The United Kingdom government published a so-called six-monthly report on Hong Kong on Tuesday, claiming that China does not uphold the Sino-British Joint Declaration. I strongly disagree with the accusations made in this sloppy report.

The report is full of unfair and prejudiced remarks. I urge the UK government to stop disseminating misleading and incomplete information on China’s internal affairs, and to responsibly explore ways to improve relations with China and its Hong Kong Special Administrative Region instead.

I particularly wish to defend the upcoming District Council (DC) election by adding some key information that is missing from this report.

First, the HKSAR government has designed a sound performance monitoring mechanism for DC members, which will ensure that all DC members perform their duties to the best of their ability in order to keep their posts. 

The performance monitoring mechanism will ensure that DCs run efficiently and effectively. Moreover, the functions and responsibilities of DCs are now clearly defined in the District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023.

Second, the overall district-level governance structure in Hong Kong is to be strengthened by the establishment of a Steering Committee on District Governance and a District Matters Coordination Task Force led by senior government officials. This can help strengthen executive-led governance by leveraging the strong leadership and guidance of senior government officials.

Last but not least, the HKSAR government has called on all patriots of different backgrounds to join the DCs, which are open not only to members of political parties but also to professionals and community leaders who are genuinely dedicated to district services.

Most members of the current sixth-term DCs were democratically elected by voters in each district. Currently, over 300 members have resigned or have been disqualified for various reasons. As a result, only 30 percent of all members are still on duty.

The DCs have been abused by political zealots to serve a political agenda in the past several years at the expense of Hong Kong people’s interests.

It is high time to reform DCs to prevent them from being subjected to further abuse, and restore their original function as advisory bodies for district issues, as stipulated in Article 97 of the Basic Law.

Yeung Fu-ngai, chairman of Owners’ Committee in Shatin.

(Letter from reader)

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