Minutes of the 22nd Meeting of the HKSAR Third Term of Wong Tai Sin District Council (Summary Translation)
Date: 17 May 2011 (Tuesday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Wong Tai Sin District Office, 6/F, Lung Cheung Office Block, 138 Lung Cheung Road, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon
Present:
Chairman:
Mr. LI Tak-hong, MH, JP
Vice-chairman:
Mr. WONG Kam-chi, MH, JP
Wong Tai Sin District Council Members:
Mr. CHAN Lee-shing Ms. CHAN Man-ki, Maggie Mr. CHAN On-tai Mr. CHAN Wai-kwan, Andie Mr. CHAN Yim-kwong, Joe Mr. CHOI Luk-sing, MH Mr. CHOW Ching-lam, Tony, MH Mr. CHUI Pak-tai Mr. HO Hon-man Mr. HO Yin-fai Mr. HUI Kam-shing Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH Ms. KWOK Sau-ying Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP Dr. LAU Chi-wang, James, BBS, JP Mr. LEE Tat-yan, MH 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 1 Mr. MOK Chung-fai, Rex Mr. MOK Kin-wing Mr. MOK Ying-fan Dr. SHI Lop-tak, Allen, MH, JP Mr. SO Sik-kin Mr. TO Kwan-hang, Andrew Dr. WONG Kam-chiu Mr. WONG Kwok-tung Mr. WONG Kwok-yan Mr. WONG Yat-yuk Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung
Absent with Apologies:
Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe
In attendance:
Mrs. FUNG CHING Director of Leisure and Cultural Services LCSD ) Re.: Item Suk-yee, Betty ) III(i) Ms. CHOR Kin-lan, Senior Staff Officer (Headquarters) LCSD ) Anna ) Mr. HO Ip-chuen, Wells Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon) LCSD ) Mr. TSANG Chief Executive Officer (Planning) 1 LCSD ) Chin-kwong, Harry ) Mrs. WAN CHEUNG Chief Librarian (Operations and Technical LCSD ) Man-yim, Annie Processing) )
Dr. LAM Kwok-lun, Principal Environmental Protection EPD ) Re.: Item Alain Officer (Waste Management Policy) ) III(ii) Mr. YU Wang-pong Senior Environmental Protection Officer EPD ) (Infrastructure Planning)2 ) Mr. CHAN Kai-wah, Senior Environmental Protection Officer EPD ) Tommy (Regional East)2 )
Mr. LAM Man-san Senior Engineer 3/Central Kowloon Route HyD ) Re.: Item Mr. KO Chi-wai Engineer 3/Central Kowloon Route HyD ) III(iii) Mr. KO Wai-ching Engineer 4/Central Kowloon Route HyD ) Mr. HAU Kin-man, Engineer/Wong Tai Sin TD ) Percy ) Mrs. TAM CHEUNG Regional Officer/Kowloon East/Sai Kung ICAC ) Re.: Item Kwai-ying, Dorothy ) III(v)
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 2 Ms. Claire CHAN Community Relations Officer ICAC )
Mr. Anthony LO Chief Engineer/Kowloon 1 CEDD ) Re.: Item Kam-yan ) III(vi) Mr. MOK Pang-ching, Senior Engineer CEDD ) Peter ) Ms. CHU Ha-fan, Senior Town Planner/Kowloon 3 PlanD ) Jessica )
Mr. SHIU Wai-chuen, District Officer (WTS) WTSDO William, JP Mr. David Michael District Commander (Wong Tai Sin) HKPF GUNTON Miss Cecilla LI District Social Welfare Officer SWD (Wong Tai Sin/Sai Kung) Mrs. SUNG CHEUNG Chief Manager/Management (Wong Tai HD Mun-chi Sin, Tsing Yi, Tsuen Wan and Islands) Mr. AU Siu-fung, Senior Transport Officer / Wong Tai Sin TD Kelven Mr. WONG Wai-wan, District Environmental Hygiene FEHD MH Superintendent (Wong Tai Sin) Mr. LAM Hok-hay, District Leisure Manager (Wong Tai Sin) LCSD George Mr. CHIK Yu-fai, Assistant District Officer (Wong Tai Sin) WTSDO Freddy Mr. CHUNG Chan-yau, Senior Executive Officer WTSDO Patrick (District Management) Mr. TING Tin-sang Senior Liaison Officer 1 WTSDO Ms. PANG Suk-wah, Senior Liaison Officer 2 WTSDO Phyllis Mr. YAM Yiu-hung, Executive Officer I (District Council) WTSDO Nathan
Secretary:
Ms. LAM Pui-fun, SEO(DC) WTSDO Maggie
Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the 22nd meeting of the Wong Tai Sin
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 3 District Council (WTSDC), especially Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Mrs. Betty FUNG, and Senior Staff Officer (Headquarters) Ms. Anna CHOR, Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon) Mr. Wells HO, Chief Executive Officer (Planning) 1 Mr. Harry TSANG, Chief Librarian (Operations and Technical Processing) Mrs. Annie WAN, and District Leisure Manager (Wong Tai Sin) Mr. George LAM of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD).
2. The Chairman welcomed Mr. Kelvin AU, Senior Transport Officer (Wong Tai Sin), who stood in for Mr. Vincent FAN, Chief Transport Officer (Kowloon) who was unable to attend the meeting due to other official commitments.
3. The Chairman informed Members that District Social Welfare Officer (Wong Tai Sin/Sai Kung) Miss Cecilla LI would be posted out next week. WTSDC endorsed to record a vote of thanks to Miss LI for her contributions.
4. Members noted that Mr. Joe LAI was absent from the meeting with apologies.
5. The Chairman informed Members that revised agenda for the 22nd meeting and suggested schedule for discussion were tabled. A new item was added, namely “Improper Behaviour of Members at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Meeting Held on 3 May 2011 (WTSDC Paper 45/2011)”. Members did not raise any objection to the revised agenda and the schedule for discussion, and agreed to proceed with the discussions accordingly.
I. Confirmation of the Minutes of the 21st Meeting of WTSDC held on 8 March 2011
6. The minutes of the 21st meeting of WTSDC held on 8 March 2011 were confirmed without amendment.
II. Progress Report on Matters Arising from the 21st Meeting of the Wong Tai Sin District Council (WTSDC Paper 30/2011)
7. Members noted the paper.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 4
III(i) Director of Leisure and Cultural Services’ Visit to the Wong Tai Sin District Council
8. The Chairman welcomed Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Mrs. Betty FUNG, and Senior Staff Officer (Headquarters) Ms. Anna CHOR, Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon) Mr. Wells HO, Chief Executive Officer (Planning) 1 Mr. Harry TSANG and Chief Librarian (Operations and Technical Processing) Mrs. Annie WAN of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) for visiting WTSDC.
9. Mrs. Betty FUNG was glad to visit WTSDC. Although this was the first time to attend a WTSDC meeting, she was familiar with Wong Tai Sin. She had lived and studied in the district. Wong Tai Sin had been developing rapidly in recent years. Many district facilities had been improved after WTSDC had taken part in the management of these facilities for benefiting the residents and establishing a caring community. She made a powerpoint presentation on LCSD’s work in Wong Tai Sin. Highlights were as follows:
(i) Recreational and Sports Facilities
In Wong Tai Sin, there were six indoor games halls, two swimming pools, one stadium and 53 leisure grounds. Also, two eleven-a-side football pitches had been commissioned in Ngau Chi Wan Park and Po Kong Village Road Park (Phase I) in September 2010. Cycling track and BMX velodrome in Po Kong Village Road Park (Phase II) would also be commissioned within this year. In addition, Nan Lian Garden, a territory-wide facility, was also located in Wong Tai Sin. Since 2008/09 when WTSDC had started to take part in the management of leisure facilities in the district and allocate funds to LCSD for carrying out district minor works and organising community recreational and sports activities, a total amount of $32.8 million had been allocated for 47 improvement/amenity projects. WTSDC had also funded to organise more than 3 500 activities by LCSD. (ii) Projects under Planning / Underway
LCSD was planning a project in Wong Tai Sin, namely “Converting Secondary Pool of the Morse Park Swimming Pool into a Covered Heated Pool”. She understood the concern of the WTSDC Members and the public about the project.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 5 According to the technical feasibility study by Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) in late April, the project was considered feasible and LCSD had submitted the report to the Development Bureau (DevB) for consideration. Once approved, LCSD would apply for fund according to relevant procedures pertaining to public works projects. LCSD understood, and shared Members’ view for early implementation of the project.
Construction of Wing Ting Road Sitting-out Area was one of the LCSD projects underway. The project, funded by WTSDC, had commenced in June 2010 and would be completed in July 2011. Two sets of elderly fitness facilities, environmental-friendly wooden seats, and footpath would be provided in the sitting-out area.
(iii) Major Recreational and Sports Activities in 2011-12
The 3rd Hong Kong Games had started last week. She wished the Wong Tai Sin delegation of 200 people would achieve a better result this year.
Wushu was the featured activity of Wong Tai Sin. In 2011-12, LCSD planned to organise seven Wushu activities in the district and there would be more than 1 500 participants.
(iv) Library Services
Wong Tai Sin with a population of more than 400 000 was served by two district libraries in Ngau Chi Wan and San Po Kong, four small libraries in Lok Fu, Lung Hing, Fu Shan and Tsz Wan Shan, as well as three mobile library stops in Chuk Yuen (South) Estate, Fung Tak Estate and Tsui Chuk Garden. She thanked WTSDC for the allocation of fund in the past few years, so that LCSD could upgrade its library facilities. LCSD was actively pursuing the extension of Tsz Wan Shan Library, and planned to rent the premises beside the library. The Government Property Agency (GPA) was negotiating with the Link Management Limited (the Link) over the detailed rental arrangement, with a view to realise the extension as soon as
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 6 possible.
In recent years, LCSD had been actively promoting the Community Libraries Partnership Scheme. There were 11 community libraries in Wong Tai Sin, including Fung Tak Community Reading Centre with a collection of about 2 000 books.
(v) Cultural Facilities
Cultural facilities were provided to Hong Kong and LCSD did not provide any district cultural facility. Instead, all cultural facilities were open to the public. The utilisation rate of Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre in Wong Tai Sin was 98% and 76% for the theatre and the cultural activities hall respectively. In the past year, a lot of activities organised by LCSD were held in this centre.
(vi) Promotion of Community Art and Public Art
LCSD actively promoted the community art and public art to different sectors of the community, e.g. “Artists in the Neighbourhood Scheme”. LCSD would also collaborate with DCs to display work of art in public space. LCSD had launched a Park Déco trial scheme and installed a number of artistic benches at Quarry Bay Park last week. The scheme could be extended to WTS if WTSDC was interested.
(vii) Historic Buildings and Preservation
Antiquities and Monuments Office was responsible for managing historical buildings. Consideration was being made to grade ten historic buildings in Wong Tai Sin. There were nine graded historic buildings in the district, including Wong Tai Sin Temple and Hau Wong Temple (Grade 1), as well as four Grade 2 and one Grade 3 historic buildings.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 7 (viii) Territory-wide Survey of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong
The Government attached high importance to preserve the intangible cultural heritage. LCSD collaborated with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was carrying out a territory-wide survey of intangible cultural heritage in Hong Kong. In early 2011, same researchers had visited WTSDC’s Community Building and Social Services Committee and, verbally gathered district-based information particularly on Wong Tai Sin Festival, Yu Lan Festival etc. Currently, Yu Lan Festival was pending confirmation as a national intangible cultural heritage. If confirmed, LCSD would staunchly support the organisers to promote the festival.
She invited Members to advise and comment on the work of LCSD.
10. The Chairman said two submissions (Annexes I and II), by ten Members of DAB Wong Tai Sin Branch and the East Kowloon District Residents’ Committee (EKDRC) were tabled. He first invited Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH to introduce DAB’s submission.
11. Mr. Kan Chi-ho, BBS, MH introduced the submission on behalf of DAB Wong Tai Sin Branch. Highlights were as follows (Annex I).
(i) He welcomed Mrs. Betty FUNG for visiting WTSDC and sharing with Members. He commented that Mrs. Fung’s visit was extraordinary as he was clearly informed of the progress of “Converting Secondary Pool of the Morse Park Swimming Pool into a Covered Heated Pool”. As mentioned by Mrs. FUNG, Wong Tai Sin was developing rapidly in the past decade. Therefore, residents had changed their requirements for community facilities, and were demanding on the quality of leisure and cultural facilities. In addition, there was eminent needs for swimming pool, library, playground etc.
(ii) Expedited Provision of Indoor Heated Pool in Morse Park Swimming Pool
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 8 The project “Converting Secondary Pool of the Morse Park Swimming Pool into a Covered Heated Pool” had been proposed and repeatedly discussed by the District Facilities Management Committee (DFMC) of WTSDC since December 2008, LCSD informed in 2010 that a feasibility study would be carried out. However, DFMC had not been informed of the progress since March 2010. The Morse Park Swimming Pool had been used for decades and it was learnt that replacement of its core structure was required. He strongly requested LCSD to expedite the project for the benefit of the residents, and he was pleased about the completion of technical feasibility study in April.
(iii) Extension of Library Services
WTSDC had commented on the operation of LCSD’s district and small libraries on a number of occasions. Wong Tai Sin was densely populated, and there were a number of public housing estates. Therefore, there was eminent need for library facilities. According to the utilisation report presented to DFMC in March 2011, the number of books lent out everyday by Tsz Wan Shan (TWS) Public Library, a small library, were more than the number of books lent out by two district libraries in 2010. The report had also revealed that more readers attended TWS Public Library than one of the district libraries. Hence, DAB requested LCSD to enhance the library services, extend the opening hours of the small libraries, and cancel the weekly rest day of these libraries;
Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP had investigated the possible extension of the TWS Public Library, and concluded that the extension could be located at the vacant car park in the Tsz Lok Estate Ancillary Facilities Block. GPA was still negotiating with the Link over the rental matters with slow progress. Although the residents had been complaining about the insufficient library facilities, the cancellation of the weekly rest day of the four small libraries would incur an additional annual expenditure of about $5.4 million, which could not be afforded by WTSDC. In this connection, DAB strongly requested LCSD:
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 9
(a) To cancel the weekly rest day of the four small libraries (TWS Public Library, Lung Hing Public Library, Fu Shan Public Library and Lok Fu Public Library), so that more residents could enjoy the library services flexibly;
(b) To extend the opening hours of the four small libraries to meet the needs of the residents, in particular the working people;
(c) To optimise the facilities and services to meet the needs of different age groups, such as providing study rooms and children’s library; and
(d) To extend the services of the TWS Public Library as soon as possible to meet the needs of the 100 000 residents in the area.
12. Mr. Andie CHAN, Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung, Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP and Mr. WONG Kam-chi, MH, JP introduce the submission (Annex II) on behalf of EKDRC.
13. Mr. Andie CHAN introduced the part on requesting LCSD to provide details and works schedule of the project “Construction of Heated Indoor Pool in Morse Park Swimming Pool, Wong Tai Sin” as soon as possible. WTSDC had been discussing the project for many years but LCSD had not explicitly indicated the implementation of the project until recently. Many elderly people in Wong Tai Sin swam in winter. When a heated swimming pool was provided in Morse Park, they were not required to go to the heated pool in Tsim Sha Tsui. He urged LCSD to provide WTSDC with details and works schedule of the project as soon as possible.
14. Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung introduced the part on requesting LCSD to provide a new district library in Wong Tai Sin. EKDRC always advocated the provision of a new district library in Wong Tai Sin to meet the people’s eminent needs and to address the unequal utilisation rates. The existing district libraries could not fully meet residents’ needs, and there was serious unequal utilisation rates in Wong Tai Sin libraries. About 1 529 and 2 474 visitors per day visited the Ngau Chi Wan Public Library and the San Po Kong Public Library respectively. However, 1 705 people visited the TWS Public Library, which was only a small library. Even though the number of days opened in this library was less than the number of days in district libraries, the number of visitors was more than the number in Ngau Chi Wan Public Library, which was a district library. In addition, those small libraries with their 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 10 meagre and deprived collection failed to meet the residents’ needs. It could aptly justify for another district library in Wong Tai Sin. EKDRC urged LCSD to study the special circumstances of Wong Tai Sin thoroughly, and satisfy the residents’ needs of a new district library.
(Mr. CHAN On-tai arrived at the meeting at 2:55 p.m.)
15. Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP introduced the part on seeking LCSD’s assistance in planning the peripheral facilities and green zones along Kai Tak River. Among the 18 districts, Wong Tai Sin did not possess a shoreline. As the Planning Department (PlanD) had already endorsed the development of Kai Tak River, he hoped that the river could be turned into a famous attraction similar to Cheonggyecheon in Korea. Kai Tak River had been polluted from a clean watercourse and then turned back into a clean watercourse. The development of Kai Tak River covered environmental protection, ecological and educational aspects. Along the river, there were LCSD’s Choi Hung Road Playground and Morse Park; and Chi Lin Nunnery and the beautiful Nan Lian Garden at the upstream end. EKDRC suggested LCSD co-operate with the Drainage Services Department (DSD) in carrying out greening works along the river, and linking up parks and green zones nearby into a big and multi-purposed green zone, so that the design of “park within river or river within park” could be achieved. Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP had studied the possible connections of Morse Park and the watercourse. Currently, the four parts of Morse Park were separated by roads. If these parts were joined together by footbridges and echoed with Kai Tak River, the planning of new facilities, such as footbridges, cycling trails, jogging tracks etc. could be done easily. He suggested LCSD make reference to the report by Dr. LAU and his engineering students, and plan the open spaces near Kai Tak River, Morse Park and Choi Hung Road Playground as a whole. He further suggested combining the green zones near the Kai Tak River by removing the fencing around Morse Park (No. 1).
(Mr. Allen SHI, MH, JP arrived at the meeting at 3 p.m.)
16. Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP added that the location of Morse Park (No. 4) was remote. In addition, a certain part of the park was elevated and inaccessible for the elderly. In this connection, he suggested an elevator be installed at a less elevated location, so that the elderly and the disabled could access the park easily. He further suggested the four parts of Morse Park be connected with wide footbridges flanked by greenery, so that people would seem to be walking inside the park. The annual lunar new year fair would be held in Morse Park. The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) was also looking forward to enhancing the park’s accessibility, and improving crowd control. He and his students had spent almost a year to prepare the report. Thus he would be pleased if LCSD made reference to it. The provision of footbridges and watercourses 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 11 in Morse Park could benefit all residents in Wong Tai Sin, and elders would then be able to reach the park without climbing steps.
17. Mr. WONG Kam-chi, MH, JP introduced the part on improving facilities in Wong Tai Sin Square. The square was one of the best venues for major leisure and recreational activities, flag raising ceremonies, etc. The square designed as a big, and multi-purposed venue, was sun-baked most of the time, and thus was not suitable for activities. DFMC had unanimously agreed to use the District Minor Works fund and retrofit the walkway with a greened cover. The usage of the Square would be increased with a shaded area. In order to provide a long-term and more effective solution to the above problem, he suggested LCSD adopt the design of Tai Po Waterfront Park, and half of the Square along the northern edge of its walkway be covered. The cover would not cover the whole square. It would block most of the sunlight and form a large, comfortable shaded area for the residents. Besides, he suggested LCSD provide the square with a permanent stage which was similar to the one in Wong Tai Sin Cultural Garden. The square would be more suitable for leisure and recreational activities. The proposed features were sustainable and long term planning. Those activity organisers needed not pay for building a stage and a venue cover. As a result, the Square would become a popular venue for leisure and recreational activities. In addition, Sik Sik Yuen had agreed to sponsor the construction fee of the cover. He hoped LCSD would support the above proposal.
(Mr. WONG Kwok-tung arrived at the meeting at 3:05 p.m.)
18. Mr. SO Sik-kin was glad that Mrs. Betty FUNG came to WTSDC and listen to Members’ views. He opined that LCSD was a commendable department. It always actively considered Members’ advice and suggestions, and responded to people’s requests about improvements to cultural and recreational facilities. In view that residents needed to go to the heated pool at Kowloon Park, WTSDC had pressed the Government to provide a heated pool in the district for many years. Given the district’s eminent need, he was impressed that progress had been made. Both the lunar new year fair, and WTSDC’s annual “Warmness Action” with participants of almost 6 000 elders, were held at Morse Park. Therefore, if the four parts of the park were joined together with footbridges, people might access to and use park facilities conveniently. He was a WTSDC Member of the Chuk Yuen area, and had been urging the Government to build a local library for many years. Chuk Yuen was not served by small library, but a mobile library van visited Chuk Yuen (South) Estate and Tsui Chuk Garden fortnightly. The area of Chuk Yuen was large and many people used the mobile library service. Therefore, he was greatly dissatisfied that there was not even a small library in the area. The population in the area was ageing, and there were not many study rooms. Provision of small library in Chuk Yuen would not only benefit 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 12 the residents, and would also release the mobile library van for remote areas. As Chuk Yuen located in urban area, it was inappropriate to provide mobile library services. Finally, he urged LCSD to actively consider building a small library in Chuk Yuen.
19. Mr. CHOI Luk-sing, MH said the Urban Council (UC) and the Regional Council (RC) had been disbanded by the Government when 2-tier council had replaced the 3-tier council. Despite Mr. TUNG Chee-hwa and Mr. Donald TSANG, the former and the current Chief Executives, had pointed out that the authorities of two Councils’ would be transferred to DCs, he did not recognise the sincerity of the Government. The Government only confined DCs’ role in providing advice. LCSD inherited the functions and responsibilities of the municipal councils, should follow up the above issue actively. Hence, he urged Mrs. FUNG to relay WTSDC’s views to the policy-making level and to remind the previous undertaking by granting DCs genuine administrative functions on top of advisory role. He hoped Mrs. FUNG would follow up the question about functions of DCs as soon as possible. There were more than 400 000 residents in Wong Tai Sin which suffered from ageing population. Despites the Government’s promotion on “Sports for All”, the district failed to provide adequate cultural and recreational facilities to the residents. He suggested LCSD co-operate with other departments and the school facilities be opened on holidays. In considering that most community halls could only accommodate 300 people and were poorly equipped, he requested the Government to enhance the existing cultural and recreational facilities, such as retrofitting unsheltered theatres, and providing stage ramps as required by equal opportunities legislation. Stage lifts were less efficient and less safe than ramps in crowd control. Finally, he hoped LCSD would take actions to respond to local needs.
20. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH was impressed by the implementations of the project “Converting Secondary Pool of the Morse Park Swimming Pool into a Covered Heated Pool”. He proposed the project in 2008 and was eager to know the progress. There were a few dilapidated indoor games halls in Wong Tai Sin, including Chuk Yuen Indoor Games Hall and Ngau Chi Wan Indoor Games Hall. Before the disbandment of the municipal councils, the Government had indicated to replace sports facilities gradually. He asked if LCSD had drawn up the mechanism to enhance the sports facilities. In discussing the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project, WTSDC had been informed of the possible provision of additional cultural and recreational facilities in affected areas. He thus enquired if LCSD, a service department, would provide additional facilities. LCSD should provide concrete plans to facilitate the works. While he would not raise any objection to EKDRC’s proposal on providing another district library in Wong Tai Sin, he opined that provision of libraries should comply with the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG). On the other hand, the provision of small libraries was not covered by HKPSG. However, LCSD
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 13 indicated that the mobile library service could make up the shortfall in library facilities. According to the LCSD submission to the Legislative Council (LegCo), the department tended to deploy mobile library vans or build small libraries to address inadequate library services in individual areas. From the utilisation rates of small libraries in Wong Tai Sin, the provision of library was small investment with high profit. Many people could benefit from the library service with the small expenditure by LCSD. However, LCSD still refused to provide a small library for a community of 30 000-50 000 people, against the current trend of continuing education. The Central Library, district libraries and small libraries formed a huge service system. If more small libraries were provided to enhance the system, people would be encouraged to have continuing education. Finally, he suggested LCSD not idle the service reservoirs but open to the public in the morning or to perform various light recreation activities.
21. Mr. MOK Ying-fan was glad about Mrs. Betty FUNG’s visit as well as the implementation of the Morse Park heated pool project. As mentioned by Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH, WTSDC had proposed the project since 2008. LCSD had taken three years to decide the implementation of the project. He urged LCSD to provide detailed works schedule and inform Members of the completion date. The ageing population in Wong Tai Sin increased the needs for heated pool. Currently, residents would go to Hammer Hill Swimming Pool, which was rather small. Hence he hoped that LCSD would provide a heated pool in Morse Park as soon as possible. LCSD’s services were about livelihood, thus it should find out people’s concerns and proactively identify the requirements, instead of waiting for Members’ proposals. Every year, LCSD bid funds from DFMC to carry out district minor works. He suggested LCSD submit a list of works projects to be carried out in the coming year to DFMC, and the committee would decide the priorities of these projects. He reiterated that the Government should find out people’s concerns and needs proactively. During the rainy season last years, several trees in Morse Park had fallen down and one had even crushed to a taxi. In this regard, he reminded LCSD to step up inspection of trees in parks for pedestrian safety. Given the previous injury by fallen trees and the coming rainy season, he urged LCSD to keep an eye on the trees in the district. Finally, he requested LCSD to improve the facilities in the open air theatre of Morse Park (No. 4). Currently, only about one-third of the seats were equipped with backrests. As most of the participants of the annual “Warmness Action” held in the theatre were elderly people, they could sit more comfortably if backrests were provided. 22. Mr. CHAN Lee-shing thanked Mrs. Betty FUNG for her visit. Although Ping Shek Playground was not part of Wong Tai Sin, it was popular among residents of Wong Tai Sin because of its proximity to Choi Wan Estate. As the playground was located on an elevated terrain, people could only reach there via the inclined Clear Water Bay Road, or by climbing steps from Ping Shek Estate. To address such inconvenience and attract users, he suggested LCSD identify possible improvements to the playground’s accessibility, such as installing an elevator. In addition, given the
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 14 eminent need for swimming pool in the urban area, and the fact that Hammer Hill Road Swimming Pool was only a leisure-cum-training pool, he enquired if LCSD had any plan to convert it into a standard swimming pool.
23. Mr. CHAN On-tai made a few suggestions to LCSD. Firstly, he suggested greening be continued in the district, such as covering the roof of rain shelters with wire mesh for cultivating flowering vine. This initiative could serve both embellishing and greening purposes. Secondly, he suggested LCSD install ozone sterilising system for the upcoming heated pool in Morse Park. Ozone could sterilise water in the swimming pool and could purify the water and regulate water quality. Thirdly, he suggested swimming pool monthly pass scheme be provided to encourage swimming. Fourthly, he suggested LCSD fully use the decking of service reservoirs. For instance, a baseball field was provided at the Lion Rock Park Service Reservoir, and LCSD might build turfed sports facilities, such as baseball fields and football pitches, at other service reservoirs. He also reminded the department to install lightning conductor in the baseball field at the Lion Rock Park Service Reservoir. Fifthly, he suggested LCSD use vacant sites in Wong Tai Sin to provide libraries, study rooms etc. Two levels of car park at Tin Ma Court had been vacant for almost 24 years. As far as he knew, the property manager would like to lease the vacant premises to the Government. Hence, LCSD could use the premises at pretty low rents, and thus it did not need to set aside any resource for building library blocks. In addition, residents might benefit from the community facilities, and property managers could enjoy rental income.
24. Mr. WONG Yat-yuk thanked Mrs. Betty FUNG for listening to Members’ views. He hoped that LCSD would extend TWS Public Library as soon as possible to respond to public demands. Regarding improvements to minor facilities, such as provision of water dispenser and clock in playgrounds, he enquired if LCSD had any mechanism or administrative channel through which one could suggest possible improvements direct, instead of doing so via DFMC. Hence, the public’s suggestions could be implemented promptly, and the facilities in question could be commissioned earlier. He requested Mrs. FUNG to response on his suggestions.
25. Mr. HO Yin-fai said utilisation rates of LCSD’s recreational and sports facilities, in particular badminton courts and table tennis saloons, were very high. For badminton courts, it was difficult to book the peak sessions, even if one tried to do so a few days in advance. Some private coaches hired the courts consecutively for an extended period to organise profit-making badminton lessons. He urged Mrs. FUNG to follow up this matter. LCSD venues were precious resources. If certain people made use of the venue to make profit for an extended period, they had exploited others’ rights to use these venues. Currently, disabled using LCSD’s badminton courts and 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 15 table tennis saloons might enjoy a 50% discount in hire charges. As disabled people seldom played ball games throughout the entire session, they usually let their accompanying friends/relatives to use the venue. However, when the disabled hirers retired from the venue, even for just a while, LCSD staff would try to stop their friends/relatives from playing ball games in the venues as they were not entitled to the 50% concession. He opined that LCSD staff should not do so if the disabled hirers had once used, or they took rest in the venues.
26. Mr. LEE Tat-yan, MH thanked Mrs. FUNG for visiting WTSDC and listening to Members’ views. He commented that Kai Tak East Indoor Games Hall had been commissioned more than three decades ago. It was small and the facilities were dilapidated. Even regular hirers like residents of Rhythm Garden considered that the indoor games hall should be redeveloped. The number of hirers of the indoor games hall was ever increasing. In addition, new developments in Diamond Hill and Kai Tak might further intensify the situation. On the other hand, some residents had commented that hard-surface football pitches might cause injury easily. For the sake of users’ safety, he suggested the football pitches be converted with third or fourth generation artificial turf.
27. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying was concerned about provision of barrier-free facilities in LCSD parks. She found that one should climb many steps, walk up slope and pass through a housing estate to go to Morse Park (No. 3). She suggested LCSD install elevators at inaccessible locations to help disabled visitors. There were lots of elderly people in Wong Tai Sin. They liked to play ball games, such as table tennis, in the morning. Hence, she suggested the venues designed for light exercises be free of charge during non-peak hours, and elderly fitness equipment be provided in its recreational and sports venues. Existing elderly fitness equipment in Morse Park (No. 3) was inadequate and outdated and the equipment in the Mainland was new and user-friendly. Therefore, she suggested the existing facilities be renewed.
28. Regarding Mr. MOK Ying-fan’s proposed improvements to the facilities of Morse Park (No. 4), the Chairman added that he was the Chairman of Wong Tai Sin District Arts Council which had organised the annual “Warmness Action” for many years. This year, the four-day activity had attracted more than 8 000 participants. Although LCSD had improved the seating in the open air theatre of Morse Park (No. 4), only some of the seats were equipped with backrests. He suggested backrests be installed in all seats, so that audiences could sit comfortably during the hours-long activity. Currently, there were covers at the auditorium and the stage, but not the space between two covers. Hence, he suggested the cover be extended to protect the 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 16 entire theatre.
29. Mrs. Betty FUNG thanked Members’ enquiries and suggestions. Her responses were summarised as follows:
(i) “Converting Secondary Pool of the Morse Park Swimming Pool into a Covered Heated Pool”
In view of Members’ concern, she believed that WTSDC had accorded top priority to the heated pool project. Morse Park had been built in early 1970s. The project had been proposed by WTSDC in 2008. ArchSD was facing some problems in conducting the feasibility study, such as uneven site. ArchSD had to seek ways to minimise impacts on users of other facilities. The works proposal for the heated pool was drawn up after repeated discussions with other departments and consulted WTSDC. The plan was finalised. ArchSD had completed the feasibility study, and the project was found feasible.
The report had been submitted to DevB for consideration. Once approved, LCSD would apply for fund according to relevant procedures under public works projects. At the same time, ArchSD would draw up detailed design for the project, and consult DFMC. Members’ input on details of works, closure time for the pool etc. were very important. The technical proposal would be considered by LegCo’s Public Works Subcommittee, before a funding application was made to the Finance Committee. As the project would involve a huge sum of money, the planning would take more than two years. Recently, LCSD had converted Lai Chi Kok Swimming Pool into a heated pool. As provision of heated pool in Morse Park accorded a high priority project in Wong Tai Sin, LCSD and relevant departments/bureaux would be endeavour to speed up the progress.
(ii) Swimming Pool Monthly Pass Scheme
LCSD understood that swimming was a popular activity among the elderly, and the scheme was demanded as soon as possible.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 17 However, there were different admission fees for recreational and sports facilities in the New Territories and the urban area. Therefore, the scheme could not be launched until the completion of the fee review. LCSD had accorded a high priority to the scheme, and anticipated that the said review could be completed in this year. The new fee level would be implemented with the consensus of relevant bureaux.
(iii) Improving Facilities in Wong Tai Sin Square
The Chairman of WTSDC had made suggestions on possible improvements to the facilities in Wong Tai Sin Square some time ago, and she had conducted a site visit to the square. Simple improvements, such as greening, slope restoration etc. could be made in the near future. Heavy structures on the square may affect the structural integrity of the Wong Tai Sin MTR Station. LCSD needed to consult works departments on feasibility of construction works. LCSD would report to WTSDC afterwards.
(iv) Improving Peripheral Facilities of Kai Tak River
She hoped Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP would share his findings with LCSD. LCSD would continue to study the proposed improvements with works departments concerned. The department supported the proposed improvements to the river region. Linking up the parks in the district would be visitor-friendly and vitalise the vicinity of these parks.
(v) Library Facilities
LCSD would take high priority to extend TWS Public Library. On behalf of LCSD, GPA was negotiating with the Link on renting the shop next to the library. Although the shop could only provide limited space for extension, its location was good. LCSD hoped that the tenancy be confirmed as soon as possible, so that the library could be extended. As far as she knew, rental had been confirmed, and LCSD and GPA were actively
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 18 following up on details of tenancy agreement.
In consideration of the very high utilisation rate and the infeasible for further extension of the TWS Public Library, LCSD might reprovide the library. Members had suggested the vacant car park in Tsz Lok Estate Ancillary Facilities Block be converted into a library. However, the Link refused to let the car park to LCSD. She had an open mind on the extension of TWS Public Library, and LCSD would consider sites proposed by Members.
Regarding the proposed provision of small library in Chuk Yuen, LCSD understood that mobile library vans could provide limited services and were not the replacement of a small library. However, mobile library van could play a supporting role before a static library was established in Chuk Yuen. As mentioned by Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH, the library system consisted of various services that complemented to each other. To use community resources to improve access to library services, LCSD had actively pursued the Community Libraries Partnership Scheme in recent years. The department did not rule out the provision of a small library in Chuk Yuen in the long run, but the high priority was accorded to the extension of TWS Public Library.
(vi) Improving Facilities of Morse Park
Regarding Mr. MOK Ying-fan’s suggestion about installing backrests for seats in Morse Park, she commented that the works were technically simple. Morse Park had been commissioned long ago, and there were still a few out-fashioned benches. Replacement of these seats would be considered jointly by LCSD and ArchSD.
The open air theatre in Morse Park was a popular venue. It would be user-friendly if there was a roof. As large resources were required for roofing of the theatre and Wong Tai Sin Square, the works should be funded by ArchSD, instead of District Minor Works funding.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 19 (vii) Improving District Facilities
LCSD had planned to enhance and replace dilapidated facilities in the district regularly. Such efforts included replacing the old-fashioned seats, renovating spectator stands, retrofitting air-conditioning system for venues (such as Kai Tak East Indoor Games Hall), improving facilities in changing rooms,etc. LCSD could also convert underutilised facilities, such as converting squash courts into table tennis or billiard saloons.
LCSD had an open mind on the suggested usage of service reservoir deckings. Many of these sites were currently used as jogging trails, parks etc. LCSD could provide previous cases for Members’ reference if they wished to convert the sites for recreational purposes.
(viii) Elderly and Barrier-free Facilities
Regarding Ms. KWOK Sau-ying’s concerns about these facilities, and the ageing population of Hong Kong, LCSD would be endeavour to make its park facilities more elder-friendly, and consider the state-of-the-art recreational facilities from the Mainland.
The Equal Opportunities Commission had published a report and urged LCSD and other departments to provide barrier-free facilities in their venues. LCSD would study the feasibility of retrofitting escalators and elevators for popular facilities.
(ix) Abuse of Recreational and Sports Facilities
LCSD often received complaints about the extended booking of its facilities by certain organisations. LCSD would be endeavour to strike a balance between the interests of these organisations and other users. According to the existing LCSD’s guidelines, no organisation might hire more than one-third of peak sessions or more than two-third of off-peak sessions in a given month. The above provision had been
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 20 proven to be effective. LCSD would investigate the abuse of, and profit-making activities in its facilities.
(x) Tree Management Before the rainy season, LCSD would inspect trees at places of high pedestrian and vehicular flow. The number of trees in question was about 400 000, and the said inspection was currently underway. Regarding the incident of fallen tree at a slope of Morse Park mentioned by a Member, those trees were maintained by ArchSD. The division of labour among departments regarding tree maintenance was clearly set in the “integrated approach”.
30. The Chairman thanked Mrs. Betty FUNG for her brief reply, and hoped that she would relay Members’ views to LCSD for follow-up actions. Finally, he thanked Mrs. FUNG and LCSD representatives for attending the meeting.
[Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Mrs. Betty FUNG, and Senior Staff Officer (Headquarters) Ms. Anna CHOR, Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon) Mr. Wells HO, Chief Executive Officer (Planning) 1 Mr. Harry TSANG and Chief Librarian (Operations and Technical Processing) Mrs. Annie WAN left the meeting at this juncture.]
III(ii) Update on the Progress of the Key Initiatives in the “Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014)” (WTSDC Paper 31/2011)
31. The Chairman welcomed Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Waste Management Policy) Dr. LAM Kwok-lun, Alain; Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Infrastructure Planning)2 Mr. YU Wang-pong and Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional East)2 Mr. CHAN Kai-wah, Tommy of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) who attended the meeting for this agenda item. He then invited Dr. LAM to introduce the paper.
32. Dr. LAM said the Government had published a policy framework on “Reduce, Recycle and Proper Waste Management” which set out strategies and action plan for tackling the imminent municipal solid waste (MSW) problem in Jan 2011. He would like to brief WTSDC members on the policy framework, in a bid to encourage community participation in the recycling of waste. He also invited Members to advise EPD on this topic. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 21
33. Dr. LAM reported that 18 000 tonnes of MSW were generated in Hong Kong every day. Half of the MSW were recycled, and the other 9 000 tonnes, including 3 300 tonnes of food waste, were disposed in the landfills. In addition, there were 3 200 tonnes of construction waste, 900 tonnes of sludge and 200 tonnes of other waste. Hence, a total of 13 300 tonnes of waste were disposed in the landfills every day. Hong Kong relied heavily on landfills to treat its waste, but the remaining capacities of the three landfills would be exhausted in 2014, 2016 and 2018. We faced an imminent waste management problem and needed to confirm on the development of advanced waste management facilities as soon as possible. Otherwise there would be no suitable disposal facilities to handle the waste generated by 2018. He pointed out that a long-term strategy should be formulated to tackle the waste problem. The strategy should cover the following aspects: (1) waste reduction and recycling; (2) introduction of modern waste management facilities to reduce the size of waste and turn waste into energy, for the optimal use of resources; and (3) expansion of landfills to handle the remaining incineration ash and other non-combustible waste. He emphasised that initiatives concerned should be implemented as soon as possible, and said relevant details had already been set out in the LegCo brief and the appendix.
(i) Waste Reduction and Recycling
(a) Amount of waste recovered had increased gradually from 7 110 tonnes to 8 720 tonnes in five years, and the daily disposal of waste had dropped from 9 370 tonnes to 8 960 tonnes during the same period; and
(b) In 2009, every people in Hong Kong had produced 1.28 kg of MSW per day, a decrease of 7% as compared with 2005. In addition, MSW recovery rate had also increased gradually from 43% to 49% as compared with 2005.
(c) Hong Kong had achieved 49% MSW recovery rate in 2009. Although our rate lagged behind Germany (64%), we outperformed USA (33%), UK (35%), Singapore (43%), etc. In other words, our MSW rate was not low by international standards;
(d) Apart from initiatives on waste recycling and reusing, EPD would expedite the introduction of various waste reduction measures. In view of the stepped up waste reduction and recycling efforts in community level, EPD would
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 22 revise the MSW recovery target to 55% by 2015 which was higher than in developed cities such as Tokyo, London, Sydney, etc. In this connection, EPD would encourage waste separation and recycling through various ways, improve recycling facilities and organise local recycling campaigns, such as sponsoring housing estates to install food waste treatment equipment, establishing recycling networks in the 18 districts, stepping up district-level publicity to encourage source separation and recycling of waste, encouraging people to engage themselves in bartering and food waste reduction, and stepping up publicity efforts on waste reduction;
(e) To reduce waste from its source, EPD would expedite the introduction of new Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRSs) and extend current PRS. A three-month public consultation exercise on extending the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags was launched on 17 May 2011. The consultation exercise in 2010 on a new PRS for waste electrical and electronic equipment had also come to an end. EPD would discuss with relevant trades on the detailed implementation plans in this year; and
(f) Overseas experiences revealed that economic incentives should be used for dramatic upward adjustment of waste recovery. Introduction of MSW charging could be a direct economic means to encourage waste reduction and recycling. In view of the possible implications to trade and household and the availability of associated measures to the charging scheme, we had to study the details very carefully. A broad framework on principles, pros and cons of MSW, charging options, implications, etc. would be available for public discussion this year.
(ii) Turning Waste into Energy with the Introduction of Modern Waste Management Facilities
(a) Waste management strategy was indispensable. Even with the waste reduction measures, a city still needed to
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 23 handle the remaining waste. Hong Kong was no exception. Given that Hong Kong was a densely populated city where land was scarce and expensive. We should introduce safe and reliable modern facilities to reduce the volume of waste and turn waste into energy; and
(b) The Sludge Treatment Facilities (STF) to be commissioned in 2013 might handle up to 2 000 tonnes of sludge per day. The Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) with a daily capacity of 3 000 tonnes of waste would also be introduced in 2018. Moreover, phase I of the Organic Waste (food waste) Treatment Facility (OWTF) would be commissioned in 2014, and the daily capacity could reach 500 tonnes per day when phase II of the facility were commissioned in 2016/17.
(iii) Timely Expansion of Landfills
Land resources were precious in Hong Kong. However, the nearly exhausted capacity of existing landfills necessitated the expansion, so that non-combustible waste could be handled effectively. Such waste included: (1) MSW that was too large for the incineration facilities; (2) waste that could not be burnt, such as construction waste; and (3) incineration ash.
34. Dr. LAM concluded that careful long-term planning was required to eradicate the problem of waste. Apart from seeking ways to maximise the waste recovery rate, EPD would also build a series of facilities, such as STF, OWTF and IWMF, to handle various types of waste. In addition, it would like to involve the general public to resolve the MSW problem through PRSs. EPD believed that a multi-pronged approach was needed to eradicate the waste problem. This required community support. Hence, EPD attached high importance to promote waste reduction and recycling in community level. For instance, with support from the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF), an “Environment and Conservation Fund Collaboration Scheme with District Councils” had been launched since September 2008, through which DCs were invited to co-operate with local organisations to apply for subsidy and implement district-based environmental programmes. Dr. LAM invited Members to comment on ways to optimise the fund’s effectiveness in promoting waste reduction and recycling. Finally, he invited Members to comment on the waste management strategy and community-based waste recycling work. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 24
35. Mr. CHOI Luk-shing agreed that the waste problem was imminent and the landfills would be filled up in a few years. He commented that more could be done to increase the public awareness of waste recycling. For instance, construction waste should be used in reclamation projects instead of being dumped in landfills, and wooden waste should be recycled or incinerated to relieve pressure on landfills. In addition, he supported EPD’s food waste handling approach, and pointed out that “pigwash buckets” in 1960s and 1970s were seldom seen today, because local agriculture was gone. Both the business sector and households produced enormous amount of food waste everyday. This was a waste of recourses. In this connection, he was glad to know that EPD collected food waste and had installed machines to turn food waste into organic fertiliser. He hoped that EPD would extend the “Food Waste Recycling Partnership Scheme” to major housing estates, and to encourage people to make chemical fertilisers from food waste. As the general public knew very little about the scheme, more publicity efforts targeting major housing estates were required.
36. Mr. SO Sik-kin said he had applied to EPD for installing a food waste treatment equipment in his housing estate through a green group, but no reply had been received to date. Tsui Chuk Garden consisting of 14 buildings, was located beside a large piece of woodland. The Garden had to spend a large sum of money every year to buy soil for the prevention of soil erosion. The Shatin to Central Link (SCL) project had yet to start, and the Garden was under the threat of soil erosion. With the commencement of works, the Garden was more worrisome. As the food waste could be used as soil supplement, it could spend less on buying soil. In this connection, he urged EPD to process the application quickly. Mr. SO opined that it was everyone’s responsibility to protect the environment, thus he was glad to see the increase of awareness to environment protection, and 3-coloured waste separation bins had been installed in housing estates in Wong Tai Sin for many years. He commented that environmental protection work could be further improved with the enhanced educational and publicity efforts by EPD.
37. Dr. WONG Kam-chiu was pleased to know that the Government had drawn up long-term plan and roadmap for MSW management, in particular the new MSW recovery target of 55% in 2015. While the Government emphasised that it would take a multi-pronged approach in handling the waste problem, such as reducing waste, building incinerators, expanding landfills and considering MSW charging, etc., he commented that easier tasks should be done first. In other words, it should focus on waste reduction first, and then proceed with construction of incinerators, extension of landfills and MSW charging with greater social or district resistance. Comparing with Japan, Taiwan, etc., Hong Kong had ample room for waste reduction, and much could be done in respect of reusing and recycling of waste. He suggested the Government 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 25 consider the matter from a macro point of view. It might provide tax concession to recyclers, who had to pay expensive transportation cost, as well as maintenance cost for waste collection network. This would ensure that collected waste was recycled and reused. This would reduce waste. On the other hand, he suggested focused study on recycling of food waste be carried out. Apart from collecting food waste from the business sector, the Government should also promote recycling of domestic food waste. Supporting measures should also be taken, so that people could learn how to separate various types of dry and wet waste at home, and enchance the recycling.
38. Dr. Allen SHI, MH, JP commended EPD for formulating the cycling waste management policy, and said this was an important community asset that would achieve win-win situation. Waste could become fortune. Although he was not a recycler, he was a papermaker who produced most of the paper from waste. He commented that the Government had not put adequate efforts in teaching the public how to separate different types of waste. During a plastic waste recycling activity organised by Yan Oi Tong when he was the Chairman, a lot of non-plastic materials were collected. He suggested people be taught to separate waste glass, oil tanks, wood, etc. for effective recycling. In addition, he suggested the Government attract new recyclers by revising the policy and providing tax concession. He hoped that by sorting the waste properly, most of the collected waste could be recycled and turned into useful resources. He appreciated the policy framework very much, and urged the Government to spare great effort to realise it.
39. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH enquired how EPD would increase the waste recovery rate from 49% to 55% in 2015, as well as the amount of resources to be deployed and how confident to achieve the goal. Given that even Singapore, UK, USA, etc. had low waste recovery rates, he enquired if the Government would take focused measures to boost the local rate by 6%. Although solid waste was extensively sorted in Hong Kong, we did not have the enormous manpower as in the mainland for handling the sorted waste properly. Therefore, it was very likely that the sorted waste would be for export only. He worried that the Government’s efforts would fail to provide a basis on which the recycling industry could be developed, and enquired if the Government would provide policy support in this regard. In respect of the Yan Oi Tong activity mentioned by Dr. Allen SHI, MH, JP, he added that income generated from such activities could not cover the relevant equipment cost, and worried that this would undermine the usefulness of these activities. If recycling was considered as a business opportunity, it would be necessary to solve the problem. As waste generated in Hong Kong was insufficient for all recyclers, it was suggested collaboration be sought from peripheral cities, with a view to obtaining enough waste. Finally, he commented that the paper only set out the objectives of the policy framework. Information about the resources required, and the support/resources to be provided by the Government were 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 26 not stated in the paper. He urged the Government to facilitate the development of recycling industry.
40. Mr. CHAN On-tai suggested the recycling industry be corporatised. The Government involved in the industry, and invited the business sector to take part in the social enterprise with loan from the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF). It gained support from the MPF contributors if the profit of the enterprise would be injected back into MPF. In addition, the business sector might exercise its ability and redevelop the collected waste into profitable commodities. The initiative would certainly be fruitful, with both policy and public support, and the business sector. It was necessary to provide incentives to attract the public and the business sector. Their participations and the Government’s full support would make the social enterprise a unique one. If succeeded, it would be an example for other cities. He reiterated that incentives were essential to the business sector and the general public. Not only could his suggestion generate profit for the business sector and MPF, it would also encourage people to protect the environment. Furthermore, it would reduce waste and relieve pressure on landfills.
41. Mr. MOK Ying-fan was concerned with waste produced by construction and catering industries, as well as problems relating to the recycling industry. He said construction waste was a burden to Hong Kong. He would not further comment on it because Mr. CHOI Luk-sing, MH had already covered the issue. Hong Kong people were no longer reluctant to discuss environmental issues. The climate change, shortage of water, etc. in recent years had aroused their awareness of the need for immediate actions. Otherwise, the coming generations would suffer. In consideration of the exhaustion of local landfill in 2018, he opined that the situation was critical. He had raised questions about foam plastics at quite a few meetings about recycling, but seldom got reply from the officials. Therefore, he hoped that EPD would provide an answer at this meeting. He discovered that every day US fast food restaurants produced a large amount of non-degraded waste in landfills, and no follow-up action had been taken by EPD or other Government departments. He queried why EPD had not requested these restaurants to take remedial actions. The Chinese fast food restaurants such as Café de Coral had already used reusable tablewares. US fast food restaurants always advocated the concept of environmental protection, but they used non-degraded tablewares. As EPD should have a more thorough understanding of the problem, he was puzzled why no action had been taken. As US fast food restaurants had no social responsibility which EPD advocated, the department should look into their waste management problem squarely. On the other hand, he suggested the Government oversee the entire recycling industry. People in Hong Kong had a dilemma to the industry. Many elderly people could earn pocket money, and families could recycle the waste. However, recyclers polluted the streets.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 27 Therefore, he opined that the Government should play a regulatory role and stop the recycling industry from operating in a laissez-faire manner. Since the establishment of a recycling company in San Po Kong, road surfaces nearby were damaged. Also, the vehicles parked at the roadside illegally, and caused traffic congestion. Without supporting measures, the Government’s emphasis on environmental protection would only cause hatred.
42. Mr. MOK Kin-wing means MSW management was a common problem of metropolises. Two different means of waste reduction were suggested, namely source reduction and treatment, under which PRS, extension of landfill and construction of incinerator were proposed. The latter two were controversial. He opined that the most important point was to turn waste into value through recycling and reusing. Hong Kong was densely populated and land was scarce, so it might not be able to support all recyclers in the territory. Therefore, he shared Dr. WONG Kam-chiu’s view and opined that the Government should provide policy support to the recyclers, including tax reduction. The recycling industry required space for storage and other operations. As the land premium was high at the moment, it was impossible for the industry to develop without Government’s support. On community level, he supported trial food waste recycling programmes at various locations, and promoting food waste recycling at densely populated public housing estates. The paper and aluminium can recycling activities held in housing estates in the past had been well-received. Such activities would be even more successful if they were organised by local/green groups under the sponsorship of EPD and HD, and souvenirs were given to the public as incentive. Therefore, he suggested HD take the initiative and organise recycling activities with local groups. Moreover, recycling of glass bottles had become popular recently, and should be promoted along with recycling of food waste, waste paper, aluminium cans, etc. Finally, as many elderly people and grassroots made a living by recycling waste, their livelihood might be affected if recycling work was monopolised by recyclers appointed by the Government. He hoped that the Government would consider their needs when formulating green policy.
43. Mr. HUI Kam-shing commented that the paper only set out objectives and strategies, but no implementation plan was made. He hoped EPD adopt Members’ views and suggestions, for the effective implementation of the initiatives. In consideration of the Government’s past failure in realising objectives, he urged EPD look into the implementation work. Given the wide spectrum of environmental protection, it should not be handled by the Environment Bureau or EPD only. Some forms of partnership were required. Although EDB worked hard to protect the environment, there was room for improvement. For instance, the waste reduction efforts would be more fruitful if the Housing Department (HD) who was the manager of public housing estates for three million people was involved. EPD might wish to identify and partner with major parties, such as HD, owners’ corporations of private
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 28 housing estates, etc. It was conducive to achieve its objectives through the division of labour.
44. Mr. WONG Yat-yuk suggested home-based recyclers be supported. Apart from facilitating the development of recycling industry, the Government should look into the needs of small recyclers and grassroots who made a living by recycling waste. Some small recyclers had told him that due to the increase of rent and paper price, large recyclers forced them to sell recyclates at a reduced price, for maintaining their profit. As a result, small recyclers could barely survive with the meagre profit, and might not enjoy tax concession. Therefore, he suggested technical support or subsidiary provide to small recyclers or grassroots. Moreover, it was reported by the mass media and reflected by policy that processing of food waste had great commercial potential. He thus urged the business sector or the catering industry to team up with social enterprises (e.g. co-operative societies), so as to explore this ignored business opportunity and solve the unemployment problem.
45. Dr. Allen SHI, MH, JP added that recyclers often received waste that was unhygienic or not properly sorted. He then suggested people be encouraged or educated to clean and sort their waste, to simplify the processes that followed. He also proposed procurement of properly cleaned waste such as aluminium cans, plastic bottles, etc., setting up new recycling stations, educating people to take their waste to these stations, and deploying vehicles to collect waste everyday. As properly cleaned waste had some value, people would then be encouraged to carry out separation carefully. This would lower the cost of further processing. On the other hand, a few leading establishments, including the Ocean Park, had agreed to donate their food waste to Yan Oi Tong, which would turn the food waste into industrial oil. He commented that the Government might draw example from this case and encourage leading establishments to donate their food waste for environmental-friendly purposes.
46. Mr. HO Yin-fai said the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions always advocated the idea of creating jobs by developing environmental industry, but the Government had neither attached importance to, nor involved itself in such development. He commented that the Government’s involvement would help strike a balance among different sectors of the environmental industry. In addition, he also commented that:
(i) The Government possessed land. Hence, it might provide rental concession to facilitate development of environmental industry;
(ii) Small recyclers sprang up due to the ever increasing price of
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 29 waste. As they caused pollution to the surroundings, the Government should play the regulatory role carefully. He commented that local environmental industry was still at a start, though the industry had already been a major business in foreign countries;
(iii) It was shown on TV that some schools turned leftover of lunch into fertiliser. He suggested the Government play a coordinating role and turn food waste of large housing estates and restaurants into fertiliser; and
(iv) The Government should involve in environmental industry, and support those interested in the industry.
47. Mr. SO Sik-kin added that the daily waste collected in Tsui Chuk Garden could fill more than 10 large refuse containers, and four or five workers took three hours to separate the plastic bottles, aluminium cans, waste paper, glass bottles, etc. In addition, waste wooden doors and wooden furniture were collected in the Garden. Mr. SO then enquired of the recycling of wood, to save resources and relieve pressure on landfills; and urged EPD to keep an eye on the waste wood.
48. Mr. CHAN On-tai added that Hong Kong was densely populated. Therefore, it was inappropriate to compare with foreign countries, or adopt foreign experiences direct. The Hong Kong Government should involve in its initiatives, to encourage the participation of the public and the business sector. Otherwise, initiative would become empty words and waste of resources.
49. Dr. LAM thanked Members for their comments and concerns about waste reduction. His response was summarised as follows:
(i) According to the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme launched by EPD in 2005, vehicles abandoning construction waste in landfills were required to pay an admission fee of $125 per tonne. To encourage recycling of construction waste, the Government had set up sorting facilities through which construction waste producers might remove wood, metal, stainless steel and iron pipes in advance and enjoy a lowered admission fee. Therefore, construction waste actually abandoned in landfills had already been sorted. In addition, EPD would collect sorted soil, rubble, etc. in a fill bank;
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 30
(ii) EPD concerned the management of food waste, as well as establishment of partnership with housing estates, with a view to enhance the recycling effectively;
(iii) 18 000 tonnes of domestic waste was generated in Hong Kong daily, among which 9 000 tonnes would be recycled, including valuable waste such as paper, metal, aluminium cans, plastics, etc., and glass, abandoned electronic devices, etc.;
(iv) To achieve the waste recovery rate of 55% in 2015, EPD would strengthen the recycling points. For example, mobile collection point would be increased in major housing estates or venues at particular time.
(v) Among the 9 000 tonnes of domestic waste, there were 3 300 tonnes of food waste, of which 960 tonnes came from restaurants/business sector. As it was easy to collect food waste from restaurants and markets, EPD intended to focus first on collecting food waste from the business sector. Domestic food waste was mostly wet and messy. He requested members to encourage the public to separate dry and wet waste, which would improve the usability.
(vi) EPD had committed itself in expanding the recycling network and educating people to put clean waste in recycling bins. It was hoped that more waste could be recycled through an expanded network. Apart from valuable waste, EPD would like to recycle glass bottles as well. Hong Kong produced 100 000 tonnes of glass (waste), including 70 000 tonnes of glass bottles every year. As glass had no market value, no one was eager to recycle bottles, and there was not any glass recycling industry in Hong Kong. EPD intended to recover these bottles through various recycling programmes, and to explore the usage of the bottles. With the help of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to make glass paving blocks, EPD would also explore new applications for recycled glass, such as making other types of blocks; and
(vii) To encourage primary and secondary school students not to use
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 31 foam plastic lunch boxes, schools might apply for subsidy and convert their kitchens to distribute lunch, so to reduce the use of foam plastic lunch boxes. The scheme was well-received by schools, and students had reduced food waste.
50. Mr. YU Wang-pong thanked Members for their concern for food waste, and replied their questions as follows:
(i) EPD advocated the concept of “Collect, Recycle and Reuse Waste at One Place”. Food waste was reusable after suitable treatment; and
(ii) As mentioned by Mr. SO Sik-kin, Tsui Chuk Garden had made an application to EPD. Funding approval had been granted by LegCo on 13 May. It was anticipated that application for implementing the on-site recycling programme could be made by the end of this month, by downloading application form from the ECF website. ECF provided a wide range of support, including on loan food waste processing equipment, recruiting part-time workers to carry out food waste separation, inviting green groups to brief participating residents on source separation of domestic waste, and hiring technicians to operate food waste processing equipment for enhanced productivity. It was anticipated that guidelines and application forms for the programme would be available at EPD website in end June/July. The programme would be implemented in phases. The first phase would be of pilot nature, during which eight to ten housing estates would be involved. Experience obtained would be used as reference for future extension of the scheme. EPD hoped that the public would support the scheme and use the recycled food waste to green their own housing estate and contribute to waste reduction.
51. The Chairman remarked that Dr. LAM had not answered Mr. MOK Ying-fan’s question about waste management in leading establishments, hence he asked Mr. MOK to elaborate on this.
52. Mr. MOK Ying-fan said it was regrettable that in the past decade, all Government officials had turned a blind eye to the waste problem caused by leading establishments. These establishments might have threatened the Government of withdrawal of business if intervention was encountered. He opined that withdrawal of 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 32 the business was good to children. Patronage was good in both leading establishments and some of their restaurants opened 24 hours a day. The restaurants produced a large amount of non-degradable foam plastic waste. He was puzzled why EPD, the responsible authority, always tried to ignore the problem and did not impose levy on the establishments.
53. Dr. LAM replied that EPD had contacted a US fast food restaurant group, and recommended the group separate food waste from other waste, i.e. separating food leftover from paper cups, plastic cups and minimising the usage of foam plastics. The group had undertaken to consider the recommendations.
54. The Chairman thanked Dr. LAM and other EPD representatives for introducing the policy framework, and asked Dr. LAM to relay environmental protection matters to EPD for follow-up actions. He also added that Members might contact EPD direct on matters concerned. The Chairman thanked Dr. LAM and other EPD representatives again for attending the WTSDC meeting.
(Dr. Alain LAM, Mr. YU Wang-pong and Mr. Tommy CHAN left the meeting at this juncture.)
III(iii) Pedestrian Link near Chuk Yuen North Estate (WTSDC Paper 32/2011)
55. The Chairman welcomed Senior Engineer 3/Central Kowloon Route Mr. LAM Man-san, Engineer 3/Central Kowloon Route Mr. KO Chi-wai and Engineer 4/ Central Kowloon Route Mr. KO Wai-ching of the Highways Department (HyD), and Engineer/Wong Tai Sin Mr. HAU Kin-man, Percy of the Transport Department (TD) who attended the meeting for this agenda item.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 33 56. Mr. LAM Man-san made a powerpoint presentation on the Pedestrian Link near Chuk Yuen North Estate. Highlights were as follows:
(i) Background
TD had commissioned a consultancy study in May 2008 to establish an assessment system for the provision of hillside escalator links and elevator systems. Based on the assessment system, TD had assessed a total of 20 proposed hillside escalator links and elevator systems. Currently, HyD was conducting a feasibility study on those ranked top ten in the assessment and to work out the detailed estimate of construction cost.
(ii) The Project
HyD proposed that a 230m pedestrian link connecting Chuk Yuen North Estate and Wong Tai Sin Road be built. The pedestrian link would provide barrier-free access to the residents and improve the junction of Shatin Pass Road, Chuk Yuen Road and Lung Fung Street.
The proposed pedestrian link would start at the junction of Wong Tai Sin Road and Shatin Pass Road, and end at Chuk Yuen North Estate. To facilitate disabled persons, lift towers would be provided at junction of Ming Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road, as well as junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road. HyD and TD were discussing possible improvements to the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road. Consideration was being made to close the right-turning traffic lane at Lung Fung Street to Shatin Pass Road so that the inclination of the pavement would be lowered.
(iii) Way Forward
HyD would complete the “technical feasibility statement” in 2011. If the project was technically feasible, HyD would apply for funds in accordance with established procedures, and proceed with preliminary design and investigation study.
Members were welcomed to comment on the preliminary design of the pedestrian link near Chuk Yuen North Estate. 57. Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP supported the construction of pedestrian link near
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 34 Chuk Yuen North Estate, and put forth the following suggestions:
(i) The proposed pedestrian link would end at the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road near Chuk Yuen North Estate. As the pedestrian walkway in Shatin Pass Road to the Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital (OLMH) was rather inclined, HyD might consider extending the pedestrian link to OLMH to provide an easy access to the hospital.
(ii) HyD planned to build lift towers at the junction of Ming Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road as well as the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road. He proposed additional lift towers be provided at Ming Fung Street and Fei Fung Street with a large number of people travelling between Shatin Pass Road and Wong Tai Sin Road to the pedestrian link.
58. Mr. HO Hon-man recalled that residents in Chuk Yuen had requested for building a pedestrian link near Chuk Yuen North Estate for a decade. He was glad that HyD was going to build the pedestrian link as it would provide a quick access to Wong Tai Sin MTR Station and OLMH. He concurred with Dr. James LAU on his suggestion about building lift tower near Fei Fung Street. He also remarked that there were many unknowns in the development of the Wong Tai Sin Folk Culture Area, including location of the emergency access point of SCL, design of the Confucian Academy, design of the Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Interchange, conversion part of the Shatin Pass Road into a park. As the proposed pedestrian link would start at the junction of Wong Tai Sin Road and Shatin Pass Road, HyD should plan this section of the pedestrian link with the development of Wong Tai Sin Folk Culture Area and provide barrier-free access to link up these areas.
59. Mr. SO Sik-kin supported the project, but commented that HyD should prioritise hillside escalator links and elevator system projects according to the needs and importance. HyD had never thoroughly consulted the local people on the pedestrian link and other proposed projects. There were almost 20 000 people living in Tsui Chuk Garden. The slope was more inclined than that of Chuk Yuen North Estate and the provision of barrier-free accesses was inadequate. The Garden had been completed since 1989 with insufficient transportation facilities. Roads in the Garden were narrow and it was inaccessible by large buses. In addition, service of Kowloon Motor Buses No. 211 was unstable on holidays, and the bus company had not taken any remedial action. He had received a lot of complaints. Therefore, he opined that it was necessary to accord a high priority to construct the hillside escalator link and elevator system connecting Tsui Chuk Garden and Wong Tai Sin. 60. Mr. Andrew TO commented that the pedestrian link near Chuk Yuen North Estate was essential from the perspectives of both pedestrian flow and pedestrian safety.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 35 He understood that HyD had considered factors such as local demand, technical feasibility, policy, financial support, etc. when prioritising hillside escalator link and elevator system projects. The proposed pedestrian link would end at the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road. Those who intended to travel to Wong Tai Sin from Chuk Yuen North Estate via the pedestrian link would have to take a little walking at Shatin Pass Road near Mui Yuen House. Hence, they might choose to walk southwards along Shatin Pass Road and not to use the pedestrian link at all. This was a waste of resources. In this connection, he suggested the pedestrian link be extended to OLMH and Shatin Pass Road near Mui Yuen House, so as to tie in with the habit of the residents.
61. Ms. Maggie CHAN suggested extending the pedestrian link to OLMH and the soon-to-be occupied Shatin Pass Estate to increase the utilisation rate. She also supported constructing an escalator and elevator system to connect Tsui Chuk Garden and Wong Tai Sin. She urged HyD to consider the above suggestions as they could benefit the 10 000-odd residents of the Shatin Pass Estate and its vicinity.
62. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH was glad to know that HyD was planning to install a travelator in the pedestrian link which was a unique feature in the urban area. The Government had planned to construct escalator links and elevator systems for all public housing estates on hill. He concurred with Ms. Maggie CHAN on the proposed extension of the link to Shatin Pass Estate, and commented the extension would solve the inadequacy of transport services.
(Mr. CHOI Luk-sing, MH, Mr. Tony CHOW, MH and Mr. Rex MOK left the meeting at 5 p.m.)
63. Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP remarked that the local people had long been petitioning for building the pedestrian link. HyD should start the works as soon as possible and try to improve the project. Despite the fact that people were asking for a pedestrian link connecting Chuk Yuen and Wong Tai Sin, a footbridge connecting Wing Sin House and Kai Sin House had been built. The proposed pedestrian link near Chuk Yuen North Estate would only end at the Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Interchange, but not the Wong Tai Sin MTR Station. He thus suggested HyD consider extending the pedestrian link to the MTR station, and dovetail the project with the development of the Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Interchange.
64. In response to Members’ views and enquiries, Mr. LAM Man-san said:
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 36 (i) There were three levels in the proposed lift tower at the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road. The 3rd, 2nd & 1st levels were connected to the Chuk Yuen North Estate, OLMH and Lung Fung Street respectively. HyD and TD were exploring to improve the junction of Lung Fung Street and Shatin Pass Road, including the closure of the right-turning lane at Lung Fung Street to Shatin Pass Road, so as to make the pavement less inclined for barrier-free access.
(ii) HyD and TD would actively consider the proposed construction of lift tower at Fei Fung Street to connect the pedestrian link.
(iii) HyD would negotiate with departments concerned as well as the MTR Corporation Ltd., with a view to harmony with the design of Wong Tai Sin Public Transport Interchange and provide a barrier-free connection to the Wong Tai Sin MTR Station.
(iv) Based on the ranking system, TD had assessed a total of 20 proposed hillside escalator and elevator systems. Currently, HyD was conducting a technical feasibility study on those ranked top ten in the assessment and to prepare the detailed budget of construction cost. The proposed pedestrian link near Chuk Yuen North Estate ranked eighth in the assessment, and HyD would like to consult WTSDC on design of the pedestrian link in this meeting.
Members might wish to propose other escalator links and elevator systems, such as the ones for Tsui Chuk Garden and Shatin Pass Estate, to TD in considering in the next territory-wide assessment.
(v) HyD had met the Chairman of the Owners’ Committee of Chuk Yuen North Estate to introduce the design of the pedestrian link. Given the steepness of Shatin Pass Road, it would be necessary to elevate the pedestrian link if it ended at Shatin Pass Road near Mui Yuen House. This would be inconvenient to residents of Chuk Yuen North Estate as they could only access the pedestrian link via elevator or escalator. As initial alignment of the pedestrian link was published in the sales brochure of Chuk Yuen North Estate, HyD would further liaise with residents concerned.
65. The Chairman added that HyD would like to consult WTSDC on the design of the pedestrian link at the meeting. He asked HyD to relay other views to
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 37 departments concerned for follow-up actions.
66. Mr. SO Sik-kin further commented that the Transport and Housing Bureau failed to provide satisfactory transport services to Tsui Chuk Garden. No standard road had been provided by TD in Tsui Chuk Garden. As construction of escalator link and elevator system could rectify the above problems, he urged departments concerned to look at the matter squarely.
67. The Chairman thanked Mr. LAM Man-san, Mr. KO Chi-wai, Mr. KO Wai-ching and Mr. HAU Kin-man for attending the meeting, and urged HyD and other departments concerned to follow up Members’ views.
(Mr. LAM Man-san, Mr. KO Chi-wai, Mr. KO Wai-ching and Mr. HAU Kin-man left the meeting at this juncture.)
III(iv) Improper Behaviour of Members at the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Meeting Held on 3 May 2011 (WTSDC Paper 45/2011)
68. Mr. Chui Pak-tai said that the paper was jointly signed by the Chairman. He worried about the possible unfairness if the Chairman continued to chair the meeting. He enquired if he had the right to ask another Member or DO(WTS) to chair the meeting for this agenda item.
69. The Chairman said both Vice-chairman Mr. WONG Kam-chi, MH, JP and him had signed the paper, and enquired if DO(WTS) would like to chair the meeting.
70. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH agreed that Members who had signed the paper should be avoided to chair the meeting, and said it would be more appropriate to invite DO(WTS) to chair the meeting for this agenda item.
71. DO(WTS) Mr. William SHIU said although the Chairman and the Vice-chairman had signed the paper, the chairman was not prohibited to chair or attend the meeting in the Standing Order of the Wong Tai Sin District Council (Standing Order). He suggested Members consider if the Chairman was a fit and proper person to chair the meeting. They might allow the Chairman to chair the meeting, or request the Chairman and the Vice-chairman not to comment this agenda item. DO(WTS) was not a standing official member of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee (FEHC), and thus he had not attended the FEHC meeting held on 3 May 2011.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 38 72. Mr. HUI Kam-shing had no comment about whether the Chairman could continue to chair the meeting, but questioned if it was necessary to discuss this matter at a DC meeting. Having been a WTSDC Member for more than a decade, he opined that it was pretty normal to have conflicting views. The paper commented on the opinion delivered by a Member and a Co-opted Member at the FEHC meeting on 3 May 2011. Regardless of the appropriateness of their remarks, he doubted if it was desirable to discuss Members’ remarks at a DC meeting. He suggested the agenda item be postponed and the discussion be reconsidered. He worried that the discussion would set a bad example and WTSDC might need to discuss appropriateness of other Members’ remarks in future. Therefore, he questioned if it was desirable for WTSDC to build up a tradition.
73. Mr. Andrew TO enquired if he was in a position to discuss this matter as he had not attended the FEHC meeting in question. He had read the record of the remarks made by the Member and the Co-opted Member, as set out in the paper, and opined that it was very important to safeguard the freedom of speech in a council. While one could disagree with other people, he should not deprive others’ freedom of speech. Having been a DC Member for about 20 years, he thought it was fine to disagree with what the FEHC Member and Co-opted Member had said. In fact, he did not agree entirely with their remarks, and understood that their remarks could be offensive to other Members. However, despite the rules set out in the Standing Order, it was not necessary to submit a paper to discuss the appropriateness of these remarks. In addition, no further action was proposed in the paper. DCs were tasked, inter alia, to advise the Government on district matters. A DC Member should be allowed to speak freely, instead of being restricted by the majority. Otherwise, one might worry if he needed to consult other Members on appropriateness of his remarks whenever he would like to speak. Moreover, reprimanding or censuring a Member was a serious punishment that might have adverse impact on future co-operation. In this connection, he opined that it was undesirable to discuss this matter and set a bad example. Furthermore, he suggested Members who had made the submission withdraw the paper and discuss with the FEHC Member and Co-opted Member direct.
74. The Chairman considered that it was a serious case that justified for discussion at a DC meeting.
75. Ms. Maggie CHAN said she was not an FEHC member, so she had not attended the meeting. She had signed the paper not because of the Member’s conflicting views. Member, being FEHC Chairman and co-organiser of an activity being considered by the committee for funding approval, might have made remarks that 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 39 could frighten and even threaten other members during the vetting process. This might affect the impartiality of the process. Therefore, the issue was not only about what one had said, but also related to the granting and the use of public money. From the established rules, a corruption-free, fair and open vetting for funding applications should be ensured. When a Member had declared his relationship with an applicant, he should speak in the capacity of the applicant, rather than a member of the committee. WTSDC was a solemn place. As Members were tasked to ensure the proper use of public money, they had to discuss and clarify the declaration of interest and rules of speaking, so that public expectations could be met.
(Mr. Joe CHAN left the meeting at 5:15 p.m.)
76. Mr. WONG Kwok-tung said he did not know there was such an agenda item until today. He quoted what Sir Winston Churchill had said, and commented that offensive comments were not unusual during discussions in council. He opined that the appropriateness of the remarks made by the Members might be questionable, but it was inevitably that offensive or inappropriate remarks were made in a council. This was part of parliamentary culture. He hoped that Members could adopt a forgiving attitude when dealing with such remarks, and urged them to think twice about this matter.
77. Mr. WONG Kwok-yan said freedom of speech should be upheld in a DC, but opined that Members should express their views in a rational and appropriate manner. He suggested the baselines for freedom of speech and behaviour be discussed in this agenda item for the avoidance of abuse.
(Mr. CHAN On-tai left the meeting at 5:20 p.m.)
78. Ms. KWOK Sau-ying questioned about the need to discuss the matter at a DC meeting. She had never known this agenda item until now and found it unnerving. She had attended the FEHC meeting in question. The Member concerned had calmed down during the later stage of discussion, and the Chairman (of WTSDC) had chaired that meeting on his behalf. If a member had declared his relationship with an applicant for WTSDC funds, the member should speak on behalf of the applicant, and the Chairman should be responsible to maintain order in the meetings. She opined that freedom of speech should be respected. She was worried about possible pre-censorship of speech if appropriateness of a member’s remarks was discussed at a DC meeting. The manner of the concerned Members (at the FEHC meeting) might be bad but it was inappropriate to discuss this matter at a DC meeting. Furthermore, she suggested Members who had made the submission withdraw the paper and discuss with the FEHC Member and Co-opted Member direct. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 40
79. Mr. HO Hon-man said he had walked out the FEHC meeting in protest of the remarks. From the recording, Mr. MOK Ying-fan added that he did not support the remark of “DCs were dividing spoils” and remained silence during the meeting. He worried that applicants who failed to secure WTSDC funds in the past might complain about the unfounded “DCs were dividing spoils”, and it would affect Members who had not made any comment in the meeting. He urged to ascertain the responsibility through the discussion.
80. Mr. HUI Kam-shing added that he had been a DC Member for more than a decade. His remarks were not intended to criticise individual Members. Instead, he urged WTSDC to consider carefully whether it should make the precedent of discussing the appropriateness of a Member’s remarks at a DC meeting. He once again proposed postponing the agenda item until next meeting.
81. Ms. Maggie CHAN added that while Members worried about the appropriateness of their remarks would be discussed at DC meetings, she thought it was more important to consider if one’s remarks would threaten others and prevent them from commenting on funding applications. If so, the vetting process would be affected, and Members would no longer be able consider funding applications fearlessly according to established rules. Therefore, she considered that this was a very serious matter.
82. The Chairman concurred with Members’ views in general. He had been chaired that item in the FEHC meeting, at which the Member and Co-opted Member concerned had made the remarks set out in the paper. The crux of the problem had said that “DC was dividing spoils”.
83. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai clarified that he had not blamed WTSDC.
84. The Chairman requested Mr. CHUI to observe the speaking order, so that he could finish his speech first.
85. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai said it was still unclear whether the Chairman should chair this item, and requested that this matter be settled first.
86. The Chairman said he was handling the chairing of this item, and advised Mr. CHUI to raise his hand and observe the speaking order. Mr. CHUI disagreed, and the Chairman let him speak first.
87. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai enquired if this was a censure motion paper. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 41
88. The Chairman said the paper was not a censure motion.
89. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai said the paper contained the word “censure” and thus he puzzled why it was not a censure motion paper. As a DC Member, he would not criticise DC of dividing spoils. As he had not made his point clearly at the meeting concerned, he would like to clarify at this meeting. He intended to say that DAB, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the pro-establishment camp and even organisations related to the Communist Party had monopolised most of the DCs’ resources. Although some of these resources were used in public services, a significant portion of the resources were used politically, such as supporting candidates’ activities, personal publicity, election-related activities, etc. The Communist Party also spent much money on stabilising Hong Kong. He commented that he had failed to clarify the above facts at the FEHC meeting.
90. The Chairman asked Mr. CHUI Pak-tai if the remarks made was about the allocation of WTSDC funds. He commented that Mr. CHUI should clearly state what previous allocation of WTSDC funds were unfair or “dividing spoils”. As the Chairman of WTSDC, he was responsible to protect the reputation of the DC.
91. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai said he had talked about resources occupied by the Communist Party. The “legal division of spoils” mentioned was about division of political spoils.
92. Mr. HUI Kam-shing said that whether the discussion on this agenda item should be continued.
93. Ms. Maggie CHAN enquired if the “division of political spoils” mentioned by Mr. CHUI Pak-tai was referred to the past allocation of funds by WTSDC.
94. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai said all organisations under the Communist Party had engaged in division of political spoils irrespect of the techniques and legitimacy perspectives. However, his comments had nothing to do with other applicants for WTSDC funds.
95. The Chairman remarked that we were discussing the allocation of WTSDC funds, and he had no idea why Mr. CHUI Pak-tai associated this with the Communist Party.
96. The Chairman said allocation of WTSDC funds had been described as division of political spoils at the FEHC meeting. He thought that it was unfair to all 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 42 WTSDC Members.
97. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai reiterated that he had not criticised WTSDC, but he criticised organisations under the Communist Party.
98. The Chairman proposed the meeting be suspended for five minutes and all Members agreed to suspend the meeting.
99. Mr. Andrew TO requested the Chairman to explain, when the meeting was resumed, under which provision in the Standing Order to include the paper in the agenda.
(The meeting was suspended for five minutes.)
100. The Chairman announced that the meeting was resumed, and invited the Secretary to explain the procedures to include the paper into the agenda.
101. The Secretary replied that according to Rule 13(1) of the Standing Order, any Member who wished to discuss or submit a paper on a certain topic should notify the Secretary and submit the paper in ten clear working days before a meeting. A shorter notification period might be accepted if the Chairman agreed and approved. Therefore, the paper was then included into the agenda.
102. Mr. Andrew TO enquired about the provisions in the Standing Order in relation to move a motion, and asked if this was a motion paper.
103. The Chairman replied that the paper was not a motion.
104. The Secretary replied that according to Rule 17 of the Standing Order, motion should reach the Secretariat ten clear working days before a meeting, unless otherwise agreed by the Chairman.
105. Mr. William SHIU said the operation of DCs was based on the authority conferred by the relevant legislation. In accordance with Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance (Cap. 547), the functions of a DC were “to advise the Government on the use of public funds allocated to the District for local public works and community activities”. DC and its committees would consider various funding applications to implement district-based activities. DC Members were empowered by legislation to consider applications for allocation of DC funds. It was normal and appropriate for Members to enquire the applicants or require them to provide additional 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 43 information in considering the funding applications. DC Members should play the same role at different committee meetings. He emphasised that DC funds were public money and not spoils. DC would not operate in “division of spoils”.
106. Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH said that Members’ comments above were clearly and reasonably made within the framework of freedom of speech. The paper was not a motion paper. It consisted of two parts, one was about some Members’ grievance over the remarks made by a Member and a Co-opted Member at the FEHC meeting on 3 May 2011; and the other part was intended to urge all WTSDC Members to learn from this incident and carry out discussions rationally, so that meetings could be conducted with due respect to freedom of speech and the order of proceedings, and work of WTSDC could genuinely benefit the residents. He opined that Members had expressed their views adequately on the agenda item.
107. Mr. SO Sik-kin said he had attended the FEHC meeting and signed the paper. He understood that the Member might be a bit excited during the discussion. However, the Members should try to calm down in order not to offend others, and he did not accept the remark “DCs were dividing spoils”. As he had felt threatened at the FEHC meeting, he cast an abstention vote. Handling of funding applications had all along been part of WTSDC’s operation. The registered address of the applicant was in Fanling, and it had only applied for $10,000-odd for organising an excursion in the past. In this connection, Members doubted if it could handle a major activity for an amount of $500,000. Members who were responsible for considering the application should go through the application in detail. They suggested the applicant hold minor activities first, so that Members could be more confident about its capability in holding major events. This might help the organiser to secure a larger amount of WTSDC funds in future. The Member in question had declared interest, but his remarks were inappropriate. When considering funding applications, WTSDC would only consider facts, such as the activities’ feasibility and possible benefits to the district. Political background of applicants would not be considered. In fact, few reasonable applications had been rejected in the past. He only wanted to air his grievance through the paper, instead of reprimanding the Member concerned.
108. The Chairman said he agreed to include this matter into the agenda because Members had different views on it. In view of the possible role conflict with signing on the paper, he enquired if Members would let him continue to chair the meeting.
109. Members unanimously agreed that the Chairman should continue to chair the meeting. The Chairman said he would continue to chair the meeting but would not make any comment. He asked Mr. WONG Kwok-yan to introduce the paper.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 44 110. Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH remarked that Members’ had expressed their views adequately and their views would be on record. He thus suggested the discussion be ended.
111. Mr. Andrew TO enquired if the wording “division of political spoils” was a taboo at DC meetings. According to What Is Politics, one of the definitions of politics was allocation of social resources, which involved allocators and their sources of power. He commented that it was fine to use wordings “division of political spoils” in a council if they could aptly descript facts. Also, “political spoils” were different from “profits of crime”.
112. The Chairman enquired if Members would like to continue the discussion on this agenda item.
113. Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BS, MH opined that Members had expressed their views adequately through the paper, their speeches, council procedures, etc., and thus suggested the discussion be ended.
114. Mr. Andrew TO enquired if he could use “division of political spoils” to describe political phenomenon.
115. The Chairman clarified that the Member had said “division of interests” instead of “division of political interests” at the FEHC meeting.
116. Mr. William SHIU said in accordance with Section 61 of the District Councils Ordinance (Cap. 547), DCs were tasked “to advise the Government on the use of public funds allocated to the District for local public works and community activities”. Funding applications considered by DCs were the public money set aside for DCs through HKSAR Government’s budget. It was reasonable, legal and appropriate for DCs to request more information from the applicants, as they were only discharging the duties empowered by the law. He reiterated that in the District Councils Ordinance and rules about using DC funds, such funds were described as public money, instead of “profits of crime” that came from corruption or theft cases. Hence, consideration of funding applications and use of such public money should be carried out in a prudent manner.
117. The Chairman did not want to intensify the rift among Members for further discussion which would affect WTSDC’s tradition of harmony. Many Members had already spoken on this topic. He proposed the discussion be ended.
118. Mr. LEE Tat-yan, MH did not object to end the discussion, but felt uneasy to 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 45 the incident at the FEHC meeting. He hoped that Members would respect other’s feeling when discussing applications for DC funds. It was offensive for saying that the harmony of the council would be affected if a funding application was rejected. He urged Members not to use threatening wordings and damage the friendship among Members.
(Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung left the meeting at 5:55 p.m.)
119. Ms. Maggie CHAN added that harmony of the council was important, but should not be overrided. As Members were responsible for upholding the fairness and justice of the DC, and were accountable to the public and the electors, they should speak fearlessly, especially when considering the applications for DC funds. It was evidenced that some Members were influenced by others in considering funding applications. If a committee chairman had direct or indirect conflict of interest with an applicant, he should declare interest, withdraw himself from the meeting or not to comment on the funding application. He should not speak in the capacity of chairman or threaten other Members to resign if the application was not approved. As she considered that this was a serious case with profound implications, she must reiterate her standpoint.
120. Mr. CHUI Pak-tai pointed out that many organisations co-organised community involvement activities would affiliate with individual Members. In this connection, he enquired if Members in question should withdraw themselves from the meeting with the discussion of the relevant applications for funding. Primary organisers and co-organisers had different roles in funding applications, and they had different involvement in activities. He agreed that Members affiliated with the co-organiser should abstain from voting, but their right of audience should not be deprived.
121. The Chairman said Mr. CHUI Pak-tai had duly declared interest at the FEHC meeting. He proposed, and Members agreed unanimously, to end the discussion under this agenda item.
(Mr. CHAN Lee-shing, Ms. Maggie CHAN, Mr. Andie CHAN, Mr. CHUI Pak-tai, Ms. KWOK Sau-ying, Mr. WONG Kwok-yan and Mr. WONG Yat-yuk left the meeting at 6 p.m.)
III(v) ICAC Regional Office (Kowloon East/Sai Kung) Work Plan 2011/12
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 46 (WTSDC Paper 33/2011)
122. The Chairman welcomed Regional Officer (Kowloon East /Sai Kung) Mrs. Dorothy TAM and Community Relations Officer Ms. Claire CHAN of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) who attended the meeting for this agenda item.
123. Mrs. TAM thanked WTSDC for its support all along, and said ICAC would continue to disseminate the message of probity to different people through various channels, with a view to entrenching probity culture in the community. She made a powerpoint presentation on ICAC Regional Office (Kowloon East/Sai Kung) Work Plan 2011/12. Highlights were as follows:
(i) Upholding Clean Elections
To prepare for the Heung Yee Kuk Election, District Council Election, Election Committee Subsector Election to be held in 2011 and the Chief Executive Election scheduled for 2012, ICAC would accord top priority to uphold clean elections. Knowing that Members requested for early start of education programmes on clean election, ICAC had contacted 20-odd political parties/ groups and held “Support Clean Elections” briefings on the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance. ICAC would hold a briefing in Tsui Ping Road Community Centre at 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. on 30 May 2011 for potential candidates and their assistants, as well as those who wished to know more about the above ordinance. The briefing with good enrolment was well-received by the local people.
In addition to briefing, ICAC also introduced the clean elections through booklets and leaflets, mass media (e.g. TV and radio) publicity, mobile exhibition vehicle and roving exhibition jointly organised with DCs.
(ii) Consolidating Community Efforts to Maintain a Probity Culture in the Community
Regional Offices of ICAC were tasked, inter alia, to consolidate the relationship with district organisations. ICAC would
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 47 continue to arrange “Meet-the-Public Sessions” to exchange views with leaders and members of local organisations, in a bid to seek their help to disseminate integrity to all walks of life.
(iii) Promoting Clean Building Management
ICAC would continue to provide corruption prevention services to owners’ corporations and co-operate with Government departments and professional bodies on matters relating to the Operation Building Bright Scheme. In addition, it would conduct thematic talks or seminars for owners’ corporations, building management bodies, consultancies and contractors and remind them of the anti-corruption legislation and its importance.
(iv) Strengthening Moral Education for Youngsters
ICAC would continue to adopt a holistic approach to enhance the young people’s awareness of corruption. Classroom and extra-curricular activities, among other things, would be used to disseminate integrity to young people at different stages from kindergarten to university.
In recent years, ICAC also developed personal ethics module for universities. It had also collaborated with Chinese University of Hong Kong and incorporated the module into the first-year general education programme of the university. In view of the students’ enthusiastic response, ICAC would promote the module to other universities, with a view to incorporate into the formal curriculum. ICAC had also launched the ICAC Ambassador Programme which encouraged tertiary students to organise integrity-building activities at their own campus. The programme had yielded favourable response and five tertiary institutions had joined the programme since its inception in 2007.
ICAC also used multi-media to disseminate integrity messages, such as the “Gee-Dor-Dor” moral education electronic books to be produced this year. The electronic books were targeted to all primary schools and kindergartens in the territory, and
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 48 reading programmes would be co-organised with schools.
To facilitate exchanges among young people in Hong Kong and neighbouring regions and reinforce their probity awareness, ICAC would partner with counterparts in Guangdong and Macau again to organise a computer animation competition for tertiary and senior secondary students and working youths. In addition, ICAC would continue to make use of its website and other popular web platforms to facilitate communication with youngsters.
(v) Assisting the Business Sector to Implement Preventive Measures and Ethics Training
As many SMEs involved in cross-boundary operation, ICAC would co-organise with Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate and the Commission Against Corruption in Macau to organise a corruption prevention conference for SMEs in 2011, to familiarise cross-boundary business operators with the anti-corruption laws of the three places. ICAC would also develop case studies concerning cross-boundary SME operations to provide practical materials at seminars.
ICAC would sustain partnership with the regulatory bodies of listed companies, major chambers of commerce and professional bodies to promote director/ professional ethics, such as co-organising seminars, publishing feature articles, incorporating the element of professional ethics into the qualifying examinations and continuous professional development programmes for professionals. The prosperity of the local real estate called for enhanced integrity management. In early 2011, ICAC and the Estate Agents Authority had jointly launched a “It Pays to Play Fair and Proper” Integrity Management Programme to persistently strengthen professional ethics in the trade. The launching ceremony cum seminar of the Programme was held in March 2011. ICAC would assist in production of corruption prevention guidelines, launching a new video-based continuing education programme, and arranging new ethics training for practitioners.
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 49
The testing and certification industry had been identified by the Government as one of the Six Industries for further development. In this connection, ICAC had obtained support from the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification and the Innovation and Technology Commission in launching of the “Integrity Management Programme for Testing and Certification Industry” in 2011. Under the programme, ICAC would assist the testing and certification bodies to formulate codes of conduct and promulgate a corruption prevention guide, as well as organise seminars and talks to uphold professional ethics of practitioners.
(vi) Entrenching Probity Culture in Government Departments and Public Bodies
ICAC would continue to encourage government departments to build and entrench a culture of probity in the civil service through a network of Ethics Officers under the Ethical Leadership Programme jointly launched with the Civil Service Bureau. Activities under this programme included thematic workshops, updating content on integrity management at the dedicated intranet website “Online Community for Ethics Officers”, and custom-made training and developing teaching packages for individual departments. In addition, a set of training materials on integrity management for the civil service was being produced to further consolidate the culture of probity.
ICAC would strengthen corporate governance in public bodies, and continue to provide corruption prevention training for public bodies’ managers and staff facing high corruption risks.
Mrs. TAM invited Members to comment on the work plan, and sought their continued support to the work of ICAC.
124. The Chairman said WTSDC was satisfied with the work plan of ICAC, and thanked Mrs. Dorothy TAM and Ms. Claire CHAN for attending the meeting.
(Mrs. Dorothy TAM and Ms. Claire CHAN left the meeting at this juncture.) 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 50
III(vi) Kai Tak Development – Urban Design Enhancement Proposals (WTSDC Paper 34/2011)
125. The Chairman welcomed Chief Engineer Mr. LO Kam-yan, Anthony and Senior Engineer Mr. MOK Pang-ching, Peter of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD), and Senior Planner/Kowloon 3 Ms. CHU Ha-fan, Jessica of the Planning Department (PlanD) to the WTSDC meeting. He then invited Mr. Anthony LO to introduce the paper.
(Mr. Andrew TO left the meeting at 6:15 p.m.)
126. Mr. Anthony LO said he would provide a progress report on matters relating to the Kai Tak Outline Zoing Plan (OZP). The presentation would focus on preservation of Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and enhancement of accessibility to the waterfront, instead of drawing up a new OZP. He thanked Members for their support to the project, and made a powerpoint presentation on the latest progress and proposed enhancement. Highlights of the presentation were as follows:
(i) Current Progress
The construction of key projects under Kai Tak Development (KTD) targeted for completion in 2013, including the cruise terminal building and the associated facilities, the public housing development at the north apron area etc., had been commenced since mid-2009 and were in good progress. In addition, berths and the terminal building were under construction, and the building and the first berth would be commissioned in 2013. The foundation works for the public housing development had been completed approximately, and the superstructure works had been commenced. Construction of supporting facilities, such as roads and other infrastructure, were in good progress.
CEDD had consulted DCs on the projects in the next stage, including treatment of water, sediment and odour at Kai Tak Nullah, construction of stage 2 infrastructures in the north apron area and reprovisioning of Marine Department’s radar on top of the cruise terminal building. The Members had no objection to the projects.
(ii) Preservation of Lung Tsun Stone Bridge
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 51
CEDD had conducted a two-stage public engagement exercise on the preservation of Lung Tsun Stone Bridge in 2010 and briefed DCs on the consultation. The consolidated views were incorporated in the proposed amendments below.
According to the public engagement exercise on the preservation of Lung Tsun Stone Bridge, the public generally accepted a preservation corridor of not less than 25m wide to provide adequate space for arts and cultural activities. CEDD proposed to provide a 30m wide, 200m length preservation corridor. As the corridor was wider than the Lockhart Road, it should be able to provide adequate space for preserving the Lung Tsun Stone Bridge remnants. In addition, CEDD proposed to construct a pedestrian subway to connect the preservation corridor with the Shek Ku Lung Road Playground and the Kowloon Walled City Park. Construction of another pedestrian subway along Kai Tak River was also proposed, to connect San Po Kong and KTDA. The two inter-connecting pedestrian subways would replace the planned elevated walkway across Prince Edward Road East.
During the public engagement exercise, the public and the Members had raised concerned about the ambience, and land use around the preservation corridor. In this connection, CEDD proposed the three abutting development sites be zoned as “Comprehensive Development Area” (CDA) and be developed separately. To ensure harmony in design and ambience, the site development would be monitored under the existing provisions stipulated by the Town Planning Board (TPB).
Furthermore, CEDD suggested the 10m wide promenade be converted into a 30m wide preservation corridor, and the land use and size of the corridor’s peripheral be adjusted. The gross floor area (GFA) would be maintained and the development intensity of the Kai Tak City Centre could remain unchanged;
(iii) Enhancement of Accessibility to the Waterfront
Former Kai Tak Runway
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 52
The public suggested the two planned roads along both sides of the runway be relocated to facilitate public access to the waterfront and the facilities. CEDD found the arrangement viable and proposed relocating the two planned roads to the central Runway Boulevard. The relocation would cause no change in the non-domestic and domestic GFAs, and have only minimal change in the open space.
The South Apron
Relocation of the planned carriageway along the waterfront, and enhancement of Kai Fuk Road and adjacent roads were proposed. It would minimise the visual intrusion caused by flyover. Sites in the vicinity would also be merged and rezoned as “Government, Institution or Community” (G/IC) to enhance public accessibility and enjoyment.
(iv) Enhancement of Kai Tak City Centre
CEDD proposed a commercial site adjacent to the elevated walkway be rezoned for art performances and exhibition. To maintain the development intensity, two 175mPD height towers proposed at two sides of Kai Tak River which, together with the elevated walkway and Kai Tak River, adjacent space, would form a gateway. The “gateway” could become a landmark of San Po Kong and Kai Tak River, and link up the new and old districts. It was also suggested that number of tall building in Kai Tak Square be reduced for layout and visual improvements.
In response to the gazetted SCL project, the layout of the Underground Shopping Street (USS) connecting to Kowloon City would be refined to provide sufficient space for shops. The USS would be about 20m wide. It would link up SCL stations, existing pedestrian subways in Kowloon City, the preservation corridor of Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and Kai Tak River.
(v) After the consultation exercise, PlanD would prepare “Kai Tak Outline Zoning Plan” amendments. Pursuant to the relevant
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 53 legislation, Members and the public might still comment on the project, and CEDD would respond to their comments accordingly.
127. The Chairman said two submissions (Annexes III and IV) had been received. He invited Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP to introduce his submission.
128. Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP supported the proposed enhancements, viz. widening the Lung Tsun Stone Bridge preservation corridor to 30m wide, rezoning its peripheral into CDA, and replacing the footbridge with two pedestrian subways. In addition, he had received a letter from Lee Kau Yan Memorial School (Annex III). Given the proximity to Kai Tak River and petrol stations, he suggested the school be relocated to Kai Tak Development Area (KTDA), so as to improve accessibility of the site. Also, he suggested reducing the size of the three petrol stations, or removing some or even all of them. On the other hand, the twin-tower was 170m height each and separated only by the Kai Tak River. In this connection, he was concerned about ventilation and ridgeline, and urged CEDD to carry out detailed environmental assessment and study the possible impacts on the ridgeline. He also supported the setting up of a performance area connecting San Po Kong and KTDA to facilitate cultural development. He urged CEDD to consult WTSDC again on the development of the performance area. The linkage between the footbridge, USS and MTR station was not depicted in the powerpoint presentation, as the relevant design work was still underway. He commented that the linkage should be premised on good accessibility. Also, he supported relocating the carriageways from the waterfront and building cycling tracks, but was concerned about the linkage of new and old districts by single-way carriageways. He also enquired if cycling tracks be provided in the two pedestrian subways.
129. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH introduced the paper (Annex IV). He welcomed the people-first approach in planning the project. If it was necessary to invest enormous resources into the project, sufficient accesses to and from KTDA should be provided to satisfy the needs of the transient population and the 80 000 residents in the area. In addition, the development concept for Kai Tak should be compatible with Kwun Tong South, Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay. As the Government always intended to revitalise these old industrial areas, CEDD’s papers on monorail and its design should centre on how to link them altogether. The construction of cycling tracks was worth to be supported. Cycling was a leisure activity, but it could also be a form of transportation in KTDA. Innovative development, such as cycling lanes and cycling tracks might be provided. If the Government did not incorporate this concept into a new development area, it would be impossible to implement in other places. In European and American cities, most carriageways were equipped with cycling lane, 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 54 bicycle parking and waiting area. This showcased that bicycles might also be used on carriageways. The development of cycling lane would require the change of planning, and adjustment of driving habits of both cyclists and vehicle drivers. Cycling was a form of transportation in many Mainland cities, and Hong Kong might follow. He hoped that the same could be implement in Kai Tak, as it would be a breakthrough to certain extent.
130. Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP said the proposed pedestrian subway connecting Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and Kowloon City was worth to be supported. However, the subway would only be 5m wide, probably due to the existing flyover columns. As the flyover was in a dilapidated state, he suggested the flyover be demolished, or a new flyover be built to cater for the needs of the new district. Hence, the subway could be widened and used for exhibition. Secondly, Kowloon City and Kai Tak had been connected by wide pedestrian subways previously. As Kowloon City had numerous restaurants, people used to dine, stroll and shop there. People went to Kai Tak via the wide and convenient pedestrian subways without even noticing it. However, the newly designed pedestrian subways were rather narrow and failed to serve the intended purpose, viz. connecting Kowloon City and Kai Tak seamlessly. Therefore, he urged CEDD to respect this purpose when optimising land use. Thirdly, he supported the construction of a twin-tower and zoning its vicinity as CDA. Given that the commercial area would be less busy in the evening, he suggested theatres and bars be provided to fully utilise the area. Lan Kwai Fong should be developed in this area.
131. Mr. SO Sik-kin supported the proposals in the paper. He remarked that the KTD project could be commenced after a decade, thus we should plan the usage of this large plot of land very carefully. There would be a cruise terminal, a fishermen’s wharf and a “bar street” to promote tourism and commercial activities. In addition, after purification of water, the Kowloon Bay section of Kai Tak River might be turned into a water sports centre for international events. The waterfront might become a scenic spot comparable to Xihu in the Mainland or European cities. Cycling tracks were provided along the waterfront. The Government or other organisations might provide coin-operated bicycle parking spaces and rental devices, so that the public would not need to bring their own bicycles. In addition, free bicycle parking spaces might also be provided to encourage people not to drive, for minimising pollution.
132. Dr. Allen SHI, MH, JP said according to the 12th Five Year Plan discussed by the National People’s Congress, the economic development of China in the next five years would centre on internationalisation. He commented that Hong Kong should develop itself accordingly. Construction works for infrastructures, in particular transportation, such as the Beijing-Hong Kong Expressway, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Kai Tak Cruise Terminals should be expedited to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as the “Southern Gate of China”. In addition to the cruise
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 55 terminal which would facilitate visitors’ access by sea, Hong Kong which should strengthen the development of external trade, would establish as the “Show Window of Southern China”. More exhibition venues should also be provided. A large-scale exhibition centre established in the urban area, and complemented by features of the Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. The centre was more easily accessible than one in Tung Chung. KTDA completed with the cruise terminal would be a landmark for international trading. KTDA would benefit tourism, retail business, import and export trades, logistics, financial industry, etc., and would enhance Hong Kong’s international status. In addition, Wong Tai Sin might take this opportunity to enhance the tourism development, such as the centre of traffic network with the SCL Diamond Hill Station, implementing the Kai Tak Nullah Improvement Programme and vitalising industrial buildings in San Po Kong. KTD would facilitate the development of surface and air transport, and become new landmark to the Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong would have a bright future.
133. Mr. MOK Kin-wing welcomed the enhancements, and commented that the project had incorporated the public’s views, and had optimised the land use. The extension of the Lung Tsun Stone Bridge preservation corridor could protect the relic and improve its accessibility. He suggested an exhibition hall be built near the preservation corridor to introduce the history of the bridge, the Pavilion for Greeting Officials and Kai Tak River, for educational and tourism purposes. In addition, he supported the performance venue near the gateway, which would be the complement to the development of creative culture in San Po Kong. In view of the high pedestrian flow, he suggested art fair stalls be provided to attract tourists. Moreover, the sea outlet of Kai Tak River was covered with an elevated road. He suggested relocating the road to the bottom of the river. Apart from maintaining the completed outlook of the river, the river could be available for rowing and sailing, and could become a new tourist attraction. On the other hand, construction of public housing and schools was underway in the north apron area, and a new pedestrian subway would be provided to connect Luk Ching House in Choi Hung Estate and the northern part of KTDA. He hoped that sufficient supporting facilities be provided. He suggested outdoor cafes and bars be provided at the waterfront promenade to attract tourists, and Kai Tak Nullah be developed into a water sports centre with artificial beach. These efforts would help to develop a tourist destination.
134. Mr. MOK Ying-fan expressed his appreciation to the enhancement proposals. Both the general public and tourists might enjoy the beautiful scene of the coastal area by relocating the carriageways from the waterfront. Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront was always packed with people. In addition, he opined that development and design of the new district should include past, present and future elements. Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and Kai Tak Airport were past elements. There had been suggestions that something should be provided to introduce the history of Kai Tak Airport and mark its
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 56 decades-long contribution to Hong Kong. Also, he suggested something be built to show future development.
135. Mr. LAM Man-fai, JP concurred with Dr. James LAU, BBS, JP on his suggestion, and added that the original walkway connecting Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and Kowloon City was as narrow as 5m. In addition, the defunct flyover no longer connected to the other side, and provision of vehicular access to the other side was not required, Mr. LAM opined that the flyover should be demolished as soon as possible to release more space. Moreover, CEDD should identify ways to utilise the space fully and widen the walkway to not less than 15m.
136. The Chairman commented the suggestion made by the Principal of Lee Kau Yan Memorial School should be considered. In addition, he thanked CEDD for clarifying the road alignment, previously discussed by Members, at Annex III of the submission, and zoning space between roads as G/IC use. He also understood that primary and secondary schools would be built in KTDA, and commented that school building matters could be handled by Education Bureau. He suggested Lee Kau Yan Memorial School be relocated as the site would play a vital role in the greening of Kai Tak River and affect the public access to part of the river. He urged CEDD to carry out liaison work accordingly.
137. Mr. Anthony LO thanked Members for their enquiries and comments. His response was summarised as follows:
(i) Any breakthrough on development of cycling trails, as mentioned by Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH, could be considered. However, further discussion was required before a consensus could be made. CEDD would discuss with TD on feasibility or pilot run of the suggestions. CEDD would continue to follow up this matter and submit a separate paper for discussion if necessary;
(ii) Both land and sea transportation in Kai Tak was excellent. It would be accessed by SCL, the Central Kowloon Route and other trunk roads in the territory. There would be cruise terminal and public pier. In other words, there were adequate transportation facilities in Kai Tak to link up with other distrcits;
(iii) After the improvement of road network in South Apron, additional space would be provided to extend the walkway to
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 57 Kowloon Bay. The enhancement proposals would improve the accessibility to Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong. Wong Tai Sin would be connected via Lung Tsun Stone Bridge and Kai Tak River. CEDD understood the concerns of the public and the Members, and considered the development needs of neighbouring districts’ in the planning.
(iv) According to the Kai Tak OZP, the flyover near Lung Tsun Stone Bridge was previously connected with the airport terminal and provided vehicular access to Kai Tak from PERE. The demolition of flyover might cause traffic congestion as vehicles going to Kai Tak should then use the roundabout of the former airport. Therefore, the flyover should be preserved. He concurred with Members and agreed to rebuild part of the flyover. As most of the surrounding areas, except a portion of Shek Ku Lung Playground, were pre-occupied, detailed assessment would be required. He reiterated that this matter was not contradicted to the Kai Tak OZP, and the planning work regarding the alteration and reprovisioning of the flyover could still be planned after endorsing the OZP amendment;
(v) Two bus terminuses would be provided at Kai Tak City, one at Kai Tak City Centre and the other at the Tourist Centre of the cruise terminal;
(vi) The paper proposed expanding the floor area of the Tourist Centre and the centre was developed into a landmark, for tourism and exhibition uses. The proposal had responded to Dr. Allen SHI’s suggestion; and
(vii) The proposals set out in the paper were in line with Members’ comments. Therefore, the Kai Tak OZP should first be amended before proceeding to other tasks.
138. Mr. SO Sik-kin opined that the cruise terminal and other facilities might attract lots of visitors to Kai Tak and thus suggested building landmarks, such as the world’s biggest ferris wheel. Hong Kong possessed the beautiful Victoria Harbour, and a landmark would certainly become an attraction to tourists. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 58
139. Mr. Anthony LO added that according to the plan, a theme park on airport and aviation would be built at the end of the runway. The visitors might also see Lei Yue Mun.
140. The Chairman thanked CEDD and PlanD representatives for attending the WTSDC meeting, and urged departments concerned to note and follow up on Members’ comments.
III(vii) Request for MTR Corporation to Shelve the Fare Increase and Provide More Discount Initiatives (WTSDC Paper 35/2011) (Submitted by Mr. LAI Wing-ho, Joe)
141. The Chairman said Mr. Joe LAI had submitted a motion paper and authorised Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH to present the paper and vote on his behalf. He then asked Mr. KAN to introduce the paper.
142. Mr. KAN introduced the paper and said Members might learn from the newspaper that the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) was planning to increase fare. The huge travelling expenses were the heavy burden to the general public. They were dissatisfied that MTRCL was still planning to increase fare even though it had huge profit last year. Therefore, he would like to seek Members’ support to the motion “Wong Tai Sin District Council demands MTRCL to shelve the fare increase and provide more discount initiatives, such as further extension to the existing Monthly Pass, setting up more MTR Fare Savers, re-launching the ‘Ride 10 Get One Free’ promotion, turning the $2 promotional fare for senior citizens on holidays into a permanent concession, providing more interchange discounts, etc. In addition, MTRCL should improve its services quality as well as the stations’ facilities, including the provision of platform screen doors and lavatories. Moreover, the District Council also strongly urges the Government to actively consider the imposition of a ‘Demerit Point System’ against MTRCL. The Corporation’s performance will have bearing on the fare increase rate. Also, a Public Transport Fare Stabilisation Fund should be set up to alleviate the extra pressure of fare increases.” The motion was moved by Mr. Joe LAI, and seconded by Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH and Mr. YUEN Kwok-keung.
143. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH commented that the motion introduced by Mr. KAN Chi-ho, BBS, MH was supported by all political parties, which had also voiced out their opinion to the Government and MTRCL on the fare increase despite its huge profit. Under the prevailing fare adjustment mechanism, MTRCL could propose a fare increase. 20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 59 However, the mechanism was linked with CPI, i.e. high inflation would result in high fare rate. Therefore, a vicious cycle would be developed if the price increase was not curbed in a timely manner. It caused further hardship to the public. The Government was holding of about 76% of MTRCL’s shares and received about $2 billion of dividend every year. He suggested that the Government use the dividends to set up an “MTR Fare Stabilisation Fund”. As the annual fare revenue of MTRCL was around $11 billion, a 2.2% fare increase in the fare adjustment mechanism would only generate an extra income of $0.2 billion to $0.3 billion, but the fare increase could intensify people’s burden. The setting up of a “Public Transport Fare Stabilisation Fund” might alleviate the pressure of fare increases in the long run, but the setting up of an “MTR Fare Stabilisation Fund” by the dividends might benefit the people promptly. He urged the Government to strike a balance between the interests of the minority shareholders and the general public, and use the dividends properly to stabilise the fare.
144. Dr. WONG Kam-chiu pointed out that the rise in inflation rate had resulted in fare increase to public transport in the past few months. A recent study conducted by a university revealed that transportation accounted for about 10% of the people’s monthly expenditures, an increase from 6-7% in the past. Therefore, the government should not only ask the public to respect the fare adjustment mechanism, and should also review the mechanism, in particular the definition of “an affordable level by the public”. He opined that the review should be a medium to long-term initiative, and MTRCL should offer more discount initiatives and shelve the fare increase as it was making enormous profit. Also, the cost for installing platform screen doors should not be passed onto passengers. In addition, MTRCL should set aside more resources to improve the railway system, and to avoid emergency incidents and accidents. He suggested MTRCL cut the publicity budget and operating cost, and try not to generate additional operating capital by increasing fare. He believed that the above initiatives would be well-received by the public and help improving the corporate image.
145. The Chairman enquired if Member would like to propose an amendment to the motion. As no amendment was proposed, he asked Members to vote for the motion according to the Standing Order. (17 Members voted for the motion, and no Member voted against or in abstention.) The Chairman announced that Mr. Joe LAI’s motion was carried by WTSDC, and asked the Secretariat to refer the motion to THB and MTRCL for follow-up actions.
III(viii) Request for Resumption of Construction of Home Ownership Scheme Flats (WTSDC Paper 36/2011)
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 60 146. The Chairman said Mr. HO Hon-man had submitted a paper on a motion seconded by 20 WTSDC Members. He then asked Mr. HO to introduce the paper.
147. Mr. HO Hon-man said the Government consulted the public on policy matters via the 18 DCs. The Federation of H.K., KLN. and N.T. Public Housing Estates Resident and Shopowner Organizations (the Federation), a concern group focusing on public housing in the territory, would like to seek the DCs’ support for relaying to the Government for resuming the construction of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats. In addition, the Federation hoped that DC Chairmen could reflect its view to the Chief Executive at the District Council Chairmen Meeting. He then moved the following:
“That Wong Tai Sin District Council Requests the Government to Resume the Construction of Home Ownership Scheme Flats.”
148. Mr. WU Chi-wai, MH pointed out that the community generally desired the resumption of construction of HOS flats. The continuous rising of property prices had polarised the residential property market into two: one meeting the public’s needs and one not. The former, consisting of low/medium priced flats, were not quite profitable. Hence private developers seldom built them nowadays. For instance, the Yuen Long site sold in a recent auction for about $6,000 per square foot would be turned into luxury homes. The existing property market could not meet the people’s housing needs. The resumption of the construction of HOS flats was the only solution. In addition, the resumption would provide opportunities for residents of public rental housing (PRH) to buy their own homes, and release more PRH flats to those on the Waiting List. He supported resumption of construction of HOS flats, and construction of additional PRH flats to meet the public’s housing needs.
149. The Chairman said the submission of DAB Wong Tai Sin Branch on “Supporting the Motion on ‘Resumption of Construction of Home Ownership Scheme Flat’ and Requesting the Government to Enhance My Home Purchase Plan” (Annex V) and the submission of the East Kowloon District Residents’ Committee (EKDRC) on “Request for Immediate Resumption of Construction of Home Ownership Scheme Flats” (Annex VI) were on table.
150. Mr. MOK Kin-wing said DAB supported Mr. HO Hon-man’s motion “That Wong Tai Sin District Council Requests the Government to Resume the Construction of Home Ownership Scheme Flats”. In addition, DAB would like to raise the following points about the resumption of construction of HOS flats and the My Home Purchase Plan (MHPP):
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 61
(i) Resuming the Construction of HOS Flats
(a) The property prices were so high that few people could afford to purchase their own homes. Resuming the construction of an appropriate number of HOS flats might provide affordable entry-level flats and solve the housing problem.
(b) Few residents of PRH could afford to purchase private flats. Therefore, resuming the construction of an appropriate number of HOS flats might re-establish a stepping stone for purchasing flats, and release more PRH flats to those on the Waiting List.
(c) After the relaxation of income and asset limits of Waiting List by 15% in April 2011, it was anticipated that there would be an annual increase of 25 000 PRH applicants. The lack of HOS flats would affect the turnover of PRH flats and consequently the waiting time of three years for PRH flats could not be maintained.
(ii) Enhancing the My Home Purchase Plan
The Chief Executive put forward MHPP in the Policy Address announced in October 2010, under which a total of 5 000 small and medium “no-frills” flats would be provided to eligible people to “rent-and-buy”. However, DAB considered there were still inadequacies in MHPP, including the number of flats, form and level of subsidy, restrictions in the rental and procurement arrangements etc. In this connection, DAB would like to put forth the following suggestions:
(a) To enhance the measure of “rent-and-buy” to become “rent-or-buy”, thereby enabling applicants to purchase their flats at any time.
(b) Prices of MHPP flats were market-driven. It was suggested to offer discount flat prices and impose restrictions on resale of flats to prevent speculation.
(c) To increase the number of flats to be launched in the first
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 62 year to 2 000.
(d) To allocate additional sites and streamline the procedures, so that the first batch of MHPP flats could be completed ahead of the scheduled 2015.
DAB was of the view that the Government could address the housing problems by resuming the construction of HOS flats and enhancing MHPP.
151. Mr. LEE Tat-yin, MH said EKDRC’s views were set out in its submission (Annex VI). The construction of HOS flats was ceased in 2002. Since then, EKDRC had been requesting the Government not to cease but resume the construction of HOS flats, and sell PRH flats. The current flat prices were so high that few grassroots and young people could afford to buy their own flats. For instance, the two new developments in Wong Tai Sin, namely The Latitude and the Lions Rise, were both priced above $12,000 per square foot, which was beyond the reach of ordinary people. The Government should consider providing 5 000 to 8 000 HOS flats annually to alleviate the people’s housing problem. Currently, the waiting time for PRH flats was more than three years. The primary cause for the lengthy waiting time was the lack of HOS flats, which had slowed down the turnover of PRH flats. As HOS flats could speed up the turnover of PRH flats, suppress property prices and help people to buy their own homes, the Government should resume the construction of HOS flats as soon as possible.
152. Dr. WONG Kam-chiu said according to the Government’s First Quarter Economic Report 2011, the property prices in Hong Kong had hiked to a post-1997 level. This was worrisome. He opined that the housing problem could be addressed by increasing the supply of flats, and thus he supported the resumption of construction of HOS flats. He proposed that a few thousand HOS flats might be provided on a pilot basis, and believed that these HOS flats would have minimal impact on existing flat owners and help stabilising flat prices. The Government should take other measures as well, such as increasing the number of MHPP flats, resuming the scheduled land auctions, redeveloping vacant factory buildings into small “flats with limited floor areas” by the Urban Renewal Authority or private developers. These measures could increase the supply of small and medium flats and help address the problems of high property prices and shortage in housing supply.
153. The Chairman pointed out that resumption of construction of HOS flats was a general consensus. In addition, he opined that adequate supply of land be provided to enable the people to buy their own flats.
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154. The Chairman enquired if Member would like to propose an amendment to the motion. As no amendment was proposed, he asked Members to vote for the motion according to the Standing Order. (17 Members voted for the motion, and no Member voted against or in abstention.) The Chairman announced that Mr. HO Hon-man’s motion was carried by WTSDC, and asked the Secretariat to refer the motion to THB for follow-up actions.
IV. Progress Reports
(i) Progress Reports of the 21st Meeting of the Community Building and Social Services Committee held on 15 March 2011 (WTSDC Paper 37/2011)
155. Members noted the paper.
(ii) Progress Report of the 21st Meeting of the District Facilities Management Committee held on 22 March 2011 (WTSDC Paper 38/2011)
156. Members noted the paper.
(iii) Progress Report of the 21st Meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee held on 29 March 2011 (WTSDC Paper 39/2011)
157. Members noted the paper.
(iv) Progress Report of the 20th Meeting of the Housing Committee held on 12 April 2011 (WTSDC Paper 40/2011)
158. Members noted the paper.
(v) Progress Report of the 21st Meeting of the Finance, General and Economic Affairs Committee held on 19 April 2011
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 64 (WTSDC Paper 41/2011)
159. Members noted the paper.
(vi) Progress Report of the 21st Meeting of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee held on 3 May 2011 (WTSDC Paper 42/2011)
160. Members noted the paper.
(vii) Progress Report of the 14th Meeting of the Working Group on Government and Public Utilities Works Projects held on 15 March 2011 (WTSDC Paper 43/2011)
161. Members noted the paper.
(viii) Progress Report of the Wong Tai Sin District Management Committee held on 29 April 2011 (WTSDC Paper 44/2011)
162. Members noted the paper.
V. Date of Next Meeting
163. The 23rd meeting of WTSDC would be held on 5 July 2011 (Tuesday) at 2:30 p.m.
164. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
Wong Tai Sin District Council Secretariat Ref: WTSDC 13-5/5/53 Pt.16 June 2011
20110609-3_DC[M22]-e.doc 65 Note: Should there be any discrepancies between the Chinese and English versions, the Chinese version shall prevail. This English summary translation is for reference only.
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