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Council whenever possible'. It is hoped that the government would study the content and influence of this concept. And, it is pointed out in the later part of the item that the advice would be 'acted upon promptly' if it is accepted by the Urban Council. Now, if there are examples in which advice is not acted upon promptly, is it because District Boards have sent no representatives of its own to the Urban Council? And is it possible for Urban Council representatives directly elected by the public themselves to ignore district needs? As pointed out by the Vice-chairman just now, this is impossible. Secondly, it is hoped that the government would not turn this working council into a political abattoir or battlefield so as to divert others' attention. I, however, do not agree with Mr. MAN on the point that the government has no intention to continue with the fight. If it is so, the government would not have bothered to trouble us. It is hoped that the government would not make any unnecessary moves. Thirdly, just like other colleagues, I think it should be time for the Urban Council and the government to intensify our functions, promote efficiency and let the public have a clearer picture of the Council.
Mr. Chairman, I support your motion.
MRS. NELLIE FONG (in English):—I cannot criticize the Survey Office Report because it did not produce the result I want.
Quite the contrary, I am impressed by the report presentation. No one can say it is a simple project to summarize:
- About 126,000 submissions from individuals;
- About 5,000 submissions from groups of individuals;
- About 1,000 submissions from associations;
- 2 public surveys;
- 166 other surveys; and
- 21 signature campaigns.
The efficiency of the Survey Office in compiling a summarized report in such a short time must be complimented.
Today I would like to make two observations:
Firstly, it was reported that 2,411 submissions (over 1.8% of total submissions) were considered irrelevant, duplicated or of disputed authorship. The fact that the additional step undertaken by the Survey Office to request confirmations on the submission lent credibility to the submissions. However, I am amazed why no one seemed to be interested in knowing more about this 1.8%. If there were manipulations or false submissions, we should know some more about them.
The second observation I have is one important factor revealed by the public opinion survey that:
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'The single most important source of information about the Green Paper was television (90%) followed by newspaper (35%) and radio (25%). Some 10% of the respondents mentioned reading a copy of the Green Paper as a source of information.'
This revealed the immense influence of television on the general public and on our daily lives.
Many people had supported the idea of educating the general public on public affairs. I feel that the government should take note of the possible effectiveness of using television as a media of communicating public affairs issues to the public.
Sir, I support the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT—4.36 p.m.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—That concludes the business of today's meeting. The Council stands adjourned until Tuesday, 8 December 1987 at 2.30 p.m.
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