Author Archives: hksar gov

     Following is a question by the Hon Michael Tien and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:
 
     Recently, incidents of missing construction records of the Shatin to Central Link Project and the Hong Kong Link Road of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Project have been uncovered one after another, which has aroused widespread concern. Some members of the public suspect that such incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will check the construction records of all public works projects implemented in the past five years and give the public an account of whether similar situations are found; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President:
 
     The Development Bureau has always attached great importance to the site supervision and quality of public works. Therefore, we have requested works departments as well as contractors and consultants on our approved lists to remind their frontline staff that the contract requirements, including timely submission of Request for Inspection/Survey Check (RISC) forms and proper keeping of relevant documents, should be followed.
 
     Our response to the Hon Michael Tien’s enquiry is as follows:
 
     In the past five years, more than 4,000 public works projects were under construction, involving a sheer volume of documents. Coupled with the fact that some of these projects have now been completed, it would be impractical to check all documents concerned as it will require substantial staff resources and take quite long time to complete. In order to realise the situation, we have already spot-checked some public works projects under construction. According to the spot checks, missing of RISC forms have not been identified. Notwithstanding that there are cases in which some RISC forms have not been submitted on time, the contractors concerned have subsequently submitted them (note). In other words, the records of those public works projects being checked are complete and the quality of the works meets the standards and contract requirements.
 
     To ensure proper processing and keeping of construction records, the Development Bureau (DEVB) requested the works departments earlier on to increase spot checking of records relating to RISC in future audits on public works contracts to verify whether the frontline staff have followed the procedures in processing the RISC or not. Through the Construction Industry Council, we are disseminating and advocating to the construction industry the importance of complying with the RISC system. We also appeal to the industry to provide necessary induction and on-the-job training for their staff to ensure proper implementation of the system. In addition, we have promoted the digitisation of the works supervision system through pilot projects to collect real-time data on site environment and works progress for recording, monitoring and analysis so as to further enhance the standard and efficiency of the supervision of public works projects. In the long run, the DEVB will review whether it is necessary to further refine the RISC system, for example, whether non-compliance of RISC requirements and follow-up action should be handled by more senior resident site staff at managerial level.
 
Note: In general, according to the requirements of public works contracts, when contractors have completed certain critical works (e.g. erection of formwork, reinforcement fixing, concreting, etc.) and/or certain works are about to be put out of view (e.g. completed piling works), they are required to submit RISC forms requesting the resident site staff to inspect and survey the works concerned. The contractors can proceed to the next stage of works only after obtaining approval from the resident site staff. If the contractors fail to submit the RISC forms, members of the resident site staff are entitled to refuse the conduct of relevant inspection and/or survey check. Nevertheless, having considered the reason(s) for the delay in submitting the RISC forms of individual cases, members of the resident site staff may, if the circumstance permits, exercise their discretion to deal with the late request, i.e. to conduct the inspection and/or survey check first and then follow up with the contractor about the outstanding submissions together with proper documentation of the case. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Eddie Chu and a reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):

Question:

     The Rural Representative Election Ordinance (Cap. 576) provides that the representatives of specified villages and market towns elected from the rural ordinary elections shall be members of the relevant Rural Committees (RCs), and the executive committee members and other office holders of an RC are to be elected from among its members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
     
(1) as currently there is no statutory requirement for the articles of association of an RC to be made public, whether the Government has put in place measures to ensure that the electors of Rural Representative Elections understand the articles of association of the relevant RC, and can determine if the electoral arrangements and the conduct of an election to elect the office holders of the RC concerned are consistent with Article 21(a) and (b) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights set out in Part II of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, as required under section 62(3) of Cap. 576;

(2) whether it will consider enhancing, by making legislative amendments or through other means, the transparency of the operation and accountability of RCs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether it will transfer the work on registration of electors for the Rural Representative Elections from the Home Affairs Department to the Registration and Electoral Office, and enhance the interoperability of the registers of electors for the elections in respect of Legislative Council geographical constituencies, District Councils and Rural Representatives, thereby improving the registration rates of electors for Rural Representative Elections; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,
     
     My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Government has been striving to work with the Heung Yee Kuk (HYK) on reviewing the arrangements for the elections of Rural Committees (RCs). At present, the 27 RCs in the New Territories are required to hold the elections in accordance with their respective Constitutions. In order to enhance the election proceedings of RCs, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) reached a consensus with HYK and RCs in 2006 after discussion, and drew up the Model Rules for Rural Committee Elections (the Model Rules). Making reference to the Model Rules, RCs set out the principles and details of the election of Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, Executive Committee Members and General Assembly Members, as well as the handling of complaints.

     Subsequently in 2012, together with HYK, HAD further enhanced the arrangement in relation to the RC elections in the Model Rules, including the general rule, role of District Officers, number of seats, term of office, handling of vacancy in office, voter eligibility, the circumstances a person is disqualified from voting, voter registration, dates for elections, the arrangement of by-elections, nomination procedure, eligibility of candidates, subscribers and seconders, withdrawal of candidature, arrangements for polling and counting of votes, handling of complaints, and questioning of the results of elections, so that the electoral arrangements of RC elections would become closer to statutory elections. All RCs set out in their respective Constitutions that the election proceedings specified therein must conform to the Model Rules.

     For the elections of Executive Committee Members, Chairman and Vice-chairmen of RCs, the respective District Officer serve as the Returning Officer (RO) to coordinate the proceedings. Duties of ROs include:
(i) fixing the date, time and place of elections and formulating the election rules and procedures;
(ii) monitoring the whole process of elections;
(iii) compiling and publishing registers of electors, and determining the claims and objections in respect of registers of electors;
(iv) accepting the notices of intention to stand for an election and nomination papers of candidates and deciding on their validity;
(v) monitoring the polling activities on polling days;
(vi) monitoring the process of the counting of the votes;
(vii) declaring the result of elections;
(viii) handling complaints relating to the elections and making the determination;
(ix) accepting and keeping in custody copies of election advertisement and related information/documents, and the Returns and Declarations of Election Expenses and Election Donations submitted by candidates; and
(x) confirming the result of elections.

     ROs will ensure, according to the Model Rules, that the elections are properly and fairly conducted and in compliance with article 21(a) and (b) of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights under Part II of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383).

     After the completion of RC and HYK elections in June 2019, HAD will conduct the Rural Election Review Working Group Meeting with HYK with a view to exploring how to improve the arrangements for rural election and ways to further enhance the RC elections in a gradual and orderly manner while respecting the history and traditions of the rural community.

(3) According to the relevant electoral law, the requirements of the voter registration for the rural representative election are different from that for the Legislative Council geographical constituencies and the District Council constituencies. There is a residency requirement for electors in Resident Representative Election/Kaifong Representative Election. Any persons who wants to register as an elector in these Elections must be a Hong Kong permanent resident and has been a resident of the concerned rural area for the three years immediately before the date of application. A “resident” means a person whose principal residential address is in the rural area. A principal residential address means the address of the dwelling place at which the person resides and which constitutes the person’s sole or main home. As for Indigenous Inhabitant Representative Election, so long as a person is an indigenous inhabitant of the concerned village, or a spouse or surviving spouse of an indigenous inhabitant of that Village, he/she can register as an elector, regardless of whether he/she is a Hong Kong permanent resident or whether he/she lives in Hong Kong. As for persons who want to register as electors in a geographical constituency, they must be Hong Kong permanent residents and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. The registered residential address should be the address of their only or principal residence in Hong Kong, but there is no requirement for the period of residence. There is also no such requirement of the indigenous inhabitant identity.

     In view of the difference between the elector eligibility of the two elections, HAD and the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) compile the registers of electors separately. Combining the two registers and implementing automatic registration would result in certain unqualified persons being wrongly registered as electors for the election of rural representatives or geographical constituencies.

     In order to maintain the credibility of the voter registration system and improve the accuracy and completeness of the data of the electors, HAD regularly reviews the registered addresses of electors in Rural Representative Election/Kaifong Representative Election with REO and will conduct investigation as and when necessary. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:
 
     The Mental Health Review Report, which was released in April 2017, put forward recommendations for the enhancement of the overall mental health services in Hong Kong. In December of the same year, the Government established the Advisory Committee on Mental Health to advise the Government on mental health policies. Regarding the mental health services, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it will establish a Mental Health Commission for implementing mental health-related policies and measures, including carrying out the relevant education work in primary and secondary schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) whether it has worked out a roadmap and milestones for the development of mental health services, say, the number of persons having distressing or disabling psychiatric difficulties accounting for not more than 5 per cent of the population of Hong Kong in 2030; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) whether it will allocate additional resources to improve the public mental health services, including providing evening specialist outpatient services, increasing the number of inpatient beds, recruiting more healthcare workers, providing additional halfway houses, providing permanent premises for various Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness, as well as strengthening the support for the family members and carers of patients with mental illness; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government attaches great importance to the mental health of the public, and has all along adopted an integrated approach in the promotion of mental health through a service delivery model that covers prevention, early identification, and timely intervention, treatment and rehabilitation for persons with mental health needs.   The Government seeks to provide comprehensive, multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral services to persons with mental health needs through collaboration and cooperation among the Food and Health Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), the Education Bureau (EDB), the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority (HA), non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.
 
     My reply, prepared in consultation with the EDB and the LWB, to the various parts of the Hon Chan Han-pan’s question is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) The Government established the Advisory Committee on Mental Health (the Advisory Committee) in December 2017 to provide advice on mental health policies, including the adoption of a more integrated and comprehensive approach to tackle multi-faceted mental health issues in Hong Kong.  It assists the Government in developing policies, strategies and measures to enhance mental health services in Hong Kong. It also follows up on and monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the Mental Health Review Report (the Review Report) promulgated in 2017. Chaired by Mr Wong Yan-lung, SC, the Advisory Committee comprises members from various sectors with a wealth of expertise and experience, including professionals from the healthcare, social service and education sectors; representatives from patient and carer advocacy groups; and lay persons with interest in mental health.
 
     Since its establishment, the Advisory Committee has discussed various issues in detail, including ways to enhance mental health services for children and adolescents; an on-going mental health promotion, education and destigmatisation initiative; and mental health prevalence surveys. The Advisory Committee has also actively followed up on the implementation of the 40 recommendations of the Review Report with the relevant bureaux/departments, and provided views on the future direction for some of the recommendations including those concerning the Dementia Community Support Scheme and Student Mental Health Support Scheme.
 
     In order to gather more comprehensive information on the mental health status of the Hong Kong population, the Government has also, based on the Advisory Committee’s recommendations, commissioned two universities to conduct three territory-wide mental prevalence surveys covering children, adolescents and the elderly.
 
     In primary and secondary education, learning contents related to mental health have been incorporated in the curricula of primary and secondary education for students to explore issues on healthy lifestyles, tackling stress and frustration, showing respect for people of different backgrounds, as well as the problems and needs faced by persons with mental health needs. It also aims to develop students’ positive values and attitude to respect, accept and support persons with mental health needs.
 
(3) Like other developed areas, mental health is regarded as an important issue in Hong Kong. Over the past few years, the Government has been increasing its resource allocation on mental health so that more comprehensive services could be provided to persons with mental health needs.
 
     On the healthcare front, the HA’s expenditure on mental health services has increased from some $3.8 billion in 2013-14 to near $5.1 billion in the revised estimate for 2018-19, an increase of over 32 per cent, for enhancing manpower and services and for increasing 40 hospital beds in the Kowloon Psychiatric Observation Unit, etc.  In 2019-20, the Government will continue to allocate more manpower and resources in respect of mental health, including an addition of five doctors and enhance child and adolescent psychiatric services.
 
     Making reference to the recent overseas trend of using the community resources to handle mental health cases, the Government has recently allocated more resources to mental health services in the community. Apart from improving the ratio of case managers to patients with severe mental illness under the HA’s Case Management Programme from the current 1:50 to 1:40, the Government also plans to increase the number of service places for halfway houses from the current 1 509 to 1 594 in the short run and also the number of parents/relatives resource centres from the existing six to 19 in a progressive way to step up support for parents and relatives/carers of persons with disabilities, including those with mental health needs. In addition, of the existing 24 Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness (ICCMWs), 22 have either obtained permanent accommodation or reserved suitable places in development/redevelopment projects as permanent accommodation. The SWD has initially earmarked places as permanent accommodation for the remaining two ICCMWs to strengthen community support for persons with mental health needs and their carers.
 
     Relevant bureaux/departments of the Government will continue to review mental health services under their policy purviews, and will allocate additional resources as required, with a view to providing more appropriate services for those with mental health needs. read more

     The Government announced today (March 27) that the scope of the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors (SSSDP) will be expanded to include sub-degree programmes. A total of 2 050 places in 28 sub-degree program… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan and a reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, in the Legislative Council today (March 27):
 
Question:

     In 2008, the Government created two additional layers of political appointment positions, namely Under Secretaries and Political Assistants.  The duty of the Under Secretaries is to assist the Secretaries of Departments in handling political responsibilities and the Political Assistants are responsible for providing political analyses and advice for principal officials as well as conducting political liaison work.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)    whether it has regularly conducted comprehensive reviews of the duties and work efficiency of the Under Secretaries and Political Assistants; if so, of the specific indicators adopted in the reviews and the outcome of the last review; if not, the reasons for that;

(2)    whether it has provided the Under Secretaries and Political Assistants with professional training to enhance their lobbying skills and their capability to liaise with the media and the public; if so, of the mode and effectiveness of the training; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)    whether it will consider adding a range of objective entry qualifications and assessments to the mechanisms for selecting Under Secretaries and Political Assistants, so as to ensure that the candidates selected possess a high level of professional capabilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Political Appointment System is an integral part of the governing team of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government.  In 2002, the HKSAR Government introduced the first batch of politically appointed Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau to create a political tier at the top echelon of the Government.  In 2008, the Political Appointment System was further developed leading to the creation of two additional layers of political appointment positions, namely Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants, thus forming the current three-tier Political Appointment System.

     Hong Kong is a diversified and liberal society.  Given the heightening aspirations from the public on the Government, it is not uncommon that different stakeholders take different and even opposing stances and views towards government policies.  The introduction of the Political Appointment System was to respond to social changes in the hope of allowing more flexibility and interaction in the governance of the HKSAR Government, and ensuring the timely and effective implementation of policies in response to public aspirations and social needs.  Under the Political Appointment System, posts such as Secretaries of Department, Directors of Bureau, Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants are filled by talents of different sectors, backgrounds and age groups flexibly drawn from within and outside the Government.  With the support of a high-quality, professional and permanent civil service, the HKSAR Government is able to make better-informed decisions, implement policies more effectively, and nurture political talents for the HKSAR.  A case in point is the Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants of the current-term Government.  They are talents from various sectors of the community with different professional backgrounds, such as public administration, political parties, business, professionals, academia, media and think tanks, etc.

     Politically appointed officials must keep their fingers on the pulse of the society and interact with the community to, through two-way communication, promote better understanding of government policies among members of the public while gauging a wide spectrum of public views, so as to keep government decisions close to the community and meet the needs of the community.  Politically appointed officials must also share the Chief Executive (CE)’s philosophy of governance and work with the CE to implement his/her manifesto.

     With regard to the Hon Mrs Regina Ip’s question raised by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan, after consulting the relevant offices and bureaux, I am providing a consolidated reply as follows:

(1) Deputy Directors of Bureau report directly to Directors of Bureau and are responsible principally for assisting Directors of Bureau in undertaking the full range of political work, especially in Legislative Council (LegCo) business.  This includes: attending meetings of the LegCo and its committees, panels and subcommittees; explaining government policies; and lobbying political parties, Members of various Councils and different sectors of society for their support for government proposals on policy, legislation and public expenditure.  Deputy Directors of Bureau also attend activities of political parties, community organisations, and business and professional associations as well as public forums, seminars and consultation sessions, etc. to strengthen the communication between the Government and different sectors of the community.  Furthermore, Deputy Directors of Bureau maintain close liaison with the media to explain government policies.  They also deputise for Directors of Bureau during the latter’s temporary absence (such as on duty visits and on leave).

     Political Assistants are responsible for providing political analysis and advice for Secretaries of Departments, Directors of Bureau and Deputy Directors of Bureau, and conducting political liaison as well as lobbying work.  This includes maintaining communication with political parties, LegCo Members, the media and relevant stakeholders, such as youth groups and community organisations.  Political Assistants are also tasked with preparing speeches and media statements.  The current-term Government attaches particular importance to youth development work by addressing young people’s concerns on education, career pursuit and home ownership, and encouraging their participation in public policy discussion, debate and political activities.  In this regard, since the Political Assistants assumed office, they have been visiting schools from time to time as arranged by the Education Bureau to have exchanges with students to learn more about their thinking, so as to close the gap between the Government and the youth.

     Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants of all bureaux/offices are required to report their work to their respective Secretaries of Department or Directors of Bureau.  Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau supervise their respective Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants, and review their work performance.

(2) On the front of training, while courses of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute target primarily at civil servants, Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants are also welcomed to attend courses relating to leadership enhancement, negotiation strategies and skills, media and public communication, interaction with District Councils, etc.  In addition, the Chief Executive’s Office (CE’s Office) also arranges seminars and experience-sharing sessions for Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants from time to time, with a view to facilitating their effective day-to-day work.  For instance, some Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants attended a national studies course offered by the Chinese Academy of Governance in Beijing last September.  The programme covered topics such as politics, economy, foreign affairs, national security and social system.  In-house seminars on law drafting procedures and the work of the Administration Wing etc. were also arranged by the CE’s Office last year specifically for Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants to increase their knowledge on the operation of the Government.

(3) As regards the appointment of Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants, under the existing mechanism, an appointment committee chaired by the CE is responsible for assessing and considering the proposed candidates for the positions of Deputy Directors of Bureau and Political Assistants for appointment by the CE.  The appointment committee comprises the Secretaries of Department, the relevant Directors of Bureau and the Director of the CE’s Office.  In forming her governing team, the incumbent CE’s principle is to attract talents widely and on merit.  In consideration of the proposed candidates, the appointment committee will deliberate on all relevant factors, such as that the person must be a Hong Kong permanent resident; has a sense of commitment to the country, Hong Kong and the community; shares the CE’s philosophy of governance; possesses the knowledge of or experience in the affairs, profession or sector related to the scope of duties, and the capability of handling political and government work; can work well with the Principal Official whom he/she is to serve; and is ready to assume political responsibility for the decision of the political team collectively, to ensure that the appointee possesses the right calibre and qualities required.

     The Government will, in the light of operational experience, further enhance the Political Appointment System as and when necessary.

     Thank you, President. read more