During his fact-finding trip to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in April, Xia Baolong, the top central government official overseeing the affairs of the nation’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macao, stressed that national security is of paramount importance as a prerequisite for stability and prosperity. He reiterated on his six-day work trip to Hong Kong that the city must never again fall prey to the sabotaging forces within and outside the city that wreaked havoc here in 2019.
Earlier this month, the bill to revamp the electoral mechanism for district councils was passed unanimously in the Legislative Council. Now the city’s patriots can pat each other on the back in relief, knowing that the final step of “political detoxing” has been completed. The lower echelons of the SAR’s administrative institution can be free from the vicious manipulation of the anti-China forces for good.
Against the politically devastating backdrop of the 2019 anti-extradition turmoil, in which almost all the city’s district councils were turned into opposition bases against the central and the SAR governments, the local-level administrative bodies are undergoing a revamp to restore their intended functions to serve the communities. In kicking off the Legislative Council discussions on the bill, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said that the proposed changes to the district councils are necessary to improve district administration, noting that in the past there were a lot of political opportunists in district councils who were guilty of dereliction of their duties.
Following a unanimous LegCo vote of 88 in favor and zero against, the bill to reconstitute district councils was declared passed by the president. Before their revamp, there were 479 district council seats in total. Except for the 27 members with an ex-officio status, all were directly elected seats. After the overhaul, the total number of district council seats will be slightly reduced to 470 in the next term. The proportion of directly elected seats will be slashed from 90 percent to 20 percent, accounting for 88 seats in total. Forty percent, or 179 seats, are to be appointed by the government, while another 40 percent — 176 in number — will be returned by indirect elections within the districts’ area committees, district fire safety committees and district fight crimes committees, which are under the management of the Home Affairs Department. Hopefuls for district council seats must obtain nominations from each of these committees in their own districts and go through an eligibility review before being able to stand as qualified candidates.
With an additional green light from the wider public, the authorities should step up their promotion of the real community benefits to be accrued from the LegCo-approved changes to district councils. In the meantime, the government must work out swiftly a clear and precise monitoring program to ensure proper performance of district council members, who are playing their public service roles with substantial subsidies from the Treasury
With the legislature’s endorsement of the bill, the SAR can bring the curtain down on the political farce of district councils that have destabilized the city’s administration at the grassroots level. Right after the meeting, Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan Kwok-ki revealed that the authorities will start organizing the elections of the councils, slated for November. In discussing the district council reform bill, many LegCo members pointed out one of the merits of the proposed restructuring — being able to attract a wide range of professionals and experts to join the local administration service which will, in the new term starting next year, be devoid of the overpoliticization and popularism that crippled the local administration previously.
As President Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out on various important international occasions, rational development and choice of the right form of rule for a country or region depends entirely on its specific culture, history as well as political and economic background. It makes no sense and imparts little benefit to its people if the composition and content of its administrative institutions are imposed on it by an alien regime which ignores its real circumstances and needs. It is clear that district councils, which have been patterned largely with reference to the Western model of local governance dominated by directly elected members, have proven a shocking failure over the past few years under the unprecedented control of the “pro-democratic” camp.
A survey conducted by a local research institute reported that 69 percent of the respondents favored the revised composition of district councils, while 73 percent polled supported heightened accountability of district councilors. In a recent meeting of the leading committee on district governance chaired by Eric Chan, five major policy directions were mapped out, including provision of 3,000 after-school care places for pupils in 50 primary schools, enhanced daily life support for the elderly, improved market sanitation and pedestrian facilities, as well as a higher standard of law enforcement. These are down-to-earth policies that will have a real impact on the daily lives of local residents, especially in the grassroots communities.
With an additional green light from the wider public, the authorities should step up their promotion of the real community benefits to be accrued from the LegCo-approved changes to district councils. In the meantime, the government must work out swiftly a clear and precise monitoring program to ensure proper performance of district council members, who are playing their public service roles with substantial subsidies from the Treasury. In order to ensure the SAR’s effective governance at the local level, the authorities should ensure that different departments work together to serve worthwhile neighborhood interests, in addition to searching carefully for the most deserving candidates to fill the 179 appointed seats in the new-term district councils next year.
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.