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MR. YOUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, in the answer just given, it is stated that the Wong Tai Sin District is entitled to two district libraries, and Ping Shek Library is one. But that will be replaced by another one. Of course, another site is being sought for a small static library. Does that mean that under the current plans of the Urban Council, Wong Tai Sin is still under-provided as far as district library is concerned?
MRS. ELLIOTT (in English):—Mr. Chairman, that is correct. The present library of Ping Shek is going to be located in the Wong Tai Sin district, maybe across the road to Ngau Chi Wan, but we still need another library somewhere in the region of San Po Kong or between Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan, and this is why we are looking for a site.
MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, although Ping Shek is near to the Wong Tai Sin district, but in the sub-district sense, it really belongs to the Kwun Tong district. I think it is nearer to Choi Wan Estate or Choi Hung Estate, young people there can get to the library very easily. But for people in Tsz Wan Shan, Wong Tai Sin Upper Estate or Lower Estate or San Po Kong, I believe they cannot go to the Ping Shek Library very easily, so I hope that the mobile library will make up for the loss of the library after 1985 because at present, they still have not got a static library, maybe more frequent visits of the mobile libraries are necessary.
MRS. ELLIOTT (in English):—I think I have already answered, Mr. Chairman. The Ping Shek Library is going to move to the Wong Tai Sin district and Kwun Tong will be provided with other libraries. There should be 3 libraries in Kwun Tong, of which Ping Shek Library is not one. It will move to the Wong Tai Sin district across the road, which is definitely in the Wong Tai Sin area. Besides that, we need another library, and exactly as mentioned by Miss YEUNG, i.e., near San Po Kong, Choi Hung, or Upper Wong Tai Sin. We are looking for a building there. We haven't located one, and if the district board can help us to locate one, we will be very happy.
MRS. Ho (in English):—Mr. Chairman, can I ask Mrs. ELLIOTT whether there is one mobile library available for Kowloon, which also has to serve other districts?
MRS. ELLIOTT (in English):—That is correct, Mr. Chairman. We have a mobile library in Hong Kong and one in Kowloon. But we find that mobile libraries are not as satisfactory as small static libraries. So we only use it as a stop-gap until we can locate premises where we can set up a small static library to serve the district instead of the mobile library. But the mobile library does serve other districts beside Wong Tai Sin.
5. MR. WALTER M. SULKE asked the following question (in English):—I understand that sometimes letters sent by the Department to Editors in reply to readers' queries are not published. This seems to indicate a lack of communication between the media, the Department, and this Council, and I would like to know what is going to be done in order to improve this relationship to make sure that the Council's and Department's point of view are put fairly in both the press, radio, and on television?
DR. KIM Y. S. CHAM, CHAIRMAN OF THE ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—This question concerns the non-publication by newspapers of replies sent by the department in response to readers' letters.
The matter of replies not being published by newspapers has never been a problem. For example, during the period from May 1982 to February 1983, some 263 replies were sent to the newspapers in response to readers' queries, complaints, or allegations. Out of this number, only two letters were not published. The rare instances of non-publication have not had any adverse effect on the Department's or the Council's image with the public. The Department and the Council have continued to enjoy satisfactory relations with the media.
Of course, not all replies sent by the Department are published immediately they are received; one reason being, I believe, the large numbers of letters from readers and space limitations.
Sometimes a letter sent by the Department is not published, but the information contained in the reply is used as a news item instead. In such instances, the main points in response to the complaint or allegation as answered by the Department are included, and this would have the same, or even better, effect as if the letter had been published. On other occasions, where a reader's letter is published by a newspaper, a reporter from that newspaper will contact the Department direct for a reply and use it as a news item.
In some instances, a member of the public writes to several newspapers on the same subject. When this happens, rather than reply individually to each newspaper, the Department would issue a general press statement to all the media, which includes radio and television as well.
Sometimes letters are edited or abbreviated, in which case the possibility arises of some main point of the reply being left out. In such cases, the matter will be pursued with the Editor of the newspaper concerned, and if necessary, a further letter will be sent. But such cases occur infrequently.
It is up to the newspapers themselves how they prefer to handle the issues that arise in their papers. Since Hong Kong has a free Press, editorial control lies entirely with Editors. Their right to exercise this control must be respected. We have a responsible Press here. The Department and the Council have been getting a fair chance to state their side of the issues which have arisen in the past. I am confident that this will continue.
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