Freedoms protected: Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa says the Central Government will not do anything harmful to the 'One country, two systems' policy or the interests of Hong Kong.

Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa says he is very concerned about the recent spate of incidents relating to the departures of three popular radio talk show hosts.

He said, as a follow-up action, he has checked with relevant Mainland authorities on this issue. The answer he was given was that the Central Government will not do anything harmful to the "One country, two systems" or the interests of Hong Kong.

In addition, he said, the Central Government has also pledged to support the special administrative region to safeguard the freedoms of press and speech.

Freedom of speech key to HK's success

He said the Government has in the past seven years made its best efforts to ensure that freedom of speech  continue to thrive.

He reiterated that freedom of speech is the cornerstone of Hong Kong's success.

Mr Tung stressed that it is the responsibility of the Government to protect the legal rights of the public and safety of the individual citizens.

Police Commissioner says investigations underway

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police Lee Ming-kwai said the police are now carrying out criminal investigations into these incidents.

He said police have contacted the radio hosts and have started investigations based on the information they provided. 

One of the cases concerned an assault case in which police arrested a number of suspects. They had been charged to appear at court for trial, said Mr Lee.

With regard to other two criminal damage cases, he said, police are following-up and have, based on media reports and other information, got in touch with some individuals including a university professor, councillors and political party affiliates to obtain information related to the incidents.

No hard evidence uncovered so far

"However, most of what we've got are some speculative and hypothetical ideas as well as personal views. No concrete evidence so far could be found to be of assistance to the Police investigations," he said.

Mr Lee said that as of today, there is no evidence to suggest that the programme hosts quit their jobs because they had been subject to criminal intimidation, or that their safety, or that of their families', were at stake. 

There was also no evidence to suggest any plan to deliberately impede freedom of speech, he added.

"Apart from carrying out criminal investigations, police have also offered personal protection to the programme hosts in question. However, some of them have expressed that such arrangements are unnecessary," he said.

The Organised Crime & Triad Bureau are co-ordinating the investigations.

Police hope to be able to find out the truth as soon as possible so as to ensure public confidence in Hong Kong's freedom of speech.