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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(2) By effective policing action and heavier penalties including mandatory confiscation of goods as well as stiff fines against illegal hawkers.
I would like at this point to voice my support to Mr. Stephen Lau's suggestion to centralize the provision of space as well as the management and administration to ensure more effective and efficient control of hawkers both in the urban area and the New Territories.
The District Administration schemes has entered a new phase in the urban area since the election for the District Boards held last September, and very soon this will have its impact on the Urban Council. Already the Council is getting valuable inputs from the various Boards, some of which are fairly specific and district oriented, while others could be effectively adopted territory wide. All in all the spirit of co-operation between the Boards and the Council has been encouraging and beneficial to both parties. The Kwun Tong Arts Festival and the Tree Planting Campaign are just two of many examples.
Another important part of the Urban Council's work where District Boards would like to contribute ideas is the many capital projects being planned and built by the Council. Occasionally opinions put forward by the Boards might not be taken up by the Council, mainly because there is a time lapse of several years between the time when a project is planned and when it is completed. A considerable proportion of the preparatory work has been completed by the time plans are finalized and approved by the Council. To introduce any change from this point onwards would mean backtracking and considerable delay. Thus it is understandable that the Council would resist any such changes which would mean not only delaying the completion date, but also running the risk of higher costs of construction as a result of the delay.
Another trend which is likely to develop is that each District Board would feel obligated to fight for capital projects for its own district. This situation will be aggravated when Urban Councillors are elected on a constituency basis as from the next election to be held on the 8th of March. There seems to be the necessity for the Council to classify projects into 3 categories, namely territory wide, regional, and district, so that the public is left in no doubt as to the scale of any project under planning and would contribute their views accordingly.
Finally, Sir, a word about the future. We in Hong Kong are enjoying a rare style of living unique in the world.
Firstly, the degree of freedom we enjoy is probably highest in any non-democratic system, and probably higher than some countries with elected governments. This is reflected by the freedom of speech enjoyed by not only each one of us, but also the influential press and media. This is made possible by policies of the government as well as our legal system which safeguards the course of justice. Over half of our population chose Hong Kong as their home in the last 3 decades for this reason alone, and many of them did so after making tremendous sacrifices.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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Dr. HUANG was right when he said that the economic success that we have made of ourselves was made possible by a combination of hard work, ingenuity and flexibility, and our laissez-faire economic policy. But with due respect to Dr. HUANG, he seemed to have left out the equally important factors of political stability, basic respect of the freedom of the individual, sound management, a sense of co-operation between government and the people, and principles, clear vision of the world and how we relate to it. All these have motivated our people to be productive and to achieve a standard of living far beyond our neighbouring Asian countries, big or small.
Thirdly, we have the marked advantage of being thoroughly bilingual in culture, thus taking on a cosmopolitan identity not to be found in any other city or city state. English students multiply astonishingly in nationalistic Japan, China broadcast English lessons on T.V. and radio, and Singapore chose English as its first official language. We in Hong Kong are leaps ahead, and there is absolutely no cause for us to move backwards.
The only way that Hong Kong can continue to enjoy its prosperity and stability is to exist under a system and framework that has enabled it to do so in the past. We the people of Hong Kong might not have the legal right to say, as it is our future, we certainly have the moral right to express our will. For the sake of our future and future generations, it is our duty to know what is best for us. We need not concern ourselves with the mechanism or the solution. As far as we are concerned we have always had the key to prosperity and stability. Why should anyone who really care for Hong Kong change the lock?
Sir, I support the motion.
DR. PHILIP C. K. Kwok (in English):- Mr. Chairman, first of all, I wish to apologize to my family for taking time out in making hay which my esteemed colleague, Mrs. ELLIOTT said the other day that we Appointed Members do all the time. Instead I am here to bore you with a dull speech but it won't be too bad because it would be short with less than 1997 words.
HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY
Report on Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Progress for the Urban Council Debate
During 1982, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has continued to make very significant progress. Any doubts that the absence of a Music Director would lead to a reduction in playing standards have been thoroughly dispelled. Thanks to the efforts of the musicians and the Society's policy of inviting a generally higher calibre of conductor than in the past, there has been a marked improvement in overall musical standards throughout the year. To assist the
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