HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN: -Yes, Sir, it is. On the 29th April last year a Press release was made. This was copied to Members of this Council. In the second paragraph it says: "The Working Party has been given the following terms of reference: To explore and advise on possible alternatives for the development of an effective and convenient system of local administration in Hong Kong."
MR. SALES: ---Sir, am I right in saying that the Working Party set up by the Government was subsequent to the constitution of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Urban Council?
CHAIRMAN:—Mr. SALES, can you help me there by saying what was the date we set up our Committee?
MR. SALES: -8th March 1966.
CHAIRMAN:—In that case, the public announcement of the setting up of this Working Party and its terms of reference was some six or seven weeks afterwards.
MR. SALES-Were the terms of reference of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Urban Council known to the Colonial Secretariat at the time that they defined the terms of reference of the Government Working Party?
CHAIRMAN: Sir, I shall have to have notice of that question. I have no idea.
MR. SALES: -I would be happy to give you that notice, Sir. May I proceed to the first paragraph? What period of time elapsed between the appointment of the Working Party and the conclusion of its deliberations?
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, you are referring to the Urban Council Working Party?
MR. SALES: -No, the Urban Council did not have a Working Party, we had an Ad Hoc Committee, Government had a Working Party.
CHAIRMAN: I imagine that the Dickinson Working Party met within a few days of the Press release on the 29th April, and its report, as stated in my answer, was submitted to His Excellency the Governor towards the end of November--seven months.
MR. SALES: Sir, may I now refer to the second paragraph of your answer? The report was presented to His Excellency the Governor in November, and we are now in February. The request that this report should be made available to the Council was so that the four Sub-Committees could get to work. What is the specific reason for keeping the Urban Council in the dark?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:-As I have said earlier, there was some doubt when the report was being compiled whether it was to be a report to the Governor personally, or whether it would eventually be published. After the report was seen, I presume a decision was taken that it should be published. Once that decision was taken, there was the question of publication in English, and should there also be a Chinese translation. It has been decided that there will be a Chinese translation, and I think the aim is to have a Chinese translation simultaneously with the English version, but I am not quite sure about that. One also has to consider the competing claims on the resources of the Government Printer for the printing of this document. He is at the moment coping with the printing of the Report of the Commission on the April Riots and the Colony Annual Report. I do not think that there has been any undue delay in his Department, but I must add that, on earlier information, I had hoped the report would be out a little sooner than it actually will be out.
MR. SALES: --Sir, may I suggest with the greatest respect that you are drawing a red herring. You are aware that there was never any suggestion on the part of the Urban Council that it wanted only the printed report. In other words, that only the printed report was fit to be read by the Urban Council. We were ready to read any report, hand-written or roneod, because we wanted to get to work.
You are aware, Sir, that the work of the four Sub-Committees has been held back because this report was not given to the Urban Council. You are also aware, Sir, that the Urban Council's Ad Hoc Committee's Report was submitted to Government long before it was printed and it was made available to Executive Council and Legislative Council in roneod form.
CHAIRMAN: Sir, I have very little to add to what I have said, except that roneod copies were not available.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-In view of what Mr. SALES has said, Sir, then you would agree now that this can only illustrate that Government has been exercising discriminatory and dilatory tactics in not providing copies of the Report to Members of the Urban Council?
CHAIRMAN:Sir, I had hoped that what I have said would indicate that that was not the case.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Unfortunately it does not, Sir.
MR. BERNACCHI: Sir, I can understand no publication to anyone at present, I can understand advance publication to Members of the Executive Council, but what I cannot understand is advance publication to Members of the Legislative Council three weeks ago, but not to the Urban Council when, as Mr. SALES has said, four Sub-Committees' work is being held up. Can you, Sir, enlighten me on this point?
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