After the Government's announcement of the proposals on improving governance at the district level on May 2, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, immediately commenced explanatory and publicity work for various sectors. The two Directors of Bureaux today (May 11) continued to explain the proposals to Legislative Council (LegCo) Members and association representatives and had in-depth discussions and exchanges with them.

     Mr Tsang and Miss Mak hosted two briefing sessions this afternoon and briefed LegCo Members and representatives of the Hong Kong Island Federation, the Kowloon Federation of Associations and the New Territories Association of Societies on the proposals. They said that the proposals are guided by three principles: national security must be put as the topmost priority and the "one country, two systems" principle must be fully and faithfully implemented; the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong" must be fully implemented; and "executive-led" governance must be manifested.

     The two Directors of Bureaux pointed out that the proposals will strengthen the district governance structure, facilitating the co-ordination and collaboration of district work so that the Government can implement corresponding measures promptly. With District Officers being the District Council (DC) chairmen, there will be better co-ordination among DCs, "the three district committees" (Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees and District Fire Safety Committees) and Care Teams, so that they can complement each other to generate synergy, serving the people more effectively.

     They said that the proposals will restore DCs back to their positioning as district advisory and service organisations in accordance with Article 97 of the Basic Law. The Government is going full steam ahead to prepare the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2023 and hopes to submit it to the LegCo for scrutiny as soon as possible. The Government targets to secure the LegCo's passage of the Bill before its summer recess this year so that the DC Ordinary Election can be held at the end of this year and the seventh-term DCs can assume office on January 1 next year as scheduled.

     The attending LegCo Members and association representatives spoke enthusiastically and gave concrete views on strengthening the district governance structure. Mr Tsang and Miss Mak also encouraged association representatives to explain the proposals to their members and the public so as to deepen the public's understanding of the benefits brought by the proposals. They will continue to brief different sectors of the community on the guiding principles and advantages of the proposals through various means.

Ends/Thursday, May 11, 2023
Issued at HKT 19:45

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