Equal Opportunities Commission board members can choose a temporary leader to chair meetings until a new full-time chief is appointed, the Home Affairs Bureau said last night. A bureau spokeswoman said the board had the authority to call meetings to discuss routine business and to vote for a temporary leader. The power vacuum at the EOC was caused by the surprise resignation of former chairman Michael Wong Kin-chow last Thursday. It followed the sacking of a senior EOC officer, Mr Wong's double pay and his alleged acceptance of gifts without declaring them while he was still a judge. But board member Jessie Yu Sau-chu and an EOC spokesman said they were unaware of the bureau's move. Ms Yu said: 'I haven't heard about this because the bureau has not talked with us. I haven't thought about voting for an acting chief.' She said it would be pointless if the move did not benefit the commission and did not comply with the rules. 'If the person is an acting head, should he or she be paid? How much power should be given to the acting person compared to the former chairman?' Ms Yu said. An EOC spokesman said there were no rules governing the appointment of a temporary head after a chairman resigned. He said the appointment procedures were in the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, which stated the chief executive should appoint a full-time chairman.
