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CHAIRMAN:-It may possibly have so arisen.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, would you mind if I ask you some non-legal questions? When I first came to this Council I recall having urged Government, together with several other Elected Members, that the beaches in the New Territories should come within the scope of the Urban Council, and I had assumed that this Council was responsible for New Territories beaches as such and not really in an advisory capacity.
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, this is question time.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, why is it that there have been questions asked in the past, and even as recently as several months ago a question has been asked about beaches in the New Territories?
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, does anyone understand that supplementary question? (Laughter). May I as Chairman of the Urban Amenities Select Committee answer it?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I frame my question differently in order to suit Mr. SALES, Mr. Chairman? Questions are usually framed so that they come within the terms of reference of this Council. If questions concerning New Territories beaches are asked in Urban Council meetings, then surely beaches in the New Territories do come under the authority of this Council. Am I right in saying that, Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN:-No, Sir. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Then why are questions permitted to be asked in the Urban Council?
CHAIRMAN:-Possibly, Sir, the chair is not sufficiently austere. (Laughter). I have a fundamental weakness Sir, in that I am inclined to try to answer questions asked in good faith, and perhaps the Standing Orders are sometimes unduly stretched.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, is it not a rather flagrant occasion for Standing Orders to be unduly stretched? Sometimes I ask questions which are even within the borderline and they are turned down. I would like to ask another supplementary question, Mr. Chairman. Why was it that only beaches in the New Territories were chosen by Government to be advised on by the Urban Amenities Select Committee? Why not hawkers and markets as well?
CHAIRMAN:-I think it was a measure of administrative convenience, but another reason also, I believe, is that the beaches in the New Territories are largely used by persons from the urban areas. (Laughter).
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MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, there are people from town who buy from New Territories markets as well.
MR. SALES: If Mr. CHEONG-LEEN has finished, may I continue with some serious supplementary questioning? Mr. Chairman, was it not at the instigation of the Urban Council, or Members of the Council, that New Territories beaches were put under the advice of the Urban Amenities Select Committee?
CHAIRMAN:-I was not the Chairman at the time.
MR. SALES: Will you accept my answer then that it was, Mr. Chairman, so that I may continue with my supplementary questions?
CHAIRMAN:-You may continue.
MR. SALES: Thank you. Has it not been found entirely satisfactory that the Urban Council should advise the New Territories Administration on the beaches within their responsibilities?
CHAIRMAN:-The advice is, I understand, given to the Urban Services Department.
MR. SALES: May I put my question more pointedly? Was it not because of general dissatisfaction with the beaches in the New Territories that the Urban Services Department was given the responsibilities under advice of the Urban Council?
CHAIRMAN:-I will have to look up the papers to ascertain that that was the case.
MR. SALES:-Will you accept my answer that it was, so that I may continue?
CHAIRMAN:-You may continue.
MR. SALES: Thank you. Mr. Chairman, if there has been a noticeable improvement in the condition of the beaches because of the fact that the Urban Council through a Select Committee was brought into the picture, is it not likely that markets, hawkers, and more particularly resettlement in the New Territories, would be vastly improved by the Urban Council being brought onto the scene?
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, with respect, I think you are inviting an expression of opinion.
MR. SALES: Will you then give your opinion, or Government's opinion, in writing to the Standing Committee of the Whole Council on this subject, about which I am seriously concerned with particular reference to resettlement?
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