# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
# ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Council will resume its debate on the Statement of Aims. The first Speaker, Mr. Edmund CHOW.
MR. EDMUND W. H. CHOW (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, bureaucracy, though much to the dislike of the people and often the butt of criticism by public opinions, does exist to some extent in all government machineries over the world. In the event of unsound systems and mismanagement, disaster is bound to be the result. By then the situation will be beyond control. Therefore, it is said that 'good official management to the government is as important as good health to the people'. The absence of good official management is like the absence of good health. If early remedial actions are not taken, the results will be disastrous and then all will be too late. For this reason, the corrupt bureaucratic style should be up-rooted as soon as possible. Though it can be said that such an undesirable style has long been common in most government departments, yet a review, to be followed by improvements, should be conducted in all sections and units of the Council so as to meet the expectation of the people. Mr. Chairman, even though you have great confidence that not much bureaucracy is found in the Urban Services Department, a review is still necessary because plenty of our work, such as licensing, has direct connection with the people. It will be very unfortunate if bureaucracy exists. Bureaucracy, on one hand, will trigger off further dislike from the people and, on the other hand, will bring unnecessary losses to the Council as well as the people. Even though bureaucracy really does not exist, constant reviews will enhance the people's confidence in the Council.
Now, I would like to quote a couple of examples to support my request and proposal to further review if bureaucracy actually exists.
In order to help solve the lunch problem which the workers are facing in the overcrowded factory areas and to carry out its statutory duty to safeguard food hygiene of the public, the Food Hygiene Select Committee of the Urban Council successfully secured the enactment of the Factory Canteen Ordinance, which had been under planning for more than two years. The intention of the Council is to expedite assistance in the opening of factory canteens so that the workers would not have to be forced to accept unclean food from the unlicensed hawkers that would affect their health. But, it is a pity that reality acts against our will, for none of the two hundred or more applications has been approved. That the applications have been refused is partly because the proposed premises are situated in unacceptable places, such as car-parks, entrance passages, side lanes, corridors, or illegal structures on roof-tops. And, it is mostly because of the restrictions of the Crown Lease. The Public Works Department refuses to modify the Crown Lease to accommodate applications to have factory canteens operated on the ground floor or first floor of industrial buildings. In this respect, the Food Hygiene Select Committee has requested the Director of Urban Services to take up the matter with the Public Works Department to relax the restrictions so that it will not be at variance with the purpose of the Ordinance. We believe that after negotiation, the Crown Land & Survey Office will relax the restrictions and lower the land premium in order to suit the purpose of the legislation. As the issue has caused such complaint from applicants who do not know the actual facts, if the matter is not to be clarified, the reputation of the Council will surely be tarnished.
The second example concerns the erucic acid content in rapeseed oil. It has been found that the cumulation of erucic acid has much to do with the coacervation of fat in the heart muscles and is one of the causes for cardiac trouble. Rapeseed, from which edible oil can be produced, is considered to contain a lot of erucic acid. The W.H.O. and the E.E.C. both consider that the erucic acid content in oil or fat must not exceed a safety level of 5%, otherwise, it may be detrimental to human health. In the United Kingdom, it has likewise been legislated that 5% should be the safety level. In Hong Kong, the Urban Services Department had a test on 57 samples of edible oil last year. It discovered that only 14% of the samples did not contain any erucic acid at all, while 58% contained more than 5% of erucic acid, and some even contained as much as 60%. The remaining 28% of the samples, however, seemed to have not exceeded the safety level. Edible oil is one of the major subsidiary food items. Just take rapeseed oil as an example, more than 32,000 tons were imported last year, representing 47% of Hong Kong's total edible oil import. As the consumption of rapeseed oil in Hong Kong is so high and it may affect public health if its erucic acid content exceeds 5%, the Food Hygiene Select Committee has carefully considered the above facts and decided that legislation has to be made to impose control over the erucic acid content in rapeseed oil, so as to ensure public health. Before making the decision, letters have, in fact, been sent to the oil merchants concerned for their comments. Unexpectedly, after my television interview last month on the background facts and the Council's decision on the issue, I received a letter of strong wording from the representatives of an association that has a great interest in the oil trade. My announcement was thought to bring adverse effect on their trade and would create unnecessary anxiety among the public. In reply, I have asked the Secretary of the Food Hygiene Select Committee to write them a warm letter. If this matter continues to develop, the parties concerned may deem it a form of bureaucracy. I, therefore, consider it helpful to the Council in all respects if constant reviews on the matter will be carried out and public misunderstandings clarified.
Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. AMBROSE K. C. CHOI (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, years have elapsed since the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign was first launched in...
Page 86 of 120
Page 86 of 120
Page 86 of 120