City's Games readiness unaffected by bus blasts
Updated: 2008-07-24 07:17
By Peggy Chan(HK Edition)
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Hong Kong is all set for the Olympic equestrian events and the recent bus blasts in Kunming have nothing to do with the territory, Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang said yesterday.
As the chairman of the Equestrian Committee (Hong Kong) of Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Tang took some committee members to the Hong Kong International Airport to inspect the registration and hospitality facilities, and the horse-handling procedures.
"We've taken every care to inspect all the venues to ensure everything is in order. We're ready for the equestrian events," Tang told the media after the inspection.
He added all facilities are world-class and Hong Kong is looking forward to the arrival of the first batch of Olympic horses.
Altogether 42 teams with 277 horses will take part in the competitions, breaking the Games record. It is also unprecedented that the Games feature mainland and Hong Kong players.
Thirty-two European horses will arrive in Hong Kong in three shipments this Saturday.
The horses will undergo blood tests and temperature checks before boarding, while veterinarians from the Jockey Club and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will inspect the horses on board the planes upon arrival.
Should the horses' conditions be satisfactory, they will be transported to the Sha Tin equestrian venue on vehicles provided by the Jockey Club.
For horses whose conditions are considered unsatisfactory, they will be moved to a temporary stable at the airport for further inspections.
The cargo terminal will be made a forbidden zone two hours before and one hour after the horses' arrival.
Horses can get back to training 10 days after the inspections. They will be examined once again on the competition day.
Chief executive officer of Equestrian Events (Hong Kong) of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Company Limited Lam Woon-kwong said the participating teams will move into the Olympic Village in Sha Tin Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Tang said the threat assessment for Hong Kong remains at "moderate" despite the bomb attacks in Kunming which have raised concern over security at the Olympics.
"Presently we do not have any evidence that suggests the attacks in Kunming are related to Hong Kong's equestrian events," he said.
The administration currently does not see the need to introduce security checks on public transport such as the Mass Transit Railway, he added.
Li Gang, Deputy Director of the Central Government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said yesterday that Vice President Xi Jinping inspected every facility for the equestrian events and gave some instructions during his visit two weeks ago.
No unexpected incidents will happen and the events will be held successfully if the SAR government acts according to Xi's instruction, Li said.
Meanwhile, the police said in a statement released last night that demonstration areas had been tentatively designated for the Sha Tin and Beas River equestrian venues.
For the former, it is located near the Rowing Centre on Shing Mun River; and for the latter, it is near the sidewalk outside the North District Hospital on Po Kin Road, Sheung Shui.
The police said so far it had not received any notification of mass rally to be held during the equestrian events.
(HK Edition 07/24/2008 page1)