The Acting Chief Executive, Ms Florinda Chan, said tonight the Government was very concerned with the protests and conflicts that occurred during the day, resulting in 41 injuries. A statement issued tonight said Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On – who is leading a delegation on an official visit to Jiangsu -- had called Ms Chan and the Secretary for Security, Mr Cheong Kuoc Va, to get a better picture of the incidents. A number of organisations have organised marches on Labour Day to protest a number of issues and appealed for improvements on a number of labour-related issues. The statement said some protesters did not follow the route specified earlier by the police and clashed with the officers, resulting in injuries to 41 people -- three members of the public, two journalists, four protesters and 32 policemen, the statement said. The Government respected citizens’ basic right to gather in public, to march and to demonstrate peacefully, the statement said. It said the Government had expressed its sincere sympathy to the victims, three of whom were hospitalised. They were a member of the public, a protester and a policeman. In order to maintain public security, the police have took measures promptly to minimise the negative effect, such as requesting journalists to stay back about 100 metres. Some 350 policemen were deployed at the scene.
