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Following is a question by the Hon Ronny Tong and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (June 24):
Question:
There are comments that as the Government has been actively implementing development plans and launching infrastructure projects in recent years, it has deliberately appointed a number of persons with property development backgrounds as members of related advisory and statutory bodies (including the (i) Town Planning Board, (ii) Advisory Council on the Environment, (iii) Country and Marine Parks Board, (iv) Energy Advisory Committee and (v) Lantau Development Advisory Committee), in order to reduce the resistance the authorities may encounter when implementing development plans. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among the unofficial members on the aforesaid five boards/councils/ committees in the past five years, of the respective numbers of those who had the following backgrounds or expertise: environmental conservation, land planning and property development (set out the information in the table below); the considerations and criteria based on which the authorities determined the numbers and ratios of persons with these three types of backgrounds among the members of these boards/councils/ committees; and
Number of unofficial members
Background/ expertise (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
Environmental
conservation
Land planning
Property
development
(2) given that a number of major infrastructure projects will be carried out in the western waters (including the construction of the third runway of the airport and related infrastructural facilities, extension of Tung Chung New Town and reclamation works at Lung Kwu Tan, Siu Ho Wan and Sunny Bay), and that concurrent implementation of these major projects may affect the marine ecosystem and marine life such as Chinese white dolphins in the western waters, whether the authorities will consider appointing more people with expertise in environmental conservation (such as ecological experts and marine specialists) to the aforesaid five boards/councils/committees; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(1) The Government makes appointments of non-official members to advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs) on the basis of the merits of the individuals concerned. When considering the appointment of members to serve on the ASBs under their purview, bureaux and departments take into account a candidate's ability, expertise, experience and commitment to public service, with due regard to the functions and nature of business of the ASBs as well as the relevant statutory requirements for statutory bodies.
The ASBs provide the Government with impartial, independent and fair recommendations and advice within their respective purview, or perform their functions as conferred by the relevant legislation. The ASBs' members are appointed and involved in the work of the ASBs in their personal capacity. They come from different sectors of the community, including the academia, professionals, environmental conservation groups, business and industrial sectors as well as the local community. Many ASBs' members may serve different sectors concurrently. The Government does not set any ratios for members from any sectors for the aforesaid five ASBs in accordance with their background or expertise.
(2) When considering the appointment of members to the ASBs, we will continue to uphold the principle of appointment by merit to meet the function and practical needs of the ASBs. We are also committed to ensuring that their composition can broadly reflect the interests and views of various sectors of our community, or that they have the abilities to perform the functions as conferred by the relevant legislation. Currently, all the aforesaid five ASBs have members with expertise in environmental conservation.
Ends/Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:12
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