Minutes of the 17th Meeting of the 5th Term City District Council

Date: 27 September 2018 (Thursday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, District Office

Present: Chairman: Mr PUN Kwok-wah, JP Vice-chairman: Mr CHO Wui-hung, MH Members: Mr KWAN Ho-yeung, Roger The Hon LEE Wai-king, Starry, SBS, JP Mr YUE Chee-wing, Admond Mr YANG Wing-kit Mr YEUNG Chun-yu, Ronald Mr TING Kin-wa Mr HE Huahan (Left at 3:31 p.m.) Mr NG Po-keung, MH Mr LUK King-kwong (Arrived at 2:43 p.m.) (Left at 3:41 p.m.) Dr the Hon LEUNG Mei-fun, Priscilla, (Arrived at 3:01 p.m.) SBS, JP (Left at 3:50 p.m.) Mr LAM Tak-shing Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming Mr NG Fan-kam, Tony Ms LEUNG Yuen-ting Mr SIU Tin-hung, Terence (Left at 3:29 p.m.) Mr LAI Kwong-wai Mr SIU Leong-sing Miss KWONG Po-yin Mr LO Chiu-kit (Arrived at 2:51 p.m.) (Left at 4:16 p.m.) Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong, MH Mr HO Hin-ming, BBS, MH Mr LAM Pok, Jimmy

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Secretary: Ms WONG Wing, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Office

In Attendance: Mr Franco KWOK, JP District Officer (Kowloon City) Miss SO Yi-ching, Venus Assistant District Officer (Kowloon City) Mr LAI Hau-yu, Philip Senior Liaison Officer (District Liaison)1, Kowloon City District Office Ms LAU Mei-yee, Helen Senior Liaison Officer (District Liaison)2, Kowloon City District Office Mr WONG Kam-keung, Eric Senior Liaison Officer (Building Management), Kowloon City District Office Ms KWOK Lai-kuen, Eva Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Kowloon City District Office Ms LEE Nga-lai, Alice District Commander (Kowloon City), Police Force Ms TANG Yuen-chi Assistant Divisional Commander (Operations) (Ngau Tau Kok), Mr NG Leung-shui, Tommy Chief Transport Officer / Housing Project, Transport Department Ms LAI Mei-ling Chief Leisure Manager (Kowloon), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr CHUI Po-fai Senior Engineer, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mr TSE Chick-lam Chief Manager / Management (Kowloon West & Sai Kung), Mr TSOI Yuen-ming District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Kowloon City), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

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Attendance by Invitation: Item 3 Mrs LI CHOW Yeuk-lan, Chief School Development Officer Conny (Kowloon City), Bureau

Item 4 Ms CHENG Wan-ying, Senior Town Planner / Kowloon 2, Johanna Planning Department

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The Chairman welcomed Members, representatives of government departments and attendees to the meeting of the Kowloon City District Council (KCDC). With regard to the permanent representatives of government departments, the Chairman, on behalf of KCDC, welcomed Ms TANG Yuen-chi, Assistant Divisional Commander (Operations) (Ngau Tau Kok) of Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) to attend the meeting.

2. Before discussing the agenda items, the Chairman reminded Members to declare interests in accordance with the KCDC Standing Orders. He also said that when the number of Members present at the meeting was less than 12, he would adjourn the meeting according to Order 12(1) of the Standing Orders. Lastly, he reminded the attendees to turn off the ringers on their mobile phones or to switch the phones to vibration mode and to remain silent during the meeting to avoid causing disturbances.

Confirmation of Minutes of the 16th Meeting of KCDC

3. There being no amendments proposed, the Chairman declared that the minutes of the 16th meeting were confirmed unanimously.

Confirmation of Minutes of the 1st Special Meeting of KCDC

4. The Secretary received Mr LAI Kwong-wai’s request for revising the minutes of the 1st Special Meeting (Paragraph 131 and 140). After consulting all Members, the Chairman announced that the suggested revision was approved and the minutes of the 1st Special Meeting were confirmed.

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Concern over Parents Using False Addresses to Apply for School Places (KCDC Paper No. 81/18)

5. Mr HO Hin-ming presented Paper No. 81/18 and stated that there were increasing cases of parents using false addresses or other people’s addresses to apply for school places in the district for their children. Mailbox rental services had even emerged recently. He opined that the (EDB) should request parents to make declarations on the addresses they used when applying for school places in order to give a legally binding effect to the addresses, such that any breach of the declarations would be regarded as a criminal offence. He also enquired of the Bureau about the updated number of random checks conducted on addresses in respect of the applications for school places and the address falsification rate.

6. Mr TING Kin-wa stated that the problem of parents using false addresses to apply for school places in the district grew serious. The market for rental properties prospered and the rents surged in July and August every year. These indicated that some parents from other districts made use of the rental flats to apply for local school places and this was unfair to local residents. He requested EDB to step up its efforts to combat the issue and prosecute parents who gave false addresses.

7. The Hon Starry LEE said that it was unacceptable for parents to use false addresses to apply for school places. However, under the current division of school nets, a considerable number of parents chose to give false addresses to enhance the chance of their children being admitted into ideal schools in the district. Thus, EDB should examine the situation.

8. Mr Roger KWAN enquired of EDB about the ratio of random checks on addresses reported by parents and whether EDB would actively investigate on the use of rented mailboxes.

9. Mr HO Hin-ming raised the following views: (i) he requested EDB to provide the birth rate, the number of school places and the number of school-aged children in the district every year; (ii) according to the observation over the past 30 years, there were sufficient school places for school-aged children in the district. Thus, it was unacceptable to attribute the problem to the inadequacy of school places. Currently, some of the school-aged children in the district were allocated to schools in other districts by ballot and their parents were thus forced to move away from the district; and (iii) the procedures for changing the names of the clients on water bills 5 were simple. If the information was found to be false, it would only be regarded as record discrepancies. The persons concerned were not subject to any criminal liability. Thus, the Bureau should request parents to sign on the declarations to verify that the addresses they gave were real in order to plug the loophole.

10. Mr Terence SIU requested EDB to review the current district-based system of the allocation of school places.

11. Mrs Conny LI, Chief School Development Officer of EDB, gave a reply, with the main points as follows:

11.1 EDB took the problem of false addresses seriously. To ensure fairness of the allocation of school places, EDB had set up a checking mechanism to verify whether the applicants were living in the school nets that they declared.

11.2 EDB had engaged additional staff to step up random checks. Apart from reviewing the application documents which had been verified by schools during the Discretionary Places Admission Stage, the Bureau would deploy staff to schools to conduct random checks on the documentary proof of the residential addresses submitted by parents or guardians every year.

11.3 EDB would conduct random checks on the addresses declared by parents or guardians during the Central Allocation Stage and would request the parents or guardians to provide documentary proof of the addresses such as tenancy agreements and deeds or make declarations if necessary.

11.4 EDB would deploy staff to conduct non-prescheduled home visits to verify the authenticity of the given residential addresses as needed. If dubious cases were identified, which involved, say, relatively low rents, extremely short lease terms or unreasonable size of living areas, the Bureau would carry out investigation actively. In addition, the Bureau encouraged people to dial the hotline to report suspected cases and would conduct a thorough investigation of the reported cases in accordance with the mechanism.

11.5 If guardians or parents were found to obtain school places by using false addresses, the Primary One school places allocated to their children would 6

be withdrawn. If the cases involved criminal elements like making false instrument, the Bureau would refer them to HKPF for follow-up. In pursuance to the Crimes Ordinance, a parent or a guardian who committed the offence of forgery during the application for a Primary One school place was liable to imprisonment for 14 years upon conviction.

11.6 As at late August 2018, EDB had received 31 reported cases of using false addresses and 21 of them were substantiated. EDB would strive to ensure fairness and equity of the allocation of Primary One school places.

11.7 She would contact the relevant sections after the meeting to confirm if the data on the supply and demand of school places and the ratio of random checks in individual school nets was available from the Bureau. Currently, Primary One school places were allocated to students according to their residential addresses on the principle of vicinity. She would relay Members’ suggestion of reviewing the current mechanism to the Bureau later.

12. The Chairman hoped that EDB could offer the data on random checks and the supply and demand of school places including the birth rate and the percentage of school-aged children and further study the current division and system of school nets.

(Post-meeting note: the Secretariat had sent the supplementary information provided by EDB concerning the problem of using false addresses to apply for school places to Members via email after the meeting.)

Opposition to the Plan to Demolish for Constructing 31-storey Luxurious Residential Buildings (Y/K10/2) (KCDC Paper No. 82/18)

13. Mr NG Po-keung introduced Paper No. 82/18 and stated that he opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza for constructing two 31-storey luxurious residential buildings and the reasons were: (i) though approximately 500 parking spaces now provided in Kowloon City Plaza would be retained in the proposed luxurious buildings, he believed that most of the parking spaces would be reserved for the use of 850 households of the buildings. This would definitely exacerbate the shortfall of parking spaces and worsen the problem of traffic congestion in Kowloon City District; (ii) the demolition of Kowloon City Plaza would deprive residents of the only large 7 indoor and open space in the area where parent-child activities could be held; (iii) Kowloon City Plaza was currently operating in a good state. With the gradual completion of nearby residential developments and the commissioning of the Shatin to Central Link, the number of visitors to the plaza would continue to increase. In this case, the plaza would not have to be demolished due to operational difficulties; (iv) Kowloon City Plaza complemented the restaurants at nearby streets and the performing venue in the basement of the plaza attracted visitors effectively. The demolition of Kowloon City Plaza would result in a loss of impetus for the growth of the community, thus nearby shop owners strongly rejected the redevelopment project; and (v) Kowloon City District was full of old buildings and Kowloon City Plaza was the only recreation and leisure venue for residents in the area. The demolition of the plaza would lead to the loss of a major supporting facility for residents in the community. The media gave wide coverage to the demolition project and had reported that both students and shop owners were against the project. Thus he hoped that the Planning Department (PlanD) could respond to public’s views and relay people’s opposition to the plan of demolishing Kowloon City Plaza to the (TPB).

14. Mr Admond YUE said that he sided with Mr NG Po-keung and opposed to the plan of demolishing Kowloon City Plaza. He pointed out that, apart from being of Kowloon City District, the plaza provided more than 500 parking spaces to facilitate people in driving to the area or the nearby Kowloon City Market for shopping. It was expected that the redevelopment project would not only reduce the number of parking spaces for the public, but also result in the loss of a venue for community interaction. Thus, TPB should not approve the plan of demolishing the plaza for the construction of luxurious residential buildings.

15. Mr HO Hin-ming expressed that when constructing Kowloon City Plaza, the developer had installed piles at the roof of the carpark for the construction of additional floors in the future. He doubted whether the new owner knew that additional floors could be built on top of the carpark. Or perhaps, the new owner learnt of this but found that the piles could not support the proposed 31-storey buildings. He reiterated his opposition to the plan of demolition but he agreed to the construction of additional floors on top of the carpark.

16. Mr Roger KWAN stated that he opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza and declared that he was living near Kowloon City Plaza. He raised the following opinions: (i) Roundabout, the entrance of Lung Kong Road and Nga 8

Tsin Wai Road were currently overburdened with traffic flow, especially during rush hours, weekends and holidays. The proposed buildings with some 850 households would further increase the traffic flow in the area and rapidly worsen the traffic problems; (ii) currently, there was a lack of parking spaces in the area. He worried that the number of parking spaces would significantly drop when the plaza was pulled down and this would seriously affect the traffic in the area; and (iii) the developer and the relevant department did not raise any practical suggestions on how to improve the traffic in the area after the new buildings were completed.

17. Mr Jimmy LAM said that he opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza and raised the following enquiries / opinions: (i) currently, the traffic congestion was severe in the area. Additional 850 households were expected to intensify the congestion of roads such as Nga Tsin Wai Road and Lung Kong Road; (ii) he worried that the shopping mall at the base of the luxurious buildings would provide spaces for chocolate shops, pharmacies and jewelry shops which would attract Mainland tour groups, as in the case of other shopping malls in and ; and (iii) Kowloon City Plaza consisted of not only supermarkets and different types of shops for residents, but also major fast-food stores and children’s playgrounds, which were extremely important to residents and students who attended schools in the vicinity. He enquired whether the Bureau had collected opinions from residents and nearby schools in respect of the demolition project and he hoped that TPB could seriously consider Members’ views.

18. Mr TING Kin-wa strongly opposed the demolition project and pointed out that the roads around Kowloon City Plaza were seriously congested. Transforming the plaza into high-rise residential buildings would inevitably further worsen traffic problems and bring chaos, thus the relevant department should make careful considerations.

19. Mr LUK King-kwong opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza for constructing luxurious buildings and he expressed the following views: (i) the demolition of Kowloon City Plaza which only aged more than 20 years was not environmentally friendly; (ii) the proposed two 31-storey buildings would create a wall effect which adversely impacted the air flow in Kowloon City District and nearby greenbelts and parks; (iii) the revision of the Outline Zoning Plan might affect the ridgeline of the Lion Rock; and (iv) Kowloon City Plaza played an important role in the livelihood and transportation in the area. The views delivered by many members indicated that the mainstream opinion of people was against the construction 9 of luxurious buildings at the site.

20. The Hon Starry LEE stated that Mr NG Po-keung had raised in the past KCDC Meetings and Committees Meetings that he was concerned about the traffic problems in Kowloon City District including the congestion in old areas and the lack of parking spaces. However, PlanD did not give a specific reply on how to tackle the problems. To perfect the redevelopment of old areas, the Department had to roll out concrete proposals to address the traffic issue.

21. Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming raised the following opinions: (i) the plan of redeveloping Kowloon City Plaza into 31-storey luxurious buildings had failed to take into account the existing small shops and would put the livelihood of the small traders in the area at risk. If TPB approved the application for changing the land use, small distinctive shops would disappear in Hong Kong; and (ii) at present, traffic congestion in Kowloon City District was particularly heavy on Saturdays and Sundays. If 800 odd residential units were additionally provided in the area and 70% of households chose to drive private cars, there would be more than 500 extra vehicles. The traffic in the Kowloon City District would be completely paralyzed by then.

22. Mr Terence SIU said that he strongly opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza and pointed out that, currently, the vehicle queue in Lung Shing old areas during peak hours extended from Lung Kong Road to Argyle Street Roundabout and To Kwa Wan. A sharp rise in the number of private cars could be foreseen after the completion of the luxurious buildings, overloading the traffic capacity of Lung Shing old areas. Thus, he hoped that TPB could respect KCDC’s opinions.

23. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong remarked that converting Kowloon City Plaza into residential buildings meant a significant change. Though the relevant residential project would provide 584 parking spaces, exceeding the 500 parking spaces now provided in the plaza, the new parking spaces would be mainly reserved for the households of the buildings in the future, thus affecting the traffic of nearby areas. In addition, the proposed buildings were screen-like which would impact the ventilation in the area. Thus, the application for changing the land use was not merely a planning issue. He hoped that PlanD could inform TPB of the views of members and TPB should reject the planning application.

24. Mr YANG Wing-kit opposed transforming Kowloon City Plaza into residential buildings and set forth the following opinions: (i) Kowloon City Plaza 10 served not only the residents in the area but also those living in Prince Edward and around Junction Road. Since there were no other shopping locations in the vicinity, residents could only shop in the or Whampoa after the plaza was demolished. This caused them a great deal of inconvenience; and (ii) it was expected that most parking spaces provided in the new buildings would be designated for the households of the buildings while only a small number of spaces would be opened for public use. Without the parking spaces in Kowloon City Plaza, the problems of traffic congestion and illegal parking in the area were expected to be aggravated.

25. Mr Tony NG stated that he opposed demolishing Kowloon City Plaza and expressed the following views: (i) the plan to demolish Kowloon City Plaza was strongly objected by KCDC and the residents, undermining the harmony in the community of Kowloon City; (ii) Kowloon City Plaza was a landmark in the area. The 31-storey private buildings to be built would produce a wall effect, impacting the ventilation in the area; (iii) 584 parking spaces provided in the proposed luxurious buildings could not even satisfy the needs of 850 households. It would further intensify the shortfall of parking spaces in the area; and (iv) it was a short-sighted approach to redevelop the plaza into private buildings, similar to killing the hen to get its egg. Furthermore, the approval of the application would believably trigger a knock-on effect, accelerating the change of land use of nearby plazas.

26. Mr NG Po-keung stated the following points in response to the reasons for demolishing Kowloon City Plaza forwarded by the applicant:

(i) Outline Zoning Plan Though the draft Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan had been revised, it did not propose changing the land use of the site from commercial to residential. The Urban Renewal Plan for Kowloon City in 2014 did not suggest changing the land use of Kowloon City Plaza to residential as well.

(ii) Increasing housing supply Currently, there existed many old buildings with the potential to be redeveloped in Kowloon City District. Thus, he disagreed with the demolition of the only shopping mall in the area on the ground of increasing housing supply.

(iii) Keeping in line with the development of high-density residential buildings in 11

nearby sites In the light of the redevelopment at nearby sites, the transformation of Kowloon City Plaza into high-density residential buildings would result in the removal of the only supporting facility in the area. The developer was self-contradictory.

(iv) Providing quality living environment and enhancing connectivity Redeveloping Kowloon City Plaza into private buildings could not improve the quality of life. Instead, the traffic condition in the area would deteriorate. People could now pass through Kowloon City Plaza to go to Carpenter Road Park uninterruptedly. No other links were needed.

(v) Enhancing traffic measures Not only would the project fail to enhance traffic measures, it would lead the traffic in the area to come to a standstill.

(vi) No negative technical impacts would be brought to the area More than 3000 real-name replies had been collected during the two-week consultation period including those from the Director of the Kowloon Neighbourhood Association, the representative from the Minibus Association, the Chairperson of the Shop Tenants Association, and the Director of Chiu Chow Association etc. who were persons in charge of representative groups in the district. It was believed that if the consultation period was extended, more opposite views to the redevelopment plan from organisations and schools would be collected.

(vii) Setting a good precedent It was reported in the newspapers in June 2017 that TPB had rejected the application for redeveloping Kowloon City Plaza on the ground that the plaza was ideal in terms of visual and spatial effects. Thus, TPB should continue to reject this application.

27. Mr CHO Wui-hung agreed with the views of various Members on opposing the demolition of Kowloon City Plaza. He remarked that the plaza was not only an important leisure and recreational spot for residents, but also a significant public space in the District. Converting the plaza into a 31-storey residential building would affect people’s daily living and impair the quality of life of residents. Thus TPB should not consider the application simply as a property development 12 project, but should further take into view the effects of the project on residents and the community.

28. Mr LO Chiu-kit stated that both Members and residents in the district objected to the demolition of Kowloon City Plaza. He also raised the following enquiries / views: (i) Kowloon City Plaza was the only large scale plaza in the district. He enquired whether PlanD would provide a substitute or residents would be forced to do shopping in other districts after the plaza was pulled down; (ii) he asked if PlanD had conducted an assessment of the demand for parking spaces in the district in regard to the closure of over 500 parking spaces in the district during reconstruction at the site; and (iii) at present, quite many students would shop and take a stroll at the plaza after school and the plaza was an important venue where they gathered. PlanD should give high regard to the interests of students and should not act against the people’s wishes.

29. Ms Johanna CHENG, Senior Town Planner of PlanD, gave the following main points in her reply:

29.1 PlanD attended this meeting mainly to listen to Members’ views on the relevant application and to clarify that the application for rezoning the site and increasing building height was submitted by the land owner to TPB. PlanD noted well the opposition of Members and the public to the plan. It would provide the relevant information to TPB for consideration when it processed the application later.

29.2 Although the statutory consultation period for the application ended last Friday, Kowloon City District Office (KCDO) could still convey Members’ views raised in this meeting to PlanD upon consolidation. PlanD would then refer the views to TPB truthfully.

29.3 Since 2003, the site had been rezoned to “other specified uses” annotated “commercial development with public vehicle park”. Later, restrictions on height were imposed on buildings at the site. Besides, PlanD believed that the Transport Department (TD) fully understood the problems of traffic congestion and insufficiency of parking spaces in Kowloon City District.

29.4 PlanD had not yet received any views from individual government departments on the application. Its preliminary understanding was that TD 13

would request the applicant to provide feasible solutions to the problem envisaged due to the closure of 500 parking spaces during reconstruction.

29.5 PlanD and TPB received lots of submissions of views when the consultation period ended last Friday. Some of the submissions were still being handled and so the total number of submissions received was yet to be confirmed. However, it could be seen that the majority of the views received were against the application.

29.6 PlanD had issued letters to the Incorporated Owners of nearby buildings to notify them of the rezoning application and request them to submit views to TPB for consideration.

29.7 With reference to the proposal submitted by the applicant, a shopping area serving as new commercial facilities would be provided on the ground floor of the new residential building. However, the size of the shopping area was rather small. Besides, other commercial facilities which located nearest to the district were concentrated in Kai Tak District.

29.8 TD was currently studying the problems of traffic congestion and the inadequacy of parking spaces in the district as well as the possibility of providing car parks under large rest gardens. TD would further follow up about this after completing the studies.

30. The Hon Starry LEE remarked that traffic problems existed long in Kowloon City District. She requested PlanD to give an account of the previous actions taken to deal with the problems and plans conceived to relieve the traffic problems in the district.

31. Ms Johanna CHENG of PlanD stated that she would contact TD after the meeting in order to reply to the enquiry.

32. The Chairman then handled the motion proposed in Paper No. 82/18.

33. Mr NG Po-keung said the motion put forward was as follows: Kowloon City Plaza was a source of collective memory, a local landmark as well as the only large scale shopping centre in the district which provided the sole indoor venue for recreational activities. The demolition of Kowloon City Plaza for the construction of 14 two 31-storey buildings would aggravate traffic congestion in the district, thus TPB was requested to act in line with people’s strong opposition and reject the application for the demolition of Kowloon City Plaza (Y/K10/2).

34. The Chairman suggested voting on the motion by secret ballot with a show of hands as there were no amendments to the motion. The result of the voting was as follows:

Support: 20 Objection: 0 Abstention: 0

35. The Chairman declared that the motion was passed. He also requested the Secretariat to inform TPB and PlanD of the result of the voting via letters.

(Post-meeting notes: After the meeting, the secretary notified TPB and PlanD in writing of the aforesaid motion endorsed by KCDC and Members’ views. Besides, the Secretariat had sent the supplementary information concerning traffic and parking in Kowloon City District from PlanD to Members via emails.)

Support for Enhancing the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Paper No. 83/18)

36. The Chairman said the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau (CMAB) could not designate staff to attend the meeting. Prior to the meeting, the Secretariat had sent the written reply from CMAB, i.e. Document No. 2 tabled, to Members for perusal.

37. Dr the Hon Priscilla LEUNG introduced Paper No. 83/18. She pointed out that the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area offered an important opportunity to Hong Kong and she made the following suggestions: (i) establishing a mechanism at national level to coordinate and review cross-border taxation arrangements, such as the requirement for Hong Kong people who resided in the Mainland for over 183 days to pay tax; (ii) launching a pilot scheme on the provision of Wi-Fi mobile internet service in some selected cities in the Greater Bay Area; (iii) providing residences with lower rents to young people to attract them to develop their career or enjoy new life in the Greater Bay Area; and (iv) lowering the 15 fares of the High Speed Rail or offering monthly passes to facilitate the travel of residents in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

38. Mr CHO Wui-hung expressed great support for the Government’s efforts to boost the development of the Greater Bay Area and advance the cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong. He said the Government could proactively study how district councils could assist in giving publicity to and promoting the Greater Bay Area. He also suggested that monthly passes and other fare discounts should be provided by the rail company to attract customers from the two areas and maximise the benefits of the rail. Besides, the Government could scrap the long-distance roaming charges for calls made among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to enhance barrier-free communication.

39. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong expressed strong support for Hong Kong’s engagement in the construction of the Greater Bay Area so that the city would be integrated into the development blueprint of the country. With the successive commissioning of the High Speed Rail and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the distance between the people in Hong Kong and in the Mainland was shortened. As regards cultural exchange, he suggested district councils form sister communities with districts in the Mainland to strengthen the connection and communication of the residents in these two areas.

40. Mr HO Hin-ming hoped the Central Government would open up the market of the Greater Bay Area to small and medium enterprises in Hong Kong and exempt them from examination so that local enterprises / companies could participate in bidding and conducting various construction projects in the Greater Bay Area.

41. Miss Venus SO, Assistant District Officer (Kowloon City) replied that she would convey Members’ views to the after the meeting.

42. The Chairman stated that as the proposal relating to monthly passes of the High Speed Rail should be put forward to MTR for consideration and responses, he suggested that the relevant Members should follow up the issue at the Traffic and Transport Committee meetings. Besides, he requested the Secretary to relay Members’ views to CMAB.

(Post-meeting note: The Secretariat had sent the gist of Members’ discussion in support for the enhancement of the development of the Greater Bay Area to CMAB.) 16

Application for KCDC Funds - Community Involvement Projects Organised in the 2018-2019 Financial Year (Paper No. 84/18)

43. The Secretary presented Paper No. 84/18 at the request of the Chairman.

44. After consulting Members, the Chairman announced that a funding of $30,000 was endorsed for the Hong Kong Art and Culture Anywhere Foundation Association to organise workshops for Community Guide Map Project in the 2018-19 financial year.

Other Business

Follow-ups on the Striking of Typhoon Mangkhut

45. The Chairman stated that Typhoon Mangkhut caused severe destruction to Kowloon District. Trees at many places collapsed and buildings along the coast were threatened by tides. He extended sincere gratitude to various government departments and organisations for conducting clean-ups and removing fallen trees immediately after the typhoon. He also thanked the and KCDO for contacting eight private construction companies to assist in clearing away wrecked trees, including China State Construction International Holdings Limited, Yau Lee Construction Company Limited, Chun Wo Construction and Engineering Company Limited, Paul Y Engineering Group Limited, Gammon Construction Limited, Entente Contractor Company Limited, Konwall Construction and Engineering Company Limited as well as Kum Shing Group.

46. At the request of the Chairman, Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer (Kowloon City), briefly introduced the post-typhoon recovery work in the district, with main points as follows:

46.1 After the typhoon, wrecked and uprooted trees were everywhere and various government departments had taken proactive measures to open up major thoroughfares and restore traffic as soon as possible. However, as the real situation was worse than expected, the Director of Home Affairs contacted several large scale construction companies in Hong Kong immediately to request for assistance in moving away fallen trees in various 17

districts.

46.2 The problem of tree collapse in Kowloon City District was extremely serious. It was estimated that more than 100 streets were blocked by fallen trees. With voluntary assistance from eight construction companies in clearing the trees on roads, the removal work on several slip roads was expedited.

46.3 To facilitate the resumption of classes, the construction companies first focused on clearing roads in the vicinity of schools, including Perth Street, Tin Kwong Road, Sheung Shing Street and Sheung Lok Street in District, Kent Road and Oxford Road in District, Hung Hom Road, Hung Hom South Road, Hung Ling Street and Hung Lai Road in Hung Hom District, Farm Road, Pau Chung Street and Yuk Yat Street in To Kwa Wan District, etc. Fallen trees outside Pentecostal School, and Heep Yunn Primary School were also moved away timely.

46.4 Since 18 September, the eight construction companies had spent 1155 working hours in total to remove wrecked trees at around 70 streets. The collapsed trees near Man Fuk Road and Waterloo Road had all been cleared away. The removal work would continue and it was expected that the clearance on major roads would be completed before the National Day holiday. He also took this opportunity to sincerely thank the eight construction companies again for their assistance.

47. The Hon Starry LEE acknowledged the efforts of the District Officer, various government departments and the relevant frontline staff. She agreed that it was important to remove fallen trees on roads, but reminded that attention should also be paid to those at parks. The fallen trees had stayed unremoved for a long period of time and they caused danger to the nearby residents and users of the parks. As the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) did not have sufficient manpower at the moment, she hoped the District Officer could seek help from the eight construction companies again in removing the struck-down trees at the parks soon. Besides, she suggested that the Government should set aside extra resources to employ companies to handle the trees so as to speed up the progress of removal work.

48. Mr YANG Wing-kit was glad with the progress of the removal of struck-down trees in Kowloon City District and expressed wholehearted gratitude to 18 the District Officer, various departments including KCDO, the Police and the Fire Services Department (FSD), as well as all volunteers for their efforts to speedily restore order in the district after the typhoon.

49. Mr HO Hin-ming was grateful that the typhoon did not cause any injury or death. He suggested extending gratitude to all staff and sending regard to staff members who were injured when removing fallen trees in the name of KCDC.

50. Mr Jimmy LAM thanked various departments, including KCDO, the Police, FSD, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) as well as LCSD, for doing their best to deal with the surge of work after typhoon and make emergency arrangements swiftly and effectively. He also praised KCDO for providing ex-gratia payment to the residents in need and hoped to defend the staff who worked hard to clear away fallen trees against criticisms by giving off more positive energy.

51. Mr CHO Wui-hung remarked that typhoons triggering No. 10 signal causing damages to the community were uncommon in recent years and he felt lucky that the typhoon did not cause any death or injury in Hong Kong. He extended appreciation to the and various government departments for placing high regard on the forthcoming Typhoon Mangkhut and issuing early appeals to the general public for staying alert and taking precaution. He also expressed thanks to KCDO for coordinating post-typhoon work and facilitating liaison and to various government departments, including FEHD, the Police, LCSD, the Housing Department, the Highways Department and FSD for handling and following up matters throughout the night as well as to community volunteers and private organisations for participating in the post-typhoon work. Besides, he pointed out that the equipment currently used by the Government for cleaning streets and removing trees was rather backward. He suggested providing additional equipment as well as resolving the problems of ageing of street cleaners and manpower shortage.

52. Ir CHEUNG Yan-hong suggested issuing a letter in the name of KCDO to recognise and commend the eight companies for assisting in the clearance of fallen trees. He also expressed appreciation towards KCDO for alerting Members and residents in advance to the advent of the typhoon so that people could take proper precautionary measures.

53. Ir Dr CHENG Lee-ming offered gratitude to KCDO for coordinating the 19 post-typhoon work to allow the district to resume normal conditions promptly. Besides, he pointed out that the typhoon incident showed that there was inefficient equipment and labour for removing fallen trees and consequently, it took about four to five weeks to finish the clearance work. He suggested making reference to other countries for ways of handling similar situations or requesting the People’s Liberation Army to employ military equipment to remove obstacles on roads.

54. Ms Brenda YEUNG of LCSD gave a reply, with the following main points:

54.1 After the typhoon, LCSD’s tree teams arranged to clear away wrecked trees and branches on roads by phases. Dangerous trees on main roads or trees that laid across road surfaces were moved away within the first week. It was hoped that other removal work would be completed within two weeks.

54.2 Most facilities like sports centres, swimming pools and parks in Kowloon City District had resumed normal operation. LCSD would continue to follow up the impacts of fallen trees and branches at parks on the facilities or passageways.

54.3 LCSD would contact KCDO later in a bid to request the construction companies which had provided assistance in moving away fallen trees in the district to carry away branches at affected venues under the management of LCSD.

55. Mr TSOI Yuen-ming of FEHD stated that he would maintain close contact with the parks managed by LCSD and soon arrange contractors to clear away branches fallen or sawn small. He hoped to clear out all affected roads within the coming two weeks.

56. Mr Franco KWOK, District Officer (Kowloon City), extended thanks to Members for their appreciation of the efforts of the government departments and stated that the Government would conduct a holistic review of its strategies for anti-typhoon work and remedial measures. Besides, KCDO had arranged one of the construction companies to assist in removing fallen trees of a large size at Tai Wan Shan Park. It would also help LCSD get in touch with the relevant construction company for support. He also said that grab-mounted trucks were in shortage in Hong Kong after the typhoon. According to his understanding, some of the eight 20 construction companies had to rearrange work schedules or suspend some of the works in order to release grab-mounted skips for community service. Thus he offered his thanks again to the eight construction companies for their selfless contribution.

57. After consulting Members, the Chairman announced that a letter of thanks would be issued in the name of KCDC to the eight private construction companies mentioned above for their assistance in moving away trees struck down by Typhoon Mangkhut in the district.

(Post-meeting note: After the meeting, the Secretary issued a letter of thanks, written in the name of KCDC and signed by the Chairman, to the eight private construction companies mentioned above.)

Calculation Method for Attendance Rate of Members for Special Meetings

58. Mr YANG Wing-kit suggested setting a method for calculating the attendance rate of Members for special meetings of KCDC. If Members did not receive a notice for meeting seven days before the date of meeting and they did fail to attend the meeting, they should not be regarded as absent from the KCDC meeting.

59. The Hon Starry LEE supported Mr YANG Wing-kit’s suggestion and expressed regret at having been unable to attend the Special Meeting because the notice period for the meeting was less than seven days.

60. After consulting Members, the Chairman announced that a seven-day notice period would be provided for the remaining meetings of the 5th Term KCDC. If the notice period for special meetings was less than seven days, Members would not be considered as absent from KCDC meetings when they failed to attend the meetings. He also requested the Secretary to conduct consultation on the relevant arrangement in the next term of KCDC.

Dates of Meetings of KCDC and the Committees of KCDC in 2019

61. The Chairman said the Secretariat had sent the dates of meetings of KCDC and its committees in 2019 to Members for perusal via emails. He reminded Members to note the dates of meetings and the closing dates for submission of papers.

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Date of Next Meeting

62. The Chairman said that the next meeting of KCDC would be held on 22 November 2018 and the closing date for submission of papers would be 7 November 2018. There being no other business, the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 4:26 p.m.

The minutes of this meeting were confirmed on 22 November 2018.

The Chairman The Secretary

KCDC Secretariat November 2018