(Translation)

Minutes of the 4th Meeting of District Council (5th Term) under the Special Administrative Region

Date: 14 June 2016 (Tuesday) Time: 9:30 a.m. Venue: Conference Room, Sham Shui Po District Council

Present

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

Members Mr CHAN Kwok-wai Mr CHAN Wai-ming, MH Ms CHAN Wing-yan, Joephy Mr CHENG Wing-shun, Vincent Ms CHOW Wing-heng, Zoé (Arrived at 10:50 a.m.) Mr CHUM Tak-shing (Arrived at 12:10 p.m.) Mr HO Kai-ming, Kalvin Mr KONG Kwai-sang (Arrived at 11:05 a.m.) Mr LAM Ka-fai, Aaron, JP (Arrived at 10:35 a.m., left at 5:35 p.m.) Ms LAU Pui-yuk Mr LEE Tsz-king, Dominic (Arrived at 9:40 a.m.) Mr LEE Wing-man Mr LEUNG Man-kwong Ms NG Mei, Carman (Left at 3:05 p.m.) Ms NG Yuet-lan Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, MH, JP (Arrived at 9:42 a.m.) Mr WAI Woon-nam (Left at 4:45 p.m.) Mr WONG Tat-tung, Dennis, MH, JP Mr YAN Kai-wing (Left at 3:30 p.m.) Mr YEUNG Yuk (Arrived at 9:50 a.m.) Mr YUEN Hoi-man (Arrived at 9:34 a.m.) - 2 - Action by

In Attendance Mr MOK Kwan-yu, Benjamin, JP District Officer (Sham Shui Po) Miss CHAN Pui-ki, Kiki Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 1 Miss CHEUNG Yun-chee, Freda Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 2 Ms CHAN Tsz-yee, Emily Senior Liaison Officer 1, Sham Shui Po District Office Mr WONG Leung-ping, Ben Senior Liaison Officer 2, Sham Shui Po District Office Ms NG Suk-min, Min Senior Liaison Officer 3, Sham Shui Po District Office Mr HUI Chun-tak, Steve District Commander (Sham Shui Po), Mr KO Chun-pong, Bon Police Community Relations Officer (Sham Shui Po District), Hong Kong Police Force Mr CHUNG Yu-san Engineer/2 (), Kowloon Development Office, Civil Engineering and Development Department Mrs KWOK LI Mung-yee, Helen District Social Welfare Officer (Sham Shui 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 Shui Po), Leisure and Cultural Services Department Mr LAI Kah-kit District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shui Po), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr TSE Chick-lam Chief Manager/Management (Kowloon West and Hong Kong), Mr CHOY Chik-sang, Mario Chief Transport Officer/Kowloon, Transport Department Miss TSE Siu-wa, Janice, JP Director of Home Affairs Miss YU Lai Han, Lilian Acting Head of Greening and Landscape Office, Mr WONG Tat-hung, Albert Chief School Development Officer (Sham Shui Po), Bureau Mr WONG Wai-man, Raymond Senior Building Surveyor/ West 1, Mr CHUNG Chik-leung, Eric Community Relationship Manager, Link Asset Management Limited Mr CHOW Shing-shun Portfolio Manager, Link Asset Management Limited Ms FUNG See-wan, Melissa Senior Executive Officer (District Management),

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

Absent Mr LEUNG Yau-fong

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Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members and representatives of government departments to the fourth meeting of the Sham Shui Po District Council (“SSPDC”) (5th Term). He then welcomed Mr CHUNG Yu-san, Engineer/2 (Kowloon) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (“CEDD”) who attended today’s meeting on behalf of Mr WONG Chi-sing, Janson; and Miss Freda CHEUNG, Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 2, the successor of Mr WAI Chun-yin, Mickey who had been transferred to another post, to attend future meetings.

Item 1: Confirmation of minutes of the 3rd meeting held on 12 April 2016

2. The minutes of the above meeting were confirmed without amendment.

Item 2: Director of Home Affairs meets with Members of the Sham Shui Po District Council

3. The Chairman extended welcome to Miss Janice TSE, the Director of Home Affairs (“DHA”), who paid visit to the Sham Shui Po District Council (“SSPDC”).

4. Miss Janice TSE remarked that she would like to learn the views of District Councils (“DCs”) towards district affairs by means of paying visits to various districts. She said that district administration pointed to the direction of the overall development of Hong Kong. The Government attached great importance to district administration work and wanted to discern public needs and solve livelihood problems through this. Miss Janice TSE then briefly introduced various district administration work, including the District-led Actions Scheme (“DAS”), the Signature Project Scheme, district arts and cultural activities, district minor works (“DMWs”), district facilities management, building management, youth development as well as shops, hawkers, salespersons occupying public areas illegally etc., with the aid of Powerpoint. She said that the Home Affairs Department (“HAD”) would work closely with various DCs for the continuous implementation of these priority tasks.

5. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) many single-block buildings in Sham Shui Po District (“SSP District”) had set up Owners’ Corporations (“OCs”) successively in the past ten years or so and as a general practice Liaison Officers of the Sham Shui Po District Office (“SSPDO”) would be invited to attend their meetings. When an OC held a meeting last Sunday to re-elect members and discuss the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572), the Liaison Officer of SSPDO was not in attendance. - 5 - Action by

He pointed out that Liaison Officers of SSPDO often attended OC meetings held during weekday nights and they might feel exhausted if asked to attend meetings at weekends. However, many flat owners reflected that Liaison Officers could offer impartial views on various topics during the meetings; (ii) the problem of hawkers and shops occupying pavements had persisted for years and the situation was not improved despite DC’s concerns for street management. He reckoned that SSPDO could be responsible for the coordination and follow-up work. He also hoped that the authorities could toughen law enforcement after Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2015 came into effect, prompting those who occupied the pavements to exercise self-discipline and improving the cleanliness and tidiness of the streets in this district.

6. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he praised SSPDO’s past efforts in district work, in particular the Pilot Scheme and the Signature Project Scheme as well as its coordination efforts in case of unexpected incidents; (ii) he opined that there was room for improvement in SSPDO’s operation. Regarding the operation of DC Secretariat, the Government conferred powers for DCs to handle district issues but unlike Legislative Council (“LegCo”) Secretariat with legal experts to offer legal advice, DC Secretariat, which was responsible mainly for clerical work, had no such professional knowledge. He asked whether LegCo’s practices could be modelled on so as to provide support for DC; (iii) on the front of district administration, when DC gave advices on the closing hours of libraries under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (“LCSD”), LCSD stuck to its established policy despite the fact that DC could participate in discussing the development of district facilities. He asked to what extent DC could participate in district administration; (iv) regarding the support provided for old buildings, he reckoned that though Liaison Officers from SSPDO would attend OC meetings but there were frequent staff changes. He hoped that Liaison Officers could provide more professional advices to OCs on building management issues such as bid-rigging.

7. Ms LAU Pui-yuk raised the following views: (i) she thanked SSPDO’s efforts and praised it for taking up many new initiatives while busy handling its daily work; (ii) she was particularly concerned about building management problem, reckoning that the issue was complicated and it was a daunting job to promote the formation of OCs for “three-nil” buildings or single-block buildings. Although SSPDO had many schemes to encourage the formation of OCs, there was little support for OCs after their establishment, resulting in poor management. Taking her constituency as an example, there was only one Liaison Officer to provide support for more than 200 buildings; which could not meet the demand. As OCs often had to face with many problems after establishment, SSPDO should increase manpower to handle building management issues in the light of the circumstances in the - 6 - Action by district; (iii) maintenance or money issues often led to disputes in OCs but not all the disputes had to be settled through legal means. She suggested HAD provide legal consultancy and mediation service for each district on building management issues; (iv) as the work of OCs was voluntary in nature, she held that the authorities should give more encouragement to and press less charges on them. They could also follow the example of the Agency for Volunteer Service by launching encouragement or reward schemes to support those who volunteered to participate in OCs’ work.

8. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he appreciated the work of SSPDO and DC Secretariat; (ii) he agreed with the overall direction of the work in providing more support to street sleepers and “three-nil” buildings but many stakeholders were concerned about the continuity of DAS and they hoped that the scheme could be implemented on a long-term basis to increase its effectiveness; (iii) HAD provided guidelines on the election of DC Chairmen and Vice-chairmen when this DC term commenced. However he did not subscribe to the narrative that the guidelines in question were aimed to standardise the election procedures of various districts. He remarked that during this meeting a Member would move to repeal Order 31(2) of Sham Shui Po District Council Standing Orders (“Standing Orders”) which allowed absentees to cast ballots. It was understood that many DCs had already repealed the Order in question. When standardising the election procedures for Chairmen and Vice-chairmen of various DCs, the Department should also standardise their Standing Orders to avoid public disapproval; (iv) as there was now stronger sense of civic awareness in the society, he hoped that HAD could devote more resources to promote community participation, for example, to allow more public opinions on the planning of new parks. That would help build a harmonious community.

9. Mr LEE Wing-man raised the following views and enquiries: (i) as the number of OCs had been increasing in recent years and the workload of Liaison Officers was heavy, he had suggested many times that SSPDO should increase the number of Liaison Officers (Building Management); (ii) there were many old buildings in SSP District. Despite SSPDO’s efforts in promoting the formation of OCs, the buildings concerned faced with many problems after OCs were set up and still needed the support of SSPDO. In view of this, he hoped that HAD could extend the Building Management Professional Advisory Service Scheme to alleviate the manpower shortage of SSPDO; (iii) since SSPDO and DC Secretariat had much to do in the aspect of district management, he reckoned that SSPDO should review the problems of insufficient manpower and office space and consider increasing manpower and office space.

10. Miss Janice TSE gave a consolidated response as follows: - 7 - Action by

(i) She thanked Members’ recognition towards the building management efforts of HAD and SSPDO. SSPDO had done all it could to help “three-nil” buildings to form OCs. After OCs were formed, SSPDO representatives would still attend their meetings upon invitations and advised flat owners and OCs on building management and maintenance issues when necessary; their workload was very heavy. Apart from departmental staff, HAD also commissioned two professional property management companies under the Building Management Professional Advisory Service Scheme to provide building management support service to about 2 400 buildings in 18 districts. In spite of the increased workload, the Department would keep its effort to strengthen building management work.

(ii) The Department understood that the formation of OCs and building maintenance work involved many legal problems and professional knowledge; and the problems faced by OCs of single-block buildings and old buildings with fewer tenants would be even more. On top of providing technical support, OCs hoped that SSPDO would also play the role of arbitrator during OC meetings. Under the existing legislations, SSPDO could not assume the role of arbitrator but the Department would help resolve disputes among owners, OCs and property management companies as far as possible, or refer them to service schemes jointly launched by HAD and professional institutes/professionals.

(iii) The Department was now reviewing the Building Management Ordinance and had carried out in the past two years public consultation on the definition of large scale maintenance works as well as the number of people voted at OC meetings. The Department had reported the results to the Panel on Home Affairs of LegCo on 17 May 2016 and would then consider the views gathered from the public and the Panel so as to work out a proposal for the amendment of the Ordinance.

(iv) The Department understood that building management issues affected people’s livelihood directly. DOs of the 18 districts would continue to provide support for building management work so that residents and property owners could have a comfortable home and live happily.

(v) The ageing of buildings engendered many problems. Large scale maintenance, if to be carried out, must comply with the established procedures as stipulated by the law. The Department would review the relevant - 8 - Action by

procedures so that property owners could make a decision on maintenance arrangement as soon as possible while complying with the law when buildings required urgent maintenance due to accidents such as fire. Besides, the Department would strengthen its support for building management as far as possible.

(vi) Members were the representatives of residents and would meet them on a daily basis. The Department would like to work with Members in an effort to step up promotion and education on building management work.

(vii) The participation of property owners was the key to improving building management and the recognition of OCs could be enhanced if more owners participated in OCs’ work. However, many owners would take part in OCs only when there was no alternative, for example, when they were indicted for non-compliances in their buildings or when maintenance works could no longer be deferred. That was undesirable. In view of this, the Department would step up education and promotion to encourage property owners to participate actively in OC meetings and work.

(viii) As far as district environmental hygiene and shop front extension (“SFE”) problems were concerned, the Government introduced the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2015 and the new law would come into effect on 24 September 2016. There was a transition period of six months from the date the Bill was gazetted to the date it came into effect. The Department hoped that meanwhile Members could help explain to residents how SFE would affect road users and the fixed penalty system for SFE. SSPDO, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) and the Police would keep communicating with residents at the early stage of implementation of the law to ensure that residents and shop operators knew well about the new fix penalty system.

(ix) The Department understood DC’s request for more manpower and support for the Secretariat and would try its best to achieve that end. The Department had conducted review in the past and provided support to Members in handling remuneration and operation expenses reimbursement issues. It was hoped that Members could at the same time utilise other existing resources to facilitate the implementation of district projects.

(x) HAD would increase funding provision and resources for community - 9 - Action by

involvement projects from time to time and review whether some projects needed more resources. Under the cost saving initiatives launched by the Government, various departments still had to save resources. However, the Department would do all it could to find more resources for the district in the future.

11. The District Officer responded that SSPDO had spared no effort in providing support to buildings. Even though OC meetings were held during weekends, Liaison Officers would still attend them as far as possible. He welcomed Members to follow up on the issue after the meeting if they had any specific views on the meetings of individual OCs.

12. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following views: (i) he praised SSPDO for the smooth implementation of the Pilot Scheme and the Signature Project Scheme in this district and the substantial progress achieved by its efforts to strengthen support for street sleepers and “three-nil” buildings under the Pilot Scheme; (ii) the Pilot Scheme had been finished in August 2015 and he asked whether additional resources would be devoted to extend the scheme; (iii) he opined that the needs of each DC varied and enquired whether the manpower of the Secretariat could be increased according to needs and its establishment be adjusted flexibly on condition that the principles were adhered to; (iv) the environmental hygiene problems in SSP were evident. For example, SFEs, the hygiene problems caused by recycling business in Nam Cheong Area, the hygiene problems under the flyover in Mei Foo etc. Those problems might involve public as well as private land and he hoped that SSPDO would coordinate effectively with the relevant government departments so as to improve the environment of SSP.

13. Mr YAN Kai-wing raised the following views: (i) Hong Kong adopted a two-tier political system. He was the Chairman of the Housing Affairs Committee of current-term DC. There were now six housing and redevelopment projects underway in SSP District but the Development and Construction Division (“DCD”) under the Housing Department (“HD”) had been refusing to send staff to the meeting to explain the relevant planning and work. With the absence of the representative of that division, Members could not follow the latest progress of housing developments in the district; (ii) there was a standing representative from HD but he was only a frontline management staff and could not give detailed answers to the questions raised by Members during the meeting. He cited the first meeting of the Working Group on Public Housing as an example, pointing out that the permanent representative of HD said during the meeting that arrangements could be made for members to visit the site of Estate. Yet DCD then indicated that occupation permit should be obtained before any visit could be arranged; (iii) he opined that it was - 10 - Action by impossible for a district to take a leading role in district affairs under the current arrangements and for DC to implement works smoothly. In this connection, he hoped thatDHA would reflect the relevant problem.

14. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) currently the support service for street sleepers in the district had been farmed out with a contract term of two years; which could not satisfy district needs. He pointed out that SSPDO played an important role in DAS and it was incumbent upon SSPDO to ensure the smooth implementation of the scheme; (ii) street sleeper problem in SSP District (especially in the vicinity of Tung Chau Street) was a deep-seated one and the responsibility fell squarely on SSPDO to handle it. Moreover, a cloth market would be developed in SSP and the relevant development could not be handled solely by FEHD. He hoped that with DAS and the efforts of other stakeholders, the current-term DC could bring a brighter future to SSP; (iii) the Government should review the district administration policy and the role of DCs. As DC was not only a platform to relay public views, it was also a district management platform, he wondered whether SSPDO would consider allowing Members and stakeholders to take part in district management. In the past, the Government would announce a district development strategic plan each year to inform the public of the district development strategies of the relevant government department in the coming five years. Yet the Government did not make public the relevant plan now and failed to disseminate information to meet public needs. He hoped that HAD could give more thought to that and handle the problem.

15. Ms Carman NG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) she thanked the District Officer’s coordination efforts and hoped that the new District Officer could keep maintaining good communication with Members after assuming the post; (ii) she reckoned that the progress of DMWs was so slow that they always took three to four years to complete. She hoped that SSPDO could speed up the progress; (iii) she asked to what extent DC would participate in the activities of the Leadership Service Corps (“LSC”) mentioned in Paper 91/16 Sham Shui Po District Office Work Plan of 2016-17. She pointed out that almost $1 million was allocated to the activities but DC had no discussion on them before. Since the district or schools might know little about those activities, she suggested SSPDO strengthen the promotion; (iv) she suggested SSPDO provide more support to DC Secretariat so that it could expedite the process of handling operating expenses reimbursement applications.

16. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) he thanked the District Officer for his efforts in taking forward the work in SSP District. The Government implemented the Pilot Scheme in SSP and extended DAS to all 18 districts. Apart from - 11 - Action by providing additional resources for handling district problems, the scheme also strengthened the role and power of District Officers. The last-term Government mentioned that District Officers were the Chief Executives on district level whereas the Government of this term emphasised “addressing district issues at district level” through DOs and DCs. As far as he knew, the Pilot Scheme empowered District Officers to handle district issues and he hoped that the new District Officer would keep working together in this aspect; (ii) he opined that the role of DC was not fully respected and HD had dragged DC’s feet in handling housing issues. He hoped that SSPDO would play the role of coordinator with a view to helping DC press ahead various housing related work, increasing transparency and promoting exchange; (iii) at present, Members’ medical allowance was chargeable to tax and he hoped to make up for the expense through tax deduction. Besides, Members had been weighed down by rents and he reckoned that the Government should provide support to Members who had to rent private premises for their ward offices.

17. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following views and enquiries: (i) she held that the street sleeper and environmental hygiene problems in SSP were still grave and were getting worse. Besides, recycling activities were now conducted mainly in SSP District and she received many complaints from residents on that. She hoped that the Government could intensify efforts to improve the problem; (ii) besides LSC which was allocated with $1 million; SSP District Youth Programme Committee (“DYPC”) also received $2 million to implement activities. She asked to what extent DC would take part in those activities and reckoned that they should be opened for participation of all organisations and schools. She doubted whether the expenses and resources were properly used and hoped that the District Officer could provide more information on that.

18. Miss Janice TSE gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) DAS had been extended to all 18 districts. Under the scheme, the Government would provide recurrent funding to all 18 districts on a yearly basis to handle district problems in the light of local situations.

(ii) As far as the street sleeper problem in the district was concerned, SSPDO had carried out tender exercise for the provision of support service to them.

(iii) LSC was not subsidised by DC Funds.

(iv) Generally speaking, the implementation of complicated DMWs required longer time and more time would be needed if there were underground public utilities within the works area. The Department would explore how the projects could - 12 - Action by

be expedited.

19. The District Officer gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) Regarding the issue of continuality, DAS would keep strengthening the support for street sleepers and “three-nil” buildings and a cleansing campaign for “three-nil” buildings was launched by SSPDO in June this year. Regarding the support for street sleepers, social workers were now providing regular service to them but on top of that SSPDO would also like to care about their mental health. Tender exercise was now being conducted by SSPDO with a view to contracting out the support service for street sleepers. A service period had been set but SSPDO hoped that the relevant work could be carried out continuously.

(ii) Many street sleepers needed the support of professionals. In the long run, SSPDO hoped to coordinate with the relevant government departments such as Social Welfare Department (“SWD”), FEHD and the Police etc. through DAS so as to help street sleepers quit street sleeping.

(iii) LSC was not subsidised with DC Funds; it was funded by SSPDO. The activities concerned, which were open to all schools in the district, aimed to encourage young people to participate in district affairs after school, improve and equip themselves, develop positive values as well as identify their own interests. SSPDO would organise various activities such as visits to organisations, training courses, overseas exchange tours and volunteer activities etc. and discern the views of young people through meeting with them. SSPDO would consider how to increase Members’ participation so as to foster exchange with young people.

20. Mr TSE Chick-lam gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) HD hoped to strengthen communication with DC and enhance the transparency of the Department’s work. The Department would keep liaising with DCD on the arrangement of visit to . The Chief Architect would arrange Members to visit the site after occupation permit was obtained.

(ii) HD had sent standing representative to meetings of the Housing Affairs Committee and took follow up action on the inadequacies of its work as far as possible. If the issue involved housing development and construction - 13 - Action by

progress, the Department’s representative to DC meeting would maintain proper communication with DCD before and after the meetings. HD would ask DCD to consider sending a representative to the meeting if necessary.

21. The Chairman raised the following views: (i) Members wanted to visit the site of So Uk Estate before occupation permit was issued by HD; (ii) Members did not required DCD to send standing representatives to DC meetings; they only hoped that DCD would attend meetings when necessary.

22. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) in general, the Transport Department (“TD”) would carry out district consultation through the Liaison Officers of SSPDO. He had more than once suggested TD create a permanent post of District Liaison Officer dedicated to the consultation work of TD. As FEHD also conducted district consultation through SSPDO, he suggested it consider creating a permanent post of District Liaison Officer for such work with a view to relieving SSPDO’s workload; (ii) he clarified that the OC meetings mentioned earlier were not held by buildings in his constituency.

23. Mr YAN Kai-wing raised the following views: (i) there were many housing development projects in the district and hence he welcomed DCD to send standing representatives to DC meetings; (ii) he hoped that DC could have more freedom in issuing correspondences so that it could write to government departments to express its views more independently.

24. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he believed that this visit paid by DHA aimed to foster exchange. He had expectations for SSPDO because it was a prominent player in district affairs. Nowadays, people set store by civic participation. He held that thoughts should be given to how DC could become a district management platform for community stakeholders to voice their opinions, obtain district information and even sway the policies on district affairs. He hoped that HAD could promote district participation.

25. Ms LAU Pui-yuk said that DHA hoped that Members could help residents deal with building management problems. However, Members had to meet high operation expenses; not least those who had to pay high rents for private premises in order to set up their ward offices. Despite their willingness to service the public, their resources might not cope with that. Hence, she hoped that the Government could provide appropriate support to Members.

26. Miss Janice TSE gave a consolidated response as follows: - 14 - Action by

(i) The Department understood Members’ expectations towards HAD, DC and the District Officer and hence it had kept launching projects and devoting more resources to promote district affairs. It would proactively carry out its duties.

(ii) Regarding the allowance for Members, the Department understood Members’ rental burden and the Government had already increased the “operation expenses reimbursement” significantly by 34%. Coupled with the fact that the upward trend in rents had slowed down in the past year, it was hoped that Members’ burden of operation expenses could be eased.

(iii) SSPDO had long been a bridge of communication between government departments and DC and the public. The Department would keep liaising with other departments on the issue of increasing government departments’ manpower for district consultation work.

27. The Chairman concluded that: (i) he thanked Miss Janice TSE for attending this meeting to introduce the work of HAD and SSPDO and answer Members’ questions; (ii) DC understood that the work of HAD covered many areas. Under the efforts of HAD and SSPDO, a series of work was launched in SSP District but there were still many issues which needed follow up action; (iii) he asked the Secretariat to relay Members’ views to HAD and SSPDO. This Council would keep cooperating with HAD and SSPDO in the future to solve district problems and build a better community.

Item 3: Matters for discussion

(a) Development of Sham Shui Po – Our Vision (SSPDC Paper 62/16) (Revised Version)

(e) Sham Shui Po District Office Work Plan of 2016-17 (SSPDC Paper 91/16)

28. The Chairman said that as Papers 62/16 and 91/16 were similar in nature, he suggested the two papers be discussed together. Members had no objection to it.

29. The Chairman introduced Paper 62/16 and elaborated the following parts in detail:

(i) Vision: Sham Shui Po is our “home”; our beloved Sham Shui Po, a community full of love, care, history, culture and arts; to develop Sham Shui Po as an inclusive community where people can have a comfortable home and a good job, the youth can grow up healthily and happily, the elderly can enjoy life after retirement under the “people-oriented” principle and with a harmonious, - 15 - Action by

united, progressive and reformative mindset.

(ii) Strategies: To listen to public views through a democratic and open District Council. To actively help the poor, the elderly and the disadvantaged, improve youth education, promote human resources, develop district economy and characterised bazaars, promote a formalised and ordered operation mode for small traders and hawkers; to complement with urban renewal and redevelopment, improve living conditions and quality while at the same time protect its diversified economy, its affordable lifestyle and convenient living environment and human connections; to integrate history, culture, arts and conservation into the life of the public and to promote and develop the special features of the Sham Shui Po community.

30. The Chairman added that he wanted to set out the work direction of the current-term DC in the paper for information of the residents of SSP. The vision for development for SSP would be amended in a timely manner and he welcomed Members to express their views.

31. The District Officer said that Paper 62/16 covered a wide range of issues and the cooperation of relevant government departments was needed to achieve the vision mentioned in the paper. He then introduced Paper 91/16 and remarked that apart from the work mentioned in the paper, SSPDO would provide support to residents and take follow up action in case unforeseen incidents happened in the district.

32. Mr Aaron LAM raised the following views: (i) he hoped that the vision of DC and the departmental work plans could complement each other so that more could be done with less effort; (ii) there were more elderly people in SSP District than in other districts in Hong Kong. We should care more about the needs of the elderly so that they could have a sense of security and live harmoniously with the younger generations; hence maintaining SSP District’s top ranking in the Hong Kong Happiness Index; (iii) the population of this district would increase gradually following the completion and in-taking of new buildings and urban renewal projects. However, with the many old buildings in this district, the community would be more harmonious if the residents of the old as well as the new development areas could have good rapport and care for each other. He suggested using community resources to help new immigrants and the ethnic minorities in this district to integrate into the community, pointing out that the cultivation of a sense of belonging could promote community development as well.

33. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views: (i) he welcomed SSPDO’s report - 16 - Action by on its work plan; (ii) many new buildings in this district would be completed and occupied soon, the authorities should keep tabs on the planning for transport ancillary facilities to facilitate residents travelling to other districts. He was pleased to know that a long footbridge linking up the whole district would be built in SSP for the convenience of residents; (iii) road usage rate would increase in tandem with a growing population in the district, giving rise to more traffic accidents. The situation warranted attention; (iv) many newly-built medium and large housing estates were out of kilter with their neighbouring old buildings, which bred contradictions. It was worth exploring on how to balance the needs of the ethnic minorities, the grassroots, street sleepers and business owners in the district; (v) DC had good working relation with many government departments who took part in urban renewal work but there was still room for improvement in its cooperation with public organisations such as the Urban Renewal Authority, the bus companies and MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRCL”).

34. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) the two papers covered a wide range of issues and suggested at the same time that there was still much room for improvement in SSP District; (ii) since the blueprint for SSP District had to be revised according to the prevailing social conditions and local features, community consultation and involvement, which was the part-and-parcel of DC’s work, was of great import. Different organisations had expressed to the current-term DC that they wanted to participate in district affairs; DC should harbour the views of different stakeholders with a view to setting right the direction for development; (iii) in response to the enquiries made earlier by Members on the youth activities organised in this district, he said that he himself was a member of SSP DYPC (which was formerly known as Summer Youth Programme Committee) which had been cooperating with schools and non-government organisations (“NGOs”) to carry out various work. He agreed that DYPC should enhance promotion and transparency and was glad to see new Members participating in and paying attention to the relevant work. It was hoped that all parties would join hands to promote a wide range of youth work and bring more opportunities to the young people.

35. The Chairman raised the following views: (i) DC was going to invite TD, the Highways Department, HD, MTRCL, Company (1933) Limited and Limited to attend ad hoc meetings to discuss ancillary transport facilities for new buildings and pedestrian walkway system in the district etc. He hoped that the meeting arrangements could be finalised in July or August this year; (ii) SSP District was a pluralistic community, with a larger proportion of new immigrants, ethnic minorities and elderly people. They chose to settle in SSP District probably because of its caring atmosphere and the welcome extended to them to become a member of this community. Community development was closely tied to the fortunes of residents and it was hoped that - 17 - Action by all parties would work together for community integration and development.

36. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) to explore district development issues in a forward-looking manner was an important duty of DC and SSPDO; (ii) some of the issues mentioned in the paper (i.e. pedestrian facilities) were now following up by the committees concerned. He proposed that deadlines should be set for the work in question; (iii) he believed that the Members who submitted the paper would like to turn their vision into the vision of DC or even that of the residents of SSP District. He therefore opined that views of more stakeholders (i.e. various committees under SSPDO and district organisations) should be garnered before promotion work was launched; (iv) he was concerned about how to promote district participation and follow up on the content of the paper; (v) there were still many work of DC which required longer time to follow up; he suggested including this kind of work into the vision for development; (vi) he reckoned that information transparency should be enhanced (i.e. to consider arranging live broadcast for DC meetings) so that stakeholders and the public could learn about DC’s work.

37. Mr YAN Kai-wing raised the following views: (i) representatives of relevant government departments must attend the meetings so that the vision for development of SSP could be realised; (ii) he clarified that the ad hoc meetings mentioned by the Chairman had nothing to do with the regular meetings of DC committees; (iii) there had been calls on the Government to take up a people-oriented approach and enhance communication with the public when implementing policies. In view of this, the current-term DC had carried out a large amount of relevant work in the past few months. He worried that the Secretariat would fail to cope with the ever-increasing workload and therefore enquired whether there were additional resources to increase manpower.

38. The Chairman raised the following views: (i) Paper 62/16 shed light on the future development of SSP District. Given that a number of large-scale public housing estates in this district would be completed and occupied one after another in the coming five years including Phases 1 and 2 of So Uk Estate, Phases 3, 6 and 7 of Estate and Phases 7, 8 and 11 of whereas housing developments at Sites 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the Reclamation Development Area would also be completed successively, he suggested setting a five-year timeframe for realising the vision for development; (ii) the bazaar proposals had been rolling out gradually and Kiu Kiang Street Bazaar would be held in June this year. Besides, the direction for development of the new cloth market might also be set in the coming one to two months; (iii) DC was organising community involvement workshops with a view to strengthening communication with residents and stakeholders in the coming few months. It would also - 18 - Action by revise and beef up the content of the vision for development based on the views of all parties and step up its work.

39. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) he was concerned about whether the vision for development could be realised and he hoped that various government departments could play along; (ii) he hoped that more specific development targets could be set to facilitate public understanding; (iii) he suggested formulating district administration strategies and working out development plan for SSP District for the coming few years for public participation; (iv) he agreed that there was a manpower shortage in the Secretariat and hoped that the District Officer would follow up on the issue and help in staff deployment; (v) he believed that the representatives of departments had noted DC’s views and he asked departments to send staff to attend meetings.

40. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded that the bazaar proposals consisted of long, medium and short term measures. For long-term measures, DC was now consulting (“EDB”) on the organisation of bazaars at vacant school premises in this district. For medium-term measures, it was known that a bazaar would be held at a venue managed by LCSD this September. For short-term measures, Kiu Kiang Street Bazaar which should be held on 12 June was deferred to 26 June this year due to rain. FEHD would help the organiser to liaise with the government departments concerned as far as possible to ensure the smooth organisation of the bazaar.

41. Mr TSE Chick-lam responded that: (i) it was the target of HD to provide good living environment for residents; (ii) a number of public housing estates in SSP District (i.e. So Uk Estate) would be completed and occupied in the coming few years. The Department would closely coordinate with TD and other relevant departments on issues such as ancillary transport facilities etc.; (iii) the Department was now following up on the provision of covered walkway with the relevant departments.

42. The Chairman said that he hoped that thematic flower planting could be adopted by major parks of LCSD and large public housing estates of HD so that residents could appreciate different flowers in different seasons while greening up the community

43. Ms Camay LEE responded as follows: (i) this proposal had been discussed at the last DC meeting and LCSD was now vigorously studying and identifying suitable venues; (ii) for environmental reasons, instead of removing plants of good conditions to make way for thematic flower planting, the Department would select new locations for that purpose; (iii) the Department would choose suitable plants in the light of the designs of parks so as to further beautify the environment. Through proper planning, flowers would be planted - 19 - Action by in strategic position for public appreciation. The Department would report to the District Facilities Committee once there were further information and plans.

44. Mrs Helen KWOK responded as follows: (i) poverty alleviation, elderly care and support for the disadvantaged were work targets stressed by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare. SWD would give full support by providing welfare service, including strengthening existing service and launching new service. It would also complement the relevant plans of DC; (ii) SWD would keep collaborating with DC in launching street sleeper support service; (iii) it was an important target of SWD to achieve community integration. The Department had worked in harness with HD and NGOs in this district for a partnership scheme for So Uk Estate. The scheme aimed to help residents newly moved in to establish social network and obtain information on community resources so that they could acquire the service they needed as soon as possible. The Department would continue to implement collaboration schemes for private buildings such as “Caring Nam Cheong” and “SSP Neighbourhood Programme” to foster mutual help among occupants of private buildings and launch community integration service for the new arrivals and ethnic minorities.

45. The District Officer responded as follows: (i) the Vision had mentioned many areas which required the collaboration of different government departments. The departments welcomed Members’ views and would work towards realising the Vision; (ii) SSP District established LSC and DYPC to provide more opportunities for young people to participate in community activities and get involved in district affairs, hoping that they could identify their own interests and potentials through interpersonal exchanges. Many NGOs in the district (i.e. The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong and YMCA of Hong Kong) targeted mainly at young people and had actively participating in SSPDO’s activities. They were important partners of SSPDO. Many youth programmes would soon be launched and SSPDO welcomed Members’ views and hoped to gain their support for the relevant work; (iii) the Government had a set of established procedures to handle manpower issues for the Secretariat as well as the whole SSPDO. SSPDO would review its manpower regularly and seek additional resources from HAD as necessary; it stressed that it would not stall the work over manpower problem. SSPDO would also hire short-term contract staff. It would, for example, hire additional staff during election period to handle the relevant work; (iv) SSPDO would handle properly all kinds of work.

46. Mr Steve HUI responded as follows: (i) it was the statutory duty of the Police to maintain law and order, prevent and solve crime, and safeguard the life and property of members of the public. The Police would deploy or increase manpower according to actual circumstances in order to maintain the law and order in the district. He cited the - 20 - Action by newly completed So Uk Estate as an example, pointing out that the Police had conducted risk assessment and worked out a three-stage action plan including intelligence collection, promotion and publicity, and enforcement action. The Police would give detailed report to SSP District Fight Crime Committee; (ii) the Police was willing to combat crimes with the public and he hoped that community stakeholders would support the work of the Police.

47. The Chairman moved a provisional motion which was seconded by Mr CHAN Wai-ming. The content of the motion was: “The Sham Shui Po District Council urges the Government to develop SSP as an inclusive community where people can have a comfortable home and a good job, the youth can grow up healthily and happily, the elderly can enjoy life after retirement under the “people-oriented” principle and with a harmonious, united, progressive and reformative mindset; to listen to public views through a democratic and open District Council; to actively help the poor, the elderly and the disadvantaged, improve youth education, promote human resources, develop district economy and characterised bazaars, promote a formalised and ordered operation mode for small traders and hawkers; to support urban renewal and redevelopment, improve living conditions and quality while at the same time protect its diversified economy, its affordable lifestyle and convenient living environment and human connections; to integrate history, culture, arts and conservation into the life of the public and to promote and develop the special features of the Sham Shui Po community.”

48. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) TD had yet to give a reply; (ii) the duties of the former Urban Council were now taken up by FEHD and LCSD. He had proposed on many occasions that the two Departments report their work or district projects to DC and provide more information to address public concerns. Members of the public were concerned about the hire, use and replacement of recreational and sports facilities and it was hoped that LCSD could provide more details to DC. He also hoped that FEHD would release more information on cleansing, hawker management and other relevant policies to DC and stakeholders such as hawkers, “Pang Zai” operators and stall traders of temporary cooked food markets; (iii) SWD should take the lead in handling the street sleeper problem, helping them to quit street sleeping; (iv) he did not understand why the Pilot Scheme on Dementia Community Support Services for the Elderly was not implemented in SSP District; (v) since incidents in which the mentally-ill wounded other people had happened in Hong Kong, he hoped that SWD could provide more resources to tackle the problem; (vi) it was known that due to language problem frontline police officers in this district had failed to communicate effectively with South Asians. He suggested modelling on Yuen Long Police District and arranging South Asian police officers to station in this district so as to reduce the number of crime cases involving South - 21 - Action by

Asians.

49. The Chairman said that: (i) he believed that the representatives of departments attending the meeting had noted Members’ views; (ii) the committees and working groups under DC would keep following up on the relevant work.

50. Mr Mario CHOY responded as follows: (i) TD had been closely liaising with HD and the relevant departments on the traffic and transport arrangement of the existing public housing estate redevelopment projects in SSP including Pak Tin Estate and So Uk Estate. It would consult relevant DC/Members on the plans and report to them the progress in a timely manner; (ii) there was another team in the Department responsible for the planning of traffic and transportation ancillary facilities etc. for other large scale development projects in this district such as the West Kowloon Reclamation Development Project and it would keep working closely with other relevant departments

51. Mr CHUNG Yu-san responded that CEDD was now carrying out footbridge and barrier-free access projects in this district and it would follow the work direction of DC.

52. The Chairman thanked representatives of various departments for their responses. He hoped that DC would continue to cooperate with various departments in a bid to taking forward future work. He said that the provisional motion was a summary of the content of Paper 62/16 and he invited Members to voice their views about it.

53. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) he subscribed to the content of the provisional motion but reckoned that the wordings should be much stronger; (ii) many outsiders hoped to voice their opinions on policies, he therefore suggested adding the concept of collaboration among DC, civic groups, district stakeholders and government departments to the provisional motion to address their aspirations.

54. The Chairman responded as follows: (i) Paper 62/16 covered Members’ proposals and he hoped that all parties could take part in it. The provisional motion was a summary of the paper; (ii) the Vision was just a starting point and was subject to amendments after listening to public views; (iii) it was hoped that a forward-looking blueprint could be produced and specific direction for development worked out for the gradual implementation of various projects; (iv) he hoped that government departments would join hands with DC in developing SSP District.

55. The meeting passed the provisional motion unanimously. - 22 - Action by

56. The Chairman said that the meeting noted Paper 91/16 and asked SSPDO to stay committed to its work.

(b) Motion of repealing Section 31(2) of Sham Shui Po District Council Standing Orders which allows absentee voting (SSPDC Paper 80/16)

57. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu introduced Motion Paper 80/16 and added the following remarks: (i) when DC had to make decision on important issues, votes should be casted by Members attending the meetings to uphold the spirit of accountability. As LegCo had currently no vote by proxy arrangement, SSPDC, an elected Council, should not lag behind LegCo which was not fully selected by universal suffrage; (ii) Members should voice their opinions and make decisions during the meetings. Despite the fact that different political parties might hold sway at DC during different terms, discussion items should still be decided by Members attending the meetings, not by those taking lead through proxy arrangement. If Members did not want to make known their positions, they could choose to leave the meeting; (iii) he worried that the vote by proxy arrangement might stoke public misgivings, creating a feeling that the interests of a Member’s camp could trump his own stances. The practice was not appropriate and would even lead to “council hegemony” and hamper DC’s operation. Many DCs had already discerned the problem and he therefore suggested repealing Order 31(2) of the Standing Orders which allows absentee voting. Otherwise, it might lead to an absurdity of the votes outnumbered the Members attending the meetings.

58. The Chairman said that: (i) HAD had provided a model standing order for reference of the 18 DOs, in which the vote by proxy arrangement was included; (ii) as far as he knew, some DCs had put in place the vote by proxy arrangement while some had repealed the relevant Order; (iii) there were Members who casted their votes at SSPDC meetings under the vote by proxy arrangement.

59. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) Members had the right to vote at DC meeting. If a Member could not attend meeting due to other engagement, he could ask a Member he trusted to vote for him; his right to vote should not be deprived. He therefore had reservation on this motion; (ii) there were Members authorising others to vote for them in SSPDC in the past; (iii) Members were representatives of the public and should be allowed to voice their opinions under reasonable Standing Orders.

60. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following views: (i) the Motion aimed to make DC more transparent and open, not to target at Members of any political parties; (ii) he knew that there were Members authorising others to vote for them and he regretted that such - 23 - Action by arrangement was not scraped; (iii) he did not subscribe to the idea that Members’ right to vote would be deprived if they were not allowed to vote when they were absent from the meeting. He reckoned that Members should voice their opinions when casting their votes, pointing out that LegCo and some DCs had no vote by proxy arrangement because it was unfair and unjust; (iv) if authorisation letter was the only thing required for voting, the attendance of two Members would be enough and all items could be subject to voting without discussion. This would be undesirable. The scraping of the vote by proxy arrangement could improve the way SSPDC discuss district issues and he hoped that Members could make a decision seriously.

61. Mr Kalvin HO raised the following views: (i) if a Member, who was the representatives of the public, authorised another Member to vote for him, the Member concerned would become “representative of the representative of the public”, which would be preposterous. If a Member failed to attend a meeting, he should not be allowed to vote; (ii) extreme situation might occur in which the two main camps only had to send one representative to the meeting respectively under the vote by proxy arrangement. The scraping of the vote by proxy arrangement could change this absurdity.

62. The Chairman said that as a quorum must present in a meeting, the argument that a meeting would only be attended by two authorised Members was untenable.

63. Ms NG Yuet-lan remarked that Members were the representatives of the public. They would fail to relay residents’ views if they entrusted others to vote for them. She opined that the vote by proxy arrangement was unacceptable in an elected DC and called into question the decision of elected Members to support such arrangement.

64. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following views: (i) if a member who had a clear stance on a topic but could not attend a meeting due to personal reasons, it was sensible and reasonable for him to authorise another Member to vote on his behalf. However, if he did not have much idea about the issue and still authorise another Member to vote for him, he must explain that to his voters; (ii) the vote by proxy arrangement was adopted by board meetings of business sector or meetings of OCs; (iii) vote by proxy was not a norm and would only be adopted under special circumstances. He did not believe that the arrangement would be abused because the authorising as well as the authorised parties were both subject to monitoring.

65. Mr YAN Kai-wing raised the following views: (i) he reckoned that Members would be unable to attend meetings if they were hospitalised or immobile; (ii) Members could express their opinions or that of their voters through speaking at meetings, making - 24 - Action by written submissions or granting authorisation etc. He failed to understand why the vote by proxy arrangement would hurt DC’s dignity and lead to “council hegemony”; (iii) he pointed out that by the same line of thought, video conferencing could not be conducted in the future even if it was technically feasible because Members must attend meetings in person.

66. Ms LAU Pui-yuk raised the following views: (i) to vote by proxy was a way for absentees to express their opinions, it had no direct relations with “council hegemony” and the irresponsibility of Members; (ii) she believed that Members would attend meetings as far as possible and be responsible to the public. Only under special circumstances would they absent and authorise other Members to vote for them; (iii) other meetings (e.g. OC meetings) also adopted the vote by proxy arrangement, suggesting that that was only a matter of opinion; (iv) before authorising the others to vote for them, Members knew clearly that the ones authorised could fully stake out their stances. She also believed that voters would supervise Members.

67. Ms Zoé CHOW raised the following views: (i) the vote by proxy arrangement had both the advantages and drawbacks. One of the advantages was that if a Member was absent due to illness, he could entrust another Member to vote for him. The arrangement was based on Members’ trust in their counterparts that they could not help but absent from the meetings. However, whether the cases were true could not be proved; (ii) elected Members were duty bound to attend meetings. For instance, a student could not ask another people to sit an examination for him even if he was sick; (iii) it was not logical to use OC meetings as an example because property owners attended meeting on a voluntary basis and it was therefore understandable for them to authorise others to vote for them if they could not attend the meeting. However, since Members were duty bound to attend meetings, she queried that the absentees authorising others to vote for them had failed to fulfil their obligations.

68. Mr KONG Kwai-sang raised the following views: (i) Hong Kong was a mature and democratic society; policy discussion and the exercise of public powers should be conducted in a serious manner; (ii) given that DC would exercise public powers (e.g. to use resources and public money etc.), it should follow LegCo’s example of barring absentees from voting; (iii) the parliaments of most countries had no vote by proxy arrangement, if DC insisted in adopting such arrangement, it could no longer refer to itself as a council.

69. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) any Member who was absent from three meetings in succession should resign from the DC; (ii) the vote by proxy - 25 - Action by arrangement would allow a situation that the votes outnumbered Members present at the meeting; (iii) elected Members were the representatives of the public and they should not authorise others to vote for them; (iv) after rounds of discussions, the demands of the motion might have changed. He doubted the narrative of some Members that the authorised Members could act on the absentees’ behalf; (v) he asked HAD when it would scrap the vote by proxy arrangement of all DCs so that every representative of the public could genuinely represent the voters of his constituency and voiced his views during the meeting. It was hoped that the 18 DCs could standardise the relevant arrangement so that each and every Member would attend the meeting and cast the vote in person.

70. The Chairman asked who were the mover and seconder of the motion.

71. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he himself was the mover and Mr YUEN Hoi-man was the seconder.

72. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following views: (i) the discussion should be focused not on the values or purposes of the vote by proxy arrangement; but on its applicability in DCs; (ii) the abolition of the vote by proxy arrangement or not should be judged with the values, moral and conscience. It was not a question of right or wrong. If Members set store by livelihood issues and DC work, they would choose to attend meetings and vote in person with a view to fulfilling their responsibilities in the district and DC and meeting public aspirations; (iii) the vote by proxy arrangement stipulated by the Building Management Ordinance aimed to facilitate the normal operation of OCs in a way that no meeting would be adjourned due to a lack of quorum. It was not meant to deal with the voting problem; but the attendance problem. To cite the Building Management Ordinance as an example was not appropriate because DC had no attendance problem and the two issues were completely different in nature.

73. The Chairman said that the Standing Orders reflected the situation of this DC and he believed the relevant departments noted Members’ views.

74. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) he reckoned that the concept of some Members was flawed; (ii) Members were the representatives of the public, not “representatives for voting”. Whatever the reasons of not attending a meeting, Members could serve their duties by submitting their views in writing. They should not authorise other Members to vote for them during their absence under the pretext of having personal issues to deal with; (iii) in the past DC was not wholly formed by elected members; an elected DC should put in place new standards and systems. It did not matter whether the vote by proxy arrangement was adopted in the past; DC should not adopt practices which - 26 - Action by were outdated; (iv) he would be disappointed if pro-establishment Members chose to retain such arrangement. As DCs were councils elected by the public, he opined that regimes should be set up to avoid the interests of political parties trumped the conscience of Members; (v) how DCs dealt with this issue had everything to do with DOs’ attitude as this also involved how the SAR Government saw the issue. Different DCs adopted different approaches, suggesting that some DCs knew where the problem laid; (vi) this motion was out of line with the social development now. He asked Members to think about the content of the motion and held themselves accountable to history.

75. The Chairman said that the topic was contentious and touched upon issues such as duties, authorities, rights and morality etc. It was not a question of right or wrong and was all depended on Members’ point of views.

76. The meeting agreed to vote by open ballot.

77. The voting result was as follows:

For: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Ms NG Yuet-lan, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr WAI Woon-nam, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (9)

Against: Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE, Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG, Mr YAN Kai-wing (12)

Abstain: (0)

78. The Chairman announced the voting result: 9 Members voted for the motion, 12 Members voted against it and no Member abstained. The Chairman declared that the motion was not carried. If Members had different views on the Standing Orders, they could raise them in the future meetings.

(c) Grave concern over the loading problem of building roofs (SSPDC Paper 89/16)

79. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the Development Bureau (“DEVB”), the Education Department and the Buildings Department (“BD”) to the meeting. - 27 - Action by

80. Mr Vincent CHENG introduced Paper 89/16.

81. The Chairman asked Members to refer to the written response of BD (Paper 108/16). He said that before the meeting the Secretariat had invited to send staff to attend this meeting. However, the Bureau said that since the questions and demands set out in the paper fell into DEVB’s remit, it would not send staff to attend the meeting.

82. Miss Lilian YU responded as follows:

(i) Hong Kong was a small place with a large population size; high density developments were unavoidable. Yet green buildings and their environmental protection elements could improve living environment.

(ii) The Greening, Landscape and Tree Management Section of DEVB provided general information on roof greening (rooftop landscapes) which was uploaded to the Bureau’s greening website.

(iii) The Bureau had put together some suggestions on the design approaches for roof greening in schools in early 2011 which were easy to understand and follow.

(iv) It was equally important for roof-greening projects to have proper planning, design, implementation, repair, maintenance and participation of qualified professional personnel.

83. Mr Albert WONG responded as follows:

(i) According to the information of the Architectural Services Department (“ArchSD”), there were current 45 public school building projects under it; with 47 school premises involved. Greening facilities including the green roofs were part of the new school premises and the Department had considered their designs during the vetting and approval stage. The greening works in question were complied with the safety requirements.

(ii) For green roofs provided after the school premises were completed, the schools when conducting the works had to commission an authorised person or registered structural engineer to assess whether the works would involve any structural changes to the buildings or whether plans should be submitted to the - 28 - Action by

relevant departments. Such projects could only be conducted after the approval from EDB was obtained. At present, 66 schools had obtained the Bureau’s approval to install green roofs.

(iii) According to the preliminary information provided by various tertiary institutions, the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee (“UGC”) had all installed greening facilities and the total area of green roofs amounted to about 20 000 square metres.

(iv) EDB issued letters to all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and the eight universities funded by UGC, reminding them the points to note (including the works requirements) when installing green roofs and asking them to fully review the structural safety of green roofs in their schools. The Notes on Provision of Green Roofs in School Buildings put together lately by BD were also provided for their reference.

(v) EDB would join hands with BD and other relevant departments to give briefing sessions on 16 and 17 June this year to explain to the management and stakeholders of primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions the points to note when carrying out rooftop greening projects and the ways to handle existing green roofs. They would also answer their questions.

(vi) The Bureau did not yet receive any report of dangerous greening facilities in primary and secondary schools.

84. Mr Raymond WONG responded as follows:

(i) Empowered by the Building Ordinance (“BO”), BD was responsible for monitoring buildings located at private land as well as the planning, design and construction of the relevant projects to ensure compliance with safety and hygiene standards.

(ii) The Department would take into account safety considerations such as the loading of structural elements, drainage facilities, purposes and maintenance when vetting construction projects with greening areas or green roofs regardless of whether they were new or existing private buildings. According to the law, the plans first submitted to BD by authorised persons or registered structural engineers should be vetted within 60 days. Owners of private buildings had the responsibility to hire registered professionals and contractors - 29 - Action by

to check regularly and repair properly the buildings and the structural elements or drainage system affected by greening facilities to ensure building safety.

(iii) The Department issued a circular letter on 26 May this year to the professionals and contractors registered under BO, reminding them to pay heed to the provisions of the ordinance applicable to green roofs. If the structural elements of buildings or premises were affected by greening works, the owners of the buildings should be told to check regularly and repair properly their buildings. Besides, they should also be informed about the follow up action needed.

(iv) The Department issued the Notes on Provision of Green Roofs in School Buildings through EDB on 24 May this year to all the schools in Hong Kong, advising them on the provision of green roofs in school premises and the assessment and maintenance of existing ones.

85. Ms LAU Pui-yuk raised the following views and enquiries: (i) she reckoned that the roofs of buildings could be utilised for greening works provided that the building structures would not be affected and agreement of OCs or property owners was obtained; (ii) she wondered whether the Department provided any guidelines or concrete assistance for the installation of greening facilities in private buildings; (iii) she enquired about the number of buildings in this district with greening facilities.

86. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following enquiries: (i) he enquired about the numbers of buildings in this district with green roofs supported by concrete and metal frame structures; (ii) he enquired about how to lower the risk posed by green roofs supported by metal frame structures; (iii) he wanted to know how professionals could obtain the qualifications required for assessing greening facilities.

87. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he opined that the authorities should keep tabs on the problem of ageing facilities in the old buildings in SSP District; (ii) he wanted to know the definition of greening facilities; (iii) greening facilities had a positive effect on the society but attention should be paid to safety issues and relevant guidelines should be provided to building owners; (iv) he wondered what the Department would do if greening facilities with safety problems were found during building inspections.

88. Miss Lilian YU gave a consolidated response that in order to follow the recommendations of the Report on the Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable - 30 - Action by

Built Environment issued by the Council for Sustainable Development, DEVB joined hands with the relevant departments to promote roof greening (rooftop landscapes) with a view to improving the quality of life and city environment.

89. Mr Albert WONG gave a consolidated response that schools could carry out minor repair works with the funds provided by EDB to ensure the safety of school premises. They could also make applications each year to the Bureau for carrying out large scale repair works. The Bureau would vet the applications according to their needs.

90. Mr Raymond WONG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) Empowered by BO, BD was responsible for monitoring private buildings as well as the planning, design and construction of the relevant projects with the existing mechanism to ensure compliance with safety and hygiene standards.

(ii) Apart from exempted works or minor works, any person who carried out construction works (including the construction of new buildings or implementation of addition works) must employ an authorised person or registered structural engineer to submit plans to BD according to BO. The Department would vet the plans under the current mechanism. The Authorised Persons’ Register included three types of professionals namely the architects, the engineers and the surveyors.

(iii) Owners of private buildings should keep an eye on the conditions of their buildings and arrange for suitable maintenance. Professionals should be consulted if there was any question. Generally speaking, the placing of a small number of plotted plants on rooftops would not be taken as construction works and was not required to submit plans to BD according to BO. If the provision of greening facilities involved construction works such as the building of concrete planters, plans should be submitted to BD for vetting.

(iv) The Department did not have the number and names of private buildings with green areas in this district.

91. The Chairman enquired whether building inspections were included in BD’s current monitoring mechanism.

92. Mr Raymond WONG responded that after receiving complaints or referral cases relating to building safety or illegal structures, the Department would carry out inspections - 31 - Action by and take appropriate follow up action. Moreover, it would carry out inspections for target buildings during all types of large scale operations.

93. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following enquiries and views: (i) he wondered whether the relevant departments had taken any specific follow up action on the precedent case of the Court of Final Appeal in 2007; (ii) in order not to affect the promotion of greening works, the Department should made use of the incident happened in the City University (“CityU”) and review the loopholes and inadequacies in how it dealt with roof greening works; (iii) roof greening involved issues such as building structures and loading, BD should review its practice of acting on complaints.

94. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following enquiries and views: (i) he wondered whether BD opined that it would be enough to handle roof greening issues merely by invoking BO. Regarding the “CityU Incident”, he asked whether BD would consider invoking other ordinances on top of BO or even setting up task force to handle issues relating to green roofs or regulating the examination of roof greening facilities by means of the law; (ii) at present, there was no existing legislation to monitor the engaging of professionals by owners to inspect buildings. The Department and the complainants had no right to enter private buildings to investigate roof greening facilities. The Department’s practices of acting on complaints was too passive and could not solve the problems or prevent similar incidents from happening again. He asked whether the Department would consider increasing the manpower for inspections and whether there were other applicable laws to support the relevant work of the Department.

95. Mr Aaron LAM raised the following views and suggestions: (i) CityU might have committed some mistakes when building the green roof but mercifully the incident did not inflict heavy casualties; (ii) the amendment of BO would take a long period of time because the construction sector and stakeholders had to be consulted. He suggested that BD should in the first place compile practice notes on greening works and then distributed them to the relevant registered contractors, registered structural engineers and authorised persons for information. As far as he knew, the industry was very concerned about the “CityU Incident” and had discussed at length about the loading and other technical problems involved. He suggested the Department distribute the practice notes as soon as possible so that the industry could help uphold the standard and prevent the problem from exacerbating, and that those who had carried out similar projects could also take follow up action and fix the problem.

96. Ms Joephy CHAN raised the following views: (i) she was disappointed that the authorities did not have the information required by Members because it would be difficult - 32 - Action by for them to provide specific support if they had no such information; (ii) the “CityU Incident” had laid bare the inadequacies of the existing mechanism, yet the Department remarked that it would retain the mechanism to deal with issues relating to roof structures. This could not address public demand and dispel the doubts of the public, schools and parents, nor could it promote greening while ensuring safety.

97. The Chairman said that Members saw inadequacies in the existing mechanism. However, the authorities had no specific follow up action for the incident so as to promote greening policy properly.

98. Miss Lilian YU responded that DEVB attached importance to the safety of roof greening works. It would take part in briefing sessions organised by EDB with the relevant departments such as the Environment Bureau, ArchSD and BD etc. for primary schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions and stakeholders to explain the points to note about roof greening, in the hope of raising their awareness and helping them stay alert.

99. Mr Albert WONG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) The school premises of new public schools were designed by ArchSD and the Department had taken into account the safety requirements for greening facilities for the 45 school building projects in Hong Kong at planning stage. If greening works were to be carried out after the school premises were completed, the schools had to make applications to EDB.

(ii) If damages were found at public schools, minor repair works could be conducted by using EDB’s funding. In case of emergency or when large scale maintenance was required, the schools could seek assistance from the professionals employed by the Bureau.

(iii) The Bureau had issued letters to remind schools to keep tabs on roof greening facilities and arranged two briefing sessions for professionals to answer relevant questions.

100. Mr Raymond WONG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) Apart from the construction works exempted by BO or the other laws or construction works designated as minor works under the Minor Works Control System, all construction works must obtain prior approval from and consent of - 33 - Action by

BD before implementation.

(ii) The existing plan vetting and monitoring mechanism of BD had already taken into account different scenarios. The “CityU Incident” might suggest that owners of private buildings needed to enhance their knowledge about building safety and maintenance. Given the large number of greening facilities installed in schools, the authorities had developed relevant guidelines, issued circular letters and organised briefing sessions.

(iii) The Department would see if there were areas for enhancement. It would also continue to keep an eye on the concerns and needs of owners and the industry.

101. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) he did not worry about new school premises. However, Members were concerned about the dangers posed by loading problem if greening works were carried out at old buildings in this district; (ii) although the Department said that greening works was not minor works, but if action would only be taken after receiving complaints on old buildings carrying out greening works, the Department could not prevent problems before they happened. This was what DC was concerned about; (iii) he believed that the responsibilities fell squarely on BD, DEVB and the Environment Bureau; (iv) the paper targeted old buildings in this district. If the authorities failed to get hold of the greening works carried out at this type of buildings, potential dangers might be caused.

102. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views: (i) it was the old buildings that concerned Members; not the new ones. DEVB had yet to give a response; (ii) flat owners should not be the ones to take up all the safety responsibilities. He hoped that the Government could help the public in this regard, for example, BD could step up inspections and provide more and clearer guidelines on that.

103. The Chairman concluded that: (i) DC worried that DEVB and EDB had underestimated the situation when formulating greening policies. Besides, the information obtained by the Government was not enough; (ii) DC hoped that the relevant government departments would reflect on the “CityU Incident” and obtain information on the greening works as soon as possible. It should also issue relevant guidelines, work out measures in long and medium term and make overall recommendations on policies, legislation, implementation, inspection and prosecution. A full report should be submitted to the coming one to two DC meetings. - 34 - Action by

(d) Motion: Strong request for the HKSAR Government to investigate thoroughly whether the Link Asset Management Limited has violated the Competition Ordinance and foster the development of civilian bazaar proactively (SSPDC Paper 90/16)

104. The Chairman welcomed the representatives of the Link Asset Management Limited (“the Link”), HD and FEHD to the meeting.

105. Mr Kalvin HO introduced Paper 90/16.

106. Mr Eric CHUNG responded as follows:

(i) As the administrator of a listed real estate investment trust, the Link promoted good corporate governance and operated its business in a lawful, sensible and reasonable manner.

(ii) The Link set store by legal requirements and complied with the competition law and other relevant legislations. It also screened its business and operation and found that they were both in compliance of the competition law.

(iii) Being one of the stakeholders of public housing estates (“PHEs”), this company would keep an open mind as usual towards proposals on fully utilising public space in PHEs if they are in compliance with the lease terms and the relevant laws.

107. Mr CHUM Tak-shing enquired of HD about its views towards the organisation of bazaars in PHEs.

108. Mr TSE Chick-lam responded as follows:

(i) HD was open-minded towards the organisation of bazaars in PHEs. Yet the proposals must comply with the terms set out in the lease and the Deed of Mutual Covenant (“DMC”) as well as food safety and environmental hygiene requirements. Besides, the organisers must keep the public roads clear of obstructions, ensure that the activities would not cause nuisance to the residents and attract unlicensed hawkers.

(ii) If organisations had identified suitable venues for organising bazaars and won the support of residents, other property owners and local stakeholders, the Department would explore the feasibility of the proposals with an open mind. - 35 - Action by

109. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded that organisations could apply for Temporary Places of Public Entertainment Licence from FEHD if suitable venues were identified. A bazaar would be organised by an organisation in June to October this year at the junction of Kiu Kiang Street and Hai Tan Street and the Department would support the activity.

110. Mr Kalvin HO asked whether the Police would arrest law breakers.

111. Mr Steve HUI responded that the Police would take due action according to the actual situation.

112. Mr Kalvin HO raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he was disappointed by the response of the Link; (ii) the operation mode of the Link might breach the competition law; (iii) the increase in rents and management fees of the shopping centres managed by the Link had forced out many shop operators and NGOs. He did not agree that the operation of the Link was sensible and reasonable. As far as he knew, the Link refused to renew the tenancy of a food wholesaler even though it was willing to pay 40% more in rents. He queried whether the Link had considered residents’ needs or it just cared about profit-making. Many residents from the grassroots would shop at the shopping centres managed by the Link and it would add to their burden as the Link had kept raising the rents and introducing chain stores to its shopping centres; (iv) an organisation organised a bazaar earlier at Tung Chung but the relevant parties were warned by HD staff. He required the Department to state clearly whether it would keep an open mind towards the organisation of bazaars; (v) he declared that he did not hold any share of the Link.

113. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views: (i) the Link kept chasing for profit and failed to meet its social responsibility such as to improve the shopping centres and the parking facilities; (ii) the Link had made a profit by divesting its car parks since 2014. As a result, the rents of parking spaces in the car parks of many PHEs had increased, adding to the burden of hirers; (iii) the Link rented out the corridors of shopping centres to stall operators, making use of all the space to make profit. The profit of the shops inside the shopping centres was badly affected; (iv) although the Link was responsible for the management of some PHEs, it failed to solve residents’ problems in a timely manner and fulfil its responsibility of providing maintenance service for PHEs; (v) HD was DMC manager of PHEs, yet it had failed to ask the Link to carry out its duties. The Department should review the situation.

114. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) the Competition Commission (“CC”) and the relevant departments made no active response to Paper 90/16, nor did they commit to carry out investigation. He expressed regret over that; (ii) CC should - 36 - Action by investigate whether the operation of the Link had breached the competition law whereas government departments should consider whether to promote bazaars and take follow up action on the relevant issues; (iii) from 2003 to 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (“HKHA”) divested its commercial facilities through listing to raise money and improve the operation of commercial facilities. However, the Link had been focusing on making profits after acquiring those properties. He reckoned that the Link should take its social responsibility seriously and to strike a balance between fulfilling social responsibility and making profits; (iv) the operation mode of the Link and the rising prices had increased the burden of shop operators and residents (reduced the shopping choices of residents); (v) the Link should review its operation mode, improve shopping centre facilities and adjust the rents properly to address the aspirations of stakeholders; (vi) he declared that he did not hold any share of the Link.

115. Mr Vincent CHENG raised the following views: (i) quite a number of members of the public were dissatisfied with the operation mode of the Link. The Link should conduct review and address public aspirations; (ii) he understood that profits trumped all in the operation of commercial organisations but the Link should still live up to its social responsibility; (iii) the residents hoped that they could buy inexpensive goods of good quality at shopping centres in PHEs, of which many were managed by the Link; (iv) the Link had improved its shopping centres but the substantial increase in rents had fuel discontent among many tenants; (v) he declared that he did not hold any share of the Link.

116. The Chairman raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he wondered how the Link would strike a balance between commercial decision and social responsibility; (ii) many arrangements stipulated in the agreement and the prospectus when the Link was listed in November 2005 were bound by the law. The Link might be held responsible for the legal liability if those statements did not reflect the actual situation or were misleading; (iii) although the Link indicated that its business and operation complied with the requirements of the competition law, it was doubtful whether it had honoured its commitments to the public and the Government as enshrined in the prospectus.

117. Mr Eric CHUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) He did not have the prospectus of the Link now and would respond to the question after the meeting.

(ii) As far as he knew, the Link did not divest the parking spaces of car parks in the properties currently owned by it; nor did it charge NGOs any management fees. Members might provide more information on the above situation. - 37 - Action by

(iii) The Link attached great importance to small shop operators. At present about 60% of the tenants were operators of small and medium size shops with an area of less than 1 000 square feet.

(iv) The Link had been offering a 50% concession to disabled car owners after it acquired the properties from HKHA in 2005 and a 60% concession was provided since 2012; the expenditure incurred was as high as $10 million every year.

(v) The Link had spent hundreds of million dollars in order to fulfil its social responsibility and the initiatives benefited all rungs of the social ladder. For example, to let some of the floor areas at low rents to NGOs; to donate about $28 million to social welfare organisations through the Link Together Initiatives from 2014 to 2016, benefiting 500 000 people; to offer concessionary rents to charity groups; and to spend $200 million to upgrade barrier-free access facilities etc.

118. The Chairman asked whether the Link would give any written reply after the meeting to provide more information on whether it had fulfilled its commitment to the public and the Government as stipulated in the prospectus.

119. Mr Eric CHUNG said that he would provide supplementary information if required by the Secretariat.

120. The Chairman remarked that DC had made such request and asked the Link to provide a written reply after the meeting.

121. Mr TSE Chick-lam gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) The Department kept an open mind towards the organisation of bazaars in PHEs but the relevant proposals must comply with the terms set out in the lease and DMC as well as food safety and environmental hygiene requirements. Besides, the organisers must keep the public roads clear of obstructions, ensure that the activities would not cause nuisance to the residents and attract unlicensed hawkers.

(ii) Being DMC manager, the Department was deeply concerned about the safety of the tenants. If the progress of some maintenance project was unsatisfactory, Members were welcomed to contact the Department for follow - 38 - Action by

up action.

122. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he agreed that the Link had a poor reputation; (ii) Paper 90/16 demanded CC to investigate whether the operation of the Link had breached the competition law but CC did not send representative to attend the meeting; (iii) even though its commercial facilities had already divested to the Link, HKHA, as the DMC manager, was still duty bound to review the operation mode, management effectiveness and targets pertaining social responsibility of the Link; (iv) the Link indicated that it did not charge management fees on NGOs as alleged by some media reports. He asked SWD to clarify that; (v) the Link had used resources for charity purposes but the initiatives were cosmetic and without actual meanings. It would be much better for it to stop the rent hike so that shop operators and NGOs would not be forced out because they could not afford the high rents; (vi) he cited Lai Kok Market as an example, indicating that two stall operators told him during the mutual aid committee meeting held in the morning that the upward adjustment of rents by the Link had worsen their business environment; (vii) the Link’s management mode and efficiency of maintenance was unsatisfactory; many maintenance works in the district had come to a standstill. HKHA, being DMC manager, should be responsible for following up on the above issues.

123. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following views: (i) the acquisition of HKHA properties by the Link was meant to improve the quality and efficiency of the business facilities, in the hope of achieving a win-win situation that both the users and the operators were benefited; (ii) he hoped that the Link could strike a balance properly and work hand in hand with the relevant departments and stakeholders so as to improve the situation.

124. Ms Joephy CHAN raised the following views: (i) at present Lai Kok Market had only three stalls; the vacancy rate was as high as 90%. A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions earlier indicated that the variety of goods available at Lai Kok Market was the least among the 18 districts. Since the choice was limited, many residents had to purchase food ingredients from Market or Po On Road Market. She had been requesting the Link to raise the occupancy rates of Lai Kok Market and Lai Kok Shopping Centre to avoid wasting of space; (ii) apart from raising the rents, the Link also added many clauses in the tenancy agreement, increasing the burden of small shop operators. Such practice was inappropriate; (iii) the Link should not monopolise the market and force out small shop operators so that residents could have more choices; (iv) whereas the Link indicated that it had not increased the rents, both the tenants of Lai Kok Market and Lai Kok Shopping Centre said that they faced such problem. She hoped that the Link could confirm about this; (v) she had secured the - 39 - Action by agreement of the Link to add an automatic door at Lai Kok Shopping Centre and she hoped that the Link could provide more barrier-free facilities for the convenience of residents; (vi) she hoped that the authorities could increase the number of shops in estates to allow more choice for the residents.

125. Ms Zoé CHOW raised the following views: (i) she declared that she did not hold any share of the Link; (ii) the residents opined that Lai Kok Market was an empty shell with three stalls only; (iii) the Link kept increasing the rents and monopolised the market, forcing out shop operators and cutting the choice of residents.

126. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the number of small shops only represented 10% to 20% of the shops in the ten major shopping centres managed by the Link. However, the Link claimed that 60% of the shops were taken up by small shop operators. He called into question whether the data was accurate; (ii) he asked whether the Link called a shop with an area below 1 000 square feet a small shop. As far as he knew, the area of many shops were below 1 000 square feet and many of them were chain stores; (iii) he doubted whether the Link, a profit-oriented company, had any plan to develop Lai Kok Market where there were only a small number of stalls; (iv) he asked HD to monitor the Link and build more shopping centres and markets to allow more choice for the residents.

127. Mrs Helen KWOK remarked that as far as she knew, some owners of the shops in shopping centres sold by the Link had increased the management fees for NGOs and service units under SWD. SWD and HD were now following up on the issue vigorously.

128. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views: (i) HD and the relevant departments should handle the issue flexibly, for example, to increase the competitiveness of the facilities and shops managed by them through the relaxation of plot ratios to thrust the Link into changing its operation mode; (ii) the Government should intervene and tackle the above issues so that the Link could not keep on increasing the rents.

129. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) the Link was preoccupied by the issue of property divestment and failed to shoulder social responsibility. He expressed his disappointment on this. He opined that the relevant departments should take legal action against the Link, requesting it to fulfil the commitments as set out in the prospectus and give an account to the public; (ii) the documents of CC reflected that it had failed to tackle seriously the problems caused by the Link. He submitted a motion paper to demand the Government to review whether the operation of the Link had breached the competition law. - 40 - Action by

130. Mr CHUM Tak-shing remarked that HD had 12 PHEs in SSP District, among which Fu Cheong Estate, , Fortune Estate and were managed by the Link. He asked whether the Department would cooperate with DC or other organisations to organise bazaars in those PHEs so that the residents could buy things on the cheap.

131. Mr Kalvin HO said that the Chief Executive Officer of the Link indicated that the patronage and the service quality of its shopping centres had both been improved. However, he reckoned that a vicious circle was created as the Link had throttled the room for survival of small shops by raising rents which had in turn reduced the patronage and the choice for residents.

132. Mr Eric CHUNG gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) He would relay Members’ views to the Link.

(ii) Regarding the cases of new owners charging management fees on NGOs after the Link sold the shopping centres to them, the Link would review whether those owners had breached the lease terms and the requirements of other relevant documents.

(iii) The Link had set out relevant information and requirements in the circular when it tried to identify a buyer. If Members requested for the above documents for information, he could provide them after the meeting.

133. Mr TSE Chick-lam gave a consolidated response as follows:

(i) HD kept an open mind towards the organisation of bazaars in PHEs. However, it had to consider factors such as the terms of the lease and DMC, food safety and environmental hygiene as well as the accessibility of public roads.

(ii) He would reflect Members’ idea of providing more commercial facilities in new PHEs to the relevant section of the Department.

134. The Chairman pointed out that the Link had committed in its prospectus that if the properties managed by it were to be sold in the future, the buyer must act in accordance with the provisions of the prospectus. The Chairman continued that apart from Motion Paper 90/16 (Motion 1), he also received an amended motion (Motion 2) moved by - 41 - Action by

Mr CHAN Wai-ming and Ms Joephy CHAN and seconded by Mr Vincent CHENG. He asked who were the mover and seconder of Motion 1.

135. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that Motion 1 was moved by Mr Kalvin HO and seconded by him.

136. The Chairman asked whether the movers had anything to add.

137. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that he support Motion 1 in principle but he reckoned that the Government should implement all kinds of improvement measures while probing into whether the Link had breached the competition law and promoting the development of bazaars. In this connection, he moved an amended motion as follows: “Strongly request SAR Government and the Competition Commission to thoroughly investigate whether the operation of The Link Asset Management Limited had breached the competition law and actively monitor the situation to prevent monopoly. The Government should increase the plot ratios of PHEs at the same time and provide diversified facilities such as commercial facilities, retail shops with social enterprises features or small markets. It should also promote the development of bazaars to counter the problems caused by the Link.”

138. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu remarked that the plot ratios of PHEs had far-reaching implications on the whole community. However, the discussion of today did not touch on the issue and he hoped that Mr CHAN Wai-ming would elaborate on his views.

139. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that Members had mentioned plot ratio restrictions during the discussion of PHE facilities at different meetings because such restrictions were directly related to the number of facilities to be provided and their business elements as well as social enterprises features. The problem could only be improved with the cooperation of the Link. He also hoped that the Government could conduct review on the plot ratio restrictions.

140. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he wanted to move another amended motion (Motion 3) by changing “the Government should increase the plot ratios of PHEs” of Motion 2 to “the Government should exempt PHEs from plot ratio restrictions”. He opined that the provision of more commercial facilities etc. was related to the issue of plot ratio but the problem involved should be the exemption of such restrictions; not the increase of plot ratio. The two should not be conflated.

141. The Chairman said that since Mr TAM Kwok-kiu was the seconder of Motion 1, Motion 3 should be moved by other Members. - 42 - Action by

142. Mr CHUM Tak-shing said that Motion 3 would now be moved by Mr KONG Kwai-sang.

143. The Chairman said that according to Order 20 of the Standing Orders, Members should vote on Motion 2 first, and then Motion 3 and finally Motion 1.

144. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu asked whether there were one original motion and two independent amended motions.

145. The Chairman said that Mr TAM Kwok-kiu’s understanding was correct. He then invited Mr KONG Kwai-sang to introduce Motion 3.

146. Mr KONG Kwai-sang introduced Motion 3 and the content was as follows: “Strongly request the SAR Government and the Competition Commission to thoroughly investigate whether the operation of The Link Asset Management Limited had breached the competition law and actively monitor the situation to prevent monopoly. The Government should at the same time exempt PHEs from the plot ratio restrictions and provide diversified facilities such as commercial facilities, retail shops with social enterprises features or small markets. It should also promote the development of bazaars to counter the problems caused by the Link.”

147. The Chairman asked whether Members agreed to vote on Motion 2 first before proceeding to vote on Motion 3 moved by Mr KONG Kwai-sang and seconded by Mr CHUM Tak-shing and then Motion 1.

148. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) Motion 2 and 3 were both amended motion of Motion 1. He queried whether it was necessary for Members to vote on Motion 1 after voting on Motion 2 and Motion 3; (ii) Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood and Members from the parties it allied with would support Motion 3 and abstain from voting on Motion 2.

149. The Chairman said that after reading Motion 3 carefully, he deemed the motion an amended motion of Motion 2. Hence, he suggested voting in the order of Motion 3, Motion 2 and then Motion 1.

150. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he did not understand the Chairman’s explanation on Order 20 of the Standing Orders.

151. The Chairman said that if Motion 2 and Motion 3 were amended motions based on - 43 - Action by

Motion 1, Members should vote on Motion 2 first before proceeding to vote on Motion 3. However, since he reckoned that Motion 3 was an amended motion based on Motion 2, he suggested voting on Motion 3 first.

152. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that he had pointed out the inadequacies of Motion 2 and attempt to make amendments on it. However, the Chairman reminded him that he could not amend Motion 2 because he was the seconder of Motion 1. He reckoned that Motion 3 was an amended motion based on the original motion, not on Motion 2.

153. The Chairman said that the mover and seconder of the original motion (i.e. Motion 1) were not allowed to move any amended motion. Since Motion 3 was an amended motion based on Motion 2, he suggested voting in the order of Motion 3, Motion 2 and then Motion 1.

154. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that if Members did not object to the arrangement mentioned above, he too had no objection to it.

155. The meeting voted on Motion 3 by open ballot.

156. The voting result was as follows:

For: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Ms NG Yuet-lan, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr YEUNG Yuk (7)

Against: Mr CHAN Kwok-wai, Mr CHAN Wai-ming, Ms Joephy CHAN, Mr Vincent CHENG, Mr Aaron LAM, Ms LAU Pui-yuk, Mr Dominic LEE, Mr LEE Wing-man, Mr LEUNG Man-kwong, Mr Dennis WONG (10)

Abstain: Mr Ambrose CHEUNG, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (2)

157. The Chairman announced the voting result: 7 Members voted for the motion, 10 voted against it and 2 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Motion 3 was not carried.

158. The meeting voted on Motion 2 by open ballot.

159. The voting result was as follows: - 44 - Action by

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

Against: (0)

Abstain: Ms Zoé CHOW, Mr CHUM Tak-shing, Mr Kalvin HO, Mr KONG Kwai-sang, Mr Dominic LEE, Ms NG Yuet-lan, Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, Mr YEUNG Yuk, Mr YUEN Hoi-man (9)

160. The Chairman announced the voting result: 10 Members voted for the motion, no Member voted against it and 9 Members abstained. The Chairman declared that Motion 2 was carried.

161. The Chairman thanked the representatives of the Link and government departments for attending the meeting and remarked that DC would follow up on the issue after receiving the supplementary information provided by the Link.

162. Ms NG Yuet-lan requested that the reasons for Members to abstain from voting be put on record.

Item 4: Reports from Committees and Working Groups under the District Council

(a) Reports from Committees

(i) Report from the District Facilities Committee (SSPDC Paper 92/16)

(ii) Report from the Community Affairs Committee (SSPDC Paper 93/16)

(iii) Report from the Environment and Hygiene Committee (SSPDC Paper 94/16)

(iv) Report from the Transport Affairs Committee (SSPDC Paper 95/16)

(v) Report from the Housing Affairs Committee (SSPDC Paper 96/16)

163. The meeting noted the content of the aforesaid reports. - 45 - Action by

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

(i) Report from the Working Group on Festive Celebration and Publicity (SSPDC Paper 97/16)

(ii) Report from the Working Group on Poverty Problems and Ethnic Minorities (SSPDC Paper 98/16)

(iii) Report from the Working Group on Healthy and Safe Community (SSPDC Paper 99/16)

164. The meeting noted the content of the aforesaid reports.

Item 5: Report on District Management Committee Meeting (SSPDC Paper 100/16)

165. The District Officer introduced Paper 100/16 as follows:

(i) He thanked DC for its support to DAS.

(ii) To strengthen the support for “three-nil” buildings, FEHD had followed tender procedures and invited contractors to provide cleansing service for the “three-nil” buildings in this district and their neighbouring locations with poor environmental hygiene conditions from June this year. SSPDO would continue to adopt the strategy of “cleansing in the day, household visits in the evening”, sending staff to pay visits to residents and encourage them to form OCs after the cleansing work was completed with a view to improving the quality of building management in the long run. Apart from that, SSPDO also invited residents to evening tea receptions and seminars in April and May this year to step up promotion and publicity. Evening tea receptions and seminars would be held in June, July and August and he hoped that Members could encourage participation of residents in those activities.

(iii) To strengthen the support for street sleepers, SSPDO would adopt a two-pronged approach by arranging social workers and medical personnel to provide more support to street sleepers through DAS. SSPDO was now carrying out tender exercise for the relevant work. Meanwhile, the outreaching social work teams of SWD would keep taking care of the needs of street sleepers. - 46 - Action by

(iv) The progress of Shek Kip Mei Community Services Centre and Mei Foo Neighbourhood Activity Centre under the Sham Shui Po District Signature Project Scheme were satisfactory. He thanked Members for attending the Sham Shui Po District Council Yan Oi Tong Mei Foo Neighbourhood Activity Centre Ground Breaking Ceremony jointly organised by SSPDC, Yan Oi Tong and SSPDO. SSPDO would report on the latest progress of those projects to the Committee on the Sham Shui Po Signature Project.

166. Mr WAI Woon-nam said that members of the public were deeply concerned about the street sleeper problem. Both the Government and DC hoped that the cloth hawkers in Yen Chow Street Temporary Hawker Bazaar would stay in business after moving to Tung Chau Street Temporary Market; however, street sleepers still gathered at that temporary market. He hoped that SSPDO could make proper arrangement so that street sleepers could be housed and cloth hawkers could move into the temporary market and do business for the continual development of the cloth market.

167. Mr Vincent CHENG said that there were many street sleepers in the two subways in Pei Ho Street and he hoped that the relevant departments would follow up on this.

168. The District Officer responded that:

(i) A letter was issued to the Chairman of the Yen Chow Street Hawkers Bazaar Concern Group by FEHD on 2 June this year, indicating that the Department would keep following up on the law and order as well as environmental hygiene issues (including the street sleeper problem) of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market with relevant department such as SSPDO and the Police.

(ii) There were many street sleepers in Tung Chau Street. Although their cases were more complicated and difficult to handle, the relevant departments would accord priority to them and try their best to provide assistance to the people concerned.

(iii) SSPDO had invited contractors through tender exercise to provide cleansing service for locations with poor environmental hygiene condition (including the area under the flyover in Tung Chau Street, the subways in Pei Ho Street and Yen Chow Street etc.) first.

169. The Meeting noted the content of the paper. - 47 - Action by

Item 6: Any other business

(a) Proposal of central fund reserve for district minor works projects (SSPDC Paper 101/16)

170. Ms Melissa FUNG introduced Paper 101/16.

171. The Chairman concluded that DC noted the content of the paper and supported the proposal of central fund reserve.

(b) Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong’s application for the use of Sham Shui Po District Council logo and invitation for assigning a guest of honour to present awards for the Hong Kong Paper Airplane Contest for the Elderly (SSPDC Paper 102/16)

172. The Chairman said that Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong hoped that DC would support the Hong Kong Paper Airplane Contest for the Elderly and allow it to use the emblem of SSPDC on its publicity items. It also invited DC to send a representative to present prizes at that activity.

173. Members agreed unanimously to allow the use of the emblem of SSPDC in the Hong Kong Paper Airplane Contest for the Elderly and send a representative to present prizes at the activity. The Chairman continued to ask Members to make nominations.

174. Ms Joephy CHAN nominated Mr YAN Kai-wing as the representative of DC to present prizes; the nomination was seconded by Mr CHAN Wai-ming.

175. Since there was only one nomination, the Chairman announced that Mr YAN Kai-wing would be the representative of DC to present prizes at the Hong Kong Paper Airplane Contest for the Elderly.

(c) Meetings with organisations, groups and local parties

176. The Chairman said that DC had conducted informal meetings with various organisations, bodies and members of the local community in the past two months, including the discussion meeting on the redevelopment of on 21 April, noise mitigation meeting on 24 May, the meeting with MTRCL on 31 May, the meeting with Sham Shui Po Citizens (“SSPC”) on 27 April, the meeting with parties who were concerned about buildings in Mei Foo which would produce wall-effect on 29 April and the meeting with Alliance for Parents Rights and Care Elderly Support Limited on 3 May - 48 - Action by this year. Apart from that, the Secretariat was now arranging four informal meetings with The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, Mei Foo Home and Public Affairs, Concern Group on SSP “N have-nots” and Democracy Groundwork respectively. He continued that households of sub-divided units from /Fuk Wing Street Redevelopment Concern Group and /Un Chau Street Redevelopment Concern Group told him this morning that they wanted to meet with the Urban Renewal Authority. He would like Members to take note of the above.

The Issue of Yen Chow Street Fabric Market

177. The Chairman said that regarding the issue of Yen Chow Street Fabric Market, FEHD had issued a letter to the Concern Group for Hawkers in Yen Chow Street Fabric Market (“the Group”) on 2 June this year. He asked FEHD to report on the work progress.

178. Mr LAI Kah-kit said that:

(i) FEHD received the “concept plan for ‘Pang Zai’ of SSP cloth market” pertaining the stall design for block 1 to block 3 of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market on 11 April this year from the Group. After considering the proposal, the Department proposed some amendments to the Group on 10 May this year and was now awaiting its reply. FEHD would meet the Group next week to learn about their views on the amendments proposed by the Department.

(ii) The Department would develop the new cloth market in phases. The tenants in block 1 to block 3 of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market would move out first so that the qualified cloth hawkers of Yen Chow Street Fabric Market could move in and do business. The general facilities of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market were in compliance with the fire safety requirements and the remainder stalls would be rented to people interested in jointly developing the new cloth market through open auction. The Department would explore how to further develop block 4 and block 5 of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market later.

(iii) The Department started to liaise with the fashion design departments of universities and tertiary institutions to learn about their views on the development of the new cloth market.

(iv) The Department met with 17 cloth hawkers who claimed to have been - 49 - Action by

operating at Yen Chow Street Fabric Market but were not registered in the list of eligible traders in March and April this year respectively and collected their data for verification of their identities. The work was still in progress and the Group and the relevant parties would be informed once there was further information.

(v) Regarding the law and order and environmental hygiene issues in the vicinity of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market, the Department would keep coordinating with relevant departments such as SSPDO, the Police and SWD to find out methods in order to solve the problems in the long run.

179. The Chairman said that (i) the work concerned made good progress since the issue was discussed by DC on 2 February. FEHD met the cloth hawkers of Yen Chow Street Fabric Market after that meeting and they agreed to send representatives to discuss issues relating to the fabric market; (ii) according to the present progress, he opined that the Government embraced the vision of developing an unique cloth market in SSP and the site identified initially was Tung Chau Street Temporary Market; (iii) the Government would first vacant block 1 to block 3 of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market before discussing about the development of block 4 and block 5 (i.e. the “3+2” option). As far as he knew, tenants in block 1 to block 3 would move out, which would probably speed up the implementation of the “3+2” option; (iv) various parties was still discussing about the design of new cloth market. Cloth hawkers told him that they hoped that FEHD would provide air-conditioning facilities. He held that the Department could keep exploring the technical problems and following up on issues such as rents, the period of rental freeze, and the time and arrangement for moving into Tung Chau Street Temporary Market; (v) the Government had started to exchange views with tertiary institutions and the relevant stakeholders on the general direction. In the past few months, cloth hawkers organised various activities and workshops whereas Members kept driving FEHD to discuss the general direction of development.

180. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the consensus reached by Members at DC meeting held in February this year was that the future development of the entire cloth market should be handled before taking care of the need for the Government to resume land. Although the Government would not resume the land in June, he still hoped that the authorities would take action as soon as possible; (ii) DC had set the direction. The development of the cloth market had evolved from the “Dongdaemun” concept in the very beginning to a more specific idea of building a cloth market with unique features. He hoped that the parties concerned would bear in mind this direction for development when they discussed and implemented the plan; (iii) the - 50 - Action by relocation of tenants in block 4 and block 5 of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market as well as the environmental hygiene issues outside the market should be handled; (iv) he opined that the relevant policy bureau and more stakeholders (i.e. representatives from the fashion industry) should also take part in the planning of the cloth market other than the existing stall operators at Yen Chow Street Fabric Market, DC and FEHD. The current proposal was initiated by the general public and he enquired about the Government’s stance; (v) he hoped that the Chairman would consider setting up a group under DC and inviting the relevant policy bureau to join it so as to follow up on the planning of the new cloth market. To implement the plan step by step, feasibility study should also be carried out with DC funds if necessary while FEHD relocated the tenants of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market in tandem; (vi) with the new cloth market under planning and the existing jade market, it was possible to develop the areas under the flyover in Tung Chau Street as an important district infrastructure for the development of traditional Chinese culture.

181. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) FEHD was now carrying out preparatory work, for example, to collect the letters of intent from the stall operators in Yen Chow Street Fabric Market etc. He opined that the Department should discern the intention of stall operators and then consider setting up a group to follow up on and discuss the development of the new cloth market. The terms of reference and the duties of the group would be more clearly defined by that time; (ii) he hoped that the new cloth market would become a unique feature of SSP District.

182. The Chairman said that he believed that DC had reached a consensus on this issue and should now discuss how to align all the conditions so as to bring forward the work. Even though the traders had been actively promoting the project, they still needed the support of departments. He hoped that Members could advise on the timetable, the role of the group if established and the implementation arrangement.

183. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) as a development proposal was already in place, he believed that formal meetings should be held to discuss and promote the project; (ii) he wanted to know about the position of the Government for its support could help realise the project; (iii) he believed that the relocation of Yen Chow Street Fabric Market alone was not what DC wanted; nor was it the ultimate target. He hoped that DC could stand firm. If DC decided to set up a working group, he could help draft the terms of reference because he knew what the stakeholders of the fabric market wanted.

184. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following views and enquiries: (i) she opined that there were signs of slowing down in the development of the new cloth market after the Lands - 51 - Action by

Department (“LandsD”) withdrew its land resumption proposal; (ii) DC should take the initiative to propose a development timetable and consider whether a coordination group should be formed to promote the relevant work so that the new cloth market could be set up before the end of this DC term; (iii) she hoped that the Government could explain it position.

185. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he believed that DC would promote the development of the new cloth market wholeheartedly. However, it seemed that departments had yet to fully respond to Members queries despite DC’s agreement on the direction for development of the market; (ii) given that FEHD had already consulted traders in the cloth market and professionals on the design of the market, he wondered whether the Department could put forward a specific development proposal so that the project could be implemented as soon as possible; (iii) he suggested the Chairman urge FEHD to submit a specific development plan for the new cloth market in the next meeting.

186. The Chairman raised the following views and enquiries: (i) the development was spearheaded by FEHD and the (“FHB”) but he believed that SWD and SSPDO would help tackle the problems arose during the development period; (ii) he suggested FEHD set a timetable and report on the specific development plan and consensus reached during the meetings with hawkers in Yen Chow Street Fabric Market in the past for discussion at DC meeting in September; (iii) the traders of the fabric market and the Government were both working hard to promote the development of the new cloth market. The discussion at this stage was fruitful and it was hoped that a specific plan could be developed within two months.

187. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded that:

(i) He clarified that LandsD had never indicated its intention to withdraw the land resumption plan. FEHD was now vigorously negotiating with the hawkers in Yen Chow Street Fabric Market in order to build consensus.

(ii) After receiving the concept plan from the Group, the Department proposed some amendments immediately and was now awaiting a reply from the Group. The Department would then discuss with ArchSD on how to carry out alteration works.

(iii) The Department had coordinated with the hawkers in Yen Chow Street Fabric Market to enable the extension of the scope of development of the new cloth - 52 - Action by

market from two blocks of Tung Chau Street Temporary Market at the very beginning to all of the five blocks now. The alteration works for block 1 to block 3 could be carried out at once after the design plan was finalised so that eligible cloth hawkers could move in as soon as possible. The market stalls in block 4 and block 5 were not common ones, the Department was now liaising with fashion departments of universities and tertiary institutions to discern their views on the development of the new cloth market.

(iv) The relocation work would be carried out by phases under a “3+2” mode. The land resumption plan was still there but the layout plan of the new cloth market should be finalised now before other work could be carried out gradually.

188. The Chairman said that he hoped that FEHD would provide information such as the design plan of the new cloth market, conceptual proposal on ancillary facilities, development timetable and relocation arrangement etc. for discussion and follow up at DC meeting in September.

189. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he reckoned that the land resumption plan was a top-down request. He asked FEHD to relay Members’ views to LandsD that the existing site of “Pang Zai” should not be included in the Sale by Tender List; (ii) the new cloth market should not rely solely on the support of FEHD and FHB. DC had expressed its support to the project and he asked FEHD to help ascertain which policy bureau and departments would like to participate in the development project of the new cloth market.

190. Mr LEE Wing-man said that FEHD and the hawkers of the fabric market were now actively following up on the issue. It was hoped that FEHD could provide the relevant timetable and report on the latest situation at the next DC meeting for further discussion.

191. The Chairman concluded that the relevant departments would actively follow up on the development of the new cloth market.

Community Participation Workshops

192. Regarding the workshops, the Chairman said that: (i) DC had met SSPC on 27 April this year to discuss the arrangement for the workshop and after that SSPC made recommendations on the organisation and structure of the workshop; (ii) two sets of information submitted by SSPC on 27 April this year setting out the mechanism and option - 53 - Action by as well as the organisation proposal for the workshop were tabled. They were emailed to Members by the Secretariat one day before the meeting; (iii) SSPC suggested that the first workshop should focus on “the elderly” and be carried out in three phases. It would first discern the needs and demands of the elderly; then organise workshops for the elderly, residents and officials to discuss on issues; and finally have the officials to report the progress. Moreover, SSPC suggested the second workshop focus on “integration” and work out a specific plan after reviewing the first workshop; (iv) SSPC proposed that the organisation committee should adopt a double-convener mode. DC should consider whether such mode could comply with the requirements of the Standing Orders and how the Secretariat and the relevant departments would support such arrangement; (v) since the proposal involved a wide range of topics which required discussion, it was up to Members to decide whether a decision should be made during this meeting.

193. Mr Vincent CHENG said that the information was received one day before the meeting. He had failed to grasp all the information since the proposal was very complicated. Besides, the cooperation mode proposed by SSPC seemed different from those in the past, with many details still pending for discussion. He therefore asked whether the Chairman wanted Members to make a decision of accepting the proposal by SSPC now or to discuss on the proposal first.

194. The Chairman responded that DC received SSPC’s proposal recently after meeting with it in April. Members might be unable to make a decision right now. He therefore suggested Members consider arranging another meeting with SSPC for detailed exchange of views.

195. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) he asked the Chairman to exercise discretion and allow the representatives of SSPC to explain their proposal to enhance the understanding of both sides; (ii) the discussion of community participation had started for almost half a year, he hoped that the relevant work could be implemented as soon as possible.

196. The Chairman said that he hoped that the workshops could be carried out as soon as possible. Since a further meeting with SSPC could not be arranged before this meeting to discuss the issues, the content of the proposal could not be included into the agenda of this meeting. He had suggested meeting with SSPC the week after 20 June this year, i.e. the fourth week of June, to discuss the issues in detail. He hoped that Members would attend the meeting.

197. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu said that in the past Members were informed by the Secretariat - 54 - Action by to attend informal meetings decided by the Chairman or the Vice-chairman. Yet the notification periods were often short and as a result some of the Members could not attend. He suggested setting up a working group in February this year, believing that the implementation of the workshops would be more effective under the framework of DC. He suggested DC consider setting up a working group to follow up on the relevant work or decide the date of next meeting as soon as possible so that more Members could attend the meetings.

198. The Chairman responded that: (i) DC had invited all the Members to attend the past meetings with district organisations and would notify them as early as possible in the future; (ii) Members could consider holding an informal meeting with SSPC before the end of June this year or further discuss the issues at suitable working group with the representatives of SSPC in attendance.

199. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu did not agree to have the issues discussed by a particular working group. He asked whether the Chairman meant to set up a non-standing working group or to conduct informal meeting. He reckoned that non-standing working groups were set up under DC and were more formal and desirable.

200. The Chairman suggested holding an informal meeting within two weeks first to learn about the proposal of SSPC before deciding whether a non-standing working group should be set up.

201. Ms NG Yuet-lan wanted to learn about the proposal of SSPC now so that Members could develop an understanding as soon as possible to facilitate future discussion.

202. The Chairman asked the representatives of SSPC to introduce the proposal. The representatives of SSPC introduced their preparatory plan and mechanism for community participation and said that they hoped to jointly develop with DC a specific work plan for the cooperation of civic groups and DC.

203. The Chairman said that since the proposed mechanism and plan did not only involve DC but also involved other government departments, the responses of relevant departments were required. He suggested holding a meeting within two weeks to discuss the plan in question.

204. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu asked whether DC would endorse the proposed organisation plan by SSPC. - 55 - Action by

205. The Chairman responded and concluded that DC had yet to endorse the proposed organisation plan by SSPC. Besides, the views of departments should be respected because the proposal would affect their resources allocation plans. He would convene a preparatory meeting within two weeks to discuss the issues with SSPC and invited Members to attending the meeting.

(d) Posting out of the District Officer (Sham Shui Po)

206. The Chairman said that after serving DO for more than four years, Mr Benjamin MOK, the District Officer, would go aboard to further his studies. Hard-working and dedicated to serving the public, the District Officer’s contribution to SSP District was well recognised. The Chairman would also like to welcome Mr Damian LEE, the incoming District Officer on behalf of SSPDC.

207. The District Officer said that he would like to thank the Chairmen and Members of the Third Term and the Fourth Term DCs as well as the representatives of various government departments for their support, tolerance and cooperation. He had accumulated valuable experience in district work in the past four years and would like to wish Members all the success in their future work and asked them to keep supporting the incoming District Officer. Finally, he wanted to wish them good governance, good health and a happy family.

Item 7: Date of next meeting

208. The next meeting would be held at 9:30 a.m. on 6 September 2016.

209. There being no other business, the meeting ended at 5:45 p.m.

District Council Secretariat Sham Shui Po District Office August 2016