Tu Haiming: Reform of district councils must remain a top priority
日期：2023-02-24来源：
紫荆
字号：大中小
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By Tu Haiming
The current term of district councils (DCs) will conclude at the end of this year. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, was briefed on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s recent policies/measures, including a review of the functions of DCs, in a recent meeting in Shenzhen with delegates from Hong Kong.
It’s reported that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu had instructed the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau to conduct a comprehensive review on district administration to ensure that the future arrangements are in conformity with the Basic Law, in adherence to the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, and conducive to enhancing governance efficacy at the district level.
That Xia came to Shenzhen to gain firsthand information about a potential reform of DCs indicates the central government attaches great importance to Hong Kong’s district-level administration and is committed to assisting the SAR government to restore the functions of DCs as prescribed in the Basic Law, which is crucial to enhancing administration efficacy at the district level, as well as effecting “patriots administering Hong Kong” and bringing about overall good governance.
Following the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014, DCs were infiltrated by anti-China forces, and were turned into hotbeds of chaos and subversive activities against the SAR government and the central government.
In April 2017, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, the de facto consigliere of the anti-China forces in Hong Kong, came up with a three-step strategy to control the nomination process of the chief executive election. The first step was to gain a majority in the 2019 district council elections so that they could control the Election Committee’s district council constituency; the second step was to win a majority in the 2020 Legislative Council election for the same purpose; and the third step was to win over other Election Committee members who shared similar political stances. The ultimate objective was for the anti-China forces to gain control of the Election Committee and thus to determine the nominees for the following chief executive election.
The scheme was carried out as planned in the 2019 district council elections. Members of the patriotic camp were threatened and intimidated by the anti-China camp with the use of violence. The majority of the DCs eventually fell into the hands of the anti-China elements, who were too preoccupied with their political shenanigans to serve the local communities. They were keen on launching political campaigns with inflammatory slogans to beguile young people into taking to the street and committing violence. Not only did the functions of DCs become severely distorted but they also became breeding grounds for anarchism and subversion. It was not until the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong in June 2020 that the chaos was quelled.
The dysfunction of DCs has created a gargantuan loophole in Hong Kong’s governance, and reform is imperative.
The central government attaches great importance to district-level administration as it is an integral part of Hong Kong’s overall governance. Therefore, improving district-level administration shall be one of the key policy focuses of the John Lee administration. Reforming DCs will yield threefold benefit.
First, it will help Hong Kong achieve good governance. The Basic Law establishes an executive-led governance system for Hong Kong, composed of the executive, legislature and judiciary, under which the chief executive is accountable to the central government. On top of the three branches of power, the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over the SAR. This political system embodies the gist of “one country, two systems”. The political power should not be relegated to district-level bodies, lest it could easily lead to endless infighting to the detriment of the nation’s and Hong Kong’s interests.
Second, it will help put in place a more methodical governance structure. The SAR’s existing government structure is designed based on respective functions. For instance, the Education Bureau is in charge of education; the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau is in charge of innovation and technology development; and DCs serve as the “connector” between the government and local communities. DCs, designated as district organizations that “are not organs of political power”, will better serve their “connector” role by advising the SAR government on community issues and providing community services in areas such as cultural activities, recreation and environmental sanitation.
Third, it will facilitate smooth policymaking and execution. Residents of different districts have demands of their own, but not all of them are achievable. DCs should serve as the communication channel to convey what services the government can or cannot provide. If the demands are within the capacity of the government, it will need agents who are familiar with the district circumstances to carry out the tasks. DCs, therefore, should be the link between the government and public demands to facilitate swift response and optimize policy execution.
Article 97 of the Basic Law stipulates that district organizations that “are not organs of political power” may be established in the HKSAR, to be “consulted” by the SAR government on district administration and other affairs, or to be responsible for “providing services” in such fields as culture, recreation, and environmental sanitation. The key phrases in this provision on DCs are “not organs of political power”, “to be consulted” and “providing services”.
The District Councils Ordinance 1999 spells out the establishment of 18 districts, each with a DC taking charge of local environmental, recreational, cultural, and community affairs. Therefore, DCs are not established as organs of political power, and their primary duty is to advise the government on district affairs and to serve the communities.
DCs had performed their duties in strict accordance with the Basic Law until the anti-China forces took control of and turned them into a platform to promote their own political agendas.
Therefore, the proposed reform of DCs should rectify the distortions by restoring their statutory functions.
The author is a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.
Tu Haiming: Reform of district councils must remain a top priority
紫荆
2023-02-24 09:07
2023-02-24 09:07
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By Tu Haiming
The current term of district councils (DCs) will conclude at the end of this year. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, was briefed on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s recent policies/measures, including a review of the functions of DCs, in a recent meeting in Shenzhen with delegates from Hong Kong.
It’s reported that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu had instructed the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau to conduct a comprehensive review on district administration to ensure that the future arrangements are in conformity with the Basic Law, in adherence to the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, and conducive to enhancing governance efficacy at the district level.
That Xia came to Shenzhen to gain firsthand information about a potential reform of DCs indicates the central government attaches great importance to Hong Kong’s district-level administration and is committed to assisting the SAR government to restore the functions of DCs as prescribed in the Basic Law, which is crucial to enhancing administration efficacy at the district level, as well as effecting “patriots administering Hong Kong” and bringing about overall good governance.
Following the “Occupy Central” movement in 2014, DCs were infiltrated by anti-China forces, and were turned into hotbeds of chaos and subversive activities against the SAR government and the central government.
In April 2017, Benny Tai Yiu-ting, the de facto consigliere of the anti-China forces in Hong Kong, came up with a three-step strategy to control the nomination process of the chief executive election. The first step was to gain a majority in the 2019 district council elections so that they could control the Election Committee’s district council constituency; the second step was to win a majority in the 2020 Legislative Council election for the same purpose; and the third step was to win over other Election Committee members who shared similar political stances. The ultimate objective was for the anti-China forces to gain control of the Election Committee and thus to determine the nominees for the following chief executive election.
The scheme was carried out as planned in the 2019 district council elections. Members of the patriotic camp were threatened and intimidated by the anti-China camp with the use of violence. The majority of the DCs eventually fell into the hands of the anti-China elements, who were too preoccupied with their political shenanigans to serve the local communities. They were keen on launching political campaigns with inflammatory slogans to beguile young people into taking to the street and committing violence. Not only did the functions of DCs become severely distorted but they also became breeding grounds for anarchism and subversion. It was not until the promulgation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong in June 2020 that the chaos was quelled.
The dysfunction of DCs has created a gargantuan loophole in Hong Kong’s governance, and reform is imperative.
The central government attaches great importance to district-level administration as it is an integral part of Hong Kong’s overall governance. Therefore, improving district-level administration shall be one of the key policy focuses of the John Lee administration. Reforming DCs will yield threefold benefit.
First, it will help Hong Kong achieve good governance. The Basic Law establishes an executive-led governance system for Hong Kong, composed of the executive, legislature and judiciary, under which the chief executive is accountable to the central government. On top of the three branches of power, the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over the SAR. This political system embodies the gist of “one country, two systems”. The political power should not be relegated to district-level bodies, lest it could easily lead to endless infighting to the detriment of the nation’s and Hong Kong’s interests.
Second, it will help put in place a more methodical governance structure. The SAR’s existing government structure is designed based on respective functions. For instance, the Education Bureau is in charge of education; the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau is in charge of innovation and technology development; and DCs serve as the “connector” between the government and local communities. DCs, designated as district organizations that “are not organs of political power”, will better serve their “connector” role by advising the SAR government on community issues and providing community services in areas such as cultural activities, recreation and environmental sanitation.
Third, it will facilitate smooth policymaking and execution. Residents of different districts have demands of their own, but not all of them are achievable. DCs should serve as the communication channel to convey what services the government can or cannot provide. If the demands are within the capacity of the government, it will need agents who are familiar with the district circumstances to carry out the tasks. DCs, therefore, should be the link between the government and public demands to facilitate swift response and optimize policy execution.
Article 97 of the Basic Law stipulates that district organizations that “are not organs of political power” may be established in the HKSAR, to be “consulted” by the SAR government on district administration and other affairs, or to be responsible for “providing services” in such fields as culture, recreation, and environmental sanitation. The key phrases in this provision on DCs are “not organs of political power”, “to be consulted” and “providing services”.
The District Councils Ordinance 1999 spells out the establishment of 18 districts, each with a DC taking charge of local environmental, recreational, cultural, and community affairs. Therefore, DCs are not established as organs of political power, and their primary duty is to advise the government on district affairs and to serve the communities.
DCs had performed their duties in strict accordance with the Basic Law until the anti-China forces took control of and turned them into a platform to promote their own political agendas.
Therefore, the proposed reform of DCs should rectify the distortions by restoring their statutory functions.
The author is a Hong Kong member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of Bauhinia Magazine.
