Michael Shum
Hong Kong’s 470 district councillors took their oath of office yesterday, as Chief Executive John Lee asked them to support the enactment of Basic Law Article 23 to safeguard national security.
Lee outlined his requirements for district councillors, saying: “District council members must uphold the Basic Law, and they also have to bear the important responsibility of safeguarding national security.
”They must also support and cooperate with the government in enacting Article 23 of the Basic Law to perfect the legal system and law enforcement mechanism in safeguarding national security.”
Lee also urged the district councillors to be a bridge of communication between the government and citizens, and bring concrete improvements to the community.
After the oath-taking ceremony, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said district councillors taking office is the last piece of the jigsaw to implement the “patriots administering Hong Kong” principle.
District officers, who are also district council chairmen, will set up key performance indicators for district councillors according to the actual needs of the community, she said.
”The key performance indicators are intended to make district councillors serve citizens better. The indicators are not intended to make councillors engage in pointless work solely for the sake of meeting the targets,” Mak said.
All but one district council have already set up a “working group on boosting local economy,” while sources said a similar working group will also be set up under the Wong Tai Sin District Council.
The working group is tasked with suggesting activities – with the district’s characteristics in mind – to the council chairman to attract citizens and foreign visitors and boost the development of the district’s economy, according to the introduction on district councils’ website.
Mak said: “This term of the district council is familiar with their districts. They can use the district’s characteristics to improve the economy.”
And Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung Ho Poi-yan reminded civil servants that the key factor of an effective district administration is to maintain a positive interaction with all 18 district councils.
michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com
The post Councillors asked to support Article 23 appeared first on Hong Kong News Hub.
from
https://hongkongnewshk.com/councillors-asked-to-support-article-23/
No comments:
Post a Comment