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The following is issued on behalf of the Electoral Affairs Commission:
 
     The Electoral Affairs Commission today (July 23) released its provisional recommendations on the boundaries and names of the 452 proposed constituencies for the 2019 District Council (DC) Ordinary Election for public consultation. The public consultation period will last for 30 days until August 21.
 
     “The 2019 DC Ordinary Election will be held at the end of next year. In making provisional recommendations on boundaries and names of the constituencies for public consultation, the Commission has, in accordance with the law, followed the statutory criteria and its established working principles on the basis of the projected population of Hong Kong in mid-2019,” the Commission Chairman, Mr Justice Barnabas Fung Wah, said.
 
     The population quota for the 2019 DC Ordinary Election is 16 599 people per constituency. This is calculated by dividing the total projected population of Hong Kong in mid-2019, which is 7 502 600, by the 452 elected seats in the election.
 
     “According to the law, the population in a constituency should not exceed or fall below the population quota by more than 25 per cent, i.e. the statutory permissible range. As such, the population in a constituency will exceed the permissible range if it falls outside the range between 12 449 and 20 749 people.
 
     “The Commission proposes appropriate adjustment to the boundaries of those constituencies with projected population exceeding the permissible range with a view to ensuring that their projected population will fall within the statutory permissible range. The boundaries of the adjacent constituencies, even though the projected population falls within the permissible range, would also be adjusted unavoidably.
 
     “According to the law, apart from taking into account the projected population, the Commission must also have regard to the other statutory factors, including community identities, preservation of local ties and physical features of the areas concerned,” Mr Justice Fung said.
 
     In addition, the Commission has proposed the delineation of 21 new constituencies in accordance with the subsidiary legislation passed by the Legislative Council this year in respect of the number of elected seats for the next term of the DCs.
 
     “As in the past, in order to minimise any possible inconvenience to electors due to the boundary adjustments, the Commission has adopted the principle of affecting the least number of existing constituencies or the least number of people in drawing up the delineation proposals,” Mr Justice Fung said.
 
     In summary, the Commission has delineated a total of 21 new constituencies and proposed to adjust the boundaries of 128 existing constituencies, which are more than the 109 constituencies whose boundaries were adjusted in 2015. The reasons are mainly because there are more new constituencies, and there are more constituencies with projected population exceeding the permissible range substantially, making it necessary to adjust the boundaries of more adjacent constituencies correspondingly. Furthermore, 12 constituencies are proposed to be allowed to depart from the permissible range, which are fewer than the 24 constituencies in 2015.
      
     “There are various options in delineating DC boundaries and there is no sole or absolute way to do so. The Commission must take all the factors into account – mainly the population figures while having regard to the other statutory factors. These factors certainly do not include political ones or any factor not relevant to the statutory requirements,” Mr Justice Fung emphasised.
 
     Proposed names for the constituencies were formed by reference to the major features, roads or residential settlements in the constituencies concerned, as well as views of the relevant District Officers.
 
     The Commission will submit its final recommendations to the Chief Executive after taking into account representations received during the consultation period.
 
     Written representations on the proposed boundaries and names may be submitted by post to the Commission’s Secretariat (10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai), by fax (2511 1682) or by email (eacenq@reo.gov.hk) by August 21. Late submissions will not be considered.
 
     Two public forums to listen to the views on any constituency will be held by the Commission from 7pm to 9.30pm on August 1 and August 3 respectively at Lai Chi Kok Community Hall, 863 Lai Chi Kok Road, Sham Shui Po, and Lung Hang Estate Community Centre, Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin. Members of the public are welcome to express their views at any one of the forums.
 
     Members of the public can visit the Commission’s website (www.eac.gov.hk), Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of all district offices, the Registration and Electoral Office, post offices, management offices of public housing estates, and major and district public libraries to study the maps and descriptions of the proposed boundaries of individual constituencies. For enquiries, please call 2827 1269. read more

     Police today (July 23) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Wong Tai Sin.      Wong Pui-keung, aged 38, went missing after he left his residence in Choi Wan Estate… read more

     Hong Kong Customs seized about 17 800 suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $48,000 and a duty potential of about $34,000 at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point on July 21.

     Customs officers intercepted an incoming male passenger at Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point on July 21. Upon Customs clearance, Customs officers seized the batch of illicit cigarettes from a suitcase and a rucksack carried by him.

     The arrested man, aged 33, was charged with possession of dutiable goods and was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment at Fanling Magistrates’ Courts today (July 23).

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk). read more

     Police today (July 23) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Kwai Chung.        Leung Sing-chai, aged 68, went missing after he was last seen in a hospital on Princess Ma… read more

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited the Legal Aid Department today (July 23) to learn more about the work of the department and meet its staff.
      
     Mr Cheung started his visit by meeting the Director of Legal Aid, Mr Thomas Kwong, and other senior officers of the department. They shared with Mr Cheung the services provided to the public, the work of various divisions and the challenges ahead.
      
     Accompanied by Mr Kwong, Mr Cheung toured the Legal and Management Support (LMS) Section under the Policy and Administration Division. The LMS Section is mainly responsible for providing information technology and management support to the department, assessing bills of costs submitted by assigned lawyers, attending legal aid taxation hearings and conducting enforcement proceedings for the recovery of judgment debts and costs in legally aided cases.
      
     Mr Cheung then visited the Litigation Division to find out more about the litigation services provided for aided persons whose cases have been assigned in-house. At the Crime Section, he was briefed on the processing of criminal legal aid applications and handling of criminal litigation, and the operation of the Remote Official Visit System. The System allows the officers to interview inmates at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre through a video conferencing system in the interview room. 
      
        He was also given a tour of the Application and Processing Division to understand how the front-line staff of the Information and Application Services Unit met with the public and handled their enquiries on matters related to the procedures for applying for legal aid. He received a briefing from officers on the processing of legal aid applications and the assessment of applicants’ eligibility for civil legal aid on the basis of prescribed means and merits tests.

     The responsibilities for formulating legal aid policy and housekeeping the department have been transferred to the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office since July 1, 2018.  
      
     Mr Cheung emphasised that legal aid services are the cornerstone of the rule of law in Hong Kong. He thanked the department for its efforts in providing quality legal aid services to the public as well as its commitment to ensuring that any person who has reasonable grounds for taking or defending a legal action will not be denied access to justice because of a lack of means. He was pleased to note that the department has also been working closely with the legal profession and other stakeholders with a view to enhancing its legal aid services. He encouraged colleagues of the Legal Aid Department to keep up their professionalism and dedication to serve the public.     read more