The 3rd Meeting of the Third Term Sham Shui Po District Council

held on 22 April 2008

Summary Report

(a) Commissioner of Police visits Sham Shui Po District Council

Mr TANG King-shing, Commissioner of Police, expressed that it was a long established practice of the Police Force to draw up “Operational Priorities” so that commanders and staff at all levels of regional headquarters and districts could know well the work focus and thus made concerted efforts to implement the policing targets. In 2008, he continued to implement the operational priorities in 2007 after fine-tuning; such areas included combating violent crimes, triad activities and “quick cash” crimes, stepping up counter-terrorism activities, cracking down on trafficking and abuse of dangerous drugs, targeting offences related to visitors, tourists and illegal immigrants, as well as enhancing road safety.

2. Mr TANG also included the policing work of the Olympic Equestrian Events into the priorities in 2008 to ensure that Hong Kong can hold this important event successfully. He mentioned that the planning, organisation and training work of the Olympics and the Paralympics were now in full swing, and the Police Force possessed the necessary experience and capability to assist the Hong Kong Equestrian Company so that all events could proceed smoothly under a safe and secure environment. During the Olympic period, the Police Force would carry on with the general policing duties, serve the general public as usual, and handle emergencies swiftly and effectively.

3. Mr TANG listened to the views of Members on the work of the Police Force and matters of concern, so that citizens would not only be targets of Government administration, but also partners of administration.

(b) Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme (SSP DC Paper 49/08)

4. In the “2007-08 Policy Address”, it was pointed out that the Government would put forward a new scheme, i.e. the present Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme (RHBTP Scheme), to let non-government organisations apply for adaptive re-use of government-owned historic buildings.

5. Representatives of the Development Bureau (DEVB) explained the content of the RHBTP Scheme at the meeting, and invited Members to give their views on the utilisation of the three historic buildings in Sham Shui Po district which were included in the Scheme, namely Lai Chi Kok Hospital, North Kowloon Magistracy and Mei Ho House.

6. Members put forward their views and suggestions to DEVB on the following matters: the ways of conservation of historic buildings, funding should base on the area and the utilisation of the historic buildings, to improve the vetting procedure and to offer funds for the last round of vetting, to draw up flexible tenancy, the District Council should play a more active role in vetting, the Government should provide strengthening works for the historic buildings, utilisation of the historic buildings, shared use of the historic buildings by different organisations, assistance provided by the Government for social enterprises, risk assessment of the structure of the historic buildings, development model by phases, grading of the historic buildings, as well as matters concerning fitting-out and maintenance.

7. The representative of DEVB responded to Members’ questions on funding approach, vetting procedure, term of tenancy, fitting-out and maintenance matters, mode of operation of social enterprises, and support provided by DEVB etc.

8. The Council was of the view that the Administration should implement the RHBTP Scheme as soon as possible, and that District Council could play a more active role in it.

(c) ICAC Regional Office (Kowloon West) 2008/2009 Work Plan (SSP DC Paper 50/08)

9. The representative of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Regional Office (Kowloon West) attended the meeting to explain the considerations and focus in drawing up the work plan of this year. ICAC would invite Sham Shui Po District Council (SSPDC) to coorganise a series of activities this year to introduce anti-corruption measures to Owners’ Corporations (OCs) and related bodies in the district, and the way to conduct building management and maintenance work effectively.

10. Members put forward views and suggestions on the following issues: ICAC should give wider publicity in order to reduce complaints caused by misunderstanding, the effectiveness of workshops and talks organised by ICAC, a mechanism should be set up to facilitate OCs to use the service of ICAC, ICAC should publicise to professional bodies and educate consultancies and contractors to do business in a law-abiding manner, as well as to produce anti-corruption guidelines and building management publicity materials, etc of a lighthearted and vivid style.

11. In response to Members, the representative of ICAC expressed that, most of the corruption reports regarding building management were minor, and might be caused by misunderstanding or lack of transparency. However, some corruption cases were serious and involved consultancies, contractors or even OCs. Thus, publicity and education were necessary to encourage OCs and owners to adopt proactive anti-corruption measures. It was hoped that Members would help encourage OCs in need to contact the Regional Office. As for organisations relating to building management, including Government departments, professional bodies and property management companies etc, they were all its partners for cooperation.

(d) “Your Health, Your Life” Healthcare Reform Consultation Document He (SSP DC Paper 51/08)

12. It was mentioned in the Healthcare Reform Consultation Document that, ageing was a problem faced by all advanced economies. The average life span of Hong Kong people came out among the best. Though longevity and health brought a more abundant life, they also brought a heavy medical burden to the community. With a growing elderly population and a shrinking youth population, the overall burden of medical expenditure would fall on a small proportion of the population.

13. In order to maintain quality medical service, the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) put forward in the Healthcare Reform Consultation Document the introduction of supplementary medical financing, and set out six different plans for consideration by all parties:

= Social Health Insurance

= Out-of-Pockets Payments

= Medical Savings Accounts

= Voluntary Private Health Insurance

= Mandatory Private Health Insurance

= Personal Healthcare Reserve

14. The Council was of the view that, in response to the problem of ageing population in Hong Kong, the action taken by the HKSAR Government to make preparations for medical protection beforehand displayed courage and commitment. The public medical service in Hong Kong was of a high quality, coupled with the ever changing medical technology, so the financial expenditure required would be enormous and could not be maintained by tax income alone, therefore, it was necessary to bring additional resources by financing. However, the Government should also be responsible for increasing its commitment and looking after low-income families and the underprivileged through the public medical system, so that no one would be denied adequate medical treatment due to financial difficulties. The Council hoped that FHB would draw up concrete plans after considering Members’ views, so as to cater for the needs of the general public.

(e) Implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (SSP DC Paper 52/08)

15. It was indicated in the paper that, compared with analogue broadcasting, not only could digital terrestrial television (DTT) improve efficiency in utilising radio spectrum, but could also allow broadcasting companies to launch new services, including multi-channel broadcasting, standard definition television, high definition television and broadcasting with multi-viewing angles. Moreover, interactive DTT broadcasting also resolved some reception problems like “ghosting” and “snowing” found in analogue broadcasting.

16. The transmission network for DTT broadcasting in Hong Kong was currently being rolled out by phases. According to the schedule, after the launch of DTT, the digital coverage would reach about half of the Hong Kong population at the early stage, and would extend to 75% of the population by early August this year. At present, over 90% of the buildings in Sham Shui Po district would be within the coverage of DTT broadcasting, and when more transmission stations were in service by this August, all buildings in Sham Shui Po district would have more comprehensive coverage. However, residents had to install additional receiving equipment in their buildings and to purchase suitable decoders.

17. The Council supported the Administration to implement DTT broadcasting.

(f) Motion: Strongly request the HKSAR Government to step up action to ease the pressure of living of the general public (SSP DC Paper 53/08)

18. The paper raised concern about the inflation in Hong Kong recently, especially the continuous rising of commodity prices involving many areas of people’s livelihood, which exerted pressure on the lives of the general public.

19. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau indicated in a written response that, the HKSAR Government expressed great concern about the impact of the escalating inflation on citizens, and put forward a number of measures in the 2008-09 Budget, included a tax reduction of 75 % of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment, a waive of rates for a whole year, setting aside $1 billion for the Samaritan Fund, one additional month of the standard rate Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) payments for CSSA recipients and one additional month of allowance for recipients of Disability Allowance, a grant of $3,000 for every recipient of Old Age Allowance, a subsidy of $1,800 for each residential electricity account, $1.2 billion to subsidise the poor elderly to carry out maintenance works for their self-occupied properties and to improve the living environment of the elderly in need who live in dilapidated homes, creating 3 000 three-year jobs for the youth, providing every employee and self-employed person who had a Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account and earned not more than $10,000 a month with an injection of $6,000 into his MPF account. Some of these measures could lower the inflation rate and help ease the pressure of living of citizens. In addition, to lessen the impact of rising commodity prices on CSSA households, the Government proposed to adjust the amount of standard rate CSSA payment according to the current mechanism earlier this year.

20.  The Council adopted the following motion:

“In view of the escalating inflation in 2008 and the continuous rising of commodity prices in Hong Kong, the community at all levels are facing the intense pressure of living, the Sham Shui Po District Council requests the HKSAR Government to step up action and adopt effective and strategic measures to relieve the pressure on the public.”

(g) Strongly request to implement the construction of a market in a Municipal Services Building in Sham Shui Po new reclamation area (Fat Tseung Street West / Sham Mong Road) (SSP DC Paper 54/08)

21. The paper requested the Administration to implement the construction of a market in a municipal services building in the new reclamation area in Sham Shui Po based on the following three reasons:

= Supermarkets could not cope entirely with the daily living needs of residents;

= Population in the new reclamation area would continue to rise; and

= The prices of vegetables, fish / meat in supermarkets were obviously more expensive than in traditional markets.

22. The representative of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) responded that, since the construction of a new market required the investment of huge resources, FEHD had to give prudent consideration of its effectiveness. The Director of Audit had explicitly indicated that, in planning the construction of a new market, its operational capability would be the most important consideration. The Government had to ensure that resources were being used in a suitable and effective way. There were four markets in Sham Shui Po district operated by FEHD with more than 1 100 stalls, of which over 300 were unoccupied. There were also markets in public housing estates with over 600 stalls. In addition, other retail facilities, e.g. supermarkets, were available in public and private housing estates. With just a walk of more than 10 minutes, residents of the new reclamation area could reach the markets operated by FEHD, and only a few minutes with a ride on public vehicles. Since the service area of the proposed new market overlapped with that of the existing markets, FEHD had reservations about its operational capability.

23. The Council adopted the following motion:

“We request the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to carry out a feasibility study immediately and to implement the construction of a market in the municipal services building in the new reclamation area of Sham Shui Po (Fat Tseung Street West / Sham Mong Road), on the one hand, to satisfy the daily living needs of the residents in Sham Shui Po district; on the other hand, to satisfy the long term purchasing need of the new population of the new reclamation area.”

(h) Report of the Working on Poverty Problems (SSP DC Paper 63/08)

24.  The Council noted the content of the “Report on the Research Study of the Reasons for the Poverty Problems and the Way Forward for Poverty Alleviation in Sham Shui Po District”, and requested the Working Group to study the proposals put forward in the report.

25.  Moreover, the Council adopted in principle a funding of not more than $350,000 for the Working Group to implement a one-year “Community Enterprises Practice Scheme” in the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre. As for the form of outsourcing and tendering involved in the scheme, they would await the implementation of the details by the Working Group. Afterwards, it would be formally considered for adoption by the Council.

26.  It was also passed by the Council to strive for the lending of a unit in the Centre to the Working Group at no cost for setting up a “Community Creative Arts Centre”, so as to tie in with the implementation of the Practice Scheme mentioned above.

District Council Secretariat

Sham Shui Po District Office

July 2008

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