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this coming year will be devoted to the provision of housing. In concrete terms, this means solving the housing problems for about a 160 000 people annually. on top of the 2.2 million already housed by the Housing Authority.
Related to housing needs is the plight of squatters. This problem has been exacerbated by the influx of immigrants, and their living conditions are squalid in the extreme. Following the series of disastrous fires in squatter areas, the Government decided to implement drastic measures to reduce the fire risk and, at the same time, improve living conditions. The Housing Authority assisted by this Council was given the task of tackling the problem in the pilot schemes. The reactions from residents to the efforts being made to improve their living conditions is favourable; some 90 000 squatters will be assisted in this way over the next five years at a total cost of some $270 million of which this Council will contribute some 12%.
The elections to the Urban Council in March this year and the expansion of this Council to 30 members, 15 elected and 15 appointed, marks the culmination of the implementation of the 'White Paper On District Administration'. There has been marked enthusiasm in the various District Boards to contribute to the well being of their constituents. In this Council both Elected and Appointed Members have worked in harmony to the same objective in the past, and I am quite sure the same concerted effort will prevail in the future.
On the subject of Hong Kong's future which is in danger and becoming a most boring topic at present. I would like to put in my opinions with because during the 4th quarter of last year, much has been said and will continue to be said about the negotiations between the Chinese and the British Governments. Like you, Mr. Chairman, I am encouraged by the joint announcement of the common aim to preserve the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, in which many of us have played our part in developing over the past three decades.
With this common aim I believe a solution acceptable to China, Britain and very importantly to us in Hong Kong can be found. As, however, the discussions will necessarily be protracted, patience and confidence in ourselves must be maintained and our own views made known.
This will also be a year of change in the Urban Services Department. Our old Friend and Colleague, Brian WILSON, the Director of Urban Services has announced his retirement from Government Service in the middle of the year, and this is only the first of many tributes that will be paid to him. All of us have admired his ability and relied on his advice for some 8 years. We will miss him but nevertheless wish him an enjoyable retirement in Western Australia. Of course, we welcome his successor, Graham BARNES and, at the same time, we will bid farewell to Alan BRISTOW, the Deputy Director who is transferring to the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service and wish him well in that thankless task, and of course, we welcome Augustine CHUI, our old Friend, to the vital task of Deputy Director.
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As Chairman of Finance Select Committee I would like to thank the Chief Treasury Accountant and his staff for keeping our accounts and all the works associated with that task in such good order and, in particular, his ability to satisfy the insatiable curiosity of the Government Auditor. A word of thanks is also due to Roy SPENCER, Secretary of the Urban Council and his staff who perform the task of feeding this Council with an increasing amount of paper in response to demand. I hope the introduction of word processors and other gadgets to aid office efficiency will lessen their burden somewhat.
I second the motion before this Council.
MRS. E. ELLIOTT (in English): Mr. Chairman, this year marks the beginning of a new era in Urban Council Elections. It may be the last year for many familiar faces in the Chamber.
The new system of election by districts and universal franchise was no doubt intended to appear like a step towards democracy. The Government in London and others who are not familiar with the methods of the Hong Kong Government, may have considered this to be a democratic move. To those who know the Hong Kong Government better, it seems that the new system was definitely a step in the opposite direction, a step to kill the democratic movement for universal franchise, for a fully elected Council, and for wider jurisdiction.
District elections are simple to control, as we have already seen in some District Board elections. The only way to avoid poll control in Urban Council elections is to allow everyone with a permanent identity card to vote for any candidate, on a colony-wide basis. The Urban Council deals with colony-wide issues and therefore colony-wide elections would be appropriate.
The second point I would like to raise concerns Hong Kong's future. Everyone talks about 1997 as if it is going to decide everything for us. But my fear is that by 1997 we shall have a monster in our midst far more fearful than any political system. I am talking about crime. Triad activities are now rampant, though their existence is denied by the law-enforcers. Triad-motivated crimes are now common among primary and lower secondary school students. It was once believed that educational opportunities would keep young teenage children out of crime. Unfortunately, the reverse has been the case. The educational system has not been adapted to the needs of the non-academic child, and is orientated entirely to a scaling examination at Form 3 level. In his first year at secondary school, the child realizes that he can never make the grade. But the attractions offered by crime are enormous-quick money from selling drugs, by prostitution and other criminal activities. These youngsters are constantly being poisoned by yellow literature, yellow films, sex and violence on the screens, electronic games, betting centres, drug-trafficking, dens of prostitution, and every possible assault that can be made on the minds and character of young teenagers. The law deals with some of the youngsters; but it seldom deals with the master-minds who control and poison the youngsters.