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employment soon after leaving school, mainly in factories. It is grossly unfair that the great majority should be forced to waste much of their precious time in learning things in a foreign tongue, thus deriving less return from their months of hard work. Do the authorities not foresee that in less than three decades the Chinese language will be equally if not more important and yet our youth under the present trend of education will be deficient in both languages and suffer serious hardship therefrom?
(ii) In my speech last year I commented on the unrealistic contents of the textbooks for Chinese in primary and secondary schools and suggested they should be totally rewritten. I am glad to note that the Report of the Working Party on the Teaching of Chinese has urged a complete revision of the existing Chinese Syllabus.
In view of this serious failure of the Syllabus and Textbook Committee, which has resulted in irreparable damage to our youth in the past, I feel strongly that the present members of that Committee should step aside to give way to more realistic persons, who better understand what our children really need.
(iii) Before I leave this subject I wish to comment on the policy of and the way public money is spent by our Education Department. I am referring to the practice of ceasing to assist in the establishment of non-profit-making private schools. The Department after realizing the unpleasant fact that Government schools are often expensive to operate while producing disappointing performances has decided to encourage and increase the Government subsidized schools. This is truly a step along the right lines. However, to stop assisting new private aid schools is a step backward and a misuse of public funds for the simple reason that the same amount of money, if used to assist private aid schools without assuming the responsibilities of recurrent expenditure, would provide twice as many if not more school places which are very badly needed here. This decision of the Education Department has undoubtedly discouraged many voluntary bodies from helping to provide school places because they prefer to operate their schools without being strictly controlled by the Department as a subsidized school is.
In order to make the best use of public money I hope the Department will revert to the earlier policy of providing assistance to private aid schools so as to provide more school places.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
III. Subways, a Convention Hall and the Extension of Kai Tak Runway
For a good many years there has been talk about a cross harbour tunnel and some money had been spent by a private firm in preliminary planning and investigation, but recently there have been reports that it may not after all be constructed. While a tunnel is in many respects desirable and certainly preferable to ferries, I feel that a subway network to provide rapid transportation within the urban area is a necessity for a densely populated city like Hong Kong. It is a necessity not only to eliminate traffic congestion but also to do it quickly before the already serious transportation problem gets worse, causing thousands and thousands of people to waste precious hours daily in travelling.
A capacious convention hall and the extension of the runway at Kai Tak Airport may probably be regarded as less necessary but they are in themselves lucrative projects and would help the Colony to compete with other cities by providing the most up to date facilities.
Of course all these need money, considerable sums indeed. But Hong Kong has been a very prosperous city for many years and is still prospering. Furthermore we do have some four billion pounds sterling invested overseas, all money hard earned by the people of Hong Kong. Why should not a part, if not all, of this be transferred back when we ourselves are in need of it? In case we cannot get the reserve back quickly or if for other reasons it cannot be utilised immediately, then perhaps we might try to obtain a loan from the World Bank or even consider issuing Government bonds. Whatever method we choose I feel this is the time for our Government to take the lead in participating in large scale investment to demonstrate its full confidence in the future of Hong Kong not only to the people here but also to our friends overseas.
With these remarks, I support the Motion. (Applause).
MR. WOO PO-SHING:- Mr. Chairman, with only three days to go I shall have completed exactly 17 months service as an elected Urban Councillor. To many people the question of what I have done as an elected Urban Councillor would appear to be rather unfitting for the occasion of an annual debate, and yet it is one which I have been asking myself and have been asked by many people in the past 11 years. I think, therefore, that I should take this opportunity to give a candid answer to the public and in particular, to the electors to whom I am responsible.
The honest and brief answer to the question is "I HAVE DONE VERY LITTLE AS AN ELECTED URBAN COUNCILLOR." This is not because I am not willing to serve; it is because the Urban Council
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