"The Hong Kong Equestrian Events are the responsibility of the Hong Kong Government. The Force is fully and wholly responsible for overall security of the Equestrian Events," Mr Tang said.

The Force, Mr Tang said, started preparation from "a very solid foundation", capitalising on its experience in planning for and managing large international events, such as the WTO Ministerial Conference. The experience helped develop an approach comprising two key elements: starting as early as possible and involving all stakeholders in a comprehensive multi-agency approach, and catering for all possible eventualities.

Before looking at these two elements, he outlined the challenges the Olympics would present - striking a balance in respecting the rights of people to express their views, and the rights of others to enjoy the Games with minimum inconvenience, as well as dealing with the "ever-present threat of terrorism".

Emphasising that Force preparation started well before Hong Kong was confirmed as a host city for the Games, Mr Tang said the Force was already in a position "to hit the ground running, or galloping" when it was announced the Equestrian Events would be held in Hong Kong. Such preparation had included paper research, observer and study visits, just to name a few. And co-operation from the Force's law enforcement counterparts had been impressive.

This groundwork has given the Force a good foundation on which to start planning.

An organisation structure has been established, involving a host of task-specific committees and a range of stakeholders.

"However, the whole point of a comprehensive multi-agency approach is to include everyone who has a role to play, not just the principal partners. The major benefit of this approach is that it enables the police to provide as unobtrusive a presence as possible during what is in essence a festive occasion, with the capacity for rapid escalation as part of coordinated contingency plans to deal with any eventuality," CP noted.

No event can succeed in itself without the support of the participants and the community. Mr Tang disclosed, the Government and the Force had already embarked on a campaign to raise public awareness and involvement. The Force had conducted a series of community and sectoral briefings. For the international community and the participants, the Force had briefed the Consular Corps and would continue to keep them updated, he added.

Mr Tang also assured the audience that the Force would be able to provide the community a high level of service through out the period of Events. "These include a leave restriction, prioritisation of non-essential activities, mobilisation of additional Auxiliary police officers and a parallel command structure to be implemented if a major non-Olympic emergency occurs."

Said Mr Tang in conclusion: "What I have shared with you today in the short time available is a bird's eye view of what will, by the time it is implemented, have taken two years to put in place."

CP reminds all Force members to ensure the smooth and safe running of the Equestrian Events and to maintain a stable law and order situation as well as our ability to handle any other emergency during the Olympics.

"I fully understand that many of the duties performed by frontline officers will be arduous and stressful in nature. These tasks will entail long hours of work and much hardship for officers, but I have every confidence that all officers will do their best to accomplish the tasks in accordance with the finest tradition of the Hong Kong Police," Mr Tang said.

CP addressing the FCC