(Translation)

Minutes of the 16th Meeting of Sham Shui Po District Council (4th Term) under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Date: 24th June 2014 (Tuesday) Time: 9:30 a.m. Place: Sham Shui Po District Council Conference Room

Present

Chairman Mr KWOK Chun-wah, Jimmy, BBS, MH, JP

Member Mr CHAN Keng-chau, MH, JP Mr CHAN Wai-ming, MH Mr CHENG Wing-shun, Vincent Mr CHEUNG Wing-sum, Ambrose, MH, JP (Arrived at 9:50 a.m., left at 12:30 p.m.) Mr CHUM Tak-shing (Left at 3:30 p.m.) The Hon FUNG Kin-kee, Frederick, SBS, JP (Arrived at 2:35 p.m., left at 4:15 p.m.) Mr LAM Ka-fai, Aaron, JP Ms LAU Pui-yuk Mr LEUNG Man-kwong Mr LEUNG Yau-fong Mr LI Ki-fung, Bruce Mr LO Wing-man, Lawrence, JP Mr NG Kwai-hung, MH Ms NG Mei, Carman Mr SHUM Siu-hung Mr TSUNG Po-shan (Left at 4:40 p.m.) Ms WAI Hoi-ying Mr WAI Woon-nam Mr WONG Chi-yung (Left at 3:25 p.m.) Dr WONG Chung-leung (Left at 4:25 p.m.) Mr WONG Tat-tung, MH - 2 - Action by

In Attendance

Mr MOK Kwan-yu, Benjamin, JP District Officer (Sham Shun Po) Miss KA Yik-heng, Bonnie Assistant District Officer (Sham Shun Po) Ms CHAN Tsz-yee, Emily Senior Liaison Officer 1, Sham Shun Po District Office Mr WONG Leung-ping, Ben Senior Liaison Officer 2, Sham Shun Po District Office Ms NG Suk-min, Min Senior Liaison Officer 3, Sham Shun Po District Office Mr TAM Chak-hang, Henry District Commander (Sham Shun Po), Hong Kong Police Force Mr CHEUNG Wai-sing, Sam Police Community Relations Officer (Sham Shun Po), Hong Kong Police Force Mr CHEUNG Kwok-wah, Andrew Senior Engineer / 12 (Kowloon), Civil Engineering and Development Department Mrs KWOK LI Mung-yee, Helen District Social Welfare Officer (Sham Shun Po), Social Welfare Department Mr LIU Wai-shing, Simon Chief Leisure Manager (Hong Kong East), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Ms LEE Kar-mei, Camay District Leisure Manager (Sham Shun Po), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr CHIU Yu-chow District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shun Po), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr LUI Kwong-fai Chief Manager/ Management(Kowloon West & Hong Kong), Housing Department Mr CHOY Chik-sang, Mario Chief Transport Officer/Sham Shun Po, Transport Department Mr LEE Chi-yin Senior Housing Manager/ Kowloon West & Hong Kong 1, Housing Department Miss LO Kwai-lan, Patricia Senior Housing Manager/ Kowloon West & Hong Kong 2, Housing Department Mr SIU Yu-bun, Alan, JP Government Property Administrator, Government Property Agency Mr LAM Chik-man Senior Property Manager (Acquisition, Allocation & Disposal Projects and Special Duties), Government Property Agency Mrs CHEUNG MARK Yau-ying, Chief Property Manager(Tech Services), Government Susanna Property Agency Ms CHAT Siu-yan, Laura Senior Property Manager (Tech Services)1, Government Property Agency - 3 - Action by

Mr SHEK Lap-chi Senior Project Manager, Architectural Services Department Mr SO Pui-kei Project Manager, Architectural Services Department Dr TSO Ka-pik, Karen Senior Medical & Health Officer (Family Health Service)3, Department of Health Dr CHAN See-ka, Scarlet Medical & Health Officer (Community Liaison)2, Department of Health Dr KWONG Po-keung Patrick Chief of Service, Hospital Authority Mr YUEN Sui-kee Department Operations Manager, Hospital Authority Mr YAN Chin-ching, Cyrus Engineer/XRL (6), Highways Department Ms Lute Yip Public Relations Manager – Projects & Property, MTR Corporation Mr Fung Wai-chung Senior Liaison Engineer, MTR Corporation Limited

Secretary Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Sham Mr CHIU Bit-keung, Dennis Shun Po District Office

Absent with Apologies

Mr LEE Wing-man

Absent

Mr YAN Kai-wing

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Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members, government representatives and organisation representatives to the meeting. He also welcomed Mr CHIU Yu-chow, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shui Po) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) to replace Mr LAM Wing-hong who had been transferred to another post, and Mr LIU Wai-shing, Chief Leisure Manager (Hong Kong East) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”), who would join Ms LEE Kar-mei, District Leisure Manager (Sham Shui Po) of LCSD to attend the forthcoming meetings. The Chairman also extended welcome to Mr CHEUNG Kwok-wah, Senior Engineer (Kowloon) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department to that morning’s meeting, and Mr LEE Chi-yin, Senior Housing Manager/Kowloon West & Hong Kong 1 and Miss LO Kwai-lan, Senior Housing Manager/Kowloon West & Hong Kong 2 of the Housing Department (“HD”), to attend for Mr. LUI Kwong-fai the morning session of the meeting.

2. The meeting noted the leave application of Mr LEE Wing-man.

Item 1: Confirmation of minutes of meetings

(a) Minutes of the 15th meeting held on 29 April 2014

(b) Minutes of the 15th meeting (extended meeting) held on 19 May 2014

3. Members endorsed the above minutes without amendment.

Item 2: Matters for discussion

(a) Construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan (SSPDC Paper 104/14)

4. The Chairman welcomed the Government Property Administrator of the Government Property Agency (“GPA”) and the representatives of GPA and the Architectural Services Department as well to the meeting.

5. Mr Alan SIU introduced Paper 104/14.

6. Mr WAI Woon-nam supported the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments: (i) after relocation of some of the government departments from the three government towers at the Wan Chai waterfront - 5 - Action by to the proposed building, the site at the waterfront could be released for commercial use, which would augment the supply of Grade A offices; (ii) provision of General Out-Patient Clinic (“GOPC”) at the proposed building would provide the residents in the district a convenient access to medical services; (iii) currently, elders in the district had to travel across districts to Kowloon City for dental clinic services. The departments concerned should study whether the proposed building could provide dental clinic services for the elderly; (iv) the office and vehicle depot of FEHD providing hawker licence renewal service would be relocated to Yen Ming Road but the said location had no convenient transport links. The departments concerned should relocate the said office and vehicle depot to the proposed building and the side of Kwai Chung Container Terminal respectively.

7. Ms WAI Hoi-ying welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan, saying that provision of GOPC and the recruitment Centres for the Catering Industry and the Retail Industry of the Labour Department in the proposed building would meet the medical service and employment needs of the residents in the district. However, inception of such services might bring in heavier pedestrian and vehicle flows. She hoped that the departments concerned could have in place appropriate planning on the ancillary transport facilities.

8. Ms Carman NG supported the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. She made the following comments and suggestions: (i) provision of GOPC in the proposed building would provide convenient medical services for the residents in the district; (ii) more bus and green minibus routes en-routing the proposed building should be provided and shelters for those stops should be added; (iii) currently, the shopper flow of Fu Cheong Estate Shopping Centre was low but it could be expected that upon completion of the proposed building, the shopper flow of Fu Cheong Estate Shopping Centre would increase. The departments concerned should consider enhancing the facilities of Fu Cheong Estate Shopping Centre.

9. Mr TSUNG Po-shan welcomed the provision of GOPC and Labour Department’s recruitment centres for the Catering Industry and the Retail Industry in the proposed building. He had the following comments, enquiries and suggestions: (i) he pleaded the departments concerned to consider providing dental clinic services for the elderly in the proposed building so that elders in the district did not have to travel across districts to Kowloon City for such services; (ii) although the time for the staff to go to work in or get off work from the proposed building might not clash with the travel patterns of the residents in the district, the pedestrian and traffic flows of the district would increase upon completion of the proposed building. So, how the departments concerned would alleviate the future traffic loading; (iii) provision of restaurants in the - 6 - Action by proposed building was suggested to ease the pressure on the restaurants in the Fu Cheong Estate Shopping Centre in catering the additional patronage of a large number of staff working in the proposed building.

10. Mr Lawrence LO supported the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He also suggested provision of barrier-free access facilities, such as pedestrian bridges connecting the proposed building and the vicinity areas like the West Kowloon Law Court Building, with a view to facilitating access to the GOPC in the proposed building by the elders and people with disabilities.

11. Mr NG Kwai-hung supported the proposal of constructing a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments and enquiries: (i) the proposed building would meet the need of providing government-owned offices for government departments; (ii) provision of GOPC would bring convenience to residents in the district; (iii) while the district was in short of hourly parking spaces, whether the proposed building would provide hourly parking spaces for public use outside office hours.

12. Mr Bruce LI was very supportive of the proposal on the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following suggestions: (i) the proposed building should be installed with solar energy system; (ii) upon completion of the proposed building, the pedestrian flow of Lai Chi Kok MTR station might increase. He pleaded the departments concerned to discuss with the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (“HKMTRCL”) for enhancing the facilities of Lai Chi Kok MTR station.

13. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong made the following comments and enquiries: (i) currently, elders in the district had to travel across districts for dental clinic services while the population in the district was also increasing. The departments concerned should provide a dental clinic in the district for the elderly; (ii) during the construction of the proposed building, the departments concerned had to closely supervise the contractor for proper noise control with a view to minimise the nuisance caused by the construction to the nearby residents; (iii) as mentioned in the Paper, the height of the proposed building would be +120m Principal Datum. Then, how many storeys actually there would be. He suggested adding more storeys to increase gloss floor area for accommodating more public services; (iv) whether the Treasury office in the proposed building would also provide other services as well apart from providing enquiry services for the ex-civil servants eligible for retirement pensions, pensions recipients and their family members. - 7 - Action by

14. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments and suggestions: (i) while the large diameter bored piling method was less noisy as compared with the percussive piling method, the departments concerned should still closely monitor the noise level during the construction to avoid causing nuisance to the nearby residents; (ii) the height of the government building should be restrained as far as possible to ensure the air ventilation of and sunshine to the nearby buildings would not be affected; (iii) provision of study room and child care facilities in the proposed building was suggested; (iv) GPA should as far as possible provide more public open space and discuss with the Planning Department to rezone the “road reserve” as shown in the site layout plan to green belt or sitting-out area for the public; (v) the design of the building should blend in with the buildings in its vicinity and the use of fencing or gate doors should be minimised so that the building could become part of the community; (vi) job fair should be held in Fu Cheong Estate and Wing Cheong Estate when recruiting security guards and cleaning workers for the building and higher priority should be given to the residents of the district.

15. Ms LAU Pui-yuk welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan and provision of GOPC in the proposed building. She had the following comments and enquiries: (i) the GOPC in the proposed building should also provide out-patient medical services in evenings and on public holidays; (ii) when recruiting security guards and cleaning workers for the building, priority should be given to the residents of Sham Shui Po District (“SSPD”). Specifically, whether the department would set out an employment ratio, enabling more residents of the district to get hired; (iii) the outer wall design of the building should as far as possible avoid producing mirror-like glare reflection effect; (iv) the direction of the proposed building should allow sufficient sunlight to the buildings in its vicinity; (v) during construction, the departments concerned should keep communicating with this Council and the residents of the district.

16. Mr CHUM Tak-shing welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments and enquiries: (i) the proposed building should provide dental clinic for the elderly and child care services; (ii) how long the construction works of the proposed building would take and whether it would affect the schools nearby; (iii) there were four schools in the vicinity of the proposed building, how the departments concerned would handle the pedestrian and traffic flows of that area, and encourage the public use of Nam Cheong MTR station in order to lessen the loading of Cheung Sha Wan MTR station; (iv) pedestrian bridges connecting Nam Cheong MTR station and Cheung Sha Wan MTR station should be constructed to provide convenient public accesses to the proposed building and the West Kowloon - 8 - Action by

Law Court Building.

17. Mr SHUM Siu-hung welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments and enquiries: (i) it might not be necessary to use glass curtain walls for the proposed building; (ii) whether the proposed building could also accommodate a nursing centre as the community nursing centre set up by the Caritas Medical Centre in Fu Cheong Estate was paying high rents to the Link REIT; if the nursing centre could tie in with the GOPC there, service synergy could be generated; (iii) how many people the proposed building would bring to the district every day; (iv) whether there would be car park in the proposed building; if yes, would the entrance/exit and loading/unloading bay be at Tonkin Street or at Sai Chuen Road.

18. Mr Vincent CHENG welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following comments and enquiries: (i) the GOPC in the proposed building should also provide out-patient medical services in evenings and on public holidays; (ii) it was expected that more public services could be provided in the proposed building; (iii) currently, the supply of parking spaces in Wing Cheong Estate and Fu Cheong Estate was insufficient. Any details on the parking facilities in the proposed building; (iv) as Cheung Sha Wan MTR station was far away from the proposed building, whether there would be an additional MTR station exit/entrance near Wing Cheong Estate and Fu Cheong Estate, or any linkage connecting Cheung Sha Wan MTR station and Nam Cheong MTR station; (v) whether the department concerned would introduce new green minibus route(s) to the proposed building.

19. Mr CHAN Wai-ming had the following comments and suggestions: (i) the GOPC in the proposed building should also provide out-patient medical services in evenings and on public holidays; (ii) Transport Department (“TD”) should study introducing a bus route en-routing Sham Mong Road so as to bring convenience to the residents in the new reclamation area and avoid traffic flow concentrating at Castle Peak Road and Cheung Sha Wan Road; (iii) the design and layout of the public space of the proposed building should blend in with that of the nearby community; (iv) the proposed building should provide an array of social services for the benefits of the residents in the district.

20. Mr CHAN Keng-chau welcomed the construction of a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan, provision of GOPC in proposed building and reservation of space for art exhibitions. He had the following enquiries and comments: (i) the respective sizes of the GOPC and art exhibition venue; (ii) the number of storeys could be actually built, with height of the proposed building being +120m Principal Datum. He suggested voids on some floors, which made the appearance of the proposed building - 9 - Action by departing from that of other ordinary government offices. During construction, the departments concerned should keep communicating with Members of the district; (iii) the departments concerned and HKMTRCL should study whether an MTR station exit/entrance could be added near Wing Cheong Estate and Fu Cheong Estate; (iv) if the FEHD office providing hawker licence renewal service was to move into the proposed building, the issues of the people flow and provision of transportation facilities should be carefully studied; (v) the Government should carefully consider the naming of the proposed building and avoid using the name that could be mixed up with the name of the existing Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices.

21. Mr WONG Tat-tung supported the Government’s initiative of constructing a new government building at Cheung Sha Wan. He had the following enquiries and suggestions: (i) how to ensure that provision of out-patient medical services in evenings and on public holidays by the GOPC in the proposed building could be realised; (ii) with many new arrivals in the districts, the proposed building should provide new arrivals support service centre and youth centre to cater their needs; (iii) the plot ratio of the proposed building should be best utilised; (iv) how the works completion date and design of the proposed building would tie in with that of the new buildings in its vicinity.

22. Mr Alan SIU responded that:

(i) The Government would adopt its established naming practice, i.e. if the building was mainly occupied by one single department, then, the building would be named by using the name of that department. As the headquarters of the Treasury in Wanchai would be relocated to the proposed building, therefore, the building would be named as “Treasury Tower”.

(ii) GPA would, together with the Hospital Authority (“HA”), study whether it would be possible to extend its GOPC services and provide dental services for the elderly in the proposed building for meeting the needs of the district. GPA and the departments concerned would report to this Council any further progress made.

(iii) Prior to completion of the proposed building, GPA would review with TD the impacts on the people flow, traffic flow and transportation facilities upon completion of the proposed building. Views from this Council and local community would be sought.

(iv) The parking facilities of the proposed building were mainly for the use of the - 10 - Action by

departments, and therefore, for the time being, there was no plan to provide hourly parking spaces for public use. Currently, in the vicinity of the proposed building there were over 1 700 hourly and monthly parking spaces. In 2019, the topside development project of Nam Cheong MTR station, upon its completion, would also provide parking spaces for private cars. If the proposed building had vacant parking spaces outside office hours, the GPA would, depending on the actual circumstances and upon consultation with this Council, confirm the arrangement for the vacant parking spaces.

(v) The entrance/exit of the car park of the proposed building would be at Tonkin Street West, and thus, it would not affect the traffic at Sai Chuen Road and the nearby residents.

(vi) The departments concerned would study the feasibility of constructing a pedestrian bridge to connect Cheung Sha Wan MTR station and the proposed building, and divert the passengers of Nam Cheong MTR station.

(vii) The proposed building would, adhering to the established requirement, provide barrier-free access and facilities for the convenience of the elderly and people with disabilities.

(viii) The departments concerned would, in the design stage, conduct ground investigation and study various foundation designs, including, among others, the adoption of large diameter bored piling method, in order to minimise the impact of the works on the residents. GPA would, together with the departments concerned, closely monitor the works, and would form a group with Members and stakeholders of the district for better coordination to cater the needs of the district.

(ix) The government offices had been using low-reflective glass materials, and the track record of using glass curtain walls was good, without any light pollution caused.

(x) GPA would make the best use of the site and accordingly adjust the height of the proposed building up to +100m Principal Datum (about 20-odd storeys), to provide sufficient space for accommodating user departments.

(xi) Energy efficient features would be applied in air-conditioning system, elevators and illumination system of the proposed building. Currently, the Government was running a trial project on solar energy in some of its office - 11 - Action by

buildings. If the results were satisfactory, use of such energy in the proposed building would be considered.

(xii) Some space would be reserved in the proposed building for café or takeaway food shops etc. to provide an array of food catering choices for their staff working there and help ease the pressure on the nearby restaurants in catering the additional patronage.

(xiii) The design of the proposed building’s public space would blend in with that of the sitting-out area of the nearby housing estates.

(xiv) For the “road reserve” shown on the site layout plan, it was reserved for the widening of Tung Chau Street. However, the project was still subject to confirmation. GPA would, having regard the comments of this Council, work together with the departments concerned to study whether that road section could be temporarily used as a sitting-out area or green belt.

(xv) Under the principle of fairness, giving employment priority to or setting an employment ratio for residents of the district when recruiting security guards or cleaning workers of the proposed building might not be viable. Nonetheless, when conducting recruitment for such posts, the building management company could still launch job fair at Wing Cheong Estate and Fu Cheong Estate to attract interested applicants.

(xvi) In future, leisure facilities such as library would be built in the vicinity of the proposed building, and it was believed that such facilities would reserve some space for provision of study room.

(xvii) Currently, child care services were available in Nam Cheong Estate while the Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) had also been launching "Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project" to meet the needs of the residents in the district. However, if SWD found it necessary to extend such services, arrangement could be made to provide space in the proposed building to meet its additional needs;

(xviii) The art exhibition venue was about 200 m2 in size.

23. Mr WAI Woon-nam said that the distance between the proposed building and Wing Kit House of Wing Cheong Estate was about 30 metres and that the non-reflective glass of the building might still affect the nearby residents. He requested GPA to - 12 - Action by provide the design plan of the proposed building to this Council for reference and keep communicating with this Council and the local community.

24. Mr Bruce LI had the following enquiries and suggestion: (i) would the proposed building fall in the policing area of Cheung Sha Wan Police Station or in that of Sham Shui Po Police Station; (ii) with completion of Phase II of Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Food Market, the buildings at Site No. 6 and the West Kowloon Law Court Building in succession, how the Police would deploy its manpower; (iii) he requested GPA to reserve one floor for the use of Sham Shui Po District Council.

25. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong enquired about the actual number of storeys could be built with the height of the proposed building being +120m Principal Datum.

26. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following requests: (i) provision of child care services by SWD at the proposed building; (ii) introduction of green minibus route en-routing the proposed building; (iii) rezoning of the “road reserve” shown on the site layout plan to green belt or sitting-out area for public use.

27. Mr SHUM Siu-hung enquired about the people-flow figures of the proposed building, including the workers in or users of the building.

28. Mr CHAN Keng-chau had the following enquiries: (i) the size of the GOPC inside the proposed building; (ii) the feasibility of adding an MTR station entrance/exit at Fu Cheong Estate.

29. Mr WONG Tat-tung enquired that: (i) which party, GPA or HA, would report to this Council the result of feasibility study conducted by GPA and HA on the provision of GOPC evening and public holiday medical services, and dental clinic services for the elderly; (ii) whether it would be possible to set up a support service centre for the new arrivals in the proposed building; (iii) whether the plot ratio of the proposed building had been fully utilised.

30. Mr Alan SIU responded that:

(i) GPA would make the full use of the site, with the height of the proposed building being set at +100m Principal Datum (i.e. slightly more than 20 storeys). There would be a higher ceiling at the lobby floor. To minimise the impact of the building on the nearby residents, GPA would not suggest increasing the height of the proposed building. - 13 - Action by

(ii) GPA would, upon discussions with other departments on the use of the proposed building, report the latest development to this Council.

(iii) The support service centre for the new arrivals would be under the purview of the Home Affairs Department (“HAD”), GPA would further discuss with HAD to see if such service could be provided.

(iv) Prior to completion of the proposed building, GPA would, having looked into the traffic conditions and transportation needs of the district, and having regard to the views of this Council and actual traffic conditions, study whether it would be feasible to provide green minibus or bus services.

(v) There would be about 1 100 people working at the proposed building.

(vi) The proposed building would not provide extensive front desk and license/identification document application services. It was believed that the people flow at the GOPC and recruitment centres of Labour Department would be heavier and that users of such facilities would mainly be the residents in the district.

(vii) The GOPC would be about 1 000 m2 in size.

(viii) TD would, together with HKMTRCL, study the feasibility of providing an additional MTR station entrance/exit.

(ix) As the current accommodation condition of Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices was satisfactory, therefore, there was no plan at this stage to reserve one floor of the proposed building for the use of Sham Shui Po District Council.

31. Ms Camay LEE responded that she would relay the suggestion of providing study room raised by Member to the relevant officers. If necessary, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”) would work cooperatively with GPA on the said suggestion.

32. The Chairman said that the issue of the Police’s manpower deployment would be discussed at the meeting of Sham Shui Po District Fight Crime Committee.

33. Mr Henry TAM responded that the location of the proposed building fell within the purview of Sham Shui Po Police Sub-division. - 14 - Action by

34. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong enquired that: (i) whether the large diameter bored piling method would be used for construction of the proposed building; (ii) while GPA had said that the height of the proposed building was +100m Principal Datum, whether the department would adjust the height of the proposed building having regard to the various suggestions raised by Members.

35. The Chairman said that the GPA’s representative had just replied that the height of the proposed building was +120m Principal Datum which was then adjusted to +100m Principal Datum, having regard to the various suggestions raised by Members. Since Members held different views on the welfare services to be provided in the proposed building, he asked GPA to give a supplementation.

36. Mr Alan SIU responded that:

(i) Noting that there were public housing estates and schools in the vicinity of the proposed building, GPA would therefore, subject to the result of ground investigation of the site, adopt an appropriate piling method that could minimise its works impact on the nearby residents and stakeholders. Further update if available would be reported to this Council.

(ii) GPA would form a group with Members of the district and members of the local community to closely monitor the works impact on the nearby environment.

(iii) During the examination period of the nearby schools, the contractor would adjust its schedule for piling to avoid affecting the normal operation of the schools.

(iv) The height of the proposed building was +100m Principal Datum. GPA would, after balancing different views, make the best use of the site and full utilisation of the plot ratio of the proposed building. Space in the proposed building would be reserved for the departments with extra needs with a view to meeting the needs of the community. To avoid the height of the proposed building from blocking the views of the nearby buildings, GPA had to consult this Council and local community if there was request for an increase in the height of the proposed building.

37. The Chairman asked whether the plot ratio of the proposed building had been fully utilised. Besides, he said that although GPA was encouraging public use of Nam Cheong MTR station, whether the public would use that station would actually depend - 15 - Action by on their travel destinations. He hoped that TD and HKMTRCL would study whether it would be feasible to provide an additional MTR station entrance/exit.

38. Mr WONG Tat-tung asked whether the plot ratio had been fully utilised. If not, then how many floor areas could possibly be further utilised.

39. Mr Alan SIU responded that the plot ratio of 8 had been fully utilised. Apart from the height limit, there was also a limit on the ratio of the surface area of the proposed building to that of the whole site. Also, the proposed building had to reserve space for provision of public open space, sitting-out area and breezeways etc., and therefore, it might not be possible to extend the width of the proposed building.

40. Mr CHOY Chik-sang responded that TD would discuss with HKMTRCL on the feasibility of providing an additional MTR station entrance/exit near Nam Cheong Estate.

41. The Chairman concluded that Members supported the new government building construction project and hoped that more social welfare facilities could be provided in the new government building. The meeting was grateful and happy to note the positive responses of GPA. It was hoped that GPA would, when drawing up the detailed design layout, take Members’ views into consideration and carefully study their suggestions on extension of GOPC services and provision of dental clinic service for the elderly. Also, SWD was pleaded to make application to GPA for provision of social welfare services at the proposed building, so as to cater the needs of the district.

(b) Learning a painful lesson from the Wing Cheong Estate tragedy Concern about the mental health and welfare of women from grassroots families (SSPDC Paper 105/14)

(c) To review measures provided under social security network to single-parent families with regard to the Wing Cheong Estate tragedy (SSPDC Paper 106/14)

(d) Concern about hidden mental illness Build up a healthy and safe community hand in hand (SSPDC Paper 107/14)

42. The Chairman welcomed the representatives from the Department of Health (“DoH”), SWD, HA, the Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”) and HD to the meeting. He reported that the Secretariat had before the meeting respectively invited the Family Council and Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB) to this meeting. The Family Council expressed that no representative would be available to attend the meeting while the - 16 - Action by

LWB appointed a representative from SWD to attend the meeting instead. The Chairman asked Members to take note of the written reply from the Family Council, LWB and SWD (Papers 128/14 & 131/14). Besides, the Chairman also asked Members to read Papers 126/14 & 127/14, which were the written replies from HD and DoH.

43. As Papers 105/14 to 107/14 shared similar contents, the Chairman suggested a combined discussion on the three papers. Members had no objection.

44. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong introduced Paper 105/14.

45. Mr WAI Woon-nam introduced Paper 106/14。

46. Mr CHAN Wai-ming introduced Paper 107/14。

47. Dr Karen TSO introduced Response Paper 127/14。

48. Mrs Helen KWOK introduced Response Paper 131/14。

49. Dr Patrick KWONG responded as follows:

(i) HA had always been deeply concerned about mothers with postnatal depression (“PND”), and therefore, it introduced Comprehensive Child Development Service (“CCDS”) to help identify mothers with PND and families with counselling needs, with a view to providing them with appropriate services. To reduce social stigma associated with mental health problems and shorten the waiting time for specialist psychiatric out-patient services, HA had been deploying psychiatric nurses to Maternal and Child Health Centres (“MCHCs”) to offer further assessment and counselling services for mothers with PND or emotional problems, and when necessary, provide referral services.

(ii) Women with further medical care needs would be referred to the designed specialist out-patient clinics and normally the waiting time would be about two to three weeks. For women who were with serious symptoms of PND or would cause immediate danger, they would be instantly referred to psychiatrists for follow-up actions.

50. Mr Henry TAM, CSP, responded as follows: - 17 - Action by

(i) The Police had already formulated training programmes on handling of domestic conflict cases with the training materials regularly updated, with a view to enhancing frontline officers’ professionalism and sensitivity in handling and investigating domestic conflict cases. The Police had also given each of the frontline police officers in uniform a guidebook on domestic conflict handling, reminding them of the points to note when handling such cases.

(ii) The Police’s foundation training programme for recruitment of police constables, criminal investigation detective training, continuation and promotion training, and its police internal training days as well, had covered training on domestic conflict handling. In addition, the Police had been regularly inviting other government departments and professionals in domestic conflicts handling to hold seminars and workshops, in a bid to enhance police officers’ ability to cope with volatile situations and strengthen inter-departmental collaboration.

(iii) Each domestic conflict case would be handled at scene by an officer at the rank of sergeant or above, together with the officer(s) on duty, to ensure that each case was properly handled. The management would also review how each case was handled afterwards.

51. Mr LEE Chi-yin introduced Response Paper 126/14.

52. Mr CHAN Wai-ming had the following enquiries and suggestions: (i) he wished to know more about HA’s strategic direction on supporting mental patients; (ii) the number of mental patients receiving treatment and support from HA had increased from 165 300 in the year of 2009/10 to 205 000 in the year of 2013/14, accounting for an increase of 24%. While it was estimated that the rise would continue and the waiting time for the specialist psychiatric out-patient services varied greatly among different hospital clusters. It was therefore suggested that HA should strengthen its psychiatric manpower and review the resource allocation of all the clusters so as to resolve the problem of over-lengthy waiting time for the specialist psychiatric out-patient services; (iii) it was suggested that the government departments should forge stronger rapport among themselves, proactively reaching out to contact the “hidden families” that lacked support and providing them with appropriate assistance.

53. Mr SHUM Siu-hung had the following enquiries and suggestions: (i) how to handle a resident, who was with suspected mental health problems and in need of professional counselling and support, but refused to accept any help; (ii) currently, there - 18 - Action by were mental health support services in the community but the benefits of such services were not maximised. It was suggested that the Government should step up its efforts on publicity and dissemination of the relevant information so that those with mental health problem would know where to seek help; (iii) the Mutual Aid Committees (“MACs”) were playing an important role in providing neighbourhood support in public housing estates. It was suggested that the Government should allocate more resources to the existing MACs and provide more support to the newly set up MACs, enabling them to play a stronger role in their communities; (iv) it was suggested that the Government should strengthen public education on mental health to arouse the public’s attention on mental health problems and heightening the awareness of those with suspected mental health problems to seek assistance; (v) the public should also encourage their family members with suspected mental problems to seek professional assistance instead of discriminating them.

54. Mr Vincent CHENG had the following enquiries and suggestions: (i) he wished to know more about the waiting time for specialist psychiatric out-patient services of the public hospitals; (ii) the manpower of psychiatrists in public hospital was insufficient and the waiting time for such service was lengthy. Meanwhile, the charge rate for psychiatric services of private hospitals was too high for the grass-root. So, it was suggested that the Government should provide more counselling services and relevant auxiliary support; (iii) the publicity effort of SWD on its mental health support services was insufficient and therefore the benefits of the scheme could not be maximised. SWD should step up its publicity efforts; (iv) with completion of more public housing estates in succession in the district, it was suggested that the Government should allocate more resources for the residents of SSPD.

55. Mr CHUM Tak-shing had the following views and suggestions: (i) the Government was providing insufficient mental health and emotional support services, and it just took remedial measures after tragedies had taken place. He urged the Government to formulate as early as possible a long-term and comprehensive plan on mental health and auxiliary support; (ii) he suggested the Government to enhance training for frontline officers and increase the manpower of Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness (“ICCMW”) in the districts, with a view to enabling early identification of service recipients with emotional problems and timely provision of appropriate assistance; (iii) he suggested the Government to allocate more resources to MACs to boost neighbourhood support at district level. Meanwhile, HD would also arrange its staff to pay home visits to the tenants to identify the latter’s needs and provide necessary referral service.

56. Ms LAU Pui-yuk had the following comments and suggestions: (i) she found - 19 - Action by that the tragedy was heartbreaking and that the incident was a reflection of insufficient community and government support for the hidden mentally ill; (ii) she suggested MCHCs to strengthen dissemination of information to enhance the awareness of PND and ways for seeking help among those who were in postnatal period; (iii) she suggested the healthcare workers of MCHCs to proactively show care for mothers visiting the centres and observe their mental conditions through talking to them so as to enable early identification of mothers with suspected mental problems and under emotional distress.

57. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong had the following suggestions: (i) he suggested the Government to allocate more resources to step up mental health education and publicity on the support services so that the benefits of such services could be maximised; (ii) he suggested MCHCs to review the assessment system on identifying women with PND, regularising the randomly arranged interviews and showing more care for those mothers in postnatal period; (iii) he suggested the Government to categorise the requests for assistance and provide the assistance seekers with corresponding one-stop professional services with a view to reducing case referral procedures and lead time.

58. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong had the following comments and suggestions: (i) the healthcare manpower and resources of public hospitals had been insufficient for long time, resulting in over-lengthy waiting time for psychiatric out-patient service and failure in early identification of mental patients; (ii) the healthcare workers at MCHCs might observe the mental conditions of those mothers while talking to them and arrange further assessment and counselling services for those with PND symptoms; (iii) when a case was followed up by both the medical social worker and social worker of SWD, it was not uncommon to see them shirking their responsibilities. The departments concerned should review the demarcation of responsibilities so that the assistance seekers could be provided with timely assistance; (iv) SWD should strengthen the training for its frontline officers, empowering them to early identify those with mental problems and provide appropriate referral services.

59. Mr NG Kwai-hung had the following comments and suggestions: (i) while the living environment of Hong Kong made mothers prone to PND, it was quite difficult to identify those with such illness; (ii) the MACs of public housing estates had been playing an important role in strengthening community support network. He suggested that they could form some women volunteer groups to show care to women living in the estate who had just given birth, and when necessary, to refer the cases to the relevant government departments for follow-up actions.

60. Ms Carmen NG had the following suggestions and enquiries: (i) the healthcare workers at MCHCs were occupied by heavy workload and mothers visiting the centres - 20 - Action by were also busy in taking care of their babies. She wondered if the questionnaire was an effective tool and suggested DoH to review its current assessment mechanism for women with PND; (ii) she wished to know the waiting time for SWD services after case referral; (iii) she wished to know the discussions of inter-department meetings and urged the Government to shorten the service waiting time of the referred cases.

61. Ms WAI Hoi-ying had the following comments and suggestions: (i) expecting mothers were facing great physical and psychological pressures in both the prenatal and postnatal periods. As they did not know much about prenatal or postnatal depressions, they did not seek timely assistance; (ii) she suggested that those expecting mothers and their families should be arranged to join the health talks on prenatal and postnatal depressions in order to enhance their awareness of prenatal and postnatal depressions and preventive measures; (iii) she suggested the Government to strengthen its internal communications and conduct timely review on the policy supporting mental patients; (iv) some members of the public might have misconceptions about the ex-mentally ill persons, which might easily cause disputes and misunderstanding in their daily lives. She therefore suggested that the Government should enhance its support to the ex-mentally ill persons, helping them to integrate into the community and enhance neighbourhood.

62. Mr WONG Chi-yung had the following comments and suggestions: (i) according to his work experiences in the community, HD had been playing a vital role in identifying families that were in crisis. The department could through different channels, including among others, complaints raised by their neighbours of the families concerned against the nuisances caused, daily observation of enthusiastic persons in the community and security guards, and rent in arrears for long time, distinguish the family and mental conditions of the residents and provide necessary assistance to the families in need; (ii) although HD and SWD had been conducting regular meetings to review and coordinate the support services for the mental patients in the districts, the attendees were mainly from the management level or housing managers who might not be more familiar with the needs of the estate residents than those frontline officers. The departments were suggested to review the existing arrangement; (iii) the current provision of support services by the Government to the mental patients in the districts was insufficient. He suggested that the Government should consider allocating more resources for implementing “one estate, one social worker” to provide better care for the residents.

63. Mr CHAN Keng-chau had the following comments and suggestions: (i) the tragedy taken place in Sham Shui Po had aroused wide public concerns. For those from the grass-root families, their financial burdens were heavy and their lives were - 21 - Action by stressful. They were prone to mental problems. It was suggested that the Government should strengthen mental health support services for the grass-roots; (ii) SWD could through various district partnership programmes, such as the “Enhancing Self-Reliance” Programme, or via the Community Investment & Inclusion Fund (“CIIF”), roll out various community care and inclusion programmes in the public housing estates with a view to strengthening the neighbourhood support network; (iii) HD could through various signs daily observed to identify and provide assistance to hidden mentally-ill persons and victims of domestic violence.

64. Mrs Helen KWOK gave the following consolidated reply:

(i) SWD would actively review the existing support measures for the mental patients and step up publicity on the support services among the community. Besides, SWD would also, as and when necessary, invite Members to render assistance.

(ii) SWD would enhance the training for frontline officers and social workers, and would actively study if recruitment of additional staff could be possible.

(iii) The Secretariat of CIIF would give briefing on its services at a District Coordinating Committee meeting. SWD would also in the coming future step up its publicity, in a bid to encourage more district-level groups and organisations to apply for CIIF and help forging a stronger neighbourhood and community support network.

(iv) Previously, SWD had, as requested by Members and having regard to the exigencies of the cases, conducted inter-departmental meetings to formulate suitable welfare plans for the subject families. SWD would make sustained efforts to keep close contacts with other departments with a view to strengthening the handling of and support for the families in crisis.

(v) SWD would relay Members’ views on the follow-ups of referred cases to the frontline officers and review the current case progress report mechanism, facilitating Members to get hold of the latest development of the cases referred.

(vi) SWD had set out internal guidelines on the demarcation of responsibilities between medical social workers and the social workers of Integrated Family Service Centres (“IFSCs”). While psychiatric medical social workers would focus on taking care of the mental patients’ own problems, the social workers - 22 - Action by

of IFSCs would follow-up on the problems of the patients’ families. SWD would also remind the both sides to have better communications so that cases requiring various services, such as, psychological counselling services and financial assistance, could be more effectively handled and those families could be offered with more suitable assistance.

(vii) IFSCs and ICCMWs would, with the consent of persons with suspected mental problems or their family members, meet such persons and conduct assessment. When necessary, the case would be referred to the community outreach psychiatric nurses of HA or other departments for follow-up actions.

(viii) Hong Kong was a society where human rights and personal privacy were attached with great importance. Hence, the Mental Health Ordinance was trying to strike the best balance between giving law enforcers the rights to handle mental patients and protecting the interests of the mental patients. Basing on the said principle, it would be rather difficult for SWD to handle persons who were with suspected mental problems but refused to receive medical treatments. If a hidden mentally-ill person had committed unlawful nuisances, the Police would invoke the relevant ordinance and make an arrest. If his/her action involved self-harm or would jeopardise the personal safety of others, SWD would apply for a hospital order from the court and send the mental patient to the hospital for treatment.

65. Miss Patricia LO gave the following consolidated reply:

(i) HD had been keeping close contacts with SWD and would regularly review their support services provided for mental patients with the social workers of IFSCs under SWD.

(ii) After the occupancy rate of every blocks of a newly completed public housing estate had reached 80%, District Office would assist the residents there to form a mutual aid committee. Regarding Members’ enquiry on whether the HD staff could pay visit to every single household of the estate, as the public estate management office also had to, apart from handling the flat intake formalities for a large number of occupants and their flat decoration applications, maintain good moving-in order Therefore, their manpower was too tight to do so. Previously, a non-governmental organisation had made a successful application for CIIF to run a community network building project at a newly redeveloped housing estate. Under the project, social workers and volunteers were recruited to serve the residents newly moved in. At the - 23 - Action by

early intake stage, a series of community programmes and home visits were conducted with the assistance of the estate management office, with the purpose of understanding the needs of the residents and briefing them on the services that the social welfare organisations in the district were offering, and with a view to helping them to settle down well in the new environment and offering them with referral service when necessary.

(iii) SWD hoped to work with the CIIF again in the future and welcomed CIIF to help the newly moved in residents to settle down in the district and build up social support networks through various district collaboration programmes.

(iv) SWD would provide its frontline officers with training programmes with a view to facilitating early identification of hidden mentally-ill persons and the families requiring counselling services, and provision of referral and support services.

66. Dr Patrick KWONG gave the following consolidated reply:

(i) The resources invested by our society in mental healthcare services might be inadequate. The Government had commissioned universities in Hong Kong to conduct a territory-wide study on the community mental health of Hong Kong, in the hope to get a better picture of the mental health support service needs of the society so that proportionate allocation of resources could be made possible and relevant mental health support policy could be formulated accordingly.

(ii) HA had already taken various active measures to shorten the waiting time of mental patients for specialist psychiatric out-patient services. With the increase in student intake of medical schools of our local universities, it was expected that the problems of tight supply of healthcare manpower and over-lengthy waiting time for medical services could be lessened.

(iii) HA, through its outreaching services and deploying its psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists and occupational therapists at GOPCs, offered the grass-rooted mental patients chances to get psychiatric counselling service and treatment, and shortened the waiting time for such services.

(iv) The management of HA would regularly communicate with the medical officers at GOPCs in order to understand the mental health problems of the residents in the respective districts and exchange experiences in case handling. - 24 - Action by

As and when necessary, cases would be referred to psychiatrist for follow-up.

(v) To further promote inter-departmental collaboration, HA would regularly hold meetings with SWD, HD, the Police and community organisations as well to have discussions on ways to handle mental patients.

67. Dr Karen TSO gave the following consolidated reply:

(i) DoH had been enhancing awareness of PND among mothers and their families through various efforts, including production of publicity pamphlets and videos, and distribution of pamphlets at public hospitals and MCHCs. Apart from giving out preventive advice on PND and information on the community support services to the mothers, DoH also encouraged those with emotional distresses to seek early assistance.

(ii) DoH did not have any publicity or education programmes on PND in public housing estates, but would promote parent education among the public in their daily lives.

(iii) DoH had put in place a set of internal guidelines for the healthcare workers at MCHCs on assessment of women with PND. The duration of the meetings would also be flexible, subject to the mental and emotional conditions of the women concerned. Healthcare workers would arrange further assessment and counselling services for women with suspected PND symptoms, and would provide case referral service when necessary.

(iv) DoH would consider strengthening the training for its healthcare workers, so that the latter could be able to be more effective in identifying those mothers with emotional distresses or psychological needs, and then provide them with appropriate support services.

(v) To step up the support for the families in need, the professionals of MCHCs, IFSCs/Integrated Services Centres and HA would conduct case meetings on a regular/non-regular basis for discussing plans to handle clients with high risks. When necessary, other government departments would also be approached to work out rehabilitation plan for mental patients.

(vi) If a woman refused to accept case referral proposed by the healthcare staff of MCHC, her case would be closely monitored. As and when necessary, the staff would contact the family members of that woman to ask them to - 25 - Action by

persuade her to receive services. If the assessment by psychiatric nurses found that the mental conditions of the woman concerned had shown no improvement or further treatments were required, then, the staff would refer the cases to the psychiatrists of HA visiting the centres for follow-up.

68. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong had the following suggestions and comments: (i) the government departments should enhance their support for mental patients and review their manpower deployment in order to make the best use of the resources; (ii) the Government’s support for the hidden mentally-ill was insufficient. Instead of timely identifying and showing care for those with mental or emotional distresses, it would only provide them with psychological counselling service and medical treatment after they became mentally ill. It was too late then. The consultation and medication fees were high. Apart from rendering the patients with heavy financial burden, it would also entail high social costs.

69. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong had the following comments and suggestions: (i) although HD would ask SWD to conduct assessment on and provide referral service for mental patients with housing or financial needs, the waiting time for mental assessment at public hospitals was too lengthy while referral letters from private hospitals might not be accepted. He suggested the Government to improve the mechanism so that timely assistance could be provided to the mental patients; (ii) some of the hidden mentally-ill persons were causing serious nuisances to their neighbours. However, if their behaviours did not threaten the personal safety of others, they would not be subject to the regulation of the current Mental Health Ordinance. Therefore, he suggested the Government to formulate control measures against the nuisances committed by the hidden mentally-ill and for compulsory admission to hospital for treatments.

70. Mr WAI Woon-nam had the following suggestions and comments: (i) HD and SWD should review their support services for the mental patients and strengthen their collaboration mechanism to prevent both parties from shirking their responsibilities; (ii) he urged HD and SWD to enhance their communications with the outsourced service providers so that early assistance to the residents could be provided.

71. Mr CHAN Wai-ming had the following comments and suggestions: (i) strange behaviours of some hidden mental-ill persons were causing nuisances to their neighbours but the complaints against such behaviours were usually handled by giving out verbal advice or allotting penalty points under the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement of HD. But it did not reap effective results. He suggested the Government to introduce compulsory medical treatments for the hidden mentally-ill persons; (ii) the Government should proactively offer support to the families in crisis - 26 - Action by and provide them with appropriate referral services.

72. Mr NG Kwai-hung made the following enquiries and comments: (i) what preventive measures DoH had put in place against PND for the expecting mothers; (ii) the healthcare workers of MCHCs could, when meeting the mothers, take proactive efforts to learn more about their family backgrounds and the difficulties that they were facing in taking care of their babies, so that timely assistance could be provided and their risks of having PND could be minimised; (iii) SWD, MACs and the resident groups in the district could also take initiative to show care for single mothers or families in financial hardship, and provide them with appropriate assistance so as to avoid reoccurrence of similar tragic incidents.

73. Ms Carman NG hoped that HD could make active efforts in reallocating its resources to implement the policy of “one estate, one social worker” so that the administration cost for case referral could be lowered.

74. Dr Karen TSO replied as follows:

(i) When an expecting mother went to MCHC to make registration for health check, the healthcare worker there would observe if she was with emotional distress or depression symptoms when talking with her, and see if she had any past records of mental illness. As and when necessary, further assessment and counselling service by the HA psychiatric nurse deployed at the centre would be arranged.

(ii) The healthcare workers of MCHCs would also, when providing postnatal checkups for the mothers or healthcare services for the babies, come to know the child care arrangements of these mothers for their new born babies and the relevant needs. They would offer all kinds of support services to these new mothers and help them to acquire skills of baby care.

75. Dr Patrick KWONG gave the following consolidated replies:

(i) In last decade, HA had been granted by the Government with additional funds, totalling about $200 million, for subsidising the costs of psychiatric drugs. Most of the psychiatric drugs had been covered in the latest version of the HA Drug Formulary of this year. Mental patients could then be prescribed with such drugs by medical officers direct and better efficacy could be achieved.

(ii) For mental patients refusing hospitalisation for medical treatment, the - 27 - Action by

healthcare workers could invoke the Mental Health Ordinance and apply for a hospital order from the court, enforcing compulsory hospital admission for medical treatment. The Mental Health Ordinance also provided the mental patients with the right to meet the judges of the District Court or magistrates before the issuance of the hospital order, to ensure that their interests were well protected.

(iii) Some Members had suggested that the Government should enact legislation for compulsory medical treatment for the hidden mentally ill. However, the suggestion entailed revision to the Mental Health Ordinance and would have far-reaching impacts on the privacy of the patients and powers of the healthcare workers and law enforcement agencies, which would be a very complicated social issue and should be carefully studied.

76. Miss Patricia LO responded that on top of its duties of property management for and the tenancy affairs of the 169 public housing estates, HD would also closely contact with SWD for relaying the needs of the residents.

77. Mrs Helen KWOK added that application for the CIIF would only be open to institutions or organisations. SWD would keep encouraging and facilitating various organisations to make the applications, and would step up the publicity efforts.

78. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) this Council concerned about the incident taken place in Wing Cheong Estate and urged the government departments concerned to enhance their support for the hidden mentally-ill persons and families in need; (ii) this Council hoped that the CIIF could strengthen its education and publicity efforts in the district, so that more families in need could be benefited. He also suggested the Community Affairs Committee (“CAC”) to follow-up on the issue.

79. Mr SHUM Siu-hung said that the CAC would give full support to SWD for their mental health education and publicity programmes launched in the district.

(e) Enquiry on the impacts of construction works delay of the Express Rail Link on the housing developments in Sham Shui Po District (SSPDC Paper 108/14)

80. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the Highways Department and Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited (HKMTRCL) to the meeting.

81. Mr SHUM Siu-hung introduced Paper 108/14. - 28 - Action by

82. Mr FUNG Wai-chung replied as follows:

(i) According to the latest amended timetable, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express RailLink ("XRL") would be commissioned in 2017 while the major structural works were expected to be completed in 2016.

(ii) The delayed works mainly involved the tunnel works of the West Kowloon Terminus, Mei Po section at the North New Territories and Tai Kong Po section, whereas the excavation works for the tunnels in SSPD remained on schedule.

(iii) Among the sites in Sham Shui Po acquired by HKMTRCL to support the XRL works, most of them used for supporting the tunnel works in SSPD could be returned on time. For the remaining few sites, for example, the one being used as a waterfront barging point for supporting the excavation works of XRL terminus and those in the Nam Cheong Park being used by the E&M contractor of the XRL terminus for placing works materials, they could not be returned as scheduled.

(iv) He continued to explain the works of the Sham Shui Po section of XRL by way of a powerpoint presentation. At present, the whole part of the down track tunnel had been completed while the up track tunnel section between Nam Cheong and Mei Foo had also been finished. For the southern part of the up track tunnel, i.e., the section between Nam Cheong and the West Kowloon Terminus, HKMTRCL expected that it would be completed between September and October this year. It was expected that the tunnel excavation works in SSPD would be completed by end of this year.

(v) The site at Hing Wah Street near Sham Mong Road, i.e., Site 6, was expected to be returned between 2015 and 2016. As HD had planned to develop public housing estate at the site, HKMTRCL was discussing with HD on the return schedule of the site. It was believed that the said development plan would not be substantially affected. Besides, HKMTRCL had not borrowed the site near the wholesale food market, i.e. the Site 3 and Site 5.

(vi) As HKMTRCL had set up at the waterfront three barging points which were currently used for mud disposal in support for the excavation works of the XRL terminus, and therefore, HKMTRCL needed to borrow the site concerned until end of 2017. - 29 - Action by

(vii) HKMTRCL had borrowed two sites at the Nam Cheong Park for use, with one in the Nam Cheong Park near Chui Yu Road and another one in the Nam Cheong Park near the West Kowloon Highway. To tie in with the development of Tai Kok Tsui Police Headquarters, HKMTRCL would return the former site as scheduled. As the E&M contractor of the XRL Terminus was placing the works-related materials at Nam Cheong Park near the West Kowloon Highway, HKMTRCL proposed to borrow the site until 2017 and planned to reprovide the Nam Cheong Park in 2018.

83. Mr WONG Tat-tung had the following enquiries: (i) how long the return of the above-mentioned Site 6 and wholesale food market would be delayed as compared with the original schedule; (ii) how much impact the delay would cause on the development plan of the waterfront access as previously suggested by this Council.

84. Mr WAI Woon-nam had the following enquiries: (i) whether HKMTRCL had coordinated with HD on the return date of site; (ii) since Nam Cheong Park was used for placing works materials, whether the borrowing period would be extended and how long it would be.

85. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong had the following comments and enquiries: (i) he concerned about the handover process of Site 6 from HKMTRCL to HD; (ii) whether HKMTRCL’s works at Site 6 was processed more smoothly than expected. He hoped that HD could as soon as possible commence its works there; (iii) regarding the reprovision of the remaining part of Nam Cheong Park, he hoped that HKMTRCL could, through this Council or liaison group, collect views from the residents on improvements to the park facilities before commencing the works.

86. Mr Aaron LAM had the following views and enquiries: (i) he wanted to know the progress of coordination between HKMTRCL and HD regarding the handover of Site 6 and if it was possible to expedite the process. For example, if the site was returned in 2016, whether the development of public housing estate could be commenced next year; (ii) if the said timetable was viable, the development works could be smoothly completed in the coming couple of years. He hoped that HKMTRCL could accurately work out the site return date.

87. Mr Bruce LI hoped that HKMTRCL would explain, through displaying posters or distributing leaflets, to the residents that there was no XRL works delay in the district. Besides, he asked whether HKMTRCL could complete the works ahead of schedule.

88. Ms Carmen NG had the following comments and enquiries: (i) she hoped that - 30 - Action by

HKMTRCL could as soon as possible bring the message of no works delay to the residents in the district; (ii) whether the residents in the district and LCSD also knew about the extension of borrowing time for part of Nam Cheong Park; (iii) Nam Cheong Park was a scenic place and the XRL works would impede the development of the park and the public enjoyment of the park facilities. She hoped that HKMTRCL could complete the works as early as possible.

89. Mr FUNG Wai-chung gave the following consolidated replies by way of a powerpoint presentation:

(i) The areas at which the access shafts of Nam Cheong section of Site 6 were located, i.e. Zone 1 and Zone 2 shown in the plan, could be returned in 2015. For Zone 3, its return would stick more closely to the original land release schedule and be made possible by the end of first quarter or by early second quarter of 2016. So, the return date of Site 6 could broadly tie in with the development plan of HD.

(ii) Currently, HKMTRCL had set up several barging points in the waterfront area. As there was a delay in the excavation works for the West Kowloon Terminus, HKMTRCL had to continue to borrow the site until 2017 and the impact on the waterfront promenade development plan was uncertain. He added that HKMTRCL had not borrowed the site near the car park of the wholesale food market.

(iii) The E&M contractor concerned was using part of Nam Cheong Park to place the building equipment for the XRL Terminus, the site had to be borrowed until 2017. HKMTRCL would discuss with LCSD to formulate new design for the park, and would re-plan and develop the site concerned in the park in 2018.

90. Ms Lute YIP responded that currently HKMTRCL had published project bulletins on the Hong Kong section of XRL and the company would use this channel to inform the public and local community the works progress and relevant arrangement of XRL project in SSPD.

91. Ms Camay LEE responded that LCSD had discussed with the relevant staff of XRL project on the return of the Nam Cheong Park site for reprovision. Apart from restoring its original outlook, there was also plan to add more park facilities on the site. LCSD would, when discussing with HKMTRCL on the works, keep close contact with Members so as to work out the design of the facilities that could better suit the needs of - 31 - Action by the park users.

92. Miss Patricia LO responded that she had made an enquiry at the Development and Construction Division of HD and learned that the XRL project would not affect the project completion date of the public housing development in Sham Shui Po.

93. Mr SHUM Siu-hung enquired about the works progress of the Mei Lai Road of Mei Foo section of XRL project.

94. Mr FUNG Wai-chung responded that currently the works site of Mei Lai Road in Mei Foo was used by the contractor as office and staff training centre, and the site could be returned in 2016.

95. The Chairman concluded that the meeting noted the current works progress of the XRL project and hoped that HKMTRCL could make use of its project bulletins to inform the residents and this Council of the latest development of the project. Besides, he requested all the government departments concerned to timely report the delays of XRL and relevant information to this Council.

(f) Concern about the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate (SSPDC Paper 109/14)

(g) Strongly demand the HKSARG to respond to the land donation plan for Tai Hang Sai Estate (SSPDC Paper 110/14)

96. The Chairman said that as item (f) and item (g) were similar in nature, he suggested a combined discussion on them. Members had no objection.

97. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had invited the Transport and Housing Bureau (“THB”) and Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation Limited (“HKSHCL”) to the meeting. While THB sent a representative from HD to attend the meeting, the HKSHCL expressed that no representative could be available.

98. Ms WAI Hoi-ying introduced Paper 109/14。

99. Mr WAI Woon-nam introduced Paper 110/14, and expressed regret that THB was not available to attend the meeting.

100. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong added that the buildings of Tai Hang Sai Estate were ageing and there was no lift service available in the estate, which caused inconvenience to the elderly. Although the Government had been saying that it actively kept - 32 - Action by discussing with HKSHCL, it gave no definite response to the offer of the land donation plan. The Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood had been making devoted efforts for years in pushing forward the redevelopment of old public housing estates in Sham Shui Po and fighting for local rehousing or rehousing within the same public housing estates for the residents of Tai Hang Tung Estate, Shek Kip Mei Estate and So Uk Estate in the course of estate redevelopment. He demanded the department concerned to take note of the requests of the residents.

101. Mr LUI Kwong-fai gave the following consolidated replies:

(i) Tai Hang Sai Estate was not a public housing estate of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HKHA”). Instead, it was a private housing estate developed and managed by HKSHCL which took charge of the daily management and operation of the estate in accordance with the relevant terms stated in the grant of land.

(ii) HKSHCL and the Government had worked together in an attempt to explore the future development of Tai Hang Sai Estate. However, since many complicated issues were involved in the redevelopment project, the two parties still did not come to any viable redevelopment plan at the current stage.

(iii) It was noted that Mr LEE Shau-kee (Mr LEE), one of the HKSHCL’s directors, had proposed to donate the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate for redevelopment. The proposal was the preliminary idea of Mr LEE and would be subject to further discussion of HKSHCL. As at the current stage, THB did not receive any new proposal from HKSHCL or Mr LEE on the usage of the Tai Hang Sai Estate site.

(iv) He thanked Members for actively expressing their views and said that the department would faithfully reflect the views collected to the bureau.

102. Mr WAI Woon-nam had the following comments: (i) neither the bureau nor HKSHCL attended the meeting, which made it difficult for this Council to have an effective discussion on the proposal of land donation for redevelopment; (ii) many residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate hoped that the Government could provide a specific redevelopment timetable and confirm the arrangements for rehousing within the same district or public housing estate. He requested HD to immediately make public the relevant details of the plan once available; (iii) he requested the meeting to write to THB to reflect Members’ views. - 33 - Action by

103. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong had the following comments: (i) he expressed regret that THB did not attend the meeting as the redevelopment policy had to, after all, be implemented by the policy bureau. The current discussion with HD would cover only up to the request for the department’s commitment on the rehousing of the residents in the future. He concurred with the suggestion of writing to THB to express the concerns of this Council; (ii) the land donation proposal as reported by the media gave a big shock to the residents concerned. The proposal was both consistent with public interests and in line with the Government’s policy on striving for land for housing development. The Government should respond actively; (iii) the redevelopment plan would have tremendous impact on the affected residents. This Council had numerously expressed to HD the requests of residents for rehousing within the same district. He urged HD to adopt a humane policy and angle in handling the rehousing issue.

104. Mr CHAN Wai-ming had the following comments: (i) the proposal of redeveloping Tai Hang Sai Estate had been discussed in the Housing Affairs Committee (“HAC”) meetings for many times, and THB and the representative concerned had also attended the meetings to report the progress; (ii) Mr LEE was an influential and prominent social figure, and what he said and the messages he delivered would have substantial impact on the residents. As the proposal tallied with the requests raised by this Council, local community and relevant stakeholders, he hoped that the Government could proactively gave a response to make its stance clear; (iii) the original purpose of the Government’s granting of the land to HKSHCL for developing Tai Hang Sai Estate was to provide housing units for low income families. For all these years, HKSHCL did not launch any large-scale maintenance project for Tai Hang Sai Estate to improve its living environment. He reiterated that the Government should make an active response to the proposal and take a positive look at the direction for resettling the residents; (iv) the message of Mr LEE was very clear and the Government had plenty of time to give its response which should be in line with the policy of developing public housing to meet the housing needs of the community by best utilisation of land; (v) he agreed that this Council should after the meeting write to THB to reflect the views expressed and requested disclosure of deliberations made in the previous discussions.

105. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong made the following enquiries and comments: (i) in the land donation proposal put forth by Mr LEE, only a land site in Shek Kip Mei was mentioned. He asked HD to clarify if the said site had been confirmed to be the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate and further confirm if the Government had previously discussed with HKSHCL on the proposal; (ii) as the proposal had been made public for quite some time, whether the Government had made further contact and discussed with HKSHCL on the proposal since then; (iii) the residents had diverse views on the redevelopment - 34 - Action by plan and found the responses of the Government and HKSHCL puzzling. He asked the Government to disclose more information about the plan; (iv) the redevelopment plan of the Tai Hang Sai Estate site had yet been finalised. The Government should, when considering whether the site should be developed for public housing, the Home Ownership Scheme (“HOS”) or in a mixed mode, reserve some resources for public housing to rehouse the affected residents in the same estate.

106. Mr CHAN Keng-chau had the following comments: (i) the land donation proposal had aroused much concerns among the residents while the response of the department could not effectively put their minds at ease. The Government should disclose the deliberations made in the discussions with HKSHCL. Also, THB should attend the meeting to give its responses; (ii) the proposal of land donation for redevelopment would not only be conducive to the development of public housing, but also could effectively reduce waiting time for public housing. The Government should take the initiative to contact HKSHCL, give positive respond to the proposal and draw up a clear timetable for the redevelopment plan; (iii) Tai Hang Sai Estate was worn and torn. The lack of lift service there was also an inconvenience to those living in the higher floors. He urged the Government to kick start the redevelopment plan, adopting in a mixed mode of HOS and public housing, and providing some public housing units at the site for rehousing the residents in the same estate.

107. Mr WONG Chi-yung had the following comments: (i) he was displeased by the THB’s failure to attend the meeting and give responses on the issue. As HD had made it clear in its response that Tai Hang Sai Estate was not a public housing estate under HKHA and that the department was not authorised to give comments or explanation on the policy direction of the redevelopment plan, this Council should after the meeting write to THB to express the residents’ concerns over and demands in respect of the redevelopment; (ii) currently, the Government did not have a clear stance on resuming the land for redevelopment, nor did it have any specific redevelopment timetable. So, even if this Council and HD had some communications concerning the resettlement arrangements and development mode, it would not help alleviate the worries of the residents; (iii) the building facilities of Tai Hang Sai Estate were very worn and torn, improvement to the living environment was urgently required for the residents there. The Government should take the chance of the HKSHCL’s offer and properly handle the residents’ requests for rehousing in the same estate. He hoped that the Government could be people-oriented and minimise the impact of the redevelopment plan on the residents.

108. Mr TSUNG Po-shan had the following comments: (i) the Government had all along been saying that it was making big efforts in finding sites for housing - 35 - Action by development, however, it did not proactively respond to the proposal of land donation for redevelopment. It gave out an impression that it did not treasure the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate; (ii) he hoped that THB could capitalise on this opportunity to actively discuss with HKSHCL on the implementation of the proposal of land donation for development and properly rehousing the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate.

109. Mr CHUM Tak-shing had the following comments: (i) time for redeveloping Tai Hang Sai Estate had come. The Government should take into consideration the requests of the residents when handling the land donation proposal; (ii) in the coming few years, the public housing development projects in Sham Shui Po would be completed in succession, which provided the Government with a favourable circumstance to accommodate the request of the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate for rehousing in the same district. The Government should not miss this good opportunity, or else, it would make rehousing of the residents in the same district or estate more difficult.

110. Ms Carmen NG had the following comments: (i) the concern group on Tai Hang Sai Estate had, upon announcement of the land donation proposal, immediately organised a residents’ meeting to collect views. There were 200-odd attendees, among which many of them were the worried residents. Under the circumstance that there was no definite timetable and the Government’s role was unclear, many of the residents worried about the future removal and rehousing arrangements and hoped that the departments concerned could give a reply on the relevant issues. THB’s failure to attend the meeting made this Council and many residents feel disappointed; (ii) the residents in the district to be redeveloped were facing a lot of problems, including choosing of schools for their school-aged children. Families, elders and those with employment all had to plan early for the redevelopment. She pleaded the Government to be compassionate by providing a timetable and answering the residents’ requests as soon as possible; (iii) she asked HD to reflect the views to THB and requested the bureau to attend the future meetings to answer enquiries.

111. Ms WAI Hoi-ying had the following comments: (i) in the HAC meeting held in a couple of months ago, the representative of THB said that further discussions with HKSHCL on the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate were required. However, after a short while, the media reported the proposal of the land donation plan. It would cause big distress to residents. She pleaded the Government to give an account of the deliberations made in the discussions with HKSHCL and as far as possible disclose the main points of the discussion in order to eradicate the worries of the residents; (ii) although the facilities of Tai Hang Sai Estate had become older, HKSHCL had been doing a good job in terms of the environmental hygiene, security, and management as - 36 - Action by well of the estate. Recently, there was a plan to provide barrier-free access facilities in the estate. She requested the department concerned to as soon as possible announce the redevelopment timetable so that resources for improving facilities could be better utilised.

112. Mr Vincent CHENG had the following views: (i) this Council had all along been paying active attention to the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate which was the unique private housing estate in Hong Kong being operated in form of low-rent rental housing. It was believed that there was great room for discussion on the redevelopment plan; (ii) while the site was a private land granted by the Government to HKSHCL at a low rate for development, the number of stakeholders of the redevelopment plan would be greater than that of other private land and this Council had the responsibility to reflect the expectations of the residents. He opined that apart from inviting the policy bureau to the meeting, District Office should also contact the stakeholders concerned to establish an appropriate platform for the discussion on the redevelopment plan.

113. The Hon Frederick FUNG shared the information he obtained from the senior management of HKSHCL, including it was confirmed that the site in Shek Kip Mei to be donated was the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate and the plan had been under discussion as early as nine months ago. He pointed out that the Under Secretary for Transport and Housing had said that the Government still did not formally receive the land donation proposal from HKSHCL, so it would be difficult to ascertain whether the proposal was the decision of the Board of HKSHCL or just the good will of an individual person. Besides, the Development Bureau (“DevB”) might also have to be invited for the discussion on the land donation proposal. He had the following comments: (i) it had been stipulated in the Conditions of Grant of the land of Tai Hang Sai Estate that rental housing should be developed for the low-income families and the housing units could not be freely traded. The Government could not shirk its responsibility of redevelopment by saying that the estate was a private housing estate; (ii) regarding the proposal of taking over the whole estate for redevelopment, Tai Hang Sai Estate was not an unprecedented case. The Government had previously taken over Model Housing Estate free of charge for redevelopment. As there was a precedent for the development mode and the redevelopment of the site would do good to the overall public housing development, the Government should, with the support of this Council, confirm as soon as possible the plan of land donation for redevelopment; (iii) in the coming five years, there would be a supply of nearly 15 000 new public housing units in Sham Shui Po, which could serve as the ready resources for rehousing the residents from the approximately 1 500 housing units of Tai Hang Sai Estate. If the department concerned could not provide accommodation for rehousing within the coming five years - 37 - Action by and when there would not be further supply of new public housing units in Sham Shui Po, it would then be difficult to rehouse those residents in the same district; (iv) if there was a redevelopment plan, the Government would generally give a prior notice of about two years or so to the affected residents. If taking this timeframe as reference, there would only be about two years or so left for discussing with HKSHCL on the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate site. He hoped that the department could as soon as possible discuss with the business sector and make use of this good opportunity to rehouse the residents in the same estate.

114. Mr WONG Tat-tung had the following comments: (i) the facilities of Tai Hang Sai Estate were very worn and torn. He hoped that the Government could take this chance to communicate with the stakeholders to work out the redevelopment details with application of the rehousing criteria for public housing and improve the living environment of the residents; (ii) although the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate were not public housing residents, they did have, based on the historical factors of the estate, expectations on the Government for the redevelopment arrangement.

115. Ms LAU Pui-yuk said that the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate were renting low-cost public housing units without public rental housing tenant status. It was an uncommon case. She had been informed several times at HAC meetings that as Tai Hang Sai Estate was a private housing estate, THB and HD were not in a position to take part in the development. In spite of this, the Government should listen to the public views and try its very best to remove this difficulty. Regarding the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate, both District Council and residents hoped that the Government could announce the details as early as possible and respond to the request for rehousing in the same estate. She hoped that the Government would, through inter-departmental meetings, figure out a consensus on the proposal and make appropriate arrangement for the residents.

116. The Chairman said that he had expressed to the Secretary for Transport and Housing the requests concerning Tai Hang Sai Estate as put forth by this Council and Committees under this Council, including requesting the Government to facilitate the land donation plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate. As far as he understood, THB had all along been actively discussing with HKSHCL on the development arrangements. However, as the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate was after all a private land, consents from HKSHCL and all relevant parties had to be obtained before the plan could be kick-started.

117. Mr LUI Kwong-fai gave the following consolidated replies:

(i) He thanked Members for their views and said that HD would faithfully relay - 38 - Action by

those views to the Bureau. Views of the residents expressed before the meeting on the land donation proposal would also be relayed to the THB.

(Post meeting note: HD had passed the two petition letters received before the meeting to THB on the evening of that meeting day.)

(ii) The site of Tai Hang Sai Estate was granted by the Government to HKSHCL which would, according to the conditions of grant of the land, be responsible for taking care of the daily management and operation of the estate. For the future development of Tai Hang Sai Estate, the Government still did not have any viable redevelopment proposal for the time being.

(iii) HD had taken note of the request of this Council for early announcement of the timetable and confirmation of the development direction, and would clearly reflect to THB the requests of the residents on rehousing in the same estate.

(Post meeting note: HD had relayed the overall views of this Council to THB on the evening of that meeting day for follow-up actions.)

118. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong said that while issue of land rights was under the purview of Lands Department, DevB should also proactively join the future meetings concerning the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate. He requested THB and HD to undertake to allocate the public housing resources for rehousing the residents affected by the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate and prevent the plan from being further procrastinated.

119. The Hon Frederick FUNG said that the Government’s past practice of restricting the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate from making application for public housing or HOS was unfair. If the Government regarded them as tenants of private housing estate, it would be difficult to understand why such restriction was imposed. It was only after Hong Kong’s Reunification with the Mainland that the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate were allowed to apply for HOS units and the restriction on their application for public housing was relaxed merely in the recent couple of years. Had the Government relaxed the restriction earlier, many of the residents would have their living environment improved through being offered with public housing units or purchasing HOS flats. He reiterated that if the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate was conducted by phases, HD would then only have to put aside 100-odd public housing units for rehousing the affected residents in the same estate. HD was well placed and had sufficient time to organise the whole project. He hoped that the Government would as - 39 - Action by soon as possible confirm the proposal of land donation for redevelopment.

120. Mr WONG Tat-tung expressed his understanding towards HD for its difficult position to make decision on the proposal. He raised a point that if THB and HKSHCL had difficulties in the course of the redevelopment plan discussion, they might consider inviting a third party that had rich experiences in old buildings redevelopment, such as the Urban Renewal Authority, to join the discussion.

121. Mr WAI Woon-nam had the following comments: (i) he requested the policy bureau and the executing department to make reference to the precedent of Model Housing Estate when devising redevelopment plan for Tai Hang Sai Estate; (ii) this Council should, apart from continuing to invite DevB and THB to the meetings, also consider requesting the two Bureaux get together with the Members outside meeting hours to exchange views on the redevelopment and make possible the implementation of Tai Hang Sai Estate redevelopment plan.

122. Ms WAI Hoi-ying said that THB had attended the HAC meeting held in April this year. She expressed regret that there was no bureau attending the meeting this time. She hoped that HD could compassionately understand the actual living needs of the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate and provide housing for the elders who were with mobility problem and had such need.

123. Mr LUI Kwong-fai supplemented that as the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate was granted by the Government to HKSHCL while the latter was responsible for the daily management of the estate according to the conditions of the grant, HD was not in a position to add any details to the redevelopment arrangements without a clear development direction.

124. The Chairman said that two provisional motions were received, with the first motion (Motion 1) being moved by Ms WAI Hoi-ying and seconded by Dr WONG Chung-leung. The second motion (Motion 2) was moved by the Hon Frederick FUNG and seconded by Mr LEUNG Yau-fong. The Chairman invited Ms WAI Hoi-ying to introduce the meeting on Motion 1 first.

125. Ms WAI Hoi-ying said that having regard to the unique status of the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate, a motion concerning the rehousing arrangements under the redevelopment plan was moved. She introduced Motion 1, which read as: “The Government should as soon as possible discuss with HKSHCL for confirmation of the Tai Hang Sai Estate redevelopment plan, so that the living environment of the residents there could be improved. As for the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate, both - 40 - Action by public rental housing units and HOS flats should be developed so to meet the needs of the society. The development should fit in with the development of its adjacent old housing estates and be in line with the redevelopment plan of its adjacent old housing estates, for example, they should be connected with covered links. It was requested that the Government should provide Sham Shui Po District Council with the redevelopment timetable for all the housing estates in Sham Shui Po East. When the redevelopment took place, the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate should be treated as the tenants of public housing in making removal and rehousing arrangements to ensure that they could be rehoused in the same estate.”

126. The Chairman invited the Hon Frederick FUNG to introduce the meeting on Motion 2.

127. The Hon Frederick FUNG introduced Motion 2, which read as: “Sham Shui Po District Council strongly urged the SAR Government to facilitate the land donation plan and take up the tasks of redeveloping the site of Tai Hang Sai, ensuring the rehousing of residents in the same district and safeguarding the reasonable rights of the shop owners. At the same time, views of the residents and all stakeholders should be fully consulted.” He added that the Government had the responsibility to take up the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate and protect the rights of the residents and shop owners by adopting the relevant criteria applicable to public housing redevelopment. Motion 2 differed from Motion 1 because he found that there was no redevelopment information or timetable of other housing estates and therefore suggested that without perfect knowledge of such information, the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate should not, for the time being, be linked with other redevelopment plans in order not to blur the focus of the Government on the SSPDC’s request for the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate.

128. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong supplemented that Motion 2 focused on the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate and was not inconsistent with Motion 1. Stressing that he hoped Government could facilitate the land donation plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate and get more time to study the rehousing issue for the residents, he called upon the meeting the support Motion 2.

129. Mr WONG Tat-tung said that both Motions aimed at ensuring appropriate removal and rehousing arrangements would be provided for the residents of Tai Hang Sai Estate while Motion 1 further requested that consideration should also be given when redeveloping Tai Hang Sai Estate so that it could fit in with the redevelopment plan of its adjacent housing estates. He supported both Motions. - 41 - Action by

130. Mr CHAN Keng-chau said that both Motions requested the Government to take this favourable opportunity to proactively discuss with HKSHCL with a view to implementing the proposal of donating the site of Tai Hang Sai Estate for redevelopment. He noted that the residents of the estate had strong demand for rehousing in the same district and hoped that the Government could follow this direction to work out the redevelopment plan.

131. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that both Motions had their own merits. While Motion 2 concentrated on requesting the Government to give response to the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate and expressing the residents’ requests regarding their reasonable rights, Motion 1 demanded the Government to consider the overall planning for redeveloping the public housing estates of the whole Sham Shui Po East. He opined that both Motions were worth supporting.

132. Ms WAI Hoi-ying said that both Motions had the similar theme of urging the Government to provide the timetable for the redevelopment plan of Tai Hang Sai Estate and offer provide appropriate rehousing arrangements for the affected residents. She supported both Motions.

133. Mr CHUM Tak-shing said that he liked Motion 2 as the stance that the Government should play a part in the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate was clearly stated. For Motion 1, as the redevelopment plan of other housing estates in the Sham Shui Po East might not have direct relation with the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate, it produced an impression that it was not straightforward enough. However, having regard to the motive of Motion 1 was to request the Government to respond to redevelopment requests of the Tai Hang Sai Estate residents, he also supported Motion 1.

134. The Chairman pronounced his ruling that the two Motions were parallel motions. Members had no objection. The Chairman asked Members if they wanted to vote for a decision by open ballot. Members requested voting by open ballot.

135. The meeting proceeded with the voting on Ms WAI Hoi-ying’s motion (Motion 1) first.

136. Result of voting:

For: Mr Jimmy KWOK, Mr WONG Tat-tung, Mr CHAN Keng-chau, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Aaron LAM, Mr SHUM Siu-hung, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, The - 42 - Action by

Hon FUNG Kin-kee, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Mr Bruce LI, Mr. Lawrence LO, Mr NG Kwai-hung, Ms Carman NG, Mr TSUNG Po-shan, Ms WAI Hoi-ying, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr WONG Chi-yung, Dr WONG Chung-leung (21)

Against: (0)

Abstained: (0)

Total: (21)

137. The Secretary read out the voting result with 21 votes in favour, 0 vote against and 0 vote of abstention. The Chairman announced that the Motion 1 was adopted.

138. The meeting then proceeded with the voting on the Hon Frederick FUNG’s motion (Motion 2).

139. Result of voting:

For: Mr Jimmy KWOK, Mr WONG Tat-tung, Mr CHAN Keng-chau, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Aaron LAM, Mr SHUM Siu-hung, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, the Hon Frederick FUNG, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr LEUNG Yau-fong, Mr Bruce LI, Mr. Lawrence LO, Mr NG Kwai-hung, Ms Carman NG, Mr TSUNG Po-shan, Ms WAI Hoi-ying, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr WONG Chi-yung, DrWONG Chung-leung (21)

Against: (0)

Abstained: (0)

Total: (21)

140. The Secretary read out the voting result with 21 votes in favour, 0 vote against - 43 - Action by and 0 vote of abstention. The Chairman announced that the Motion 2 was carried.

141. The Chairman concluded that this Council supported the Government to formulate viable options for the redevelopment of Tai Hang Sai Estate and requested the Government to proactively discuss with HKSHCL with a view to reaching consensus on the relevant arrangements as early as possible. The Secretariat would write to the Secretary for Development and Secretary for Transport and Housing after the meeting to clearly relay the requests raised in the two motions during the meeting for their information.

(h) Requesting Sham Shui Po District Council to review the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement for members (SSPDC Paper 111/14)

142. Mr WAI Woon-nam introduced Paper 62/14。

143. The Hon Frederick FUNG supplemented that: (i) as stipulated in the Basic Law, one of the important functions of District Councils was consultation, which entailed Members’ giving views to the Government when being consulted. If a Member could not join the whole process of discussion on an agenda item just because he/she had not indicated his/her intention to speak in the first round of speaking, it would be inconsistent with their basic duties; (ii) the right to speak at the meeting was conferred to Members by the representative government. Nobody or no arrangement could remove the right to speak of a Member unless he/she was jailed as a result of law-breaking or due to any reason his/her status as a Member had been deprived of; (iii) Members might find that they had to speak in response to the speaking of other Members or government officials; besides, they might not able to timely indicated his/her intention to speak due to some other reasons. The arrangement deprived Members of their right to speak and had to be reviewed; (iv) the actual time allowed for each Member to speak for each agenda item was 4 minutes in total. If the Chairman found it necessary to take the efficiency of the meeting into consideration, he may flexibly decide the frequency and duration of Members’ speaking for each agenda item; (v) this paper was submitted to review and improve the speaking arrangement of Members because in the District Council meeting, Members who did not speak in the first round of speaking would be, in general, allowed to speak in the second round, and he opined that the same arrangement should also be adopted in District Council committee meetings.

144. The Chairman said that the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was first initiated by him with the purpose of achieving effective conduct of meeting and sparing the representatives of government departments or organisations for the later agenda items - 44 - Action by from waiting too long by controlling the discussion duration of each agenda item. This arrangement had been put in place for about two years. Today, as there was a Member suggesting a review on the arrangement, the Chairman would open the issue for discussion. He added that in the current practice, apart from those who had spoken in the first round, the Chairman would also normally allow Members who indicated their speaking intention for the first time to speak after the government officials had given their replies. Generally speaking, the Chairman would only disallow the speaking that was irrelevant to the agenda item or involving confrontation between Members. The said arrangement had been functioning well.

145. Mr Bruce LI agreed that elected Members should be allowed sufficient time to speak in the meeting and that it was time to review the arrangement.

146. Mr Vincent CHENG said that at the beginning the implementation of “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was to achieve effective conduct of meeting and all Members had become accustomed to this speaking approach. On the day when the Committee members started the discussion, they all had agreed to adopt the “1.3.1” speaking approach for discussion. Since the Committees had to follow the rules agreed, it could be understood that why they did not adopt the same arrangement as the District Council meeting did. He agreed that sometimes Members might find that they had to speak only after the government officials had made their speech. Therefore, he hoped that the Chairman could strike a balance between efficiency of meeting and Members’ right to speak.

147. Mr WAI Woon-nam opined that whether the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement should be maintained or abolished should be decided by the Chairman. He also raised the following views: (i) in fact, the restriction on the duration of speaking had already taken effect near the end of the session of the third term District Council. If Members could speak concisely and precisely, three minutes would be enough; (ii) it was time to review whether the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement should be applied to discussion of all the agenda items. For example, in the last District Council meeting, it took as much as four hours to discuss one of the agenda items, which meant that 10-odd minutes speaking time for each Member on average. So the Chairman should, having regarding to the agenda item under discussion, decide whether the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement should be applied or more rounds of discussion be allowed; (iii) for Members who were not able to speak in the first round of speaking, due to some reasons, for example, handling of the district affairs by phone outside the conference room or going to the washroom, the Chairman should allow these Members to speak in the second round; (iv) it had been stipulated in the Rules of Procedures of Sham Shui Po District Council that each Member could speak three times for each agenda item, with a - 45 - Action by duration of three minutes each time. The “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was just an agreed practice and review could be made to see if it could be improved.

148. Mr SHUM Siu-hung, while supporting the suggestion of allowing Members who did not speak in the first round to speak in the second round, said that the duration of the second round speaking should be confined to one minute. Besides, he hoped that the Chairman could exercise his discretion to allow the third round or even more rounds of speaking when necessary.

149. Mr CHAN Keng-chau said that: (i) the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement did help achieve effective conduct of meeting. Review on the arrangement at this stage would be appropriate; (ii) having regard to the fact that the duration of some Committee meeting were as long as five hours, it was necessary to apply the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement in Committee meeting for the sake of Members’ health; (iii) he suggested that Members who had not spoken in the first round of speaking should be allowed to speak for one minute after the government departments had given their responses; (iv) it would put the Chairman in a difficult position or arouse unnecessary disputes if the duration of speaking was to be decided by the Chairman each time in accordance with the significance of the agenda item.

150. Mr TSUNG Po-shan agreed that the aforesaid situations in which Members were not able to indicate their intention to speak in the first round of speaking happened from time to time and he suggested removing the requirement that made speaking in the first round of speaking a prerequisite for speaking in the second one because it would trigger Members to speak in the first round in order to secure the chance to speak in the second one, which would finally bring “surplus out of diminution”.

151. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong said that: (i) the main purpose of this paper was to point out that Members did have the right to speak in meetings. The “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was only a conventional practice and it was time for a review; (ii) the original intent of the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was to prevent repetitive speaking. However, some Members repeated what other Members had said in the first round so as to ensure that they could speak in the second round. Therefore, he agreed to have the review; (iii) there was no limit on the time spent by the government representatives in presenting their documents or giving out their responses but the speaking time for Members was confined. He suggested that Members who missed the first round speaking should be allowed to speak for two minutes in the second round speaking. Besides, if necessary, the Chairman might, upon consulting Members, allow one or even more rounds of speaking. As such further speaking arrangement would be applied to all Members and it adhered to the principle of fairness. - 46 - Action by

152. Mr CHAN Wai-ming agreed that after the implementation for two years, it would be appropriate to have a review. Besides, he also agreed to the suggestion of allowing Members to speak in the second round speaking even if they did not speak in the first round. He continued that: (i) restriction on speaking time could facilitate the Chairman to have a better control of the tempo of the meeting; (ii) the Chairman should be able to, after considering the various factors, including among others, whether all the Members and members had been fairly given chance to speak or whether the agenda had been fully discussed, exercise his/her discretion to determine whether speaking time for more than three minutes could be allowed having regard to the number of agenda items to be discussed at the meeting day, in order to make the meeting more efficient; (iii) for those spoke for the first time in the second round of speaking, whether they should be given one minute or more time to speak, it would be decided by all Members.

153. The Hon Frederick FUNG said that: (i) the main point of this paper did not rest on the duration of speaking but on the protection of Members’ right to speak, i.e., Members would not be made to give up their right to speak under any circumstances or regime, or due to the practice used in the past; (ii) if it was stipulated that each Members would be allowed to speak for four minutes, the allocation of time could be determined by the Chairman. However, no one should be allowed to speak for only one minute just because he/she did not indicate his/her intention to speak in the first round; (iii) the duty of elected members was to reflect the views of the electors. It would cause contradiction if the meeting deprived Members of their right to speak in certain circumstances.

154. Mr WONG Tat-tung pointed out that a District Council meeting in the last term had once ended at 12:05 a.m. Although all the District Council meetings started in the morning since then, there was meeting ending at 10:30 p.m. He opined that the background prompting the introduction of “1.3.1” speaking arrangement had nothing to deal with Members’ right to speak. While agreeing that Members’ right to speak had to be respected, he also believed that the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement was conducive to effective conduct of meeting. It would also help sparing the representatives of government departments for the later agenda items from waiting too long. There should be a balance between safeguarding Members’ right to speak and maintaining effectiveness of meeting. He supported retaining the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement but opined that those who missed the first round speaking should be allowed to speak in the second one so as to protect their right to speak. For the duration of speaking, the Chairman could determine it having regard to the number of agenda items to be discussed that day.

155. Mr NG Kwai-hung said that: (i) he agreed in principle to the continued adoption - 47 - Action by of the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement. He also agreed that those who missed the first round speaking should be allowed to speak in the second one, but the duration should be confined to one minute. Or else, the efficiency of the meeting might be lowered; (ii) there were some occasions in which Members overrun their speaking time but the Chairman still allowed it. In the past two years, there had not been much difficulty in implementing such arrangement; (iii) it was noted that Sham Shui Po District Council ranked top among the eighteen district councils in the length of the meetings. Reasons had to be found out. It was also hoped that Members could as far as possible make their speak concise and precise, and try not to indicate their intent to speak just for securing the right to speak in the second round; (iv) whether the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement should be abolished might be left to the next term of district council to decide.

156. Ms LAU Pui-yuk opined that in the deliberation of “1.3.1” speaking arrangement from the beginning to its implementation, on top of Members’ health, the efficiency of meeting had also been a major factor considered. Therefore, the merit of “1.3.1” speaking arrangement could not be totally negated. However, she found that it was time to have a review. She agreed that to protect Members’ right to speak, those who missed the first round speaking could still have the right to speak in the second round for not more than one minute, or else, it would be difficult to estimate how long the meeting would be held for. She also believed that the same principle should be applicable to the full council meetings and committee meetings of the District Council. If the attendees found that a particular agenda item required extra discussion time, separate arrangement could be made.

157. Mr Lawrence LO respected Members’ right to speak and said that the review should concentrate on the content of the speaking. In his opinion, Members should make their speaking focused, concise and precise, and avoid expressing repetitive views. He supported the “1.3.1” speaking arrangement.

158. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong said that: (i) Members who indicated their intent to speak only in the second round should be allowed to speak; (ii) the allocation of time for speaking should be determined upon discussion. In the actual operation, the Chairman should decide whether to grant Members’ request for longer speaking time or not, especially in the second round speaking, under the principle of equality and fairness.

159. The Chairman said that: (i) a majority of Members agreed that those who missed the first round speaking could still enjoy the right to speak in the second round; (ii) currently, as stipulated in the Rules of Procedures of Sham Shui Po District Council, “each Member could speak with a maximum of three times in the discussion or debate - 48 - Action by over an agenda item, with a duration confined to three minutes each time”. The maximum number of speaking times and duration had to be determined subject to the number of agenda items to be discussed. This Council had set a target of ending the meeting at 7:00 p.m. the latest, therefore, the agenda items arranged for discussion could not be too many, or else, there would be a possibility that the discussion had to be continued in further meeting, which might then disturb the attendance of some government officials. He hoped that Members could understand the practical needs for controlling the meeting time and the necessity of confining the speaking duration; (iii) the Secretariat had, regarding this review, enquired other district councils about their practices. It was found that the duration and times of speaking varied among the district councils; (iv) he agreed that Members’ right to speak had to be respected and therefore those who missed the first round speaking could still have the right to speak for one minute in the second round. Permission to overrunning of speaking time would be granted subject to the respective situation of the meeting; (v) the Chairman would continue to allow Members to have chance to speak under the principle of equality and fairness but he pleaded Members to focus on the matter under discussion when delivering their speaking; (vi) on this basis, the Chairman would from time to time remind Members of the targeted end time of meeting that day, with an aim to end the meeting at 7:00 p.m. He would also as soon as possible inform Members whether there was a need to have further meeting; (vii) this Council would not deprive Members of their chance to have full discussion on every single agenda item purely for the purpose of controlling the meeting duration.

160. The Hon Frederick FUNG wished to clarify whether those who missed the first round speaking would have three minutes or one minute to speak in the second round.

161. The Chairman responded that those missed the first round speaking would have only one minute to speak in the second round.

162. Mr CHAN Wai-ming supported the Chairman’s suggestion, i.e., those who missed the first round speaking could in principle have one minute to speak in the second round. However, the Chairman could still make adjustment having regard to the number of agenda items to be discussed so as to strike a balance between efficient conduct of meeting and protection of Members’ right to speak.

163. Mr NG Kwai-hung also supported the Chairman’s suggestion, i.e., in principle, those who missed the first round speaking could in principle have one minute to speak in the second round. If there were fewer agenda items to be discussed that day, the Chairman might consider allowing longer speaking time. Otherwise, only one-minute speaking time should be allowed. - 49 - Action by

164. Mr Aaron LAM agreed that those who missed the first round speaking could still have one-minute speaking time in the second round. However, he hoped that the Chairman would, when it was necessary and upon discussion with Members, allow all Members to speak for one minute each, which turned the arrangement into “1.3.1.1” instead.

165. Mr LEUNG Yau-fong suggested that the Rules of Procedures should be referred as a starting point (each Member could speak for not more than three times for each agenda item, with a duration of three minutes each time) to strike a balance. He opined that as normally Members would not frequently leave during meeting and therefore the quality of the speaking should be the point to be focused on instead. He continued that it would not be too much to allow those who missed the first round speaking to have a two-minute speaking in the second round. If it was resolved that the Chairman could exercise his discretion to determine the duration of such speaking in future, it might result in different practices in this Council and Committee meetings, and unnecessary disputes might be aroused.

166. The Chairman concluded that: (i) the current “1.3.1” speaking arrangement did not undermined Members’ right to speak. While the arrangement was agreed among Members, prior consent from Members would also be obtained in each meeting before its application; (ii) a majority of the Members opined that those who missed the first round speaking should enjoy the right to speak in the second round; (iii) the second round speaking should be confined to one minute. However, if time permitted, the chairman of this Council or Committees could decide, where appropriate, whether extra time would be allowed; (iv) the District Council meeting had in the past opened the third round of discussion out of necessity. In future, if Members found that there was such necessity, they might also request the Chairman to do the same. The Chairman would, where appropriate, decide whether the third round of speaking would be opened. However, he hoped that the meeting end time targetting at 7:00 p.m. could still be achieved.

Item 3: Reports from Committees and Working Groups under the District Council

(a) Reports from Committees

(i) Report from the District Facilities Committee (SSPDC Paper 112/14)

(ii) Report from the Community Affairs Committee (SSPDC Paper 113/14)

(iii) Report from the Environment and Hygiene Committee (SSPDC Paper - 50 - Action by

114/14)

(iv) Report from the Transport Affairs Committee (SSPDC Papers 115/14 & 116/14)

(v) Report from the Housing Affairs Committee (SSPDC Paper 117/14)

(vi) Report from the Committee on Sham Shui Po Signature Project (SSPDC Paper 118/14)

167. The District Officer introduced Paper 118/14 and he hoped that Members would endorse the two partnering organisations for the Shek Kip Mei Community Services Centre and Mei Foo Neighbourhood Activity Centre as selected in the 7th and 8th meetings of Committee on the Sham Shui Po Signature Project by members.

168. Mr WONG Tat-tung made a declaration of interest, stating that he had been the Chairman of the Board of Yan Oi Tong two years ago and was currently a member of the advisory board of Yan Oi Tong. However, he did not participate in the daily management of the organisation.

169. Mr Vincent CHENG made a declaration of interest, stating that his father was an ex-chairman of Po Leung Kuk.

170. The Chairman concurred that Mr WONG Tat-tung should not give any views on the project. Besides, in the previous committee meeting, it had been resolved that the declaration made by Mr Vincent CHENG did not entail conflict of interest and that he could continue to take part in the relevant discussion.

171. The Meeting confirmed and endorsed the two partnering organisations recommended by the Committee on the Sham Shui Po Signature Project.

(b) Reports from Working Groups directly under the District Council

(i) Report from the Working Group on Festive Celebration and Publicity (SSPDC Paper 119/14)

(ii) Report from the Working Group on Poverty Problems and Ethnic Minorities (SSPDC Paper 120/14)

(iii) Report from the Working Group on Healthy and Safe Community (SSPDC - 51 - Action by

Paper 121/14)

172. The Meeting noted the contents of the above reports.

Item 4: Report on District Management Committee Meeting (SSPDC Paper 122/14)

173. Mr WAI Woon-nam enquired about: (i) the progress of the pilot programme; (ii) whether the interested Members could be, by invitation, in attendance at the meeting of District Committee Meeting (“DMC”); (iii) whether DMC had obtained the funding to commence the pilot programme.

174. The District Officer introduced Paper 122/14 and explained as follows:

(i) The Sham Shui Po District Office (“SSPDO”) and SWD had many times met with the organisations serving the street sleepers in the district for joint discussion on the strategy in handling the problem of street sleepers. A caring approach was adopted in the current programme and it was hoped that through participation of various government departments and social welfare organisations, greater incentives would be provided to the street sleepers who could then give up street sleeping and integrate into the community.

(ii) Currently, there were mainly two organisations in the district, namely, the Society for Community Organisation and the Christian Concern for the Homeless Association (“CCHA”), rendering support services to street sleepers with the subsidisation provided by SWD. SSPDO and SWD had all along been discussing with the two organisations on the actual implementation arrangements. Upon collation of views, invitation for quotation would be sent out, with the hope that the organisations concerned could provide contracted services to help strengthen the initiatives in handling the problem of street sleepers in the district. In the longer term, these organisations concerned had to provide support to the street sleepers, strengthen their mutual communications and help them to give up street sleeping through various points of service entry by helping them to quit drugs and alcohol, and relieving their financial burdens or mental health problems. Moreover, the organisations concerned would also offer assistance in the clean-up operations. Although currently regular interdepartmental clean-up operations were conducted on every Friday, the results were not satisfactory because the street sleepers might not cooperate with the departments to clear away their personal items. It rendered the environmental hygiene conditions of street sleeper congregation points deteriorating. In view of this, the department hoped to - 52 - Action by

have the conditions improved with the intervention of volunteers and social workers.

(iii) In the clean-up operation at the subway of Kweilin Street conducted by SWD, FEHD and SSPDO last Friday, the participation of CCHA also played an important role in the operation. Their social workers had, before the operation, communicated with the street sleepers and persuade them to be cooperative. He had also mentioned that the cleaning of subway had all along been the duties of the Highways Department. However, since the department could not send their staff to join the operation because of engagement in another operation that day, FEHD provided its assistance instead by taking part in the clean-up operation for that area. He tendered his special thanks to FEHD for its support rendered.

(iv) He continued to brief the meeting on the operation that day by way of a powerpoint presentation. Although some of the street sleepers had before the operation agreed to discard part of their items and signed the confirmation, they became emotionally unstable during the operation. Therefore, CCHA arranged some social workers to attend the scene to calm down street sleepers. At the location concerned, there were many dirt marks on the ground, mosquitoes and insects were breeding and the odour nuisance was also serious. During the operation, the staff of SWD and CCHA kept persuading the street sleepers to give up street sleeping. Although SWD had successfully persuaded one of the street sleepers and compassionate rehousing was then arranged, it would be difficult to persuade most of the street sleepers to give up street sleeping. The departments and organisations concerned hoped that the number of street sleepers could be reduced through such operation. He added that the nylon bed and mattress shown in the picture were provided by CCHA.

(v) The background of each street sleeper and the reasons they chose to sleep on streets were different. Currently, all the organisations accepted the broad direction of the programme, i.e., taking care of the needs of the street sleepers and helping them to solve their problems. It was hoped that the commencement of service provision and intervention of the organisations concerned in future would help encouraging street sleepers to pursue for a better living.

(vi) In the meeting with Members on 25 September last year, the street sleepers had requested the public toilet inside Tung Chau Street Temporary Market be - 53 - Action by

opened 24 hours daily. After arrangements made by FEHD, that toilet would be opened 24 hours daily with effect from 1 July this year. It was hoped that the hygiene nuisances caused by the street sleepers to the nearby environment could be lessened.

(vii) Regarding “three-nil” buildings, DMC had identified 81 targeted buildings and notifications in writing had also been given to the councillors of the districts accordingly. Those buildings involved 999 flats, and SSPDO had paid home visits to the targeted buildings earlier on, hoping to encourage the owners to, through the said programme, set up owners’ corporations or other forms of resident organisations with a view to enhancing the management quality of the buildings. At the present, the first round visit had already been completed and it was then planned that the second round visits would be paid in dusks or evenings so that more residents could be approached.

(viii) One of the core objectives of the programme was to assist residents of “three-nil” buildings to clean up the common area of and the alleys nearby the buildings in order to improve the environmental hygiene. FEHD had already commenced the relevant tendering procedure and it was expected that the clean-up work could be started in the late July this year. Besides, SSPDO was organising the Award Ceremony of Resident Liaison Ambassadors to be held on 3 July this year. The residents of the targeted buildings would be invited to attend the ceremony. It was hoped that the experience shared by the resident liaison ambassadors could boost up active participation in the building management by “three-nil” buildings. The invitation letters would be distributed and Members were welcome to attend the ceremony.

175. Mrs Helen KWOK supplemented as follows:

(i) SWD had earlier on told CCHA that the pilot programme would adopt a caring approach and provide support to the street sleepers. Hailing the direction appropriate, CCHA had adopted this approach in the previous clean-up operation in the subway of Kweilin Street. The organisation communicated with the street sleepers there first, and then, delivered invitation cards to them, informing them of the details of the clean-up operation, encouraging their participation and working out together with them what items could be disposed of. As the organisation managed to reach agreement with the street sleepers before the operation, and its staff and departmental staff had meal together with several street sleepers after the operation, they began to be familiar with two of the street sleepers. SWD - 54 - Action by

would study the provision of relevant referral services to meet their needs, and compassionate housing had already been arranged for one of them.

(ii) Although there were relatively more miscellaneous items at the above location of Kweilin Street, there were less street sleepers, and therefore, the chance for successful persuasion was higher. The location was suitable for conducting the clean-up operation. All the parties had, through the operation, learned the importance of forging friendly relationship and building trust with the street sleepers.

(iii) SWD had also invited the Society for Community Organisation to provide assistance in this pilot programmes. The person-in-charge of the organisation, Mr NG Wai-tung, had taken part in the meeting for numerous times and understood the vision of the scheme. Therefore, Mr NG would also proactively suggested street sleepers to tidy up their personal items or provided the department with the relevant information. For example, he had once informed SWD of there were two places at the footbridge that were not being occupied by street sleepers, and at the same time, he also persuaded the street sleepers nearby to discard the items concerned. Recently, the departments concerned had also worked with Mr NG in handling such cases involving the footbridge. There were several street sleepers suspected to have mental health problem. One of them had once stopped eating for consecutively several days and his situation was worrying. SWD had, together with the IFSCs and the representative of the Wellness Centre, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, paid an on-site visit there. We would keep the situation in view and provide the street sleepers with timely assistance.

(iv) SWD had arranged compassionate rehousing for a street sleeper but he was not willing to leave his previous sleeping place on the street off the Wellness Centre. SWD then arranged the IFSC representative to communicate with him and asked the staff of FEHD to remove the belongings of this street sleeper, in a bid to assist him to give up street sleeping.

176. Mr CHIU Yu-chow supplemented that since 1 July this year, the public toilet inside Tung Chau Street Temporary Market had been made open 24 hours daily, and tendering procedures for the clean-up works targetting the common areas and alleys of “three-nil” buildings had also been commenced. The cleaning service was expected to be available in late July this year. SWD would, prior to the provision of such service, discuss the details with SSPDO. - 55 - Action by

177. The District Officer supplemented as follows:

(i) As the financial budget had been passed, the funding for the pilot programme was also granted. DMC would start the vetting procedures for the service contract concerned.

(ii) Members would be later invited to attend the briefing session of the pilot programme, at which the representatives of the government departments concerned and service providing organisations in the district would introduce their work targets and future plans and listen to the Members’ views.

178. Mr Vincent CHENG thanked all the departments concerned for the clean-up operation conducted at Kweilin Street. He hoped that continued efforts could be made to keep the place clean and tidy, and to persuade the street sleepers to give up street sleeping.

179. Ms Carmen NG enquired about the contents of the programme to be publicised and the residents’ awareness of the programme. She said that when she attended a residents’ meeting earlier on, she noted the residents reacted quite strongly about the problem of street sleepers. It was therefore hoped that the initiatives against the problem of street sleepers currently conducted by this Council and the progress made could be made known to the residents as soon as possible.

180. Ms LAU Pui-yuk had the following comments: (i) the departments concerned had been putting lots of efforts in tackling the problem of street sleepers and it was encouraging to see that some street sleepers were given compassionate housing. She hoped that through the multi-disciplinary collaboration, more support could be provided to the street sleepers; (ii) she hoped that the departments concerned would try their best to help the remaining street sleepers in the subway of Kweilin Street; (iii) in the consultation forum held in the previous evening, many residents expressed their concerns about the problem of street sleepers. It was hoped that SSPDO would, through various channels, let the residents know about the latest progress of the programme; (iv) currently many trolleys of itinerant hawkers were placed at the alleys of the “three-nil” buildings causing alley blockage. It was hoped that the department concerned would follow up on the issue when cleaning up the alleys.

181. The District Officer gave the following consolidated reply:

(i) He thanked the staff of FEHD and SWD for their assistance and hoped that the concerted efforts of the departments concerned and relevant organisations - 56 - Action by

could help the street sleepers give up street sleeping early.

(ii) SSPDO would work out appropriate publicity means to brief the residents on the programme. Apart from improving the environmental hygiene, helping the street sleepers improve their living and give up street sleeping was another core objective of the programme. SSPDO would carefully handle the problem and strike a balance between the said targets.

182. Mrs Helen KWOK supplemented as follows:

(i) There still remained two street sleepers in the subway of Kweilin Street. According to the preliminary observation, the two female street sleepers were with mental health problem. SWD would keep collaborating with CCHA, follow up on the cases and consider referring the cases to IFSC for provision of appropriate assistance.

(ii) A street sleeper after leaving the subway of Kweilin Street was admitted to hospital due to some reason. Afterwards, he was arranged to stay in a private residential institution. However, his belongings were still at his original street sleeping place without being discarded. Having concerns that he might later resume street sleeping, SWD then asked for the assistance of CCHA and medical social workers in persuading him to discard those belongings and keep staying in the institution. SWD wished to adopt similar approach to prevent street sleepers who had already left the street from resuming street sleeping.

183. Mr CHIU Yu-chow said that FEHD would take follow-up action against the problem of miscellaneous items accumulation in the alleys according to the relevant legislations.

184. The Chairman concluded that this Council would keep supporting the initiatives in respect of street sleepers and “three-nil” buildings under the pilot programme and hoped that the programme could help street sleepers give up street sleeping and at the same time impacts of street sleeping on nearby environmental hygiene and residents could be taken care of.

Item 5: Any other business

(a) Report on the progress of the 5th Hong Kong Games (SSPDC Paper 123/14) - 57 - Action by

185. Mr Lawrence LO introduced Paper 123/14, and supplemented that in the Hong Kong Games last year, he was the head of the district delegation while Mr Aaron LAM, Mr CHAN Keng-chau and Dr WONG Chung-leung were the deputy heads.

186. The Chairman concluded that the meeting had noted the contents of the paper and endorsed the continued appointment of Mr Lawrence LO as the head of the district delegation, Mr Aaron LAM, Mr CHAN Keng-chau and Dr WONG Chung-leung as the deputy heads. Also, Mr Lawrence LO was elected to join, on behalf of SSPDC, the th selection panel of Sham Shui Po District of the 5 Hong Kong Games.

(b) Proposal of central fund reserve for district minor works projects (SSPDC Paper 124/14)

187. Ms FUNG See-wan introduced Paper 124/14.

188. The Chairman concluded that the meeting had taken note of the contents of the paper and endorsed the proposal of reserving the central fund.

(c) Report on the progress of “Follow-up Meeting for Alleviating Noise Nuisances”

189. The Secretary said that in the District Council meeting last November, some Members had requested to follow up on the noise nuisance problem of the several noise black spots in the district, including, among others, Kwai Chung Road Flyover, Ching Cheung Road off the Nob Hill, the West Kowloon Corridor and Cheung Lai Street in Lai Chi Kok. Afterwards, this Council held two follow-up meetings in this February and June respectively and conducted a site inspection in this April. Both meetings were chaired by the Chairman, with attendance of 5 to 6 Members each. Attending departments included Environmental Protection Department, Highways Department, HKPF and TD etc. Measures discussed in the follow-up meetings included, among others, provision of noise barriers, expediting the resurfacing of roads with low noise materials, lowering of vehicle speed limit on road section, operation against illegal road racing activities, and installation of more fixed speed detectors. The 3rd follow-up meeting was expected to be held on 30 July. The Secretariat would write to invite Members to the meeting in due course.

190. The Chairman said that Members attending the 2nd follow-up meeting agreed to invite TD to serve as the coordinating department.

[Post meeting note: The 3rd Follow-up Meeting for Alleviating Noise Nuisances would be held at 10:00 a.m. on 29 July this year at Sham Shui Po District Council Conference - 58 - Action by

Room instead.]

(d) Transfer of District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shui Po)

191. The Chairman said that Mr LAM Wing-hong, the former District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shui Po) had recently transferred to another post. The meeting thanked him for his contributions made to Sham Shui Po when working in the district.

Item 6: Date of next meeting

192. Next meeting was scheduled on 2 September 2014 at 9:30 a.m.

193. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

District Council Secretariat Sham Shui Po District Office August 2014