Chief Executive Carrie Lam today inspected the damaged facilities and repair work at MTR Central Station which was extensively vandalised by radical protesters.

Accompanied by Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan, Mrs Lam viewed the seriously damaged entrances/exits and concourse facilities such as ticket issuing machines, entry/exit gates and CCTV cameras.

MTR Central Station was one of those severely vandalised by radical protesters yesterday, and some violent protesters had even started a fire outside of it, seriously jeopardising public safety.

The Chief Executive thanked MTR staff for their efforts in repairing the damaged facilities as soon as possible so that the station could be reopened this morning to serve tens of thousands of people who needed to go to work or school.

She also chatted to a member of the public in the station and noted that she was disheartened by the wanton destruction of MTR facilities by violent protesters.

In the afternoon, Mrs Lam held a meeting with the secretaries of departments and directors of bureaux, the Commissioner of Police and the management of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Airport Authority to listen to their briefings on the effectiveness of the actions in response to the recent protests and vandalistic acts, as well as to discuss future tactics.

Outraged by the continued blockage and disruptions targeting the airport and the MTR, the participants pointed out such illegal activities seriously affect travellers’ commutes and the public’s daily life as well as undermine Hong Kong’s image and should not be condoned.

The participants added they will not be threatened by the violence and vandalism, and to protect Hong Kong, they will remain cool-headed to work together to minimise the impact of protests and vandalistic acts on the public.

Mrs Lam thanked various parties for their dedication to duty and concerted efforts in the past weeks, in particular over the past weekend, with the joint efforts of Police, the Airport Authority, the MTRC, the aviation sector and relevant government departments ensuring the railway and the airport, two major infrastructure facilities, operated smoothly in general.

The Chief Executive also expressed concern for the MTR staff who were injured during earlier protests and vandalism, wishing them a speedy recovery.

Meeting participants included Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau, Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan, Secretary for Security John Lee, Commissioner of Police Stephen Lo, Airport Authority Chairman Jack So, Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Fred Lam, MTRC Chairman of the board of directors Rex Auyeung and MTRC Chief Executive Officer Jacob Kam.