Minutes of the 1st Special Meeting of the 6th Term Kowloon City ...€¦ · items incompatible with...

Minutes of the 1st Special Meeting of

the 6th Term Kowloon City District Council

Date: 21 January 2020 (Tuesday)

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Venue: Conference Room, Kowloon City District Office

Present:

Chairman: Mr SIU Leong-sing

Vice-chairman: Dr KWONG Po-yin

Members: Mr WONG Wing-kit

Mr LAI Kwong-wai

Miss CHAU Hei-man

Ms LEUNG Yuen-ting (Left at 4:43 p.m.)

Mr PUN Kwok-wah, JP (Left at 7:00 p.m.)

Mr LEE Hin-long

Mr KWOK Tin-lap

The Hon LEE Wai-king, Starry, SBS,

JP

(Left at 6:23 p.m.)

Mr YEUNG Chun-yu

Mr TSANG Kin-chiu

Mr HE Huahan (Left at 6:38 p.m.)

Miss MAK Sui-ki, Jakki

Mr FUNG Man-tao, Joshua

Mr YUM Kwok-tung, Pius

Mr LAM Tak-shing (Arrived at 2:44 p.m.)

(Left at 7:45 p.m.)

Mr WONG Kwok-tung, Daniel

Dr KWAN Ka-lun

Mr MA Hei-pang

Mr NG Po-keung, MH (Arrived at 3:25 p.m.)

(Left at 8:12 p.m.)

Mr HO Hin-ming, BBS, MH (Left at 7:59 p.m.)

Mr CHO Wui-hung, MH (Left at 8:12 p.m.)

Mr CHEUNG King-fan (Left at 8:12 p.m.)

Mr YANG Wing-kit (Left at 8:12 p.m.)

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Secretary: Ms WONG Wing, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District

Council), Kowloon City District

Office

In Attendance: Mr Franco KWOK, JP District Officer (Kowloon City)

Miss TSE Yik-ching,

Alison

Assistant District Officer (Kowloon

City)

Mr LAI Hau-yu, Philip Senior Liaison Officer (District

Liaison) 1, Kowloon City District

Office

Miss LIU Suk-fun, Connie Senior Liaison Officer (District

Liaison) 2, Kowloon City District

Office

Ms CHAN Ka-wai, Ivy Liaison Officer i/c (Building

Management) 2 , Kowloon City

District Office

Ms LAU Mei-yee, Helen Senior Liaison Officer (Special

Duties), Kowloon City District

Office

Ms KWOK Lai-kuen, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District

Management), Kowloon City

District Office

Attendance by Invitation:

Item 8 Mr CHENG Chi-wai,

Raymond

Engineer / Housing and Planning 3 /

Kowloon, Transport Department

Item 9 and 14 Mr LAM Ming-wai District Environmental Hygiene

Superintendent (Kowloon City),

Food and Environmental Hygiene

Department

Item 10 Mr TO Chi-hung Senior Engineer / Kowloon (Special

Duties 1), Water Supplies

Department

Mr HA Chun-wai Engineer / Kowloon (Distribution

3), Water Supplies Department

Item 13 Ms LUK Nga-yee,

Christine

Engineer / Kowloon City, Transport

Department

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* * *

The Chairman welcomed Members, representatives of government

departments and attendees to the special meeting of the Kowloon City District

Council (KCDC).

2. Before discussing the agenda items, the Chairman reminded Members to

declare interests in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Kowloon City District

Council (Standing Orders). He also said that according to Order 12 of the Standing

Orders, when the number of Members present at the meeting was less than 13, he

would summon those members not present. If after 15 minutes a quorum was not

constituted, he would adjourn the meeting. Moreover, he reminded the attendees to

turn off the ringers on their mobile phones or to switch the phones to vibration mode

to avoid causing disturbances. Lastly, he reminded all Members to abide by Order

13 of the Standing Orders to make speeches.

Confirmation of Minutes of the 1st Meeting of KCDC

3. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, said that two requests for

amendment of the minutes of the meeting were received from Mr LEE Hin-long and

Mr YANG Wing-kit before the meeting. Mr LEE Hin-long requested for adding a

sentence, that is, “a number of Members observed one minute of silence in mourning”,

to the end of paragraph 94 while Mr YANG Wing-kit requested for adding a sentence,

that is, “he criticised the Chairman for unfairness and he would exit from the meeting

as a gesture of protest”, at the end of paragraph 81.

4. Mr HO Hin-ming proposed an amendment and requested for including in

the minutes the slogans he displayed during the moment of silence in last meeting.

5. Mr YANG Wing-kit stated that the sentence he proposed for amendment

should be “he criticised the Chairman for extreme unfairness and he would exit from

the meeting as a gesture of protest”.

6. Mr PUN Kwok-wah opined that the minutes should not include the actions

and behaviours of Members during meetings.

7. Mr LEE Hin-long held the view that the amendment he proposed reflected

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what had happened in the meeting.

8. The Chairman suggested conducting a voting regarding the three requests

for amendment of the minutes of the meeting.

9. The Hon Starry LEE opposed to the conduct of a voting propounded by

the Chairman concerning the amendments. She pointed out that the Chairman

should firstly determine whether the behaviours of Members during meetings should

be recorded in the meeting minutes. If only some but not all of the behaviours of

Members were recorded, the meeting minutes might not be comprehensive enough.

10. Mr PUN Kwok-wah commented that meeting minutes should record facts

but not behaviours irrelevant to the discussion items.

11. Mr MA Hei-pang was of the view that the recording system installed could

truthfully record the proceedings of meetings. Thus, minutes of meetings did not

have to record the behaviours of Members at the meetings.

12. The Chairman stated that meeting minutes should include Members’

speeches, voting results and time of arrival and departure of Members but not the

behaviours of Members and other persons in meetings. Moreover, since the

Secretary was unlikely to record the behaviours of each attendee in great detail and

should not carry out selective recording as well, he ruled that all three requests for

amendment of the minutes of the meeting were rejected.

13. Mr YANG Wing-kit remarked that as the amendment he proposed was not

a description of a behaviour, he requested the Chairman to rule his request for

amendment according to the audio recording of the last meeting.

14. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, said that in accordance with the

verbatim record of the last meeting, what Mr YANG Wing-kit said at the time was

“Mr Chairman, I would exit from the meeting as a protest against your extreme

unfairness.”

15. The Chairman accepted Mr YANG Wing-kit’s request for amendment and

announced that the minutes of the 1st meeting were confirmed after amendment.

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KCDC Standing Orders

(KCDC Paper No. 04/20)

16. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, introduced the Paper and stated that

a meeting of the Non-Standing Working Group on Review of Standing Orders of

Kowloon City District Council (the Working Group) was held on 16 January 2020

and a few proposals for amendment of the Standing Orders submitted to KCDC were

endorsed. These included endorsing the revised version of the table of Category 8 in

the model Standing Orders provided by the Home Affairs Department (HAD),

recording all the content of meetings of various levels on a named basis in the

meeting minutes and conducting live streams, repealing relevant provisions which

allowed members to appoint proxies to vote on behalf of them, amending the voting

procedures for a motion and the way for recording a ballot in the minutes, adjusting

the maximum number of committees and repealing the clauses related to co-opted

members and etc.

17. Mr PUN Kwok-wah pointed out that Section 61 of the District Councils

Ordinance specified that KCDC could only advise the Government on matters

affecting the well-being of the people in Kowloon City District, the provision and use

of public facilities and services within Kowloon City District, the adequacy and

priorities of Government programmes for Kowloon City District and the use of public

funds allocated to Kowloon City District for local public works and community

activities. He (i) enquired of the District Officer of the Kowloon City District Office

(KCDO) about the relationship between the Standing Orders and the District Councils

Ordinance; (ii) clarified that upon the repeal of Order 25 of the Standing Orders,

Members still had to abide by the District Councils Ordinance that any statement and

question made at or put to the meetings of KCDC by Members must be compatible

with the functions of KCDC; (iii) enquired in case the Chairman allowed agenda

items incompatible with the functions of KCDC to be discussed in meetings, whether

the discussions should be recorded in the minutes of the meetings.

18. Mr LEE Hin-long opined that as Section 61 of the District Councils

Ordinance specified that the functions of KCDC included not only undertaking duties

related to funding approval but also offering opinions on different issues to the

Government, and as the passed motions were not legally binding, he did not agree that

motions moved would be incompatible with the functions of KCDC. In addition, he

adduced a statement made by Mr Justice Michael HARTMANN, a judge of the Court

of First Instance of the High Court of Hong Kong, in a court case, saying despite the

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fact that the exercise of the functions of a District Council should not be of a

legislative nor administrative nature, in order to run consistent with Article 21(a) of

the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, it should still have real influence on public

affairs. He held the view that when discussing the functions of a District Council,

reference should be made to Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance, the Basic

Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance. He further remarked that if

Members found that the agendas to be endorsed in the future were not in compliance

with the District Councils Ordinance, they could lodge judicial reviews timely.

19. Mr HO Hin-ming put forward the following views and enquiries: (i) a

District Council should give opinions on government policies but not any particular

incident or action. He stated that the District Council was an advisory body of the

Government, which was responsible for raising opinions when the Government

formulated and implemented policies; and (ii) he enquired whether the remarks and

behaviours of Members were protected by the exemption of liability clauses when

Members performed their duties.

20. Dr KWONG Po-yin gave the following views: (i) the statements made by

Members should tally with the truth and Members should not make statements at

variance with the facts due to exemption from liability; and (ii) since the previous

terms of KCDC had provided opinions on matters such as the co-location

arrangement, the increase in the welfare of Hong Kong people in the Greater Bay

Area, the legislation and amendment of different laws and so on to the Government,

KCDC bore the responsibility of reflecting faithfully the views of the public to the

Government.

21. Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer (Kowloon City), responded to

Members’ opinions and enquiries as follows: (i) Section 61 of the District Councils

Ordinance clearly set out the functions of a District Council while Section 68 clearly

specified the making of standing orders by a District Council for regulating the

procedures and practices of it and its committees. He pointed out that pursuant to

Order 6(5) of the Standing Orders, the Chairman should ensure that the agenda items

were compatible with the functions of a District Council as stipulated in Section 61 of

the District Councils Ordinance. He believed that all Members agreed that the

functions of a District Council should not go beyond the scope of Section 61 of the

District Councils Ordinance. He stated that Members could take appropriate legal

actions in case of doubts and he believed that the court would make a ruling in

accordance with Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance; (ii) according to the

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basic principles of the Administrative Law, all public bodies should not exercise the

powers not conferred by the relevant legislation. He disagreed that upon the repeal

of Order 25 of the Standing Orders, a District Council could discuss any issues

incompatible with the contents of the District Councils Ordinance; and (iii) Section 86

of the District Councils Ordinance stipulated that a member of a District Council or a

committee should not be subjected to any liability, action, claim or demand by reason

of anything done bona fide for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the

District Councils Ordinance or any other enactment conferring functions on a District

Council. However, the interpretation of the relevant legislation should be subjected

to the ruling of the court.

22. Mr CHO Wui-hung commented that the Chairman should maintain the

order of meetings, safeguard the rights of Members to speak and bear the

responsibility for reminding or warning relevant persons. As provisions spelled out

in greater detail could facilitate the Chairman to enforce the Standing Orders and the

District Councils Ordinance and maintain order in meetings, he proposed two

amendments in respect of the Paper by bringing forward two motions: the first motion

was to add a new clause under Order (1) of the Standing Orders, that is, “the

procedures of this District Council must comply with the provisions of the District

Councils Ordinance, including but not limited to the formulation of standing orders

and the appointment of committees. If there arises any conflict with the functions of

the District Councils, the relevant provisions must be amended or revoked.” The

second motion was to add a new clause under Section Q Discipline Regarding Breach

of the Code of Conduct for Members of a District Council or its Committees, that is,

“the Chairman shall maintain the order of meetings and protect Members' rights to

speak. Members shall not make personal attacks, defamation and insinuations, etc.

on other Members. The Chairman is responsible for reminding, correcting, verbally

warning and condemning the violators.” These two motions were seconded by Mr

YANG Wing-kit.

23. The Chairman supported the moving of the motions and announced that a

voting related to the two amendments raised by Mr CHO Wui-hung would be

conducted.

24. The Chairman supported the moving of the motions and asked Members

present to vote for the two amended motions raised by Mr CHO Wui-hung by show of

hands and the voting results were as follows:

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First Motion

Support : 9 votes

Objection : 13 votes

Abstention : 0 vote

Second Motion

Support : 9 votes


Abstention : 1 vote

25. The Chairman announced that the two motions brought forward by Mr

CHO Wui-hung were not passed.

26. Mr PUN Kwok-wah moved a motion to repeal Order 25 of the Standing

Orders and the seconder was Mr YANG Wing-kit.

27. The Chairman supported the moving of the amended motions and asked

Members present to vote for the motion brought forward by Mr PUN Kwok-wah by

show of hands and the voting results were as follows:

Support : 10 votes


Abstention : 1 vote

28. The Chairman announced that the motion moved by Mr PUN Kwok-wah

was not passed.

29. Mr Franco KWOK gave an account on the amendments of Order 7(4) and

43 of the Standing Orders regarding the live streams. He stated that KCDC had so

far not opposed to the live broadcast by members of the public provided that the

meeting was not disrupted. However, when broadcasting KCDC meetings live,

considerations must be given to the specifications of the broadcast, the release

channels, the hardware required and technical support etc. In regard to the relevant

information, a feasibility study had to be conducted and arrangements for manpower

resources be reviewed. In addition, he said that five committees, 11 standing

working groups and a number of non-standing working groups were established in the

previous term of KCDC. In accordance with Order 40(3) of the Standing Orders, the

total number of standing working groups appointed should not exceed three times the

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total number of committees. If KCDC appointed a maximum of eight committees

and a number of standing and non-standing working groups, he anticipated that the

current establishment of KCDC was insufficient to cope with frequent meetings and

the relevant work. He reiterated that the Secretariat of KCDC would endeavour to

serve KCDC but he hoped that all Members could understand the actual situation.

He would discuss the detailed arrangements for work implementation with KCDC

later.

30. The Hon Starry LEE enquired whether KCDC would allow members of

the public to carry out live broadcast upon the implementation of live streaming by

KCDC.

31. Mr HO Hin-ming pointed out that members joining the meetings of the

Working Group supported the conduct of live broadcast. He was of the view that as

the unofficial live broadcast should not be deemed as the formal live broadcast of

KCDC, he requested HAD to set out the specifications of live streams and arrange for

implementation.

32. Mr LEE Hin-long said that Members agreed that the official live broadcast

and the one conducted by attendees and Members present could be carried out at the

same time during the meetings of the Working Group so that members of the public

could get access to the information of KCDC more easily.

33. Mr Franco KWOK stated that many District Councils in Hong Kong were

studying the implementation of live streaming but it might not be feasible technically.

If the live streaming of meetings was implemented in all 18 District Councils, time

would be required for the discussion of various issues such as the specifications of the

live streams.

34. The Chairman announced that since no objection was received from

Members, the amended Standing Orders were passed with immediate effect.

Recruitment of Full-time Contract Staff in the 2020-21 Financial Year


35. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, introduced the Paper and asked

Members to approve an allocation of $3,990,000 for the continued employment of

KCDC contract staff including six full-time Executive Assistants, five full-time

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Project Coordinators and three full-time Project Assistants to discharge duties in the

2020-21 Financial Year.

36. Mr MA Hei-pang pointed out that an allocation of $3,850,000 was

approved for hiring seven full-time Executive Assistants, five full-time Project

Coordinators and four full-time Project Assistants in the 2019-20 Financial Year while

an allocation of $3,990,000 was sought for approval in the 2020-21 Financial Year but

two less persons were hired. Thus, he requested the Secretary to explain the reasons

for increasing the allocation but reducing the manpower and he enquired whether the

Secretariat could handle the relevant work of the new committees.

37. Mr Pius YUM expected that as the workload of the current term of KCDC

would increase substantially, he wished to maintain the staff establishment of last year.

Thus, he requested the Secretary to provide the estimated increase in budget if the

staff establishment was to be maintained.

38. Dr KWONG Po-yin enquired how the Secretariat of KCDC would handle

the increased workload in the future.

39. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, stated that HAD had conducted

salary surveys and adjustments for the relevant posts last year and the average salary

increase was around 8%. Thus, there was a reduction in the manpower despite an

increase in the allocation. If the provision for community involvement activities

received by KCDC in the 2020-21 Financial Year remained unchanged, KCDC could

only approve an allocation of no more than $4,016,500 for hiring full-time

non-civil-servant contract staff. KCDO would review the workload increased and

firstly rearrange the work procedures of the Secretariat. They would reflect the

situation to HAD after reviewing the current staff establishment and the newly-added

workload.

40. The Chairman proposed approving the allocation for hiring full-time

contract staff in the 2020-21 Financial Year and the proposal was seconded by Dr

KWONG Po-yin.

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Estimated Provision for the Last Quarter of the 2019-20 Financial Year (in

Respect of Provision for Community Involvement Activities) and Funding

Applications for Community Involvement Activities


41. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, introduced the Paper and asked

Members to approve the estimated provision for the last quarter of the 2019-20

Financial Year, i.e. January 2020 to March 2020. She also authorised the committees

under KCDC to approve the provision amounting less than $150,000 for community

involvement activities. In addition, she approved an allocation of $1,172,000 to

subsidise 11 community involvement activities held between January and March

2020.

42. Mr Philip LAI, Senior Liaison Officer (District Liaison) 1 of KCDO,

said that a notice was received before the meeting that Kowloon City District

Recreation and Sports Council Limited withdrew the funding application for the Third

BIG FUN Harbourfront Swimming Competition in Lung Shing owing to a lack of

preparation time.

43. The Chairman reminded Members to declare potential conflicts of interest.

Members made the following declarations:

Members Organisations/ Posts

Mr PUN Kwok-wah Honorary Chairman of the Kowloon City District Arts

and Culture Council

Mr LAM Tak-shing Member of the District Fire Safety Committee

Member of the Kowloon City District Civic Education

Campaign Organising Committee

Member of the Kowloon City District Arts and Culture

Council

Mr CHO Wui-hung Member of the District Fight Crime Committee

(Kowloon City District)

Mr HO Hin-ming Vice-chairman of the Building Healthy Kowloon City

Association Limited

Mr YEUNG Chun-yu Member of the District Fire Safety Committee

Member of the Kowloon City District Civic Education

Campaign Organising Committee

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44. The Chairman decided that the abovementioned Members could not

participate in the discussion and voting of the funding applications made by the

relevant organisations pursuant to Order 48(10) of the Standing Orders but they did

not have to exit from the meeting.

45. Dr KWONG Po-yin raised the following views and enquiries: (i) since

over half of the expenditures of the Fire Prevention Educational Series for Foreign

Domestic Helpers, Ethnic Minorities and Residents in Three-nil Buildings were for

renting double-decker promotion buses and the relevant facilities, she questioned the

effectiveness of the activity. She enquired about the time of the activity, the

promotion venue, the language used and the salary of the staff; and (ii) she queried

about the plan of giving up the use of canopies in the Carnival of Joining to Fight

Crime and Build a Better Lung Shing. She pointed out that the expected number of

participants was 3 000 but the number of gifts from game stalls was only 2 000.

Thus, she suggested that the organiser could consider increasing the number of gifts.

46. Mr Pius YUM put forward the following opinions and enquiries: (i) he

asked about the details of the package of Hong Kong One Day Tour in the Chinese

New Year Happy Tours of the Kowloon City District Festival; (ii) he enquired about

the details of the three-hour show coordinated by a contractor commissioned and the

names or popularity of singers in the Carnival of Joining to Fight Crime and Build a

Better Lung Shing; and (iii) he queried about the language used when making appeals

in the street parade of the Fire Prevention Educational Series for Foreign Domestic

Helpers, Ethnic Minorities and Residents in Three-nil Buildings in the district. He

requested to consider the funding applications for these three activities by circulation

of paper.

47. Mr MA Hei-pang enquired about the language used on the fire prevention

educational and publicity materials of the Carnival of Joining to Fight Crime and

Build a Better Lung Shing. He also asked whether the Chinese New Year Happy

Tours of the Kowloon City District Festival could receive a full-rate subsidy.

48. Mr LAI Kwong-wai enquired about the details of the package of Hong

Kong One Day Tour in the Chinese New Year Happy Tours of the Kowloon City

District Festival. He also requested HAD to provide the budget for not using the

canopies in respect of the funding applications for the Carnival of Joining to Fight

Crime and Build a Better Lung Shing and he requested to vet the funding applications

for these three activities by circulation of paper.

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49. Mr HO Hin-ming pointed out that as the remuneration of the staff of

different activities varied, he requested HAD to give an explanation.

50. Ms Ivy CHAN, Liaison Officer i/c (Building Management) 2 of KCDO,

responded to the opinions and enquiries raised by Members and replied as follows:

51. An activity of the Fire Prevention Educational Series for Foreign Domestic

Helpers, Ethnic Minorities and Residents in Three-nil Buildings was scheduled to be

held next Sunday afternoon. Apart from making appeals on double-decker buses,

the staff would also distribute promotional leaflets in different languages provided by

the Fire Services Department to members of the public and foreign domestic helpers

at Lok Sin Tong Lee Yin Yee United Centre – Support Service Centre for Ethnic

Minorities and Hutchison Park. If the allocation was approved, the Department

would draw reference to Members’ opinions and produce audio tapes in languages

such as Urdu, Indonesian, Tagalog, Cantonese, English and so on. She said that the

funding application had included the salary of the relevant staff. A standard

remuneration was set for the Community Organisers in HAD, i.e. $56.5 per hour, with

an additional 5% of pay as contribution to the Mandatory Provident Fund.

52. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, supplemented that some of the

remuneration was the standard one given by the co-organisers to their own staff.

53. Miss Connie LIU, Senior Liaison Officer (District Liaison) 2 of KCDO,

gave a reply concerning the enquiries raised by Members:

53.1 Regarding the Carnival of Joining to Fight Crime and Build a Better Lung

Shing, (i) since the Department would invite singers to perform through the

contractor, an extra amount was included in the funding application so that

the contractor could assess the popularity and the number of singers to be

invited and provide quotations accordingly. The Department would

normally select the lowest bid; (ii) as the scale of the carnival was large, the

stage-related expenditures would be higher. The Department had made

reference to the previous funding applications when formulating the

relevant budget; and (iii) the main function of the canopies was to shelter

people from rain. The Department noted the opinions of Members and

would study the feasibility of saving expenses on the canopies.

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53.2 The expenditures of the package of Hong Kong One Day Tour in Chinese

New Year Happy Tours of the Kowloon City District Festival included

brooches, banners, photography services and distilled water for 840 people

and cost for staffing arrangements for travel agencies etc. However, a

breakdown of the costs could only be provided upon the receipt of the

quotations. It was expected the no fee would be charged from participants.

After making reference to the practice of the Chinese New Year Happy

Tours of the Kowloon City District Festival organised in the past, the

Department proposed to invite four district committees to co-organise this

activity and each district committee was designated to recruit staff for the

activity. The Department had not discussed the details of the activity with

the district committees before the approval of funding.

54. Mr Franco KWOK stated that the previous term of KCDC had already

approved an allocation for use by the current term of KCDC, and these funding

applications were made as a special arrangement for the new term of KCDC. He

further said that all activities must be held before the end of March 2020 and as some

of the activities were co-organised with other organisations, more detailed information

could only be obtained after the tendering. In addition, he expressed understanding

of Members’ concerns and intentions to reduce expenditures and he added that the

cost of each individual item in the estimated budget of an activity was for reference

only. The Department would select the lowest bid under normal circumstances. He

also pointed out that before the end of the tendering, the cost of each item was classed

as confidential and not subject to open discussion in meetings.

55. The Chairman announced that since no objection was received, he

approved the funding applications for the activities listed in Appendix 1 to 3 and 6 to

10. Funding applications for the activities in Appendix 4 and 5 would be examined

by circulation of paper upon the meeting.

KCDC Structure


Request for Reviewing and Increasing the Number of Committees under KCDC


Motion: Establishment of Committees under KCDC


56. The Chairman stated that since the abovementioned three agenda items

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were related to the structure of KCDC, he announced to discuss all of them together

after consulting Members.

57. Ms Eva WONG, Secretary of KCDC, introduced Paper No. 07/20 and

asked Members to establish a maximum of eight committees pursuant to the District

Councils Ordinance and the amended Standing Orders. She said that upon the

establishment of committees, the Secretariat would arrange Members to elect the

chairman and vice-chairman of each committee after Members had opted to join the

committees.

58. Mr HO Hin-ming, Mr PUN Kwok-wah, Mr CHO Wui-hung, Mr HE

Huahan, Mr NG Po-keung and Mr YANG Wing-kit presented Paper No. 08/20 and

briefly explained the reasons for and the scope of services of the eight committees

they proposed to establish, including the District Tourism Activities and Affairs

Management Committee, the Culture, Leisure and Recreation Committee, the District

Facilities Management Committee, the Monitoring Committee on the Levels of Rent,

Facilities and Services of Markets and Shopping Malls under the Housing Authority,

the Link Real Estate Investment Trust and the Hong Kong Housing Society, the

Harbourfront Committee, the Review Committee on the Quality of Education and the

School Places Allocation in the District, the Committee on the District Works and

Redevelopment Planning, Strategies and Progress and the Committee of Inquiry into

the Service Quality of the Mass Transit Railway and the Progress of the Shatin to

Central Link (SCL).

59. Mr LAI Kwong-wai introduced Paper No. 09/20 and moved a motion of

establishing seven committees including the Administration and Finance Committee,

the Culture, Recreation and District Facilities Management Committee, the Housing

and Development Planning Committee, the Traffic and Transport Committee, the

Social Services Committee, the Environmental Hygiene and Sustainable Development

Committee and the Committee of Inquiry into the Police Enforcement. He also

explained the terms of reference of each committee.

60. Mr Franco KWOK pointed out that according to Section 71 of the District

Councils Ordinance, a District Council could appoint committees for the purpose of

carrying out its functions while the terms of reference of each committee must be set

out in detail in compliance with Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance. He

also pointed out that the Committee of Inquiry into the Service Quality of the Mass

Transit Railway and the Progress of SCL in Paper No. 08/20 and the Committee of

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Inquiry into the Police Enforcement in Paper No. 09/20 both included the word

“Inquiry” and their terms of reference seemingly involved the act of inquiring. Since

Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance did not confer a District Council with

the power to initiate inquiries, the functions of the relevant committees might have

already gone beyond the scope of Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance. In

addition, he requested Members to clarify the exact meaning of “to coordinate the

work among non-governmental organisations and relevant district bodies” as

mentioned in the proposal of establishing the Culture, Recreation and District

Facilities Management Committee and the Social Services Committee in Paper No.

09/20 and reminded Members to make clear the terms of reference of each committee

so as to avoid going beyond the functions as specified in the District Councils

Ordinance.

61. Mr Franco KWOK supplemented that all Members agreed that KCDC

should act in accordance with the power conferred by the District Councils Ordinance.

He would determine whether the establishment of the committees complied with the

District Councils Ordinance based on the names and the actual work of the proposed

committees as set out in their terms of reference.

62. Mr HO Hin-ming’s views were consolidated as follows: (i) the committees

were within the permanent structure of KCDC and a meeting of each committee had

to be held every two months. Thus, if some of the issues did not occur frequently,

committees responsible for the issues should not be established; (ii) as many

committees proposed in the motion bore functions related to district minor works, he

suggested establishing the District Facilities Management Committee. He also

pointed out that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

had also established the Harbourfront Committee in which motions having influence

on district affairs were moved in the past. Thus, he proposed to establish the

Harbourfront Committee in Kowloon City District so as to deal with future follow-ups;

and (iii) as the suggested terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry into the

Police Enforcement included inviting relevant persons to carry out studies on the law

enforcement actions taken by the Police, he said that the word “studies” corresponded

approximately in meaning with the word “inquiries”. While there were a lot of

epidemic diseases recently, establishing a committee related to medical and

emergency services would be more appropriate.

63. Mr Roger KWAN raised opinions as follows: (i) the illegal parking

problem of tourist coaches and other tourism-related matters could be discussed in the

17

meetings of the proposed Culture, Recreation and District Facilities Management

Committee, the Traffic and Transport Committee or KCDC. Thus, the saying that

the relevant matters would not be dealt with was groundless. He opined that the

establishment of a committee overseeing the law enforcement actions taken by the

Police was to address people's pressing needs; (ii) Section 61 of the District Councils

Ordinance stipulated that the functions of KCDC included advising the Government

on matters concerning the well-being of the people. If the law enforcement actions

taken by the Police affected the well-being of the people in Kowloon City District,

KCDC was given the authority to comment on the relevant matters to the Government.

Thus, he held the view that the terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry into

the Police Enforcement did not go beyond the functions set out in the District

Councils Ordinance. Moreover, he once again adduced a statement made by Mr

Justice Michael HARTMANN in a case that since the district council was an elected

body, it should have real influence on public affairs. Thus, if the establishment of

the Committee of Inquiry into the Police Enforcement was hampered, it might violate

the provisions of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance; and (iii) the first item of

the terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry into the Police Enforcement was to

oversee the enforcement actions taken by the Police. As law enforcement actions

were taken by the Police every day, he commented that there was nothing wrong to

establish a committee to monitor the law enforcement by the Police. If the District

Officer was of the view that the relevant terms of reference might breach the District

Councils Ordinance, he should seek legal advice from the Department of Justice.

64. Mr PUN Kwok-wah requested Members to explain the meaning of “to

participate in the management of district facilities including district libraries”

mentioned in the suggested terms of reference of the Culture, Recreation and District

Facilities Management Committee in Paper No. 09/20. He further requested the

District Officer to state precisely which version, the Chinese or the English, of the

District Councils Ordinance prevailed and made an explanation on the word

“well-being” in Section 61.

65. Mr YANG Wing-kit aired the following views: (i) he understood that the

act of inquiring was beyond the functions of KCDC set out in the District Councils

Ordinance. Thus, he proposed renaming the committee as the Monitoring

Committee of the Service Quality of the Mass Transit Railway and the Progress of

SCL. If the District Facilities Management Committee was established, the matters

of SCL could be discussed in the meetings of this committee and the proposal for

establishing the Committee of Inquiry into the Service Quality of the Mass Transit

18

Railway and the Progress of SCL could be withdrawn; (ii) under the current

mechanism, the items to be approved would be discussed in the meetings of KCDC or

other committees according to the amount of funding. Thus, he opined that the

establishment of the Administration and Finance Committee would be redundant; and

(iii) the illegal parking problem of tourist coaches and the redevelopment of old

districts in Kowloon City District urgently needed to be dealt with. Thus, he wished

Members to be practical and to support the establishment of the District Tourism

Activities and Affairs Management Committee and the Committee on District Works

and Redevelopment Planning, Strategies and Progress.

66. Mr Joshua FUNG Man put forward the following views: (i) as some of

the people challenged the process of funding approval of KCDC, he held the view that

the establishment of the Administration and Finance Committee could enhance the

transparency of KCDC and address the concerns of the public; and (ii) since the scope

of law enforcement by the Police included the handling of vehicles illegally parked

and complaints from neighbours, there was nothing wrong to establish a committee

monitoring the enforcement actions taken by the Police. He further said if raising

enquiries to the Police about the number of vehicles illegally parked was an act of

inquiring, he would like Mr Franco KWOK to elaborate on the word “inquiry”.

67. Miss KWONG Po-yin pointed out that the previous term of KCDC had

made enquiries and follow-ups in respect of all kinds of problems of SCL. Thus, she

requested Mr Franco KWOK to explain whether making enquiries was a kind of

inquiry and give a detailed account on what kind of acts could be regarded as

inquiring. She further said that the establishment of the Committee of Inquiry into

the Police Enforcement was to address the problem positively and bring Hong Kong

back to the normal track. She suggested that all Members could join the committee

to find out the truth together.

68. Mr HE Huahan commented that as most of the issues mentioned in the

suggested terms of reference of the Administration and Finance Committee were only

handled once a year, he proposed combining the committee with the Social Services

Committee into the Social Services, Administration and Finance Committee.

69. Mr Daniel WONG agreed that a District Council should carry out its

functions as prescribed in the District Councils Ordinance and the act of “inquiry”

might be beyond the function conferred on it by the District Council Ordinance.

However, he pointed out that the suggested terms of reference of the Committee of

19

Inquiry into Police Enforcement were mainly to collect opinions from the people in

the district on police enforcement and refer them to the Government. Therefore, he

did not regard the suggestion violating the District Council’s function of “advising the

Government on matters affecting the well-being of the people in the District” set out

in Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance. He hoped all Members would join

the Committee and uncover the truth behind the incidents together. He remarked

that the Police had been absent from Legislative Council meetings and District

Council meetings in other districts on a number of occasions in recent months.

Therefore, it was inadequate and inappropriate to discuss the relevant matters in the

meetings of the Full Council. He added that over 7 000 people were arrested over

social disturbances and it would take more than ten years to complete the trial of all

cases. In view of these, it was not unreasonable to form a four-year-long committee

to cope with the issues.

70. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu stated that the meaning of “well-being” should not

be interpreted from a narrow perspective. All Members should fulfil the expectation

of the public by seeking the truth. Thus they had the responsibility to establish a

committee in a practical way to help explore the truth of matters. He viewed that the

law enforcement of the Police would affect the well-being of the people in the district,

and protecting the lives of the public was a matter of greater urgency than dealing

with the problem of illegal parking of tourist coaches. He also suggested renaming

the committee to Police Enforcement Monitoring Committee.

71. Miss CHAU Hei-man said that police enforcement actions were closely

tied to the daily lives of local residents. Besides, law enforcement actions would be

required to deal with issues other than social events. She opined that it was not

improper to establish a committee dedicated to monitor police enforcement actions.

72. Mr MA Hei-pang pointed out that a large number of citizens expressed

their views on police enforcement issues, and as the problem of illegal parking of

coaches fell within the Police’s purview, it would be necessary to form a committee

that oversaw police enforcement actions. He also pointed out that people from the

Urban Renewal Concern Group demanded the staff of the Urban Renewal Authority

to get in touch with them in the district instead of handling the issues through a

committee.

73. Mr NG Po-keung expressed that people from the Urban Renewal Concern

Group asked for establishing a committee responsible for urban renewal issues and

20

also demanded the Urban Renewal Authority staff to visit the district to get in touch

with them.

74. Dr KWAN Ka-lun said that police enforcement actions taken at traffic

accident blackspots concerned the lives of people. Therefore, he disagreed that the

proposed Committee of Inquiry into Police Enforcement was less important than a

committee dedicated to medical and emergency services.

75. Mr KWOK Tin-lap stated that KCDC formed a working group on the

problem of illegal parking of coaches before and consulted Members if there were

inadequacies in the past performance of the working group. He expressed that

relevant matters should continue to be discussed in the meetings of DC and the

working group. He also pointed out that the Shatin District Council had set up the

Finance and General Affairs Committee in prevention of favouritism during funding

approval. Therefore, he disagreed that setting up an Administration and Finance

Committee was a superfluous act. Lastly, he remarked that Mr Justice Michael

HARTMANN once quoted the affidavit submitted to the court by Mr Michael SUEN,

former Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, in a judgement saying that “District

Councils play an essential advisory role on both district matters and territory-wide

issues”.

76. Mr LAI Kwong-wai made a consolidated comment on the motion, with the

main points as follows: (i) as the suggested terms of reference, that is, “to

coordinate the work among non-governmental organisations and relevant district

bodies” was made with reference to a term of reference of the Social Services &

Healthy and Safe City Committee under the 4th term Sai Kung District Council, he

did not consider the function concerned to be contravening these in the District

Council Ordinance; (ii) the term of reference “to participate in the management of

district facilities including district libraries” in the Paper was among the terms of

reference of the Leisure and District Facilities Management Committee under the 5th

term KCDC; (iii) the term of reference “to coordinate non-governmental organisations

and local organisations for the provision of cultural, recreational, and sports activities

for people” was among the terms of reference of the Leisure and District Facilities

Management Committee; and (iv) monitoring district affairs was one of the duties of

District Council Members. Thus, he suggested renaming the Committee of Inquiry

into Police Enforcement as Police Enforcement Monitoring Committee.

77. Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer (Kowloon City), noted that as a

21

public officer, he had the responsibility to make a reminder when KCDC would carry

out a function not prescribed in the District Councils Ordinance. He understood that

different Members had different considerations and, if necessary, he would seek

advices from the relevant departments on the papers and Members’ views.

78. The Chairman asked if any Member proposed an amendment.

79. Mr PUN Kwok-wah read out the amended motion seconded by Mr HE

huahan, and moved to set up the Culture, Leisure and Recreation Committee, the

District Facilities Management Committee, the Housing and Redevelopment Planning

Committee, the Traffic and Transport Committee, the Social Services, Administration

and Finance Committee, the Environmental Hygiene, Medical and Sustainable

Development Committee, Harbourfront Committee and District Tourism Activities

and Affairs Management Committee.

80. The Chairman put the amended motion proposed by Mr PUN Kwok-wah

to the vote by show of hands, and the voting results were as follows:

Support : 9 votes (Mr CHEUNG King-fan, Mr CHO Wui-hung,

Mr HE Huahan, Mr HO Hin-ming,

Mr LAM Tak-shing,

The Hon Starry LEE Wai-king,

Mr NG Po-keung, Mr PUN Kwok-wah,

Mr YANG Wing-kit)

Objection : 14 votes (Miss CHAU Hei-man, Mr Joshua FUNG,

Dr KWAN Ka-lun, Mr KWOK Tin-lap,

Dr KWONG Po-yin, Mr LAI Kwong-wai,

Mr LEE Hin-long, Mr MA Hei-pang,

Miss Jakki MAK, Mr TSANG Kin-chiu,

Mr Daniel WONG, Mr WONG Wing-kit,

Mr YEUNG Chun-yu, Mr Pius YUM)

Abstention : 1 vote (Mr SIU Leong-sing)

81. The Chairman announced that the amended motion moved by Mr PUN

Kwok-wah was not passed.

82. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu suggested amending the original motion by

renaming Committee of Inquiry into Police Enforcement as Police Enforcement

22

Monitoring Committee.

83. The Chairman put the amendment suggested by Mr TSANG Kin-chiu to

the vote by show of hands, and the voting results were as follows:

Support : 14 votes (Miss CHAU Hei-man, Mr Joshua FUNG,







Objection : 8 votes (Mr CHEUNG King-fan, Mr CHO Wui-hung,

Mr HE Huahan, Mr HO Hin-ming,

Mr LAM Tak-shing, Mr NG Po-keung,

Mr PUN Kwok-wah, Mr YANG Wing-kit)

Abstention : 1 vote (Mr SIU Leong-sing)

84. The Chairman announced that the amendment suggested by Mr TSANG

Kin-chiu was passed.

85. The Chairman proceeded to put the amended original motion to the vote

by open ballot by show of hands, and the voting results were as follows:








Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 8 votes (Mr CHEUNG King-fan, Mr CHO Wui-hung,

Mr HO Hin-ming, Mr LAM Tak-shing,

Mr NG Po-keung, Mr PUN Kwok-wah,

Mr SIU Leong-sing, Mr YANG Wing-kit)

23

86. The Chairman announced that the amendment to the original motion was

endorsed.

Regarding the Shortage of Parking Spaces in the New Kai Tak Area


87. The Chairman stated that the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) could not

send representative to attend the meeting. He requested Members to refer to the

written reply submitted by HKPF prior to the meeting, i.e. Document No. 1 tabled.

88. Mr CHEUNG King-fan presented the Paper, stating that due to the severe

shortage of parking spaces in the new Kai Tak area, the illegal parking problem was

rampant in nearby streets. He demanded the relevant departments to use Site 1J3

reserved for the construction of Kai Tak Government Complex or other vacant sites as

temporary car parks, and to add facilities like double yellow lines and pavement

railings so as to alleviate the problem of illegal parking. He also requested the

Police to step up enforcement actions against illegal parking.

89. Mr HE Huahan said that he understood that the relevant departments had

already taken measures to ease the problem of insufficient parking spaces in the new

Kai Tak area. However, these measures were inadequate to overcome the

insufficiency of parking spaces. He put forward the following suggestions to tackle

the problem of parking space shortage in the new Kai Tak area: (i) the Police should

step up their enforcement actions; (ii) he asked the Transport Department (TD) and

the Highways Department (HyD) to set up facilities like railings and steel bollards to

stop vehicles from parking on pavements or in front of emergency crash gates; (iii) he

requested the Government to use some of the vacant sites as temporary car parks; (iv)

he requested for opening some of the government buildings like the Trade and

Industry Tower in Kai Tak and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

Headquarters at night for local residents to rent parking spaces overnight at a

reasonable price; (v) public parking spaces in the Kai Tak Sports Park under

construction should be provided; and (vi) smart car parks should be built in the new

Kai Tak area.

90. Mr HO Hin-ming expressed that the coordination among government

departments could be strengthened so as to solve the shortage of parking spaces in the

new Kai Tak area, and he made the following comments: (i) he remarked that the

planning of the new Kai Tak area was not done in the best way possible by the

24

Planning Department, which led to severe insufficiency of parking spaces in the local

area; (ii) he requested the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Housing Department

to provide more parking spaces when building public housing estates in that area; (iii)

terms for requiring developers to build more parking spaces for public use should be

inserted; (iv) he reckoned that multiple departments were responsible for the problem

of illegal parking, and the Police should not take all the blame; (v) he asked TD, HyD

and the Lands Department (LandsD) to discuss whether they could use some vacant

sites as temporary car parks; and (vi) the current planning standards and guidelines

should be reviewed to allow more parking spaces to be provided in future

infrastructure projects.

91. Mr Raymond CHENG, Engineer / Housing and Planning 3, Transport

Department (TD) gave a consolidated reply, with the main points as follows:

91.1 LandsD had replied to TD that Site 1J3 was granted for short-term site

purpose. TD would pay close attention to the use of the site in the future,

and would inform LandsD that Members hoped to use the site as a

temporary car park.

91.2 The works of adding double yellow lines in Muk On Street were expected

to be completed by the end of January to early February in 2020.

91.3 TD had placed steel bollards at Muk On Street roundabout near the entrance

of Kai Long Court and One Kai Tak so as to prohibit drivers from parking

on pavements. The effects of such measures began to be seen. As for

the works in Muk Ning Street, works requests had been issued to LandsD,

and the works were expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020.

91.4 TD had designated Muk Long Street as “restricted zone” from 7 a.m. to 12

a.m. and would consider setting up facilities like steel bollards to strengthen

the combat against illegal parking.

91.5 TD would continue to collaborate with the Police to tackle the problem of

illegal parking in the new Kai Tak area.

91.6 TD had conducted feasibility studies on the launch of smart car parks.

92. Mr CHEUNG King-fan asked if Site 1J3 could be used as a temporary car

25

park in the future. He also suggested that TD collect residents’ view before

installing railings and bollards in Muk On Street.

93. Mr Raymond CHENG of TD said that he would ask LandsD if Site 1J3

still had space for the provision of a temporary car park. He added that the current

works in Muk On Street were launched to suit the operation of Kai Tak Station due to

open soon, and he promised to widely collect residents’ views before the works

commenced.

Concern over the Environmental Hygiene Problems in the New Kai Tak Area

and Proposals for Alleviating the Problems


94. Mr CHEUNG King-fan introduced the Paper. He stated that the hygiene

condition in the New Kai Tai Area was poor as abandoned pets and even human

faeces could be found in some of the streets, and the poor condition of the sites in

Shing Kai Road further aggravated rodent and mosquito infestation in the district.

He requested the relevant department to increase the frequency of street cleaning and

step up publicity efforts to raise the hygiene awareness of pet owners. He also

demanded the relevant department to look into the problem and work better to keep

the environment clean.

95. Mr LAM Ming-wai, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent

(Kowloon City), Food and Environment Hygiene Department (FEHD) gave the

following consolidated reply:

95.1 FEHD placed great concern on the hygiene condition in the streets of the

new Kai Tak area. The Department’s cleansing contractors provided

cleansing services on a daily basis, and would clean each street and rear

lane in the district regularly. FEHD would dispatch contractors to conduct

special street sweeping and cleansing operations when necessary.

95.2 Depending on the actual situation, contractors would provide sweeping

services not less than four times per day and cleansing services once a week

in every main street in the district, including Chun Chi Lane, Ko Fei Lane,

Tin Chai Lane (East) and Muk Ning Street. Besides, staff from FEHD

would inspect the cleanliness of the abovementioned streets every day and

would increase the frequency of sweeping and cleansing work if necessary.

26

95.3 FEHD had stepped up health education for pet owners around the new Kai

Tak area by taking actions like distributing leaflets and putting up posters at

prominent positions, so as to remind them to handle dog faeces properly.

In addition, the Department had placed seven dog faeces collection bins in

the vicinity of the aforesaid area for the use of pet owners. The

Department had also hung banners to advise people not to allow their dogs

to foul public places with excreta lest they could face prosecution.

95.4 Upon receiving the documents, FEHD dispatched staff to patrol around the

aforementioned area. Even though no citizens were discovered letting dog

foul public places during inspection, stains were found on part of the streets.

The Department had immediately ordered contractors to clean the area.

The Department had also instructed contractors to strengthen sweeping and

cleaning work in the vicinity of the aforesaid public area, and would take

enforcement actions to prosecute litter offenders in order to enhance the

deterrent effect.

95.5 Since January 2019, FEHD had hired additional pest control teams from

outsourced contractors in view of the situation of mosquito and rodent

infestation in the district. The Department had also conducted more

inspections at rodent blackspots and placed more baits to enhance the

effectiveness of pest control. The Department would pay continuous

attention to the aforesaid places and take appropriate action to keep the

environment clean.

96. Mr CHEUNG King-fan thanked FEHD for their efforts in maintaining

environmental hygiene in the district. He suggested that the Department should

strengthen the support for frontline staff of contractors by providing resources they

needed so as to work together to ensure environmental hygiene.

97. Mr LAM Ming-wai of FEHD expressed that the Department would carry

out surveillance in accordance with the terms of contract to ensure that contractors

would provide sufficient and appropriate gears, equipment and cleaning products for

clean-up work.

98. The Vice-chairman stated that there were different environmental hygiene

needs in each district approaching the end of the lunar year. She hoped that the

27

Department could well maintain the environmental hygiene in each district.

Request for Resolving the Problem of Suspension of Flush Water Supply in

Broadcast Drive in Recent Days


99. Mr HO Hin-ming introduced the Paper and said that the residents of many

buildings in the vicinity of Broadcast Drive had been complaining about the frequent

suspension of flush water supply at peak hours over the past six months. The

residents needed to use fresh water for flushing instead, which caused inconvenience

and wastage. He urged the Water Supplies Department (WSD) to deal with this

issue expeditiously and explain the causes.

100. Mr HA Chun-wai, Engineer / Kowloon (Distribution 3) of WSD, gave a

consolidated response, with the main points as follows:

100.1 According to the records of WSD, flushing water supply was suspended

four times in Broadcast Drive over the past six months, respectively on 20

November 2019, 13 December 2019, 6 January 2020 and 7 January 2020.

100.2 On 20 November 2019, leakage was found in one of WSD’s salt water

distribution mains at 89 Broadcast Drive. Maintenance staff from the

Department shut off that section of water mains at around 6:00 p.m. for

urgent replacement works. The relevant works were completed at around

11:00 p.m. that night and the water supply was then resumed.

100.3 On 13 December 2019, the staff of WSD conducted the works for

replacement programme of salt water mains at around 10:00 a.m. and

replaced a section of water mains at Beacon Hill Pumping Station. The

salt water supply in the vicinity of Sham Shui Po and Kowloon Tong was

suspended when replacement works were being carried out. The

Department completed the relevant works at around 6:00 p.m. on the same

day and the water supply was then resumed.

100.4 On 6 January 2020, leakage was found in one of WSD’s salt water

distribution mains at 4 Broadcast Drive. Staff from the Department shut

off that section of water mains at around 6:30 p.m. and completed the

relevant repair works at 12:05 a.m. on 7 January 2020 and the water supply

28

was then resumed.

100.5 On 7 January 2020, one of the salt water distribution valves at 91 Broadcast

Drive malfunctioned. The staff from the Department shut off that section

of water mains at around 9:00 a.m. for urgent replacement works, which

were completed at around 4:39 p.m. that night and the water supply was

then resumed.

100.6 WSD would continue to closely monitor the conditions of water mains in

the district, conduct risk assessment to the distribution salt water mains in

the area, and carry out timely maintenance and repair works in order to

reduce the impact of burst or leakage in water mains to the public.

101. Mr KWOK Tin-lap enquired whether the Department would notify the

residents and owners' corporations affected before carrying out waterworks. He also

hoped that the Department could provide the schedule of waterworks in the district in

the upcoming three months.

102. Mr HO Hin-ming asked the Department for the schedule of waterworks in

the district in the coming few months. Given the cases of water leakage occurred

frequently in the past six months, he inquired whether the Department had plans to

replace water mains that had been in use for years.

103. Mr HA Chun-wai of WSD made a consolidated reply, with the main points

as follows:

103.1 Most of the water mains in Broadcast Drive had been replaced. The

Department would continue to closely monitor the conditions of water

mains in the district and carry out timely maintenance and repair works in

order to reduce the impact of burst or leakage in water mains to the public.

103.2 WSD did not have plans to carry out waterworks in the district in the

upcoming three months.

103.3 WSD would notify the affected owners’ corporations when urgent works

were to be conducted.

29

Requesting for Stepping up the Precautionary Measures against COVID-19

(Avian Influenza Severe Respiratory Disease Associated with a Novel Infectious

Agent)


Urging the Government to Guard against COVID-19


104. The Vice-chairman stated that as the items to be discussed in Paper No.

13/20 and No. 14/20 were related, she declared that the discussion of both items

would be processed together after consulting Members’ views. She also said that the

Department of Health (DH) and the Education Bureau (EDB) could not send

representatives to attend the meeting. She requested Members to browse the written

reply submitted by both departments, i.e. Document No. 5 and No. 6 tabled.

105. Dr KWAN Ka-lun introduced Paper No. 13/20 and gave updates on the

latest situation of the epidemic. He demanded DH and EDB to follow up closely on

the development of the epidemic. As it was confirmed that the virus was capable of

human-to-human transmission, he strongly requested the relevant departments to

strengthen the quarantine work at every sea, land and air border control point, and

adopt measures to prevent diseases from being brought into Hong Kong.

106. Mr Pius YUM introduced Paper No. 14/20. He pointed out that there

were quite a number of Mainland tour groups visiting Kowloon City District every

day. Given that the epidemic had spread from Wuhan to cities in Guangdong

Province, he urged the relevant departments to explain the disease prevention

measures taken at each border control point. He expressed regret that DH and the

Hospital Authority could not send staff to attend the meeting, and hoped that they

could attend the meeting and exchange views with Members. Thus, he requested the

Secretariat to relay the aforementioned demands to the relevant departments.

107. Mr HO Hin-ming stated that apart from COVID-19, the pandemic in the

United States was severe as well. In view that there were frequent exchanges

between Hong Kong and the United States, the relevant departments should follow up

on the situation of influenza in the United States and take corresponding preventive

measures.

108. Dr KWONG Po-yin said that the Centre for Health Protection of DH

30

provided updates on the information about influenza every week, which reflected the

severity of influenza in the United States. She suggested that Mr HO Hin-ming

should remind residents to take preventive measures, including receiving influenza

vaccination and wearing masks.

109. Mr YANG Wing-kit put forward the following suggestions: (i) as the

epidemic had begun to spread to other countries, he suggested that apart from land

crossings, the relevant departments should also step up precautionary measures at the

airport; (ii) publicity and education should be enhanced at schools; and (iii) he

suggested that apart from inbound tours, the relevant departments should also

strengthen the disease prevention work for outbound tours and maintain close

communication with operating travel agencies to remind tourists to adopt preventive

measures.

110. The Vice-chairman stated that even though the number of visitors to Hong

Kong from the Mainland had significantly dwindled over the past seven months

which helped slow down the spread of the disease, DH was slow to take preventive

measures. She hoped that the relevant departments could speed up their paces to

adopt appropriate precautions. She reckoned the epidemic situation could worsen

rapidly after Lunar New Year. Thus, she hoped Members could communicate with

the residents on the importance of maintaining good personal hygiene. She also

asked the Secretariat to relay Members’ expectation of strengthening the disease

preventive measures to the relevant departments.

Request to the Relevant Departments for Dealing with the Worsening Problem of

Illegal Parking in Kowloon Tong Seriously


111. Mr HO Hin-ming presented the Paper and pointed out that the problem of

illegal parking in Kowloon Tong District remained serious for many years, and thus,

he advised TD, HyD and LandsD and other relevant departments to explore more

areas in the district for parking spaces so as to solve the problem of illegal parking

effectively.

112. Ms Christine LUK, Engineer / Kowloon City said that the Department

had demarcated no stopping restriction zones on To Fuk Road, Rutland Quadrant,

Somerset Road, Kent Road, Alnwick Road, and Kam Shing Road to ban vehicles

from picking up or dropping off passengers there. As to 6-10 Broadcast Drive, due

31

to the low traffic volume of vehicles, the Department did not have plan to establish a

restricted parking zone on this section of road.

113. Mr LEE Long-hin stated the following opinions and questions: (i)

Kowloon Tong was connected with many areas in Kowloon District by a number of

major roads. And he believed that illegal parking would affect the traffic condition

in all other roads in Kowloon Tong. He wondered if Kowloon Tong could be listed

as a pilot area for using smart parking meters; (ii) at present, space was still available

at the public transport interchange at Kowloon Tong MTR Station, and he suggested

that the Department should consider opening the space to non-franchised buses for

pick-ups and drop-offs of passengers at some time of the day or for the whole day;

and (iii) asking the Department whether there were other ways to uproot the problem

of school buses parking illegally besides discussing with the school.

114. Ms Christine LUK of TD said that the functions of smart parking meters

were roughly the same as those of the existing parking meters, with the only

difference found at the design of the meter head. The vacant space at the public

transport interchange at Kowloon Tong MTR Station was all allocated for use at

present. She would relay the views of Members for the colleagues responsible for

the issue. Regarding the ways to resolve the problem of illegal parking of school

buses thoroughly, the Department would request new schools to leave space for

parking school buses on the campus when formulating plans for new schools.

115. Mr YANG Wing-kit stated that he would support the trial use of smart

parking meters if the concern of Members over the collection of personal data by

smart parking meters was addressed.

116. Mr HO Hin-ming considered that smart parking meters could not resolve

the problem of illegal parking in Kowloon Tong since parking spaces in the area were

seriously under supply and this was irrelevant to the functions of parking meters. He

opined that only by increasing parking spaces in the area and strengthening police

enforcement action and cooperation with other relevant departments could the

problem be effectively solved. He also pointed out that the shortage of parking

spaces was a territory-wide problem and he suggested that relevant departments

should study again the use of parking spaces and the ways to boost the number of

parking spaces in the territory.

117. Mr LEE Hin-long said that if a smart parking meter was only composed of

32

a smart sensor to detect whether the parking space was occupied, he would not object

to the use of smart parking meters as planned by the Department. He thought that

the Department might first install smart parking meters at illegal parking black spots

in Kowloon Tong. The application of smart parking meters enabled drivers to know

the parking situation in the area and this could possibly help alleviate the problem of

illegal parking. He also enquired whether the smart device would collect personal data

not related to parking. Subsequently, he agreed with the suggestion of Mr HO

Hin-ming that the Government should provide more parking spaces to settle the

problem of inadequate parking spaces.

118. Ms Christine LUK of TD stated that the Department had asked developers

to provide the maximum number of parking spaces allowed in the plan in the new

development projects. She also said that Members' views were noted for reference

purposes.

Request for the Details of the Deployment of Tear Gas and Water Cannon

Vehicles and the Work for Dealing with the Aftermath in Kowloon City District


Review of the Impacts of Tear Gas on Public Health


119. The Chairman said that both the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the

Environmental Protection Department (EPD) did not send staff to attend the meeting,

and thus Members were asked to read the written reply presented on Document No.

10 and 11 tabled by HKPF and the Department before the meeting.

120. Mr YANG Wing-kit said that as issues raised on agenda items no. 14 and

16 were similar, it was suggested that the two agenda items be discussed together and

the suggestion was approved by the Chairman with the unanimous consent of all

Members.

121. Mr LAI Kwong-wai presented Paper No. 16/20 and expressed regrets

about the failure to assign staff to attend the meetings. He said that as early as June,

the Police had fired tear gas rounds and used water cannon vehicles to disperse

protesters in various places repeatedly in Hong Kong. He demanded the Police to

provide the figures on the use of tear gas and water cannon vehicles in Kowloon City

District since 12 June. He also asked the relevant departments to elaborate details of

the cleaning work and follow-ups at places where tear gas rounds were fired and

33

water cannon vehicles were used. He also urged the relevant departments to review

the guidelines for the use of tear gas and water cannon trucks and consider whether

the recovery work was appropriate.

122. Dr KWAN Ka-lun presented Paper No. 18/20 and pinpointed that since

June, the Police had repeatedly applied tear gas at high density residential areas,

causing all sorts of discomfort to nearby residents. Since the composition of the tear

gas was not released and the chemical gases produced could have great impact on

public health, the Government should conduct a test on the chemical gas emitted from

tear gas shells, publicise the test reports and establish a notification mechanism to

enable the public to know clearly the impact of tear gas on human body.

123. Dr KWONG Po-yin expressed disappointment with the reply from DH and

considered that the Department had failed to respond to Members' questions. She

also demanded the Department to explain the impact of tear gas on human body and

give an account of follow-up measures.

124. Mr Pius YAM said that the Police only provided the total number of tear

gas shells fired in various districts from 1 June to 31 December in the reply. He

asked the Police to provide the date and number of tear gas shells fired in Kowloon

City District since June, particularly those related to the Polytechnic University siege

in November because tear gas residues would exist in the nearby area for a period of

time afterwards. The residual materials would cause discomfort to nearby residents.

He requested the Secretariat to ask for the provision of data from the Police.

125. Mr CHO Wui-hung held the following opinions: (i) he believed that tear

gas did have adverse effects on residents and firing tear gas shells at densely

populated areas was inappropriate. He wished that the Police would consider

dispersing the crowds with methods other than firing tear gas rounds to safeguard

public health; and (ii) tear gas residues adversely affected on environmental hygiene.

Therefore, he suggested that FEHD should strengthen street cleaning work.

126. Mr WONG Wing-kit enquired whether the cleaning tools used by the

relevant departments in the follow-up cleaning were all disposed after use. If they

were reused, how the Department could ensure that the substances left on the cleaning

tools would not be brought to other locations.

127. Mr YANG Wing-kit agreed with Mr CHO Wui-hung’s comments, saying

34

that the residents felt anxious about the eventual impact of tear gas on the community

and public health, and that the Police should reconsider their strategies for dispersing

crowd in densely populated areas.

128. Mr LAI Kwong-wai’s opinions were summarised as follows: (i) he

understood that FEHD had stepped up the cleaning of streets, and yet residual

materials of tear gas more or less settled on the external walls of buildings, and when

the rain fell and such materials were washed down, nearby residents would be

affected and feel uncomfortable. Thus, he thought that the Police should adjust the

policy on the use of force; (ii) the written response of FEHD mentioned that it “would

keep paying attention to the running of large-scale public order events and would

timely review the cleaning working after those events”. However, though public

order events were no longer held, the Police still fired tear gas rounds, and so the

Department’ response did not tally with the facts; and (iii) EPD’s response was too

general and it failed to ease the worries of residents. In view of this, he asked the

Department to provide more detailed information.

129. Mr LAM Tak-shing commented that tear gas residues had an adverse

impact on the environment of the streets and parks in the area, and therefore he

requested the District Office to help coordinate the relevant departments for the

cleaning work and follow-ups.

130. Mr HO Hin-ming said that the District Council should strengthen their

support to FEHD and increase funding for the Department to deploy more staff or

workers and allocate more resources for recovery work. He also considered that

FEHD should consult EPD and DH for details about the follow-up work for the use of

tear gas, including the substances required for cleaning and the scope of cleaning, etc.

131. Miss Jakki MAK voiced the following opinions: (i) tear gas posed impact

on the households living on higher floors in her constituency and the impact persisted

even one to two weeks afterwards. Therefore, she hoped that FEHD would

strengthen the cleaning work in her constituency; (ii) she asked the Police to review

the use of tear gas in densely populated areas and commented that the Police's recent

frequent use of tear gas in situations other than rallies was a tactical error; and (iii) she

expressed regrets for the Police’s failure to send staff to the meeting.

132. Mr Daniel Wong delivered the following comments: (i) he was extremely

dissatisfied with the Police's written reply, the contents of which did not tally with the

35

facts; (ii) the Police often unexpectedly fired tear gas rounds when they retreated even

though the public only scolded them without launching any attack. Hence, he held

the view that it was not true that the Police took the action because such an action was

absolutely necessary and there were no other means to accomplish the lawful duty as

mentioned in the reply; (iii) the Police recently considered a greater use of force,

including using electric guns, was unreasonable; (4) he disagreed that the impact of

tear gas was slight because its odor would remain for a period of time and the area

being affected was extensive. In addition, the Police often fired tear gas shells all of

a sudden and as a result, residents could not close the doors and windows in time; and

(v) they deemed that the action of the Police was a serious abuse of power.

133. Mr LEE Hin-long strongly objected to and condemned the use of the word

"thugs" by the Police in a written reply to describe arrested persons before the conduct

of court trials. He remarked that this practice was contrary to the rule of law in

Hong Kong. In addition, he strongly criticised the Police’s failure of assigning

police officers to attend the meeting to account for livelihood issues such as the

solutions for the problem of illegal parking.

134. Mr LAM Ming-wai of FEHD gave the following consolidated reply:

134.1 The safety of staff was always the prime concern of the Department. And

after large-scale public events took place, the Department would not

arrange cleansing services until after the state of the place returned to

normal and risk assessment was conducted. For the places where the tear

gas residuals or spray of water cannon trucks remained, the Department

would take appropriate precautionary measures, such as providing cleaning

workers with adequate and suitable personal protective equipment before

allowing them to start performing street cleansing and cleaning services.

If the risk assessment result indicated that the staff should wear N95 masks

or equivalent, eye masks and caps for work, the staff would have to do so.

134.2 The Department was drawing up guidelines to clean off residuals of tear

gas after consulting other departments and experts. Therefore, the

Department did not use tools such as high-pressure water guns and

brooms. Instead, clear water was used to flush public places and dilute

residuals of tear gas.

134.3 The Department would keep paying attention to the course of large-scale

36

public order events and conduct timely review of cleaning work and

follow-ups to ensure personal safety of workers and environmental

hygiene.

135. Mr Pius YAM enquired about through which channels the Department

learnt that the Police had fired tear gas rounds at certain locations and then, in

response, took appropriate measures.

136. Mr Kwok Tin-lap asked whether the Department had received from the

Police details pertaining to the composition of tear gas. He criticised the Police for

playing down the impact of tear gas on the community and declined to disclose the

composition of tear gas to the public, making it difficult for the public to follow up.

He opined that this subject was closely related to the issues about public health.

137. Mr LAM Wai-ming of FEHD gave the following consolidated reply:

137.1 The staff at management level staff of the Department would closely

monitor the use of tear gas in the district under their management. The

Department would also be able to obtain the relevant news from the media

and the Internet.

137.2 The Police did not explain the composition of tear gas to the Department.

138. Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer, said that the Food and Health

Bureau had carried out the follow-up work for handling tear gas residues. If

necessary, the District Office would discuss about and follow up the issue with other

relevant departments.

139. The Chairman revealed that as the data provided by the Police on the use

of tear gas was not elaborative, he instructed the Secretariat to write to the Police to

ask for a clearer account of the use of tear gas in Kowloon City District.

Request to the Police for Accounting for the Suicide Cases, Dead Body Found

Cases and Missing Person Cases


140. The Chairman repeated that as HKPF did not send staff to attend the

meeting, and he would like Members to refer to Document No. 12 tabled, which was

37

the written reply from HKPF before the meeting.

141. Mr. Lai Kwong-wai introduced the paper, saying that in recent days, the

Police were reported corpse discovery cases time and again, some of which were

obviously suspicious but were eventually regarded as suicidal cases eventually

without further investigation. It was suspected that the hasty conclusion of the cases

was made because, to a certain extent, they were related to the social movements in

the past six months. He demanded the Police to provide data on the discovery of

corpses, deaths by suicide and missing persons in Kowloon City in the past 24 months.

As the written reply from the Police failed to answer the relevant questions, he

requested the Secretariat to send a letter to the Police, asking them to provide the data

specified in the documents.

142. Miss CHAU Hei-man expressed regret on the absence of police officers in

the meeting. She pointed out that as many people believed that such cases were

probably related to recent public order incidents, the Police were bound to disclose the

data specified in the documents for comparison purposes.

143. Mr LEE Hin-long considered that the Police's refusal to send officers to

the District Councils was a dereliction of duty. He therefore strongly reprimanded

the Police's declination to send officers to the meeting. He quoted a suspicious

suicidal case involving a dead man whose foot was attached to a dumbbell at

Kowloon City Ferry Pier. He believed that the Police should use a dummy to repeat

the victimization process when conducting investigation.

144. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu expressed that he rushed to the scene on the night of

the crime, but he and the reporters were immediately driven away by the Police. He

said the Police ended up with the conclusion that the deceased committed suicide and

said that the cause of the death was not suspicious. This was not a reasonable

judgment. Furthermore, he pointed out that in the past six months, more than 2,000

cases of suicide or disappearance occurred in Hong Kong, but the Police declared that

most of these cases were not dubious. He criticised the Police for acting against the

will of Hong Kong people and failing to pursue justice. He also said that Hong

Kong people could no longer trust the Government and the Police.

145. Miss Jakki MAK delivered the following opinions: (i) she was

disappointed that the Police did not send officers to attend the meeting but only

submit brief replies. She strongly chided the Police; (ii) for the case of discovering

38

the body of a man with a dumbbell attached to his foot, the Police concluded the case

claiming that there was nothing suspicious as a suicide note was found. This was

extremely unjustified; and (iii) she urged the Police to designate officers to attend the

meeting to explain the reasons for the judgement of similar cases without doubt in the

past six months, and asked the Police to provide data mentioned in the document and

attend future meetings to reply to the questions put forward by Members.

146. The Chairman instructed the Secretariat to issue a letter to the Police to

request for the provision of the data specified in the documents as well as to invite the

Police to attend upcoming meetings.

Strongly Condemning the Secretary for Education for Taking the Lead in

Creating White Terror


147. Mr CHO Wui-hung considered that the issues discussed under agenda

items no. 17 to 21 were in conflict with the functions provided in Section 61 of the

District Councils Ordinance, and thus he asked the Chairman to explain the reasons

for approving the agenda items.

148. Mr Joshua Fung opined that the issues discussed under agenda items no.

17 to 21 were similar to the previous motions in District Council meetings such as

support for the co-location arrangement for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong

Express Rail Link and the political reform package, etc. So he said if Members

queried that the issues were not in conformity with the District Councils Ordinance,

provisions should be cited to support the query about the legitimacy of these

discussion items.

149. Mr LEE Long-hin stressed that the motions raised in agenda items no.17

to 21 matched the demands of most of the Hong Kong citizens, including the residents

in Kowloon City District, and that the issues discussed were also related to matters

concerning the interests of the residents in the district, such as constitutional affairs

and police enforcement. In consideration of this, he requested the Chairman to rule

that the motions raised did not contradict the functions of District Councils as defined

in the first provision of Section 61 (a) of the District Councils Ordinance.

150. The Chairman eventually ruled that the motions raised in agenda items no.

17 to 21 did not contradict the provisions of the District Councils Ordinance.

39

151. The Chairman also ruled that Mr. CHO Wui-hung’s speech was not

relevant to the agenda and hence, he had issued a warning to Mr CHO Wui-hung

thrice to stop him from making statements. Despite the Chairman’s ruling and

warnings, Mr CHO continued with his speech and the Chairman ordered Mr CHO

Wui-hung to leave the conference room in the end by quoting Order No.16 of the

Standing Orders.

152. The Chairman stated that the Education Bureau (EB) was unable to

designate staff to attend the meeting and he asked Members to browse its written reply,

Document No.14, tabled before the meeting.

153. Mr Pius YAM presented the paper, stating that as there were both

education workers and students in Kowloon City District, and the agenda was related

to the well-being of the residents in the district. He believed that the EB intimidated

teaching staff and even principal, posing white terror on people in the education sector.

As an elected body, the District Council should inform the Secretary of Education that

the Council did not side with the views of EB.

154. Mr LEE Hin-long pointed out that EB commented in the written reply that

many of the matters mentioned in this paper did not tally with the truth. He

reiterated that EB should send staff to attend the meeting and elaborate on the

inconsistence between the contents of the paper and the facts, and if not, EB were

smearing elected members who duly performed their duties.

155. Miss CHAU Hei-man expressed regret that EB did not send any staff to

the meeting. She said that many education workers in her constituency revealed

about their fears and worries in regard of the white terror. She also blamed EB for

only allowing teachers to express opinions in support of the Government, but

suppressing the opinions against the Government. She questioned if EB had set the

criteria for decisions on related matters.

156. Mr YEUNG Chung-yu suggested that the Secretariat continue to invite the

relevant departments to assign staff to attend meetings, and he commented that if

there were no feedbacks from the departments, Members should continue to press for

this at future meetings. He hoped that the relevant departments would no longer

evade the responsibility, and would join more the meetings in order to reach solutions

and consensus with Members.

40

157. Miss KWONG Po-yin reminded Members that agenda items no.17 to 21

were not jointly discussed and she instructed members to focus on the discussion

about agenda item no. 17 first, that is, the issue of strongly condemning the Secretary

for Education for taking the lead in creating white terror.

158. The Chairman instructed the Secretariat to follow up on suggestions made

by Members.

Motion: Condemn the Hong Kong Police Force for Failing to Comply with the

Police Force Ordinance


159. Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer, indicated that the Government had

provided a comprehensive written reply in response to agenda items no. 18 to 21

before the meeting, and thus so all government officials present would not supplement

details on the four motions or participate in the discussion.

160. The Chairman stated that the motion was forwarded by Mr Pius YAM.

The Chairman declared the motion valid.

161. Mr Pius YAM presented the paper, stating that the Police had frequently

violated the Police General Orders during enforcement action in the past six months.

Taking his search by a police officer while taking photos at Whampoa MTR Station

on 8 September last year, he commented that all uniformed police officers at the time

did not display police numbers nor the police action code when they performed duties

and conducted search on him. He then put up the motion: “Condemn the Hong

Kong Police Force for failing to comply with the Police Force Ordinance”, and he

expressed his deep regrets and make the strongest condemnation.

162. Miss KWONG Po-yin said that the loss of faith in the Government led to a

halt of discussion of livelihood issues, and she believed that the Government should

listen more to the voices of citizens if the trust towards the Government was to be

rebuilt. She hoped that the District Council would serve better the community in the

coming four years so as to bring in new hopes to heal the wound in the heart of

citizens.

163. There being no amendment to the motion during the meeting, the

41

Chairman asked Members to vote on the original motion by show of hands, with

results as follows:



Miss KWONG Po-yin, Mr LAI Kwong-wai,




My YEUNG Chun-yu, Mr Pius YAM)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstentions : 1 vote (Mr SIU Leong-sing)

164. The Chairman announced that the motion was passed.

Motion: Request for an Immediate and Positive Response to the Five Demands


165. Mr LEE Hin-long introduced the paper and gave the following response to

the written reply from the Government: (i) he disagreed with the government response

that on the matter of the protest being a riot, it was explained that in fact there was no

legal effect on how such incidents were described or categorised. The Department

of Justice had assured the public that each and every prosecution decision was based

on the evidence collected, and was in strict accordance with the relevant law and the

Prosecution Code; (ii) he quoted Korean farmers’ protest against the World trade

Organisation in 2005 as an example and pointed out that similar force was applied in

that occasion but among the 1 146 people arrested, only 14 were charged with illegal

assembly, and all of them were not convicted eventually. However, some social

workers were accused of using force when they were in an attempt to mediate to stop

the use of force by the police, so he held the view that the Government and the Police

carried out political prosecutions; (iii) he demanded for the establishment of a

Commission of Inquiry to explore the truth of the cases with the aim of stopping all

the chaos and violence; (iv) regarding the Government’s refusal to release all those

who were arrested due to participation in the anti-extradition campaign on the ground

of violation of the rule of law, he pointed out that similar cases had occurred in the

conflict between ICAC and the Police in the 1970s. In that incident, the Government

had completely pardoned police officers for the crimes they committed. Judging

from this, he believed that the release of the arrested at this occasion would not violate

42

the spirit of the rule of law.

166. Mr LAI Kwong-wai suggested an amendment to the motion: (i) the

original motion: “Request for an immediate and positive response to the five demands”

was amended to " Request for fulfilling the five demands from the public" ; (ii)

Paragraph 5 of the original motion: "The District Council seriously urges the SAR

Government to respond to the five demands immediately and positively "was

amended to " The District Council seriously urges the SAR Government to fulfil the

five demands from the public".

167. The Chairman stated that the amended motion proposed by Mr LAI

Kwong-wai was supported by Miss CHAU Hei-man.

168. The Chairman invited Members in attendance to vote on the amendments

proposed by Mr LAI Kwong-wai to the original motion and the voting was by show

of hands, with results as follows:





Miss Jakki MAK, Mr SIU Leong-sing

Mr TSANG Kin-chiu, Mr Daniel WONG,

Mr WONG Wing-kit, Mr YEUNG Chun-yu,

Mr Pius YAM)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 0 vote

169. The Chairman announced that the amended motion proposed by the Mr

LAI Kwong-wai was passed.

170. The Chairman invited Members present to vote on the amendments to the

original motion and the voting was by show of hands, with results as follows:





43




Mr YAM Kwok-tung)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 0 vote

171. The Chairman announced that the amended motion was passed.

Motion: the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie LAM, Should Be Held Accountable and

Step Down


172. Mr Joshau FUNG presented the paper and commented that the Chief

Executive, Mrs Carrie LAM, was elected by a small circle of people, lacking a public

mandate and legitimacy. Last year, she even attempted to forcibly pass the

controversial extradition bill on the pretext of handling a murder case in Taiwan.

Despite that millions of citizens expressed their opinions by way of peaceful

demonstrations, Mrs Carrie LAM still turned a blind eye and pushed through the bill,

finally triggering a wave of large-scale social protests. Mrs Carrie LAM disregarded

the five demands from the people of Hong Kong and refused to set up an independent

commission for investigation as supported by the majority of the people. This

plunged Hong Kong into an unprecedentedly divided and conflicting situation,

persisting up to now. He pointed out that Mrs Carrie LAM was the person most

accountable for destroying Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. She was also the

key person leading to a failure in breaking through the deadlock. In order to enable

Hong Kong to start afresh, Mrs Carrie LAM should step down immediately and the

Government be restructured so as to lead Hong Kong out of the crisis.

173. Miss KWONG Po-yin stated that an amendment to the motion was raised

by Mr LEE Hin-long, requesting an addition of the statement of "immediate

implementation of the reform of political system was required, and the Chief

Executive and all members of the Legislative Council should be elected by universal

suffrage so that the political power could be truly returned to the people." As there

might exist a conflict between the amendment and the original motion, she asked Mr

LEE Hin-long to elaborate the amendment he proposed.

174. Mr LEE Long-hin pointed out that the Central Government had promised

44

to implement universal suffrage in Hong Kong in the year of 2007-2008, but so far

Hong Kong people were unable to vote for the Chief Executive and the Legislative

Council Members. He believed that replacement of the Chief Executive under the

current system could not solve Hong Kong's current predicament, and only by

implementing political reform at the same time could the long-standing problems in

Hong Kong be resolved.

175. Mr Joshua FUNG stated that the previous motion on the implementation

of the five demands had included political reform, so he only focused on asking the

Chief Executive to step down in this motion, but he had no objection to the addition

of the statement to the original motion.

176. Mr LEE Long-hin proposed an amendment: "This Council demands an

immediate step-down of the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie LAM, and an instant

implementation of the reform of political system, that is, the Chief Executive and all

members of the Legislative Council should be elected by universal suffrage so that the

political power could be truly returned to the people."

177. The Chairman invited Members in attendance to vote on the amendment

proposed by Mr LEE Hin-long to the original motion by show of hands and the results

were as follows:








Mr Pius YAM)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 0 vote

178. The Chairman announced that the amendment to motion proposed by Mr

LEE Hin-long was passed.

179. The Chairman invited Members present to vote on the amended motion by

show of hands and the voting results were as follows:

45








Mr Pius YAM)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 0 vote

180. The Chairman announced that the amended motion was passed.

Motion: Propose to Vote down the Funding Approval in respect of the Pay

Increase for Police Officers and the Public Works Related to the Police Force


181. The Chairman stated that the motion was moved by Mr TSANG Kin-chiu

and was seconded by Mr LEE Hin-long. The Chairman then declared the motion

valid.

182. Mr TSANG Kin-chiu introduced the Paper and pointed out that the motion

was forwarded to reflect the widespread dissatisfaction of the public towards police

brutality, and hence it was deemed inappropriate to use public funds to increase their

pay and carry out related projects. Mr TSANG also expressed the discontent with

the Government's response to this motion.

183. Mr LEE Kin-long also considered that the established channels mentioned

in the Government's reply had turned to be ineffective and could no longer help reflect

the actual situation to the Government and seek follow-up action. He hoped that the

Secretariat could inform the relevant committees of the Legislative Council about the

decision of the Council by writing if the motion was passed.

184. There being no amendment to the motion during the meeting, the

Chairman invited the members in attendance to vote on the original motion by show

of hands, and the results were as follows:

46








Mr Pius YAM)

Objection : 0 vote

Abstention : 0 vote

185. The Chairman announced that the motion was passed.

Date of Next Meeting

186. The Chairman announced that the next meeting of KCDC would be held

on 12 March 2020 and Members would be informed about the closing date for

submission of papers later. There being no other business, the Chairman adjourned

the meeting at 8:50 p.m.

187. The minutes of this meeting were confirmed on 12 March 2020.

The Chairman The Secretary

KCDC Secretariat

March 2020

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Documents

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