Transcript of remarks by CE at media session before ExCo (with video)
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Reporter: Good morning, Mr Lee. Firstly, with a former District Councillor shutting down his Community Care Team, as he’s failed to gain a seat as what he described as an unfair system, are you concerned that this would undermine the public confidence in both the Community Care Teams and also the new District Council system? Are you concerned that similar incidents will also happen in the future? The second question, with the recent string of cancellation of flights under Cathay Pacific, is the Government concerned that it will not be able to reach its estimate of resuming the Hong Kong International Airport’s pre-pandemic passenger throughput, and how will this incident affect Hong Kong's ambition to regain its title as an aviation hub? Thank you.
Chief Executive: The Care Team is an important formation for us to ensure that the best district services are provided to residents and people in need. All we want are people who are committed and have a passion for rendering this care service. And for those whose priority is not on providing this service wholeheartedly, with the passion and commitment, then probably he is not appropriate. We have over 400 Care Teams in 18 districts, comprising about 5 000 people. And they have been operating very well. There are subsidies that we provide to the Care Teams and I know that in each district, there are also funds available for the Care Teams to apply.
So the system is all there to, first of all, allow people who have the commitment and the passion to provide care services for the benefit and the well-being of people in the district. We don't want people who do not take this as their priority in taking part in the Care Teams. I'm sure there will be many more passionate and committed people of Hong Kong, who will take part in the Care Teams, as you can see, among the 5 000 people comprising our Care Teams in the 18 districts. For people who wanted to stand for election but could not satisfy the requirement, they should review themselves to see why they did not get either the nomination or the support of the people. For people who want to provide service, it is not just about what they want. We want the best people, so we need to have a system to ensure that these people are produced. And if anybody looks for a position for money purpose, then probably this is not the passion and commitment we want.
As regards Cathay Pacific cancelling flights over a short period of time, causing inconvenience and also loss to some passengers, of course we are very concerned. Hong Kong of course has the mission of ensuring Hong Kong will be a strong aviation hub in this region, so the whole aviation capacity is important. I understand that because of COVID, there are challenges that we need to overcome, and I do see great efforts are being made to overcome these challenges. But I also want these challenges to be overcome very quickly and very effectively. We will be in contact with people in the aviation industry, particularly Cathay Pacific, to ensure that the capacity is rebuilt as quickly as possible. I also understand that this capacity constraint exists in many cities, similar to Hong Kong, but in this competitive world, yes, I want our aviation industry to rebuild its capacity fast and completely so that we will be competitive as a whole. And also, I think it is the basic service requirement for airlines to provide satisfactory service to passengers. And I do think that companies in the aviation industry in Hong Kong have that mission and have that goal close to their hearts, but we need greater efforts, both short term and long term. The Transport and Logistics Bureau will be in contact with the management of Cathay Pacific to indicate our goals and see how we can work together to ensure the best services are provided to passengers.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Issued at HKT 13:43
Issued at HKT 13:43
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Audio / Video
CE meets the media