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2
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):---Ladies and Gentlemen, before I call the meeting to order, may I ask all members to stand up for 'one minute's silence' as a mark of respect to the late Mr. Lo Man-wai, C.B.E., J.P. who passed away a few days ago.
The meeting is now called to order. I would first of all like to congratulate Mr. HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
That is how the Council all along has been doing its work-by getting on with the job with the minimum of fuss and bother, and out of the public spotlight.
The public for its part has been happy to let us quietly get on with the job of bettering Hong Kong's life-style and has not concerned itself too much with how we did things-just as long as we did them.
Today, however, we are living in a more, shall I say open and more politically-oriented climate. The man-in-the-street wants to know more and
FORSGATE, Mr. Stephen LAU and Mr. Howard YOUNG on their re-appointment to the Council. I would also wish to take this opportunity to welcome Mr. F. Kam-ping and Mr. Marvin CHEUNG Kin-tung on their appointment to the Council. (applause)
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 1985, were confirmed.
STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-As part of its ongoing process of keeping abreast of the times and on occasion when considered desirable blazing the trail for others to follow-the Urban Council today is adopting a different procedure at this, its regular monthly open public meeting.
Instead of this meeting merely being something of a question-and-answer session, with various necessary alterations to Council by-laws being adopted, we will during the course of the proceedings formally go into Committee while still remain in public session.
In other words, what will happen is that some of the day-to-day matters which are normally thrashed out and decided at the fortnightly meetings of the Council's Standing Committee will take place today in public session.
Because the Council puts greater emphasis on doing rather than just talking it has in the past made a wide range of important decisions at meetings of the Standing Committee, held here in the Urban Council Chambers but behind closed doors--not that any great secrets were being discussed or that we wished to keep anything away from the public, but rather so that we would push ahead as swiftly and efficiently as possible within our many areas of responsibility.
This has always been the pattern of the Council's work-we have 12 Select Committees, nine Sub-Committees and various other Boards, Working Parties and Advisory Panels that are meeting at least once a month if not more often, so that never a working day passes without the Urban Council being involved in important meetings covering the multiplicity of civic duties it is responsible for.
more how decisions are made on the matters which affect his day-to-day doings, and to be sure that the taxes he pays for the upkeep of this great city of ours are being spent wisely and well.
The Council, in response to this developing trend, is glad to bring out into the open the, shall I say, nuts and bolts of administering urban Hong Kong and providing not only essential services but also on the cultural and sports front---the finer things in life to our four million urban dwellers.
As a more open form of government evolves in Hong Kong so the Urban Council wishes too to open up its doors on its decision-making processes in the interest of public understanding.
The Council is not doing this to blow its own trumpet. Urban Councillors are people who figuratively like to roll up their sleeves and get on with the job; but we wish to encourage the public to know more about how Council makes its decisions to enable Hong Kong as a great international city to function efficiently 24 hours a day throughout the year.
Now I should sound a warning note here generally our work is routine and dullish, and not the stuff of which exciting headlines are made--yet our work is the very core, the heart-beat of Hong Kong-the mundane, the everyday, the unspectacular but the highly necessary.
I trust however that the public will at least gain a deeper appreciation of the ways and means by which Hong Kong Island and Urban Kowloon are able to keep rolling smoothly along while thrusting forward with confidence into the future.
PAPER
(Messrs. CHAN Chi-kwan, Peter and Augustine S. K. CHUNG arrived during the Chairman's address.)
The following paper was laid on the table:-
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of March 1985.
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