HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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19. Mr. SZETO Wah
20. Mr. Kwok Bit-chun
21. Mr. HUNG Chung-fun
22. Mr. TANG Chi-ho
I would also like to welcome back an old fellow Councillor, Mr. Ambrose CHEUNG, who is returning to the Council after a six-month break. He was a District Board representative and is now a directly elected Councillor.
This meeting, of course, marks the beginning of a new chapter in the development of this Council. For the first time in our history, this Council is made up wholly of Members directly elected by the people in the urban area of Hong Kong to serve the interests of the whole community. Along with this constitutional change, the Council can expect to face greater challenges ahead of us. There will undoubtedly be increasing demand for improved services and facilities as can be expected from a fast developing and more sophisticated community. We must therefore get ourselves ready to meet such challenges with courage, realism and conviction.
I am pleased that the injection of new blood and new talents will bring new enthusiasm and new ideas to enable the Council to keep up its momentum. I have read with interest the election pledges of some of our newly elected colleagues. There is clearly not a lack of innovative ideas, new perspectives and fresh approaches. We welcome all new ideas. I am sure we will be incorporating more of your views in improving our urban services in the future. However, with Members' indulgence, perhaps I can offer some simple advice here.
We are fully aware that we all should be accountable to the voters in our respective constituencies to ensure that our districts will receive a fair share of Council's services and facilities. But at the same time let us not forget that we all have a wider role in improving the quality of city life for the whole Hong Kong community, that is, to provide an even spread of facilities throughout the urban area, and not just for our own single district. We must therefore also carry out Council's aim to serve the community on an urban-wide basis and to achieve a fair balance in allocating our resources and priority.
I should also remind Members that our overall policy objectives are spelled out in the Statement of Aims, which has evolved purposefully over the years in the light of experience. This Statement of Aims is debated and agreed every January at our Annual Convention Debate to set the stage for our goals in the ensuing year and outline our vision for the years immediately ahead of us. Through the Council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department, we have also set down a Performance Pledge as our firm commitment to provide a courteous, prompt and effective service to members of the public. (As Members are also aware, this new Performance Pledge was launched publicly last week.) Meanwhile, there will be ample opportunities for Members to contribute to the formulation of these policy objectives and performance targets when they are brought up for annual review at individual select committees later in the year.
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