(Translation)

Minutes of the 1st Special Meeting of District Council (5th Term) under the Special Administrative Region

Date: 28 September 2017 (Thursday) Time: 1 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Council

Present

Chairman Mr CHEUNG Wing-sum, Ambrose, BBS, MH, JP

Members Mr CHAN Kwok-wai (Left at 2 p.m.) Mr CHAN Wai-ming, MH, JP Ms CHAN Wing-yan, Joephy Mr CHENG Wing-shun, Vincent, MH Ms CHOW Wing-heng, Zoé (Arrived at 1:05 p.m.) Mr CHUM Tak-shing (Arrived at 1:05 a.m., left at 5 p.m.) Mr HO Kai-ming, Kalvin (Arrived at 1:05 p.m.) Mr KONG Kwai-sang Mr LAM Ka-fai, Aaron, BBS, JP (Arrived 1:05 p.m.) Ms LAU Pui-yuk (Arrived 1:05 p.m.) Mr LEE Wing-man (Arrived 1:05 p.m.) Mr LEUNG Man-kwong (Arrived 1:05 p.m.) Mr LEUNG Yau-fong (Arrived 1:08 p.m.) Ms NG Mei, Carman (Arrived 1:08 p.m.) Ms NG Yuet-lan (Arrived 1:05 p.m., left at 2 p.m.) Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, MH, JP Mr WAI Woon-nam (Left at 3 p.m.) Mr WONG Tat-tung, Dennis, MH, JP (Left at 3:30 p.m.) Mr YEUNG Yuk Mr YUEN Hoi-man

- 2 - Action by In Attendance Mr LEE Kwok-hung, Damian, JP District Officer (Sham Shui Po) Miss MAN Ka-wing, Kelly Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 1 Miss CHEUNG Yun-chee, Freda Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 2 Ms CHAN Tsz-yee, Emily Senior Liaison Officer 1, Sham Shui Po District Office Mr LEUNG Cheong-kit, Keke Chief Transport Officer/Bus & Railway 2, Transport Department Mr WONG Lai-man Senior Engineer/Kowloon District West, Transport Department Mr LEE Chung-yam, Paul Engineer/Planning West 1, Transport Department Mr William CHUNG Head of Operations, Citybus Limited Mr William CHAU Manager (Insurance), Citybus Limited Mr CHO Ming-lung, Samson District Commander (Sham Shui Po), Hong Kong Police Force Ms WONG Mei-yee, Amy Police Community Relations Officer (Sham Shui Po District), Hong Kong Police Force Mr WONG Sai-kwan Superintendent (Investigation & Support Division) (Traffic Kowloon West), Hong Kong Police Force Mr AU YEUNG Chung-ching Officer in-charge of District Traffic Team, Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong Police Force Ms CHAU Fung-mui, Wendy District Social Welfare Officer (Sham Shui Po), Social Welfare Department Mr YAU Shu-fung, Dave Officer-in-charge, Medical Social Services Unit (Princess Margaret Hospital), Social Welfare Department

Secretary Ms CHEUNG Ching, Jenny Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Sham Shui Po District Office

Absent Mr LEE Tsz-king, Dominic Mr YAN Kai-wing - 3 - Action by Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members to the first special meeting of the Sham Shui Po District Council (“SSPDC”) (5th Term).

Item 1: Matters for discussion

(a) Funding applications from working groups under DC (SSPDC Papers 191/17 to 208/17)

2. The Chairman said that among the funding applications approved earlier by the Working Group on Poverty Problems and Ethnic Minorities (“WGPPEM”) and the Community Affairs Committee (“CAC”), some of them required the endorsement of the full council. The funds under application would be used to organise activities during the third quarter of this year. Members were invited to consider whether these applications should be endorsed.

3. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that this special meeting would discuss funding applications first according to the agenda. However, unfortunately a traffic accident had happened a few days ago at Yen Chow Street which raised great concerns in the society. Since Members had the duty to give advice towards the content of the funding applications, he suggested changing the agenda and discussing the traffic accident before handling the funding applications to avoid delaying the discussion on the traffic accident. He asked the Chairman to rule on this.

4. The Chairman asked for Members’ views towards changing the agenda.

5. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that the traffic accident happened a few days ago was an unfortunate incident to the society, the Sham Shui Po District (“SSP District”) and the public. In view of this, Members proposed discussing it during this special meeting and the proposal was accepted by the Chairman. He reckoned that this traffic accident and the funding applications were equally important. Moreover, considering funding application was the responsibility of the District Council (“DC”) which should be handled as soon as possible so that the working groups could implement services. In view of this, he supported conducting the discussion as per the original order of the discussion items and hoped that there would be no other unnecessary delay.

6. Ms NG Yuet-lan said that Members hoped that the traffic accident could be - 4 - Action by handled at this special meeting as soon as possible. Moreover, there were many residents and reporters waiting to observe the discussion of this item in the Conference Room. She hoped that the relevant discussion would not be delayed due to procedural issues.

7. Mr YEUNG Yuk said that he supported changing the order of the agenda items. Given that many reporters, members of the public and representatives of government departments had already arrived and waited for observing the discussion of the traffic accident by the meeting, he opined that based on humanitarian grounds the Council should discuss the relevant issue before considering the funding applications to save the observers from waiting.

8. The Chairman reminded Members that the proposal concerned should be ruled by the Chairman eventually.

9. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu suggested the meeting vote on the proposal of discussing agenda item (b) first.

10. The Chairman said that: (i) some of the representatives of government departments had yet to arrive; (ii) at the onset he arranged this special meeting in accordance with the Sham Shun Po District Council Standing Orders (“Standing Orders”) so as to discuss funding applications and the agenda was issued on the 20th this month; then the Yen Chow Street traffic accident happened. He reckoned that the Council also had the duty to discussed this issue so he included this topic into the agenda; (iii) the decision of whether the order of discussion items be changed should be made by the Chairman; he hoped that Members would respect his decision.

11. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu enquired whether the order of the discussion items could be changed once the consent of more than half of the attending Members was obtained according to the Standing Orders.

12. Mr LEE Wing-man said that he respected the agenda worked out by the Chairman. He opined that since the agenda had been issued to Members beforehand and some representatives of government departments had not yet arrived, the discussion on the traffic accident could not be started at once. Therefore, he supported following the original order of discussion items without making any changes. - 5 - Action by 13. The Secretary responded that according to Order 13(2) of the Standing Orders, the Chairman could approve the adding of an agenda item or changing order of the agenda items before or during the meeting if the consent of more than half the attending Members was obtained.

14. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu asked the Chairman to handle the proposal of changing order of the agenda items. He pointed out that this meeting was originally scheduled to be held at 12 noon and enquired which representatives of government departments had not yet arrived.

15. The Chairman said that: (i) according to the Standing Orders, the Chairman could consider the proposal of changing order of agenda items; (ii) he received a written authorisation in which Mr Dominic LEE appointed Mr Aaron LAM to act as his proxy to vote; (iii) individual representatives of the Police and the Transport Department (“TD”) had yet to arrive; (iv) he asked whether Members found it necessary to vote on the issue.

16. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he had voiced his views and asked the Chairman to handle it.

17. The meeting voted on the proposal of changing the order of agenda items by open ballot.

18. The voting result was as follows:

For: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Ms NG Yuet-lan, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (11)

Against: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (11)

Abstain: (0)

19. The Secretary announced the voting result: 11 Members voted for the motion, 11 Members voted against it and no Member abstained. - 6 - Action by 20. The Chairman said that according to the Standing Orders, the Chairman could have a casting vote when the votes for and against the proposal were equal. Since the representatives of some departments had not yet arrived and this special meeting was originally organised for considering funding applications as well as the traffic accident, he voted against it and declared that the proposal of changing the order of agenda items was not endorsed. The District Council (“DC”) would keep the original agenda.

21. Ms NG Yuet-lan said that she would walk out in protest of the Chairman exercising his power and giving the casting vote.

Paper 191/17

22. The Chairman reminded Members to declare interests in accordance with the Standing Orders. If a Member disclosed an interest, the Chairman had to decide whether he should speak or vote, should remain in the meeting as an observer, or should withdraw from the meeting.

23. The Chairman then asked Members to consider the funding application for The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong Jockey Club Children and Youth Integrated Services Centre to organise the “Book reading promotion project 2017” (Paper 191/17). The joint-organiser was WGPPEM and the amount was $114,500.

24. Since no Member voted against the application or abstained from voting, the Chairman declared that Paper 191/17 was endorsed unanimously by the Members present at the meeting.

Paper 192/17

25. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Hong Kong Federations of Women’s Centres Limited to organise the “Sham Shui Po District Caring Activity 2017” (Paper 192/17). The joint-organisers/co-organisers were WGPPEM, Centre of the Chinese Young Men’s Christian Association of Hong Kong, the Industrial Evangelistic Fellowship (the Neighbourhood Caring Centre), Ching Fai Women Association Ltd. and the New Arrival Women League and the amount was $100,000.

26. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) to his understanding, DC would generally not encourage relief activities in accordance with the funding criteria. He enquired whether the gifts (e.g. rice) of the visits to - 7 - Action by be organised under this activity had deviated from the requirements on the use of DC funds; (ii) he opined that the activity was caring activity and was worthy of support. He enquired about the channels for other organisations to participate in this activity.

27. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded as follows: (i) according to the funding criteria, gifts could include different items and the distribution of rice was not banned; (ii) regarding the joint-organiser, WGPPEM had been using the past model of cooperating with non-Government organisations (“NGOs”), inviting them to help promote activities. Nevertheless, dozens of members of the Working Group were from organisations in the district and the implementation of the activities would also be discussed and followed up at each meeting.

28. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu supported WGPPEM’s practice of widely inviting NGOs for participation. However, he opined that the activity did not provide any channel for other organisations to participate. The arrangement was not desirable and did not conform to the recommendations made by the Audit Report. Therefore, he would abstain from voting.

29. The meeting voted on Paper 192/17 by open ballot.

30. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (11)

Against: (0)

Abstain: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (10)

31. The Secretary announced the voting result: 11 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 10 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 192/17 was endorsed.

32. Mr WAI Woon-nam enquired whether the funding application could be - 8 - Action by endorsed as there were in total 23 Members in SSPDC and less than half of the Members had voted for the application.

33. The Secretary responded that according to the Standing Orders, the item discussed during the meeting should be decided by the absolute majority vote of Members and absolute majority vote meant over half of the valid votes casted (including abstentions).

Paper 193/17

34. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Shamshuipo Integrated Social Service Centre to organise the “‘Smile more’ Mental Health Promotion Project for Women” (Paper 193/17). The joint-organisers/co-organisers were set out in detail in the paper and the amount was $95,000.

35. Mr LEE Wing-man declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-chairman of United Labour Chi Hong Association Limited (“ULCH”).

36. Mr Aaron LAM declared interests, stating that he was the Consultant of ULCH.

37. The Chairman ruled that Mr LEE Wing-man should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion; Mr Aaron LAM should vote.

38. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu enquired whether the Chairman’s decision on this declaration of interest was aligned with the one he had made during the recent meeting.

39. The Chairman said that he would consider the situation of each application as well as different factors; hence there was no established practice.

40. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu reckoned that the mechanism for declaration of interest should be objective. Because of this, the Chairman should rule in a consistent manner with respect to the posts declared by Members; the rulings should not be varied due to different organisations or activities.

41. The Chairman said that he would consider each case objectively and then make a ruling.

42. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that this activity had several co-organisers and - 9 - Action by WGPPEM should make sure that not only the members of co-organisers were allowed to participate in the activity.

43. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that WGPPEM would follow up on this issue, and he reminded the organiser and the co-organisers to allow all residents in the district to participate in the relevant activity.

44. Ms LAU Pui-yuk declared interests, stating that she was the Vice-chairman of Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation (“KWOF”) and KWOF’s affiliated groups (including Ching Fai Women Association Ltd, Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Lau Shun Man Fu Cheong Women Service Centre and Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Wai Yin Association Women Integrated Service Centre) were the co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

45. The Chairman ruled that since Ms LAU Pui-yuk did not hold any post in the co-organisers of the activity, therefore she should vote.

46. Ms Joephy CHAN declared interests, stating that she was the Consultant of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups (including Ching Fai Women Association Ltd, Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Lau Shun Man Fu Cheong Women Service Centre and Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Wai Yin Association Women Integrated Service Centre) were the co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

47. The Chairman ruled that Ms Joephy CHAN should vote.

48. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) Members should set out their posts in organisations on the interest declaration form so that the Secretariat could notice that as early as possible; (ii) since Ms LAU Pui-yuk took up important post in KWOF, she should avert suspicion and shun from voting. In fact, DC had handed down the same ruling during a meeting held recently. Therefore, he disagreed with the ruling of the Chairman this time and asked the Chairman to consider this again carefully.

49. The Chairman said that: (i) he noted Members’ views at this stage before the discussion of DC; (ii) he had ruled on the relevant declaration of interest.

50. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu asked the Secretary to put on record the reasons he disagreed with the ruling of the Chairman. It was because the Chairman had made different rulings on declaration of interest regarding the same example, the same - 10 - Action by organisation and the same Member.

51. The Chairman said that his rulings were made due to different funding applications, different joint-organisers/co-organisers and different types of activities.

52. The meeting voted on Paper 193/17 by open ballot.

53. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr Dennis WONG (9)

Against: (0)

Abstain: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (10)

54. The Secretary announced the voting result: 9 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 10 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 193/17 was endorsed.

Paper 194/17

55. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Tsung Tsin Mission of Hong Kong Full Grace Service Centre to organise the “Talent Development Project 2017” (Paper 194/17). The joint-organisers/co-organisers were set out in detail in the paper and the amount was $200,000.

56. Mr Aaron LAM declared interests, stating that he was the Consultant of ULCH.

57. Mr LEE Wing-man declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-chairman of ULCH.

58. Ms LAU Pui-yuk declared interests, stating that she was the Vice-chairman of Sham Shui Po Nam Cheong District Residents & Merchants Association (“NCRMA”) and the Vice-chairman of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups - 11 - Action by (including Ching Fai Women Association Ltd, Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Wai Yin Association Women Integrated Service Centre and Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Lau Shun Man Fu Cheong Women Service Centre) were the co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

59. The Chairman ruled that Mr LEE Wing-man should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion; Mr Aaron LAM should vote. Ms LAU Pui-yuk, as the Vice-chairman of NCRMA, should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

60. Ms Joephy CHAN declared interests, stating that she was the Consultant of KWOF.

61. The Chairman ruled that Ms Joephy CHAN should vote.

62. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the activity was meaningful; (ii) according to the Audit Report, the Government had allocated more resources to DCs and yet the number of activities sponsored by DCs and the people benefited from them had decreased. He opined that this was because the cost and the amount of funds allocated for each activity had both increased. To take this application as an example, the activity would mainly cater for 160 female participants and the amount of the funding application was $200,000, which meant the average funding cost for each participant would exceed $1,000. He hoped that WGPPEM would explain why this activity was worthy of funding support.

63. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded that the activity, which was first implemented last year, aimed to recruit female participants through the co-organising NGOs and boost their confidence and abilities by teaching them various skills so that they could find a job in the future. Since the activity would achieve the aforesaid target by various means, more resources would be needed.

64. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he supported the arts and crafts fair of the activity but opined that the resources required for skill training were not cost effective. Because of this, he would oppose this application unless the content of the funding application would be revised.

65. The meeting voted on Paper 194/17 by open ballot.

66. The voting result was as follows: - 12 - Action by For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (9)

Against: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong , Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (9)

Abstain: (0)

67. The Secretary announced the voting result: 9 Members voted for the motion, 9 Members voted against it and no Member abstained.

68. The Chairman said that according to the Standing Orders, the Chairman could have a casting vote when the votes for and against the Paper were equal. The Chairman voted for it and declared that Paper 194/17 was endorsed.

Paper 195/17

69. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Hong Kong Single Parents Association to organise the “Sham Shui Po District Support Scheme” (Paper 195/17). The joint-organisers/co-organisers were set out in detail in the paper and the amount was $389,722.

70. Ms LAU Pui-yuk declared interests, stating that she was the Vice-chairman of NCRMA and the Vice-chairman of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups (including Ching Fai Women Association Ltd, Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Lau Shun Man Fu Cheong Mutual Help Child Care Centre cum Women Service Centre and Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Wai Yin Association Women Integrated Service Centre) were the co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

71. Ms Joephy CHAN declared interests, stating that she was the Consultant of of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups (including Ching Fai Women Association Ltd, Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Lau Shun Man Fu Cheong Mutual Help Child Care Centre cum Women Service Centre and Kowloon Women’s Organisations Federation Wai Yin Association Women Integrated Service Centre) were the co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups. - 13 - Action by 72. The Chairman ruled that Ms LAU Pui-yuk, as the Vice-chairman of NCRMA, should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion; Ms Joephy CHAN should vote.

73. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that 14 organisations would hold 34 events for the activity respectively. In other words, WGPPEM had earmarked about $10,000 for each event for application of the 14 organisations. He queried whether WGPPEM should adopt such mode for funds allocation; or it should work out the content of the activity first before inviting organisations to participate in it.

74. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded as follows: (i) this activity aimed to boost the confidence or skills of young people and enhance their abilities to make true their dreams through skill and talent training courses. It would also strengthen the language ability of children, young people and their parents (e.g. their proficiency in , traditional Chinese characters and English) and help them integrate into the community or find a job; (ii) in the past WGPPEM had adopted the same implementation mode of having different NGOs to cooperate and organise activities under one theme, for example, the events of the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. The theme of this activity aimed mainly to enhance the language abilities of the participants. It was hoped that the relevant service could be promoted through the network of various NGOs.

75. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the expenditures of the activity covered the cost for hiring teachers and contracting out services. He reckoned that organisations should follow the established procedures when procuring these kinds of services, for example, recruitment should be carried out through the Labour Department. It would be undesirable if only specific teachers or service providers would be hired; (ii) according to the funding criteria, the standard cost for souvenir was $6 per unit while the estimated cost for souvenir for this activity was $18.4, which was three-fold of the standard cost. He opined that each event would only have about 10 participants. If the expenditure for each event was about $10,000, the funding cost for each participant would be near $1,000. There was no need to offer them a souvenir which cost $18.4 and such arrangement would be unfair to other organisations which had applied for funding in accordance with the funding criteria. He hoped that the Chairman of WGPPEM would revise it; otherwise, he would vote against this funding application.

76. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded as follows: (i) the targets of the “Language．Integration” were ethnic minorities or children, young people or their parents who lived in Hong Kong for seven years or less; and young people who were in financial difficulties (including young people who were Comprehensive - 14 - Action by Social Security Assistance (“CSSA”) recipients, came from low-income families or had special needs based on the assessments of social workers); the targets of “Dream．On Fire” were young people of 14 to 29 years old who were CSSA recipients, came from low-income families or had special needs based on the assessments of social workers; (ii) since all the service targets were people in need, WGPPEM had exercised its discretion to approve the expenditure items in question, hoping that the participants would feel like being recognised; (iii) he noted Members’ concerns and would relay their views to the relevant organisations.

77. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu understood that the targets of the activity were people with special needs; hence he could accept the higher funding cost for the participants. However, he opined that there was no need to deviate from the established practice and offer souvenirs with a cost which was three times higher than the standard one. He pointed out that this was a matter of principle. If WGPPEM insisted on the funding proposal, he would vote against the application.

78. Mr CHUM Tak-shing said that regarding the expenditures for English teachers, some teachers had charged for $300 to $400 per hour while some of them only charged for $45. Both of them were claimed to be the market rates. He enquired about how the market rates were worked out.

79. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded that to ensure the service quality, higher budgets had been set aside for some teachers and the relevant requirements had been set out at the application forms. For example, the teachers must obtain a Grade “E” in English Language (Syllabus B) in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination or Level 2 or above in English Language of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination and have a sense of responsibility and the ability to handle a class.

80. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) DC had to give an account to the public on how the public money was used. It was irresponsible for Members to cast their votes without knowing the market rates; (ii) the market rates should be justifiable, for example, by referring to the fees charged by arts groups of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council and the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. He enquired whether the relevant organisations would provide information on market rates to substantiate their charges if this application was endorsed; (iii) the estimated expenditure of this scheme covered the purchase of non-consumable items. He wondered how the relevant organisations would handle these items.

81. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded as follows: (i) according to the funding - 15 - Action by criteria, a capital item referred to any piece of equipment or furniture costing more than $1,000 per unit and with an expected life span of over one year; (ii) he believed that organisations could get hold of the actual market situation and use the public money effectively by employing suitable teachers according to the content of the activity. He welcomed Members to attend WGPPEM meetings and get better understanding of the content of the activity to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding. He would relay Members’ views to the organisations when WGPPEM reviewed the activity and monitor the activity together with the Secretariat so that the resources would be properly used.

82. The meeting voted on Paper 195/17 by open ballot.

83. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (10)

Against: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (10)

Abstain: (0)

84. The Secretary announced the voting result: 10 Members voted for the motion, 10 Members voted against it and no Member abstained.

85. The Chairman said that according to the Standing Orders, the Chairman could have a casting vote when the votes for and against the Paper were equal. The Chairman voted for it and declared that Paper 195/17 was endorsed.

Paper 196/17

86. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Ching Fai Women Association Ltd. to organise the “Employment Training Programme for Women 2017” (Paper 196/17). The joint-organisers/co-organisers were set out in detail in the Paper and the amount was $100,000. - 16 - Action by 87. Mr Aaron LAM declared interests, stating that he was the Consultant of ULCH.

88. Mr LEE Wing-man declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-chairman of ULCH.

89. The Chairman ruled that Mr Aaron LAM should vote; Mr LEE Wing-man should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

90. Ms LAU Pui-yuk declared interests, stating that she was the Vice-chairman of NCRMA and the Vice-chairman of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups were the organisers and co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

91. The Chairman ruled that Ms LAU Pui-yuk, as the Vice-chairman of NCRMA, should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

92. Ms Joephy CHAN declared interests, stating that she was the Consultant of KWOF and KWOF’s affiliated groups were the organisers and co-organisers of this activity. However, she did not hold any post in these affiliated groups.

93. The Chairman ruled that Ms Joephy CHAN should vote.

94. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that the organiser mentioned in the work plan/ implementation timetable of the application form that it would mobile various friendly organisations to support the activity. He reckoned that activities organised with DC funds should be open for participation of all the residents in the district. The organiser should not only invite friendly organisations to participate in it.

95. Mr CHAN Wai-ming responded that he agreed that the activity should be open for participation of all the residents in Sham Shui Po. WGPPEM would follow up on the relevant views.

96. The meeting voted on Paper 196/17 by open ballot.

97. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, - 17 - Action by Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (9)

Against: (0)

Abstain: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (10)

98. The Secretary announced the voting result: 9 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 10 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 196/17 was endorsed.

Paper 197/17

99. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for District Fire Safety Committee (Sham Shui Po District) to organise “Sham Shui Po District Fire Safety Carnival cum Cheung Sha Wan Fire Station and Ambulance Depot Open Day” (Paper 197/17). The joint-organisers were set out in detail in the Paper and the amount was $120,000.

100. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong said that since the committees under the Government were different from other organisations, he opined that there was no need for Members to declare interests for the posts held by them.

101. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he agreed with the relevant view and suggested the Chairman rule on the principle, i.e. there was no need for Members to declare interests for the posts they held in the committees under the Government. He believed that government departments would to some extent participate in and monitor the use of public money.

102. The Chairman said that since the organisations under government departments did not involve personal interests, there was no need for Members to declare interests.

103. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong said that the funding applications of organisations under government departments might not involve personal interests but that was not absolutely the case.

104. The Chairman said that in case of special circumstances, Members should - 18 - Action by also mention that.

105. Since no Member voted against the application or abstained from voting, the Chairman declared that Paper 197/17 was endorsed unanimously by the Members present at the meeting.

Paper 198/17

106. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Sham Shui Po Sports Association Limited (“SSPSAL”) to organise “Sham Shui Po District Christmas Eve Dancing Night 2017” (Paper 198/17) and the amount was $111,300.

107. Since no Member voted against the application or abstained from voting, the Chairman declared that Paper 198/17 was endorsed unanimously by the Members present at the meeting.

Paper 199/17

108. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for District Fight Crime Committee (Sham Shui Po District) to organise “Sham Shui Po District Fight Crime, Sports, Beat Drug and Support Rehabilitated Offenders Carnival” (Paper 199/17). The co-organiser was SSPSAL and the amount was $463,971.

109. The meeting voted on Paper 199/17 by open ballot.

110. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Ms Carman NG, Mr Dennis WONG (16)

Against: (0)

Abstain: Mr LEUNG Yau-fong (1)

111. The Secretary announced the voting result: 16 Members voted for the - 19 - Action by motion, no Member voted against it and 1 Member abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 199/17 was endorsed.

Paper 200/17

112. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Sham Shui Po District Committee on Promotion of Civic Education to organise the “Sham Shui Po District Civic Education Carnival 2017-2018” (Paper 200/17). The joint organiser was Sham Shui Po District Office (“SSPDO”) and the amount was $115,000.

113. Since no Member voted against the application or abstained from voting, the Chairman declared that Paper 200/17 was endorsed unanimously by the Members present at the meeting.

Paper 201/17

114. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Sham Shui Po Council For The Promotion Of Cultural & Recreational Services Limited to organise the “Sham Shui Po Cantonese Opera Show” (Paper 201/17) and the amount was $145,000.

115. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) the activity was deeply popular among the residents in the district. He supported this activity; (ii) he hoped that the Secretariat would follow up on the ticket distribution arrangement and make sure that the arrangement concerned was compliant with the requirements of the funding criteria.

116. The meeting voted on Paper 201/17 by open ballot.

117. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr Dennis WONG, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (16)

Against: (0)

- 20 - Action by Abstain: Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong (3)

118. The Secretary announced the voting result: 16 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 3 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 201/17 was endorsed.

Paper 202/17

119. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for the Sham Shui Po Central & South Area Committee (“SSPC&SAC”) to organise the “Sham Shui Po Central & South Area Committee Feast for the Elderly in Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR” (Paper 202/17). The co-organiser was Sham Shui Po Residents Association (“SSPRA”) and the amount was $105,000.

120. Mr CHAN Wai-ming declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-chairman of SSPRA.

121. The Chairman ruled that Mr CHAN Wai-ming should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

122. Mr Aaron LAM declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-president of SSPRA.

123. The Chairman ruled that Mr Aaron LAM should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

124. Ms LAU Pui-yuk declared interests, stating that she was the Officer of SSPRA.

125. The Chairman ruled that Ms LAU Pui-yuk should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

126. Mr CHAN Kwok-wai declared interests, stating that he was the Officer of SSPRA.

127. The Chairman ruled that Mr CHAN Kwok-wai should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

128. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong declared interests, stating that he was the - 21 - Action by Vice-chairman of SSPRA.

129. The Chairman ruled that Mr LEUNG Man-kwong should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

130. Mr Dennis WONG declared interests, stating that he was the Vice-chairman of SSPRA.

131. The Chairman ruled that Mr Dennis WONG should not speak and vote but did not need to withdraw from the discussion.

132. Mr YUEN Hoi-man said that there was nothing wrong with the organising of the feast for the elderly. However, since there were too many ties between the co-organiser and Members, it might give rise to public perception problem. In view of this, he would vote against the application and hoped that the organiser would review the way the relevant activity was to be implemented.

133. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the staff of SSPDO would provide administrative support to SSPC&SAC which had organised this activity in the past. He asked SSPDO to explain why organisations were invited to co-organise the activity this time; (ii) many Members took up important posts in SSPRA. The approval of this funding application by DC might give rise to public perception problem.

134. Mr LEE Wing-man said that each area committee had its own monitoring regime. This activity had been organised for decades and it was not the first time for SSPC&SAC to co-organise this activity with that organisation.

135. The District Officer responded that it was not the first time for SSPC&SAC to invite organisations to co-organise this activity and many grass-root elderly people had benefited in the past. With the past successful experience, SSPC&SAC had followed the relevant practice.

136. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) SSPDO responded that it was not the first time for that organisation to co-organise the activity. The response could dispel his doubt; (ii) DC should handle the use of funds and the declaration of interest by Members prudently. Given that many Members had taken up posts in the co-organiser, he would abstain from voting.

137. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong raised the following views: (i) just now a Member mentioned that DC was decades old and this activity had been organised for dozens - 22 - Action by of years. This statement was not true; (ii) SSPRA had transformed from a civic group in those years to a political group. SSPDO should avert suspicion and should not invite SSPRA to co-organise the activity. Instead, it should send staff to help organise the activity; (iii) since there was no open invitation for organisations to co-organise the activity; hence he would vote against it.

138. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that according to the funding criteria, DC did not encourage allocating funds to political parties or political organisations. He enquired whether the Chairman would rule on this and opined that the meeting should consider carefully whether the funding application submitted by that organisation this time and those in the future should be accepted.

139. The Chairman said that DC would provide a platform for reviewing issues such as declaration of interest, funding arrangement and applicant organisations, etc. He suggested Members collect information first before providing views during the discussion of the new guidelines.

140. The meeting voted on Paper 202/17 by open ballot.

141. The voting result was as follows:

For: Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man (5)

Against: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (8)

Abstain: Ms Carman NG (1)

142. The Secretary announced the voting result: 5 Members voted for the motion, 8 Members voted against it and 1 Member abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 202/17 was not endorsed.

Paper 203/17

143. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for Sham Shui Po Arts Association Limited to organise the “Mid-Autumn Festival Arts Variety Show in Celebration of the 68th National Day” (Paper 203/17). The co-organiser was Shamshuipo Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association - 23 - Action by (“KWAA”) and the amount was $116,382.

144. Mr YUEN Hoi-man said that this activity aimed to foster connections with residents through the organisation of Mid-Autumn evening show so as to increase their sense of belonging to the community and cultivate their affection for the country. However, he opined that although this year the Mid-Autumn Festival was close to the National Day, the celebration activities for Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day should be held separately.

145. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong raised the following views: (i) he reckoned that an illusion of peace and prosperity should not be painted; hence he did not support celebrating the National Day; (ii) he would abstain from voting for this funding application.

146. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he had received an invitation from this activity. Yet, according to the funding criteria, the funds could not be used and only internal preparation work could be carried out before the activity was endorsed. He asked DC to follow up on that.

147. The meeting voted on Paper 203/17 by open ballot.

148. The voting result was as follows:

For: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE (voted by Mr Aaron LAM as a proxy), Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (10)

Against: (0)

Abstain: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Ms Carman NG, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (9)

149. The Secretary announced the voting result: 10 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 9 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Paper 203/17 was endorsed.

Paper 204/17 - 24 - Action by 150. The Chairman asked Members to consider the funding application for KWAA to organise “Appreciate Hong Kong 2017” (Paper 204/17). The joint-organiser was the Working Group on Elderly and Rehabilitation Services (WGERS) of SSPDC and the amount was $205,000.

151. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he opined that the activity was meaningful; (ii) whether there was any channel to apply for the status of co-organiser; or there were already designated co-organisers; (iii) the estimated expenditures of many items in the application form of the activity had exceeded the standard amounts, for example, the activity planned to spend $3,000 to hire masters of ceremony, which had exceeded the standard of $1,000. He enquired why there were such deviations from the standard amounts.

152. Mr CHAN Kwok-wai responded that WGERS had discussed during the meeting that the estimated expenditures of some items had exceeded the standard amounts. Members voiced different views at that time. Given that the activity was a new attempt, WGERS agreed to endorse the funding application of the activity at last and would remind the organiser to use DC fund prudently. If Members had other views towards individual items, WGERS would take the initiative to reflect them to the organiser. The organisers would also report the progress of the activity at working group meetings in the future. Members were welcomed to join and provide more views.

153. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following views and enquiries: (i) more than 1/5 of the estimated expenditures of the activity would be used for food and travel expenses during the internship; which had little to do with the theme of “Appreciate Hong Kong”; (ii) there was only one joint-organiser, WGERS, on the application form and no co-organiser was indicated; yet it mentioned that each co-organiser would enrol 50 students. He enquired about the number of co-organisers and the method of selection.

154. Mr CHAN Kwok-wai responded as follows: (i) the targets of this activity were the elderly. To take care of their health conditions, food would be provided during outdoor activities; (ii) the organiser would invite Kaifong associations and centres of different districts in Sham Shui Po to cooperate with it so as to enlarge the area covered by the activity. He would ask the organiser to provide supplementary information on the co-organisers.

155. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) among the 28 expenditure items, 18 had exceeded the standard amounts. He opined that WGERS should review that seriously; (ii) the smartphone classes for the elderly - 25 - Action by would recruit students through the co-organisers and the arrangement was workable. However, channels should be provided for other district organisations to participate in it; (iii) the food expenses of the smartphone classes for the elderly accounted for about 20% of the expenditures of the activity; he reckoned that that was inappropriate.

156. Mr YEUNG Yuk said that the organiser should set out the co-organisers for Members to declare interests. He asked the Chairman of WGERS to provide a list of the co-organisers for DC to consider the relevant funding application.

157. Mr CHUM Tak-shing said that if an applicant organisation did not provide information on the joint-organisers and co-organisers of the activity, DC would not endorse its funding application as a matter of principle.

158. The Chairman opined that organisations could help in the preparation work of the activity through various modes. He suggested Members focus the discussion on the information set out in the paper.

159. Mr CHAN Kwok-wai responded that the organiser was now liaising with different organisations with a view to identifying suitable cooperating organisations. He understood Members’ concerns towards this issue and would ask the Secretariat to follow up on the issue with the organiser. The adding of any new co-organisers in the future would be handled in accordance with the established procedures.

160. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that it was mentioned in the application form that the organiser would cooperate with various Kaifong associations and friendly groups in SSP District. He queried what friendly organisation meant and opined that if the connections between those organisations and Members were not known, the issue of interest declaration could not be handled. He pointed out that there was no pressing need to organise the activity and suggested WGERS clarify the list of co-organisers and then consider handling the funding application by circulation of paper.

161. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong raised the following views: (i) DC had in a number of occasions approved large amount of funds by circulation of papers since the last term. He opined that the meeting should discuss the matters in detail and Members should declare the interests before considering the relevant funding applications; (ii) Members were duty-bound to consider funding applications prudently. As the funds applied for this activity amounted to $205,000, he opposed handling it by circulation of paper. Regardless of the ruling of the Chairman, he would oppose this application. - 26 - Action by 162. The Chairman said that since Members had doubts about this funding application and the preparation work for the activity would be carried out from September to December, he suggested WGERS re-examine Paper 204/17 before submitting it for DC’s consideration.

Paper 205/17 Paper 206/17 Paper 207/17 Paper 208/17

163. The Chairman said that Papers 205/17 to 208/17 should be considered by the Environmental and Hygiene Committee first; hence Members did not have to consider the aforesaid papers now.

164. The Chairman continued to raise the following views: (i) the above funding applications would be vetted by the relevant working groups before being considered by the Committee and DC. Such practice was effective; (ii) DC would discuss the views of Members, the Audit Commission and the Home Affairs Department (“HAD”) within a short period of time so as to further perfect DC’s procedures for the vetting of funds; (iii) he encourage Members to participate more frequently in the meetings of working groups and committees to make the discussions more effective.

(b) A fatal traffic accident happened at near Yen Chow Street, Sham Shui Po, on 22 September 2017 (SSPDC Papers 209/17 to 210/17)

165. The Chairman expressed his grieves and regrets to the aforesaid traffic accident and offered condolences to the victims of the aforesaid traffic accident and their families on behalf of SSPDC. He asked the participants of the meeting to observe a minute of silence to the accident.

[The participants observed a minute of silence.]

166. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of TD, the Citybus Limited (“Citybus”), the Hong Kong Police Force, the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) and SSPDO to the meeting and suggested that Papers 209/17 and 210/17 be discussed together.

167. Mr Vincent CHENG introduced Paper 209/17 and added that: (i) many victims’ families were very dissatisfied with the remedial arrangement of Citybus, pointing out that Citybus had passed the problem to insurance company. He - 27 - Action by demanded that Citybus increase manpower to follow up on the cases and pointed out that many victims were bread-winners of their families. He enquired whether Citybus had provided ex-gratia payment or other compensation arrangement; (ii) so far Citybus had not made any open and formal apologies to the victims and their families; which were unacceptable. He demanded Citybus to give an account on that; (iii) he enquired why no amendment was ever made to the Guidelines on Bus Captain Working Hours in the past seven years.

168. Mr YEUNG Yuk introduced Paper 210/17 and added that: (i) bus captains had to pay attention to road safety as well as satisfy passengers’ needs. Coupled with the long working hours, they had been suffering from great pressure. He requested the authorities to amend the guidelines, reduce the working hours of bus captains from 14 to 12, increase rest time and raise salaries and allowances; (ii) this accident was stemmed from the system. The Government and TD should also apologise other than Citybus.

169. Mr Kalvin HO added the following remarks: (i) since many bus routes plied along Cheung Sha Wan Road, SSPDC had requested TD and the bus companies for many times to consider diverting some routes to roads such as Road, Sham Mong Road and Un Chau Street. Cheung Sha Wan Road was situated at the heart of Sham Shui Po. To attract more passengers, bus companies might arrange a number of routes to ply along Cheung Sha Wan Road, disregarding traffic load and safety problems; (ii) the salaries of bus captains were too low that they were obliged to work overtime to earn a living. This was because labour protection was seriously inadequate. Since employees were in a weak position, they had to face with unfair treatments. He emphasised that employees should be paid for the amounts they deserved; (iii) the Government pinned the blame for the accident on labour shortage and intended to import foreign workers. That was incorrect. He reckoned that Hong Kong was not short of labour but labour protection.

170. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu added the following remarks: (i) SSPDC had made many improvement proposals to the Government when it discussed the crowdedness of Cheung Sha Wan Road, Yu Chau Street and Yen Chow Street was discussed. However, the Government did not heed them and hence it should apologise to the victims and their families of this accident; (ii) many families had lost their bread-winners in this accident; the Government had the duty to relieve their hardship. He enquired how SWD would help the victims’ families; (iii) although the law stipulated that the working hours of bus captains should not exceed 14 hours, this should not be taken as the standard working hours. Many unions had pointed out that working for 14 hours was inhumane; he hoped that the Government would handle that as soon as possible; (iv) Cheung Sha Wan - 28 - Action by Road/Yen Chow Street were located at the centre of SSP District. To compete with MTR, bus companies had kept arranged buses to ply along Cheung Sha Wan Road. He reckoned that if the pavement of Cheung Sha Wan Road was to be widened, some of the bus routes must be diverted to Lai Chi Kok Road and Sham Mong Road, etc. so as to allow space for project implementation; (v) SSPDC had suggested building a footbridge starting from Fuk Wing Street and via Yen Chow Street to Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices and . However, TD said that it had no right to build footbridges. After an accident involving a bus happened at Mong Kok East MTR station near Tung Choi Street years ago, the Government built a footbridge there to facilitate pedestrian flow. The traffic accident happened this time had left three dead and many injured. The Government should build a footbridge at Yen Chow Street as soon as possible to facilitate the pedestrian flow at Un Chau Street, Fuk Wing Street, Fuk Wa Street, Cheung Sha Wan Road, Yu Chau Street and , etc. and ensure pedestrian safety.

171. Mr Keke LEUNG responded as follows:

(i) TD was deeply sorry towards the casualties caused by this accident and was very concerned about the operational safety of franchised buses.

(ii) The working hours and rest time for bus captains had raised public concern after the accident. To ensure that bus captains would have enough rest time, TD and bus companies formulated the Guidelines on Bus Captain Working Hours, Rest Times and Meal Breaks (the Guidelines). Bus companies had to follow the Guidelines when working out the schedules and submit quarterly reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to TD. Every year the Department would hire independent investigators to look into the working hours, rest times and meal breaks of the bus captains and see whether the bus companies had complied with the Guidelines when working out the schedules.

(iii) TD would review the Guidelines from time to time and when necessary. It would also consider the acceptance of frontline staff and the operational arrangement of bus companies when revising the Guidelines. The last review was conducted in 2015 and some unions suggested at that time that the working hours in the Guidelines be amended. TD then discussed with the bus companies and unions while the bus companies consulted their staff unions. - 29 - Action by They opined that the current guidelines were still proper.

(iv) TD was now preparing for the review on the relevant guidelines. It also planned to consult the bus companies and unions in order to address public concerns over the working hours of bus captains vigorously. The Department had no pre-determined stance on this review and would take into account the views of the bus companies, unions and the public on the specific content of the review.

(v) Some Members proposed diverting bus routes plying Cheung Sha Wan Road to Lai Chi Kok Road, Sham Mong Road and Castle Peak Road, etc. TD and the bus companies would assess the impacts of diversion on bus passengers currently boarding at Cheung Sha Wan Road as well as on bus service arrangement, schedules and journey durations. TD and the bus companies would consult the relevant DCs if there was any specific plan.

172. Mr WONG Lai-man responded as follows:

(i) Cheung Sha Wan Road was a major road in Sham Shui Po and the location where the accident happened was situated at the heart of SSP District; with heavy pedestrian and traffic flows. The location had clear traffic signs and enough fences to guide drivers and pedestrians in using the road.

(ii) In the past few years, TD had carried out several traffic improvement measures at the junction where the accident happened including enlarging the area of yellow box marking, widening the road crossing of the eastern side of Cheung Sha Wan Road, widening the road crossing of Yen Chow Street near Apliu Street, and adjusting the traffic light signals of that location in a timely manner.

(iii) TD would take into account the accident investigation report of the Police, study the road environment as well as the behaviours and attitudes of road users and take appropriate follow up action. The Department would explore various options to improve the situation of the junction where the accident had happened.

(iv) Since the junctions at the intersection of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street were very busy and there were many old buildings nearby, there would be restrictions on the widening of pavement or - 30 - Action by building of footbridge. TD would actively study with other relevant departments whether the building of footbridge was technically feasible.

173. The Chairman raised the following enquiries: (i) whether TD had worked out timetable for reviewing the working hours of bus captains and improving road facilities; (ii) whether the Department had any immediate or short-term measures to improve road safety.

174. Mr Keke LEUNG responded as follows: (i) TD had started reviewing the working guidelines for bus captains and would meet with stakeholders like the bus companies and unions, etc. as soon as possible with a view to reaching consensus and speeding up the review; (ii) the Department would discuss with the bus companies short-term arrangements which could be carried out at this stage so that bus captains could not work for long hours continuously.

175. The Chairman enquired about the specific timetable for the review.

176. Mr Keke LEUNG responded that TD would meet the unions in early October this year to garner their recommendations on revising the Guidelines. It would then discuss with the bus companies the content of the recommendations as well as their impacts on the operation of bus companies. Time was required for the relevant follow up work and TD hoped that specific and practical options could be proposed to address public concerns towards the long working hours of bus captains.

177. Mr WONG Lai-man responded as follows: (i) as far as short-term measures were concerned, TD would consider providing traffic signs at suitable locations of Cheung Sha Wan Road (e.g. to provide a “traffic lights ahead” sign before the junction where the accident happened) so that the drivers could get more information. It would also study the provision of “traffic accident blackspot” sign at a suitable location; (ii) TD was now updating the pedestrian and traffic flow data of that junction and would work out medium- and long-term traffic improvement measures based on the results.

178. The Chairman raised the following views: (i) TD did not propose any immediate improvement measures. There were four junctions at the intersection of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street. Pedestrians always violated traffic rules and directly crossed the area of yellow box marking at the intersection. He suggested relevant departments send staff to teach pedestrians the correct way to cross the road for the sake of pedestrian safety; (ii) SSPDC would hold Transport - 31 - Action by Affairs Committee (“TAC”) meeting on 12 October and the full council meeting on 7 November this year. TD should finish the relevant review on 7 November at the latest and carry out various temporary improvement measures.

179. Mr William CHUNG apologised to the victims and their families on behalf of Citybus. He wished the injured early recovery and extended his sincere condolences to the families of the deceased. He then responded as follows:

(i) Citybus had visited and expressed sympathy to the families of the two deceased with the insurance company after the accident, discussing with them the arrangement for insurance compensation. They were now waiting for the family of another deceased person to confirm the meeting date.

(ii) There were totally 33 people injured in the accident. Due to privacy reasons, Citybus could only obtain the contact information of family members of the deceased and the injured with the assistance of relevant government departments. Hence it needed more time. Citybus had already contacted 32 of them as well as called and left a message for the remainder one injured people. They were now waiting for a reply.

(iii) Since it took time for the insurance company to make claim arrangement, Citybus had made special arrangement with the insurance company. The injured could apply to the insurance company to advance some of the insurance proceeds if they had financial difficulties before recovery. They only had to provide simple supporting documents (e.g. proof of injury and income) and the insurance company would disburse some of the insurance proceeds as per their injuries and status of recovery within seven working days to tide them over. The insurance company would also handle other relevant claims as soon as possible.

(iv) Given the public concerns over the working hours of bus captains, Citybus would review the arrangement for working hours with TD as soon as possible. In the short run, Citybus would avoid having bus captains to work long hours for many days in a row without affecting the service.

180. The Chairman raised the following enquiries: (i) Citybus pointed out that it would avoid arranging long working hours for bus captains. He wanted to know - 32 - Action by the specific number of hours; (ii) the average working hours of bus captains now.

181. Mr William CHUNG responded as follows: (i) Citybus would avoid arranging bus captains to work for long hours for many days in a row; (ii) the working hours of bus captains were determined according to the travel time of their routes. The average working hours for bus captains of Citybus were about 10 hours, with 5% of the bus captains worked for over 13 hours; 18% worked for 12 to 13 hours and the rest of them worked for eight to 12 hours.

182. The Chairman said that the data of Citybus indicated that the working hours of about 20% of the bus captains were too long, which required immediate improvement.

183. Mr Samson CHO responded that the Police had vigorously carried out rescue and investigation after the accident. It was still looking into the cause of the accident and how it happened. Since it was expected that legal proceedings for the case would commence, the Police would not give away further information for the time being save those which had been disseminated to the media on the day when the accident happened

184. Ms Wendy CHAU responded as follows:

(i) After the accident, SWD and the Hospital Authority (“HA”) had both sent medical social workers and social workers of Integrated Family Service Centres immediately to the inter-departmental emergency support centres set up by HAD at four hospitals to provide immediate assistance and emotional counselling and answer enquiries.

(ii) The social workers of SWD and HA had contacted all the injured who had been admitted to the hospitals and the families of the deceased to discern their welfare needs and provide emotional support. Some of them were referred to receive clinical psychology service. Moreover, the social workers had also helped the families in need apply for various emergency relief funds and helped those funds distribute the approved payments. The social workers would continue to follow up on and provide support for the families in need.

185. The Chairman said that he was glad to know that the Government had helped some of the needy people seek assistance from charity funds six days after - 33 - Action by the accident whereas Citybus was still making arrangement for insurance claims, which was uncharitable.

186. The District Officer said that all the staff of SSPDO had felt sorry for the accident. He would like to offer the deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish the injured early recovery. He then responded as follows:

(i) After the accident, HAD had immediately set up inter-departmental emergency support centres at , Princess Margaret Hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital to provide emergency support service to the families of the deceased and the injured.

(ii) SSPDO had also taken part in the disbursement of emergency funds and had kept liaising closely with SWD.

(iii) The traffic accident had raised public concerns over topics such as road designs and bus service arrangement, etc. SSPDO would vigorously follow up on the views of DC with the relevant departments.

187. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) the traffic at the intersection of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street was busy. With many commercial and residential buildings in its vicinity and heavy pedestrian flow, there were potential risks of traffic accident; (ii) according to what he learnt from the injured and their families, the pedestrians had followed traffic rules at the day when the accident happened. On the contrary, it happened that the bus had shown signs of unsteadiness before the accident; (iii) TD and the bus companies should divert some bus routes to Lai Chi Kok Road and Sham Mong Road and consider handling the long-haul routes and airport routes first so as to ease the traffic flow of Cheung Sha Wan Road incrementally; (iv) the compensation arrangement of Citybus took time. He hoped that the Government would set up a task group to follow up on the remedial work and help the victims’ families overcome the crisis; (v) he supported the idea of building a footbridge to improve road safety.

188. Mr Aaron LAM raised the following views: (i) many members of the public would go to Dragon Centre and Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, hence increasing the pedestrian flow near the intersection of Yen Chow Street. He pointed out that the pavement there was only two metres in width; there would be technical problems for constructing footbridge. In view of this, he suggested the Government build a subway as soon as possible to improve road safety. He also - 34 - Action by pointed out that SSPDC had endorsed a plan of building a subway connecting MTR Sham Shui Po Station and Dragon Centre more than ten years ago. Yet the subway was not built ultimately due to commercial reasons; (ii) at present members of the public often crossed the intersection of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street diagonally. He suggested TD consider allowing such practice and adjusting the traffic light signals to alleviate the crowdedness of the road; (iii) he suggested the Police deploy officers at that intersection for a prolonged period to remind members of the public to pay attention to road safety; (iv) it was noted that there were funds to help traffic accident victims in Hong Kong and he asked SWD to disburse them to the victims’ families as soon as possible.

189. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following views and enquiries: (i) TD said that stakeholders did not have any views when reviews were conducted in the past on the guidelines on bus captain working hours. He reckoned that the statement made by the Department aimed just to pass the buck, pointing out that bus captains had remained silent during consultations because they did not have much bargaining power and had to earn a living. In fact, the unions had demanded for reducing the working hours of bus captains to 12 hours long ago; (ii) he enquired whether TD would review the salaries of bus captains. At present, the monthly salaries of bus captains were only $13,000; they had to work overtime to earn more money. Therefore, merely shortening the working hours might not solve the problem thoroughly. The Government had the bus franchise in hand and should be able to wield its influence and increase the salaries of bus captains to improve road safety and increase the incomes of bus captains; (iii) the Government had made use of this accident and proposed importing foreign labours. He enquired whether TD had studied or considered, for example, whether foreign labours might threaten road safety for they were not familiar with the traffic conditions of Hong Kong; (iv) he hoped that Citybus would made compensation arrangement as soon as possible and review and increase the basic salaries of bus captains; (v) the safety of pedestrians, passengers, roads and the public should be the prime concern of the Department.

190. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong raised the following views: (i) the incomes of bus captains were not high, coupled with the situation of different pay for the same work for bus captains employed under the old and the new systems of Citybus, some bus captains had to work long hours to earn a living. To ensure driving safety, bus companies must shorten the working hours of bus captains immediately and review their salary packages as soon as possible; (ii) years ago DC had agreed to build a subway to improve the road conditions. He asked the relevant departments to check the file of the day and study whether the options concerned were workable; (iii) since it would not be easy to widen the pavements, he - 35 - Action by suggested widening the four road crossings at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street to facilitate pedestrian flow and divert some bus routes to other roads to reduce the burden on road traffic.

191. Mr LEE Wing-man raised the following views: (i) since bus companies offered low salaries to bus captains, they had to work overtime to eke out a living. The bus companies said during a TAC meeting that it was difficult to recruit bus captains; but after all the problem of no one filling the vacancies was due to the low salaries for bus captains; (ii) he supported shortening the working hours of bus captains but opined that their income level must be guaranteed. Otherwise, their salaries would be virtually reduced; (iii) he opposed the importation of foreign labours because that should be the last resort.

192. The Chairman said that the reduction of working hours of bus captains without raising their salaries would only force them to take up other part time jobs. Ultimately, their working hours would not be reduced. He hoped that the bus companies would understand this point.

193. Ms Zoé CHOW raised the following views: (i) this accident had reflected the problem of crowdedness of the streets. Even though residents had followed traffic rules when crossing the road, accident still happened; (ii) she in principle supported the building of footbridge to facilitate pedestrian flow; yet careful consideration should be given to the relevant details. For example whether the public was willing to use the footbridge and whether the bridge columns would narrow the road, etc.; (iii) long working hours would exhaust the bus captains, making traffic accidents easier to happen. The bus companies should shorten the working hours of bus captains and adjust their salaries; (iv) since many development projects would be completed in SSP District, bus routes should be rationalised and the opportunity be taken to examine whether the roads were overloaded.

194. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views: (i) a bus captain had to reach a bus stop at specific time or risked being complained or even punished. As a result, they had to drive faster and thus affecting road safety. He hoped that the parties concerned would improve this problem; (ii) pedestrians in Japan, Taiwan and Britain were all allowed to cross an intersection diagonally. Studies in Britain even indicated that the number of traffic accidents had fallen by 38% after allowing pedestrians to cross an intersection diagonally without increasing the journey time remarkably. As far as the intersection at Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street was concerned, pedestrians could not reach the diagonal junction points in one display of pedestrian green time if they took an “L” route when crossing the - 36 - Action by roads. They had to stop and wait at a junction. If they were allowed to cross the intersection diagonally and thus reaching their destinations in one stroke, the number of pedestrians waiting at the junctions could be reduced. He hoped that TD would study on allowing this road crossing method.

195. Mr KONG Kwai-sang raised the following views: (i) this accident had reflected the problem of the treatment of bus captains. He asked the bus companies and TD to seriously review their salaries and working hours; (ii) Cheung Sha Wan Road was a very busy road plied by many bus routes. Consideration should be given to divert some of the bus routes to Lai Chi Kok Road and Castle Peak Road; (iii) there were many pedestrians at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street; it would be difficult to widen the pavements. The building of footbridge would be an option worthy of consideration.

196. Ms Joephy CHAN raised the following views: (i) the unions had been reflecting their views on issues such as the rights of bus captains, road safety and road designs, etc. to the Government; yet the Government did not respond positively. Only after this accident did it consider about consulting the stakeholders. She expressed regret on that; (ii) public transport drivers did not have enough rest time and their treatment was unsatisfactory. She hoped that the Department would seriously examine ways for improvement; (iii) the Government should study how the roads could be improved, for example, providing traffic lights with count down devices to help drivers discern road conditions and provide parapets to safeguard pedestrians; (iv) many junctions in Hong Kong had high pedestrian and traffic flows. She hoped that the Government would review the road design in Hong Kong comprehensively; (v) she asked the relevant government departments to consider seriously Members’ suggestions and bring forth a specific timetable and road map for implementing the improvement measures.

197. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following views: (i) examination should be carried out to see whether the design of the junctions at Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street was defective to avoid accidents from happening again. He pointed out that the location concerned was narrow and the pedestrians would have nowhere to go if there was an accident; thus studies should be conducted to widen the pavements; (ii) to allow pedestrians to cross the road diagonally could facilitate pedestrian flow; however, it might also exacerbate traffic congestion. In view of this, measures should be worked out to reduce the traffic flow on Cheung Sha Wan Road, for example, diverting some bus routes to other roads; (iii) as the junctions at Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street were traffic black spots, consideration should be given to reinforce the fences with a view to safeguarding the pedestrians. - 37 - Action by 198. Ms LAU Pui-yuk raised the following views: (i) she hoped that apart from paying visits and making compensation arrangement, Citybus and the relevant government departments could also provide more support and assistance to the injured and the families of the deceased in this accident; (ii) there were many pedestrians and vehicles at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street. The government departments concerned should vigorously study on methods such as bus re-routing, pavement widening and construction of footbridge, etc. to facilitate pedestrian and traffic flows and safeguard road users; (iii) she agreed that the working hours of bus captains should be reviewed comprehensively as soon as possible to ensure that they could have enough rest and avoid accidents from happening again.

199. Ms Carman NG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) Citybus said that 5% bus captains had to work over 13 hours a day. She enquired whether Citybus had made any improvements and adjustments immediately after the accident; (ii) TD said that it would review the working hours of bus captains from time to time. She demanded the Department to announce the results of the review as soon as possible; (iii) it was indisputable that there were many pedestrians at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street. Coupled with the fact that there was a Maternal and Child Health Centre nearby, the consequence would be grave once there was an accident. TD should not waste time on investigating the road conditions there but to implement improvement measures as soon as possible; (iv) she proposed using DC funds to improve the traffic facilities at the junctions at Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street as well as carry out road safety education.

200. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views: (i) although Citybus had contacted the families of the two deceased and left the means of contact to the injured, he hoped that it could increase manpower and take the initiative to provide support to the injured; (ii) Citybus should in the first place distribute ex-gratia payment to the families of the deceased and the injured to tide them over before following up on the insurance compensation arrangement; (iii) he hoped that Citybus could implement measures to reduce the working hours of bus captains before the review on the guidelines on bus captain working hours was completed so as to safeguard road users.

201. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) Citybus did not render enough support to the families of the deceased and the injured; it should grant supplements to them immediately; (ii) Citybus should reduce the working hours of all bus captains to 12 hours or below as soon as possible; (iii) the Police should send officers to the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street to - 38 - Action by guide the pedestrians to cross the roads safely; (iv) TD should reinforce the fences at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street to safeguard pedestrians; (v) he asked TD to rationalise the bus routes and submit a plan to DC; (vi) the Government should have a clear stance on the working hours of professional drivers and lobby the relevant stakeholders into accepting it; (vii) the building of subways at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street involved the issue of interests which would be difficult to resolve. He suggested using Fuk Wing Street as the starting point for building footbridge to separate pedestrians and vehicles while the bridge columns should be located at an unused carriageway of Cheung Sha Wan Road leading to Garden. He asked TD to arrange a site visit before the TAC meeting to be held on 12 October this year; (viii) he suggested slightly narrowing the carriageways of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street with a view to widening the junctions; (ix) as Yen Chow Street was located at the central part of Sham Shui Po, the Government should handle the road safety issue carefully.

202. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following views: (i) the staff unions of bus companies had raised the problem of long working hours of bus captains after a Citybus side-turned in a traffic accident at Lam Tin in January this year; which killed one people and injured 18. If the problem of long working hours of bus captains was not improved, accidents would still happen even though there were other improvement measures; (ii) whether Citybus could promise to support cutting the working hours of bus captains to 12 hours and to reach consensus with the staff unions without further waiting for the results of government review; (iii) the Government should have a stance towards the working hours of bus captains and lead the relevant stakeholders to forge a consensus to ensure that bus captains could have enough rest.

203. Mr Keke LEUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) TD would review the guidelines on the working hours and rest time of bus captains with the stakeholders of bus companies and unions so as to forge a consensus. As far as immediate measures were concerned, TD would discuss with the bus companies and make sure that the arrangement for bus captains to work long hours for many days in a row would be limited without affecting bus service

(ii) TD would study on the diversion of bus routes plying Cheung Sha Wan Road to Lai Chi Kok Road and Castle Peak Road. It would consult DC once there was a specific plan. - 39 - Action by (iii) The Government was concerned about the problem of manpower shortage in the transport industry. The bus companies had the responsibility to attract new entrants and retain staff by increasing salaries, benefits and promotion prospects. The increase of salaries for bus captains might lead to fare increase; hence in-depth discussion was needed.

(iv) The bus companies were duty-bounded to comply with the guidelines on working hours. If bus trips were delayed due to traffic congestion, the bus companies should ensure that bus captains could have enough rest time by means of rescheduling bus trips or arranging empty buses to pick up passengers at en route stops, etc.

(v) TD attached importance to the safety of franchised bus services. Any bus service improvement measures must also ensure the safety of bus services.

204. The Chairman asked TD to promise attending the TAC meeting held on 12 October or DC meeting on 7 November this year to report the progress of various improvement measures.

205. Mr Keke LEUNG responded that TD would report the progress at the relevant meetings. The Department would meet the unions in early October to discuss the proposed option before meeting the bus companies, in the hope of reporting the progress at the meeting concerned.

206. Mr WONG Lai-man gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) TD would contact the Police to follow up on the situations at the junctions of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street and direct the pedestrians to cross the road safely.

(ii) The proposal of allowing crossing the roads diagonally, reinforcing parapets and providing count down devices for traffic lights involved changing designs of road facilities or law amendments. The Department would study the relevant proposals to see whether they were applicable to the aforesaid junctions or other roads.

(iii) TD would assess the impact of the bus route diverting plans on the road traffic in the vicinity. - 40 - Action by (iv) The space at the junctions at Cheung Sha Wan Road and Yen Chow Street was limited; it would not be easy to carry out widening works. TD was ready to visit the site with Members to explore the proposals of widening the road and providing footbridge and subways.

207. Mr William CHUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) Citybus would not punish bus captains for delayed trips; it would only ask the bus regulators to adjust the frequencies of the routes.

(ii) Citybus had contacted the 32 people who were injured in this accident and the insurance company had also explained to them the compensation arrangement. The insurance company would keep contacting the injured to discern their needs.

(iii) The treatment for staff employed under the old and the new systems of Citybus were different because the salaries and benefits for the new recruits were lowered when the economy was weaker in 2003. Following the economy recovery in the recent years, Citybus had gradually improved the salaries and benefits of staff employed under the new system to narrow the gap between the staff employed under the old and the new systems.

(iv) It would be difficult to change the problem of long working hours immediately. In the short run, Citybus hoped to avoid bus captains working long hours for many days in a row by means of shift arrangement. Citybus agreed with the direction of reducing the working hours of bus captains but the premise was that enough manpower could be recruited. It would further discuss the issue with the relevant parties.

208. The Chairman hoped that Citybus would promise to take the initiative to contact the victims of this accident and their families before 12 October this year and provide assistance to them.

209. Mr William CHUNG responded that Citybus had contacted the families of the deceased and the injured; and would contact them if they needed help.

210. Mr Samson CHO gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) The Police agreed that publicity/education activities and law - 41 - Action by enforcement action could help reduce traffic accidents; it had carried out publicity/education activities and law enforcement action at the location where the accident happened.

(ii) From January to late August this year, the Police had distributed leaflets at the aforesaid location to remind pedestrians the things they should pay attention to when crossing the road. It had also prosecuted in total 443 pedestrians.

(iii) In the past 12 months the Police had issued penalty tickets to 141 drivers. The relevant figure only included the prosecutions made by the Sham Shui Po Police District; the number of prosecutions of Traffic West Kowloon Region was not included.

(iv) Since the aforesaid location was one of the traffic black spots in the district, the Police would keep carrying out publicity/education activities and law enforcement action targeting road users.

211. Ms Wendy CHAU gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) The Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme aimed mainly to provide financial assistance to road traffic accident victims and their dependants; payments would be made according to the injuries of the victims. The Scheme was non-means tested and the applicants had to submit relevant documentary proofs (e.g. medical reports, death certificate, work proof and sick leave certificates, etc.) for approval.

(ii) If the victims of accidents and their families had encountered immediate financial hardship, social workers would help them apply for emergency relief funds. In fact, various emergency relief funds had offered emergency assistance to some needy families of this traffic accident.

(iii) SWD was very concerned about the emotional and welfare needs of the victims’ families of this accident. Social workers would keep providing support to families in need.

212. The Chairman raised the following enquiries: (i) whether the responsible departments had set up hotlines to facilitate victims’ families in need to seek help; (ii) some members of the public told him that they wanted to donate money to the victims’ families. He asked whether the Government could help make the - 42 - Action by arrangement.

213. Ms Wendy CHAU responded as follows: (i) the responsible social workers had contacted the victims’ families of the accident and offered them their contact information; (ii) SWD had a 24-hour hotline (2343 2255), the injured, the families of the deceased and the public in need could seek help from social workers through the hotline.

214. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong asked TD to put on record the demands such as the widening of the four road crossings at the junctions of Yen Chow Street and Cheung Sha Wan Road, etc. and carry out studies on them.

215. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) he asked the relevant government departments and the bus companies to follow up on Members’ views, including the assistance and compensation arrangement for the victims’ families, road improvement measures, re-routing of bus routes, etc. He also asked the relevant parties to report the progress at the TAC meeting to be held on 12 October or the DC full council meeting on 7 November this year; (ii) he asked the Secretariat to arrange for a site visit in the intervening period; (iii) he asked the relevant departments and the bus companies to propose specific improvement measures and implement them within a short period of time to ensure public safety.

[Post-meeting notes: The Secretariat had arranged a site visit on 10 October this year which had been attended by departments including TD, the Highways Department, the Lands Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and SSPDO.]

Item 2: Any other business

216. Members had raised no other business.

217. There being no other business, the meeting ended at 5:15 p.m.

District Council Secretariat Sham Shui Po District Office November 2017