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carefully chosen. Theirs is the task to study in depth and to report back in detail, as the Ad Hoc Committee contemplated. It would not be proper for me to anticipate the findings of our sub-committees, so let me pass on. Sir, perhaps I should ask you then when we might expect to read the report of the Civil Servants' own Working Party? In this connection, His Excellency the Governor enunciated recently three principles for local government. They are admirably direct and seemingly incontrovertible. What we in Hong Kong must now seek to do is to define and agree on the term "local government". It is capable of different definitions. And, the acceptation of the term is bound to be different for different people. Only time and public discussion will tell.
Mr. Chairman, Hong Kong is making steady headway. But, for all that, the same problems are still with us. To solve them in time we must work even harder now and in the years to come. At the same time, there should be some honest re-thinking on local affairs not only by civic and government leaders here but also by the Secretary of State who is now visiting us and the Colonial Office in London as well. Hong Kong cannot be cimpaled by exorbitant demands when we are not yet discharging our obligations to the people whose home Hong Kong is. For one, it is the birthright of every child born here to have a school-place as far as he can go according to his ability, but has he? Mr. Chairman, let the Government also concern itself ever more with social justice. Hong Kong people would be the happier in consequence.
I have much pleasure in proposing the Motion which stands in my name. (Applause).
DR. P. F. Woo:- Mr. Chairman, paragraph 23, of the statement on aims and objectives, which deals with the expansion of the scope of the Urban Council, has been a subject of this Annual Conventional Debate for the last few years. Your predecessors had always been very sceptical about this paragraph and had never uttered any comment in support of it. However, now that this Council has adopted the Ad Hoc Committee's Report on the future scope of the Council and that all the officials have already expressed their views, members of this Council are looking forward to having your frank opinion.
Having the privilege of being the seconder of this motion, I feel that I should not divert too far from the text but confine myself to what is within the scope of this Council.
I speak firstly on my pet subject, Health Education. Everywhere, especially with a small and overpopulated island like ours, Health Education plays a very important role on personal environment and habit. Health Education should not only have the first place in Health Department, but also in all government departments. Unfortunately
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at the present moment the Health Education Select Committee can only deal with what are within the jurisdiction of the Urban Council besides having the co-operation of the Education Department to educate school children on this matter. I feel that there should be a panel of organizers, not necessarily of medical personnel, but of people who know the situation and statistics well and have the experience of planning. In the past ten years, only one inspector has been assigned to tackle a colony-wide problem on which no government department, apart from the Medical Department, can offer any assistance. It is high time for us to study the whole question of Health Education carefully and to reorganize it so that not one single man, but a team of workers (may it be chosen locally or from abroad) be at work. A healthy sign is beginning to be seen in the Kaifong organization that promotes Health Education by holding annual exhibitions. Unfortunately, Sir, these organizers seem to forget the original purposes for holding such exhibitions and take advantage of it for their other publicity purposes. I refer to the permission of allowing the showing of Chinese acupuncture. Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese treatment and has absolutely no connection whatsoever with any aspect of Health Education. If the Kaifongs want to have an exhibition in Chinese acupuncture, by all means organize one, but certainly not under the auspices of Health Education. As chairman of the Health Education Select Committee, I must condemn this. In like manner, the Medical Department or the Medical Council would not permit the showing of western methods of treatment in such a kind of exhibition. I cannot understand why the Secretary for Chinese Affairs who sponsors this exhibition, being a member of this Council, had not seen fit to consult my committee.
The next aspect of Health Education I want to draw attention to is Sex Education. Adolescents when they reach school leaving age should know their own human physiology and the dangers of having bad habits or misbehaviours. Young people of this age are full of curiosity for anything, very often this curiosity combined with ignorance may result in juvenile delinquent activities. The Education Department has done pioneer work in mental health; basic sex education should be taught in conjunction with mental health in secondary schools. Unless this is done within a reasonably short time, we may find it hard to check the alarming increase rate of juvenile delinquency. Let no question of immorality or shame jeopardise sex education. People who feel this is immoral are either hypocrites or have a wrong conception about this. More often than not, the progress and prosperity of our city are hindered by such hypocritic ideas, with the result that the interest of the majority is sacrificed by the few.
The final subject that I wish to bring up is the Government's Chinese translation system. I often find the Government's documentary translation unreadable. There are two ways in translation - one is to
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