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decisions to be made. The construction of the new Urban Council Chamber at an expense of well over $7 million is one example for which I at one time pressed strongly as Chairman of the relevant Sub-Committee. The Chamber may be necessary but in my view it is a show-window luxury and is not an essential item and should give way to the Cultural Complex which is for general enjoyment of the public. I therefore am quite prepared to go back on my words all for a better cause.
Furthermore, there were in the past cases of unscrupulous expenditures from which lessons had been learned. The Urbco Exhibition is one where a mere attendance of about 100,000 people was entertained at a cost of $400,000. To produce a similar documentary film for television and the cinema would be far more effective and much more economical. The leasing of Star House as a supplementary museum is another example where an expenditure of over $4 million will be incurred for a short period of 5 years or less. All these experiences have re-enforced my assumption that some of the items in the 10-Year Programme are for the time being dispensable. To speak in more practical terms, I can recommend deferring some 30 odd items in the Programme to accrue a savings of over $120 million, which is quite adequate to take the "Cultural Complex" off the ground.
However, I wish to stress here that I am only recommending "deferment" of some of the items, not deletion. When the time comes that our financial situation improves through increased incomes resulting from say advertising-sign charges etc., then the once deferred items would be reviewed and put to action immediately. It is obvious that we cannot have the cake and eat it at the same time. It is indeed a great pity to see the site not being put to practical use while we sit back and await somebody else to do the work for us. Mr. Chairman, you should know better than any of us here that we have fought a hard battle for the allocation of the site and therefore it is more of our own responsibility than anybody else's to see that the site is utilized without unnecessary delay. The Cultural Complex no doubt is an appealing project to the public not only because it provides the community in the long run with cultural facilities but also because the construction work itself creates the much needed employment opportunities for local workers in the midst of the current economic slump.
If my proposal above fails to receive due consideration, or if it is eventually decided that the Cultural Complex will be put aside for many years to come, I would then rather recommend that the site be surrendered back to Government to be used for other more beneficial purposes and only to retain a small portion of it to be converted into some sort of a rest area like the "Statue Square". May be we can even call it the "Sales Square", Mr. Chairman, (laughter) in remembrance of our concerted effort at one time in an attempt to hit a high-sounding note, which has unfortunately fallen through.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I have pleasure in supporting the motion. (Applause).
CHAIRMAN (in English):--I don't suppose any Chairman of a Select Committee wants to put in focus what Mr. P. K. NG has said. If not, as in the Bible, I will call on a wise "Daniel" to come to judgement among three "Peters". (Laughter).
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG (in Cantonese): -Mr. Chairman, it has been forty years now since the former Sanitary Board was reorganized and developed into this Council in its present form. Though the name has changed, there has been no real extension of powers as a local authority, consequently street sweeping and cleansing services in various other forms still constitute a paramount part of our work.
(i) In this connection, I am happy to report that the Council-sponsored Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign has been doing very well since it started in 1972. Once again I wish to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to representatives from various Government Departments serving on the Campaign Committee for their full co-operation and also to numerous community leaders and volunteers for their continuous and firm support without which the campaign could never have been so smoothly and successfully carried out.
(ii) In accordance with this Council's decision to continuously achieve better results, the campaign for this year was launched on 12th of this month when a well-organized mass rally was held, attended by over thirty thousand people. Two thousand representatives of Clean Your City (C.Y.C.) groups, which have a membership of more than sixteen thousand, pledged to make Hong Kong a still cleaner and better place for all of us to live in. Since we believe that the campaign is basically an educational one, nothing could be more appropriate than to lay our emphasis on the support of the younger generation and I am fully confident that they will fulfil their duties satisfactorily.
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