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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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local population are entitled to the same treatment.
It is certainly not suggested that burials should be wholly or even partly paid for by the Government. Rather, it is merely proposed that the responsibility for developing the new cemetery should cover the entire area so that the basic unit charge, which is to be recovered from the public, will be the same for all.
First and foremost, I am seeking to do no more than to establish a principle. It is one which must of necessity win the sympathy and the approval of all just and fair-minded people in Hong Kong.
Next, on the practical side, I have stated in the clearest terms that we are not trespassing on the rights and the privileges of any recognized religious or other group. On the contrary, we are scrupulously careful to stress the importance of handing over to them, each an area, prepared at public expense, so that it will be possible for them to observe their own rites and practices with dignity. At present, I think it is intended to call upon them to shoulder the uneven cost of developing the sites for themselves, which expense must inevitably be passed on to the public in a disproportionate charge.
Finally, on the financial side, let me repeat that we are committing the Government to no extra expenditure which cannot be recovered. Instead, we are virtually creating for Government a source of steady income in addition to recovering the cost of development. This becomes even more apparent when we consider that it is not infrequently the practice for more than one burial to be made in the same plot.
In regard to implementation, it is up to the Select Committee, in consultation with such Government departments as may be concerned with the project, to determine the extent of initial development and also the pace of subsequent work, if it is claimed that Hong Kong cannot afford to do the job all at once. There is no difficulty in this respect as we have all the statistics we need for the exercise.
Thus, above all, in consequence of the adoption of today's motion, the public interest will be served by the fact that, regardless of race or creed, there will be only one flat basic rate for all, on which the public can depend.
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In sum, this is a businesslike attempt to equalize the cost of burial in the new cemetery. Also, it is an effort to serve the community by reducing and even perhaps obviating the possibilities of some of the mal-practices now said to be prevalent here.
Therefore, does this motion not deserve the unstinted support of all who claim to be guided by the interests of the people of Hong Kong?
Consequently, I propose the motion standing in my name. Do you wish me to read it, Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN: Do you so wish?
MR. SALES: It is entirely up to you.
CHAIRMAN: I think all Members are aware of the Motion.
MR. SALES: Thank you, Sir.
DR. R. H. S. LEE seconded.
He said: Mr. Chairman, the substance of Mr. Sales' motion is the result of the discussion held by the Cemeteries, Mortuaries and Crematoria Select Committee on the new cemetery at Cape Collinson. Some members of that Select Committee were frankly perturbed by the abuses, irregularities and unfair charges that are practised by certain cemeteries. Both Mr. Sales and myself have expressed our views on this subject at the last Annual Debate. We have agreed to join forces to see this through, and we are determined to correct these anomalies and malpractices. Mr. Chairman, we owe it to the public that every member of the community, irrespective of his race, creed or social status, should enjoy the same rights and treatment in this matter because land made available for cemeteries is public land, and therefore our right to insist on proper supervision must be indisputable. It is ridiculous, Mr. Chairman, that a grave space in the Colonial Cemetery is only $20 whereas a similar plot in the Chinese Permanent Cemetery and some other Christian cemeteries fetches $1,000 or more.
Sir, cemeteries are just as important as conservancy and other public services. Since we have a uniform charge for these services why should it be different for cemeteries?
A proper respect for the dead is a human and a civilized trait. Because of the great respect which the Chinese have for their dead it does
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