Minutes of the 9th Meeting of
Finance Committee (2014-15)
Central and Western District Council
Date / : / 17September 2015 (Thursday)Time / : / 2:30 pm
Venue / : / Conference Room
14/F., Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Present:
Chairman
Mr MAN Chi-wah, MH*
Vice-chairman
Mr NG Siu-keung, Thomas, MH, JP*
Members
Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, BBS, JP* / (2:38 pm – 3:09 pm)Mr CHAN Choi-hi, MH*
Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph / (2:33 pm – end of the meeting)
Mr CHAN Hok-fung, MH*
Ms CHENG Lai-king / (2:46 pm – end of the meeting)
Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP / (2:35 pm – 3:18 pm)
Mr CHEUNG Yick-hung, Jackie / (2:48 pm – 3:21 pm)
Mr HUI Chi-fung / (2:35 pm – 3:08 pm)
Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*
Dr Malcolm LAM / (2:33 pm – end of the meeting)
Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney / (2:40 pm – end of the meeting)
Miss LO Yee-hang*
Ms SIU Ka-yi*
Mr WONG Kin-shing*
Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP*
Remarks: / * Members who attended the whole meeting
( )Time of attendance of Members
In Attendance:
Miss CHOW Ho-kiu, Cheryl, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)Miss LAM Bing-bing, Erica / Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms WONG Ming-wai / Senior Executive Officer (District Council),
Central and Western District Office
Mr CHAN Shing-fung / Executive Officer I (District Council),
Central and Western District Office
Ms Queenie MAK / Project Manager, Young Artists Development Foundation
Mr NG Wai-him / Social Worker, Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (Central, Western & Islands District Youth Outreaching Social Work Team)
Mr CHAN Chi-hung / Unit-in-charge, Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Kwun Lung Lau Community Work Office
Mr KWOK Tsz-ping / Financial Secretary, Central and Western District Road Safety Campaign Committee
Ms CHAN Wan-chi / Family Social Worker, Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council Grace and Joy Integrated Family Service Centre
Ms TAM Tsz-kwan / Project Manager, W Workshop (Hong Kong) Limited
Ms Violet NG / Chairlady of Programme Execution, WINGS (Women Initiative for Ageing Successfully) Hong Kong
Mr CHAN Wai-hung, Rex / Member, WINGS (Women Initiative for Ageing Successfully) Hong Kong
Mr TAM On-yip / Social Worker, Caritas Mok Cheung Sui Kun Community Centre
Absent with Apologies:
Mr IP Kwok-him, GBS, JP
Mr TSANG Yiu-tong / Vice-chairman (Financial), Central and Western District Road Safety Campaign CommitteeMs LO Yuk-chun / Project Officer, W Workshop (Hong Kong) Limited
Secretary:
Miss LAU Wing-ka, Alva / Executive Officer (District Council) 1,Central and Western District Office
The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had received a notification of absence from Mr IP Kwok-him before the meeting, indicating that he could not attend the meeting due to other commitments. He had authorised Mr CHAN Hok-fung to vote on his behalf on all motions.
Item 1: / Adoption of the Agenda
- The agenda was adopted.
Item 2: / Confirmation of the Minutes of the 8th Finance Committee (FC) Meeting in 2014-15
- The Chairman indicated that the Secretariat had not received any proposed amendments before the meeting and the minutes of the 8th FC meeting (2014-15) were confirmed by the Committee.
(C&W FC Paper No. 215/2015)
- The Home Affairs Department (HAD) had allocated $15.9 million to the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC) in the year 2015-16 for organising Community Involvement (CI) Projects, of which a minimum of $2 million had to be reserved for the promotion of arts and cultural activities in the Central and Western (C&W) District. As at 11September 2015, after deducting an estimated allocation of $679,072 to be carried forward to the year 2016-17, the C&WDC had endorsed allocations of $16,487,757.16 for CI Projects, which represented 103.70% of the $15.9 million allocated by the HAD. The actual expenditure amounted to $7,379,400.25, representing 46.41% of the fund allocated.
- The Chairman reported that since the last meeting, the FC had endorsed two fund applications for CI projects. Details were as follows:
i.An allocation of $4,000 to the Working Group on Central and Western District Council Affairs (WG on C&WDC Affairs) for the “Provision of sport wear for the C&WDC Football Team Members for participating in the friendly match with the Hong Kong Women Football Team”.
ii.An allocation of $30,000 to the WG on C&WDC Affairs as the“Additional funding for Executive Assistants, Project Co-ordinators and Project Assistants by the CWDC (2015-2016)”.
Item 4: / Fund Applications of the Committees and Working Groups under the C&WDC
(C&W FC Paper Nos. 226/2015 (2nd Revised) to 232/2015)
- The Chairman asked Members to refer to Paper No. 226/2015 (2nd Revised) for six fund applications from the C&WDC, its committees and working groups.
- In regard to the fund application of the“2016 Spring Cantonese Opera Show”, Mr CHAN Shing-fung, Executive Officer I (District Council) of the Central and Western District Office, added that the activity would be held at 7:00 pm on 17 February 2016 (the tenth day of the Lunar New Year) at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall. The WG on C&WDC Affairsproposed to jointly organise the activity with Tung Sin Tan and co-organise the activity with four kaifong welfare associations. Tung Sin Tan and the four kaifong welfare associations would jointly purchase souvenirs for the audience while the C&WDC would be responsible for the expenses on the opera troupe. Dr Malcolm LAM declared interest as the Vice-chairman of Kennedy Town Kai-fong Welfare Association and Vice-president of Mount Davis Kai-fong Welfare Association. Mr CHAN Hok-fung declared interest as the Vice-chairman of Mount Davis Kai-fong Welfare Association. Mr YIP Wing-shing declared interest as the as Honorary Chief Executive Officer of Tung Sin Tan. He emphasised that Tung Sin Tan and the four kai-fong welfare associations had not appliedany DC funds for the activity, and would jointly purchase souvenirs for the audience. The Vice-chairmandeclared interest as the Vice-chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Central District Kai-fong Welfare Association and Council Member of Standing Committee of Tung Sin Tan. Mr CHAN Chit-kwai declared interest as the Council Adviser of Tung Sin Tan. Mr Sidney LEE,MissLO Yee-hang and Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan declared interest as Honorary Legal Advisers of Tung Sin Tan. The Chairman declared interest as the Chairman of the Central District Kai-fong Welfare Association.
- Mr HUI Chi-fungasked if Members who had declared interest should withdraw from the meeting, and could vote and speak on the application. He asked the Chairman to make a ruling. The Chairmanstated that the organisations involved were co-organisers which would be responsible for offering souvenirsonly and therefore there was no conflict of interests. He ruled that the Members concerned did not need to withdraw from the meeting.
- In regard to the fund application of the “Production of C&WDC Red Packets 2016”, Mr CHANShing-fung added that the C&WDC had signed the “Green Packet” Charter with the Greeners Action in the year before. In accordance with the Charter, the quantity of red packets to be produced in 2015 should be 10% less than that of the year before, and a green and simple design should be adopted. In this connection, it was suggested that a total of 186300 red packets without showing the year would be produced and distributed through ward offices of DC Members, area committees and Public Enquiry Service Centres. Although the volume of production would be reduced, the number of red packets provided to each DC Member would be similar to that of the year before because the number of Members would be reduced by three in the next term.
- In regard to the fund application of the “Production of C&WDC Calendar 2016”,Mr CHANShing-fungsaid that unlike the year before, the photos of activities solely or jointly organised by the C&WDC would not be used in the calendar. The drawings on the festivals/characteristics of the twelve months in a year created by kindergarten pupils in the district would be used instead. It was suggested that 3000 calendars would be produced and distributed through ward offices and Public Enquiry Service Centres, etc.
- The Committee endorsed the following three fund applications submitted by the WG on C&WDC Affairs:
(ii)An allocation of $22,000 for the “Production of C&WDC Red Packets 2016”;
(iii)An allocation of $50,000 for the “Production of C&WDC Calendar 2016”.
(C&W FC Paper No.230/2015)
- In regard to the fund application of the “Chinese Ink Staircase in C&W District”,Mr CHANShing-fung said that Members’ enquiries raised at the 9th meeting of the Culture, Leisure and Social Affairs Committee (CLSAC) on 10 September had been answered in the paper. The Chairmanenquired about the arrangement for sponsorship acknowledgement. Mr CHAN replied that the logos of the sponsors, joint organisers and co-organisers would be placed at the bottom of the staircase. The size of logos would depend on the height of the staircase. Moreover,apart from the requirement that the logos of sponsors should not be larger than the that of the C&WDC, there were no other restrictions on the logos of sponsors as stated in the C&WDC Manuals on the Use of DC Funds. Ms CHENG Lai-king asked if the logos of commercial sponsors would be displayed for five years and if consultationson the site of staircase would be conducted. Mr HUI Chi-fung opined that the fund application should be submitted directly by Young Artists Development Foundation because it was the lead agency of the project. He doubted if the application procedure was proper. Mr HUIalso raised the query about fairness and asked if the public would be consulted about the painter and site of the painting. Mr CHAN Hok-fung suggested the site at Sands Street where the pedestrian volume was relatively high. Mr CHANShing-fung replied that the site and painting would be decided by the C&WDC. The WG on C&WDC Affairs would offer some sites for Members to choose from. After the site was confirmed, Young Artists Development Foundation would propose a number of paintings according to the dimensions of the staircase for Members’ consideration. Prior to the execution of the project, a local consultationwould be conducted to collect nearby residents’ views. He went on to explain that there had been cases where the DC submitted the application first and subsequently contract out the events to organisations. The logos of sponsorswere simply used to acknowledge their participation and were not for the purpose of advertisement. Mr YIP Wing-shingstated that he was not affiliated with the joint organiser. He considered that the Chinese Ink Staircase was aimed at promoting culture and arts and would also be implemented in other districts later. In previous activities such as Sheung Wan Promenade andNew Year countdowns, the logos of sponsors were also displayed. Those activities were actually the fruits of the cooperation among the Government, the business sector and the public. Lastly, he opined that an inclusive mindset should be adopted in promoting artsand Members should not specifically ask for the works of a certain painter. Mr KAM Nai-waiproposed that the application should be left to the DC of the next term because it was expected that the staircase would be unveiled in February 2016 and Members had yet to reach a consensus. Mr CHAN Chit-kwai said that the project was consistent with the DC’s aim of fostering culture in the district. On top of that, the idea was creative and could highlight the large number of slopes and staircases, which was characteristic of the C&W District. If the staircase was successful, it could serve as a reference for future projects. Issues such as the choice of paintings, painters and sites could be discussed later. Mr HUI agreed that the C&WDC should support culture and arts but he had reservations about the properness of the application procedure. TheVice-chairmansaid that there were wall paintings on Robinson Road at the Mid-Levels and underneath the flyover at Hill Road in Shek Tong Tsui years before. There was also a staircase painting at Rock Hill Street which was initiated by Kennedy Town Area Committee. The project in question was similar to previous ones. Moreover, during the discussion of the application at the previous CLSAC meeting, Members were enthusiastic about the project and did not raise any objections. He shared other Members’ views that the effect was more important than the painter. Mr CHAN Hok-fungpointed out that theWG on C&WDC Affairs had submitted fund applications of projects it led, such as flea markets and Sheung Wan Promenadeand those activities were much the same as the application in question. Mr HUI said that the WG on C&WDC Affairs used to lead projects and look for sponsors but it took the initiative to sponsor other organisations in the current application. He opined that the WG on C&WDC Affairs should invite organisations for cooperation only when there was a need. The Chairman said that the project was one of the activities of the Culture in the District programme. As the funds available for the CLSAC were exhausted and the application was not objected by the CLSAC, the project was then brought to the Committees and Working Groups under the C&WDC for consideration because funds were still available. Furthermore, the WG on C&WDC Affairs was appropriate for the project because its duty was to implement activities for the benefit of the well-being of residents such as production of red packets and it still had sufficient funds. Hence, there was no violation of procedures. The Chairmanthen replied that activities to be held in the first quarter of the following year had to be prepared in 2015, so the application could be put to vote by the current-term DC.
- Twelve Members voted for the application: Mr MAN Chi-wah, Mr Thomas NG, Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Mr Joseph CHAN, Mr CHAN Hok-fung, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, Mr Jackie CHEUNG, Mr IP Kwok-him (authorised Mr CHAN Hok-fung to vote on his behalf), Dr Malcolm LAM, Mr Sidney LEE, Miss LO Yee-hang, Mr YIP Wing-shing; Four Members voted against the application: Ms CHENG Lai-king, Mr HUI Chi-fung, Mr KAM Nai-wai, Mr WONG Kin-shing; No Member abstained from voting. The FC endorsed an allocation of $50,000 to the WG on C&WDC Affairs for organising “Chinese Ink Staircase in C&W District”.
- In regard to the fund application of the “Advanced Certificate Course on Building Management in the CW District”, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, Chairman of the Working Group on Concern over Building Management in the C&W District, added that the activity had been organised for years and was widely popular among owners’ corporations in the district.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of $24,940.40 to the Working Group on Concern Over Building Management in the C&W District for organising the “Advanced Certificate Course on Building Management in the CW District”.
- In regard to the fund application of “‘Green Stalls’ in Hong Kong Flower Show 2016”, Mr NG Wai-him, Social Worker of Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (Central, Western & Islands District Youth Outreaching Social Work Team), said that game booths would be set up to raise public awareness about environmental protection. The activity would be held from 11 to 13 March 2016 and 18 to 20 March 2016andwas expected to attract 4000 visitors. Mr NG added that a career-oriented youth programmewould beincorporated into the activity. The organiser would recruit 8 to 12 youngsters with low motivation to work and provide them with at least twotraining sessions on work skills. They would be asked to design publicity materials, make arrangementsfor and work atgame booths. It was hoped that their motivation to work would be strengthened through such learning opportunities. The majority of the funds would be used to purchaseprizes for game booths and to recruit youngsters as temporary staff. After deducting the subsidy of $1,500 from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the amount of funds sought was $29,040. Mr CHAN Hok-fung expressed support for the activity and enquired about the distribution method of prizes. Ms CHENG Lai-king asked if plants or seeds would be used as prizes to echo the theme of the flower show. Mr NG replied that the distribution method and types of prizes would be discussed and decided by the participating youngsters. The Vice-chairman pointed out that most activities discussed at the meeting would be held after the establishment of the next-term DC, which was similar to the “Chinese Ink Staircase in C&W District”. He requested the Chairman to clarify if all the applications should be considered in the same way. The Chairman replied thatthe current-term DC could approve the applications of activities to be held in the first quarter of 2016 if they had to be planned in 2015. If Members had any views, there was a need for discussion or voting.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of$29,040 to Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (Central, Western & Islands District Youth Outreaching Social Work Team) fororganising “‘Green Stalls’ in Hong Kong Flower Show 2016”.