Seminar on "Viewing Governance from a Niche View" Unearths Unfairness in Hong Kong's Social System

Social News

Written by: Ouyang Dehao

2020-01-17 22:59

Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Programme spokesman Billy R Leung, Equal Opportunities Commission Chairman Zhu Minjian, Legislative Councillor Zhang Chaoxiong, and others attended today (17) the "Every Childhood The symposium on "Governance from a Perspective", through brainstorming, faced injustice and social exclusion in Hong Kong.

During the seminar, Zhang Chaoxiong first shared his experience of speaking from a private bill to the minority. He suggested that the carelessness of children and the elderly be included in the criminal law, hoping to extend the "Children's Rights Convention" to protect children, and set up a mechanism that requires social workers to report cases to the police. He also pointed out that the elderly's environment in Hong Kong is harsh and the government has set standards to regulate the area of ​​residential care homes. Therefore, a private bill was introduced in the Legislative Council.

However, he said that the drafts were frozen in the Legislative Council forever, because Article 74 of the Basic Law stipulated that members should not introduce bills that would have any substantial impact on public expenditure, the political system or the operation of the government, which greatly restricted the powers of members. Nonetheless, he hopes to use the role of parliamentary member to express his voice for the niche and cause discussion in the public. Under the current policy, the special school leave age is 18, but after the judicial review, the government no longer prevents them from continuing their education.

Billy R Leung applied for a judicial review in December 2004, saying that the existing legal provisions address the age of legal sex for gay men, set higher than heterosexuals, and exploit their freedom to have sex, making it difficult for him to establish long-term relationships with couples. . Although the court declared the case successful, the government did not submit a document to the Legislative Council to amend the legislative provisions until 2013.

He noted that the government has long disliked legislation and was unwilling to protect vulnerable groups. The minority needs to use its own resources to challenge the huge system, but the government spends a lot of money and hires expensive lawyers to handle the lawsuit. However, he was comforted by the public's support for the equal rights of homosexuals and believed that the voice of society was a slap to the government.

Zhu Minjian: Promoting the Basic Rights of Homosexuals First

EOC Chairman Zhu Minjian explained at the meeting that he is not opposed to the equality of marriage for gays and lesbians, but he is unwilling to spend energy on impossible tasks. He said that the equality of homosexuals can be divided into three levels. The lowest level is basic human rights, such as the right to work and education. The second level is the right that affects the public. The third level is equal rights to marriage.

He pointed out that Equal Opportunity had held 65 public consultations in 2016, and finally the government accepted only 8 of them, including the right of women to breastfeed in the workplace. This issue of political neutrality cannot be cut into the Bills Committee until recently. Therefore, he believes that it is a reasonable strategy to promote the basic rights of homosexuals first, and then gradually advance to equal rights in marriage.

Former ICAC Executive Director Zhu Minjian was appointed EOC Chairman to take effect in April

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The government does not focus on improving the quality of homes, Zhang Chaoxiong is worried that the draft amendments will be made during this session.

Sexual orientation, equality and disadvantaged groups