President, the Liberal Party supports the District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”), which seeks to reform the District Councils (“DCs”) and strengthen the district governance structure. The Bill covers the enhancement of the advisory and service functions of DCs, the appointment of District Officers as DC Chairmen, the reform of the composition of DCs, the enhancement of the selection methods of DC members, the improvement of the nomination mechanism for candidates, the introduction of an eligibility review mechanism, and the introduction of a performance monitoring mechanism for DC members.

The strongest reason for our full support of the Bill is that we believe the improved DCs will be fully depoliticized, better protect national security, ensure “patriots administering Hong Kong”, and revert to their positioning as stipulated in Article 97 of the Basic Law, that is, the role and status of DCs as “district organizations which are not organs of political power”, so that they can be truly livelihood-oriented. Therefore, in the future, we will support the SAR Government’s law-based administration as always and actively participate in the improved DC elections.

After the introduction of the proposals for improving district governance, some people have questioned the value of the appointment system. My own career in politics started with being an appointed member. As confirmed by my personal experience, this arrangement has been effective in helping the Government recruit interested and capable political talents to serve the community, and has been able to balance the voices of the councils and make them broadly representative.

Having business knowledge and experience in the catering industry, I was appointed by the Government as a member of the Urban Council in 1997, which allowed me to bring my business experience into the Urban Council. Particularly, in my involvement in the work of the Liquor Licensing Board and the district work, my businessman’s view could balance the opposing views of elected members.

Later on, I was appointed by the Government as a member of the Eastern DC for eight years, with work coming in waves. Let me take attending meetings as an example. At that time, the meetings of the Eastern DC could last from 2:30 pm to 9:30 pm, with heaps after heaps of agendas. However, I could still cope with the meetings. Also, I was able to bring my experience as a businessman into the DC, balance the council’s voices and make it more broadly representative.

My experience has precisely demonstrated the value of the appointment system as it selects people like me, who have the professional knowledge, ability and desire to serve the community, to contribute their efforts. If I had not been appointed in the first place, I believe I would not have taken up politics. Moreover, the appointment system can orderly nurture talents to administer Hong Kong. Like our Secretary MAK, she has openly said she was also an appointed DC member at the age of 22.

In fact, the Bill will restore the role of DCs to the right track. More than 10 years ago, the Central and Western DC passed a non-binding motion that some members of the DC actually did not agree to, but felt that government land should not be used for private purposes. At that time, the Development Bureau, after reading this passed DC motion, said unexpectedly that all outdoor cafes should be abolished because the Central and Western DC had already passed the motion. This caused the industry, especially those restaurants which were going to renew their licenses, to encounter great difficulties and disturbance within a short period of time. Fortunately, the matter was subsequently resolved in a smooth manner. However, this matter was obviously due to the unclear role of the DC, and the government departments merely regarded it as an advisory body under such circumstances. For this reason, I welcome the clear positioning of the role of DCs in the Bill.

Deputy President, with these remarks, I support the Bill.