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during performances. No provision is made under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, 1960, or any of its subsidiary legislation to prohibit smoking in cinemas. In the case of the City Hall concert hall, the Council is empowered to make regulations for such prohibition by virtue of Section 4 of the City Hall Ordinance, 1961.
As to the second part of the question, I would like to point out that requests were made by the Health Education Select Committee to the Hong Kong and Kowloon Theatres Association in 1963, and again towards the end of 1964, to consider the prohibition or partial prohibition of smoking in cinemas. I regret to say that the Association was not prepared to prohibit smoking, but was willing to co-operate to the extent of requesting their patrons to limit smoking during performances by the exhibition of a slide immediately prior to the main feature.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Has this been done?
DR. WOO:-Yes, Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, have viewers been consulted as to whether they themselves were in favour of the proposals which are put forward by the Urban Services?
DR. Woo:-Not by my committee.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-The reason why I asked that, Mr. Chairman, is that police co-operation could be sought when issuing licences to have certain conditions inserted in the licence itself, which would obtain the co-operation of cinema operators. Does Dr. Woo know whether there are any conditions attached to the licences which are issued by the police?
CHAIRMAN:-Before Dr. Woo speaks, may I say, Sir, that it occurs to me that if the conditions which you mentioned were attached to the issue of licences, and then those conditions were breached by people using the cinemas, the persons who would suffer would be the management. Is the management expected to control the patrons of their cinemas?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, this is being done in many other parts of the world, including certain parts of England and the United States.
MR. SALES:-Sir, am I not right in believing that the licensing of cinemas is now being handed over to the Urban Council?
CHAIRMAN:-No, Sir.
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MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Anyway, Mr. Chairman, could this point be pursued by the Department and Dr. Woo's Committee, if he is so agreeable?
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, a supplementary on this. Why are the police the licensing authority? Is that the normal procedure in other countries? Are the police normally the licensing authority for cinemas in other countries?
CHAIRMAN: Dr. BELL, that is introducing entirely new matter. (Laughter). Who is the licensing authority is an entirely new matter. That does not mean that the question cannot be asked, but it must be asked next month, not now.
DR. BELL:-I am sorry, you do refer to it in the answer-I never even knew they were the authority until you referred to it in the answer.
CHAIRMAN:-Yes, but matter that is mentioned in the answer is irrelevant. It is a question of what is in the original question.
DR. BELL:-Do you mean, Mr. Chairman, that your answer is irrelevant? (Laughter)
CHAIRMAN:-Dr. BELL, at last month's meeting, Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN was poking gentle fun at me on this question of new matter. I tried to put my point over, but obviously I did not succeed. It seems to me that the Standing Order on this point is designed to prevent the extension of a question going on, and on. Therefore, supplementaries must have some direct derivation from facts mentioned in the original question. It is quite impossible to answer a question without introducing new matter-it would not be an answer otherwise. But supplementaries must hark back to the original question.
MR. FORSGATE:-Mr. Chairman, could Mr. CHEONG-LEEN explain to us why he wishes to prohibit smoking in cinemas?
CHAIRMAN: That, Sir, is a new question. (Laughter). It may certainly be asked next month.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-If that question arises next month I will be very happy to answer it.
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, Sir, when this Council drafted Standing Orders, particularly Standing Order No. 9, Section 13, where it states: "but a supplementary question must not be used to introduce matter not included in the original question", which is the point you are making, the Select Committee concerned was entirely composed of male Members. We did not take into account female logic, and I think when we revise Standing Orders in the future, the lady Members
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