Prompt action:
Under Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok says a 26-strong support team headed by Deputy Secretary for Security Ngai Wing-chit has arrived in Tokyo to help Hong Kong people there.
Immigration
The Immigration Department controls the movement of people into and out of Hong Kong. It also issues HKSAR passports and other travel documents, visas and identity cards, and handles nationality matters and the registration of births, deaths and marriages.
Information Services
The Information Services Department serves as the Government's public relations consultant, publisher, advertising agent and news agency. It provides the link between the Administration and the media, and enhances public understanding of government policies, decisions and activities.
Fire Services
The Fire Service's Department's mission is to extinguish fire and protect life and property in case of fire or other calamity. It advises the public on fire-protection measures and fire hazards, and promotes awareness of the importance of fire safety.
Police
The Hong Kong Police Force ensures a safe and stable society by upholding the rule of law, maintaining law and order, preventing and detecting crime, and safeguarding and protecting life and property.
Observatory
The Hong Kong Observatory's mission is to deliver useful and effective meteorological services; to provide quality services in climate, radiation, time standard, seismology, oceanography and astronomy; and to strengthen public preparedness for natural disasters.
Customs & Excise
The Customs & Excise Department's main roles are to protect against smuggling; to collect revenue on dutiable goods; to detect and deter narcotics trafficking and drug abuse; to protect intellectual property rights and consumer interests; to protect and facilitate legitimate trade and industry; and to uphold Hong Kong's trading integrity.
HK support team arrives in Tokyo
March 18, 2011
A 26-strong support team headed by Deputy Secretary for Security Ngai Wing-chit has arrived in Tokyo to help Hong Kong people leave Japan.
Under Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok today told reporters the team comprises officers from the Police, Fire Services and Information Services Departments. They have joined the 12 Immigration officers there and staff of the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Tokyo to man a helpdesk at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku.
The team has helped 156 people secure flights and they will take tonight’s additional flight. Ten coaches have been arranged to take Hong Kong people from Shinjuku to Narita Airport.
Advising Hong Kong people in Tokyo to seriously consider returning to Hong Kong or moving to the south of Japan, Mr Lai appealed to them to register with the Immigration Department and get flight details by calling the department's hotline (852)1868 or emailing 1868@immd.gov.hk.
Cathay Pacific has arranged two additional flights with a total of about 700 seats to bring Hong Kong people home tonight. Extra flights will also be arranged for the next three days.
Enquiries, requests
Since the Government appealed to Hong Kong residents in Tokyo to consider leaving the city, the department received 606 enquiries and 420 requests for help. Four cases concerned people who had lost contact with their families, and 14 callers asked for information.
Four hundred and two people requested an early return and arrangements have been made for 156 people.
By 3pm today, the department had received a total of 6,479 enquiries and 1,678 requests for help. Four-hundred-and-seventy-four cases concerned people who had lost contact with their families.
Officers have made contact with most of the people who lost contact with their families and are still trying to contact 20 people. The department has passed the information to the Chinese Embassy in Japan.
No rise in radiation
The Customs & Excise Department has been conducting radiation checks on goods imported to Hong Kong. By 3pm, it had checked five containers and 27 batches of goods comprising 232 commodities imported by air. They are all confirmed to be safe.
Noting the Government has been closely monitoring the radiation level in Tokyo, Mr Lai said the figure remains normal. The radiation levels in Hong Kong are also normal.
Energy Advisory Committee Chairman Edmund Leung said the situation at the Fukushima nuclear facility today was relatively stable and no rise was detected in radiation level. Regular monitoring will continue.
Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory Leung Wing-mo said radioactivity from Fukushima has not affected Hong Kong. In the next two days, Japan will be affected by westerly or southwesterly winds, which should blow any radioactivity from the country northeast, away from Hong Kong.
