2021.03.26 The motion on taking forward the follow-up tasks of implementing co-location arrangement at the Huanggang port was passed unanimously by the Legislative Council on Mar 24. DAB Legislative Councillors support the motion and decisions of the HKSAR Government and Shenzhen Municipal Government to rebuild the Huanggang port and implement co-location arrangement, releasing over 20 hectares of land in Lok Ma Chau, and reducing border clearance time for travelers.

2021.03.15 The government launched two six-month "Employment Support Schemes” last year to support businesses hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic. The two major supermarket groups PARKnSHOP and Wellcome each received more than $100 million subsidies under the second phase of this Scheme and promised to offer more discounts and concessions. However, six months passed on, the latest supermarket prices of some popular commodities are even more expensive that makes the general public lives harder. The Supermarket Price Concern Group (the Group) has been monitoring 21 items essential for daily life since August last year. In the press conference today, the DAB Deputy Secretary and Convenor of the Group Frankie NGAN together with members Mr. WU Cheuk-him, Mr. CHAN Hoi-wing and Ms. SZE Bun-bun reported an analysis of price changes in supermarkets for the last six months. When it compares the prices collected on Sept 23, 2020, the next day of the supermarket groups’ successful application of the second phase of the Scheme, with the data on Mar 5,2021, the "price index" of PARKnSHOP increased from 622.8 to 628.7 while Wellcome’s remained unchanged at 636.9. However, when look into the product price, the Group found that PARKnSHOP has a total of 13 items with price increased while Wellcome has 5. The price hikes of some popular cleaning products are especially alarming. Although one of the major supermarket groups had earlier distributed cash coupons as a form of rebate for the underprivileged, neither the number of beneficiaries nor the duration of this coupon scheme were sufficient. Another supermarket group had promoted a "price lock" as a form of additional rebate, but some of its popular products had quietly increased in price that the public did not "save" much money. Frankie NGAN said that supermarket groups had received a huge amount of government subsidies so should they have a conscience and earn less to tide over this difficult period alongside the public and enact their social responsibility. In addition, there is always only one supermarket group operating in a district or a housing estate under the management of the Housing Department, which is difficult for the public to compare prices. The HD should introduce competition when considering relevant tenancy agreements to avoid supermarket monopoly.

2021.03.15 Since its establishment, the "Supermarket Price Concern Group" (the Group) has been concerned about supermarket prices and has repeatedly urged the two major supermarket chains to offer direct rewards to the public in the form of a "30% discount on all items". The Consumer Council recently released results of its investigation on price data of four large supermarket chains. DAB Deputy Secretary General and Convenor of the Group Frankie NGAN noticed that the unit price of some large-packaged goods may not be cheaper than smaller packages, the unit price of goods of the same brand but with different flavours varies by nearly 80%. Also, the prices of goods with the same net weight vary due to different packaging methods. In fact, at an earlier press conference the Group already revealed the phenomenon of "magical price tags" which allegedly mislead consumers into believing that certain products are either on sale or touted as "bargain", "member price", "smart price", etc. The Consumer Council's investigation further revealed supermarket chains are using different tactics to make consumers pay more and which is unacceptable. Frankie NGAN urges the Consumer Council and the Customs and Excise Department to formulate a reference guideline for supermarkets on labelling unit prices so as to avoid price differentiation of the same product in same supermarket chain but different outlets. In addition, all four supermarket chains involved in the investigation received huge amount of subsidies under the “Employment Support Scheme” yet the general public cannot benefit. The Group reiterates direct rewards in form of a "30% discount on all items" are the most direct and simple way to plough back into the public.

2021.03.11 We fully support the NPC's decision on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR. The chaos in Hong Kong society in recent years, especially the turbulence over the amendment bill in 2019, has revealed loopholes and flaws in the electoral system of Hong Kong which have seriously undermined the governance of the HKSAR Government. This has also jeopardized the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong society, the relationship between the Central Government and the HKSAR, the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems", as well as the security, sovereignty, and development interests of our Nation. Therefore, it is necessary and timely for the NPC to make this decision to plug the loopholes and rectify the problems within the system. According to the Constitution, the NPC is entitled to determine the political system of the HKSAR, including the electoral system, and there is no doubt about the legal basis for this. We believe that the NPC's decision is a move to get Hong Kong back on the right track, embodying the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong, while those anti-China, destabilising force and radical localists are out". The NPC's decision to adjust the size, composition, and formation method of the Election Committee is moving with the times and will enable the formation of an electoral system that is in line with the actual situation in Hong Kong and reflects the overall interests of the community. This reform will also promote broad and balanced political participation by Hong Kong people while also ensuring that candidates standing for election at all levels meet the standard of patriotism required. Furthermore, the reform will firmly safeguard the constitutional order of the HKSAR as enshrined under the Constitution and the Basic Law to ensure the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and the steady and sustained development of "One Country, Two Systems". The NPC's decision is also conducive to implementing the executive-led principle of the Basic Law, eliminating internal political discords, allowing the community to focus on promoting changes, solving deep-rooted problems, breaking through the economic and social hardship, facilitate fairness and development, and further enhancing Hong Kong's status as a world city. The DAB will fully cooperate with the HKSAR Government, including to making good use of our social network to publicize and brief the public about the NPC’s decision. Upon the passage of the amendments to Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law by the NPCSC, we will seriously scrutinize the amendments to the local electoral legislation submitted by the Government to implement the decision made by the NPC as soon as possible.​

2021.03.09 It is unclear whether there was a direct causal association between COVID-19 vaccination and the serious adverse effects and even unfortunate death cases, but this has already aroused concerns among those who are going to be vaccinated. So far the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) has only reminded people to consult their family doctors first if they feel worried. DAB Legislative Councillor and Spokesperson for Health Services Ms. Ann CHIANG said that many local residents do not have a family doctor. She proposes the FHB to set up a dedicated vaccine hotline staffed by professional medical staff or cooperate with the media to have doctors and medical professionals attend TV programmes or live broadcast on social media on a daily basis, in order to help the public better understand whether to get vaccinated or not. RTHK as a public service broadcaster also has the responsibility and advantages to conduct live broadcast via its TV and radio channels. In addition, medical staff should be stationed at community vaccination centres to assess the physical condition of vaccine recipients to reduce the risk.​

2021.03.02 Grooming of governance talents is an important aspect in enhancing governance ability of the government under our advocation of “Reform Hong Kong, for Stability, Equality, Prosperity”. Therefore, we are organising a course on concept of governance which will commence in June. The quota is set at 50 students, and we will start accepting applications from 15 March, 2021.

2021.02.27 In order to follow-up the problem of leakage of pipes in public housing estates last December, we conducted a survey in January and February this year to gauge the actual situation and views of households in public housing estates. A total of 2,548 tenants in Kowloon East were successfully interviewed and the main findings of the survey are: Over 70% of respondents were "worried" or "very worried" that drainage might become a channel for virus transmission. Over 40% of respondents reported that the drainage pipes in their homes emitted a "foul odour" either frequently (11.1%) or occasionally (29.6%), indicating that the malfunction of "air traps" of these drainage pipes leads to a potential risk of spreading the virus. As most respondents (75.3%) found themselves lack basic knowledge of drainage maintenance, they would seek assistance from the Housing Department (HD). However, the HD's performance in following up the problem was evaluated as only "fair", and even 15.5% and 7.6% of the respondents felt either "dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" respectively. Over 40% of the respondents were either "dissatisfied" (29.9%) or "very dissatisfied" (11.9%) to HA taking 18 months to complete drainage inspections. The vast majority (77.0%) of respondents urged the government to speed up the inspection process. In view of the survey findings, we suggest that the HA and the government should: Increase resources and manpower to advance the completion of the "Drain Inspection Programme" within the first half of 2021, in which inspection of high-risk buildings should be completed within the first quarter of 2021. The authorities should repair defective drainage pipes and leaking pipes to reach safety standard as soon as possible. Implement improvements to the design of the drainage system and relocate indoor drains to outdoor areas to reduce potential hygiene risks. Seek assistance from government regulatory departments and professional bodies in formulating working guidelines and technical workmanship requirements for routine drainage maintenance to enhance the standard of maintenance services; strengthen the monitoring of works quality and contractors' performance to enhance the transparency of maintenance works. Set up a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary drainage advisory body to formulate drainage and pipe safety plans with expert advice. Create a high-level inter-departmental task force to proactively deal with the problem of germs and infections spreading through the drainage system. Set up a "performance pledge" for dealing with drainage problems that requires frontline staff and responsible contractors to respond to residents' complaints within a reasonable time limit and to properly complete the required repairs. Cooperate with local research companies to install air purification facilities at the rooftop drainage outfalls of public housing estates in order to prevent viruses from passing through such drainage outfalls and back to the upper floors or into exterior units under the ”wake effect”.

2021.02.15 On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year of the Ox, the DAB set up booths across Hong Kong to send New Years’ Greetings to the public. Chairperson Starry LEE and Vice-Chairman Horace CHEUNG greeted the general public at Siu Sai Wan Market and promoted the DAB campaign "Reform Hong Kong, For Stability, Equality, Prosperity.” Over the past year Hong Kong has been beset by the COVID-19 pandemic. Starry expressed three hopes for the government: 1) import domestic vaccines into Hong Kong as soon as possible, 2) provide relief measures in the Budget and 3) the tax system should promote fairness. The signature petition which was held recently in support of importing Chinese made vaccines into Hong Kong has collected over 100,000 online and in-person signatures. We asked the SAR Government to appeal the Central Government for the allocation of Chinese made vaccines to Hong Kong and to start the vaccination program as soon as possible. Starry continued that the Budget going to be announced next week by the Financial Secretary must be able to relieve the financial hardship on the people by setting up a temporary “unemployment allowance”, establishing tax deductions for hiring domestic helpers and for rents paid by taxpayers who own no properties. The DAB also suggested setting aside funds for "three-nil" buildings to maintain drainage pipes before charging the owners and providing subsidies to those owners with financial difficulties. We urged the Housing Authority to expedite the inspections of drainage pipes within the 800,000 public housing units to address the public's concerns. In addition, the DAB recently announced its initiatives to "Reform Hong Kong, For Stability, Equality, Prosperity". Horace CHEUNG hoped the Government can "promote equality" by tax reform. He suggested the Government take two years to review the existing tax and welfare systems and identify a redistribution mechanism that is more up-to-date and acceptable to the public to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and allow the public to share the fruits of prosperity.

2021.02.10 DAB Legislative Councillors Horace CHEUNG, Ben CHAN, Wilson OR and Vincent CHENG recently collaborated with experts from the drainage industry to inspect pipe maintenance problems in a number of public and private housing estates. They concluded that some pipes in private buildings are haphazardly connected, damaged and ageing while differences in pipes design and poor maintenance and management of pipes in public housing have increased the risk of virus transmission and infection. At a recent press conference today, we suggested several short, medium and long-term measures to help prevent the spread of the disease. Experts C.K. HUNG (Chairman of the Hong Kong Plumbing and Sanitary Ware Trade Association), Raymond C.Y MARK (Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Plumbing and Sanitary Ware Trade Association) and Alex POON (Fellow of the British Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering and previous president of the Hong Kong Institute of Environmentalists) all suggest tenants to install a "de-odorising wick" which is low in cost, easy to install and effective at the de-watering point inside the house to prevent the backflow of gas into the house through the dry U-shaped air traps. They suggest installing a "siphon anti-disturbance purification system" in the exhaust ducts outside buildings to filter out viruses directly and reduce the risk of virus transmission through drains. Wilson OR expects the Housing Department to speed up the inspection process of drainage pipes of 800,000 public housing units within 18 months as pledged. He also urges to inspect and repair at the same time any problematic indoor drainage pipes of households in housing estates. For private buildings, the Buildings Department should also submit a timetable and take the initiative to conduct inspections. Vincent CHENG says that nearly 30% of the 21,000 buildings over 30 years old in Hong Kong are in Kowloon West. Kowloon West also accounts for half of the nearly 7,000 old buildings that are 50 years old or above. The reasons why residents in Kowloon West were often required to take enforced quarantine during the epidemic are the large number of sub-divided flats with pipes that are illegally connected with external walls, drainage pipes that are broken or loopholes in the old legislation that were used to connect drainage in an open way that is dangerous. The virus could then easily spread through windows. He requested the government to set up a task force coordinating the inspection and maintenance of pipes in private buildings across the HKSAR. Currently many "three-nil” buildings" are at risk of virus transmission via drains, Ben CHAN hopes the authorities will conduct drains maintenance before charging the owners and provide subsidies to owners with financial difficulties. In the long run, the government should introduce a registration system for drainage workers teaching them about safe and qualified drainage supplies and proper installation; require mandatory inspection of drains in buildings every 15 years to ensure pipe safety; review existing guidelines for the industry, and study the introduction of new technologies to improve pipe safety. Recently, CE Carrie LAM responded to a question from Wilson OR promising to study with relevant research institutions how to best utilize technology to solve existing problems. The DAB would continue to follow up in the Legislative Council and liaise with the Transport and Housing Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Environment Bureau and the Innovation and Technology Bureau to implement various measures of preventing virus transmissions through drainage pipes. ​

A joint statement from Establishment District Councillors on the amendment of the “Oaths and Declarations Ordinance” and the “District Councils Ordinance” and the cancelation of the eligibility for district councillors who break the oath. 2021.01.25 Since the opposition district councillors took office, they have been blatantly making use of their positions to manipulate politics and oppose the Central and HKSAR governments. They put agendas and motions in the District Council meetings to smear our Nation and the HKSAR government; hang banners in the community to spreads fake news, anti-China and anti-SAR government messages; humiliate, detent and even refuse government officials from attending District Council meetings and reject funding for National Day and HKSAR Establishment Day celebrations. District Councils become their platform to oppose China and bring chaos to Hong Kong. Their behaviors clearly reflect that they do not uphold the Basic Law and are not truly devoted to the HKSAR. The functions of District Council have been hijacked and voided. The Government is now working on legislative amendments to Oaths of Office for public officers. These amendments will decide the scope of the legislation and whom it will cover and will consider that District Council members should be given priority as public officers. The DAB agrees with the Government's judgment that although DCs are organizations with no real power in the political system, they are an important advisory body of the government. Furthermore, DCs are responsible for public affairs and members of the DCs receive public funds as their remuneration and to cover the operation costs of their offices. Members of DCs being considered as public officers under the Ordinance is a matter of course. Therefore, we urge the SAR Government to implement oath-taking arrangements for DC members as soon as possible to let the public understand DC members must uphold the Basic Law and pledge full and true allegiance to the HKSAR while also prohibiting DC members who oppose China and bring chaos to Hong Kong from becoming public officers. We also hope that the implementation of oath-taking arrangements for District Councillors will return the DCs to its proper function to act as a consultative body for the government at district level. On the other hand, the “District Councils Ordinance” must also be amended alongside with the “Oaths and Declarations Ordinance” so as to determine the procedures and punishments for DC members who break their oath. According to section 24 of the “District Councils Ordinance” regarding the “Disqualification of elected members”, elected members can be disqualified from holding office for various reasons including becoming a judicial officer, having been found guilty of treason or found incapable due to mental incapacity and so forth. However, the Ordinance does not mention elected members breaching their oaths to be a reason for disqualification. We hereby urge the government to amend the “District Councils Ordinance” to disqualify DC members who have been found breaching oaths from holding any public office. Total signatures: 86 persons ​

2021.01.22 DAB Legislative Councillors LEUNG Che-Cheung, Ben CHAN, Gary CHAN, Holden CHOW and Elizabeth QUAT alongside district councillors and district officers met Under Secretary for Development Mr. LIU Chun-San on 22 January 2021 to express concerns on the issue of sky-high prices water bills. At the meeting, Under Secretary LIU admitted that the Water Supplies Department (WSD) recently resumed routine meter reading due to controversy over charging water bill payments by “estimation”. The DAB district councillors and district officers reflected that they have received a lot of complaints about the water bill from residents. Members of the public have to pay the water bills from August to December together due to the WFH arrangement for the WSD staff. The WSD hotline and 1823 numbers have had nobody answering them for a long time. Our district councillors and district officers have waited for nearly two weeks to get replies from WSD. We requested the WSD to improve its efforts to explain policy to the general public. The DAB proposes: Waive the water bill payments for one quarter to make up for the inconvenience caused to the public. Allow all Hong Kong residents to automatically extend the due date of their water bill payments. Waive the 5% lateness fine and simplify the payment procedures. Waive all water meter inspection fees during the pandemic. Increase the number of personnel for hotlines. Accelerate the implementation of electronic water meters. Under Secretary LIU responded that the government will proactively consider the above DAB proposals. LEUNG Che Cheung, Legislative Councillor (9016 8088) Holden CHOW, Legislative Councillor (3703 9870)

2021.01.07 This past Wednesday, a group of Trump supporters charged into the US Capitol in Washington DC and fiercely clashed with local police causing many injuries and several deaths while 52 individuals were arrested. DAB Legislative Councillor Elizabeth QUAT criticized US politicians for their double standards towards violence. Hong Kong underwent its chaos and riots over the extradition bill that shook law and order in Hong Kong in 2019. Many rioters severely vandalized the Legislative Council Complex. However, American government officials and a number of American senators along with their media supported these violent and illegal acts by naming miscreants as “heroes” and “fighters”; distorting “Hong Kong independence” and riots as “freedom, democracy and a movement for human rights” while smearing law enforcement actions as “infringing on freedoms”. Currently however when the American Capitol building is also vandalized, president-elect Biden immediately termed this a violent riot. Vice-President Mike Pence called in the National Guard to suppress the riots. This shows the hypocritical double standards of the USA and those who support violence get a hearty taste of their own medicine. American Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once referred to the Hong Kong riots as “a beautiful sight to behold.” This beautiful sight has now blossomed in the American Capitol building and across many American cities. Those foreign governments and groups who once supported the Hong Kong rioters and criticized the Hong Kong government now strictly condemn American protesters. The ugly truth is that these countries have joined hands with the USA to suppress China's development by unscrupulously hacking and destroying Hong Kong. DAB Legislative Councilor Elizabeth Quat (9031 7995)