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Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (December 11):
Question:
It has been reported that on each occasion of the Chief Executive (CE) conducting a consultation activity in a district, huge crowds assemble at the scene and stage protests. As people holding different views in the crowds frequently have conflicts, the Police have to deploy significant manpower to maintain order. Moreover, during a consultation forum conducted by CE in Sha Tin last month, about half of those drawn by lots for raising questions were District Council members (DC members). Therefore, some members of the public who attended that forum alleged that the forum had been reduced to a platform for DC members to express their views and its effectiveness in consulting the public was questionable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the police manpower deployed on average for each of these district consultation activities conducted by the incumbent CE since his assumption of office, the numbers of officers in uniform and in plain-clothes among those deployed and their ratio, and the average total payroll cost for deploying such officers to discharge the duties concerned on each occasion;
(b) whether it has assessed the actual effectiveness of such consultation activities; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) whether it has assessed, in terms of the effectiveness of gauging people's views, the differences between using platforms such as the Internet or telephone, and taking the current cumbersome approach by CE and the principal officials in conducting personal visits to various districts; if it has assessed, of the results; if not, whether it will do so immediately; and
(d) given that on each occasion when CE attends a district consultation activity, a large number of people holding different views assemble, which often develops into a war of words and even scuffles, whether the authorities have reviewed if such a phenomenon will intensify social conflicts; if they have conducted such a review, of the results; whether the authorities will consider not holding such activities again, or switching to use the Internet, telephone or other platforms for CE to gauge people's views, so as to reduce the unnecessary nuisance to the districts, as well as to save police manpower and public money?
Reply:
President,
The Chief Executive (CE) and his political team maintain close contact with members of the public through regional forums. Listening directly to public views is very useful for formulating and implementing policies responsive to public aspirations and befitted the community.
My reply to the four parts of the question raised by Hon Paul Tse Wai-chun is as follows:
(a) In the light of the objectives, nature, number of participants, risk assessments and operational needs of individual events, the Police would formulate corresponding strategies and contingency plans, deploy their manpower flexibly and implement crowd management measures. The Field Commander, having regard to the circumstances and conditions at the scene, would also make appropriate arrangements to ensure public safety and public order. As the manpower deployment for an operation contributes to Police's operational details, it is not appropriate to disclose such information.
(b) The regional forums facilitate the Government to communicate with the public directly and to gauge public views and social sentiments, in order to address public concerns and aspirations. At the three recent regional forums on the Policy Address and the Budget, a wide range of public views on future Government policies and the preparation of the Budget have been received. The Government will give due consideration to these views when preparing the Policy Address and the Budget.
In addition to territory-wide issues, District Council members, district personalities and members of the public have also offered, at the regional forums, many concrete and useful suggestions on district development and management as well as the future work of the Government. The Government will follow up their recommendations in a pragmatic manner.
(c) and (d) The Government has always made use of various channels to gauge public views and social sentiments. In addition to regional forums, the Government collects public opinions through the Legislative Council, District Councils, advisory and statutory bodies, District Offices, public opinion surveys, the internet, etc. For instance, a dedicated website has been set up for the 2014 Policy Address and 2014-15 Budget to collect public views. As for regional forums, it is an effective channel for CE and Government officials to maintain close contact with members of the public, and listen and address to their views. The Government will continue to use suitable channels, including regional forums, to collect public views.
Ends/Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Issued at HKT 11:40
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