Subject: Key messages on FOO latest

Dear Friends

As you can see from the media, the protests against the government and the wildcat actions by protesters continues.

If you are meeting contacts from outside Hong Kong, or in the normal course of your work, we would welcome your support in trying to help maintain a calm and reasonable atmosphere in Hong Kong and provide some much-needed perspective. As we have always said, people are free to express their views in a peaceful manner in accordance with the law (as they often do) but we cannot support in any way protests that are violent, involve vandalism or destruction of property, or which disrupt the normal functioning of public services and Government work.

You may find the following points below of some use. Please feel free to share any insight or comments you may have, or have heard.

Best regards,

Brett 
2842 8726

Rule of Law cannot be compromised 
Any requests that require the Chief Executive to make a decision that violates or undermines the rule of law is unacceptable. The HKSAR Government has the responsibility to safeguard the rule of law, and to deal with the unlawful and violent acts during the 12 June incident in an impartial, fair and just manner. We welcome different sectors to reinforce this important message. 

Support for the Chief Executive 
The Chief Executive has sincerely apologised for the mishandling of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (FOO) legislative exercise. She has expressed her determination to improve communication with different sectors of the community and to continue to serve the public wholeheartedly. At this point, it is important to safeguard the dignity of the Chief Executive as the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), lest effective governance of the HKSAR will be seriously undermined.

Support for the Police 
The Hong Kong Police Force is an outstanding and professional force. It plays a vital role in maintaining law and order and sustaining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong as one of the world's safest large cities. When the dignity of the Hong Kong Police Force is trampled and its authority challenged (e.g. the blockade and vandalism of Police HQ on 21 June), we condemn such acts and strongly support the Police to continue acting accordance with the law, maintaining law and order and protecting life and property in Hong Kong.

Relaunching Hong Kong 
The huge media coverage arising from the FOO exercise has no doubt affected the international reputation and image of Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will work hard to rebuild the trust and confidence of the international community in Hong Kong at the appropriate time and work closely with different sectors to relaunch Hong Kong.

A few other points worth mentioning:
- Hong Kong continues to operate smoothly in terms of business, finance, stock market, trade, investment flows, port, airport etc. This underscore the resilience and strength or our institutional hardware and software. Hong Kong works!
- The legal system at all levels continues to operate openly and transparently. It remains a bedrock of Hong Kong's security as a society and market.
- The events of the past few weeks have shown that the freedom of expression, of association and of the press - as guaranteed in the Basic Law - are alive and well. Even if we do not agree with each other, we respect and support these fundamental rights under the Basic Law as a prime example of "One Country, Two Systems" at work and as essential elements . However, as mentioned above we do not support violence, vandalism, obstruction of civil servants or disruption of public services.

Ends/