Three Sai Kung district councilors log zero cases in ‘Meet the Public Scheme’

Three Sai Kung district councilors have logged zero cases under the “Meet the Public Scheme”, a newly introduced initiative to facilitate them getting in touch with local residents or people working in the district.

According to records, among the 32 district councilors in Sai Kung, three have not dealt with any cases in the past year, while 15 have logged fewer than three cases.

Records show that Edwin Cheung Chin-pang from the District Committees constituency and Wong Yuen-hong from the geographical constituency had each been on duty 4 and 3 times, respectively, without dealing with any cases.

Meanwhile, appointed member Kelvin Yau Siu-hung had been on duty only once, with his work report explaining that he was hospitalized due to injury and unable to attend some activities from June to November.

When asked to comment, Cheung said he remembered the weather conditions were often poor on the days he was on duty last year. He also stated that as a full-time district councilor, he interacts with residents through various means and does not necessarily need to engage them through the scheme.

He said he had assisted residents in over 1,000 cases last year, and he believes the record does not affect their perception of him.

Wong also provided his side of the story when asked for a comment, saying that his constituents at Tseung Kwan O South were unlikely to travel all the way to Sai Kung town, where the meetings took place.

It is also inconvenient for residents to participate with the meetings scheduled on Wednesdays, he added.

Wong highlighted that residents tend to seek assistance from their directly elected district councilors, who handle on average 2 to 3 times more cases than the appointed members or those from the District Committees constituency.

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen emphasized on Tuesday that the measures requiring councilors to disclose public engagement statistics are “unprecedented”.

She addressed public concerns over district council reports not being uploaded online or allowing photo shooting, noting that hard copies are available at district offices at standard government photocopying fees.

Responding to criticism over similar work reports of district councilors, Mak explained joint offices allow teamwork, ensuring efficient service delivery.

She also said mobile stations will be introduced under the “Meet the Public” scheme, with councilors rotating street booths for complaints and queries—already piloted in Wan Chai and Wong Tai Sin.

(Marco Lam)