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because television cameras, by tradition, normally operate behind my back, if I accept resettlement, I may risk being over exposed to an unacceptable extent. Our Chief Information Officer once drew my attention to a certain English Daily that published one of my photos taken from this Chamber inviting readers to suggest a caption. Even when I was not at my very best, someone was awarded a bottle of whisky because of that photograph or the caption.
It is no surprise to some of the long service colleagues if I say that the relinquishing of authority in exchange for the so-called Financial Autonomy caused me more frustrations and I never agreed to it. But that was the fact of life that one has to accept.
I am glad that some very young members have now joined our ranks and they have made life much more tolerable. It is very gratifying to note that they are fully accepted by our long servicing colleagues and most of them were given vice-chairmanship in Select Committees at an early stage which was unthinkable in the old days.
In public service, recognizing the presence of a colleague is always commendable, pushing people around is not. Working together in harmony makes life more tolerable and I must say that I am beginning to enjoy my life in the Council again. I always show my very deep respect for my long servicing colleagues. At times, some members who have not been here for too long may see it from a different angle. In the old days, when one was successful in the Imperial Examination in Peking, he grew a beard to signify his seniority despite his young age. I don't know how to advise my young colleagues in the present day circumstances.
When I read the Chinese Press Summary of 19th December, 1984, prepared by our own Information Unit under the heading 'UC DELEGATION ARRIVES IN BEIJING', all 4 delegates were being quoted as having said something, I can't recall what they have said now, but I can distinctly remember 3 of them, including Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice-Chairman and Mrs. ELLIOTT are senior members in every respect, but the 4th member did grow a beard.
One must not forget that life in the Council is still full of challenges, particularly in the field of getting on with the District Boards which are constantly scrutinizing our policies with great interest. They are particularly keen on our capital projects affecting their respective districts, or they may have some constructive criticism on our hawker policies.
The District Board Election is just around the corner, some of us are very busy in helping friends and colleagues in their campaigns which will definitely be very colourful. The trouble is that we may lose some of our good members to the Higher Council in case some of our colleagues succeed in their contest for the Higher Council in the Indirect Election a few months after the new D.B. are elected. But on the other hand, they may choose to stay on. It would be nice to have a large number of Higher Council Members sitting in this Council Chamber debating garbage disposal and hawker policies and making speeches
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about something else in the other Council. Please do not feel too frustrated if it does not turn out that way, at least one of us will be sitting there, by our own choice. I cannot imagine that we will elect someone outside this Council to represent us in the Higher Council.
In recent years, my work in the Liquor Licensing Board proved to be more interesting than it should be. Partly because it has to deal with some of those FISH BALL STALLS that did not provide any food, delicious or otherwise, to their customers. Some other interesting cases also attracted big audience to the public hearings.
As Chairman of the Liquor Licensing Board, I must stress that I am most grateful to all the members that have served with me in this most time consuming institution, although they are sometimes rewarded by my taking them along for some OFFICIAL VISIT in line of DUTY. I always have to insist on the word OFFICIAL & DUTY, otherwise some members may be prevented from attending for religious or domestic reasons. I cannot quite recall which member has formed the habit of bringing his wife along for these official visits, but it only proves that such OFFICIAL VISITS are extremely EDUCATIONAL.
I can anticipate mutiny if I make any attempt to curtail these Educational Exercises.
By this time, most of colleagues know that they cannot take me too seriously all the time. I always believe that tedious work can prove to be enjoyable if we approach it with a touch of humour. Heated arguments on some vital issue should be balanced by light-hearted tea sessions in the City Hall Restaurant. Warm friendship among colleagues gets more accomplishments for the Council and for the enhancement of the Council's Image.
If one asks me what I value most in this Council, I would have no hesitation to say that I value the warm friendship of my colleagues. In this context, I must make it absolutely clear that there is no distinction between appointed or elected colleagues.
Let me retell one or two minor incidents that I always remember.
Being a person who has to earn a living for himself and his family, my schedule of work is not always determined by myself alone. Missing one or two committee meetings for good reasons was not the end of the world. I was once reminded by the Secretary that I have missed 3 consecutive meetings in the run and that he is bound by the Standing Order to report to the Standing Committee. The normal course is to resign from that Select Committee. I wrote a personal letter to that Select Committee Chairman, a very senior colleague offering to resign from that Select Committee. He wrote me an extremely warm letter saying that under no circumstances would he let me resign from his Committee. That happened years ago, he is still the Chairman of that Committee, and I am still a happy serving member.