Hong Kong’s equality watchdog head slammed for cronyism and poor governance
Alfred Chan was criticised after it emerged that the watchdog, with eight in-house lawyers, had only processed 47 complaints and given legal assistance in 26 cases last year
Lawmakers on Wednesday accused the head of Hong Kong’s equality watchdog of cronyism and poor governance as they questioned its decision to hire a former official with no experience in legal and anti-discrimination work to lead a review of its operation.
The “unproductive” legal team drew fire at Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) chairman Alfred Chan Cheung-ming after it emerged that the watchdog, with its eight in-house lawyers, had only processed 47 applications last year and given legal assistance in just 26 cases.
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The Legislative Council’s constitutional affairs panel passed a non-binding motion calling for an independent inquiry into the EOC’s governance as Chan faced them on Wednesday to brief them on the watchdog’s work.
Several lawmakers accused the commission of poor governance, highlighting the appointment of John Leung Chi-fai, a former assistant director of health, as the chief project manager to lead the review of the EOC’s complaint-handling and legal assistance procedures.
“Why would the commission spend such a huge sum of money – HK$120,000 a month – to hire this person?” Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok said, pointing out that a former High Court judge had already been invited to advise on the review.
“Why would the commission hire him when he has no experience in any anti-discrimination work and human rights law whatsoever?”