{"id":20045,"date":"2021-12-08T22:47:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T14:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=20045"},"modified":"2021-12-15T16:44:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T08:44:52","slug":"district-council-what-lies-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2021\/12\/district-council-what-lies-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"District Council: What Lies Ahead?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The dim pathway of pro-democracy district councilors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leung Pak-hei<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong Pit-man resigned from her post as Kwai Tsing district councilor on July 9 and is now member of a concern group \u201cTsing Yi People\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will continue to actively participate in social affairs to help connect residents in the district,\u201d Wong says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was one of the 327 pro-democracy district councilors who quitted after various local media outlets reported in July that the government might ask them to repay salaries they received if their oath to pledge allegiance to the Hong Kong government was declared invalid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wong Pit-man<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

District councilors, same as senior government officials, legislators and judges, are required to swear to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the city to ensure they are sufficiently patriotic following Beijing\u2019s imposition of the national security law in June 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong\u2019s fear of being asked by the government to repay salaries and reimbursed expenses was proven true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok Tin-lap, a former Kowloon City district councilor from the Democratic Party, who was unseated on September 29 after his oath to pledge allegiance to the SAR government was declared invalid. He revealed on October 14 that the Home Affairs Bureau required him to pay back over HK$110,000 worth of expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of now, Kwok is the only former councilor being asked to pay back expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwok stated in a Facebook post on October 22 that he would continue to communicate with the Home Affairs Bureau and reserve all legal rights on this incident. But on November 12 he said he left Hong Kong \u201cowing to personal reasons\u201d, adding he would be back \u201csometime in the future\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Kwok Tin-lap\u2019s Facebook status stating his leaving from the post (Screenshot from Kwok Tin-lap\u2019s Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The city\u2019s District Council, envisioned as advisory bodies for the government at the municipal level, became a stronghold for the opposition camp following a landslide win in the 2019 elections, which took place at the height of that year\u2019s anti-government protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the 452 elected councilors, 389 were from the pro-democracy camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only 62 of the pro-democracy councilors remain in the council now. The large number of resignations and disqualifications means that many district councils have too few members to properly function. In the Central and Western District Council, where there were originally 15 councilors, only three remain now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those Who Left<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong is angered by how the government has made use of the oath taking procedure to remove elected pro-democracy councilors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think this is shameful. It shows that the government is unwilling to accept opposition and will do everything in their power to eliminate opposing views, even when our views are solid and reflect public opinion,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong points out it is more challenging to deal with district affairs without the official title of \u201cdistrict councilor\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow we can only focus on general district issues, such as buses being late, instead of being able to take care of resident\u2019s wellbeing, such as air conditioning in their flats,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is also harder to follow up issues. A bus company used to respond quickly to our enquiries but now it is very difficult to get a reply,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wong thinks it is meaningless for democrats to participate in future district council elections as the government screens candidates basing on their political beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI think this is shameful. It shows that the government is unwilling to accept opposition and will do everything in their power to eliminate opposing views, even when our views are solid and reflect public opinion,\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Those Who Remain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some pro-democracy district councilors such as Yuen Hoi-man, though passed the oath-taking procedure, are also feeling gloomy about the council\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Yuen Hoi-man<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe conditions for disqualification are unclear. This gives the government the power to\u00a0remove a district councilor at any time,\u201d Yuen, who has been a district councilor in Sham Shui Po since 2015, says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He adds that some councilors\u2019 oath to pledge allegiance to the government was declared invalid without a legitimate reason, and the government did not accept their explanations when they argued for their cases. The government even has accused some councilors of conducting actions that they have not done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe conditions for disqualification are unclear. This gives the government the power to remove a district councilor at any time,\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yuen also criticizes the government of not holding by-elections to replace the resigned or disqualified councilors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis shows that the government does not value the district council and does not respect public opinion. This is unfair to Hong Kong people. The government is also imposing more restrictions over district council operations, such as stripping away its power to approve funds,\u201d the councilor says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau suggested to the Legislative Council\u2019s Financial Committee on October 15 to transfer the District Council\u2019s power to fund minor work projects to other government departments such as the Home Affairs Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuen says he will still voice opinion on issues such as consumers\u2019 rights and vaccination. But he will be more wary when dealing with political issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Yuen Hoi-man in the Sham Shui Po district council. (Photo courtesy of Yuen Hoi-man)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe National Security Law, which is vaguely drafted, has generated worries and fear. But I will still express views on issues about human rights and social distancing policy,\u201d the councilor explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also states he will continue to distribute candles to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThis shows that the government does not value the district council and does not respect public opinion.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Future of the District Council<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma Ngok, an associate professor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong\u2019s Department of Government and Public Administration, says some district councils are paralyzed as many councilors have resigned or been disqualified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder such circumstances, the government has the responsibility to organize by-elections. But the government has refused to do so because they fear that candidates from the pro-democracy camp may win many seats in the elections,\u201d Ma says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also points out that the government has tightened control over the District Council by stripping away the councils\u2019 power to approve funds to avoid political trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ma believes that democrats can no longer use the district council as a stepping stone to win seats in the Legislative Council and can only focus on dealing with district affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the government has refused to do so because they fear that candidates from the pro-democracy camp may win many seats in the elections,\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ma Ngok<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Election System Overhaul In The Future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, says he is unfamiliar with the subject, when responding to Varsity\u2019s request for an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when speaking to local media on September 15, he said reforming the district council will be inevitable to prevent from becoming a platform for political struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executive Council convenor Bernard Chan admitted on March 10 that overhauling the district council would wipe out the city\u2019s democratic development since the handover, but he stressed it would be needed to \u201cgive confidence to the Central Government that \u2018One County, Two Systems\u2019 could carry on\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz Truss, foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, issued a statement objecting to the disqualification of district councilors on October 21. She said she was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the development and urged the Hong Kong government to \u201cuphold freedom of speech and allow the public a genuine choice of political representatives\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hong Kong Councilors; Foreign Secretary\u2019s statement (Screencap from the government website of United Kingdom)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Hong Kong government responded on October 22 that the oath-taking of district councilors was \u201cconducted in full compliance to the Basic Law\u201d, and \u201cstrongly deplores and condemns\u201d the smearing and unfair comments by foreign governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changes in the District Council electoral system<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1982<\/td>First District Council Election:<\/strong>
All citizen aged 21 or above and had lived in Hong Kong for at least seven years are eligible to vote.<\/td><\/tr>
1985<\/td>Government officials no longer took office as district councilors.<\/td><\/tr>
1994<\/td>Governor Chris Patten\u2019s reform:<\/strong>
Most appointed seats abolished (except for 27 seats ex-officio members for Rural Committee Chairmen in the New Territories).
Almost all directly elected seats adopted \u201csingle-seat, single-vote system\u201d, voting age reduced from 21 to 18.<\/td><\/tr>
1999<\/td>Increased number of directly elected seats to 390 but reinstated 102 \u201cappointed seats\u201d.<\/td><\/tr>
2016<\/td>Most appointed seats abolished <\/strong>(except for 27 seats ex-officio members for Rural Committee Chairmen in the New Territories).<\/strong>
Total voter turnout in the 2015 District Council Election was around 47 percent.<\/td><\/tr>
2019<\/td>Historic voter turnout of over 70 percent in the 2019 District Council Election:<\/strong>
Pro-democracy camp won 389 out of 452 seats.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
2020-2021<\/td>327 pro-democracy district councilors left office due to resignations, disqualifications, and arrests.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
An empty office of a resigned district councilor in Hang Hau<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Edited by Lok Chung-yin
Sub-edited by Linn Wu<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dim pathway of pro-democracy district councilors Leung Pak-hei Wong Pit-man resigned from her post as Kwai Tsing district councilor on July 9 and is now member of a concern group \u201cTsing Yi People\u201d. \u201cI will continue to actively participate in social affairs to help connect residents in the district,\u201d Wong says. She was one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":20246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1856,8],"tags":[244,1879,627,424,1330],"class_list":["post-20045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-161","category-our-community","tag-civil-society","tag-disqualification","tag-district-council","tag-election","tag-pro-democracy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20045"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20371,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20045\/revisions\/20371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}