It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Hong Kong’s new district councils (DCs) have been fully formed. Starting from Jan 1, all 470 members will take office and start their four-year terms, helping Hong Kong rebuild a significant layer of its administrative framework by acting as a bridge between the government and residents, assisting to solve issues related to traffic, hygiene, security and whatnot. You might think this should be an easy task; you would be right if we acted rationally, but try to recall what happened in district councils after many individuals who couldn’t care less about the above-mentioned responsibilities but were obsessed with one simple agenda — overthrowing the government — won control of all 18 councils in 2019.
How much difference can four years make? Beyond your imagination is the answer. During the previous DC Ordinary Election in 2019, our emotions were running high, candidates’ personal safety was under threat, supporters argued constantly, profanities were exchanged daily, and fights broke out with the Hong Kong Police Force, on high alert every day. Hong Kong looked more like Batman’s Gotham City on a bad hair day than an international metropolis renowned for its rule of law. In gist, it was a full-on circus, but one that no one came to watch.
Voters turned out in droves; in fact, over 70 percent showed up on the election day in 2019. However, the underlying motive for voting was not to support the candidate one preferred (as it should be, utopian speaking), but to ensure opposing candidate wouldn’t get in. It was truly a “bad romance” election, and this foul mood continued well into the term. From a circus we descended into a zoo, with filibustering galore; instead of swearing-in ceremonies, councilors swore at government officials, there were unapproved meetings, constant denials of what one said against the minutes, even illegally imprisoning civil servants inside their offices. You name it, we did it. I was so ashamed to be a councilor, albeit a forced member hijacked to join the ride toward oblivion.
Then came the National Security Law for Hong Kong, the swearing-in, and alas, mass resignations for those who refused to declare their compliance with the Basic Law and allegiance to the HKSAR. The self-imploded DCs were an embarrassment for Hong Kong as they lay there shattered for all to see. For those who were committed to serve the community, it was a daily struggle to serve residents with diminished resources, little attention from governmental departments and in some cases (like mine) not enough members to form a quorum to hold meetings altogether! To put it bluntly, it was an utter waste of public money. The system was truly broken and had to be fixed, and thank goodness it has been, finally.
The immediate key question going forward is, “How will the councils operate?”. … What can be discussed? What is out of bounds? How can councilors work together to cover the needs of all residents? Many of these answers are yet to be answered, but as an eternal optimist, I know we will figure it out one way or the other; in any case, the new-term DCs will absolutely be better than the last term, that I guarantee you for sure.
The new DCs have been formed through direct elections, indirect elections and government appointments. The nomination process has also evolved; candidates must gather nominations beyond local residents, but also from various committee members. There is also an eligibility review committee to ensure candidates can safeguard national interests. These new measures all help ensure the new councils will not be able to inflict the damage they did during the immediate last term. As a firsthand witness of “what could go wrong did go wrong” councilor, I wholeheartedly support these changes because they put DCs firmly back on track and encourage councilors to focus their efforts to support and give advice to the government as a consultative body. Each member will also carry less of a “not in my backyard” (aka NIMBY) mindset because the geographical coverage for each councilor has been enlarged significantly. Last but not least, for the first time, the government has introduced quantifiable key performance indicators for councilors; maybe next time they can reward us with bonuses too!
Happily ever after? Not quite; as often in life, the devil is in the details. The immediate key question going forward is, “How will the councils operate?”. With the government-assigned district officers as the chairpersons of DCs, it really depends on how our civil servant counterpart stacks up to expectations. What can be discussed? What is out of bounds? How can councilors work together to cover the needs of all residents? Many of these answers are yet to be answered, but as an eternal optimist, I know we will figure it out one way or the other; in any case, the new-term DCs will absolutely be better than the last term, that I guarantee you for sure.
The author is a Hong Kong district councilor and co-convenor of China Retold.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
