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Written by: Liu Yanwen
2021-04-27 19:35
Last update date: 2021-04-27 19:35
After the anti-amendment turmoil in 2019, the central government introduced the blockbuster "Hong Kong District National Security Law", and the SAR government therefore proposed the "Public Service (Participation and Appointment) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2021", which requires district councilors to Public officials must swear an oath to uphold the Basic Law and allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
In Hong Kong, which is highly politicized, many people believe that this move is aimed at suppressing the democratized district councilors who took advantage of the anti-amendment law to make a complete comeback. Some even refused to take the oath to resign.
This is really thought-provoking. As a member who shoulders the burden of community governance, is it important for political expressions or for people's livelihood practices?
As for the SAR government, which has the "power of life and death," when it is in charge of the destiny of district board members, should it adopt a "one size fits all" political stance or should it be realistic to allow more "patriots" to participate in the work of community governance?
"Hong Kong 01" interviewed four district councillors with completely different political spectrums to see how they reflected on "community governance" after many political shocks.
Rethinking Community Governance Series Report 5 (5)
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The political atmosphere brought about by the anti-revision movement not only caused social tears, but also gradually lost the original functions of the district councils that are dedicated to "bottom-up" reflecting the opinions of the public.
The establishment and the government will direct their spearhead at the democratic district councillors, believing that they often leapfrog into the parliament to discuss political issues, making it difficult for the parliament to discuss livelihood issues; the democrats blame the establishment and the government, accusing them of prejudice against the democrats. The democrats cannot perform their duties smoothly.
In fact, the unusual situation of this session of the District Council is caused by three parties, and no one can shirk its responsibility.
Indeed, as a parliamentarian and politician, it is always impossible to abandon your political views. As Zhang Jingxun and Ye Zijie said, each person has his own political philosophy, and district councils can never be completely "depoliticized."
However, according to Article 61 of the District Councils Ordinance, the functions of district councils are limited to handling district welfare, public facilities and services, district projects and community activities, and district development plans. Even if the democratic district councilors are full of ambitions, they still have to Comply with the powers and responsibilities entrusted to members and councils by the law.
In an interview with "Hong Kong 01", Su Zhiqi, chairman of the power of political sages, said that although everyone will have their own political views, "it is not normal if there is no", but this is a personal idea. It is undoubtedly a political expression on the public platform of the district council. Going beyond the function of the district council, "If you usually persuade the neighborhood and voters to support their political ideas in activities, there is no problem. As long as they don't use the public platform for political voting, it does not affect the normal operation of the district council." Democrats continue to use the original "method of resistance" in the district councils, ignoring the regulations of the district councils. This will only increase the government's distrust of the district councils and make it harder to accept the suggestions made by the democrats.
The democrats held a press conference at the end of last year to list statistics on the number of official departures and the alleged ultra vires agenda.
(Profile picture)
Eliminate yellow and blue prejudice and strive for cooperation.
In this session of district councils, the conflict between "yellow" and "blue" has become more and more obvious. Even if democratic members discuss the people's livelihood issues in the district, members of the establishment will raise questions.
Not only the establishment, but also government departments. In the past district councils, there have been few incidents of officials leaving the venue. They have occurred more than 40 times in just one year. Later, the government has also changed its internal guidelines to specify that officials may not attend ultra vires. Agenda.
But what is meant by an "extraordinary agenda" is unilaterally decided by government departments.
Therefore, if a district board member proposes a territory-wide issue, even if the content includes a lot of district affairs, the official can directly refuse to attend the meeting.
Su Zhiqi said that this phenomenon stems from the fact that the district council has repeatedly discussed content that does not meet the functions of the district council, which has reduced the level of mutual trust between members and government personnel, and even lost trust completely. "But I think if the district council is discussing They should never leave the field for matters within their functions.”
Su Zhiqi also said frankly that it is difficult for the district council to operate under this situation, causing the district council to lose its due administrative support and seriously affecting the governance of Hong Kong.
He believes that district councillors should focus on discussing district affairs. If they want to discuss territory-wide issues, they should also be narrowed to local affairs. For example, if district councilors want to discuss unemployment, they can shift their perspective to the unemployed population in the district.
Because the Commissioner of Home Affairs is restricted by his powers and cannot handle territory-wide issues, narrowing the scope will make it easier for the Commissioner to deal with.
While the democratic district councillors have the responsibility to adjust the content of the discussions, the establishment and the government should also change their attitudes towards the democratic councillors.
Democrats also hope that they can reflect the demands of the residents through the district boards. Not everyone of them focuses on expressing political ideas.
As representatives, the democratic and the establishment members should have an appropriate amount of communication and cooperation to reach a consensus on people's livelihood issues.
The government must also put aside its prejudices against democratic legislators, earnestly understand the needs of the citizens from the mouths of legislators, and repair the gaps in communication with the citizens, so as to facilitate regional governance.
Su Zhiqi believes that if the district council is discussing matters within its functions, officials should never leave the venue.
(Information Picture/Photo by Zeng Fengting)
The government should first properly collect public opinion.
District councils are the communication bridge between the government and citizens. Although the current "pan-politicization" of district councils and the emergence of political conflicts between members have indeed disrupted the communication between citizens and the government, in the final analysis, It was also because the government was unable to properly collect public opinion, and even the district council was not consulted before the implementation of the district policy, that caused the citizens to have a lot of dissatisfaction with the government, and they had to vote in elections to express their political opinions.
Su Zhiqi confessed to reporters that over the past two decades since the return of Hong Kong, the government has done extremely inadequately in collecting public opinion. "If it does not go smoothly in uploading public opinion and formulating governance concepts, it will cause misunderstandings and contradictions." He said, Every time a large-scale public policy is introduced, many citizens will oppose the policy, which proves that the government has not done a good job of consulting.
Su Zhiqi pointed out that to understand public opinion, it is not only sufficient to conduct public opinion surveys, but to make good use of regional organizations, district councils and other channels to detect public opinion. "After listening, it may not be 100% possible, but at least you can know what the appeal is. What needs to be done, even if it cannot be done, should be explained clearly to the public.” However, the government rarely explains its inability to comply with public opinion. For this reason, Su Zhiqi believes that the government's performance over the years has been "unqualified."
Su Zhiqi believes that the government is extremely inadequate in collecting public opinion and should make good use of regional organizations, district councils and other channels to detect public opinion.
(Profile picture / Wu Zhongkun)
Insufficient manpower for advisory committees.
In fact, the government has various advisory committees at the regional level. But Su Zhiqi pointed out that the biggest problem with these advisory committees is the lack of manpower. Can't there be more talented people, people of different ages and classes joining these committees?" He said that most of the consultations are mere formalities, failing to reach a consensus with the public before the policy is formulated.
"The government should recruit talents, especially young people. They will go to the streets because there is no way to express their demands." Su Zhiqi believes that young people have constructive thinking and can contribute to regional governance.
While the government complains that the district councils often exceed their powers and affect district governance, it should introspect whether it has listened to the opinions of the district councils and collect public opinion before formulating policies.
When the social atmosphere is sluggish, the government and district councils should "return to basic steps," starting with district governance to regain the trust of Hong Kong citizens.
The democrats held a press conference at the end of last year, enumerating data such as the number of official departures and the agenda alleged to be ultra vires.
The above is excerpted from the 262th "Hong Kong 01" Weekly Report (April 26, 2021) "Rethinking Community Governance-What kind of district council does Hong Kong need". If you want to read the full text, please
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Selected content of the 262 issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly News:
[Cover Story] Rethinking Community Governance-What kind of district council does Hong Kong need
Visit to HKBU Fact Check Center to combat fake news and improve media literacy of all citizens
Pursue a better life with Hong Kong society
Climate disasters are more harmful than epidemics. Sustainable investment becomes the "next normal"
The success and crisis of the Cuban model at the end of the Castro era
District Council District Council Election 2019 Democrats and establishments 01 weekly report in-depth report
