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be used in land planning, environmental protection should be taken into account as far as possible.
I also suggest that we consider reviewing with the Central Government our administrative arrangements again so that the Council may adopt a fairer principle in charging for our services. At present in the charging of licence fees, for example, the Council can only recover the administrative costs. The difference between the licence fees for large restaurants and the smallest ones is very little. Such arrangements are unfair. However, we can do nothing about this because this is stipulated by the Central Government. There is a need to review all these arrangements.
On the other hand, we should pay particular attention to the fact that while many UC facilities are situated in prime locations of the city, some social services have not been expanded because of shortage of land in the urban area. Mr. Chairman, I therefore suggest that in providing UC facilities in the future, we should coordinate with other government departments as far as possible so that land will be better utilized. I hope municipal facilities will meet not only the needs of the general public but also those of specific sections of the community, such as the elderly and the young people. Of course, we cannot achieve this on our own but have to make concerted efforts and carry out studies with other government departments. I hope that unfortunate incidents like that of the centre for the elderly in Sheung Wan UC Complex will not occur again.
Mr. Chairman, regarding the abolition of all appointed seats on this Council in the next term, I would like to reiterate that I am in favour of retaining some appointed seats. As the abolition of appointed membership has already been endorsed by the government, we cannot change it. However as a Member who has served the Council for many years, I can say with certainty that there are indeed people with a wide range of expertise among the appointed Members. They have made positive contributions to improving both the standard of municipal services as well as the aims and practices in respect of such services. Besides, they often bring about a balance among different opinions in this Council. So I would like to extend my thanks to them. I hope that they will continue to serve the public in the next term. However, not all of them will make such a decision. Mr. Chairman, I think we can draw on the achievements made by the appointed Members. The Council is a body for providing municipal services to the public and all decisions made by us are closely related to the public and have particularly great effects on their lives. Apart from the hard work of the USD staff, there are two important factors contributing to the success of the Council. The first is the earnest cooperation among Members. We are not only providing services but often mindful of their quality and standards as well. The second factor is the fact that the work of the Council is unpolitical. In the next term, the Council will be made up fully of directly-elected Members who are expected to come from different groups and hold different political views. I sincerely hope that they will continue to keep up and carry forward the spirit of seeking common ground while reserving differences and to uphold the principle of keeping politics out of the Council. I hope that in the new term, these can serve as the guidelines for the Council in formulating its policies and that the new Council will continue to regard the interest of the community as its primary concern.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
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THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE (in Cantonese): Since this is the only time in a year when issues beyond the Urban Council's jurisdiction can be discussed here, I will make use of this debate to talk about issues which are mostly not related to the Urban Council.
So far, the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood (ADPL) and I have been positively engaged in the work of improving people's livelihood and providing services to the grass roots. With regard to the issue of Sino-Hong Kong relationship, we observe a single principle, that is, we both criticize and communicate with the Chinese side. During the past year, some members of the ADPL and I were appointed by the Chinese side as Hong Kong Affairs Advisers, District Affairs and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Hence the ADPL was accused by people from different sectors for succumbing to China's united front strategy. Some called us 'pro-China and flatterers of the Communist Party.' In ATV's programme 'Talk of the Town', we were also under much criticism and reproach. Some even say that we are not a democratic party. Despite such adversity, the ADPL has not changed or turned around in its stance towards China. As a democratic political group accountable to the people of Hong Kong, we work hard to enforce the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, to secure the human rights of Hongkong people, and to motivate further democratization of the political system. Furthermore, we hope to make use of all possible channels not only to reflect Hong Kong people's opinions but also to communicate with China.
We will support those opinions of the Chinese side or its subordinate organizations which are beneficial to Hong Kong people. However, when the opinions offered are unfavourable or ignoring the interest of the Hong Kong people, we will object and reprove. I consider that it is not the interest of Hong Kong people either to solely oppose or solely agree with China—our parent country. Hongkong people should stand up for themselves and fight for their own rights. Our attitude towards the Chinese Government and the Hongkong Government should be objective. We should support what is 'right' and oppose what is ‘not right'.
As for whether the ADPL is a democratic party or not, the public should be the judge. Since we have conferred on the public the political right to vote, we should believe that their decision is the best one. The ADPL and I are willing to carry out our reviews in the light of other people's comments. As for malicious criticism, we can only laugh them off. I will let members of the public to monitor and judge irrational opinions.
On the issue of political system, both the ADPL and I adhere to the ‘ADPL Proposal' because I think that while such a proposal may speed up the democratic process, it also complies with the Basic Law. The ADPL is also in favour of a through-train proposal. In my opinion, the 60 members of the last term of Legislative Council before 1997 should enjoy a smooth transition in accordance with the Basic Law. For this reason, the ADPL disagrees with the Preliminary Working Committee (PWC) on the proposal of setting up a Provisional Legislative Committee before 1997.
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