weekly
Written by: Hao Ziyu
2019-11-22 08:00
Last updated date: 2019-11-22 08:00This year, the number of voter registrations exceeded 4.13 million, accounting for 86.1% of eligible voters, a record high. Some commentators believe that the anti-amendment campaign awakens "civil consciousness" and may bring subversive changes to the sixth district board election held next Sunday (November 24). However, on the road of "citizen practice", Hong Kong people seem to have a long way to go because there are many misunderstandings and gaps between the voters' expectations of district board members and the real duties of district board members. Taking the performance of "District Councillors" as an example, many people will first think of the impressions of "successful fight", "snakes" and "abuse of funds". However, for district board members, they are fighting for A must-have for voters to support. These gaps and misunderstandings are the barrier between voters and district board members, hindering the development of civic awareness and civic participation. It is time for voters to reflect. When there is a vote in hand, is it a "choice of talent and ability", or is it a choice of "personal preference" or a "political position"? When we ask the district board members to make a difference, what should we do in order to make this ticket no longer an insignificant one-fourth of a million, but a heavy paving stone on the road to democracy?
How to make the ballots no longer insignificant and play their value? (Photo picture / Yu Junliang photo)
"It doesn't matter, I should let my wife help me decide... If you invest in deep yellow or dark blue, you can't change anything." Leo, 28, is a voter in the Yize Constituency in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long. He claimed to be "politically cold" and was not interested in political affairs or partisanship. He did not care much about Sunday's district board elections. But he said that every election would vote and would not abandon the votes. This is Leo's "citizen conscious", and the beginning of his "citizen participation" stems from the day when the adult ID card was received. To help the friend who registered the voter, he filled out the form and became a voter.
Leo likes district board members who are "marketing and diligent." He opened Facebook and showed his favorite page of the district board members, while rowing their work videos and photos on the screen, and said to himself: "You see this is obviously in the prompt yourself, but whether it is a show or not At least, people will know what they are doing and what they have done." Leo has voted for the current district board member Guo Qingping in the previous two sessions because the other party will also work in the non-election period, but "the exposure rate in recent years is extremely low. I don't know what he is doing." He also said that Guo Qingping's campaign posters, except for "successfully fighting for" swimming pools and light rails, have never done anything, even the political platform, so it is difficult. Continue to vote for him.
"Successful fight": Low imagination is forgotten because 50% responsibility is lost?
The fourth grade of Leo Elementary School moved with his parents to live in this area. There are not many memories related to the "District Councillors", because it is often only before the election that the candidates will stand in the street to say hello; and the elected District Council members, one It is already very good to see it twice a year. When I was young, my family would also discuss the willingness to vote. My mother would always switch to someone else because I heard the candidate’s "lace news". "Voting is to compare who is better and who is worse. Anyway, their tricks are nothing more than the three "successful fights."" He smiled and said that one is to successfully fight for traffic (three seconds traffic lights, bus or minibus station, etc.) Second, successful competition for facilities (park benches, trash cans, etc.); third, successful family mediation (divorce, derailment, father's uncomfortable, child filial piety and other family disputes). He also mentioned that when there are fewer people in the district, it is very inconvenient to enter and exit. "There are two or three hundred people waiting in line for the bus in the morning, which is super exaggeration!" So, as long as the district board members can "successfully fight" for him to a minibus. Station, he was "very touched, very grateful"; and if there must be a basis for voting, then it is the person who is actually doing things. "Even if I do something very small, I am very grateful and I don't want to." I wasted this vote, so vote, and pick these people out."
District Councillors have gradually fallen into "Kitchgarten". (Profile picture / Lin Ruoyun photo)
According to the Hong Kong Research Association's 2011 District Council election polls, 51% of the respondents thought that "regional work performance" was the main consideration for their choice of district board members. The rest were "party background" (17%) and "political platform" ( 14%), "personal image" (7%). Therefore, at the election, the four characters of "successful fight" will inevitably appear in the candidate's propaganda. However, as those "competition" content is often subtle, for example, the DAB Yan Guoqiang showed in 2003 that "Successfully strive for a two-second green light" campaign banner, etc., so that the original success of the district board members' performance is "successful". Gradually ridiculed by everyone. Despite this, like Leo, it is not uncommon for Members to see the neighborhood once or twice a year and to "successfully fight for" a minibus stand. They are "already moved" and even use this as a criterion for selection.
It is no wonder that District Council members have gradually become "parent-insulated mothers", but their duties do not stop there. As a consultative structure, the District Council shoulders two major functions: first, to advise the SAR Government on the use of public welfare, public facilities, development priorities, public works and community activities; secondly, in the case of grants for relevant purposes, Responsibility for improving the environment, promoting recreational and cultural activities, and organizing community activities. It can be said that the District Councils are "two-way responsible". They must meet the needs of the residents and participate in the macro-planning. However, this macro-level responsibility of the District Councils is often weakened and neglected. The district board members who have heard of the public in the office are only seeking to please the neighbours in the shortest possible time. For example, the "Hong Kong District Council and Community Development Study" of Soochow University in Taiwan quoted the district board members as saying that 2,500 service files should be established each year, calculated on the basis of about 250 working days per year, that is, an average of 10 per day. Some files are more frank, and I feel that I am both a social worker and a security guard. I want to comfort my husband’s quarrel, and I have to help TVs that don’t see TV.
District Council members need to be responsible, not only about 16,599 residents in their respective constituencies, but also to consider the needs of the entire district. (Profile picture / Lin Ruoyun photo)
Many studies have pointed out that one of the main reasons for the short-sightedness of the district board members and the public to "guarantee their mothers" is that the districts of the district board elections are too small. The Administration has divided the 18 administrative districts into 452 District Council constituencies. Each District has elected a District Council member. According to the Census and Statistics Department, there are about 7,524,100 people in the territory in the middle of this year. That is, the average standard population of each constituency is 16,599 people, it may only cover one village or two or three streets; in other words, the district board member only needs to cater to the 16,599 people, and the 16,599 people will also think that serving them is the work of the district board members. Liang Qizhi, a guest lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, explained: "There are a small number of more than 16,000 people. What does it mean? It means that you can see a station in front of a bus stop in the village. It is almost visible (this area). All the voters." However, the district board members must not only be responsible for the affairs of the 16,599 people, but also represent them in the district board meetings of the district and participate in the decision of the entire district, involving about 400,000 people. "But many people ( Voters) When voting in the District Council Election, I could not think that the person I elected was going to vote for me on my behalf."
The question is: Does a person who is good at community work and handles 20,000 street trivia must have a macro vision and ability to plan a community of 400,000 people? When the voters think about the district board members, they are limited to the short-term mood of the parents and the "successful struggle" in the streets. We talk about how to practice democracy and bring benefits to our community life.
Note: The candidates for the constituencies mentioned in the article are: Wang Yusi, Fan Yuyu and Guo Qingping of the Yize District of Yuen Long.
Excerpted from the 189th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly (November 18, 2019) "There are votes in the hands of voters. Is it in mind? 》.
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