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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
'RESOLVED that the Swimming Pools (Urban Council) (Amendment) (No. 2) By-laws 1987 be made under section 42 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132.'
He said (in Cantonese): The Swimming Pools (UC) (Amendment) (No. 2) By-laws 1987 made under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, now before the Council will, when adopted, increase the fees for the issue of duplicate swimming pool licences from $60 to $80.
In a recent fee revision exercise, the Council has increased the fees for the issue of duplicate licences of restaurant and other food business, commercial bathhouse, offensive trade, undertaker, and places of amusement licences from $60 to $80. The fee increase now proposed is to cover the administrative cost involved and to bring the fees for the issue of duplicate swimming pool licences in line with those for the issue of other UC duplicate licences mentioned above.
The revision now proposed has been carefully considered by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee and the Standing Committee of the Council, and I am satisfied that due weight has been given to all implications of the proposal.
Mr. Chairman, I beg to move.
MR. WALTER M. SULKE seconded the motion (in English): Mr. Chairman, I seconded the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
2. THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL moved the following motion:
'RESOLVED that this Council notes the Report of the Survey Office on the Public Response to the Green Paper: The 1987 Review of Developments in Representative Government.'
He said (in English): Having first read the Report, I viewed it initially with some alarm. However, on a closer reading, it became clear to me that the Report really meant very little with respect to the Urban Council for the following reasons.
(1) Despite extensive television, press, and media encouragement to the public to make their views known on the matters dealt with in the Green paper, only 144,000 individuals, or 4% of the adult population, made any submissions.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(2) However, perhaps this is an inflated figure as only 81,000 of those whose names and identity cards matched (2.25% of the adult population) also provided a return address and thus could receive an official acknowledgement. Despite this, 2,451 supposed authors disclaimed having made such a submission. However, I suspect that Government's well-publicized and well-intentioned policy of referring bogus submissions to the Police for investigation and asking people to complain to Police will have generated a reluctance to complain as few people relish the prospect of making statements etc. to the Police. I have a distinct feeling that this figure of 2,451 bogus submissions is likely to be much greater, perhaps just the tip of the iceberg.
(3) Turning to Chapter 9 which concerns the Urban Council, the total number of individuals who commented on the UC drops to 8,157 or 0.2% of the adult population, of which less than a third opted for any one of the changes in the relationship between the Council and the District Boards. The proportion therefore of the population whose views are recorded as being in favour of any particular course of action is insignificant.
(4) The one option in the Green Paper which Government so carefully avoided was the proposal that there might be no change to the Urban Council; there was no opportunity for the public to make observations on this at all; the questions were slanted only towards change. There was not even such an option in the survey undertaken by Survey Research Hong Kong Ltd. However, one of the other unofficial surveys gave a figure as high as 68% for no change.
(5) I feel the figures produced prove nothing when applied to the Urban Council. I do not wish to go on as it is well-known that there are lies, damned lies and statistics. The trouble about statistics, however, is that they can be used to prove practically anything at all, and in the last analysis they mean very little. Every time I see a set of statistics produced to support a particular proposition, I always recall a definition I once heard of a statistician. He is the person who can lie with his head in the ice box and his feet in the oven and be able to say that, on the whole, he was feeling quite normal.
(6) However, I would like to table for public information Council's recent submission to Government on its future.
MRS. ELSIE TU seconded the motion (in English): Mr. Chairman, I rise to second your Motion.
I would like to be honest and say that I have really lost interest in this Green Paper and the Survey on it. This does not mean that I have lost interest in the improvement of local administration—but only in this recent exercise in futility on the issue.
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