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only one example the multi-purpose sports hall scheduled for Kai Tak East a long time ago; because of interminable delays it has not even been started. It is conveniently described as a "prototype" so others must wait. Why? All amenities supplied by the Government have met with overwhelming public response and the Council has asked for more such badly-needed indoor facilities for other districts, yet no action is taken while a generation grows up without them. This example apart, why must worthwhile programmes be held up while civil servants pick their leisurely way through a maze of bureaucratic procedures seemingly calculated to frustrate the public? Is it hoped, Sir, that even the most stout-hearted advocate would give up and let the civil service drift along until our own doomsday?
While the Urban Services Department has re-organized its Recreation and Amenities Division to function more in line with present-day needs, there is still to be resolved the question of employing more staff with specialist knowledge to put our play facilities to constant good use.
I called recently for the separation of the Physical Education Section from the Education Department. It seems a logical step for the Urban Services Department to take it over as a unit, except for the Inspectorate. The Government spends money and has the manpower there which could be used to much better effect if deployed within the Urban Services Department to concentrate on organizing recreational programmes and promoting youth activities throughout the Colony, not only in schools, and for other vital age-groups not now cared for adequately, if at all.
Mr. Chairman, progress in expanding our entertainment programmes has been impressive. The Council's purpose is to provide wholesome entertainment for the people in their own neighbourhoods where doing so counts most. Yet, we do not have the right physical facilities to make this programme even more far reaching. A start was made last year when the open-air theatre was built at Morse Park. What about other locations? For one, when is Signal Hill going to be turned over to this Council? We also need a portable acoustic shell so that even more communities, particularly in outlying areas, may benefit from our public entertainment programmes.
Only recently I made a statement about the Kowloon Civic Centre. Let us hope that once a decision is reached on the exact location the Government is willing to give us, actual construction will not be put off beyond reason. In the interval, much more support can still be given by the Government for the development of our cultural programmes in the City Hall intended for the education and entertainment of the people. I believe that best progress can be made by the grant of a "block vote" to the Council. In this way we would be able to
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promote local talent and support worthwhile programmes far more effectively. Handicapped as the Council has been, we have nevertheless done much and public response has been most gratifying. We are thus encouraged to expand our activities there which we have done virtually to the limit of our physical, financial and manpower resources. The future, Mr. Chairman, is in Government's hands. Is the Government capable of drawing up and putting into effect a grand social plan for Hong Kong of which such cultural programmes form only a part?
Sir, there ought to be a close partnership between the Government and the people to build a new society and raise the quality of life in Hong Kong. Its object must be to promote the well-being of the people of Hong Kong above all else. Its aim should be to re-structure where necessary our social and political institutions to cope with changing attitudes and requirements. Its purpose should be to bring about social justice to the best of its ability. What is the record? In reality, there is the impression that such social progress as there may be, is made in fits and starts-jerking from crisis to crisis, as it were. Indeed, the interest of the market-place is said to be the cause of social action—such as there is.
It has been said before in this Council but it is worth repeating. The generation which has grown up in Hong Kong knows what it wants and must inevitably be influenced by overseas events, exposed as Hong Kong is to currents of thought and action with the world as the stage. It will be ever more vocal in its demand for a rightful share of the better life which Hong Kong's seeming prosperity should bring in its wake for all. When the refugees came, they were glad to find a haven here. They were content with shelter and employment. Their offspring ask for more even now. After all, they are Hong Kong-born and bred. If this is their home, and they have no other, they must be identified with it in a meaningful way. They will want to participate in political responsibilities for sure, just as they are expected by all to be good citizens and are called upon to play their part in the economic development of the territory. Not on bread alone does man live, more so with growing prosperity. Where there should be social harmony, there is instead some malaise for all who want to see; it shows itself in potentially dangerous ways and seeks only a cause to vent its feelings. It is not enough to make employment opportunities available and to expect that modern youth will be satisfied with earning a living as the beginning and end of existence.
Of course, Mr. Chairman, there are plans and programmes to better the lot of the common man in Hong Kong. But, all he wants to know is how soon they will become a reality; he will not live on promises of a better future for he probably sees none and only lives
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