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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCILMR. LAWRENCE FUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, referring to the first part of Mr. SULKE's question, about doubling up and acting up, in addition to the management efficiency aspect of that, I think there is also a cost implication in it. May I ask then in terms of a Personal Emolument, when an officer is doubling up either horizontally or vertically, does that mean that he or she will get double the amount of, in other words, will he or she be getting the salaries of the two jobs? That is part one of my question, and then the second part is if someone is acting up to a higher grade, does it mean that that person will also get the higher grade salary for the acting up period?
DR. THE HON. KIM CHAM (in English):—Mr. Chairman, in the case of acting up, I recall that an officer will get 90% of the pay of the upper post, I do not recall having people getting double pay in terms of acting laterally.
2. MR. TONG KAM-BIU asked the following question (in Cantonese):--The Urban Council has more than once organized festival carnivals at venues such as Victoria Park and the Ko Shan Park in Kowloon, the last of such carnivals being the Lantern Carnival celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. How was the function received by the public and did the activities come up to their expectations? The Spring Lantern Festival will soon arrive and will the Council likewise organize a carnival as it did last year, to add colour to this traditional festival? If so, what new measures or proposals will the Council have to make the function a bigger success? And, will similar activities be held at other venues such as Kowloon Park and the Promenades, to enable the residents in various districts to share the joy?
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENTERTAINMENT SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-This question concerns the Lantern Carnivals and the Spring Lantern Festivals organized annually by the Urban Council.
The 1984 Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals were very well received by the public. The main carnivals at Victoria Park and Ko Shan Park attracted a total attendance of 198,000, while the 18 supporting district carnivals were attended by a total of 133,000 people. At both the main and supporting carnivals, the programme aimed at being entertaining and at the same time appropriate for the traditionally festive occasion. Judging from the response of participants at these carnivals, the activities met with their general approval.
The 1985 Spring Lantern Carnival will be held at Ko Shan Park on 6 March 1985. The highlights of the carnival will include two Cantonese operas, a Golden Oldies Show and other more traditional items of entertainment. To ensure that the festivities reach a wider sector of the community, more active media participation is being sought. In addition, supporting festivals will be held with the Council's support in various districts including Central, Western, Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok, Wan Chai and Southern.
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MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have a follow-up question, and that is how much the programmes that we have decided will cost us? It is also said that we will be supporting other districts in taking part in the festivals, is that support in terms of funds? Mr. LAU has not replied to one question that I raised and that is aside from the programmes to be held at the Victoria Park or Ko Shan Park, have we considered other venues?
MR. STEPHEN LAU (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, for the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1984, the main programmes were held at Victoria Park and Ko Shan Park, the total cost amounted to $475,000. As to assistance for the local district boards in the 18 districts, the total amount of expenditure was $193,000, in other words, around $20,000 to each district board in terms of cash support or programme support. On the question of Spring Lantern Festival, we are going to hold the festival at one place only, and that is the Ko Shan Park, the cost for the programme will be $235,000 this year, say for instance, the Cantonese operas will be organized by the Hong Kong Artists Association and the Golden Oldies Show will be run by the Commercial Radio. As to other supporting festivals in Central and Western, Wong Tai Sin, Mong Kok, etc., the Council is sponsoring them around $4,000 in programmes, and other local programmes are organized by the various districts on their own initiative. We just assist them and do not want to usurp the role of the various districts, because we do not want each district to have the same pattern of carnival re-played again. We would like each district to take its own initiative and organize its own programme. I hope I have answered Mr. TONG's question.
MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I have asked aside from these two parks that we have identified for the carnivals, can we consider holding similar festivals in other parks of the Urban Council, say for instance, at Kowloon Park, the promenades, in Tsim Sha Tsui or some other areas?
MR. STEPHEN LAU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, previously we had tried using Kowloon Park and we also used Morse Park, but in recent years, we have the completion of Ko Shan Park and the Council feels that the venue of the Ko Shan Park is more suitable, and there are better facilities at Ko Shan Park. The park is also proved popular with members of the public and in the past couple of years, we have 20,000 to 40,000 people attending these carnivals every time. So from the turnout, it shows that the Ko Shan Park is much better than Kowloon Park and, therefore, we have decided on using the Ko Shan Park. As to the Morse Park, Kowloon Park or the promenades, if the various district boards would like to apply for these venues on a local basis, we will certainly consider their applications.
3. MR. WALTER M. SULKE asked the following question (in English):----In order to help Hong Kong enter the political age and help exercise free-speech, would it not be a good idea for this Council to provide two areas in our parks, one