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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr Paul Tang, in the Legislative Council today (October 16):
Question:
According to the prevailing policy, the remains of civil servants who have died on duty may be buried in the earth burial spaces in Gallant Garden (the Garden). If they have been posthumously awarded a bravery medal by the Chief Executive, they are considered as meeting the requirement of having died on duty due to an "exceptional act of bravery" and thus eligible for permanent earth burial there; otherwise, their remains have to be exhumed six years after burial and be re-interred in the Garden's permanent urn spaces or in columbarium niches after cremation. Recently, representatives from the staff of a number of disciplined forces have relayed to me that the aforesaid six-year exhumation policy not only shows disrespect for the deceased but also revives the painful memories of the family members of the deceased, thereby inflicting on them for the second time the traumatic experience. While these representatives have repeatedly requested the Civil Service Bureau to change the relevant policy to allow all civil servants who died on duty to be buried permanently in the earth burial spaces in the Garden, the Bureau has all along refused to do so on grounds of limited earth burial spaces available in the Garden and the need to adhere to the principle of fairness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the existing numbers of (i) earth burial spaces, (ii) permanent urn spaces and (iii) columbarium niches provided in the Garden and the respective utilisation rates of such spaces;
(b) whether the authorities have earmarked any land adjacent to the Garden for its future extension; if so, of the site area of the land earmarked, and the respective numbers of the three types of burial spaces mentioned in (a) to be provided there, and the number of earth burial spaces that can be provided if the said piece of land is exclusively used for earth burial; if no land has been earmarked, of the reasons for that;
(c) whether the authorities have assessed, if all civil servants who died on duty are allowed to be buried permanently in the earth burial spaces in the Garden, the estimated (i) number of years within which the existing earth burial spaces in the Garden will be fully occupied, and (ii) size of the additional land to be provided in the coming three decades; and
(d) whether the authorities will reconsider changing the existing policy to allow all civil servants who died on duty to be permanently buried in the earth burial spaces in the Garden; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Gallant Garden (the Garden) is an area set aside by the Government in the Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery in 1996 for the burial of civil servants who died on duty. A civil servant who died as a result of injuries sustained in the actual discharge of his duties and not due to his own serious and wilful fault is considered to have died on duty, for example, an officer who was killed in a traffic accident while performing outdoor duties. Due to limited land for earth burials, all earth burials in public cemeteries are subject to the six-year exhumation policy. As the Garden is part of the Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, the remains of a deceased buried in the Garden have to be exhumed at the end of the six-year period, for re-interment in permanent urn spaces, or in niches after cremation, inside the Garden.
In September 2000, the Chief Executive in Council approved the amendment to the six-year exhumation policy by allowing permanent earth burials for those civil servants who died due to performing exceptional bravery acts in the course of duty and those members of the public who died or were killed due to performing exceptional acts of bravery. An exceptional bravery act is deemed to be one that is recognised by the posthumous award of a bravery medal granted by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Honours Committee. In view of the above amended policy, those civil servants who died on duty and are posthumously awarded bravery medals are eligible for permanent earth burials in the Garden. As regards those members of the public who died due to performing exceptional acts of bravery and are posthumously awarded bravery medals, they are eligible for permanent earth burials in a burial ground set aside in the Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, named Tribute Garden.
The replies to the four parts of the question are set out in the ensuing paragraphs:
(a) There are 110 earth burial spaces, 165 urn spaces and a columbarium of 120 niches in the Garden. 32 earth burial spaces have been taken up, including 16 permanent earth burials. 14 urn spaces and 11 niches have also been taken up.
(b) When planning for the construction of the Garden, the Government did not earmark any adjacent land for future expansion. Having regard to the current number of burial spaces being taken up in the Garden, we believe that there are enough burial spaces to cater for the need for many years in the future. We will continue to monitor the usage of the burial spaces in the Garden.
(c) Tragic events claiming the lives of civil servants while on duty are generally unexpected with unpredictable consequences. It is therefore difficult to estimate the number of civil servants who would die on duty each year in order to project the number of years within which the existing earth burial spaces in the Garden would be fully occupied. Since the commissioning of the Garden, 51 civil servants had died on duty and 41 of them were buried there. Six civil servants died on duty and were buried in the Garden in 1998 and 2003 respectively, whereas no civil servant died on duty in 2012 and in the period between January and September 2013. If all those civil servants who died on duty are eligible for permanent earth burials in the Garden, it will increase the demand for earth burial spaces and additional burial ground will be needed sooner than we expect.
(d) According to legal advice, allowing permanent earth burials in public cemetery for civil servants who have died on duty, but not for other persons who have died on duty is likely to constitute discrimination within the meaning of Article 22 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights (HKBOR) and Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 26 of the ICCPR, which applies to Hong Kong and remains in force by virtue of Article 39 of the Basic Law, prohibits and protects against any discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Any differential treatment in respect of the remains of a deceased person on the basis of his employment status whilst alive is likely to constitute discrimination and contravene the above pieces of legislation. As regards the approval given by the Chief Executive in Council in September 2000 which grants exemption to the six-year exhumation policy, since it is applicable to both civil servants and members of the public, it is in compliance with the ICCPR and the HKBOR.
At present, the posthumous award of a bravery medal granted by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Honours Committee is already an objective and credible yardstick for honouring bravery acts performed by individuals which is applicable to both civil servants and members of the public. We consider the present policy on earth burials in the Garden strikes the right balance between all the relevant considerations, including giving due respect to civil servants who died on duty, drawing distinction between civil servants who died on duty and those who died due to performing exceptional acts of bravery, recognising the scarcity of land in Hong Kong, and complying with the law. Hence, the Government has currently no intention to change the existing policy.
Ends/Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:01
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