3.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. SHUM CHOI-SANG asked the following question (in Cantonese): I would like to enquire if the Ko Shan Theatre is a popular venue for entertainment programmes. In view of the fact that this is a territory-wide venue, to what extent are District Boards and community associations making use of this theatre?
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): I am grateful to the Chairman of Entertainment Sub-Committee Mr. SHUM Choi-sang for asking this question which is in two parts:
(1) the popularity of Ko Shan Theatre as a venue for entertainment events;
and
(2) the usage of the Theatre by District Boards and community associations.
The Ko Shan Theatre is the Council's newest and only semi-enclosed venue for public performance. Since its opening in April 1983, the Theatre has proved to be a popular venue for entertainment and cultural activities and a wide variety of programmes have been staged there. The Council has presented some 131 events at the Theatre with activities ranging from Cantonese opera, variety shows, orchestral concerts, children's programmes, pop shows, and drama productions.
'Popularity' if using attendance figures as measurement is dependent amongst many factors, primarily on the type and quality of the artists involved and secondarily by the convenience of access and comfort of the venue.
Referring to part two of the question, District Boards and community associations have also made use of the Theatre for community building projects and 14 such events have been held covering educational, entertainment, and cultural activities.
In all, during the past year, 225 events have been held in the Theatre with a total attendance figure of 180,000.
I have no doubt that for the year 1984-85, and as the Theatre is getting better known by the public, that it will be more used than last year.
MR. SHUM (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, in order to make it more popular, can we look at the programmes and make it more intensive and more meaningful?
MR. LAWRENCE FUNG (in English): I think Mr. SHUM did not listen to my answer carefully. It is not just a case of promoting the venue's popularity by putting on more shows. We have to put on better shows, higher quality shows, shows that fit the taste of the public, that is one of the factors. The second one is the ease of access. There is no sense trying to promote shows if one cannot get there through a bus service or taxi or mini-bus. Do not forget that for the better part of half a year, after the opening of the Ko Shan Theatre, the roadway down below was not completed by the road works in progress, so really everybody got to play their part before they can publicize the popularity of a venue.
MR. SHUM (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I am sure there are members of the public who are not aware where the Ko Shan Theatre is, particularly lack of directional signs.
MR. LAWRENCE FUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, the Government has strongly resisted having road signs indicating major Urban Council venues including the Coliseum, and this has been an on-going battle for the last two years to have proper road signs put up indicating where the Coliseum is, where the Ko Shan Theatre is.
MR. TONG (in Cantonese): Since the opening of the Ko Shan Theatre, there are criticisms of the Theatre being very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Are we going to do anything about this, particularly in dealing with the complaint?
CHAIRMAN (in English): This is not part of the question, but would you like to answer it, Mr. FUNG?
MR. LAWRENCE FUNG (in English): I think we are trying to do something about the coldness in winter, especially the enclosed portion of it, provided that the Council will allocate the fund. I am sure we can improve the comfort of the Theatre somewhat.
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4.
MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG asked the following question (in English): Will Council consider giving winners of swimming competitions tickets to allow free admission to our swimming pools in addition to their other prizes?
MR. KENNETH T. C. LO, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question asks whether the Council will consider giving winners of swimming competitions tickets to allow free admission to Urban Council swimming pools in addition to their other prizes.
During the course of a year, a very large number of swimming competitions take place in the Urban Council pools. At the present time, there is no obligation on the organizers to notify the Council of winners. Quite aside from the difficulties of setting up an administrative system to do so, I am not quite sure whether the issue of free admission tickets will achieve any particular end. The Council has already decided that admission charges to the public pools for the coming swimming season will remain unchanged at $5 per adult and $2 per child. These charges are really very modest and free admission would appear to me to offer little additional incentive to competitors. In any case, competitors should compete for the pleasure of competition and the honour of winning and not for a free admission ticket.