Wes
8. In the New Territories the process has been rather different, because adminis- tration has always largely acted through District Offices. The latter maintained close contact with the indigenous population through Village Represe and Rural Committees, and at New Territories Headquarters level through the Heung Yee Kuk, as well as with many other local bodies. This tradition of local- ized administration provided a good basis for development when the traditional life and society of the New Territories began to be completely changed by the construction of whole new towns unconnected with the urban area. The massive works and wide social implications required close cooperation and coordination between a large number of Government Departments in each town. This was achieved through the creation of Management Committees of officials. At the same time the upheaval caused to the established community, and the influx of new residents, required that particular care be given to provide both the existing indigenous population and the new arrivals with a means of being heard amidst the clamour of clearance and construction, and with a say in the way their emerging community should develop. Thus District Advisory Boards were established in the New Territories starting from 1977. Their membership include the principal Government Officers of the Management Committees, the elected Chairmen of the indigenous Rural Committees, and appointed unofficial members representing the new town community.
9. The function of the District Advisory Boards has been to examine those parts of central programmes which affect their towns or Districts and to stimulate and to guide Departmental officials across the whole spectrum of local administra- tion through discussion and advice. The provision of some funds under their direct control has allowed them to supplement Government programmes in the District by initiating minor works and cultural and recreational activities of their own. These District Advisory Boards have been extended to cover all Districts of the New Territories. Though still new creations, they are functioning well and clearly fill a deeply-felt local need, and the Government proposes to build on them as the basis for local advice and participation.
10. Historical accident has resulted in rather different patterns of District administration and consultation in different parts of the Territory. But the rapid development of communities outside the old urban area and also within it, increased prosperity, better education and the consequent higher aspirations of the population, all argue in favour of a new look at the machinery for Dis- trict administration and consultation. So does the imperative need to build cohesive communities. It is against this background that the proposals in the following chapter are put forward for a more formal and coherent framework for contact, discussion, stimulus, and advice between communities in each District, whether in the urban area or New Territories, and the Government agencies responsible for their management and improvement.
Footnote: A fuller description of the existing institutions for both the urban area and the New
Territories is at Annex I.
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CHAPTER III
11.
described in Chapter II the evolution of popular participation in Dis- trict administration has been uneven and has differed considerably as between the older urban area of Hong Kong and Kowloon and the new towns in the New Territories albeit that the intention in both cases has been the same. These differences are necessarily reflected in the proposals for change put forward and the two areas are therefore treated separately below taking into account all the institutions already in existence.
New Territories
12. The new towns have borne the brunt of development but in consequence the points of contact between officials and unofficials are firmly founded and the mechanism for concerted inter-Departmental efforts exists and is appro- priate. The shift in population towards the new towns which is now underway accentuates the need to provide for local participation in the management of the towns. The part played by the electoral process in administering some city services in the older urban area does not exist in the new towns. Although many of the residents of the new towns are qualified to vote for the Urban Council, its functions have little relevance to their daily lives, and will have progressively less as a full range of cultural and recreational facilities are developed in each town and District. This is clearly anomalous. The terms of reference of the District Advisory Boards are wide enough, but what is needed is that the contribution of the present community representatives be more clearly recognized and that the weight of their advice be given greater authority. 13. While in any case it is the Government's intention to develop the District Advisory Boards, it is proposed that this would be assisted by the introduction of an elected element and that for this purpose suffrage be extended to all residents of the New Territories over the age of 21 with at least three years residence in Hong Kong.
14. The precise composition of the District Advisory Boards might vary in each District according to local circumstances, but in general terms they would comprise a balance of directly elected members, each of whom should represent a single constituency in each District and town, the Chairmen of the Rural Committees elected as at present, appointed members and Government officials, under the Chairmanship of the Town Manager or District Officer. It is not proposed at this stage that their terms of reference or their mainly advisory status be altered. However they already have limited executive functions and it is proposed that the word Advisory should be dropped from their title. It is anticipated that the work of the Boards will be given added point and generate far greater interest amongst the community by virtue of the added spur of public accountability, and it is accepted that their role should evolve as the population of the new towns begins to stabilize.
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