Advertisement
Advertisement
Hong Kong district council election
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Now that they have won the district council elections, what next? Photo: AP

Hong Kong district council elections: pan-democrats pledge to broadcast meetings, scrap proxy votes and review costly projects

  • Live-streaming of council meetings will help engage residents, councillors say
  • Minutes of meetings will show who said what, in a bid to improve accountability
Hong Kong’s pan-democrats have promised to use their landslide victory in the recent district council elections to introduce changes that increase transparency and encourage scrutiny of their work.

Those interviewed by the Post said the camp wanted to implement live video streaming of council meetings, scrap the practice of proxy votes which allowed absent councillors to let colleagues act on their behalf, and relook at projects with hefty price tags.

After winning 392 out of 452 seats in the November 24 polls, pan-democrats form the majority in 17 out of 18 district councils.

Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, a veteran councillor in Wong Tai Sin district who did not seek re-election, said pan-democrats must make good use of their new advantage and raise the quality of council meetings.

His advice to them: “You have to raise the standard of debate and be responsible with what you say.”

One plan in that direction is to provide verbatim minutes of meetings, showing who said what.

Before the election, all district councils were led by the pro-establishment camp, with some recording summaries of their proceedings without naming speakers, a practice critics said undermined accountability.

(From left) Civic Party district councillors Andy Yu, Alvin Yeung, Cheng Tat-hung, Henry Sin and Warren Tam discuss their plans for their first 100 days. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Wu also said that, being consultation bodies, the councils should do more to reflect the public view on government policies.

No district council has provided live broadcasts of its meetings, with five explicitly banning those present from broadcasting proceedings using their own devices. Instead, audio recordings are made available days or weeks after each meeting.

Pro-Beijing camp’s landslide loss ‘a chance for reflection’ on Hong Kong

Ben Lam Siu-pan, a newly-elected councillor in Yau Tsim Mong district, said it would be easy to install cameras and live-stream the meetings.

“The meeting is nothing secret, and has everything to do with residents and their well being,” the pro-democracy camp independent said. “It also helps break the vicious circle that very few people pay attention to the meetings because they are inaccessible.”

The councils usually hold six full meetings a year, and they can last hours, depending on the agenda.

The administrative wing of the Central and Western District Council in 2017 estimated that it would cost several million dollars initially for equipment and installation, then another HK$60,000 to stream each meeting.

“We could tailor to the need of each district council and look for a cheaper yet relatively functional set-up,” said newly elected councillor Sam Yip Kam-lung.

Members of the Democratic Party celebrate in Tsim Sha Tsui after they won most of the district council elections. Photo: Sam Tsang

In Kwai Tsing district, pan-democrats have arrived at an early consensus to abolish proxy votes, a change expected to be made in other districts such as Tai Po and Yau Tsim Mong too.

Veteran councillor Sin Chung-kai, tipped to be chairman of Kwai Tsing district, said proxy voting was unacceptable and had been criticised by the public.

It meant councillors could stay away from meetings and still have their votes recorded by authorising others to act for them.

“It makes the district council meeting like a board meeting, with business decided by the heads of certain parties or among four to five people,” Sin said.

Wong Tai Sin councillor Rosanda Mok Ka-han of the Democratic Party, elected for the fifth time since 1999, said her camp hopes to show its ability to govern through its reforms.

“We should be able to demonstrate to the public how a mini-government works, where malpractices and white elephant projects are avoided,” Mok said.

Councillors from Wan Chai, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long districts told the Post they want to act against controversial construction projects they say risk becoming white elephants.

Among them are a HK$50 million musical fountain in Kwun Tong and a HK$140 million activities centre in Wan Chai, funded under the government’s 2013’s Signature Project Scheme.

The scheme allowed the councils to apply for funds of up to HK$100 million for projects in their areas.

Most of the ideas were cleared by the district councils, all dominated by the pro-establishment camp, but some faced difficulties getting past the Legislative Council when their cost-effectiveness was questioned.

[Proxy voting] makes the district council meeting like a board meeting, with business decided by the heads of certain parties or among four to five people
Sin Chung-kai, Kwai Tsing district

On Monday, nine pan-democrat councillors elected in Wan Chai issued a joint statement calling for the proposed activities centre to be scrapped.

They included the only incumbent pan-democrat in council, independent Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying, who said the project cost too much and would displace an existing volleyball court next to the Hong Kong Central Library.

“It will be hard to relocate the court, which is a cradle of Hong Kong sports talents,” she said.

The Democratic Party’s Edith Leung Yik-ting, elected to Kwun Tong district council, said her camp would try to salvage HK$40 million from the budget for the musical fountain.

It has been passed by the Legco finance committee but not all contract tenders have been awarded.

“Our understanding is that some contracts have already been granted, but the remaining HK$40 million could be used to help local residents instead, for example, by offering health checks,” she said.

Pan-democrats elected in Yuen Long have also written to the government asking to halt a plan to build a 540 metre footbridge at the cost of HK$1.7 billion over a stream, or nullah, in the area.

The plan was tabled for funding at Legco last year but was withdrawn after failing to secure enough support even from the pro-establishment camp.

The pro-establishment camp’s Paul Tse Wai-chun, one of the few lawmakers in his bloc to win at the recent polls, said he welcomed reforms “so long as they are in the right direction”.

When it comes to broadcasting the proceedings of meetings, for example, Tse said councillors should be mindful of the cost, and whether there would be an audience large enough to justify the expense.

Tse also cautioned his pan-democrat opponents, saying: “Power comes with responsibility.”

Post