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| Traditional Chinese | 區議會 | ||||||||||||||
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The District Councils, formerly District Boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 Districts of Hong Kong. Under the supervision of Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, they are consultative bodies on district administration and affairs.
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In 1982, under the governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose, the District Boards were established under the District Administration Scheme. The aim was to improve coordination of government activities in the provision of services and facilities at the district level.[1]
After the HKSAR was established, the original District Boards became Provisional District Boards, composed of all the original members of the Boards and some members appointed thereto by the Chief Executive. (The colonial Governor had refrained from appointing any member.)
Later in early 1999 a bill was passed in the Legislative Council providing mainly for the establishment, composition and functions of the District Councils, which would replace the Provisional District Boards. The 27 ex-officio seats of Rural Committees, abolished by the colonial authorities, were reinstated. The government rejected any public survey or referendum on the issue, saying that it had been studying the issue since 1997, and had received 98 favourable submissions. The self-proclaimed pro-democracy camp dubbed the move "a setback to the pace of democracy" because it was a throwback to the colonial era.[2]
The councils advise the Government on the following:
District Councils also undertake the following within the respective districts with its available funds allocated by the Government:
In an attempt to inject a democratic element into the Legislative Council, the colonial government introduced a model where some legislators were elected indirectly by District Council members. Twelve legislators were returned by an 'electoral college' of district councillors in 1985. The practice was repeated in 1988 and 1995.[3] In 2010, the government proposed that five legislators be added to District Council functional constituencies, and be elected by proportional representation of elected DC members.[4] In a politically controversial deal between the Democratic Party and the Beijing government, this was changed to allow the five seats to be elected by those members of the general electorate who did not otherwise have a functional constituency vote.
There are a total of 534 District Council members, of which -
There is a district council for each of the following eighteen districts. The number in parentheses corresponds to the number shown on the map at the right.
Each term of the District Council lasts for four years. The first term began on 1 January 2000.
Under the district councillor appointment system, 102 district councillors out of 534 are picked by the Chief Executive. The remainder are democratically elected by voters in each district. In June 2010, the government announced it would make proposals on whether to scrap the system in the next Legco year, from October 2010.[5]
In 1999, Tung Chee Hwa appointed 100 members to the District Council. These included 41 from various political parties, namely the Liberal Party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), and the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance. There were no democrats appointed.[6]
In 2003, Tung appointed 21 political party appointees to the District Council to dilute the influence of the pan-democrats as follows:[7]
Professor of politics and sociology at Lingnan University, Dr. Li Pang-kwong said "As in the past, most of the appointees were pro-government or persons without a clear political stance... ensur[ing] that no district council is in the hands of the democrats."[6]
A spokesman for the democrats said the appointees "will have an unfair advantage in that they are getting financial support from the government which will help them run for office in future elections."[6]
In December 2007, Donald Tsang named 27 government-appointed Council members.[7]
The Chief Executive was criticised for not appointing a single member of the pan-democrats in either 2003 or 2007.[7]
See Hong Kong district councils election, 2011.
Prof. Li Pang-kwong, of Lingnan University, said that the problematic framework of the councils, being under the Home Affairs Bureau, has led them to work too closely with government. He cited the example of the 'copy and paste' Queen's Pier motions passed by 13 councils to support government decisions as a rubber-stamp, and a clear sign that councils lacked independence. Dr Li recalled that a similar government 'consultation' on universal suffrage in 2007, where two-thirds of the councils passed a vote in support of its position. After it was revealed that the government was behind the concerted District Councils' motions in 2008 supporting the relocation of Queen's Pier, Albert Ho condemned the government of tampering with District Councils in order to "create public opinion", and for turning District officers into propagandists.[8]