Minutes of the 4th Meeting in 2019 of the Environment, Housing and Works Committee

of Tai Po District Council Date: 10 July 2019 (Wednesday) Time: 2:32 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Tai Po District Council (“TPDC”) Present Time of Arrival Time of Withdrawal

Chairman Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Vice-chairman Mr. LI Wah-kwong, Rex Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Members Mr. AU Chun-wah Mr. CHAN Cho-leung, MH, JP Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Mr. LAM Yick-kuen Dr. LAU Chee-sing Mr. LAU Yung-wai Mr. LI Kwok-ying, BBS, MH, JP Mr. LI Yiu-ban, BBS, MH, JP Mr. LO Hiu-fung Mr. TAM Wing-fun, Eric, MH Mr. TANG Ming-tai, Patrick Mr. WOO Kin-man, Clement Mr. YAM Kai-bong, Francis Mr. YAM Man-chuen Mr. YU Chi-wing, Ken

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2:37 p.m. Beginning of the meeting

2:37 p.m. Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting Beginning of the meeting

End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting End of the meeting

Co-opted Member Mr. LEE Siu-man

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Secretary Mr. LEUNG Chung-wa, Alvin Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Executive Officer (District Council) 1 / Tai Po District Office (“TPDO”) / Home Affairs Department (“HAD”)

In Attendance Ms. LEUNG Wing-yin, Tiffany Assistant District Officer (Tai Po) / TPDO / HAD Ms. CHAN Cheuk-ling, Kathy Senior Town Planner / Tai Po / New Territories District Planning

Division / Planning Department Ms. LUK Wai-yun, Connie Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional North) 1 /

Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”) Mrs. CHIU TSE Shuk-yin Senior Housing Manager (Tai Po, North and Shatin 2) / Housing

Department (“HD”) Mr. MA Hon-chiu Chief Health Inspector 1 / Tai Po District Environmental Hygiene

Office / Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) Mr. LAW Sau-mong Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing and Pest Control) 2 / FEHD Mr. NGAN Wing-hong, Victor Engineer / 20 (North) / Civil Engineering and Development

Department (“CEDD”) Mr. KWAN Sum-hong Engineer / Maintenance 1D / CEDD Mr. NG Wing-hung Senior Engineer / Tai Po / Drainage Services Department (“DSD”) Mr. CHENG Wun-chee District Engineer / Tai Po 1 / Highways Department (“HyD”) Mr. WAT Ka-fai, John Structural Engineer / C2-3 / Buildings Department (“BD”) Ms. MA Yan-wan Patrol Sub-unit Commander 1 (Tai Po Division) / Hong Kong Police

Force (“HKPF”) Mr. KWONG Po-yuen Patrol Sub-unit Station Sergeant 1 (Tai Po Division) / HKPF Mr. CHAN Wing-yiu, Ronald Administration Assistant / Lands / District Lands Office, Tai Po

(“TPDLO”) / Lands Department (“Lands D”) Mr. CHAN Siu-hung Senior Land Executive (Acting) / Control / TPDLO / Lands D Mr. WONG Kwok-wai, Anthony Deputy District Leisure Manager (Tai Po) 2 / Leisure and Cultural

Services Department (“LCSD”) Mr. CHEUNG Ka-yin General Manager (Regulatory) / Property Management Services

Authority (“PMSA”) Mr. LUK Kwok-ho Manager (Licensing) / PMSA Mr. LEE Yu-sau, Terence Senior Executive Officer (District Council) / TPDO / HAD Ms. LEUNG Suk-mei, Rebecca Senior Executive Officer (District Management) / TPDO / HAD Ms. WONG Sin-man, Mabel Executive Officer (District-led Actions Scheme) / TPDO / HAD

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Applicants for leave Ms. WONG Pik-kiu, BBS, MH, JP Mr. KWOK Wing-kin Mr. LI Kam-chung Opening remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members and departmental representatives to the meeting of the Environment, Housing and Works Committee (“EHWC”) and congratulated the following local dignitaries on being honoured, appointed or awarded by the Chief Executive:

(i) Mr. CHU King-yuen was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star;

(ii) Ms. LEE Sai-yin, Jeanne was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star;

(iii) Mr. CHAN Cho-leung and Hon. YUNG Hoi-yan were appointed Justices of the Peace;

(iv) Mr. NG Siu-ki was awarded the Medal of Honour; and

(v) Mr. TANG Ming-tai, Patrick, and Mr. LO Hiu-fung were awarded the Chief Executive’s Commendations for Community Service.

2. The Chairman continued that Ms. WONG Pik-kiu, Mr. LI Kam-chung and Mr. KWOK Wing-kin were unable to attend the meeting due to other commitments and had submitted their notices of absence to the Secretariat. Pursuant to Order 51(1) of the TPDC Standing Orders, the EHWC would only give consent to a Member’s application for absence from meetings filed on the grounds of sickness (including sickness due to pregnancy), jury service, attendance at another meeting or activity on behalf of the District Council (“DC”), attendance at a Legislative Council (“LegCo”) or Executive Council meeting, confinement or paternity leave. Pursuant to the above requirements, no consent could be given to their applications.

I. Confirmation of the minutes of the 3rd meeting in 2019 of the EHWC on 8 May 2019 (TPDC Paper No. EHW 38/2019) 3. The Chairman said that the Secretariat did not receive any proposed amendment before the meeting, and Members did not propose any amendment at the meeting. As such, the above minutes were confirmed without amendment.

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II. Suggestions regarding the licensing system under the Property Management Services Ordinance (TPDC Paper No. EHW 39/2019) 4. The Chairman welcomed Mr. CHEUNG Ka-yin and Mr. LUK Kwok-ho, General Manager (Regulatory) and Manager (Licensing) respectively of the PMSA, to the meeting for the discussion of this agenda item. 5. Mr. CHEUNG Ka-yin went through the captioned paper. 6. Mr. YU Chi-wing, Ken would like to know the licence fee under the afore-mentioned licensing regime, and the funding sources of the PMSA. 7. Mr. AU Chun-wah said that, to his knowledge, many managerial staff of property management companies (“PMCs”) already held licences relating to property management. Therefore, he asked about the difference between these licences and the one required by the PMSA. He also asked if the PMCs had to hire an additional supervisory staff licensed by the PMSA on top of the existing managerial staff. In addition, if a licensee could not engage in the work related to property management while his licence was suspended, could he take up another position in the PMC that did not require any licences? 8. Mr. CHEUNG Ka-yin responded as follows:

(i) The major funding source of the PMSA was not the licence fee. Starting from 1 July 2018, the PMSA had been charging the purchaser a levy of $350 for every instrument as regards the conveyance on sale of an immovable property, and this levy was the major source of income of the PMSA.

(ii) The reason why the PMSA opted for collecting the levy from the purchasers of immovable properties was to minimise the amount of licence fee the sector had to pay. In addition, the current licence fee (especially the licence fee for Property Management Practitioners (“PMPs”)) was quite low.

(iii) Although many managerial staff in the sector had the professional qualifications or other qualifications acquired on a voluntary basis, as the property management industry did not have any licensing regime at present, consumers could not ensure that the PMCs’ managerial staff had the relevant qualifications.

(iv) After putting in place the licensing regime, any practitioner assuming a managerial or supervisory role in a PMC had to hold a licence, or he would be imprisoned and fined.

(v) In future, a licensee would not be allowed to perform managerial or supervisory duties as regards property management services in a PMC if he was suspended or

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had his licence revoked by the Disciplinary Standing Committee under the PMSA for violating the regulations. However, he could still take up duties other than management or supervision. In addition, a PMC had to terminate its operation once its licence had been suspended. Nonetheless, as the termination of business of a PMC would cause inconvenience to the housing estates concerned, he believed that it would take place only if there was a serious breach of the regulations.

9. Mr. TAM Wing-fun, Eric’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He opined that having supervision was better than having none. Therefore, he supported the PMSA’s initiative to put in place the licensing regime.

(ii) One of the categories of property management services was “management of the environment of a property”, which covered the cleaning, hygiene, landscaping and safety services of properties. He asked whether a company had to apply to the PMSA for a licence even if it was only providing cleaning services for a housing estate.

(iii) Once the licensing regime had been put in place, a PMP had to hold a relevant licence so as to assume managerial role. Any PMP without the academic or professional qualifications concerned would only be granted a provisional licence with a validity period of up to three years within the transitional period, and would only be granted a formal licence upon the completion of specified courses within the validity period of the provisional licence. While the PMSA had not set out the details of the courses concerned, it usually took four years to complete a full-time course, and the transitional period given by the PMSA lasted for three years only. As such, he would like to know how it actually worked, or whether the courses specified by the PMSA were actually not four-year courses.

(iv) Taking some of the representative housing estates in Tai Po town centre as an example, he pointed out that most of the housing estates with less than 1 500 flats would hire at least one experienced managerial officer to deal with complicated housing management issues. As such, he asked what criteria the PMSA was based on when drawing up the regulations that at least one licensed PMP was required for every 1 500 flats.

(v) The turnover rate of PMPs was high. While some of the “veterans” were experienced, they might find it hard to pick up something new and even exhausting having to go to school after work. He was worried that the licensing regime put forward by the PMSA would accelerate the loss of new recruits and eliminate the “veterans”, which would result in manpower shortage in the sector.

(vi) Some of the PMCs were managing a number of housing estates in Hong Kong at the same time. If breaches in different housing estates were counted together, it would be more likely for these PMCs to have their licences suspended. To prevent

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such a situation, large-scale PMCs might cut back on their scale of operation which would undermine their leadership role in leading the industry’s development. Eventually, it would make the supervisory work of the PMSA even more difficult.

10. Mr. LI Wah-kwong, Rex’s questions were as follows:

(i) Were the PMCs interested in applying for the licence required to have a Business Registration Certificate and a PMC licence?

(ii) Were the licensed PMPs required to pay the licence renewal fee every year?

(iii) Were the PMPs (such as PMPs (Tier 1)) required to pay the licence fee before joining the industry?

11. Mr. Ken YU’s questions were as follows:

(i) Who suggested charging the purchaser of an immovable property a levy of $350 as the funding source of the PMSA?

(ii) What did the levy collected from the purchaser of an immovable property have to do with property management? Why was there such an arrangement?

(iii) The levy collected by the PMSA would decrease when the transaction volume of immovable properties dropped. Would it affect the licence fee level concerned? Where would the PMSA look for funding then? Had the Administration considered using some of the rates income as the PMSA’s operation fund?

(iv) He opined that setting up the PMSA to monitor the property management industry was a good initiative. However, he asked if there was any mechanism to supervise the PMSA’s work to ensure that the level and scale of license fee would remain at a proper level.

12. Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) The property management services of a housing estate would be paralysed if its PMC had its licence suspended by the PMSA for serious breaches of the regulations and the housing estate failed to hire another PMC in time. He asked whether the PMSA had thought about the follow-up arrangement after the licence of a PMC had been suspended, and whether it had any suggestion for housing estates to deal with the afore-mentioned situation. For instance, as a transitional arrangement, it might consider allowing the suspended PMC to continue to provide services before the housing estate could successfully hire another PMC.

(ii) He opined that the licensing regime helped supervise the service quality of the property management industry. However, he was worried that the PMCs would

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raise their tender price and the cost of applying for the licence would pass onto members of the public.

13. Mr. CHEUNG Ka-yin responded as follows:

(i) Cleaning, hygiene, landscaping and safety services of a property were all under Category 2 of the seven categories of property management services. The Property Management Services Ordinance stipulated that a PMC providing more than one category of property management services was required to hold a licence. Therefore, even if a cleaning company provided cleaning, hygiene, landscaping and security services at the same time, as it was providing only one category of property management services, it was not required to hold a licence.

(ii) If a PMP had met the requirements on academic qualifications, working experience in local property management and / or professional qualifications, he could directly apply for the formal licence instead of the provisional one after the licensing regime had been put in place.

(iii) In general, experienced and eligible “veterans” could apply for the provisional licence. To apply for the formal licence, all they had to do was to complete a course specified by the PMSA (for instance, courses for Tier 1 and Tier 2 licences would be 120 hours and 90 hours long respectively) within the three-year validity period of the provisional licence to revisit the basic knowledge a PMP had to know. The PMSA had taken into account the situation of the “veterans” as well as answered to members of the public when coming up with the provisional licence. “Veterans” could not be given the formal licence simply because of their experience.

(iv) As regards the requirement of one licensed PMP (Tier 2) for every 1 500 flats, as the PMSA could not get the whole picture of the property management market when the licensing regime was first put in place, and it took time for the PMPs to apply for the licence, the PMSA had set a rather lenient manpower requirement as the compulsory licensing criteria for the PMCs for the time being. At the end of the day, however, the PMCs still had to provide the agreed number of PMPs according to the contract. Therefore, some housing estates would have more licensed PMPs than the minimum required by the PMSA. The PMSA would continue to see if the afore-mentioned manpower ratio was appropriate and make adjustment where necessary in future.

(v) He stressed that only those PMPs assuming a managerial or supervisory role had to apply for a licence. Therefore, staff not assuming a managerial or supervisory role was not required to apply for one. In the three-year transitional period after the licensing regime had been put in place, the PMSA would not force PMPs to hold a licence. Instead, it would proactively carry out promotional efforts and encourage them to apply for one, and would also encourage housing estates to hire licensed

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PMPs.

(vi) The PMSA would closely monitor the impact of the licensing regime on the market demand and supply of the property management sector in the first three years after the implementation of the regime.

(vii) He pointed out that there were many reasons for the increase in management fee in recent years, such as the raise in minimum wage, inflation and increase in repair expenses, etc. The PMSA would endeavour to minimise the impact of the licence fee on the increase in management fee.

(viii) Apart from assuming a supervisory role and dealing with complaints, the PMSA would also step up its efforts in promotion and publicity so as to improve the image of the property management industry. In addition, the PMSA would also work with various educational institutions to encourage young people to study property management and join the sector, so as to maintain the professionalism and manpower supply of the sector.

(ix) He understood that suspending the licence of a PMC would affect the residents, employees and contract, etc. Therefore, the PMSA would only do so in the event of serious breaches of the regulations. Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Standing Committee would also take into account the afore-mentioned factors and evaluate the actual situation before deciding whether to impose penalty for the breaches.

(x) Regardless of whether it had started operating or not, all PMCs providing more than one category of property management services had to hold a licence and pay the licence fee. After the licensing regime had been put in place, the licences for the PMCs and the PMPs would be valid for three years, so that they would not have to go through the procedures for licence renewal every year.

(xi) In 2016, LegCo endorsed the initiative for the PMSA to collect a levy from the transferee under a conveyance on sale of an immovable property in Hong Kong. He believed that LegCo endorsed such an initiative as the Government and the Legislative Councillors considered levy collection as the most cost-efficient. Since the levy collection of $350 for the conveyance on sale of an immovable property in Hong Kong from 1 July 2018, the PMSA’s levy collection had been carried out by law firms and it had always been a smooth process.

(xii) The Administration would continue to listen to comments on the handling of the PMSA’s funding sources in future. He pointed out that the PMSA mainly wanted to collect the fee in a reasonable and convenient manner, and did not want to rely on the licence fee as the major funding source. If licence fee was to be raised in future, the PMSA would carry out a consultation and such an initiative would be put in place only after LegCo had amended the subsidiary ordinance. The PMSA would not make a decision on its own.

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III. Installation of 360-degree cameras at priority sites of marine refuse

(TPDC Paper No. EHW 40/2019) 14. Mr. MA Hon-chiu went through the afore-mentioned paper. 15. Mr. YAM Kai-bong, Francis said that the FEHD had earlier installed Internet Protocol (“IP”) cameras at illegal refuse dumping blackspots to prosecute people and car owners who dumped refuse illegally. However, he did not understand why the department suggested installing cameras at the beaches, and asked what it intended to do. He continued that the department could find out whether there was refuse at the beaches to be cleaned up simply by deploying staff there for inspection. As the initiative involved public fund, he hoped that the department could clarify the purpose of installing cameras at the beaches. 16. Mr. LAU Yung-wai said that it was understandable for the department to install IP cameras to prosecute people who littered. However, if the refuse was washed ashore, the department would not be able to track the source and hold anyone accountable as no human factor was involved. Therefore, he did not understand why the department installed cameras at the beaches and wondered if it was necessary. 17. Mr. YAM Man-chuen cited the paper which said that the department could monitor the refuse being washed ashore remotely by installing cameras at the beaches, so as to adjust the frequency of clean-up work. He asked whether the department could effectively monitor the pattern of refuse being washed ashore by the cameras. He opined that if refuse was only washed ashore randomly, it would not be of much use spending public fund on installing the cameras. 18. Mr. MA Hon-chiu responded as follows:

(i) Installing cameras at the beaches was for effective manpower deployment, so that the FEHD could monitor the accumulation of refuse at the remote beaches and clear the refuse at these beaches where necessary.

(ii) As refuse was washed ashore randomly, when the FEHD found a certain amount of refuse at the beaches through the cameras, it would deploy staff to clean them up. If the department had to deploy staff to inspect the accumulation of refuse at the beaches every time, it would be a waste of time and effort.

(iii) The department had earlier carried out a trial on the installation of IP cameras at the beaches. As the trial was successful, the department intended to extend it to more locations so as to step up the monitoring efforts.

19. Dr. LAU Chee-sing said that the FEHD had earlier installed IP cameras at the beaches in Tai Po District as the testing points for the trial. He opined that the outcome of camera installation

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was significant. In particular, the department was able to deploy staff for clean-up work whenever refuse was found at the beaches, so as to improve the environmental hygiene of the community. Therefore, he supported the afore-mentioned scheme. 20. Mr. LI Yiu-ban said that it was difficult to monitor the accumulation of refuse at the beaches on a daily basis. For instance, refuse would be washed ashore during rainstorms. If it was not cleaned up in time, it would be difficult to locate it once it had been covered by gravels and buried deep at the beaches. Sharing his experience of cleaning refuse at the beaches in Tap Mun East recently, he pointed out that a lot of refuse such as plastic bottles, toothbrushes and rubber slippers were buried there. Had IP cameras been installed, the department would have been able to discover the refuse at the beaches and clean it up in time so that it would not be covered by gravels. He believed that it would help improve the hygiene at the beaches. In addition, he pointed out that there might not be any power supply at the remote areas, and suggested the department consider installing IP cameras with a solar power system to support image transmission and other operations. 21. Mr. Francis YAM indicated that it was useful to install IP cameras at the remote and less accessible beaches. However, as purchasing IP cameras and connecting them with power supply cost a lot, whether it would be worth doing so was a matter of debate. He continued to ask about how much it would cost to install these 15 IP cameras. 22. Dr. LAU Chee-sing added that the IP cameras currently installed at Shuen Wan were equipped with solar panels, which could use solar power to generate electricity and were not affected by the tides. 23. Mr. LAU Yung-wai asked the department about the cost of IP camera installation at each location and the operation cost of each IP camera in future. He explained that even though the department would not have to deploy staff to inspect the beaches after installing the IP cameras, it still had to deploy staff to review the footages frequently to learn about the situation of refuse at the beaches, and manpower resources would also be needed. In addition, he said that as these IP cameras at the remote beaches were left unattended, they might be damaged by bad weather or people and it would lead to an increase in maintenance cost. As such, he suggested the department consider adopting other measures to deal with the refuse at the beaches, such as deploying staff to inspect the beaches after rainstorms or in good weather on a regular basis, so as to alleviate the problem of the refuse at the beaches. 24. Mr. MA Hon-chiu responded as follows:

(i) The IP cameras would capture a 360-degree image every 30 minutes at day time. The image would then be encrypted and uploaded to a server via 4G data transmission for subsequent reviews by the department staff.

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(ii) The IP cameras would be powered by rechargeable batteries and equipped with solar panels for battery charging. Therefore, Members did not have to worry about their power supply.

(iii) The monthly contract service fee for each IP camera was about $16,000.

(iv) The Cleansing Section of the department would continue to help monitor the footages of these IP cameras, and would deploy staff to clean the coastal refuse once they were found.

25. The Chairman opined that it would be easier to clean up the marine refuse in time than to clean up the refuse between gravels at the beaches. He continued that after visiting Tap Mun to clean the refuse at the beaches last time, there would be another beach cleaning activity on the Sunday after this meeting, and he and many Members had already signed up for it. As regards this scheme, he opined that the number of IP camera installed at the 15 locations in Hong Kong was appropriate and that the contract service fee was not too high. Therefore, he suggested Members consider whether to allow the FEHD to carry out a trial run of the scheme. 26. Mr. Rex LI, the Vice-chairman, said that after installing the IP cameras, the department would not have to deploy staff to inspect the accumulation of refuse at the remote beaches. Therefore, he supported the afore-mentioned scheme. Apart from refuse at the beaches, he pointed out that there was also a lot of marine refuse. If the FEHD found marine refuse through the IP cameras, he hoped that the department could notify the Pollution Control Unit of the Marine Department for follow-up actions. 27. Mr. LAU Yung-wai pointed out that there was a lot of remote beaches in Tai Po District, and asked the FEHD about its criteria in assessing whether it was necessary to install IP cameras at the beaches. He said that while he did not have much to say about the department’s suggestion of installing IP cameras at five beaches in Tai Po District, he was worried that a great amount of money would be involved when the department extend the scheme to other beaches in the district in future. 28. Mr. MA Hon-chiu said that the EPD updated the list of marine refuse priority sites in 2018, and the FEHD mainly referred to this list when allocating resources to step up its efforts to clean up the marine refuse that had been washed ashore. 29. The Chairman said that Members had earlier suggested the FEHD install 360-degree cameras at the refuse dumping blackspots, and the department had also listened to Members’ comments to install 360-degree cameras at the marine refuse priority sites. He pointed out that the FEHD’s current initiative to install IP cameras at some of the beaches in the district was of a trial basis. If the outcome was satisfactory, they could further examine ways to enhance the scheme in future.

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30. Having summarised Members’ comments, the EHWC endorsed to support the afore-mentioned scheme.

IV. Refurbishment plan of Nam Hang public toilet (TPDC Paper No. EHW 41/2019) 31. Mr. MA Hon-chiu went through the captioned paper. 32. Mr. Patrick TANG thanked the FEHD for implementing the refurbishment plan of Nam Hang public toilet in late 2019. 33. Dr. LAU Chee-sing supported refurbishing the public toilet in Nam Hang. In addition, he said that while he had repeatedly asked the FEHD to refurbish the aqua privy in Wai Ha Village on Tung Tsz Road, the department had not put forward any refurbishment plan since 2012. He asked the FEHD to forward his request to the Architectural Services Department in a proactive manner, so as to put in place the works concerned as soon as possible. 34. Mr. Eric TAM said that Nam Hang public toilet was close to his ward office and he had also informed the department of its various problems in the past. Therefore, he was pleased to know and supported the department’s refurbishment plan. In addition, he said that many taxi drivers would change shifts near this public toilet and were frequent users of it. As such, he hoped that the department would let them know the schedule of toilet refurbishment as soon as possible so that they could use other toilets instead. 35. Mr Patrick TANG hoped that apart from provisional toilets, the department could also provide water supply facilities for taxi drivers. 36. Mr. MA Hon-chiu said that public fund would be required for the provision of public water supply facilities. As such, he could not accept the request for the provision of water supply facilities for the time being. However, he would strive to cater for their needs. 37. The EHWC endorsed to support the captioned plan.

V. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s strategies and work on improving the environmental hygiene of Hong Kong (TPDC Paper No. EHW 42/2019) 38. Mr. MA Hon-chiu asked Members to take note of the captioned paper.

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39. Members did not have any comments or questions.

VI. Second phase of Anti-rodent Campaign 2019 in Tai Po District (TPDC Paper No. EHW 43/2019) 40. Mr. LAW Sau-mong went through the captioned paper. 41. Mr. LO Hiu-fung noticed that the FEHD would try out some new technology for rodent control, and would like to know the details concerned. He asked if the department would carry out rodent control using the new technology in the second phase of Anti-rodent Campaign 2019 in Tai Po District. 42. Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) According to the report of the first phase of Anti-rodent Campaign 2019 in Tai Po District, while the FEHD had set up a total of 4 786 cage traps and snap traps, it had captured only 165 live rodents during the operation. It was far from satisfactory.

(ii) Some said that the FEHD’s rodent control measures were outdated. For instance, the use of sweet potatoes as bait was ineffective in capturing rodents. As such, he urged the department to study for other suitable ways to capture rodents so as to enhance the effectiveness of its rodent control efforts.

(iii) Many passengers waited for vehicles on Kwong Fuk Road to travel to the area of Tai Po Centre. However, water dripping from air-conditioners was rather common among the many old buildings on Kwong Fuk Road, and the problem had remained unresolved for years. He asked if the department had any solution to the problem.

43. Dr. LAU Chee-sing said that some residents had told him about the mosquito problem near a school on a slope in Chan Uk Village. He hoped that the department could step up the mosquito control efforts there. 44. The Chairman asked the FEHD to contact Dr. LAU Chee-sing to follow up on the problem after the meeting. 45. Mr. KWAN Wing-yip said that the Pest Control Section (Tai Po) of the FEHD took the rodent problems in the community seriously. Not only would they take the initiative to follow up on the cases and patrol the rodent blackspots with DC Members, they would also quickly arrive at the site to clean up upon receiving report of signs of rodents. Their efforts were commendable. In addition, he asked whether the department had found anyone feeding rodents in the district. If yes, what would the department do?

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46. Mr. Francis YAM said that even though the FEHD carried out rodent control in an extensive area, they were mainly public area such as streets and slopes. He hoped that the department could step up its monitoring and law enforcement efforts in private housing estates. For instance, having received repeated complaints from DC Members and residents for frequent signs of rodents in a certain housing estate, the department should warn and prosecute the parties concerned so as to improve the environmental hygiene of the estate. He asked whether the department would take law enforcement action if the management company of a private housing estate did not or could not deal with the rodent problems in the estate, and how it could compel the management company or owners to follow up on the rodent problems. He explained that no matter how well the rodent control work efforts in the public area had been, if the rodent problems in private housing estates could not be resolved at the same time, it would still lead to a major hygiene problem. 47. Mr. Ken YU’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) Upon receiving a complaint relating to water dripping from air-conditioners, how long did it usually take for the department to deal with it? And how would the department deal with it?

(ii) Many private housing estates dealt with their refuse poorly and it had led to serious rodent problems. As the FEHD was responsible for environmental hygiene issues, he asked whether the department could order the housing estate concerned to follow its instructions to deal with the rodent problems. If yes, he hoped that the department could be more active in following up on the rodent problems in private housing estates. He could also provide more information for the department to take follow-up actions.

48. Mr. YAM Man-chuen said that he had visited a housing estate and shopping mall with the staff of the FEHD’s Pest Control Section to explain the correct rodent control measures to the Owners’ Corporations (“OCs”) and staff of the shopping mall, and to provide information on eliminating and preventing rodents. He believed that the FEHD’s efforts in enhancing the publicity and education in housing estates could make the pest control efforts more effective. However, he pointed out that in that operation, the FEHD prosecuted the housing estate only for failing to eliminate the mosquitoes thoroughly but not for the rodent problems. Therefore, he asked whether the department had any penalties related to rodent problems. On the other hand, he indicated that when dealing with water dripping from air-conditioners in private housing estates in the past, the department often simply referred the cases to the housing estates for follow-up actions and investigation, without taking the initiative to carry out any investigation. As such, he asked whether the department could step up its law enforcement efforts, or whether it was incapable of dealing with the problem of water dripping from air-conditioners in private housing estates. 49. Mr. LEE Siu-man cited a news article saying that the new technology that the FEHD had adopted for rodent control was ineffective. He asked whether the department had other effective

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rodent control measures. He said that he had suggested the department use glue trap for rodent control before, but the department rejected the suggestion on the grounds of animal rights. Having looked up the information, he found that animal rights were generally applicable to farm animals but not rodents. Considering that glue trap was effective in rodent control, and the department had to eliminate the rodents captured by other means in the end, he asked again whether the department could use glue trap for rodent control. 50. Mr. LAU Yung-wai said that there were many public space and eateries in his constituency that often required the assistance from the staff of the FEHD’s Pest Control Section. He commended the team led by Mr. MA Hon-chiu and Mr. LAW Sau-mong for having carried out effective rodent control measures in his constituency. He opined, and was thankful, that the rodent problems in the area had improved compared to one or two years ago. He hoped that the FEHD would enhance the patrol at the back alleys and locations with poor hygiene, and continued to work closely with him. 51. Mr. Patrick TANG’s comments were as follows:

(i) He was thankful that the FEHD had been working closely with him on improving the environmental hygiene of the community.

(ii) He opined that the department was powerless in rodent control. He explained that at present, the department would not eliminate rodents in private places and the effectiveness of its rodent control efforts in public area was dissatisfactory. As rodents could breed rapidly while the department was slow in eliminating them, it would be difficult to eliminate the rodents effectively in the long run.

(iii) He opined that the department should deal with the rodent problems by way of policies. Firstly, it should increase the funding and resources. Secondly, it should eliminate rodents in both public area and private place, and try using new technology to enhance the effectiveness of rodent control.

(iv) It would be difficult to make amends once rodent problems were out of control. Therefore, the Government should plan ahead to study for ways to eliminate rodents and fill up rodent holes in private places, and be proactive in taking large-scale operation to eliminate rodents.

52. Mr. LAW Sau-mong responded as follows:

(i) At present, the FEHD mainly referred to the suggestions and technical guidelines of the World Health Organisation (“WHO”) when adopting integrated measures, such as improving the environment as well as using poisonous baits and traps, for rodent control. These rodent control measures were more or less the same as those commonly adopted around the world.

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(ii) The department would review the development of rodent monitoring of the WHO and other cities on a regular basis, and draw up rodent control measures suitable for Hong Kong in light of its actual situation.

(iii) The department was currently contacting the WHO in the hope of inviting experts to come to Hong Kong to provide advice on rodent control. In addition, the department was also studying the feasibility of inviting other overseas expert to visit Hong Kong.

(iv) As regards the data in the report of the first phase of Anti-rodent Campaign 2019 in Tai Po District, the item “Number of cage traps / snap traps set up” actually referred to the number of cage traps and snap traps set up by the department during the entire campaign (10 weeks in total). In other words, a few dozens of traps were set up every day on average.

(v) The main reason why the department used sweet potatoes as baits was that in Hong Kong, other types of baits (such as barbecued pork and roasted pork) would easily attract cockroaches and flies which would lead to other environmental hygiene problems. As such, experts believed that using sweet potatoes as baits was more suitable for Hong Kong, while sweet potatoes per se were also suitable baits.

(vi) During the operation, the department did not find any members of the public feeding rodents. However, if the department noticed anyone feeding stray cats, it would advise them to clean up after feeding so as to reduce the leftover for rodents in public area.

(vii) In the event of rodent problems in a private place, the department would inspect the area with the management company / HD representatives and offer professional advice on rodent control. However, the department was currently unable to make immediate prosecution for live rodents in private places according to the law. Nevertheless, the department would continue to strengthen its communication with the management companies and representatives of the OCs, and was also happy to organise seminars to provide professional advice on rodent control.

(viii) Glue traps could only glue small rodents onto them but not the bigger ones. Also, given the hot weather and dustiness in Hong Kong, glue traps would lose their stickiness after exposing in the air for a period of time. In addition, rodents glued onto glue traps would panic and struggle and their excrement could spread diseases and pollute the environment easily. Therefore, experts of the department opined that glue traps were not suitable for Hong Kong.

53. As regards water dripping from air-conditioners on Kwong Fuk Road, Mr. MA Hon-chiu said that the FEHD had been informed of the situation concerned and would arrange for an investigation in due course. Once water dripping from air-conditioners had been noticed, it would issue a Nuisance Notice to the persons concerned for follow-up action. He continued that the time

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required for dealing with this kind of complaint varied and mainly depended on whether the persons concerned were willing to co-operate. In general, complaints about water dripping from air-conditioners could be dealt with within a week or two. 54. Mr. Ken YU opined that capturing rodents with cage traps was outdated. Also, as there were many ways to capture live rodents available online, he suggested the department take a closer look at them. In addition, he asked if the occupants refused to co-operate when the department was dealing with complaints about water dripping from air-conditioners, whether the department could issue a Nuisance Notice to the persons concerned directly so as to expedite the complaint handling process. 55. Mr. MA Hon-chiu said that if the FEHD was able to confirm that there was water dripping from the air-conditioner of a certain flat, it could issue an advisory letter to the occupants, calling for an improvement to the situation. If the occupants refused to co-operate, the department could apply to the Court for a warrant to enter the flat for investigation. 56. The Chairman said that residents had been troubled by water dripping from air-conditioners for years. He suggested the FEHD deploy designated staff to investigate water dripping from air-conditioners in the district. In addition, he pointed out that while the department had been proactive in cleaning the streets, some members of the public would litter when no department staff was around, thus exhausting the cleaning workers. Therefore, he hoped that the department could enhance its publicity and education efforts, check if there was enough rubbish bins and increase their cleaning frequency. He believed that these afore-mentioned measures could greatly improve the environmental hygiene of the district.

VII. Report on the inter-departmental pest control work in Tai Po District (TPDC Paper No. EHW 44/2019) 57. Ms. LEUNG Wing-yin, Tiffany went through the captioned paper. In addition, she indicated that the TPDO and the FEHD would organise an anti-rodent promotional activity at Lane Square in Tai Po (near the open space on Tai Ming Lane) at 10 a.m. on 30 July 2019, and welcomed the interested Members to participate in it. 58. Mr. Ken YU suggested the TPDO invite the OCs to participate in the activity so as to enhance their understanding of the work of government departments. In addition, he commended the FEHD for its hard work and said that the department could contact DC Members to help promote the activity where necessary.

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VIII. Reports by the departments concerned regarding the street management and environmental hygiene issues in Tai Po District (TPDC Paper No. EHW 45/2019) 59. Mr. MA Hon-chiu went through the captioned paper. 60. In addition to the regular reports by the FEHD, the Chairman also asked the departments concerned to report on the law enforcement efforts or follow-up actions taken at Lane Square in Tai Po in the past two months. 61. The reports of government departments were summarised as follows:

(i) The TPDO co-ordinated a total of two inter-departmental joint operations on 29 May and 26 June 2019 at Lane Square in Tai Po, Heung Sze Wui Square, and Kwong Fuk Road near Lane Square, with the participation of the TPDO, the FEHD, the HKPF, the TPDLO, the HyD, the Fire Services Department (“FSD”), the BD and the EPD. The TPDO would continue to keep in view the said situation and review the effectiveness of the operations with the departments concerned. The TPDO would also co-ordinate inter-departmental joint operations where necessary.

(ii) The HKPF had been proactive in helping various departments crack down on street obstruction problems caused by the shops at Lane Square in Tai Po, and held a meeting with the FEHD to discuss the relevant matters on 10 June 2019. The HKPF and the FEHD would carry out special operations on an irregular basis to crack down on problems such as street obstruction and illegal storing of goods by shops. The HKPF and the FEHD carried out a total of six special operations between May and June 2019, during which the HKPF had issued seven summonses to the non-compliant shops and 72 fixed penalty tickets against vehicles at Lane Square in Tai Po for illegal parking and traffic offences. In addition, as regards the unlawful extension of business and noise emitted by the eateries in the area of Chui Wo Lane and Chui Lok Street, the HKPF had been proactive in patrolling the area. The HKPF found none of the afore-mentioned violations in the area of Chui Wo Lane and Chui Lok Street in May and June 2019, and opined that the situation had improved. In particular, an eatery on Chui Lok Street that had often committed the afore-mentioned offences moved to Tai Wo Centre in early June. As a result, there was substantial improvement in the situation on Chui Lok Street.

(iii) During the two afore-mentioned inter-departmental joint operations, the TPDLO did not find any shops at Lane Square in Tai Po that had set up an immovable decking in public area.

(iv) The HyD had participated in the two afore-mentioned inter-departmental joint operations, during which it did not find any problem that had to be resolved.

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(v) During the two afore-mentioned inter-departmental joint operations, the BD did not find any retractable canopies that required immediate action.

(vi) The EPD continued to participate in the two afore-mentioned inter-departmental joint operations to deal with the noise coming from the loudspeakers at the shops at Lane Square in Tai Po. The department would continue to keep an eye on the situation of this area and prosecute the non-compliant shops.

62. Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He noticed that the parking spaces for goods vehicles at Heung Sze Wui Square had been converted into parking spaces for private vehicles. He opined that the environmental hygiene there had improved and he thanked the departments concerned for their efforts.

(ii) The situation of storing goods at the back door of the supermarket at Lane Square in Tai Po had not improved. He had earlier witnessed how the police officers dealt with these goods. He said that he disagreed with the HKPF which merely asked the shop to put the goods away, and opined that the HKPF should have taken prosecution action on the spot. He added that the violation had been there for a long time and sufficient time had been given to the departments to deal with it. He hoped that the frontline staff of the HKPF and the FEHD could enforce the law in a stringent manner. Otherwise, streets would be obstructed regardless of whether the shop stored its goods on the pedestrian way or the carriageway.

(iii) As regards the special operations carried out by the HKPF and the FEHD, he asked whether the two departments deployed staff to the back door of the said supermarket at the same time to take prosecution action against the street obstruction by goods. If yes, he hoped that the Administration could provide the details of the prosecution made clearly, including the names of the shops and the number of prosecution made, etc. He also hoped that the two departments would continue to work together to crack down on the violation.

(iv) He opined that the street obstruction by goods on the pedestrian way of Tai Kwong Lane had once again worsened in recent months, and a vegetable store even stored its goods next to the fire gate and clearly obstructed the fire escape. As there was no FSD representative at the meeting, he asked the TPDO to forward his concerns to the FSD.

(v) As regards the number of prosecution, the FEHD made only two and four against the unlawful extension of business area by shops in Jade Plaza in May and June 2019 respectively. In other words, less than one was made every day. However, the serious breaches in the area indicated that the law enforcement efforts were insufficient. As such, he was not happy about it.

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(vi) He suggested the department consider setting up IP cameras at the blackspots of unlawful extension of business by shops and making prosecution whenever violation was found.

(vii) This DC term would soon come to a close. He hoped that the FEHD would continue to improve the hygiene of the district in the coming six months in a proactive manner.

63. Mr. LAU Yung-wai thanked the HKPF for taking actions in the area of Chui Wo Lane and Chui Lok Street. However, he pointed out that a shop that had often violated the regulations had merely moved to the vicinity of Chui Wo Lane, and the eateries in the area of Chui Wo Lane often extended their business unlawfully as well. As such, he hoped that the departments concerned would pay attention to the situation. He indicated that there were many eateries on Chui Lok Street near Beautiful Garden and Kau Hui Chik Street, and some of them would always unlawfully extended their business at night and in the early hours. Therefore, he could hardly understand why the HKPF did not notice any violation there. He hoped that the HKPF could patrol there more, and welcomed the HKPF’s plan to inspect the area with him. In addition, he noticed that a number of compressed gas cylinders had been dumped outside the refuse collection point of Evergreen Court and in the vegetation behind the gas station on Ting Tai Road in recent months. He was worried that it would be dangerous for these compressed gas cylinders to be exposed to hot weather and direct sunlight. He hoped that the departments concerned could take follow-up action. 64. Mr. LO Hiu-fung’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He thanked the FEHD for its efforts.

(ii) As summer was fast approaching, many residents were concerned about the department’s anti-mosquito efforts.

(iii) He asked about the difference between “Mosquito proliferation sites that had been dealt with” (595 sites) and “Potential mosquito proliferation sites that had been dealt with” (6 855 sites) in the anti-mosquito operation report set out in Item C of the captioned paper.

(iv) Rather than the figures in the report, he was more concerned about the effectiveness of the anti-mosquito efforts by the department. He said that he had received at least three to four mosquito reports every week. As mosquitoes had a very short life-cycle, after the department had carried out anti-mosquito work, it would only take a shower to affect its effectiveness. Therefore, he asked whether the department had other more efficient mosquito control methods.

(v) The department reported that 595 mosquito proliferation sites had been dealt with and it sounded like a lot. However, it was a combined figure for a span of two months. If the figure was further divided by the 19 constituencies, it meant that the

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department could only deal with a dozen of mosquito proliferation sites in each constituency every month. For larger constituencies (such as Sai Kung North), such a figure was insignificant. As such, he hoped that the department could allocate more manpower to carry out the anti-mosquito work.

(vi) The department had a team of staff clad in protective gear responsible for anti-mosquito work. He commended the team as its efforts achieved a better result in killing mosquitoes compared with the mere use of larvicidal oil and larvicidal sand, and hoped that the department would take note of his comment.

65. The Chairman’s comments were as follows:

(i) He noticed that street obstruction by the shops at the back door of the supermarket at Lane Square in Tai Po and on Tai Kwong Lane was rather serious. However, the HKPF had also worked hard to tackle the problem.

(ii) He thanked the TD and the HKPF for their help in converting the parking spaces for goods vehicles at Heung Sze Wui Square. He had also inspected the site and opined that the situation had improved.

(iii) As regards the street obstruction by goods at Jade Plaza and at the back door of the supermarket at Lane Square in Tai Po, he asked the departments concerned to step up their law enforcement efforts.

(iv) As for the unlawful extension of business by the eateries on Chui Lok Street and the dumping of compressed gas cylinders in the district, he asked Mr. LAU Yung-wai to contact the FEHD for follow-up action after the meeting.

(v) He opined that the FEHD had done a good job in its anti-mosquito efforts, but their effectiveness might be affected by the weather. In addition, he suggested the FEHD inform the village heads before entering the villages to kill mosquitoes, so that the village heads could point out the spots with more serious mosquito problems and thus enhance the effectiveness of the anti-mosquito efforts.

66. Mr. LAW Sau-mong indicated that in the anti-mosquito operation report, “Mosquito proliferation sites that had been dealt with” referred to the number of potential or discovered stagnant water and mosquito proliferation sites that had been dealt with by the FEHD staff or contractor, but not the number of anti-mosquito work the department had carried out. Whenever stagnant water with mosquito proliferation was discovered, the department or the contractor would clean it up and categorise it as one of the “Mosquito proliferation sites that had been dealt with”. 67. Mr. MA Hon-chiu said that the FEHD had to find out whether these abandoned compressed gas cylinders could be dealt with as refuse. If yes, the department would ask the contractor to deal with them.

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68. Mr. CHENG Wun-chee added that the HyD completed the works of converting the parking spaces for goods vehicles at Heung Sze Wui Square on 25 June 2019. The Chairman thanked the HyD for its efforts.

IX. Reports by the departments concerned regarding the clearing of rubbish and sludge in Lam Tsuen River and Tai Po River in Tai Po (TPDC Paper No. EHW 46/2019) 69. The Chairman welcomed all departmental representatives to attend the meeting for the discussion of this agenda item. 70. At the meeting, representatives of the CEDD, the FEHD, the EPD and the DSD went through the clearing of rubbish and sludge in Lam Tsuen River and Tai Po River one after another. 71. Mr. LAU Yung-wai pointed out that the DSD had carried out landscaping works at the river channel near Tai Wo Road, and asked whether there was any abnormality in the amount of sediments in the river bed there. 72. Mr. NG Wing-hung said that the DSD was carrying out greening works at the river bed near Parc Versailles on Tai Wo Road and had planted some vegetation. As at today, no abnormal amount of sediments had been found in this river section, and the river channel had remained in a good condition. 73. The Chairman opined that there was improvement in the condition of Lam Tsuen River and Tai Po River, and items such as sediments and bicycles in the river had all been cleaned up. 74. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai said that the water flow in the river channel at Kam Shek Bridge near Mui Shue Hang was so limited that refuse and excrements of wild birds often accumulated there. He knew that the DSD would clean this section of river channel on a regular basis, and hoped that the department would pay more attention to the situation. In addition, he said that there was a lot of vegetation at the kerbs on both sides of the river especially along the area of Kam Shek. He hoped that the department would clean them up to avoid mosquito proliferation. 75. Mr. NG Wing-hung said that as river wall was part of the river channel, the DSD would deploy staff to clean up the vegetation on it. He added that the department had in fact cleaned up the vegetation on the river wall before the rainy season. However, as the vegetation grew rapidly in summer, the department would pay more attention to the situation and clean it up as soon as possible.

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76. The Chairman asked the DSD to contact Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai after the meeting for follow-up actions and to clean up the vegetation on the river wall as soon as possible. 77. Mr. LO Hiu-fung said that apart from Kam Shek New Village, there was also a lot of vegetation at both sides of the river channel from Po Nga Court to Parc Versailles and under Tai Wo Bridge. He hoped that the DSD could clean them up as well. 78. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung opined that while the vegetation on both sides of river had to be cleaned up, some of the weeds in the river bed were planted there on purpose to improve the river’s ecology and should not be cleaned up. 79. Mr. NG Wing-hung thanked Mr. CHAN Cho-leung for his concerns about the river’s ecology, and clarified that the DSD would not remove the plants at the river bed. 80. The Chairman asked the DSD to contact Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai and Mr. LO Hiu-fung after the meeting to follow up on the matters relating to the vegetation on the river wall. (Post-meeting note: The DSD had replied Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai and Mr. LO Hiu-fung separately that it would arrange to clean up the vegetation on the river wall from Mui Shue Hang to Po Nga Court in late July.)

X. Progress report of the Working Group on Tai Po District Environmental Controls (TPDC Paper No. EHW 47/2019) 81. Mr. CHAN Wing-yiu, Ronald asked Members to take note of the captioned paper. 82. Ms. WONG Sin-man, Mabel reported as follows:

(i) Details of the Inter-Departmental Bicycle Clearance Joint Operations (“joint operations”) were as follows:

- The TPDO carried out four joint operations with the TD, the TPDLO, the FEHD and the HKPF on 10 May, 23 May, 13 June and 28 June 2019 respectively, before which the departments concerned had put up 123, 284, 187 and 148 notices respectively, during which 10, 96, 59 and 36 bicycles had been confiscated respectively.

- In the four above operations, a total of 92 shared bicycles had been confiscated. - The next joint operation was tentatively scheduled for 12 July 2019.

(ii) Details of the trial scheme to strengthen the crackdown on the illegally parked bicycles were as follows:

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- The TPDO worked together with the TD and the HKPF to carry out two operations on 20 May and 24 June 2019 to strengthen the crackdown on the illegally parked bicycles at the area of Serenity Park and Tai Wo Neighbourhood Community Centre near pedestrian subways No. NS153 and No. NS154. During the two operations, the departments concerned had confiscated eight bicycles, two of which were shared bicycles.

- The departments concerned expected that the next operation would be carried out on 16 July 2019.

83. Citing the statistics reported by the TPDLO, Mr. Eric TAM noticed that the TPDLO had received 130 new cases of unlawful occupation of government land in the past two months, but only 114 had been dealt with during the same period. Given the fact that there were 970 backlog cases as well, he opined that the department was lagging behind in its work. He would like to know whether the afore-mentioned situation had to do with the insufficient manpower of the office, or the unusually high number of new cases in the past two months. He opined that it would be a concern if new cases had always outnumbered the cases that had been successfully dealt with. In addition, he suggested the TPDLO set out in a table the number of new cases and the number of cases that had been dealt with every month in the paper submitted to the EHWC in future, so that Members could understand the office’s progress in dealing with the cases. 84. Mr. LAU Yung-wai was also concerned about the TPDLO’s progress in dealing with cases of unlawful occupation of government land. He added that there were only about 600 backlog cases in 2016. However, the number today had jumped to over 900 and the increase was so substantial that he found it unacceptable. He asked whether it had to do with the insufficient manpower of the TPDLO, and called on the department to figure out ways to improve the afore-mentioned problem. 85. Mr. Ronald CHAN responded as follows:

(i) The TPDLO always dealt with cases relating to land regulations according to their priority, and the number of cases received every month remained relatively stable. However, more cases relating to vegetation removal and tree maintenance would be received during the rainy season.

(ii) The department mainly received cases of unlawful occupation of government land via the government hotline 1823, and about 100 new cases were received every month. The department would review the backlog cases in a comprehensive manner and simplify the procedures in due course, so as to speed up the processing and reduce the number of backlog cases.

(iii) The office would take Members’ suggestions into consideration and optimise the format of the report.

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XI. Vetting of district minor works project proposals to be recommended to the District Facilities Management Committee

(TPDC Paper No. EHW 48/2019) 86. The Chairman said that district works proposals had to secure the support of the committees concerned before being submitted to the District Facilities Management Committee (“DFMC”) for consideration. The Secretariat had received from Members eight works proposals which the EHWC had to consider whether to recommend. The proposals concerned had been set out in TPDC Paper No. EHW 48/2019. 87. Members did not have any questions or comments. The EHWC agreed to recommend the works set out in the captioned paper to the DFMC.

XII. Reports of working groups (i) Working Group on Environmental Protection and Optimisation 88. Mr. Rex LI, Chairman of the Working Group, reported that the Working Group had received an application for DC Funds from a local organisation lately. It would convene a meeting to discuss the project proposal later and he welcomed any comments and suggestions from Members. (ii) Working Group on Monitoring of Public Housing Development in Tai Po 89. Mr. LI Kwok-ying, Chairman of the Working Group, reported that the Working Group had not held any meetings recently. The Secretariat would inform Members to attend the meeting after the date of the meeting was confirmed.

XIII. Any other business (i) Transitional Housing Scheme Project – Trackside Villas in Tai Po 90. Mr. AU Chun-wah said that at the previous meeting, the EHWC discussed the matters relating to Trackside Villas as a transitional housing project. However, prior to this meeting, some residents had told him that the Hong Kong Housing Society (“HKHS”) and the MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRCL”) had reached a consensus and would take forward the project in September 2019. Meanwhile, the MTRCL had also allocated some of the units in Trackside Villas as the HKHS’s office. As such, he would like to know the latest progress of the project. He continued that some members of the public opined that if the HKHS did not consult the DC again after

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listening to Members’ comments at the previous meeting and simply decided to take forward the project, it meant that the HKHS merely regarded the DC as a rubber stamp and did not show DC any respect at all. He said that he had asked the HKHS about the latest development via the Secretariat before the meeting, and asked whether the HKHS had given any response. 91. Mr. WOO Kin-man, Clement said that at the previous meeting, Members had already expressed reservation as regards the HKHS’s proposal to use Trackside Villas as a transitional housing project. He pointed out that the Chairman had also called on the Transport and Housing Bureau (“THB”) to deploy staff to consult the DC Member of the constituency concerned and the local stakeholders, and suggested the department collate all the comments before studying ways to improve the project. He would like to know whether the HKHS and the THB had considered Members’ comments and whether they had responded to enquiries from members of the public. 92. The Chairman opined that the HKHS and the THB should respect the comments of the DC Member of the constituency concerned and the stakeholders, and should consult the residents in the nearby housing estates as well. To his knowledge, most of the residents in the nearby housing estates did not support the project, and some opined that the MTRCL should keep Trackside Villas as its staff quarters. He said that while he supported the Government’s initiative to build more public housing units, he reiterated that Trackside Villas was not a suitable site for a transitional housing project. He hoped that the HKHS would go through the minutes of the previous meeting, and that it would refrain from jumping the gun to take forward any unapproved project before consulting the local stakeholders. 93. The Secretary said that the Secretariat had earlier forwarded Members’ enquiries to the HKHS, and the HKHS had also provided a written response before the meeting. In the reply, the HKHS said that after reporting the Trackside Villas project at the previous meeting, it had neither carried out any relevant works nor reserved any units as its office. The Secretary added that the HKHS had also provided the contact information of the person-in-charge in its reply. Members could obtain the information from the Secretariat for further enquiry where necessary. 94. Mr. AU Chun-wah was worried that the Trackside Villas project would be taken forward while the DC was in recess, and the DC would not be able to monitor the project as a result. Therefore, he hoped that the Chairman and the DC Member of the constituency concerned would study for ways to follow up on the matter. 95. The Chairman suggested asking the DC Member of the constituency concerned to contact the HKHS after the meeting for follow-up action.

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(ii) Concerns about the safety of housing estate residents 96. As a lot of young people had committed suicide due to the “Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill” incident recently, Mr. AU Chun-wah was worried that other young people would also feel worried or helpless due to social instability and had suicidal thoughts. As such, he asked the HD to designate the frontline staff of the management offices of housing estates to enhance their patrolling efforts, and to show extra care to the young people who were emotionally unstable, so as to prevent similar incidents in future. He said that he had expressed his concerns to the Director of Housing, and hoped that the HD representative at this meeting could also forward his comments to the Chief Manager of Tai Po District, so as to enhance the patrolling efforts in the housing estate area in Tai Po District and the New Territories East under the purview of HD. 97. Mrs. CHIU TSE Shuk-yin thanked Mr. AU Chun-wah for his comments. She said that the HD had always been concerned about the security matters of its housing estates, and had asked the security guards of housing estates to pay extra attention to the security of the buildings. The department would continue to monitor the work of the management companies concerned, and would remind them to pay extra attention to the situation.

XIV. Date of next meeting 98. The Chairman announced that the next meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 11 September 2019 (Wednesday). 99. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Tai Po District Council Secretariat August 2019