8
On the overall question of garbage, I would like to mention what I am told
is a common saying among Chinese people. Freely translated, it means that
if we do not keep the place clean ourselves, we cannot expect other people
to refrain from adding to the dirt. For example, it is useless to try to
teach the public to be cleanliness-conscious, if they find roads heaped with
Government garbage collections or pavements blocked with builders' materials.
I have already suggested in Committee, that if this liability clause about
which I have so many misgivings is introduced, it should be used not only
against tenants of buildings, but against builders, or Government Departments
that fail to carry out their work. Nothing annoys the public more than laws
that are carried out on some but not on others.
When our Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign begins, I trust that you
and all members of the public will try to make it a success, and that we
shall all enjoy the new look so much that we shall want to keep it up forever.
I hope too that you and members of the public will give the Urban
Council some encouragement by registering in the present Campaign for electors.
Apathy among the public about voting can result in apathy among councillors,
and this in turn can lead to deterioration in the sanitary conditions in
which we live, since sanitation is one of the major fields of work of the
Urban Council.
If you are already a voter, please re-register now. If you are
not registered as a voter, please get a form and register. There is a time
limit, so register now, before you forget and find you are not entitled to
vote next year.