正言匯社(The Forthright Caucus )

一班人因為一個人而聚合，但他們所代表的，不是一個人，而是一種精神、一個夢，一個公民社會夢。

「正言匯社」由前立法會議員、香港理工大學應用社會科學系講師張超雄牽頭，雖然至今尚未正式成立，但已聚合了數十位熱心朋友的力量，並在殘疾人士就業、家暴條例修訂、資助罕有病者用藥等問題上展開工作。

在以發展為先的香港社會，很多弱勢的人被擠到制度的邊緣。對於他們的處境，主流社會看不到、聽不見，弱勢群體往往甚至成為政府錯誤政策的代罪羔羊，失去最基本的尊嚴和權利。

我們相信，人的尊嚴和權利不應因為身份地位而改變，這是對社會公義的追求，也是人的價值的根源。透過匯聚眾人的力量，堅持以正義為原則，我們可以為弱勢社群充權，重塑一個人文關懷的社會。

我們所追尋的，就是一個改革社會的理想，一種在香港社會已逐漸消退的人文精神。

「正言匯社」的組成，有以下的目標：

1. 推動社會建立正確和健康的發展觀，以利社會的持續發展。

2. 研究社會政策，作出回應、跟進及倡議。

3. 鼓勵弱勢社群透過集體行動，爭取合理的政策和措施，保障他們應有的而又較公平的起步和競爭機會。

4. 支援弱勢社群，向他們提供直接的協助，助他們脫離困境。

5. 連結不同民間及專業團體，就彼此關注的議題進行研究及倡議，藉此凝聚民間社會的力量，建立活躍的公民社會。

我們是一個享受付出的組合。我們不是政黨的附庸，參與的每個人，都是自己的代表。

「正言匯社」歡迎更多人加入，共同為心目中的理想社會，仗義執言。有意者可將姓名、聯絡電話及電郵等資料電郵至[email protected]，方便聯絡。期待你的參與。

A group of people have assembled because of one person; what they stand for, however, centres not on the person but a spirit and a dream—the dream of a civil society.

The Forthright Caucus is initiated by Fernando Cheung, former Legislative Councilor and lecturer in the Department of Applied Social Studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. While the Caucus is not yet formally promulgated, it has rallied several tens of supporters ready to begin work on social issues such as employment for the disabled, the amendment bill on domestic violence and subsidies for patients with rare diseases.

In Hong Kong where development often comes first, the underprivileged has been pushed to the edge of the system. Their plight is often out of the sight and mind of mainstream society. Not infrequently, disadvantaged groups are even made the scapegoat of flawed government policies and lose the most basic respect and rights.

We believe every person is entitled to dignity and certain fundamental rights which do not change with social status. This is the aspiration for social justice; it is also the root of the value of man. Through the confluence of energies and efforts, and upholding justice as a principle, we can empower the weak and rebuild a society with humanistic concerns.

What we are after is the ideal of reforming society, a spirit of humanism that has been vanishing from Hong Kong society.

1. Promote the formation of appropriate and healthy developmental perspectives so as to facilitate the sustainable development of society.

2. Conduct research on social policies in order to respond to and follow-up on policy debates as well as undertake policy advocacy.

3. Encourage underprivileged groups, through collective action, fight for reasonable policies and practices so as to safeguard equal opportunity.

4. Support underprivileged groups and render direct assistance to lift them from adversity.

5. Network various civil and professional bodies in the research and advocacy of common concerns so that the assembly of different forces can facilitate the development of a vibrant civil society.

We believe that helping others is rewarding. We do not belong to any political party and each participant is her own representative.

The Forthright Caucus welcomes more participants to come and join us in this endeavor of standing up for our ideal society. If you are interested, please e-mail your name, contact number and e-mail address to [email protected] and we will be in touch.