Page 80 of 136
F
126
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
subtle censorship we have in Hong Kong, because the public is largely unaware of that censorship. I therefore greatly welcome the recent movement among conscientious journalists and reporters, to expose what is going on and do something about it, so that the public may be truthfully informed.
landmark in our Hong Kong history. In that year we had riots, and the Looking at these matters historically, it seems to me that 1967 was a Government admitted that there was a wide gap between the Government and the governed. It promised to bridge the gap. That is why the CDO offices were set up. Some CDOs have genuinely tried to bridge the gap, with varying degrees of success. But it is clear that while there was an intention on the Government's part to find out the nature of that gap, there was no intention to bridge it. Instead, each Government department has set up an expensive public relations unit to cover up the gap and paint beautiful pictures to present to the public concerning the work that department is doing. The Urban Council, under the guidance of the appointed members, has followed the Government's method, and now the public is fed with news on all the goodies, while everything else is suppressed. Nothing now is even debated in public, and the public is given exaggerated accounts of the activities of those Council members who toe the line. Likewise the Housing Department publishes all that looks good, and misrepresents any who dare to criticize. To give credit where it is due, I believe that the Governor did attempt to improve social services from 1973, and to some extent succeeded; I believe he tackled some of the worst problems, like corruption, only to be slapped in the face by those who believe in letting the triads and corrupt persons run things their own way.
It is not difficult to find a reason why the Government has adopted this cover-up system since 1967. I believe now, as I forecast in 1967, that the Government decided to make as much money as possible from Hong Kong before time runs out, and to allow big business to do likewise. The two guard each other's interests carefully. What happens to the general public is unimportant, unless discontent reaches riot proportions, and then small piecemeal concessions are made. I believe that this is why housing has reached critical proportions. The Government is determined to make money out of land, and is not worried if speculators do likewise. The time is soon coming when the poorest people will not even be given places for huts, let alone housing, because the Government is not willing to release or re-enter land for the purpose. Instead of putting hut dwellers into homes, we are putting people, even middle class people, out of their homes into huts, and soon it will be just the pavements for the homeless, unless the men in their luxury flats paid for by taxpayers will face up to the problem and do something before it is too late. If the people cannot be given homes, or permission to build huts, they will have to become illegal squatters. No Government has the right to deprive people of shelter.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 80 of 136
127
I have painted the picture as it is. I know that our economy is fairly frustration remain. The crisis in housing must be sensibly tackled by more healthy and that there are few people now without jobs. But areas of humane persons than we have at present in charge of housing. The trend towards polarization between the higher and lower paid civil servants must stop to avoid industrial unrest. The need for our people to have their voices heard by representation on councils and committees must be met. The rich and the powerful have had their own way too long and some of them no longer think as human beings dealing with their fellow-men.
I do not agree with all that appears in the motion, but by and large I give it my support.
MR. H. M. G. FORSGATE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, whatever may be the short-comings of this Annual Conventional Debate it certainly has a number of advantages. One of which is to encourage Council members to concentrate on the work in hand and endeavour to account for the expenditure of ratepayers' money of those interested enough to read or listen to our speeches.
As a bit of
Most of us have specialized in particular spheres of Council and other activities of public interest, although some of us like to dabble in everything. specialist I would like to give my annual report, if that is perhaps a more apt description, on the activities during 1979 in planning and development, environmental pollution, housing, the Council finances, and that ever topical subject transport.
As in the first two years of its establishment, the Planning and Development Select Committee continued to work towards the basic aims of maximizing land usage with new, practical and imaginative designs, allocation of priorities geared to available financial resources and public demand and to ensure that the building programme proceeds speedily and in accordance with the requirements of the various functional select committees. The Committee budgets within the framework of a five-year programme which is reviewed annually to reflect the priorities and needs of the capital works programme and our financial capacity.
During the period from January to December 1979, 52 Council projects were completed. Projects of interest include the Aberdeen Indoor Games Hall, the Central Promenade, the Bowrington Market, the Exhibition Tennis Courts Spectator Stands and a jogging circuit at Victoria Park, a classical Chinese garden at Kowloon Park, the Cheung Sha Wan Sports Ground Stage I, the reprovisioning of Diamond Hill Crematorium, two modern toilets and refuse collection points at Happy Valley and Wanchai and a series of fountains at the City Hall. The cost of these projects totalled over $77 million, $5.5 million of which came from a generous donation. Some of the major projects nearing completion are the Sky Theatre and Space Museum at Tsim Sha Tsui, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the Chai Wan Swimming Pool and
Page 80
Page 81
Page 81 of 136