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Chairman (in English):-May I call the meeting to order and to continue our debate on the Statement of Aims for 1995/1996, adjourned from Tuesday. I will now call on the first speaker, Miss Christina TING.
MISS CHRISTINA TING YUK-CHEE (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman. As Representative from the Eastern District Board, I was among the first batch of indirectly elected members who joined the Urban Council in April 1989. Having taken up this seat for 6 years, I learn from my experience that an indirectly elected member can play an active and effective role in reflecting public opinions and the overall views of the district board to the Council, as well as deliberating with others on district issues and fighting for justified causes within the Council. So one can see how heavy responsibility that we, the indirectly elected members are shouldering! I had been an appointed DB member for 12 years. In order to support democracy, I ran in the District Board election for the first time on 18 September 1994. Here I would like to thank the voters for their support which enabled me to continue serving the community. Moreover, what I have done for the district board in the Urban Council over the years is on the whole recognised by most of the district board members. Consequently I won by a landslide victory of 26 votes over the other candidate and returned to the Urban Council as Representative from the Eastern District Board. I will not be conceited about my being elected Representative Member for three consecutive times. Instead, I will treasure my role of being an indirectly elected member to bridge the gap between the district board and the Urban Council. I still remember when we, the first batch of 10 indirectly elected members, joined the Urban Council in 1989, we were regarded as members of an unusual category. This, nevertheless, motivated us to work hand in hand, hoping that as a united force, we could merge into the establishment of the Urban Council which had existed for more than a hundred years. We brought the issues concerning the district boards and the districts to the Council for discussion and fought for our justified cause, assuming the right attitude of a member who speaks for the public. We had staged a mass walkout in order to strive for our justified rights and interests and to express our dissatisfaction with anomalies. Our action conformed to the freedom of expression in a democratic society, just like what happened in the Legislative Council recently regarding the Employment (Amendment) Bill. When the government withdrew the Bill to which the Honourable LAU Chin-shek proposed amendments that were subsequently endorsed by the Legislative Council, LegCo members of the same party as Mr. LAU staged a walkout-in-protest immediately. I think they just followed what we had done because they regarded it as a beautiful action rather than a disgraceful one. In respect of the criticisms hurled at us, I am afraid I do not find them acceptable. As I have just said, walkout-in-protest is a democratic and liberal way of expressing oneself. As for the assertion that the creation of more Chairman seats by forming more select committees is to satisfy the demand of indirectly elected members for a balance of power among the three categories of members, Mr. Chairman, please allow me to give some response here. In my opinion, 'Chairman seats are shared among members like pieces of a cake' is an unfair censure on indirectly elected members. This 'cake-sharing' way of allocating chairmanship of select committees is a tradition that already existed before indirect election was introduced to the Urban Council and has nothing to do with such system. It is only a measure to facilitate compromise in the Council. It is positive and can avoid politicialization within the Urban Council. In fact, whether there is a genuine need to form a select committee wholly depends on the actual circumstances. Hence, I would consider it an insult to the Urban Council and those colleagues who are in support of the setting up of new select committees if it is held that the 'cake-sharing' argument is true. Mr. Chairman, I would like to stress once again that select committees and working parties are set up to deal with issues of public concern, not to curry favour with any particular persons. I profoundly believe that the Urban Council, being in operation for more than a hundred years, would never permit such irregularities. Say for an example, in view of the public concern caused by the noise pollution arising from the staging of concerts in the Hong Kong Stadium after its reporting last March, the Council promptly resolved to set up a working party to deal with the issue. The Chairman of this working party is not an indirectly elected member. I wonder if this is the so-called 'cake-sharing' arrangement.
Mr. Chairman, I ardently hope that my colleagues will stop pointing fingers at each other and fight for the justified rights and interests of the public on the basis of 'mutual understanding and mutual toleration'. As the Chinese saying goes, ‘All things flourish in a harmonious home.' I hope they will bear this in mind and work hand in hand for the present and future of Hong Kong. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues who will not stand for the election next March. They are the elites of Hong Kong and by applying their professional knowledge, have made tremendous contributions to the territory. For those colleagues who plan to run in the election, including Mr. Chairman, I wish them every success and hope that they can remain in the Council to serve the public. As regards the performance of the Urban Council last year, it was of the same average standard as usual. The re-opened Hong Kong Stadium has caused noise pollution and provoked criticism from the public. Being one of the director of the Stadium, I will certainly deal with this problem properly. As for the capital works programmes, most of them have been carried out as scheduled. However, some other are lagging behind. Take the Eastern District for instance, the construction of the UC Chai Wan Complex, which was originally scheduled to start in mid-1992 and be completed in 1994, has been delayed again and again until recently when it was decided to start at the end of 1995 and be completed in 1997. I think the project has been postponed for too long. I hope that the Urban Council can keep to the schedule and seek cooperation of government departments concerned so that all works can be completed on time and the public can enjoy the excellent facilities of the Council as soon as possible. Mr. Chairman, as Representative Member from the Eastern District Board, I am much grateful to the Urban Council for her readiness to listen to public opinions and accept good advice. Over the year, several UC facilities, for example the Quarry Bay Park and the redevelopment of the Causeway Bay Market have been completed. I hope that other projects such as the UC Chai Wan Complex, Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, the recreational centre on Sai Wan Ho Reclamation, the redevelopment of Shau Kei Wan Market, the proposed civic centre in Chai Wan, the installation of air-conditioning system in the cooked food centre of the UC Java Road Complex and the Improvements to the Victoria Park can be completed on time. I also hope that the Council can organise more cultural and recreational activities for the
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