HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 8 April 1986, were confirmed.
STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-On behalf of the Urban Council, I wish to extend a very warm and sincere welcome to our friend from our sister organization in the New Territories---Mr. CHEUNG Yan-lung, Chairman of the Regional Council.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. CHEUNG on his election to his present distinguished position, as well as all the other members of the newly-created Regional Council.
Although the Regional Council is relatively new, it proved itself when originally set up as the Provisional Regional Council, and now that it is a fully fledged Council has quickly settled down to the wide range of responsibilities it faces in serving the civic needs of the people of the New Territories.
The Regional Council is certainly faced with a challenging and formidable task since its activities directly affect 1.6 million residents while the territory for which it is responsible covers about 88 per cent of the total land area of Hong Kong.
One very important objective that both the Regional Council and the Urban Council share is the desire to improve the quality of life for the people of Hong Kong, wherever they may live.
And to work towards this common goal--and to foster relationships and co-operation with the Regional Council—there will be regular meetings between the Chairmen of relevant Select Committees of the two Councils. Both of our Councils have the will to serve the public in all our statutory and permissive functions and there may well be cost-savings in cooperating on many projects in many fields. With the goodwill already established between both our Councils, I am sure that the public will be the beneficiaries in the long run.
And now to return to the Urban Council-I am glad to report that our 'new-look' Council is striking a new and quicker pace as it sets out to do an ever better job to meeting the rising aspirations of the people of this prosperous and tremendously vital territory. This can be evidenced from the many fresh, stimulating, thought-provoking, interesting and constructive questions and ideas that will be put forward by Council Members at today's meeting. Judging from this it seems we can look forward to the cut-and-thrust of many vigorous debates in the months ahead as Councillors strive to do their best for the 4.1 million urban dwellers they serve.
As part of our efforts to bring about a 'new-look' Council, we are now looking at various ways to help promote the Council's image and activities so that the general public will get a better understanding of the Council's role and the day-to-day work of the Urban Services Department that the Council directs.
Mr. CHEUNG perhaps you would be willing to address this Council.
STATEMENT BY MR. CHEUNG Yan-lung, Chairman of REGIONAL COUNCIL
He said (in Cantonese):—Thank you for inviting me to attend this monthly meeting of your Council and also for inviting me to speak on this occasion. You have offered me an excellent opportunity to see for myself the proceedings of your Council meeting.
The Regional Council is now operating smoothly, thanks to the preparatory work done by the Provisional Regional Council. But the Provisional Council could not have accomplished its task without the support of many organizations, notably that from the Urban Council. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude for the valuable advice and assistance that you have so generously extended to the Provisional Regional Council, and now that Regional Council.
I fully agreed with Mr. Forsgate's suggestion that our two Councils should cooperate to work towards the common goal of improving the quality of life for the people of Hong Kong. I shall show my support not only with words but with action.
As you all know, our two Councils are discussing to jointly hold a flower festival for the whole territory in 1987. The festival, modelled on the Urban Council's annual flower show, will give local people the unprecedented opportunity to enjoy a flower show on a much larger scale. It is hoped that the festival will help arouse the people's interest in horticulture and that the interest would lead to an improvement in the quality of life of the people. This morning, we also talked about the vegetable exhibition.
It is impossible to talk about the improvement of quality of life without mentioning the Clean Hong Kong Campaign and the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. No doubt, the two campaigns have achieved their aims of providing the people with a cleaner Hong Kong. May I suggest that our two councils join hands in the setting up of a committee with members from both sides to launch a campaign that will give the people a cleaner environment throughout the territory.
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