to the principle of judicial independence.