A district officer (DO) in Hong Kong is going to Beijing in September for further studies. Recently, it was revealed by local media that a pro-CCP organization spent about HK$200,000 (US$26,000) to hold a “43-table (one table normally seats 12 people)” farewell banquet for him, which caused a public outcry.
The officer under the spotlight is Steve Wong Chi-wah, DO of Wong Tai Sin District, who is about to depart for Peking University for “further studies in the Capital.” On Aug. 24, he was given a farewell banquet of 43 tables by the Kowloon Federation of Associations, attended by more than 500 people, including 40 school principals and people from various sectors in the district.
Chairperson of the Democratic Party, Lo Kin-hei, said on Aug. 24 that following the greatly increased power of the DOs in the community during the past two years, regional groups or their leaders will need to “show respect” with some rewards targeting officialdom. Mr. Lo worries this flattering culture will soon blossom in all other districts and then become a culture practiced by all levels of the hierarchy.
In response, on the evening of Aug. 25, Mr. Wong issued a statement on the Facebook page of the Home Affairs Department, saying that he would like to express his apology for the wrong attention received from holding the farewell dinner, especially on how the event was perceived.
Comments: DOs Become ‘Local Czars,’ the MC’s Flatter May Backfire
Veteran media personality Ng Chi-sum commented on the incident on his YouTube channel program that Mr. Wong (the officer) was like “the king of Wong Tai Sin,” and received plenty of gifts that night, including decorative articles, paintings, photo albums, greeting cards, stationery, books, you name it. According to his analysis, people in the area think that Mr. Wong is a rising star with a bright future within the bureaucracy, so it is better to establish a relationship with him in advance, sort of “knowing each other in the early days,” creating a “benefits account” for the convenience of future endeavors, which is a kind of delayed benefit. He also pointed out that the incident has a clear resemblance to the officialdom culture in mainland China, as even school principals are scrambling to “butter up” to the local “Number one in charge.” What we used to say, “Always establish links with someone in the administration for the convenience of all future dealings.”Mr. Ng pointed out that this kind of lavish eating and drinking has always existed in social organizations, but only this time it was exposed by pro-establishment media, and the public noticed it. He believed that those who attended the farewell banquet must have direct business contacts with Mr. Wong, so he questioned why Mr. Wong and all others did not try to avoid suspicion and never considered, “Are we putting ourselves in a mire of doubts?”
Reasons Behind Sudden Power Increase of District Officers
Likewise, Chong Wing-wun, DO of the North District, was given a similar 30-table farewell banquet on July 19. He was then transferred to the government headquarters to serve as the Deputy Secretary for the Labor and Welfare Bureau.The powers of district officers have gradually increased in recent years. In addition to being the Electoral Officers (EOs) responsible for the disqualifications (DQ) of democrat councilors, they have also been given additional powers after the authorities tampered with the district council election system earlier, including serving as the chairperson of the district council. It can be said that they are granted overwhelming power in regional affairs, and guide and monitor the work of all district councilors, including members of the “Three Committees.”
According to the statements on the government website, a DO is the government representative at the district level and the local head of the Home Affairs Bureau, with direct supervision on the execution of the administrative plan in the district. In addition, in the elections of village representatives, district councils, or the Legislative Council, the Government will appoint DOs to serve as the Electoral Officers for their respective districts.
According to informant sources, the two banquets that Mr. Wong and Mr. Chong attended included, in addition to the current and former pro-government Legislative Council members, members of the “Three Committees” in the district who were closely related to the government and appointed by the latter. Members of the “Three Committees” invariably have a close relationship with the DOs in the upcoming District Council elections.
The “Three Committees” is a collective term referring to the “district fight crime committee,” “district fire safety committee,” and “area committee.” They are the newly established “colleges” after the reenactment of the council elections rules. All these committee members are government-appointed and include quite a number of district councilors and local interest groups, who belong mostly to pro-establishment factions.
District Officers In Control of District Councils after Electoral Changes
On the other hand, the DO will serve as the chairperson of the District Council starting from the coming assembly, directing the work of the District Council, formulating the meeting rules, and appointing the committees of the District Council. District Councils should also take the initiative to collect public opinions on topics designated by the chairperson (the District Officer).In the “reformed” district councils, if a member fails to perform the work assigned by the chairperson (District Officer), the authorities will, after receiving the chairperson’s motion, conduct an investigation through the “monitoring mechanism of District Council members’ performance,” and then the secretary of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau can apply appropriate sanctions, including warnings, fines or suspension of duty. In other words, the District Officer will guide and monitor the work of all district councilors, including members of the ”Three Committees.”
In addition, the District Officer is also the commander-in-chief of the local “District Services & Community Care Team (Care Team)” in the 18 districts. The DO also leads the “District Assessment & Coordinating Panels on Care teams (District Assessment Panels)” and, in such a capacity, is responsible for the relevant selection work.
Electoral Officer Disqualifies Candidate on Political Grounds
As the DO also acts as the Electoral Officer, since 2016, the DO has arbitrarily disqualified candidates with a different opinion from the government.In the regional direct elections of the Legislative Council in 2016, the government’s Electoral Affairs Commission added a system requiring candidates to sign a confirmation letter, declaring that they would uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to Hong Kong, otherwise, they would not be nominated as an eligible candidate.
Since then, the DO, who acts also as the Electoral Officer, has served as a “gatekeeper,” and asked non-pro-establishment candidates about their political inclination. Even though the candidates have signed the confirmation letter, they are still questioned by the Electoral Officer as advocating the independence of Hong Kong.
In the end, five candidates were ruled ineligible after their political background was reviewed by the Electoral Officer, including Edward Leung Tin-kei from the Hong Kong Indigenous, Andy Chan Ho-tin from the Hong Kong National Party, James Chan Kwok-keung from Justice Action, Hitsujiko Nakade from Hong Kong Resurgence, and Alice Lai Yi-man from the Hong Kong Conservative Party. This is the first time in Hong Kong history that someone has been deprived of the right to stand for election because of his/her political background.
Wong Chi-Wah DQ 4 Candidates in 2020
In the 2020 Legislative Council election, this DQ trend intensified. The government changed the previous practice of appointing a DO to serve as the Electoral Officer of their respective district for the regional direct elections of the Legislative Council. But this time, it made them serve the same function but on cross-district, an extremely rare mode of action indeed.Allocated Funds to Train ‘Little National Security Teachers’
During Mr. Wong’s tenure, he allocated about HK$166,000 (US$21,000) to the “Community Involvement Program” of the Wong Tai Sin District to subsidize pro-communist organizations in Wong Tai Sin to hold the “Love in Wong Tai Sin, Little National Security (Guo'an) Teachers” project.The program was launched in December 2022, and each of the 20 participating schools will train 18 pupils to serve as “Little Guo'an Security Teachers,” resulting in a total of 360 students for that purpose. On April 15, a sharing session was officially held at San Po Kong Canossa Primary School, with 11 kindergartens participating. Each “Little Guoan Teacher” tells a story about the “National Security” picture book to a K2 to K3 kindergarten student. The picture books include “Mom and Dad’s Embrace,” “Journey to the Expo,” and “Children Love the Motherland.”
