There are more than 1,600 estate mutual aid committees (Mutual Aid Committees), one of the grassroots consultation structures in Hong Kong, officially disbanded before New Year's Day (1st).
The "Focus on the Whereabouts of the Mutual Committee Alliance" (Alliance) held a seminar the day before yesterday (December 31) to review the nearly 50-year-old Mutual Committee. Weakness!" to express dissatisfaction.
People in the area have also sent articles to "mourn" the Mutual Aid Committee. Among them, Zhang Maoqing, a former member of the Wong Tai Sin District Council, described the Mutual Aid Committee as "resignedly following the government's request and was forced to disband." The Mutual Committee did not let it go.
Legislative Council member Jiang Yuhuan issued a document today (2nd) expressing concern about the follow-up arrangements of the Mutual Committee, questioning the government's dissolution of the Mutual Committee, but setting up a regional care team at the same time is self-contradictory.
Housing Secretary Ho Wing-yin emphasized that the Housing Authority will continue to organize estate activities and maintain communication with estate tenants through multiple channels.
Last year, the District Office sent a letter to the Hong Kong Mutual Aid Committee on the grounds that its role was gradually diminishing, requesting that it be disbanded no later than January this year. About 50 housing estate mutual committees immediately established the "Concerned about the Whereabouts of Mutual Committee Alliance" to The government expressed its dissatisfaction and questioned the District Office's cancellation of the Mutual Committee without any consultation, describing it as a "black box operation".
The alliance emphasized that the Mutual Committee has supported residents in different difficult times in the past, including sending supplies to support neighbors during the epidemic, actively contacting different residents to support their needs during the blackout of the New Territories West, etc., criticizing the "declining theory" as just wishful thinking by the government .
Last year, the association complained to the Legislative Council and the Office of the Ombudsman, but it still could not escape the fate of dissolution.
At the symposium on December 31, the alliance placed a white flower basket with the words "Death before the ambition is not rewarded, the government's killing will be too unscrupulous", and held a silent ceremony to express the extreme feeling of the mutual committee's "end of life". Regret, and at the same time express extreme dissatisfaction to the government.
People in the region have sent messages to "mourn" the Mutual Committee
Former Wong Tai Sin District Council member Zhang Maoqing wrote a review of the past district service work, thanking the members of the Mutual Committee for their dedication and contribution to housing affairs over the years. He said with emotion: "The Mutual Committee has completed its historical mission."
He also pointed out that with the dissolution of the Mutual Committee, the voices of the region will only become less and less, and the public power will only continue to lean to one side. He believes that the government is afraid of public opinion in the society. Even the lowest mutual committees will not be spared.”
Former Kwun Tong District Councilor Mo Jiancheng lamented that since he resigned as a councilor, he has received the assistance of the Mutual Committee, which has become his contact point with the residents, and he has the opportunity to provide assistance to the neighbors. Will not let it go", bluntly said "it is really sad".
Huang Danqing, vice-chairman of the Tuen Mun District Council, pointed out that although in recent years it has gradually become an election aid machine for the "Royalist Party", there are still some mutual committees that are very practical.
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Huang Danqing, vice-chairman of the Tuen Mun District Council, reviewed the history of the Mutual Committee and pointed out that the initial function of the Mutual Committee was a mutual aid organization for residents established in response to the corruption of public security in Hong Kong at that time. The party's election machine, but there are still some mutual committees that are very practical."
Jiang Yuhuan: Establishing a Caring Team but disbanding the Mutual Committee is contradictory
Jiang Yuhuan said that the Mutual Committee has always played the role of liaison between the Housing Authority and the residents, and some of them also organize residents' social activities, describing it as "a sustenance and a convenience" for the elderly.
She felt regretful and lamented when she heard that the management services of some housing estates were affected due to the dissolution of mutual committees.
Jiang Yuhuan questioned the government's establishment of regional care teams on the one hand and disbanding all mutual committees on the other.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Jiang Yuhuan believes that a constant and effective resident organization is a social asset, and bluntly said, "Instead of replacing them across the board, it is better to optimize them or replace those with problems." She also questioned the government's establishment of district care teams while disbanding them All mutual committees, think "a bit contradictory".
She believes that after two years of social turmoil and three years of the epidemic, what the community needs most is reintegration and the establishment of harmony and trust. Whether the organization is wise and appropriate is a matter of opinion."
Ho Wing-yin emphasized that the Housing Authority will continue to maintain interaction and communication with tenants through multiple channels in the future.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
He Yongxian emphasized that the Housing Authority will continue to maintain interaction and communication with tenants through multiple channels in the future. It plans to invite estate residents to serve as ambassadors for project activities. PRH tenants are reminded that they can continue to visit estate offices in person to exchange views with HD staff on estate management matters.
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