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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
is a financial centre in Asia and the world's largest exporter of textiles, toys, radios and watches, and one of the top 20 trading countries/regions in the world. Hong Kong's achievements are primarily a result of the devotion to work, diligence and enthusiasm of its residents, as well as good entrepreneurship and adaptability of businessmen. The system of government, which is set to create a good environment for the public and provide them with basic facilities, has contributed a lot to the social stability and economic prosperity of Hong Kong.
2.2 System of government
The present system of government in Hong Kong is primarily divided into three tiers. In the top tier are central government bodies responsible for the formulation and implementation of central policies. The Governor of Hong Kong is the Queen's representative in the territory and the highest authority in the administration of Hong Kong. As the head of government, he presides over the Executive and Legislative Councils. The Executive Council has the duty to give advice to the Governor. All important legislation has to be considered by it before being submitted to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council is chiefly responsible for enacting legislation, including that on the appropriation of public money. Its members can question the government on public services for which the government is responsible, or ask the government for action.
The second tier is made up of regional government bodies responsible for the provision of municipal services. The Urban Council is responsible for providing the near 4 million urban dwellers with a variety of services covering public health, culture and recreation, while the Regional Council is responsible for providing similar services to the 1.7 million residents in the New Territories and new towns.
The third tier consists of district consultative bodies—District Boards—which are an effective channel of consultation and provide the public with a multitude of opportunities to participate in district affairs. The District Boards discuss matters which very much concern residents in the respective districts, support cultural and recreational activities and carry out minor environmental improvement projects within their districts.
3. Development of the Urban and Regional Councils
3.1 History of development
In the early history of Hong Kong, provision of the various services was in an embryonic form. Cleansing and sanitation were, in particular, two thorny problems. To tackle them, the government set up the Sanitary Board in 1883 which first had unofficial members three years later and incorporated two elected seats in 1888. From then on, the Sanitary Board became the nucleus in the provision of municipal services.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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In 1935 the Sanitary Board was reorganized to form the Urban Council which gradually took over duties from the other municipal authorities. At the same time, its unofficial members were vested with greater and greater responsibilities, so much so that by 1965, with the exceptions of the Standing Committee of the Whole Council and the full Council meetings, all its committees were chaired by unofficial members. On gaining independence on 1 April 1973, the Urban Council abolished all official seats. The 12 unofficial members were appointed by the Governor whereas the other 12 were returned by election. By 1983, unofficial members increased to 30, of which 15 were appointed by the Governor and 15 elected from 15 constituencies.
The Provisional Regional Council was set up by the government in April 1985 to gain experience before being formally established as the Regional Council. The Regional Council was set up on 1 April 1986 with the following two objectives:—
(a) To provide services more efficiently to the increasing population in the New Territories and new towns.
(b) While the Urban Services Department, responsible for providing services to the urban population, is all along responsible to the Urban Council, the New Territories Services Department, responsible for providing services to the non-urban population, is responsible to the central government. The Regional Council was set up to correct the situation.
The Regional Council comprises 36 members, of which 12 are directly elected, 9 indirectly elected from District Boards within the region, 12 appointed and 3 ex-officio members (Chairman and 2 Vice-chairmen of the Heung Yee Kuk). The Regional Services Department, responsible for providing services to the New Territories, is responsible to the Regional Council.
3.2 Terms of reference
The terms of reference of the Urban Council are very wide-ranging, covering almost every aspect of urban life. They can be divided into 3 areas:—
— Services to safeguard public hygiene, such as cleansing of streets, collection of refuse, inspection of food and food premises, pest control and management of markets, abattoirs, cemeteries and crematoria.
— Cultural services which mainly include management of performing venues, public libraries and museums, as well as provision of various cultural and entertainment programmes.
— Recreational services such as management of parks, gardens, sitting-out areas, 11 swimming pool complexes, 12 public beaches on Hong Kong Island and numerous indoor/outdoor sports facilities.