GBA Emergency Response Exercise Enhances Rescue Coordination Amid Extreme Weather Scenarios in Hong Kong

2025-03-27 15:10 Last Updated At：15:28

GBA joint emergency response and rescue exercise "Liancheng-2025" successfully concludes

The Hong Kong Fire Services Department (FSD), the Fire and Rescue Corps of Guangdong Province, and the Macao Fire Services Bureau held a 48-hour Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) joint emergency response and rescue exercise, "Liancheng-2025", in Hong Kong from March 25 to today (March 27). The exercise aimed to gauge the effectiveness of the emergency mobilisation and co-ordination mechanism under the GBA Emergency Response and Rescue Operational Plan.

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GBA joint emergency response and rescue exercise "Liancheng-2025" successfully concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

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GBA joint emergency response and rescue exercise "Liancheng-2025" successfully concludes Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The exercise simulated Hong Kong experiencing extreme weather conditions, including a super typhoon and torrential rain, leading to severe incidents such as building collapses, large-scale landslides, extensive flooding and paralysed transport systems in various districts. Due to the strain on local rescue resources, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government requested assistance from the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, according to the mechanism under the Operational Plan.

The Fire and Rescue Corps of Guangdong Province promptly deployed 60 members, 13 fire appliances and over 900 items of rescue equipment, while the Macao Fire Services Bureau deployed 15 members, five fire appliances, and over 300 items of rescue equipment to render assistance to Hong Kong. The two teams respectively entered Hong Kong through the Shenzhen Bay Port and the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge via the cross-boundary Green Channel to participate in the exercise.

The exercise, mainly taking place at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy, was conducted under the joint emergency command mechanism led by the FSD to co-ordinate personnel and resources allocation. The three rescue teams jointly participated in operations such as a rescue in a flooded basement, a search and rescue operation in a collapsed structure, as well as handling mass casualty and hazardous chemical leakage situations. They also took part in a rescue operation in Lei Yue Mun, where a severe flooding scenario in the low-lying coastal area of Sam Ka Tsuen was simulated. The rescue teams worked together to build a floating bridge and assist the trapped villagers in an emergency evacuation.

The Deputy Director of Fire Services (Operations), Mr Angus Wong, who acted as the commander of the Hong Kong cross-border rescue team, stated that by simulating real disasters, the three rescue teams enhanced synergy in rescue strategy and equipment deployment, laying a solid foundation for establishing a GBA rescue network.

"Liancheng-2025", hosted by the FSD, had participation from the fire and rescue departments of the three places, as well as the Hospital Authority and the Civil Aid Service. The exercise was funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It effectively put cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary disaster response capabilities to test, with substantial progress demonstrated in strengthening consolidated rescue efforts of the GBA in response to major disasters.

HKSAR Government Condemns BBC for Misleading Report on Lai Chee-ying's Health and Court Conviction.

HKSAR Government strongly condemns BBC for unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government yesterday (January 1) strongly condemned the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the deliberate unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition in an attempt to fabricate facts to mislead the public by intentionally portraying Lai Chee-ying as a victim, with the aim of covering up his numerous wrongdoings and his conviction by the court.

Court's conviction verdict was entirely free from any political considerations

A spokesperson for the HKSAR Government said, "The court's reasons for verdict in Lai Chee-ying's case are 855 pages long, which are fully open for public inspection, and include the court's analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting Lai Chee-ying and the three defendant companies in full detail. The court clearly pointed out in the reasons for verdict that Lai Chee-ying was not on trial for his political views or beliefs. The court's conviction verdict is well-founded and reasoned, fully demonstrating that the court has made its decision on the case strictly in accordance with the law and evidence, free from any interference, and absolutely free of any political considerations.

"The court clearly pointed out that Lai Chee-ying's only intent, whether pre or post Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL), was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China, even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of the People's Republic of China and the HKSAR. Also, the court found that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the conspiracies charged in all three counts, and his actions show his deliberate intent to pursue these conspiracies, which constituted a threat and harm to the national security in the PRC and the HKSAR."

The spokesperson stressed, "Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable. Article 5 of the HKNSL and section 2 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to in preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for offences endangering national security. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law."

Lai Chee-ying's health has been properly cared for

The spokesperson said, "The claims regarding Lai Chee-ying's health condition as reported by the BBC are false and extremely misleading. The HKSAR Government has pointed out time and again that the Correctional Services Department (CSD) handles the custodial arrangements for Lai Chee-ying in the same way as other persons-in-custody (PICs). The CSD attaches great importance to the safety and health of PICs. Regardless of the identities, ages and nationalities of PICs, the CSD is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, which includes appropriate and timely medical support.

"The medical services received by Lai Chee-ying in custody are adequate and comprehensive. All correctional institutions have hospitals or sick bays staffed 24 hours a day by Medical Officers seconded from the Department of Health (DH) and correctional staff with professional nursing qualifications. Medical specialists from the Hospital Authority (HA) and the DH will visit correctional institutions on a regular basis to provide PICs with specialist consultation and treatment, including dental treatment. If PICs have dental health issues, the Medical Officer of the institution will refer them to dental specialists. In serious cases, PICs will be transferred immediately to a public hospital for treatment.

"During the public court hearing in August 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying clearly presented to the court that Lai Chee-ying had all along been receiving appropriate treatment and care in prison. The correctional institutions had been arranging daily medical checkups for Lai Chee-ying and that there had been no complaints at all regarding the medical services he was receiving, and the Court also commended the CSD. Moreover, on the day the court handed down its verdict on December 15, 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying stated, when responding to questions from the media, that everyone in the court could see clearly Lai Chee-ying's health condition.

"The CSD provided dental treatment for Lai Chee-ying in 2021 and 2022 based on his needs. Since then, Lai Chee-ying has had no dental health problems nor made any further requests for dental treatment. Separately, in 2025, Lai Chee-ying notified the CSD of problems with his nails, but he has since fully recovered after treatment with ointment prescribed by the Medical Officer of the institution, with no nail loss as alleged in the media reports. In August 2025, before the public hearing, the CSD arranged for Lai Chee-ying to wear a cardiac monitoring device and prescribed heart medication for his claimed heart palpitations, to be used as needed. Since then and up till the present moment, Lai Chee-ying has made no further complaints about his heart palpitations to the CSD. It must be stressed that the allegations made by Lai Chee-ying's daughter and relevant media reports, including those by the BBC, are completely baseless."

The spokesperson pointed out, "Certain individuals with ulterior motives, including Lai Chee-ying's family members and certain media, have ignored these facts and continue to spread lies and engage in despicable acts. Recently, Lai Chee-ying's daughter has repeatedly attempted to maliciously smear the HKSAR Government and the CSD, misleading the public to believing that Lai Chee-ying's detention and medical arrangements are poor. Their malicious intentions are obvious. The HKSAR Government strongly opposes and condemns such acts."

GBA Emergency Response Exercise Enhances Rescue Coordination Amid Extreme Weather Scenarios in Hong Kong

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