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any Members to support the
to support the removal of the
removal of the exofficio link. The
decision to support this Bill made during the Legislative Council in-house meeting on 29 January 1988 was clearly based on that understanding. The question of the exofficio link, or any form of link, will have to be addressed by further legislative
proposals, which can only be formulated in the light of the results of discussion on the White Paper. At this juncture, it might be of interest to note that there is a school of thought
which advocates for no link at all between the Urban Council and
the urban District Boards The point is there are various possibilities on the relationship between the Urban Council and the urban District Boards, and this
this Council will no doubt have the
opportunity to debate at length the pros
pros and cons. There is insufficient valid reason to block the passage of a Bill aiming to liberalige simply due to the Administration's intention which may or may not gain the support of this Council.
rejected
If at the end of the day, this Council rejects the Administration's proposal,
proposal, and the
the ex-officio link is retained, then the reservations and concerns of those who opposed the Bill now evaporates. On the other hand, even if this Council eventually supports the Administration's proposal, it is clearly desirable to have this Bill enacted so that there will be a more flexible cross-membership arrangement between the Urban Council
the and urban District Boards. I believe the reservations and
л concerns
Council members
our most
deserve
e
expressed by Urban careful consideration, as does the views of the chairman of the urban District Boards and their members. The lack of time for Urban Councillors to plan for their candidacy in the District lr Board is noted with regret, and the Administration should explain
publicly the reason for
apparent lateness of the their submit, with respect,
the greatest
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that
announcement. Having said this, critics of this Bill is reading much more into it than it actually contains, and thereby taking issue with the wrong issue at an inappropriate time.
Sir, I support the Bill.