Minutes of the 10th Meeting of
Culture, Leisure & Social Affairs Committee (2012-13)
Central and Western District Council
Date / : / 19 September 2013 (Thursday)Time / : / 2:30 pm
Venue / : / Conference Room
14/F, Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Present:
Chairman
Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, BBS, JP*
Members
Mr CHAN Choi-hi*Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph / (2:52 pm - end of the meeting)
Mr CHAN Hok-fung*
Ms CHENG Lai-king / (2:39 pm - end of the meeting)
Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan / (3:45 pm - end of the meeting)
Mr CHEUNG Yick-hung, Jackie / (2:35 pm - 5:20 pm)
Mr HUI Chi-fung / (2:30 pm - 3:55 pm)
Mr IP Kwok-him, GBS, JP*
Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*
Dr Malcolm LAM / (2:30 pm - 4:00 pm)
Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney / (2:36 pm - 4:12 pm)
Miss LO Yee-hang*
Mr MAN Chi-wah, MH* / (2:30 pm - 3:20 pm)
Mr NG Siu-keung, Thomas, MH, JP / (2:30 pm - 3:32 pm)
Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP*
Co-opted Members
Mr CHAN Wing-hang*
Mr Ng Wing-yan, MH (3:11 pm - end of the meeting)
Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing*
Ms LEUNG Shuk-yi, Emily*
Mr Edward CHEUK (2:35 pm - end of the meeting)
Mr WONG Sai-kit*
Remarks: * Members who attended the whole meeting
( ) Time of attendance of Members
GuestsItem 4
Dr LUK Che-chung / Cluster Chief Executive (Hong Kong West)/Hospital Chief Executive (Queen Mary Hospital/Tsan Yuk Hospital)
Dr Wendy TSUI / Chief of Service, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care (Hong Kong West Cluster)
Dr Alfred KWONG / Associate Consultant, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care (Hong Kong West Cluster)
Ms Mabel KWONG
Item 5 / Public and Community Relations Officer (Hong Kong West Cluster)
Ms CHAN Chin-woon, Cynthia / Chief School Development Officer (Central Western and Southern), Education Bureau
Ms LAW Wai-ling, Wanda / Senior School Development Officer (Central Western and Southern) 1, Education Bureau
Miss CHAN Ka-hay / Representative of SSGC Alumnae DSS Concern Group
Miss Joy LIU / Representative of SSGC Alumnae DSS Concern Group
Ms Pauline AU
Item 6 / Representative of Parent Follow-up Group Against SSGC to Switch to DSS
Ms CHAN Shuk-hing, Daphne
Item 7 / Senior Librarian (Central and Western), Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Mr CHAU Hing-wah / Curator (Intangible Cultural Heritage), Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Dr LAM Kam-yuen / Assistant Curator I (Intangible Cultural Heritage) 1, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Professor LIU Tik-sang
Item 9 / Director of South China Research Center,
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Ms TAM On-kei, Susan / Manager (Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens), Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Item 10
Miss WONG Shuk-fan, Elisa / Senior Manager (Cultural Services) Hong Kong West,
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Ms LEE Wing-yee, Winnie / Manager (Hong Kong West) Marketing, Programme
and District Activities, Leisure and Cultural
Services Department
Item 11
Ms SO Chui-ying, Winnie / Principal Assistant Secretary (Planning and Lands) 4, Development Bureau
Mr CHOW Man-hong, Mann / Assistant Secretary (Urban Renewal) 2, Development Bureau
Mr YAU Chung-hok, Lawrence / Director (Corporate Communications), Urban Renewal Authority
Mr AU Chun-ho, Wilfred / Deputy Chief Manager (Planning and Design) Urban Renewal Authority
Mr FUNG Wan-yeung, Herman / Head of Conservation Portfolio, Urban Renewal Authority
Mr AU Cheuk-ming / Representative of the Cloth Traders from Western Market
In Attendance:
Miss CHOW Ho-kiu, Cheryl, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)
Mr CHAN Yun-man, Winston / Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms WONG Ming-wai / Senior Executive Officer (District Council), Central and Western District Office
Mr CHU Kam-sing, Daniel / Assistant District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western/Southern and Islands), Social Welfare Department
Ms Doris CHUN / Senior Community Relations Officer, Independent Commission Against Corruption
Ms LAW Wai-ling, Wanda / Senior School Development Officer (Central Western and Southern) 1, Education Bureau
Mr LAI Fai-keung / Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator, Police Community Relations Office, Central District, Hong Kong Police Force
Mr TSOI Kwok-ming / Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator, Police Community Relations Office, Western District, Hong Kong Police Force
Miss WONG Shuk-fan, Elisa / Senior Manager (Cultural Services) Hong Kong West,
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Ms LEE Wing-yee, Winnie / Manager (Hong Kong West) Marketing, Programme and
District Activities, Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Ms CHOW Pui-shan, Cindy / Deputy District Leisure Manager (District Support) Central and Western, Leisure and Cultural Services
Department
Secretary
Miss YAU So-shan, Susan Executive Officer (District Council) 5
Central and Western District Office
Absent due to Indisposition (maternity leave):
Ms SIU Ka-yi
Absent with Apologies:
Mr WONG Kin-shing
Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed all to the 10th meeting of the Culture, Leisure & Social Affairs Committee (CLSAC) (2012-2013) under the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC). The Secretariat had received notification of absence from District Council (DC) Meetings from the Vice-Chairlady and Mr WONG Kin-shing before the meeting. The Vice-Chairlady had attached a maternity leave certificate to her notification, indicating that she could not attend the meeting due to indisposition. The Chairman proposed to handle her absence from meetings as absence with consent under Article 49(1) of the Standing Orders of the C&WDC. There was no objection.
Item 1: Adoption of the agenda
2. As there were no comments from Members, the agenda was adopted.
Item 2: Confirmation of the minutes of the 9th CLSAC meeting on 27 June 2013
3. As Members had no comments on the minutes of the 9th CLSAC meeting, the minutes were confirmed.
Item 3: Chairman’s report
4. The Chairman had nothing particular to highlight.
Item 4: Hong Kong West Cluster 2013/2014 Annual Plan
(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 41/2013)
(2:34 pm – 2:56 pm)
5. Dr LUK Che-chung, Cluster Chief Executive (Hong Kong West)/Hospital Chief Executive (Queen Mary Hospital/Tsan Yuk Hospital) and Dr Wendy TSUI, Chief of Service, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care (Hong Kong West Cluster) of the Hospital Authority (HA), briefed Members on the Hong Kong West Cluster (HKWC) 2013/2014 Annual Plan.
6. The Chairman invited discussion on the paper. The views and questions of Members were as follows:
(i) Mr CHAN Choi-hi enquired the HA about the possibility of accommodating the Victoria Public Mortuary as an ancillary facility in the Queen Marry Hospital (QMH) redevelopment project. He also asked the HA to provide the number of complaints from the HKWC patients and relevant follow-up actions. He also expressed concern over the recruitment of healthcare staff, especially medical practitioners. He suggested the HA step up publicity and improve the employment terms so as to attract manpower.
(ii) Ms CHENG Lai-king indicated that with an ageing population in Hong Kong, the demand for medical services would keep going up. She enquired whether the HA could train sufficient healthcare staff to meet the future demand.
7. In response to Members’ enquiries and views, Dr LUK Che-chung of the HA replied as follows:
(i) The HA had discussed with the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) and the Department of Health on the relocation of the Victoria Public Mortuary, and had closely monitored the available space at the QMH. The HA would give priority to the provision of medical services over other ancillary facilities. Moreover, the overseas consultants of the QMH redevelopment project were of the preliminary view that the area of the re-developed hospital was barely enough to cope with the clinical and teaching demands. Hence, there was no space to accommodate the Victoria Public Mortuary for the time being.
(ii) The HA would provide the number of complaints from patients and relevant follow-up actions after the meeting.
(iii) The HA greatly welcomed overseas doctors to practise in Hong Kong to alleviate the long-standing shortage of manpower in public hospitals. The HA had conducted a number of overseas recruitment exercises and would continue to recruit healthcare staff in a proactive manner. However, non-local doctors who would like to practise in Hong Kong were subject to the assessment and approval of the Medical Council of Hong Kong; and
(iv) The FHB had set up a manpower planning team to anticipate the required number of healthcare staff. The team would coordinate with tertiary institutions on the intake of students to meet the demand of the healthcare sector, but some doctors might join the private healthcare market.
8. The Chairman hoped that the HA could give more information on the QMH redevelopment project in future. He thanked the HA representatives for attending the meeting.
Item 5: / Transformation of traditional subsidised schools to Direct Subsidised Scheme schools(C&W CLSAC Paper No. 31/2013)
(2:56 pm – 3:54 pm)
9. The Chairman said that according to Article 15(1) of the C&WDC Standing Orders, representatives of St Stephen’s Girls’ College (SSGC) Alumnae Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) Concern Group and the Parent Follow-up Group Against SSGC to Switch to DSS, were specially invited to speak on the paper.
(i) Ms Pauline AU, representative of the Parent Follow-up Group Against SSGC to Switch to DSS (the follow-up group), said that the plan of SSGC and St Stephen’s Girls’ Primary School (St Stephen’s) to switch to the DSS had sparked heated debates recently on issues such as the DDS and the switching of traditional prestigious subsidised schools to DSS schools. Although SSGC indicated on 19 August 2013 that it would not apply to turn DSS for the time being, the incident had reflected the problems currently faced by subsidised schools, such as insufficient resources, over-regulation by the Education Bureau (EDB) and insufficient autonomy in student admission, etc. If such fundamental problems were not rooted out, other traditional prestigious subsidised schools would inevitably use the DSS as a means to evade the above problems. Taking into account the different backgrounds of DSS schools, what the follow-up group objected to was not the DSS, but the switching of traditional prestigious subsidised schools to DSS schools. Over the past decade, more and more traditional prestigious subsidised schools had turned DSS. Such a switch was tantamount to privatise public assets which had triggered a series of social problems. The high tuition fee had deprived students from grassroots or ordinary families of the opportunity to enter DSS schools. As students of DSS schools had similar socio-economic background, they were unable to study in a diversified, inclusive and good learning environment, thereby hindering upward social mobility and widening poverty gap. In addition, DSS schools could enjoy more resources and flexibility by applying for subvention from the EDB and charging tuition fees at the same time. This was unfair to ordinary subsidised schools. As a result, more and more subsidised schools turned DSS to enjoy the advantages. In order to solve the fundamental problems between subsidised and DSS schools, the follow-up group had lodged a complaint to the Legislative Council, requesting the EDB to address the unfairness and social impact arising from the different regulatory regimes of subsidised and DSS schools, and to review if the DSS had met the original policy objective. Prior to the review, the follow-up group opined that all DSS applications submitted by subsidised schools must be put on hold and hoped that Members would support the request. Moreover, the follow-up group supported motion 1 in the paper: “To object the transformation of traditional subsidised schools in the C&W District to DSS schools”. In addition, the follow-up group expressed their disappointment with the EDB’s bureaucratic written reply. Obviously, subsidised schools were put at a disadvantage in terms of resources and student admission. If the trend of the switching continued, the sound foundation of the subsidy school system and public education would be undermined. Therefore, it was necessary for the EDB to refine the existing system of subsidised schools, including reviewing the resource allocation, appropriately allowing them more flexibility in deploying resources and announcing the admission results of DSS and subsidised schools at the same time.
(ii) Ms CHAN Ka-hay, representative of SSGC Alumnae DSS Concern Group, said that as pointed out by many scholars, the question at issue in DSS schools was not the fee remission/scholarship schemes per se, but the invisible barriers and labelling effect brought about by the two schemes, which would make students hesitate to even take the step of submitting applications. St Stephen’s intended to joing the DSS on the pretext of dissatisfaction with the existing education system, yet many traditional subsidised schools had outstanding achievements under the same subvention mode. The consultation method adopted by the school and the nature of its concern group members reflected that the school’s stance was too biased. Moreover, the school did not face up and respond to the voting result which showed a majority opposition from teachers and students. The proportions of subsidised schools and DSS schools in the C&W District had become imbalanced. The primary and secondary school places in DSS and private schools had soared to 40% of the total, which was more than double the average of other districts. This should be a cause for concern of the public and Members. The EDB refused to review the current subvention mode, but put the blame on schools’ ability to allocate resources. The Government should have established a system in line with the prevailing development and faced up to the trend of traditional subsidised schools joining the DSS. To identify the root causes of the problem, the system must be comprehensively reviewed. Lastly, besides supporting motion 1 in the paper: “To object the transformation of traditional subsidised schools in the C&W District to DSS schools, including St Stephen’s Girls’ College and Primary School”, she also requested to add the following words to motion 2 “The EDB must review the DSS and put all DSS applications on hold while reviewing the DSS”.
10. The Chairman invited discussion on the paper. The views and questions of Members were as follows:
(i) Mr MAN Chi-wah said that the DSS scheme could enable schools to be more flexible in handling administration and student admission matters. Many schools that joined the DSS operated quite well. He opined that DSS schools had their own merits and that applications to join the DSS should not be opposed across the board. As DSS schools had their own merits, the EDB should review the existing system of subsidised schools, bridge the gap between DSS and subsidised schools and enhance the flexibility of subsidised schools. Many subsidised schools had joined the DSS already and it would be unfair if the EDB refused new applications from of subsidised schools to join the DSS. He said that there were also various problems of labelling effect in traditional subsidised schools. Lastly, he supported schools to join the DSS upon gaining support of all stakeholders.