District councillors will start the long-overdue process of drafting a code of conduct next month, following a series of scandals involving council members in the past few years.
Ip Kwok-him of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, who represents the district bodies in Legco, said yesterday representatives of 18 councils would meet on June 10 to draw up a code.
'Although we have yet to decide whether the code's restrictions should be tight or loose, I have a feeling that they will be tight after all the things that have happened,' Mr Ip said.
In the latest embarrassment, the chairman of the Yau Tsim Mong District Councillor, Chow Chun-fai, who was convicted of rental allowance fraud, managed to keep his position after fellow councillors joined forces to block an attempt to have him removed.
Several councillors have also been linked to sex scandals since the handover, with recent reports in the Chinese media alleging some councillors have been seen with prostitutes on the mainland. Under the present system, councillors can only be removed from office if they are jailed for more than three months.
Mr Ip said the code would aim to give members self-regulatory guidelines, and would be based on the code of conduct for Legco members and the former urban and district councils.
