Forty-four members of the Force Media Liaison Cadre (FMLC) from six Regions attended a graduation ceremony of an FMLC introductory course at the Police Headquarters on September 22, with Director of Operations Tang Ping-keung officiating at the ceremony and Assistant Commissioner (Support) Lam Hiu-tong presenting appointment letters to the graduates.

Mr Tang congratulated all new FMLC members who were entrusted with this important task. He hoped that they would offer better support to frontline officers during police operations with a view to resolving differences and conflicts between the Force and the media. He also praised the incumbent FMLC members for their efforts to mediate between various stakeholders and the Force, quoting the security operation in connection with the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China as an example. The Force has received encouraging feedback from the media about the FMLC.

The FMLC became a Volunteer Secondary Duty Cadre since December 2015 and currently has 196 members. The first batch of cadre members was appointed in March 2016. The second batch of the FMLC trainees attended a course on media ecology and liaison skills held jointly by the Police Public Relations Branch and the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong in May and September this year. Visits were made to two media organisations, HK01 and Ming Pao.