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Those Who Remain is unfair to Hong Kong people. The The Future of the District
Some pro-democracy district government is also imposing more re- Council
councilors such as Yuen Hoi-man, strictions over district council opera- Ma Ngok, an associate profes-
though passed the oath-taking pro- tions, such as stripping away its power sor from the Chinese University of
cedure, are also feeling gloomy about to approve funds,” the councilor says. Hong Kong’s Department of Govern-
the council’s future. The Financial Services and the ment and Public Administration, says
“The conditions for disqualifica- Treasury Bureau suggested to the Leg- some district councils are paralyzed
tion are unclear. This gives the gov- islative Council’s Financial Commit- as many councilors have resigned or
ernment the power to remove a dis- tee on October 15 to transfer the Dis- been disqualified.
trict councilor at any time,” Yuen, who trict Council’s power to fund minor “Under such circumstances, the
has been a district councilor in Sham work projects to other government government has the responsibility to
Shui Po since 2015, says. departments such as the Home Affairs organize by-elections. But the gov-
He adds that some councilors’ Department. ernment has refused to do so because
oath to pledge allegiance to the gov- Yuen says he will still voice opin- they fear that candidates from the
ernment was declared invalid without ion on issues such as consumers’ pro-democracy camp may win many
a legitimate reason, and the govern- rights and vaccination. But he will be seats in the elections,” Ma says.
ment did not accept their explanations more wary when dealing with politi- He also points out that the gov-
when they argued for their cases. The cal issues. ernment has tightened control over
government even has accused some “The National Security Law, the District Council by stripping away
councilors of conducting actions that which is vaguely drafted, has gener- the councils’ power to approve funds
they have not done. ated worries and fear. But I will still to avoid political trouble.
Yuen also criticizes the govern- express views on issues about human Ma believes that democrats can
ment of not holding by-elections to rights and social distancing policy,” no longer use the district council as a
replace the resigned or disqualified the councilor explains. stepping stone to win seats in the Leg-
councilors. He also states he will continue to islative Council and can only focus on
“This shows that the government distribute candles to commemorate dealing with district affairs.
does not value the district council and the 1989 Tiananmen Incident.
does not respect public opinion. This

Yuen Hoi-man in the Sham Shui Po district council. (Photo courtesy of Yuen Hoi-man)