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an education and training nature is currently undertaken by the Government mainly through recurrent funding of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Music Office. The Urban Council, however, assists wherever possible by arranging master classes by overseas artists performing in Hong Kong under our auspices.
As regards the promotion of local artists overseas, this again is primarily a Central Government responsibility, and the Government has in the past supported overseas tours by selected groups for cultural exchange.
MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a follow-up question. We all know that the artistic groups especially the artists in Hong Kong need professional and special training before they can develop to become talents. In the Urban Council, there are three performing companies which are professional groups. In the near future how can we work hand in hand with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts so that its graduates could become members of our three performing groups? Have we made any efforts to take the graduates from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and recruit them as useful members of our various performing groups?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, we have to look at the structure of our three performing groups before an answer can be given. Of course, vacancies must exist in the first instance before we could recruit new blood. What we do now is to try our best to inform those concerned such as the administration of the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts as mentioned by Mr. MAN and also all other relevant parties when there are vacancies in our performing companies. These vacancies comprising dancers, artists or musicians will be filled by open competition. The graduates of the HKAPA or the under-graduates are most welcomed to apply for the various posts. We have to look after the interests of all people who are eligible to apply for such posts and cannot just look after the interests of people from any one organization. In last year, since the drama graduates of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts performed very well at our recruitment exercises, we recruited quite a large number of such graduates eventually as members of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. We shall continue to maintain this principle and we hope that those who are vested with the responsibility of training artists including the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts will continue to help their students to improve so that their graduates could meet our needs.
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I understand that culture embraces many other aspects apart from performing arts and the answer only emphasizes on performing arts. May I ask is there any effort being made towards promotion of visual arts and other on aspects of arts in Hong Kong?
CHAIRMAN (in English):—This is stretching the question of Mrs. Nellie FONG a bit actually, but would you like to answer it?
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MR. LO KING-MAN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, allow me to just say a few words on the overall aspect of the cultural responsibilities of this Council. Of course, by tradition and history, the Culture Select Committee at the moment is the Urban Council's main Committee focussing attention on largely the performing arts due to its development of the managing role of the various venues. But one of the important aspects of the Urban Council's work of course is reflected in the visual arts through its Museums Select Committee's work. And if we look at the amount of efforts and resources spent on the arts museum in the promotion of appreciation of visual arts it is not insignificant and I dare say that the general impression that the Urban Council has put a lot of efforts on performing arts and very little on the visual arts is a misleading impression, owing to the fact that the performing arts itself deals with live performances i.e. both in terms of time and space. There is a specific limit at which the enjoyment of that particular form has to take place whereas visual arts normally although has a different space and time requirement, anyone can go to anywhere at any time that the exhibition is on lasting largely for a longer period of time and therefore the particular statistical result of any particular moment is difficult to catch the whole picture presented. But, in fact, I can assure you if one looks at the statistics and the amount of budget spent on visual arts, it is not insignificant at all and I think the Urban Council can be proud to say that we uphold a very important role in the support of visual arts through its Arts Museum.
(The Hon. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN arrived at 2:55 p.m.)
7. MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN asked the following question (in Cantonese):—What's the UC policy on the establishment of lifeguards? Are there enough qualified lifeguards on duty in UC swimming pools and beaches to assure the safety of swimmers?
MR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—This question concerns Council policy on the provision of lifeguards, and asks whether adequate qualified lifeguards are provided at Council managed swimming pools and beaches.
Lifeguard services have been provided at Council managed swimming pools and beaches for over 20 years. In 1985 Council introduced a scheme whereby permanent lifeguards were employed at pools and beaches to provide a basic level of service throughout the swimming season. This 'core' was to be supplemented by temporary and honorary lifeguards during the peak swimming season from May to September each year.
The number of lifeguards provided for each core group at swimming pool complexes is based on manning scales which require three lifeguards for a 50m pool, one lifeguard for teaching/training pools, one lifeguard for a diving pool, one lifeguard for a children's pool and paddling pool and one lifeguard to man a first aid post. Thus, in a standard complex the core team comprises 6 lifeguards per shift.