Rumors in the political circles︱The increase of the plastic bag levy to 2 yuan is difficult to reflect the conflict between directly elected members and the election committee

Earlier, the government proposed to increase the plastic bag levy from the current 5 milliseconds to 1 yuan, and to cancel the exemption of the levy on frozen food, which will be implemented at the end of the year, causing a round of controversy in the Legislative Council.

Several councillors suggested that the government should directly increase the price to 2 yuan, so that citizens would feel "red" and not take plastic bags, so as to further reduce the amount of disposal. It was announced that amendments would be proposed, but the proposal caused dissatisfaction among directly elected councillors in many districts.

It is reported that the largest party in the Legislative Council with 18 votes, the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, has reservations about the proposal to increase the fare to 2 yuan, believing that in such an economic environment, the rash and substantial increase in charges will have a significant impact on the daily life of citizens, so the amendment was passed. The chances are bleak.

Some people even questioned that members from functional constituencies and the "national team" underestimated the impact on the general public when thinking about policies, and were not "grounded" enough.

Government open to revisions

The government had earlier proposed to double the fee to $1 per plastic bag, but some Legislative Council members and environmental groups questioned the effectiveness. Therefore, at the relevant subsidiary legislation subcommittee on July 5, some members suggested increasing the fee. To $2, the government later replied that it is more appropriate to gradually adjust the charging level, but agreed that $2 per plastic bag can further encourage the public to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags, so it is open-minded.

During the subcommittee meeting last week, the election committee member Chen Shaoxiong and the construction, testing, planning and garden sector Xie Weiquan all mentioned that the authorities proposed to increase the fee to 1 yuan, which is not a large amount. The public quickly became accustomed to it. It would be better to increase it to 2 yuan once and for all to improve the effect of the policy.

Xie Weiquan further announced that he would propose amendments to the relevant subsidiary legislation at the Legislative Council meeting in October, suggesting that the fee be increased to 2 yuan.

However, some directly-elected members expressed their dissatisfaction at the meeting. Kowloon’s directly-elected member, Yeung Wing-kit, questioned that the use of levies to promote the reduction of the use of plastic bags was the wrong direction, and it would be a burden on the grassroots. It is the most fundamental thing to educate and encourage citizens to reduce waste.

At that time, the deputy director of the Environmental Protection Department, Lu Jiajian, responded that, given the current economic environment, the government believed that it would be more appropriate to start with $1. The Government will respect it by raising the level to propose amendments.

In other words, the government will not take the initiative to propose amendments, but if the amendments are passed by MPs, the government will not withdraw them.

It is understood that the DAB does not support the proposal to increase the fee to 2 yuan.

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Directly elected members questioned the fact that they did not know the actual situation of the people: they felt scared when they fell into the area

Any policy involving price increases is most likely to cause a regional rebound.

A directly-elected member admitted to the author that members who support the increase to 2 yuan may seriously underestimate the response of the public, and some even threatened: "You asked him to go to the district for a few days, and 'support the increase of the levy on plastic bags to 2' outside the supermarket. Mosquito', asking the public to sign and support, two hours a day is enough." This will definitely be condemned by the public.

Some senior members pointed out that the Government does not oppose the amendments proposed by the members. In fact, the subtext is: "I mentioned it to you, and the final revision is up to you (members)." The line was drawn early, and the members were allowed to bear the political consequences themselves. It is recalled that former Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in response to raising the CSSA age for the elderly: "It was approved by Members."

The DAB and the Liberal Party do not support

A member of the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong revealed that the party initially did not intend to support the increase to 2 yuan. The person pointed out that since the phased implementation of the plastic bag levy in 2009 and 2015, the fee has remained at 5 cents and has not been updated for more than ten years. From the perspective of reducing usage, it is understandable to adjust to 1 yuan, but the increase to 2 yuan is too large, which is a full 4 times the current charge.

In particular, the situation at the grassroots level is in dire straits under the epidemic. Colleagues in the district have to explain to the residents that the price increase to 1 yuan has to be very careful.

Liberal Party chairman Shao Jiahui said the party does not support the increase to 2 yuan, but supports keeping 1 yuan.

Wu Qiubei, president of the Federation of Trade Unions, said that this issue has not been formally discussed internally, but it will definitely balance the affordability of the public and the effectiveness of the policy, and examine whether there are other ways to reduce the use of plastic bags; Ye Liu Shuyi, chairman of the New Democracy Party, said that the specific position needs to be Leave it for discussion within the party.

In the current Legislative Council, the amendments proposed by Members still have to pass the group counting.

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At least 20 MPs do not support districts + functional constituencies are difficult to pass

According to the current Legislative Council group counting rules, the amendments proposed by members need to be divided into district direct elections and functional constituencies (50 seats) and election committees (40 seats, 36 seats remain after 4 members resign to join the government), respectively. It can only be passed if more than half of the seats are in favor.

The DAB currently holds 18 seats in the Legislative Council, including 10 seats by district direct election, 4 seats in the functional constituencies, and 4 seats in the Election Committee; the Liberal Party has 3 seats in the functional constituencies.

Combined, the two parties have a total of 17 votes in the "region + function" section, which is already a large proportion.

As for other directly-elected members, Yang Yongjie of Kowloon Central has expressed his strong opposition early; Tian Beichen of the roundtable on real politics also prefers to increase it to only 1 yuan, thinking that it should be done gradually, taking into account the burden of the public in extraordinary circumstances.

Kowloon West Assemblyman Leung Man-kwong pointed out that at this stage, it is difficult to accept the proposal to increase it to 2 yuan.

He pointed out that he had also conducted preliminary research on the opinions of grassroots citizens in the district recently, and the general response was that "the two mosquitoes are really too many and some are too small, but if the government wants to increase the capital, there is no way to do so, and the only way is to buy fewer vegetables." Fees should not only focus on fees, but more importantly, public education and other supporting facilities.

He hoped that the government would have its own opinion on whether to accept the amendments proposed by MPs and propose specific supporting measures.

To sum up, there are already at least 20 district or functional constituency councillors who are inclined not to support raising the fee to $2.

New Territories North Member Zhang Xinyu replied to the author that charging for plastic bags alone is a cure for the symptoms but not the root cause, but it is still worthwhile to make periodic improvements. According to government information, 2 yuan is more effective than 1 yuan, and shopping for plastic bags is not. Necessities, I believe there are other ways to overcome.

Chen Shaoxiong: Plans to win support at the community level to deny "Leaving the Ground"

Chen Shaoxiong told the author that rational and scientific discussions are always welcome. The report of the Sustainable Development Committee has shown that adding 1 yuan can reduce the amount of plastic bags discarded by 25%, and 2 yuan can reduce the amount of plastic bags by 40%. The effect is very obvious, and the plastic bags It is not a "rigid demand". You can educate citizens to bring their own shopping bags. If you really forget to bring them, you can go shopping next time, or buy plastic bags and reuse them next time.

He said that the reason why he supported the increase to 2 yuan was that he was worried that the economic incentive to charge 1 yuan would not be enough, which would make the public accustomed to it.

He believes that supporting the fee increase to $2 does not mean that the relevant councillors are "ungrounded". He will discuss with several like-minded councillors later to find ways to do a good job in publicity and education, and win the support of the public at the community level.

Xie Weiquan pointed out that the main purpose of proposing the revision is to remind the public to reduce use. "I don't want the public to pay more money, but to encourage people not to spend so much money, or even if they buy plastic bags, they can be reused ten or eight times." , if Members have other considerations and are unwilling to support the proposal, they will accept it calmly.

After the electoral reform, the number of seats in the Legislative Council has increased to 90, including the 40-seat Election Committee. These members, known as the "national team", have always emphasized the interests of Hong Kong as a whole, rather than the interests of individual regions or sectors. When promoting the "unpopular" policy of the plastic bag levy, how to strike a balance between the effect of the policy and the feelings of the public will test the political wisdom of the representatives.

Some councillors revised the plastic bag levy to $2, Yang Wing-kit sings the opposite: the grassroots are the worst victims, and the plastic bag levy should be completely abolished. Members urged to increase the levy to $2 to make the public "flesh" Ho Chun-xian advocates that only cash is 6 cents The plastic bag is folded into a triangle, saving the position and beautiful, the child collapses and exposes a fatal injury