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Councillors. Although Government leaves no avenues unexplored in urging the people to vote, yet response has all along been lukewarm. This is an extreme mockery to Hong Kong's political system. What is worth mentioning is the ones who are most eager in registering as voters are the people from the education circle. As an encouragement to these zealous people, Government should declare a certain day in March as Hong Kong's 'Election Day' and make a holiday for this particular group to show that Government attaches importance to the Urban Council election. It is believed that this would probably arouse the people's interest in the election.
Mr Chairman, I support your motion.
DR P. C. WONG (in Cantonese):- Mr Chairman, it is hoped that 1979 will be a Year of Change, a change for the better and better mutual understanding between the Community and the Urban Council.
With this in mind, I propose that a Central Complaints Office be formed in the Urban Council Chambers, in lieu of the present ward system. In these chambers, there are already two councillor's offices for receiving people. These offices are fully equipped with up-to-date facilities, air-conditioned and centrally located. More important is the fact that these offices will afford quick contacts with the staff of the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, complete set of files and records and are in easy reach of Government Departments. Such a centralization will not only give a better image of the Urban Council but will help to solve the problems of the people at a faster pace and better satisfaction.
To go along with this, I would like to suggest to the Central Government that besides the Independent Commission Against Corruption, an Independent Public Complaints Bureau should be established to deal with general complaints that are non-corruptive in nature.
I would like to come to the problem of housing with special regards to the low or medium income bracket of the civil servants. I am given to understand that only civil servants earning a salary of $6,000 or above can have the benefit of a housing allowance. This is a principle of 'the rich get richer'. What happens to the majority of the lower income civil servants? Can they afford to pay more than a third of their salary on rents which leaves a meagre balance to support the whole family, not to mention casual demands such as sickness of dependents? It can be said that the majority of the civil servants are not well looked after. This is the real root of the frequent and recent industrial action among civil servants, uprisings in one department after another. Under such circumstances, they have no sense of belonging, which can be achieved if the Government adopts a Priority system for these civil servants to own a unit in its house-owning scheme with long term low interest financial assistance. They will, thus, work hard for their life-long aim - flats which they will own upon retirement.
who are
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on retirement reminds me of the several thousands of Pensioners facing unavoidable difficulties in living because of serious and continued inflation of our currencies. To my knowledge, for many years there has not been any substantial and pragmatic adjustment of their pension rates. They can never catch up with the high-rising living index of to-day. They appear to be a forgotten group of people who had devoted their entire life of active years for the Government. Now they become despondent and helpless. Why doesn't the Government give them a hand by offering them a higher adjustment on their pensions so that they can at least catch up with the current minimum standard of living. A better and more satisfactory environment for pensioners sets a better assurance for civil servants now in active service during their younger ages.
Youngsters constitute more than 60% of our population. The Urban Council has built many athletic fields, sports grounds and other recreation centres that the old image of sports-facilities-lacking in Hong Kong has been changed. However, we must not be complacent as we still lack facilities like ice-skating rinks and velodrome on the one hand and in quantity on the other hand. It may be noted that a commercial skating rink is making highly lucrative profits because of a high demand for use and the high admission as well as miscellaneous charges.
Besides providing more sports grounds of various categories, the Urban Council should plan a Hong Kong Sports Festival with a stress on the educational side. As a yearly event a Hong Kong Sports Festival will be able to produce better trained athletes from highly scrutinized selections from suitable and ideal youths. The effect will be further enhanced in the hands of professional coaches. The Urban Council with its various sports facilities can help educate athletes in the sports community by sending eligible youths abroad for training to become professional coaches of the future.
With regard to Food Hygiene, wide spread education programmes should be given to all sectors of the public as to how hygienic conditions in the kitchens of private or public houses can affect their health immediately or insidiously. They also should be taught and encouraged to report such undesirable situations immediately to the Urban Services Department.
The Hawker or Street-trader problem, as I have said before, should be tackled by building more high-rise multi-purpose markets or putting up more off-street mini-market places like the one in Haiphong Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. This arrangement will not only house hawkers in more appropriate places without affecting traffic in streets, but will also protect the rightful interests of the rate-paying shop-owners in the Hawker Permitted Areas. With regard to objections by the public about refuse collection points, I would like to re-iterate my suggestion three years ago on the use of plastic boxes with tight lids to hold the refuse from every flat. Such boxes (in
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