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of the recommendations does ultimately come off the printing press), if he is not informed of its present scope and role? Take the Ward system for instance. In places where the citizens do appreciate what the Council can do, there is a reasonable number of cases each month. For instance, Mong Kok area including Shek Kip Mei, 25 cases in September; Wong Tai Sin, Tsz Wan San, etc. 18 cases; North Point and Chai Wan 17 cases and even the Ward which includes the bulk of the wealthier citizens, Shek O, Repulse Bay (but including Aberdeen), 11 cases. In those areas, obviously the citizens of Hong Kong do understand that the Urban Council is their Council. Whereas Kennedy Town 2 cases, Central nil, Happy Valley nil, the populated area of Tsim Sha Tsui nil, Kwun Tong one, (Laughter), I would be very surprised if the individual Urban Councillors are in any way to blame. It simply means that in these areas the citizens apparently do not have any knowledge of this Council's work.
Last month we passed a document headed "The Aims of the Urban Council for 1967". It was a terrific document, but really it did not give any clear indication of the day-to-day work that this Council must put into these Aims to make them realities: the day-to-day work of the Council in running, and I do say running, this big City and urban area. If, of course, the man in the street took the time off to read the speeches of the various Urban Councillors, perhaps he would be better acquainted with our work, but then the average man has not the time to read through, was it sixteen lengthy speeches, and the official replies two weeks later! Anyhow, the press has not the space to cover all that was said in the sixteen lengthy speeches—I beg your pardon, I think it was twenty lengthy speeches, I am two years in arrear. (Laughter). For some years now we have had a Hansard so speeches will be recorded for posterity in booklet form, but presumably very few know or have the time to take this booklet and study it even though it eventually reaches the City Hall Library.
Mr. Chairman, my main theme is that it is no use speaking about Government, and speaking about reforms in local Government if the public does not know the meaning of the term "local Government" as applied in Hong Kong, either at present or in the foreseeable future. How can the public judge the two-tiered system of local Government advocated by this Council as opposed to the one-tiered system of small local committees all channelling up to the Colonial Secretariat, which I have already referred to as being a monster of centralization, if the man in the street does not have, in clear terms, the work of this Council and the present system of implementation by officers of the Colonial public service, and a clear knowledge of the powers of this Council as well as the limitations and checks on this Council's powers as at present constituted? Without this, it will be impossible to go ahead with any reforms to local Government which will be comprehensible to the man in the street.
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Mr. Chairman, I beg to move that this Council sets up an Ad Hoc Select Committee to make recommendations on how the public at large can obtain the correct image of this Council's work.
DR. LEE:-Mr. Chairman, I rise to second Mr. BERNACCHI's motion. I do not think I have to elaborate on what he has said, but I still say that some sort of Ad Hoc Committee is necessary to bring the work that the Council is doing behind the scenes to the eyes of the public, because very few people can tell you what is going on. The work of, even those whose work is reported, is not noted by more than a few people. With these few remarks, Mr. Chairman, I rise to second Mr. BERNACCHI's motion.
MR. SALES: The Officials have no point to make, Sir?
CHAIRMAN:-I would simply say in clarification that the motion is to establish a sub-committee, and as far as I am concerned—I cannot speak for my colleagues—I have no objection to forming such a sub-committee.
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, there is nothing in what Mr. BERNACCHI has just said that I cannot support. I even subscribe to his suggestion that there may be a monster in Lower Albert Road. However, I wonder whether the time is propitious for setting up yet another Ad Hoc sub-committee of this Council. First and foremost, I would like to remind Members of this Council that not so long ago we created four sub-committees of very great importance to study the various aspects of the Ad Hoc Committee's report, and to consider the terms of the report which will be issued by the Government's own Working Party on the reform of local Government. My understanding is that these four sub-committees have not as yet met, but an early opportunity will be taken to launch them. I suggest to Mr. BERNACCHI that the work of these four sub-committees, at the present time, is of such transcending importance that we should not endeavour to burden our Unofficial Members with more sub-committee work. Every Unofficial Member is serving on one of these four sub-committees, with the exception of those who were members of the original Ad Hoc Committee. I trust that it is not suggested by Mr. BERNACCHI that the new Ad Hoc Sub-Committee that he suggests should be composed by those four members who are not now serving on the sub-committees. For this reason, I would like Mr. BERNACCHI to consider, either to defer consideration of the motion that is before the Council, or to ask that the Standing Committee of the Whole Council put it on the agenda at the appropriate time so that adequate measures can be taken to give this question of the Council's public image the consideration that it evidently deserves.
Personally, I feel that the best way for the Council to create a favourable image is for all the Select Committees to work successfully
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