Hong Kong Today

Liberal Studies F4 Second term—Hong Kong Today ? Indicators used to understand poverty in HK ? ? ? ? Income Health Education ? ? ? Living conditions Employment Community / family support Section 1—Poverty Disparity / discrepancy between rich and poor ? Gini coefficient – Range from 0 to 1 0 = income distribution is absolute equal 1 = income distribution is absolute unequal ? Challenges faced by poor people ? Employment – usually contract staff, low income, lack labour protection ? ? ? ? Support – limited support channels from government Living standard – X fulfill basic needs (eg. ealthcare service) Intergenerational poverty Relationship no family time ? marital / familial conflicts ? Disadvantaged groups ? Men vs. Women – do housework + child care ? HK citizens vs. New arrivals less assistance from government discrimination (reduces HK citizens’ job opportunities) ? ? CSSA: Comprehensive Social Security Assistance HK government —positive non-interventionist approach ( ) ? ? ? A regulator rather than a provider of welfare programmes Free market / trade policy ? Minimal government intervention Low taxation system Liberal Studies F4 Second term—Hong Kong Today Section 2—Quality of Life ?Measuring QoL ? Dimensions—economic; social; political; cultural; environmental ? Objective indicators (statistical data) – Income; wealth gap – Social welfare; life expectancy – Electoral system; voter turnout rate – Variety of cultural activities; museums; libraries – Living space; air pollution index Subjective indicators (people’s feelings) ? Satisfaction with economy / income Satisfaction with public health, freedom of speech, welfare Satisfaction with government’s performance Perceived human rights enjoyed Satisfaction with cultural environment, diversity Satisfaction with living / natural environment Obstacles to better QoL in HK ? HK has a per vasive culture of long working hours ? Stay until boss leaves ? Not much emphasis on importance of work-life balance ? Constant reaffirmation of good working ethics ? ? Life chances are determined by individual efforts Weak collective bargaining power between workers ? Strategies used in promoting labour rights ? ? ? Legislation and enforcement Management and regulation Education and publicity ? ? Public engagement Research ? Organisations and treaties ? International Labour Organisation (ILO) ? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) ?The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – Right of everyone to enjoyment of just & favourable conditions of work – Safe and healthy working conditions – Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours Liberal Studies F4 Second term—Hong Kong Today Section 3—Rule of law ? Rule of Law ? All individuals are equal in front of law ? Government should act in accordance with its established statutes ( ) ? ? ? Both the government and the citizens must act according to such statutes The independence of the judiciary institution is guaranteed to maintain rule of lawHow to ensure judicial independence ( ) ? ? Way of appointing judges should be away from external pressure Constitutions ( ) should be written for and monitored by people ? Rule of law is actualization of constitutional democracy ? Principles of rule of law (remember!! ) ? Everyone is equal before the law ? Government should act in accordance to the law ? The law should not have retroactive effect ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Judicial independence The law clauses should be simple and easy to understand The law clauses should not be self-contradictory Filing an appeal ( ) is allowed Judicial review ( is allowed Legal aid is offered Should go through sufficient public consultation Assume innocence before conviction / proven guilty Law should be the lowest limit to protect individual freedom *** Police p ower should be limited under rule of law ? Functions of LegCo ? Enact ( ) laws ? ? ? Control public expenditure Monitor the work of government Unfairness of District Council elections ? Not all DC members are elected directly by voters ? Some DC members are appointed by Chief Executive ? Presence of ex-officio members ( ) Liberal Studies F4 Second term—Hong Kong Today Section 3—Rule of law ?Functional Constituencies ? Rationale for introducing FCs – To use their professional knowledge for the benefit of the public by helping people ? analyse problems Reason to maintain FCs – To ensure balanced participation ? people, government and business sector / FCs should play an equal part in decision-making Contradiction between â€Å"balanced participation† and â€Å"direct election† – Representatives of government and FCs are not directly elected by people Fundamental flaws of FCs – Not directly elected by people – Distrust by p eople at the beginning – Emphasise too much on their own interests ?Often oppose to motions supported by directly elected GC members – An obstacle to motions that are beneficial to general public Corporate votes – Encourage corporate welfare – Represent only interests of certain groups instead of whole sector – Profitability of businesses often depends on government licenses, regulations, subsidies government count on support of business interests in LegCo and CE elections ? ? ? ? ? Not all practitioners working in the sector / industry can vote Split voting system ? Motions supported by GCs are often opposed by FCs ? Promote favouritism towards business sector / government?Criteria for democratic electoral system ? Principle of universality ( ) ? Principle of equality ( ) Electoral Affairs Commission ( ) ? Ensure that elections are carried out in a fair, open and honest manner ? ? ? Geographical Constituency has a broader electoral base (no. of r egistered voters) than Functional Constituency Liberal Studies F4 Second term—Hong Kong Today ? Chief Executive Election ? Term of office: 5 years, renewable once only ? Elected by Election Committee (800 members) Election Committee (2008) 1. Industrial, commercial and financial sectors (200) 3.Labour, social services, religious and other sectors (200) ? Section 3—Rule of law 2. The professions (200) 4. Political sector: members of LegCo, HK deputies to NPC†¦ (200) Article 45 of Basic Law ? The ultimate aim is the selection of CE by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures Latest development ? EC increases from 800 to 1200 ? 75 of 100 additional seats for political sector occupied by DC members ? ? Why EC is divided into different subsectors? ? Ensure balanced participation and broad representation ? Increases the legitimacy ( of government Expansion of EC ? Advantages – Inc lude people from different sectors to elect CE – EC composition resembles diff. sectors in society ? Reflect views of diff. people ? People more contented ? Fairly high legitimacy level of CE Disadvantages – Not all people can cast vote in CE election – People may think that electors in EC cannot fully represent their views – Presence of corporate votes undermines the representativeness of EC ? Represent corporate interests but not general public interests No political competition in some sub-sector elections ? Weaken legitimacy of CE ? ? ? Small circle election