July 1 flag-raising ceremony marking city’s return to China set to be held indoors for first time since 1997 handover if Hong Kong Observatory's thunderstorms forecast is realised
- Senior Hong Kong official says it is standard practice to hold ceremony indoors in bad weather, despite previous rainy gatherings going ahead outdoors
- Event is being scaled down because of protest fears, but Matthew Cheung refuses to be drawn on whether disruption threat could force relocation
The flag-raising ceremony on July 1 could be moved indoors for the first time since the city returned to Chinese rule if there is rain and thunderstorms, Hong Kong’s No 2 official said.
The official, however, dodged the question of whether extradition bill protests could lead to the ceremony being relocated.
Speaking at the Legislative Council on Friday, Cheung said bad weather might move next Monday morning’s ceremony indoors.
“If the weather is poor with rain and thunderstorms, in general, you cannot raise flags outdoors, it is dangerous,” Cheung said, without naming the backup venue.
Hong Kong Observatory forecasts showers and isolated thunderstorms next Monday.
Cheung also said it was usual practice the government has a “wet weather programme” for the event.
Records, however, show that bar 1997, when the ceremony was held indoors to mark the city’s changeover of sovereignty, the event had never been held indoors in subsequent years, despite rainy weather in 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007.
Officials and guests held umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun in some years such as 2003 and 2012 during the ceremony in Golden Bauhinia Square, Wan Chai.
Asked if the government was worried about anti-extradition protests during the upcoming ceremony, Cheung did not give a straight answer, saying only that weather was an important factor.
Since Wednesday night, internet users had been drawing up plans to protest at the ceremony against the government’s controversial extradition bill.
If passed, the bill would allow Hong Kong to transfer suspects to jurisdictions it lacks extradition agreements with, such as mainland China, on a case-by-case basis.
The bill was suspended on June 15 due to fierce opposition from the Hong Kong public, including mass protests on back-to-back Sundays, two sieges at the police headquarters and clashes between protesters and police outside the Legislative Council this month.
The official also said the government was planning to go ahead with the ceremony at its usual venue.
“We will have a flag-raising ceremony at the Golden Bauhinia Square as scheduled, there will also be a cocktail party afterwards,” Cheung said.
The drinks party is usually held inside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, which is next to the square.
Council Front lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick was unimpressed with Cheung’s explanation.
“He is trying to save face,” Chu said.
“Everybody knows outdoor flag-raising ceremonies carried on even when it rained.”
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Separately, Cheung was also asked to verify reports that chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told her allies that she had no plans to resign for her handling of the extradition bill.
“The chief executive continues to work hard, she has not stopped working at government house,” Cheung said.
He also insisted the government was functioning normally.
