Remarks by SHYA at media session
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, at a media session after attending ICAC's Building Management Summit today (June 23):
Reporter: First of all, regarding the Joint Property Management which was just launched this month, are there any feedback from the owners'corporation(OC) or how does the Bureau think about the implementation which has been going on? Secondly, the BuildingManagement(Amendment)Ordinance will be implemented next month, earlier you just said it will only target those irresponsible individuals and it hopes to increase transparency. Can you use English to speak a few words about as to how it could increase the transparency? Also, are you worried that the penalty would create some sort of concern among overall owners that this may also affect them and how would the Bureau address such a concern?
Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs:First of all, about the Joint Property Management pilot scheme, it is a scheme that the society has been longed for. No matter legislators or people working or serving at the districts, they have been advocating this Joint Property Management Scheme. We aim to help those old single block buildings or some "three-nil buildings" to engage professional property management companies to provide them with professional services in managing their own properties. We hope through this scheme, those owners of these old single block buildings and "three-nil buildings" can have a platform and channel to engage professional property management companies to help them carrying out the daily operation and management work of their own buildings. Also, when there is any building order from different government departments, they can have some professionals to help enforce and implement measures to cater for these building management orders. I urge all owners of those old single block buildings and "three-nil buildings" to join this Joint Property Management Scheme. People may not totally understand how this scheme can help them, and for us, both the Bureau and the Department, we will work with the district councilors and also our Care Teams members to let owners understand more about this Joint Property Management Scheme, so that the shop owners and the residential flat owners will know by joining this scheme, they can engage professional companies to help them manage their valuable assets, that is their shops and residential flats. We hope more owners will join this scheme so we can work together and the Government will give them all the support they need to join this scheme and to manage their own properties.
For the amendment of the Building Management Ordinance which will be in effect next month, as I have said earlier, this amendment aims at protecting those who are genuinely helping and serving their own buildings. The amendment is to act against those irresponsible OC members or other owners or any parties. We aim to protect those responsible owners and members of the OCs. We have introduced new measures on procurement and declaration of interest. We hope through these new amendments; our responsible members of the OCs will have clearer regulations to follow when they carry out their daily operation work of the OCs and management work of their own building. I encourage members of the public and owners of those buildings to understand more about our amendments and to work with the Government to participate in the operation of the OCs. We will work together to improve the management of all these buildings in Hong Kong. Thank you.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
Government announces updates on follow-up work on Tai Po fire
The three task forces set up by the Government for the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po - the Task Force on Investigation and Regulation, the Task Force on Emergency Support and Fund-Raising, and the Task Force on Emergency Accommodation Arrangements - are making full efforts to follow up on the support, relief, and investigation work related to the incident. Details are as follows:
Financial and welfare support
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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, established by the Government, donations received are about $3.4 billion as of noon today (December 13). With the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has now reached around $3.7 billion. The fund will be used to assist residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support.
Accommodation support
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As of this morning, a total of 1 392 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms. Another 3 163 residents are currently living in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS).
In consideration of the extremely urgent situation of the residents affected by the fire incident, a special arrangement of a full rent exemption has been made earlier by the Housing Bureau to provide accommodation support to those affected residents moving into transitional housing or HKHS projects. In other words, if needed, the affected residents can stay for a longer period of time. The Government will continue to support the affected residents in terms of accommodation, and the residents in need do not have to worry about the relevant rental expenses or the duration of stay.
In addition, staff from the operating organisations of transitional housing and HKHS, as well as volunteers have been working around the clock to furnish the units with essential supplies. Taking Eminence Tower in Hung Shui Kiu as an example, each unit is equipped, upon move-in, with furniture and appliances such as bed frames, mattresses, pillows, cooking stoves and water heaters. Daily necessities including toilet paper, slippers and basic cleaning supplies, etc. are also provided. Such efforts are intended to help the affected residents settle in as quickly as possible.
At the same time, a number of organisations have proactively stationed their staff in some projects to provide residents in need with various forms of support, including free medical and legal consultation services. The Government has also set up service stations in 18 projects where more residents have moved in, providing consultation and support services for residents in need, standing together with them.
Relief supplies and donations
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The supplies donation online platform, established by the Government and the information technology sector, continues to operate, facilitating the registration of supplies donations from organisations and the public. The Government has so far received over 1 800 registrations, of which approximately 30 per cent were submitted by organisations, whereas the others were contributed by the public. The various registered donation items include food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, bedding, and electrical appliances. The Government is actively assessing residents' actual needs through the relevant policy bureau, government departments, and service organisations for the matching of donated supplies in order to distribute appropriate items in phases to places in need. So far, about 19 600 donation items covering various categories have been distributed to different places. The matching and distribution of supplies will continue.
Regulation and inspection work
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The Housing Department today continued to remove the burnt scaffolding on the external walls of Wang Cheong House, Wang Tai House and Wang Sun House. As the environment at scene is narrow and the scaffolding and the protective nets of individual buildings may be subject to more serious damage, for the sake of safety, the Housing Department will conduct assessments with the Police on the timetable of removing the scaffolding of the remaining four affected buildings. In addition, the Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau has also completed the extraction of concrete core samples from the seven affected buildings at Wang Fuk Court today.
The Development Bureau (DEVB) announced on December 11 a new mechanism for sampling and testing scaffold nets for external walls in Hong Kong. The Buildings Department is preparing for the issuance of a new practice note to registered contractors and will meet with the industry next week. The DEVB is moving ahead in full steam the supporting arrangements to ensure that there are sufficient designated laboratories and a suitable site for off-site sampling work.
Source: AI-found images
