Chief Executive Carrie Lam's term of office is about to expire, and her five-year reign is full of plans. Some of the political platforms have been successfully implemented during her tenure. For example, the legislation to cancel the MPF hedging that has been disturbed for many years has been completed, but there are still some political platforms and the measures proposed after her election have not been implemented.
Carrie Lam also stated earlier that only 90% of her political platform could be implemented, and a few measures could not be implemented as scheduled.
This article will take stock of the policies that Carrie Lam had proposed but ultimately failed to achieve.
The revision of the "Anti-Bribery Ordinance" must be done.
In her campaign platform and first "Policy Address", Carrie Lam promised to resolve relevant constitutional and legal issues as soon as possible, amend the "Prevention of Bribery Ordinance", and expand the scope of application of Articles 3 and 8 to include the Chief Executive.
However, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made it clear last year that she would definitely not revise the "Prevention of Bribery Ordinance": "I will definitely walk a few steps", because the practice is "for the constitutional status of the Chief Executive." The Chief Executive is an official responsible to the central government, representing the entire SAR, To a certain extent, it is above the executive, legislative, and judicial levels. He said bluntly: "I haven't done it today, and I won't do it, and the future Chief Executive should not do it either."
Carrie Lam said in an interview a few days ago that some of the commitments in the platform, such as amending the "Prevention of Bribery Ordinance", were proposed because she did not know much about "one country, two systems". It also said it would not do it.
Cha Xiwo, the former chief investigation officer of the Enforcement Division of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said that the Chief Executive has no immunity from criminal prosecution in Hong Kong, and that Sections 4 and 10 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance also regulate the Chief Executive's conduct.
He did not agree with Carrie Lam's statement, and could not see that the amendments involved constitutional order issues, stressing that the chief executive should be "whiter than white", "There is no reason for civil servants to regulate, and the chief executive will receive as much interest as possible, I don't know the logic. side."
Section 3 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance states: "A prescribed officer who solicits or accepts any advantage without the general or special permission of the Chief Executive commits an offence".
Cha Xi, I think that the problem that Carrie Lam was referring to may be due to the phrase "without the permission of the Chief Executive", "the Chief Executive has no reason to approve himself to accept benefits", but the problem is not difficult to solve, it only needs to be approved by the Central Appointment Committee. Appoint the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal, the Convenor of the Guild or the Chairman of the Legislative Council to join the committee, "If it is appointed by the central government, will the central point involve the issue of constitutional status?"
The archives law consultation has been completed, and there has been no progress in legislation for 3 years
Carrie Lam's election platform mentioned: "I attach great importance to the integrity of government records and have a positive attitude towards the establishment of an archives law. When the Law Reform Commission submits a report after extensive consultation, the government will actively follow up." The Law Reform Commission's Archives Law Group At the end of 2018, the Commission issued a consultation document for public consultation, which was completed in March 2019. However, for more than three years, the Law Reform Commission has not released the relevant consultation report.
At that time, Li Dashi, a member of the subcommittee, expressed confidence that the legislative proposal will be submitted to the Legislative Council during the current term of the government, but the current term of the government is about to end and there is no further news.
Zhu Fuqiang is expected to have nothing to do with the National Security Law: or due to official inertia
Zhu Fuqiang, the former director of the Government Archives Office, who has been promoting the legislation of the archives law, believes that the progress of the archives law legislation has been delayed for many years and the situation is not ideal.
The government replied that it will ensure that the Law Reform Commission publishes the consultation report as soon as possible.
When asked whether the delay in enacting the archives law would be related to the National Security Law, he pointed out that the Mainland itself also has an archives law, and he believes that the archives law has nothing to do with the National Security Law. You can adjust the details yourself, including the storage period and the degree of confidentiality.
Zhu Fuqiang mentioned that the Archives Law is not a complicated regulation. The Law Reform Commission has issued a consultation document, and the Archives Action Group has also submitted a draft bill to the government, describing the legislation as "everything ready". The law does not regulate the people, but regulates the government and "one's own people". There is no urgency to the government. Even if no legislation is made, it will not be "dead."
+1
Zeng mentioned that the independent review committee will review the reasons for the revision of the amendment, and it is difficult to find candidates
In 2019, the Lam administration promoted the revision of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which triggered the largest social conflict after the handover. One of the protesters' demands was to set up an independent investigation committee to investigate police brutality, but the government has always refused.
Since then, the wave of demonstrations has been heating up. In November of the same year, the government "semi-concealed" announced the establishment of an independent review committee to examine the deep-seated social contradictions behind the anti-amendment bill.
The then Chief Secretary for Administration Cheung Kin-chung once claimed in January 2020 that he had found a candidate for chairman, but he only heard the sound of the stairs. In May of the same year, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that her establishment of an independent review committee was still positive, but she originally agreed to join the independent review committee. of people changed their minds due to personal reasons. In addition, Hong Kong is being affected by the new crown epidemic. After the epidemic and the economy stabilize, the government will consider how to carry out the next step.
Tang Jiahua: Further discussion hinders social recovery
Guild member and senior counsel Tang Jiahua said that as the society gradually recovered, he could not see why it was necessary to open the wound. .
Tse Wai-chuen, a Legislative Council member who advocated the establishment of an independent review committee during the anti-amendment bill, said that the suggestion was made at the time to find the root of the problem, not to target some people who did well or badly.
He agreed that the dissatisfaction of the public at that time needed to be dealt with, but it did not need to be restricted to formalities. Even if there was no independent discussion, he believed that the government had already conducted a review on the deep-seated problems in Hong Kong, and the new government was determined to solve the deep-seated problems such as housing.
The first-hand vacancy tax hits the rocks and the business community opposes the withdrawal plan
In June 2018, the government announced six new housing policy measures, one of which is the imposition of "premium rates" on vacant first-hand private residential units.
In September 2019, the government submitted a draft to the Legislative Council on the "Vacant First-hand Property Tax". After the first reading of the bill and the start of the second reading debate, the Bills Committee was not established until May 2020, and the Bills Committee decided to terminate it after two meetings. In November of the same year, the government further announced the withdrawal of the bill.
In October 2021, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor responded to critics criticizing the "vacancy tax for first-hand buildings" plan. She explained that after social discussions, she felt that the "vacancy tax for first-hand buildings" was not the "most core issue", because many private developers Sell "off-the-plan" early in the morning before the building is completed.
She also agrees that some more "high-end" types of houses, such as bungalows, need to be "sold first", so it is very difficult to design laws.
Kwok Wai-keung, a member of the Legislative Council of the Federation of Trade Unions, pointed out that he was a little disappointed that the current-term government failed to implement the "vacancy tax on first-hand buildings". ".
He believes that the government cannot use the poor market conditions as an excuse, because the property prices have not dropped significantly under the epidemic, and it is still the best time to implement the "first-hand property vacancy tax". He hopes that the next government will face up to the problem and fill the loophole.
Liu Guoxun, a member of the Legislative Council of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, believes that the inability to implement the "first-hand vacancy tax" in the current government is due to many reasons, such as the impact of the epidemic, and also on how to implement the "first-hand vacancy tax", including whether it is a one-size-fits-all standard, and has not yet been implemented. After in-depth discussions in the parliament, the time is not yet ripe, and I am not surprised that the current government has not implemented a "first-hand vacancy tax".
He expects the new class to work hard to develop land and build houses, which is the way to cure the root cause.
Merger of Changshengjin | Li Jiachao has implemented the political platform before taking office?
Carrie Lam's "pre-emptive" announcement of Li Jiachao's team | Mak Meijuan, as director, was accused of not being enough to swear at the Government House. : I will choose officials to respond to Lam Cheng's "love general" to be cleared: it is inevitable to replace Lam Cheng's government's welfare spending has increased greatly