A dozen appointed to reformed social workers board
The government has appointed 12 new members to a statutory body overseeing social workers, with a lawyer named as its chairperson.  On Wednesday, lawmakers passed a government bill to reform the Social Workers Registration Board, increasing the number of government appointees and requiring all members to take an oath of allegiance to the SAR.  The board is being expanded from 15 to 27 members, with the number of appointees rising from eight to 17. In a government gazette on Friday, the administration appointed lawyer Herman Hui, who used to sit on a number of government committees, to chair the board.  Grace Chan, the business director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, will serve as the board’s deputy chairperson.  Other newly appointed members include an assistant director of the Social Welfare Department, Chan Chong-lai, and former permanent secretary for labour and welfare Annie Tam. Professor Amy Chow, who heads the University of Hong Kong's department of social work and social administration, as well as members of the government's social welfare advisory committee, Frederick Lai and Barry Wong, are also among the new appointees.  The appointments were announced on Friday with immediate effect, and their term will last for three years. The government said 18 board members pledged their allegiance to the SAR, while two others were unable to attend the ceremony due to other matters and would take their oaths later on.  The labour and welfare chief, Chris Sun, said the reformed board would more effectively safeguard public interest and national security, promoting the orderly development of the profession. All but one of the existing elected board members recently resigned, including former chairman Ng Yut-ming.