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health conditions of nearly 3 million people, supervising the huge resettlement programme, looking after the work of the Housing Authority, and licensing the thousands of hawkers in the Colony.
I would therefore support the Motion only if matters which are more of direct concern to the various Government Boards and Committees than the Urban Council would not be made the subject of debates or questions in open Council meetings, since such would obstruct the more vital work for which this Council is under statutory mandate.
COL. CLAGUE:-I do not propose to oppose this Motion either. I would point out that the remarks which I would have made in fact been covered by previous speakers and I think, as I am not up for election this year, I should sit down.
MR. KWOK CHAN:-Having carefully listened to the arguments advanced by the proposer and the seconder in support of the Motion before Council I confess that I am no more convinced of the real necessity of this Motion now than I was at the time I received the agenda of this meeting on which notice of this motion was given.
In a few brief words this Motion can be described as a step towards seeking representation of this Council on Boards and Committees which are mostly or wholly not the direct concern of this Council, and Government are to be asked whether this would be in the public interest. As far as the question of public interest is concerned I do not think that there can be any reason to doubt that in deciding upon the composition of Boards and Committees Government has given due consideration to public interest, so that it cannot be said that the existing Boards and Committees as at present constituted are in any way not in the public interest.
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Unless one harbours the ambition of a much enlarged Urban Council to occupy a dominating place in the administration of the Colony one would pause to ponder what effect this motion if passed would bring about, or whether it is to be a curtain-raiser for another request for further increase of membership.
As I am still confused over the issue I will neither support the Motion nor oppose it. Allow me, Sir, to abstain.
CHAIRMAN:-Do you wish to reply, Mr. Woo?
MR. P. C. Woo:-Very briefly, sir. With regard to Dr. Woo's first sentence, "to gain a foothold on other representative bodies," I made it quite clear in my speech that we are not seeking any representation on Committees or Boards which are not concerned with urban matters. I also said, in reply to your query, that we have put it quite clearly on record that public proceedings will be confined to questions, and to asking our representative to put certain views concerning certain matters to that Board. It would also seem, Sir, that the Boards are merely advisory boards not directly concerned with duties-most of them, I have been corrected by my friend-
CHAIRMAN:-Some are statutory boards, I think.
MR. Woo:-
We are not concerned with the duties or powers of a particular board. I am not asking you to send a representative to a particular department, like the Medical Department or the Public Works Department or the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. We only want to have liaison, co-ordination, so that we can work and carry out the responsibilities that the Urban Council is entrusted with, as my friend Mr. Kwok Chan says, under section 54 of the Urban Council Ordinance. I have been told that I have spoken enough; I think I have made my point clear and I do not wish to enlarge further.
MR. BERNACCHI:-My friend embarrasses me.
The question was put.
The Motion was passed.
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