5 Mar 2024獨媒#3100
立法會一連兩日加議程傾23條 李家超結束北京行程提早返港
Chief Executive John Lee left Hong Kong for Beijing yesterday and attended the opening of the Two Sessions today. Speaking to reporters in the evening, he said he had visited the Ministry of Finance and the National Health Commission during his trip, and discussed bond issuance with the former, but did not disclose details. Asked about the progress of Article 23 legislation, Lee only said it would be submitted to the Legislative Council as soon as possible, adding that completing the legislation one day earlier would mean safeguarding national security one day earlier. Lee cut short his Beijing trip and returned to Hong Kong. At the same time, the Legislative Council announced that it would hold an additional meeting tomorrow afternoon, with three committees forming a “fast-track” to discuss the results of the public consultation in two hours.
特首李家超昨日離港前往北京，今日列席「兩會」開幕。他傍晚見記者時表示訪京行程拜會財政部及衞健委，與前者傾談發債問題，但他無透露詳情。被問23條立法進度，李家超僅指盡快提交立法會，稱早一日完成立法，就早一日維護好國家安全。李家超提早結束北京行程返港，同一時間，立法會公布明日下午加開一節會議，由三個委員會組成「快車」，用兩小時討論公眾諮詢結果。
4 Mar 2024獨媒#3097
大埔區議會八節「會見市民計劃」僅會面七名市民 平均每節不足一人
The District Council’s regular Meet-the-Public Scheme involves arranging one evening each week for district councillors to take turns meeting members of the public. Following the revamp of the District Councils, the scheme was incorporated into the Guidelines on Monitoring District Councillors’ Performance. Two months on, documents from the Tai Po District Council reporting on progress showed that eight Meet-the-Public sessions had been held during the first two months, with seven residents attending, averaging fewer than one per session.
From 10 January, Tai Po District Council district councillors personally took duty at their offices and met members of the public from 6pm to 8pm every Tuesday. As of 29 February, the eight Meet-the-Public sessions had involved meetings with seven residents, one of whom had made an appointment by telephone. Issues raised by residents included public housing waiting arrangements and approval, bus frequencies, and early-morning noise in Tai Yuen Estate.
區議會恆常舉行的「會見市民計劃」，即每周安排一個晚上，由區議員輪值會見市民。「完善」區議會後，計劃列入《區議員履職監察指引》。兩個月過去，大埔區議會文件匯報進度，顯示首兩個月共舉行八節「會見市民計劃」，惟有七名市民到場會面，平均每節不足一人。
大埔區議會由1月10日起，逢星期二下午六至八時由區議員親身在辦事處當值並會見市民，截至2月29日進行的八節「會見市民計劃」，共與七名市民會面，其中一名經電話預約。市民關注的事宜包括公屋輪候安排及審批、巴士班次、大元邨清晨噪音問題等。
23 Feb 2024獨媒#3026
立法會財委會1分鐘通過98億「簡約公屋」撥款 田北辰稱滿意政府答覆故「轉軚」
The Legislative Council Finance Committee this afternoon (23rd) approved the approximately HK$9.837 billion funding for the second batch of Light Public Housing without discussion, a recorded vote or opposition. As the Public Works Subcommittee had already rejected discussing the funding today last month, the Finance Committee approved it by a show of hands without officials present or discussion; the entire “deliberation” took about one minute. Michael Tien of Roundtable, who had previously called the decision not to hold a discussion a “strange phenomenon”, explained before the meeting this morning why he had changed his stance and supported the funding, saying he was satisfied with the government’s replies to his questions about transport in his constituency and aircraft noise.
立法會財委會今午（23日）在無討論、不記名、無人反對下，全數通過第二批「簡約公屋」約98.37億元撥款。由於上月的工務小組上已否決於今日進行討論，故財委會是在無官員出席、無討論下舉手通過，「審議」全程僅約1分鐘。曾質疑毋需討論為「奇異現象」的實政圓桌田北辰，今早會前特意交代他為何「轉軚」支持，原因為滿意政府回覆他就當區交通及飛機噪音的質詢。
21 Feb 2024獨媒#3012
林素蔚立法會質詢涉抄襲謝偉俊：條嘢喺我嘅會承擔責任
A column in the Hong Kong Economic Journal today said a “senior legislator” had claimed that a newcomer’s oral question involved plagiarism, with 203 of its 225 words matching a question from seven years ago. The column did not name the legislator. A review of records, however, showed that the legislator accused of plagiarism was Lam So-wai, elected for the first time after the electoral system was “improved”, while the question allegedly copied was a written question submitted by Paul Tse in 2016 on preventing diabetes and introducing a sugar tax. The Independent Media asked Lam So-wai about the matter. She said she had always been concerned about a sugar tax, and that some of the content differed from Tse’s question seven years ago, describing it as helping the other party follow up on the issue. Asked whether she had discussed the matter with her legislative assistant, Lam said: “This question is mine, and I will take responsibility. Whatever my colleagues have done, I’m the boss, right? I can’t shirk responsibility.”
《信報》今日專欄指有「資深議員」稱新手的口頭質詢涉抄襲，提問的225字中有203字與七年的質詢相同，專欄未有開名。不過翻查資料，被指抄襲的議員為「完善」後首次當選的林素蔚，被抄襲的則為謝偉俊在2016年的書面質詢，議題為預防糖尿病及開徵糖稅。《獨媒》就此向林素蔚查詢，她指一直關注糖稅，部分內容亦與謝在七年前的提問不同，形容是「幫助」對方跟進。被問到是否曾否與議員助理商討，林素蔚指「呢條嘢喺我嘅，我都承擔責任嘅，同事做成點，我係老闆呀嘛，我唔能夠推卸責任」。
14 Feb 2024獨媒#2978
中西區區議會其他事項傾23條 議員稱職權包括推廣政府政策
During the previous term of the District Councils, the Home Affairs Department deemed various agenda items to be outside their powers on the grounds that they concerned territory-wide affairs. However, the situation has changed substantially following the “improvements” to the District Councils. At a meeting of the Central and Western District Council’s District Facilities and Works Committee on 1 February, a councillor sought to express “personal views” on Article 23 of the Basic Law under “Other Business” and was given approval by the chairperson, David Wing Shing Yip. The other 19 attending committee members then took turns speaking for half an hour. On whether the council had exceeded its powers, the DAB’s Jan Noel Shih said the council’s duties included enabling more members of the public to understand government policies. Appointed District Councillor Eugene Kin Keung Chan said it was appropriate to discuss the matter under “Other Business” because it was unrelated to the original meeting agenda, and that councillors also had a responsibility to support government policies.
去屆區議會，多項議程皆以涉及全港事務為由，被民政處指違違反職權。不過「完善」後的區議會，情況已大大不同。2月1日中西區區議會地區設施及工程委員會上，有議員在其他事項時望就《基本法》第23條提出「個人睇法」，獲主席葉永成批准，其餘19名出席委員更輪流發言，長達半小時。區議會是否違反職權？民建聯施永泰指區議會職責包括令更多市民知悉政府政策，委任區議員陳建強則認為在「其他事項」討論，與原有會議議程無關，認為做法適當，議員亦有責任支持政府政策。
26 Jan 2024獨媒#2883
區選投票「死機」 專責小組：修改系統時無做足測試致超荷載
Voting in the first “improved” District Council election, held on 10 December last year, was temporarily suspended after the electronic electoral register system suddenly failed in the evening, with polling ultimately extended until midnight that day. The Electoral Affairs Commission held a press conference this afternoon (26th) to explain the incident. Bernard (1976) Man, chairperson of the task force investigating the incident, said the technical team of the Registration and Electoral Office had modified the electronic electoral register system for the election, but had not considered the impact of traffic when the system was under pressure and had mistakenly assessed the modifications as “minor”, so sufficient load testing was not conducted. The system’s central processing unit load eventually approached 100% that day, while the time required for processing continued to increase, and the system became unable to cope at 7:37pm. The task force also said it had submitted an interim report to the Chief Executive this morning, but it would not be made public because it contained system details. Asked whether anyone would be held accountable for the incident, Bernard (1976) Man only said the matter would be handled by the Administration in accordance with established procedures.
去年12月10日舉行的首屆「完善」區議會選舉，因電子選民登記冊系統在晚上突然故障，令票站一度暫停投票，最終投票延至當天午夜結束。選管會今午（26日）舉行記者會交代事件，專責調查小組主席文本立表示，選舉事務處的技術團隊因應今次區選，就電子選民登記冊系統作修改，但未有考慮系統受壓情況操作下的流量影響，錯誤評估修改性質為「輕微」，而沒有進行充分荷載測試。最終，當日系統中央處理器負荷接近100%，運算所需時長不斷上升，終在當晚7時37分不堪負荷。小組又指，今早已向特首提交中期報告，惟因涉及系統細節將不對外公開。至於今次事故會否有人被問責，文本立僅指將交由行政當局按既定程序處理。
26 Jan 2024獨媒#2889
政府申注資10億元 增一帶一路獎學金名額
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu proposed in last year’s Policy Address an additional HK$1 billion injection into the Government Scholarship Fund to increase the number of Belt and Road Scholarship places to 150. The Legislative Council’s Finance Committee discussed the proposal today (26th). Several lawmakers said they did not understand why the Hong Kong government was seeking the injection during a fiscal deficit and when the scholarship fund had a surplus. Election Committee constituency lawmaker Lai Tung-kwok said the Education Bureau had used a six-page paper to apply for HK$1 billion, with only one paragraph explaining the financial arrangements, describing it as “so simple as to be astonishing”.
特首李家超去年在《施政報告》提出，向「政府獎學基金」額外注資10億元，以增加「一帶一路獎學金」名額至150人，立法會財委會今（26日）討論議案。多名議員對港府在財赤時期，兼獎學基金有盈餘下，仍要申請注資10億元表示不解。選委會界別議員黎棟國更指，教育局用6頁文件申請10億元，當中只有1段文字交代財政安排，直斥「簡單到令人震驚」。
25 Jan 2024獨媒#2871
謝偉俊批評政府「法家治港」高壓執法 李家超：用字令人聯想「黑暴」
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu attended the Legislative Council’s first Chief Executive Interactive Question-and-Answer Session of the year, discussing “promoting the mega-event economy”.
特首李家超出席立法會今年首次「特首互動交流答問會」，討論「推動盛事經濟
25 Jan 2024獨媒#2872
被李家超訓斥感委屈？ 謝偉俊：大家都係為香港好嘅
The Legislative Council’s Chief Executive’s Interactive Q&A Session got off to a heated start this morning, with Paul Tse becoming the focus after Chief Executive John Lee criticised him for allegedly stoking tensions between districts. Lee described Tse’s remarks and thinking as “old-fashioned and dangerous”, while his choice of words even evoked associations with the “black-clad violence”. The Legislative Council then held a “Food Waste Experience Day”, during which lawmakers sampled lunch boxes made from leftover food. Asked by reporters after the meal whether he felt aggrieved, Tse said that should be left for everyone to judge: “It’s just a matter of viewpoints and perspectives; everyone is working for Hong Kong’s good.”
今早立法會「行政長官互動交流答問會」甫開始便火花四濺，謝偉俊成為主角，被特首李家超批評不應挑撥地方矛盾，指其言論想法「迂腐危險」，用詞甚至令聯想起「黑暴」。立法會緊接舉行「惜食體驗日」，一眾議員品嚐用剩食製作的飯盒，謝偉俊飯後被記者追問會否感到委屈，他表示要留待大家判斷，「觀點同角度啫，大家都係為香港好嘅。」
17 Jan 2024獨媒#2824
謝偉俊質疑「小紅書治港」政制局否認厚此薄彼稱「同等重視」
Hong Kong society is tending towards a “one-colour” landscape, while more of the dissatisfaction with Hong Kong is coming from mainland visitors. Legislative Council member Starry Lee? Wait, 謝偉俊 is Paul Tse, not Starry Lee. Need correct. He raised a written question in the Legislative Council, saying mainland internet users had complained about Hong Kong through Xiaohongshu, with some arguing that “criticising Hong Kong has now become politically correct”. He said that after being criticised, the Hong Kong government had responded quickly and prominently. Tse said many members of the public had pointed out that various local views—including calls to suspend Mandatory Provident Fund contributions, remove the cooling measures and provide tax refunds—had not received equal attention for a long time, easily creating the impression that the government favoured some over others, or even that Xiaohongshu was “governing Hong Kong”. The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said that the government “attaches equal importance” to views expressed on both local and mainland social media.
香港社會趨向「清一色」，對香港不滿意見較多反而來自內地訪港旅客。立法會議員謝偉俊在立法會提出書面質詢，指內地網民透過「小紅書」投訴香港，更有「現在噴香港已經是一種政治正確了」的論述。而港府「被噴」後，卻迅速並高調回應。謝偉俊指不少市民反映，多項本地意見，例如停供強積金、撤辣、退稅等惠民措施卻遲遲未獲同等重視，容易令人產生厚此薄彼，甚至「小紅書治港」的觀感。政制局回應稱無論本地或內地社交媒體提出的意見，政府「都同等重視」。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
