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of the wealth of culture in our unique situation as a meeting place of East and West and to keep the fresh winds of creativity blowing by working for the expansion of cultural activities until they are accessible to the whole population of Hong Kong and every artistic talent has been given the possibility to develop.
A very important role of the Urban Council, it seems to me, is first to capture a vision of the possibility of this accomplishment, and then to discover ways people engaged in many different structures in Hong Kong can work together toward its creation.
Mr. Chairman, I support the motion. (Applause.)
MR. TSIN SAI-NIN (in Cantonese): - Mr. Chairman, time really flies fast. It's now almost a year since I joined this Council. Within this short span of time, I have followed the Chairman and all elder colleagues, playing a part in the Council which works under Hong Kong's democracy. Though the Council's achievement is very limited, that it has been able to attain financial autonomy and make Chinese an official language shows it has, after all, definite influence on the development of Hong Kong's democracy.
Due to the strait-jacket imposed by regulations and rules, Members could never talk about matters which are beyond the Council's sphere of work in the usual debates. This is the thing that makes me feel very regretful because it would give people an idea that Hong Kong's democracy is dwarfing with days and that the Council, being only a place for a handful of people to discuss a pinch of things, has no close relation with the general public's daily life, consequently dampening the public's interest in the Council elections.
Talking about the Council's sphere of work, local affairs intimately connected with people of Hong Kong like education, medical service, public transport, public housing, labour and social welfare are all not within its ambit. Though a number of Urban Councillors have been appointed members of a few Advisory Committees dealing with the aforesaid services, they do not represent the Council. They take office in the Committees only as individuals. One cannot but say it is most deplorable that the Urban Council, symbolizing a local government, should have no power to interfere or take part in local affairs.
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it seems that neither London nor Hong Kong authorities have the intention to accede to the request. The reason is that Hong Kong is still a place with peculiar situations. Furthermore, the authorities have not, from beginning to end, sought a way to enable people of this Colony to walk towards the goal of genuine democracy. I think a "District Local Council" System and giving these Local Council representatives seats in the Legislative and Urban Councils is a possible way under the present situations.
Hong Kong's society underwent a mammoth change last year. Last year, the spurt and catastrophic plunge of the stock market dealt a very heavy blow on the people, the skyrocketing of commodity prices adversely affected people's livelihood, and the deterioration of social order as well as the restrictions on the switch-on of advertisement signs not only cast a shadow on the people's livelihood but also inflicted great loss on shops. During the same period, Government withdrew the policy which otherwise would bring forth an exorbitant increase of rates. It accepted the estate residents' opinions and reconsidered the tenancy problem. These show that Government is still prone to accept public opinions and amend some of its policies which are not suitable for the majority of people.
As a city with 4 million people, it is natural that Hong Kong would come across a lot of problems every day. If solved in a reasonable way and in time, these problems would not expand and become a force that destroys the community's safety. Therefore, I personally think the authorities should canvass the various representative bodies and take soundings through all media. It is not enough just relying on civil servants' reflections in order to get a full picture of the public opinions. Outcry from people representing the public and those voicing opposition should also be taken into consideration with an open mind. If a problem is not solved until both parties involved disagree with each other to such an extent that they are prepared to resort to violence, safety of the community at large would be at stake. Even though the problem is solved then, it is bound to give rise to a trail of evil aftermath. In this respect, I can quote certain examples in the fields of education and labour. First, let's talk about education. To the best of my knowledge, roof-top schools in estates which are under the management of Housing Department are facing the imminent peril of demolition. What these roof-top schools, which have been operated for some 20 years making valuable contribution to Hong Kong's education and offering primary school places to the needy, get in return as compensation is less than 1/20 of the loss incurred. Therefore I think what Government is doing to them is
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