rthk.hk - Express News: LocalToday, 6:37 PM
DC chairmen accused of abusing procedures
A pro-democracy group has accused District Council chairmen of abusing meeting procedures and allowing councillors to decide on funding matters, despite alleged conflicts of interest.
The group, Power for Democracy, studied papers from five district councils in the past year. It said four gave more than HK$8 million to local organisations in which pro-establishment councillors hold key positions.
At the Central and Western District Council, for example, the study found that 14 councillors held positions at several community groups that received nearly HK$1 million of public funding to organise events.
A district councillor and Democratic Party member, Ted Hui, alleged that when meetings were held to discuss the funding requests, there was no checks and balances by district council chairmen.
He added that this culture favoured pro-establishment forces in doing community work. Hui also said the practice was so deep-rooted that the director of Beijing's Liaison Office's Hong Kong Island Work Department, Wu Yangwei, also got in the mix.
Wu is an honorary consultant of a pro-Beijing group called Hong Kong Island Federation where the DAB Party’s Secretary-General and district councillor Chan Hok-fung also serves as a consultant. Chan has denied any wrongdoing.
The pro-democracy group also alleged that the pro-establishment camp often let non-councillors receive more publicity by appearing on posters promoting the events. The group said they filed complaints with the government recently but have not received a response so far.
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1211311-20150914.htm
