Improving relationship between executive authorities and legislature
22 July 2018
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The current-term Government is committed to improving the relationship between the executive authorities and the legislature as it is an important element of good governance. We have strived to forge partnership and enhance communication with all the political parties and Members of the Legislative Council (LegCo) right from the first day.
In the past year, the operation of the LegCo was generally smooth and the overall atmosphere can be described as positive. Despite differences in stance and views, LegCo Members and political parties have managed to agree on many issues related to people’s livelihood.
This easing executive-legislature relationship is attributable to the joint efforts of the Councillors and the Government. The motion of thanks for the Chief Executive’s maiden Policy Address in 2017 was passed as planned for the first time in nine years. The Appropriation Bill 2018, passed in early May, was also processed far more swiftly than before.
In April this year, 32 LegCo Members across the political spectrum visited five Guangdong cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area (Bay Area) to see for themselves the opportunities and challenges for Hong Kong brought about by the Bay Area development.
Livelihood improvement projects of wide public concern were approved by the Finance Committee (FC), such as the five hospital projects (namely redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital, Queen Mary Hospital, Grantham Hospital and Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital, and construction of the new acute hospital at Kai Tak Development Area) under the $200 billion Ten-year Hospital Development Plan.
On education, FC approved in early July a one-off grant of $10.3 billion to six universities for constructing student hostels in order to fully meet the estimated shortfall of 13 473 student hostel places within ten years. Hostel experience is of great benefit to local students, and adequate provision of student accommodation can attract non-local students to study in Hong Kong, which will in turn help further internationalise our higher education sector and broaden the horizons of local students.
Technologies advance rapidly. Approval from FC was granted last week on the funding of $20 billion in total for the Innovation and Technology Fund, $10 billion for the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and $300 million for the Hong Kong Cyberport Development Holdings Limited to promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong.
The latest legislative year ended with the passage of a total of 27 government bills by the LegCo, more than double the number of only 12 government bills passed in the previous year (2016-17).
In March this year, after exchanging views with Members on the agenda of FC and the two FC subcommittees, the Government rearranged the agenda items on the principle of “dealing with livelihood-related and straightforward issues first” so as to smoothen the deliberation process.
FC approved 98 items involving $251.4 billion in this legislative year, markedly more than triple the previous year’s number (29 items involving $75.9 billion) and a five-year high in terms of amount. Among the items approved, 36 were related to public works (involving 86 projects), including the Capital Works Reserve Fund block allocations for 2018-19 with a total commitment of $168.1 billion.
In the same period, the Public Works Subcommittee endorsed 47 items (involving 83 projects), half of which did not require separate discussion at FC meetings. Last year, only 18 items (involving 26 projects) were endorsed, with just 11% of them not requiring separate discussion.
The Establishment Subcommittee endorsed 32 items in the year, a quarter of which did not require separate discussion at FC meetings. Last year, only 14 items were endorsed, with 21% of them not requiring separate discussion.
The Chief Executive has demonstrated through action her commitment to a better executive-legislature relationship, in particular by attending more LegCo meetings so that Councillors could have more opportunities to put questions to her in person about the work of the Government. The Chief Executive responded to each and every question in a bid to enhance direct and interactive communication and increase transparency of governance. Over the past legislative year, the Chief Executive attended 12 LegCo meetings (including presentation of the Policy Address, four Question and Answer Sessions and seven Question Time meetings) in total, a record high that bespeaks a new open style of governance.
For my part, as the Chief Secretary for Administration, I meet with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the LegCo House Committee every week. Other principal officials also attend various LegCo Panel meetings to listen to and understand Members’ views, explain specific issues and lobby for support personally. We take personal charge of our policy implementation and there is no question of “outsourcing” responsibilities.
With this humble, sincere and pragmatic attitude, the current-term Government endeavours to enhance communication with the LegCo, manage divergence of views and seek common ground, in the hope of improving the flow and efficiency of processing legislative and funding proposals in the LegCo.
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To have a better grasp of district affairs and people’s views and sentiments, our political team is actively reaching out to the wider community. Our district visits have not only brought the Government closer to the grassroots, but also enhanced its transparency. From the current-term Government’s assumption of office on 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, a total of 134 district visits by principal officials were conducted. That means an average of one policy secretary going out to meet the public in every two working days.
Under the “Be a Government Official for a Day” programme, two secondary students travelled with me to the Eastern District to find out more about the latest development of the district last week. They were my “job shadows” and accompanied me at work for a day. Two other students will join me when I visit Wan Chai District this week.
Last year, a number of consultation sessions were held to gather views and suggestions from the community to ensure the Policy Address to be delivered would be more effective in meeting people’s needs. We are now taking forward the 250-plus initiatives set out in the Policy Address and seeing good progress.
The second Policy Address will be announced this October. With about some two months to go following the commencement of public consultation on 1 July, the Chief Executive, together with me and the Financial Secretary, has started meeting various sectors. Public views will be collected in the most extensive and comprehensive manner. The collective wisdom will help us formulate policy initiatives that can better suit the needs of the city and the general public of Hong Kong.
