The 2022 Chief Executive Election will be held on May 8. The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) will set up a main polling station at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), Wan Chai, for the Election Committee (EC) members to cast their votes. Taking into account the current epidemic situation, the REO will also set up a Penny's Bay Polling Station (PBPS) at the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility for EC members who are unable to cast their votes at the main polling station on the polling day due to local isolation or quarantine measures.
 
     The REO explained that the arrangements are applicable to EC members who are unable to cast their votes at the main polling station on the polling day due to the following situations (collectively referred to as "affected EC members"):
(a) under isolation in community isolation facilities;
(b) under quarantine in quarantine facilities;
(c) undergoing home quarantine;
(d) inbound travellers undergoing quarantine at designated places (for example, quarantine hotels); and
(e) the Government has issued a "restriction-testing declaration" requiring them to stay in their premises and undergo compulsory testing, and the EC members and/or their household member(s) are later confirmed to carry a positive result.
 
     After the close of the poll at the PBPS, sufficient time would need to be reserved for disinfection and delivery of ballot papers to the central counting station located at the HKCEC. As such, the polling hours of the PBPS are specified to be 9am to 10.30am. To ensure that EC members can cast their votes in a timely manner within the specified polling hours, affected EC members will have to be admitted into the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility one day before the polling day (May 7) and stay for one night before they cast their votes in the polling station inside the facility in the morning of the following day. After voting, EC members can return to their original place to undergo the relevant isolation or quarantine (if required). EC members who only confirm on May 8 (before the close of the poll at the PBPS) their need to undergo isolation or quarantine should immediately contact the REO for providing practicable assistance in arranging for them to cast their vote as far as possible.
 
     From May 3 to the close of the poll at the PBPS on May 8, affected EC members can call the dedicated service hotline during business hours (9am to 6pm) from May 3 to 6 and from 9am on May 7 till 10.30am on May 8 (REO will later provide the number of the hotline via SMS and/or email to all EC members). The REO will co-ordinate with other related departments to provide one-stop services, including arranging designated taxis to transport affected EC members, as well as their admission into the Penny's Bay Community Isolation Facility. In addition, affected EC members who find themselves subjected to the "restriction-testing declaration" on the evening of May 7 should contact the REO via the dedicated service hotline as early as possible so that appropriate assistance can be provided to facilitate them to vote.
 
     The REO also remarks that pursuant to Section 32 of the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap. 599A), a person shall not, knowing that he/she is a contact or is infected with a specified infectious disease, by the conducts specified in subsection (1) of that section, expose other persons to the risk of infection. The REO urges affected EC members not to cast their votes in the main polling station at the HKCEC, but to contact the REO as soon as possible to exercise their voting rights in accordance with the arrangements above. If EC members have any questions regarding the above arrangement, they may call the REO hotline on 2891 1001.

     The Government announced today (April 29) that the Chief Executive, in her capacity as the Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has accepted the nomination of the CUHK Council and appointed Professor John Chai Yat-chiu as Chairman of the CUHK Council for a term of three years with effect from May 1, 2022.

     The Education Bureau welcomed the appointment and is confident that the CUHK will continue to scale new heights with Professor Chai at the helm. Professor Chai is a prominent community leader who has all along been committed to public service and has made exemplary contributions to the Hong Kong community. He also has a wealth of experience in the higher education sector, including serving as Vice-Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and member of the Council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in the past, as well as member of the CUHK Council currently.

     The Bureau also paid tribute to the outgoing Council Chairman, Dr Norman Leung, who has been a member of the CUHK Council since 2015 and took up the chairmanship in 2016. Under his leadership, the CUHK consolidated its position as one of the world's top universities and continued to excel in both teaching and research with remarkable achievements.

     The Government announced today (April 29) the appointment of the membership of the Public Libraries Advisory Committee (PLAC) for the term from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2024.

     The PLAC advises the Government on the development of public libraries in Hong Kong, including the formulation of strategies and measures for the development of library facilities and services; the role, functions and management of the Hong Kong Central Library; and the encouragement of community support and partnership with different sectors in promoting reading, lifelong learning and literary arts.

     The membership list of the new term of the PLAC is as follows:

Chairman:                     Mr Sunny Lee Wai-kwong
Vice-chairperson:           Ms Shirley Marie Therese Loo
Members:                      Mr Charles Chan Kin-hung
                                    Ms Chan Yuk-yin
                                    Ms Cheung Sze-wing
                                    Mr Felix Chow Bok-hin
                                    Mr Chow Tsz-lit
                                    Mr Choy Sai-hung
                                    Ms Linda Choy Siu-min
                                    Professor Chui Yat-hung
                                    Ms Ho Ka-man
                                    Mr Brian Kwok Sze-hang
                                    Mr Lai Shiao-bun*
                                    Ms Tendy Lam Pui-tung
                                    Ms Lam Yan-tung
                                    Dr Rizwan Ullah*
                                    Mr Wan Chi-lun*
                                    Dr Shirley Wong Chiu-wing*
                                    Dr Jimmy Wong Kam-yiu*
                                    Representative of the Education Bureau
                                    Representative of the Government Records Service
                                    Representative of the Home Affairs Bureau
                                    Representative of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department

* Newly appointed members

     A spokesman for the Home Affairs Bureau thanked the five outgoing members (Ms Diana Chan Lai-ha, Mr Vincent Cheng Wing-shun, Ms Ho Lan-sang, Mr Hung Kam-in and Ms Karen Ip Kam-lin) for their valued support and contributions to the work of the PLAC over the past years.

The following is issued on behalf of the Office of The Ombudsman:

     The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (April 28) announced the completion of a direct investigation into the management and effectiveness of waste separation bins, and made six recommendations for improvement to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD).

     Since 1998, the Government has provided waste separation bins (commonly known as "three-colour recycling bins" and hereafter "recycling bins") for collection of waste paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles, thereby encouraging the public to participate in waste reduction and recycling. There were media reports that recycling bins were mixed with litter, and some recyclables collection service contractors (the Contractors), for various reasons, disposed of recyclables from recycling bins together with refuse, thus undermining public confidence in the authorities' effective management of the recycling bins.

     The investigation by the Office of The Ombudsman revealed that since October 1, 2020, the EPD had taken over the management of recycling bins in public places from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and implemented a number of improvement measures to achieve the goal of "bigger capacity, easy reporting". The EPD has also stepped up the monitoring of the Contractor through different means, including through the supervision teams formed by the Contractor as required by the EPD and the quality assurance teams set up by a third-party organisation (i.e. the Hong Kong Productivity Council), as well as EPD staff. Since the implementation of the above improvement measures by the EPD, there has been initial improvement in the management of recycling bins in public places.

     Meanwhile, the investigation by the Office revealed that the existing labels on recycling bins in public places were overly simple, thereby failing to effectively minimise improper use of the bins. During site visits for a random sample of recycling bins, the Office also found inconsistencies related to several locations indicated by the "Waste Less" mobile application of the EPD with the actual site situation. Fortunately, the EPD updated the information on the app in early February 2022.

     In the long run, the EPD anticipates a declining demand for roadside recycling bins in urban areas. The role of recycling bins will also gradually transform into providing waste recycling support mainly for remote rural areas and residential premises on scattered sites. Such bins may even be completely replaced by the community recycling network Green@Community.

     Ms Chiu said, "The provision of recycling bins has been implemented by the Government for years. While the quantity of recyclables collected from recycling bins in public places such as roadsides is limited, amounting to less than 0.1 per cent of the total amount of recyclables in Hong Kong annually, these bins are very conspicuous in the community. The effectiveness of these bins will directly affect public confidence in the authorities' measures on waste separation and recovery. The Office is pleased to learn that the EPD has implemented multiple improvement measures since it took over the management of recycling bins in public places in October 2020, with initial improvements to the management of the bins. We find the efforts of the EPD commendable. We expect it to continue monitoring the usage of recycling bins, stepping up publicity and education, and strengthening collaboration with other government departments, so as to revive public confidence in using recycling bins."

     The Office has made six recommendations to the EPD as follows:
 

• Review the labels on recycling bins in public places and consider providing more recycling information in textual and graphical forms to enable the public to learn about more quickly and conveniently the proper way of using recycling bins;

• Update the "Waste Less" mobile application in a timely manner to ensure accuracy of information about recycling bins in public places;

• Continue strengthening collaboration with other departments responsible for recycling bin management and actively encourage them to maintain more recycling data, thereby facilitating the monitoring and adjustment of the management strategies of recycling bins;

• Release data on the operation of recycling bins in public places regularly to enhance transparency of its services and facilitate an objective understanding of the current effectiveness of recycling bins by the public;

• Continue stepping up publicity and education, including sharing via different channels success cases about how members of the public use recycling bins, thereby encouraging more people to take part in waste reduction and recovery, and reviving public confidence in the effectiveness of recycling bins; and

• Work out a schedule to review the policy positioning of recycling bins in public places for deciding on the way forward, and explain its decision for the public to understand why recycling bins in the community may be gradually reduced in number or even completely replaced. If it is decided that recycling bins in public places be retained, continue assessing any impact arising from waste charging due to be implemented later, and adopt corresponding measures to ensure that recycling bins in public places will continue to achieve efficacy.

     The EPD has accepted all of the recommendations.

     The full investigation report has been uploaded to the website of the Office of The Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.hk for public viewing.