In addition to senior government officials, 19 members of the Legislative Council also attended the birthday banquet of the Hong Kong People's Congress a few days ago, and they may not be able to attend the first meeting of the new session as scheduled on Wednesday (12th).
Some of the lawmakers involved have sincerely apologized, while others have not.
Although it seems that senior officials and members did not contract the virus because of the banquet, the incident should make new members reflect on their responsibilities and understand that they must be accountable to the citizens, the SAR government and even the central government.
Nineteen of the 90 Legislative Council members who attended a dinner last week, four remain in quarantine.
Legislative Council President Leung Kwan-yin said on Monday (10th) that lawmakers should be responsible for their own actions and be subject to public scrutiny.
It is true that most of the members attending the banquet have publicly admitted their mistakes. For example, Hong Wen, Ge Peifan and Chen Zhongni apologized for their lack of sensitivity, posing a risk to the society, increasing the workload of the epidemic prevention department, and affecting the work of the parliament.
However, some lawmakers seem to have no intention of admitting their mistakes. For example, Ho Junyao even argued that if he followed the government's guidelines and contracted the virus, he asked "why should we blame others", ignoring the government's earlier call to reduce gatherings.
Even MPs who did not attend the banquet like Ye Liu Shuyi gently put down their colleagues and only responded to the party or to thank the votes.
Do not add obstacles to epidemic prevention and truly speak for public opinion
It is true that on the day of the banquet, the government did not further tighten restrictions on dine-in, but Members of Parliament are social elites. Their words and deeds should not only be based on legal norms, but also social interests and morals. They must also carefully consider the consequences of their words and deeds and be responsible for them.
For behavior that violates social expectations, MPs should not only apologize for the incident, but also demonstrate their determination to perform their duties diligently and show their support in the next four years.
After the turmoil, many lawmakers criticized officials with full firepower. He Junyao criticized Director Chen Zhaoshi's poor quarantine arrangements, and Mai Meijuan accused Director Chen Fan of allowing crew members to be exempted from quarantine.
The epidemic prevention work is a mess, and the SAR government is indeed the first responsible person, and the officials involved in the birthday banquet have also been ordered by the Chief Executive to investigate and discipline.
But the legislators themselves are responsible for overseeing the government's policies. How can they blame the officials for the problems now?
DAB Chairman Li Huiqiong mentioned that Xia Baolong put forward "five points of hope" to the lawmakers, including the hope that all lawmakers will fully implement the "one country, two systems" policy and the Basic Law, be firm patriots, and support and supervise the government's governance in accordance with the law.
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Members must supervise the government, be diligent in practice
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, pointed out in an interview with some members of the Legislative Council last Wednesday (5th) that he hoped that members of the Legislative Council would support and supervise the government's governance according to law, be the defender of the executive-led system, and be diligent, practical, down-to-earth, and honest. , to be a real spokesperson for public opinion.
Now that parliamentarians have not been strict about epidemic prevention, nor have they faced up to their own responsibilities for epidemic prevention policies, will they also violate the expectations of the central government?
"Getting off the gate" is certainly a bad thing, but it may be wiser to experience it.
Especially for the new members, they must also understand the political responsibilities as members of the parliament, compared to the parliamentary procedures and rules of procedure.
They have to explain to the citizens and voters and take responsibility for supervising the government's policies, but they should also be diligent and practical as Xia Baolong said.
As the new parliamentary session is about to start, if the members can connect with the strengths of the districts and sectors, and make a solid statement to the government, the "tuition fee" for this lesson will not be paid in vain.
Only by facing up to the problem can we solve the problem. Only by being upright can we rule the society. A birthday party exposes the lack of awareness of Hong Kong officials. If epidemic prevention is to be "ruthless," the lawbreakers should be severely punished
