Minutes of the Special Meeting of Tai Po District Council in 2020 Date: 21
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Minutes of the Special Meeting of Tai Po District Council in 2020 Date: 21 January 2020 (Tuesday) Time: 9:37 a.m. to 5:52 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Tai Po District Council Present Time of Arrival Time of Withdrawal Chairman Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Vice-chairman Mr. LAU Yung-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Members Mr. AU Chun-ho Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. AU Chun-wah Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHAN Chun-chit, Richard Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Ms. CHAN Wai-ka, Olive Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. HO Wai-lam 10:00 a.m. End of the meeting Mr. LAM Ming-yat, Nick Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. LAM Yick-kuen Beginning of the meeting 1:15 p.m. Mr. LI Yiu-ban, BBS, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting 1:15 p.m. Mr. LIN Kok-cheung, Dalu Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. MAN Nim-chi Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. MO Ka-chun, Patrick 2:33 p.m. End of the meeting Mr. SO Tat-leung Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. TAM Yi-pui Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. WONG Siu-kin Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. WU Yiu-cheong Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YAM Kai-bong Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YIU Kwan-ho Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YIU Yeuk-sang Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting - 2 - Secretary Mr. LEE Yu-sau, Terence Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Tai Po District Office, Home Affairs Department In Attendance Ms. CHAN Hau-man, Eunice, JP District Officer (Tai Po), Home Affairs Department Miss LEUNG Wing-yin, Tiffany Assistant District Officer (Tai Po), Home Affairs Department Ms. CHU Ha-fan, Jessica District Planning Officer/Sha Tin, Tai Po and North, Planning Department Mr. KWOK Kin-man, Alex District Lands Officer/Tai Po (District Land Office, Tai Po), Lands Department Mr. CHEN Wai-kuen Administrative Assistant/Lands (Acting) (District Lands Office, Tai Po), Lands Department Mr. LI Kwok-keung, Vincent Senior Engineer / 11 (North), Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr. KWONG Ka-yin Chief Transport Officer/New Territories East, Transport Department Ms. WONG Mei-yin Chief School Development Officer (Tai Po), Education Bureau Mr. LAI Siu-kwong District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Tai Po), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr. LAW Shau-mong Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing & Pest Control) 2, Tai Po, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Ms. HEUNG Ching-yee, Alice Chief Leisure Manger (New Territories East), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Ms. LIU Pui-wah, Stella District Leisure Manger (Tai Po), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr. CHAN Kai-lam, Allan Chief Manger/Management (Tai Po, North and Shatin), Housing Department Mrs. CHIU TSE Shuk-yin Senior Housing Manger/Tai Po, North and Shatin 2, Housing Department Ms. CHAN Sin-yee, Perin, Sindy Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Tai Po/North) 1, Social Welfare Department Ms. LEE Ching-yee, Patty Senior Liaison Officer(1), Tai Po District Office, Home Affairs Department - 3 - Ms. WONG Yu-hang, Anita Senior Liaison Officer(2), Tai Po District Office, Home Affairs Department Ms. LEE Ho-yee, Trazy Executive Officer I (District Council), Tai Po District Office, Home Affairs Department Absentee Mr. LEE Kwok-chung District Commander (Tai Po), Hong Kong Police Force Announcements The Chairman welcomed Members and departmental representatives to the meeting and made the following announcements: (i) Ms. CHAN Sin-yee, Perin, Sindy, Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Tai Po/North) of the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”), and Mr. LI Kwok-keung, Vincent, Senior Engineer (North) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (“CEDD”), attended this meeting on behalf of Mr. YAM Mun-ho, District Social Welfare Officer (Tai Po/North), and Mr. CHUNG Wing-hong, John, Chief Engineer respectively, who were both on leave. (ii) Mr. KWOK Kin-man, Alex, District Lands Officer/Tai Po, and Mr. CHEN Wai-kuen, Acting Administrative Assistant, replaced Ms. LEUNG Miu-yin, Karen, and Mr. CHAN Wing-yiu who had transferred out, to attend TPDC meetings from now on. (iii) Mrs. CHIU TSE Shuk-yin, Senior Housing Manger/Tai Po, North and Shatin of the Housing Department (“HD”), and Mr. LAW Shau-mong, Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing & Pest Control), Tai Po, of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) attended this meeting. (iv) As some departmental representatives had to leave early, the agenda of this meeting would be slightly modified. In addition, at the Central and Western District Council meeting held last week, the District Officer concerned had led the attending government officials to withdraw from the meeting in protest against the discussion of politically sensitive issues. To prevent the District Officer (Tai Po) from doing do at this meeting, whereby rendering it impossible for the District Council (“DC”) to discuss urgent or livelihood issues, as a result of which the DC would be blamed for “talking about politics only, but ignoring people’s livelihood”, the more - 4 - sensitive issues would be discussed later at this meeting, so as to give priority to livelihood issues. (v) Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”) had replied in writing that as the meeting had only one agenda item relating to HKPF, it did not send officers to attend the meeting. In the past, however, even if a DC meeting did not have any agenda item relating to HKPF, its representatives would nonetheless attend the entire meeting. Therefore, the action taken by HKPF this time ran contrary to the usual practice. 2. Mr. AU Chun-wah told the District Officer (Tai Po) that while the DC was an advisory body, departments concerned had basically attended DC meetings on a regular basis over the years. However, HKPF’s representative blatantly refused to attend the meeting this time and showed no respect for TPDC. Should government departments maintain the same attitude in the future and decide arbitrarily whether to attend meetings or not, it would no longer be necessary for DCs to operate further while it was not the way in which the Government should operate either. He opined that HKPF representatives had attended the meetings in the past because the former DC Chairman, who was of the pro-establishment camp, would treat them to meals after the meetings. Given that the incumbent TPDC Chairman was a pro-democracy DC Member, he asked if HKPF representatives would no longer attend DC meetings because they would not be treated to any meals. 3. Mr. MAN Nim-chi said that he would like to express opinions to the District Officer (Tai Po) on behalf of the people of Hong Kong. He designedly brought a high-power flashlight to the meeting, with which he had intended to project a light beam on Mr. LEE Kwok-chung, District Commander (Tai Po) of HKPF, to show him how TPDC Members had been insulted by police officers on the scene of anti-government movements. However, HKPF only replied in writing, without sending any officers to attend the meeting. He hoped that the District Officer (Tai Po) would instruct the departments concerned to take follow-up actions. 4. Mr. CHAN Chun-chit, Richard asked the District Officer (Tai Po) to fulfil her statutory duties as a liaison and co-ordinating officer by following up on the issues below: (i) To write to the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) to ask for the legal justifications for HKPF’s decision of not sending officers to attend this meeting; (ii) To write to the Commissioner of Police to ask for the reasons why his subordinates did not attend this meeting; (iii) To write to Mr. LEE Kwok-chung to ask for a written reply to justify his absence from this meeting; (iv) Since attending TPDC meetings was one of the statutory duties of District Commander (Tai Po) of the HKPF, he requested that a letter be written to the - 5 - Secretary for the Civil Service to ask for explanations as to whether Mr. LEE Kwok-chung, as District Commander (Tai Po) of HKPF, had the statutory authority not to attend TPDC meetings, and whether such act violated the Civil Service Code; and (v) He asked the District Officer (Tai Po) to respond whether she would send the aforementioned letters as requested. 5. Ms. CHAN Hau-man, Eunice said that as far as attendance at TPDC special meeting 2020 was concerned, the Secretariat had contacted as per usual practice the departments concerned before the meeting as regards the arrangements for attending the meeting. Meanwhile, Tai Po Police District had also replied to the Secretariat regarding the issues concerned. 6. The Secretary said that the Secretariat had received an e-mail from Tai Po Police District this morning, which stated that this meeting was a special meeting of which most of the agenda items, except agenda item VII, were not under the purview of Tai Po Police District. Therefore, it would not send representatives to attend this meeting. 7. Ms. Eunice CHAN said that the Secretariat would follow up on the issues discussed at the meeting according to the usual practice. 8. Mr. Richard CHAN said that the District Officer (Tai Po) had not responded whether she would send the aforementioned letters as requested.