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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Dear Colleagues and Mr. Chairman, I feel that I still haven't realized my ideals. Though I have accumulated experience in the above three areas, I still believe that the structure of representative government in Hongkong should be a two-tier one. The central government should be the Legislative Council, while on district level, there should be 5 to 6 district representative councils to be responsible for municipal work and territory-wide consultation work. After I was elected in 1983, I suggested in my first Council annual debate in 1984 that the Municipal Councils and the District Boards should be merged to become 5 to 6 district councils. But the suggestion was opposed by a number of colleagues. When the Government reviewed district administration in 1987, to my knowledge the Central Government did consider this suggestion, that is to convert Hongkong's representative government structure into a two-tier structure. As you all know, this suggestion was finally not implemented.
Why do I believe a two-tier representative government structure is needed? First, a complicated three-tier structure is not at all necessary in a small place like Hongkong. Secondly, the District Boards only have consultative authority but no real power, so it is not geared to long-term development. Thirdly, although the Municipal Councils have power, the power is very limited, apart from today, we cannot say a word about other policies in Hongkong. The Municipal Councils are composed of elected members, but they cannot fulfil the functions of elected members. I therefore believe that a two-tier structure is far better than a three-tier one. After the merger of the District Boards and the Municipal Councils, not only can municipal work be implemented, but the function to consult the public on territory-wide policies can also be fulfilled. This is more appropriate development. In 1984, I put forward the suggestion for the first time and in 1995, I put forward the same suggestion again for the last time.
In conclusion, I hope a democratic political system, and at the same time a simple representative government structure which suits the Hong Kong people, can be developed in Hong Kong.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow colleagues and the Urban Services Department whether we were involved in debates, rows, exerting pressure on or co-operating with one another over the years. I still hope that different people and political groups can cooperate on matters such as arrangements on the run-up to 1997, the system of democracy and rule of law, and reform on policy affecting people's livelihood. With these remarks, I support the motion.
DR. THE HONOURABLE SAMUEL WONG PING-WAI (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, When the Council became financially autonomous in 1973, it comprised 24 members, with 12 appointed by the Governor and 12 elected from district constituencies. On 1 April 1983, the number of members was increased to 30 by adding 3 appointed members and 3 elected members from districts. The three appointed members included Mrs. Nellie FONG, Mr. TONG Kam-biu and me.
From 1983 onwards, it seemed that the Central Government had completely changed its attitude towards the Urban Council. The first change was that the appointed Urban Councillors were not confined to celebrities from commercial and industrial or professional sectors. As we all know, Mr. TONG Kam-biu, a carpenter from an urban district, was appointed to the Council.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The second change was that since the same year, the appointed UC members were no longer invited by the Government/the Executive and Legislative Councils to attend the 'Friday Luncheon'. In fact, it was an informal unofficial gathering presided over by the Senior Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, and held at Mandarin Hotel about once a month. I believe that the last appointed member invited to the luncheon gathering was Mr. Walter SULKE who passed away two months ago.
At that time, there were more than ten District Boards, the devoted of which drew all the attention of the Government. Upon reconstitution in 1985, the Legislative Council began to take in members who were elected from functional constituencies or indirectly elected from District Boards. Since then, the era in which the Urban Council served as a training venue, i.e. a training centre for trainee politicians, was drawing to an end. If my memory has got it right, only Mr. Kim CHAM Yau-sum, Mrs. Nellie FONG, and the Honourable Marvin CHEUNG Kin-tung, who is still a Legislative Councillor, were appointed as Legislative Councillors during my years of service in the Urban Council. However, between 1970's and 1980's, a few Urban Councillors would be concurrently appointed as Legislative Councillors every year. In short, the Urban Council has no longer been a training school of the Legislative Council since 1983, and the Urban Councillors have since devoted to their work in the Urban Council.
In the ten odd years from 1983, the Urban Council has lost some of its prestige. This is, in fact, attributed to the rise of the District Boards and the elected members joining the Legislative Council. Besides, this is also due to the political change at that particular moment when the Government considered putting urban services under the jurisdiction of the Urban Council. However, in order to avoid an over-expansion of the Urban Council which was the only body with elected representatives at that time, the Regional Council was formed. As a result of the split, it seems that the status of the Urban Council has been declining in the eyes of the public.
The Council has made significant strides in improving the quality of life of local residents over the past 10 years. On the cultural and recreation side, completion of the Hong Kong Coliseum at Hung Hom was followed by the opening of several community arts centres in various districts and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at Tsim Sha Tsui. As a result, Hong Kong had gradually rid itself of the name of 'Cultural Desert'. As for museums, the Space Museum, the Science Museum and the Museum of History were also completed one after another in the past 10 years or so. On the recreational front, major projects included the redevelopment of Kowloon Park and the construction of Hong Kong Park and Lei Yue Mun Park. For my part, I was most fortunate to have personally strived for contributions from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to finance these projects and for involvement of the Jockey Club in supervising the construction works until they were completed. This really gives me a strong sense of satisfaction. I will not mention the redevelopment of Hong Kong Stadium again since I have strongly objected to the project from beginning to end. Apart from making a handful of people well-known to the public either in a positive or negative way, it seems that this white elephant which has been constructed at a cost of almost a billion dollars will be nothing more than a burden for the Council in future. Looking back on my
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