01 perspective
Written by: Comment Editor
2019-12-11 17:10
Last updated: 2019-12-11 17:11The district council elections were "overturned," and the formed camp was defeated. It is rumored that Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue will soon meet with the outgoing and elected formed district councillors, and intends to comfort their efforts by appointing public office. Although the government issued a statement to clarify that the Chief Executive did not indicate that the elected district board members who were elected would be compensated by public office, the society was not clear about the government's criteria for appointing public office and was naturally worried about political compensation.
Government committees and statutory bodies have the intention of inviting public officials with professional knowledge or qualifications in a certain field to use their background to assist with public affairs. If the government is capable of meritocracy, it will be beyond reproach. However, once the appointment is made only for remuneration, or even to apologize to the failed district councillors, it is the collapse of political ethics and the consulting system.
There are more than one hundred elected members of the district, and some of them have regional service experience. If the government can only use its talents, it will be a talent pool. It is reasonable and reasonable for the government to invite those who can contribute to the relevant public affairs in accordance with the requirements of vacancies in public office. However, the society is worried that Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue will consciously be responsible for the failure of the constitutional school district election and compensate the defeated members with public office.
On Tuesday (December 10), Lam Ching-yee did not confirm or deny the appointment of the elected candidates to public office, saying only: "We will not lose any identity because of some political parties who have worked very hard in Hong Kong for a long time. Like strangers; my colleagues and I will continue to listen to the government policies or regional affairs that they care about, and the opinions of regional issues or policies that they represent a considerable number of citizens, and if appropriate, we will also Follow up. "This statement was vague and caused rumors to end. The government issued a statement to clarify the next day that the Chief Executive had not told reporters" that he would provide high salaries and subsidies to elected district board members for public office. "
Will there be more "Liu Jianghuas"?
For many citizens, the results of the district elections have fully demonstrated the will of the public. They believe that the government has no reason to arrange public office for those who have failed, and they are worried that the "Liu Jianghua Incident" will repeat itself.-Liu Jianghua, the DAB, was not elected to the Legislative Council in September 2012. In the next three months, he was appointed by the government as Deputy Director of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. Coupled with the current strong political atmosphere, many "yellow silk" voters cast their votes precisely to "deport" constitutional lawmakers. Naturally, political remuneration against the constitutional school naturally aroused their emotions. Even for elected district board members, the government's proposal seems equally unsatisfactory. Those who lose, such as the DAB Lin Lin's harsh criticism of the "Consolation Award" are really "insulting". The FTU Lu Songxiong also believes that the seats cannot be replaced by public office.
The government has a wide range of public positions. There are hundreds of government committees, bureaus, task forces, and advisory groups, among which the number of non-official members appointed by the system is even greater. The functions, powers, and remuneration of each public office are different. Public office can have high weight, but many duties are actually relatively "easy." For example, a custom vehicle registration number audit committee can have up to 100 members. The annual meeting is only 12 times, the lightness of responsibility can be described as "chicken help". As individuals can hold a number of public positions, if there are no specific guidelines in society, it is feared that they may be reduced to political remuneration.
At present, most of the members of consulting and statutory organizations are directly appointed by the Chief Executive. It is inevitable that the society will pay attention to its standards. The other part will be nominated, recommended, appointed or elected by relevant agencies or professional groups. The government emphasizes that the principle of appointing non-official members of consulting and statutory organizations is based on meritocracy. It will consider "the talents, expertise, experience, integrity and enthusiasm of participating in the service of the relevant people, and give full consideration to the functions and work of the consulting and statutory organizations. Nature, and statutory requirements for membership in a statutory organization. "
The formation of the district council election lost most of its seats. Chairman Li Huiqiong led the DAB to apologize to the public. (Profile picture / Photo by Luo Junhao)
Must avoid the perception of political retribution
In view of the current appointments of members of government committees, the background and qualifications of those appointed are still important. For example, members of the Liberal Party Legislative Council, Zhong Guobin and Yi Zhiming, have been appointed to public positions such as the Apparel Industry Training Advisory Committee and the AA because of their origins and achievements in the textile and garment industry and the transportation industry. Assist in handling related business affairs. In addition, in some committees and groups, the government will also appoint social elites who are not in the industry or directly related to their fields, hoping to provide advice by their respective professions. For example, the newly formed Tourism Regulatory Authority has 15 non-industry members who provide advice on legal, accounting, finance, education, consumer affairs and general administrative knowledge.
However, some public office appointment mechanisms are still not very transparent, and public office will also give more experience to the appointees, which will make it easier for people to appoint appointments and form a closed cycle. The government should consider publicizing the relevant standards and processes to the public to eliminate public doubts. Rumors of political compensation have been rumored, and it has also suppressed the lack of transparency in terms of appointment.
Public opinion should be held by district councillors
From a practical point of view, even if the Democratic Party loses district elections, even the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) must raise funds for the candidates who have lost the election and continue to work in the region. This perception, even if it does not necessarily reflect the facts, has compromised the credibility of the advisory system and the committee. The government should only use talents instead of people, and it should also explain the principle of appointment in order to convince the community that public office will not be reduced to political mediocrity. Chief Executive Lin Zhengyue should look directly at the election results, actively communicate with elected members, and measure the pulse of public opinion to improve governance.
Lin Zhengyue believes that the defeat of the constitutional school district election was due to the public's opposition to the government, and it was consciously lost to the constitutional school. This statement is not entirely wrong, but it is also important to ignore the establishment's willingness to be a vassal. For many years, it has been obedient to the Hong Kong Government and has not done its best to supervise the government's administration. Coupled with the long-term vegetarian meals of some formed district councillors, voters are angry at the formed party. It is justified. The formed party has fundamental responsibility for its defeat. Even the veteran of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Zeng Yucheng, pointed out that defeat is not a bad thing, and it can make the constitutionalists think about how to win the hearts of voters in the future. As pointed out by the "01 Viewpoint", the establishment faction must bend its back, stand up and shake off the vassal state of mind, and regain the confidence of the public by its strength.
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