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58
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
being innovative. Unfortunately, in the past 9 months, the media and the public have given us more criticisms than praises. In the final analysis, we have not been able to study the problems in great depth, overcome the shortcomings, eliminate the malpractices, and formulate new procedures and policies. If we want to ask a further question, the Councillors who come late and leave early will say we are wasting time. If we want to point out directly the deficiencies of the Department, some of the indirectly elected loyalist members will say that we are inclined to 'chastising' others. But these accusations are made by people with limited outlook. These members obviously do not know how Council meetings are conducted in other countries. They think that discussions at meetings will not win them votes. So they do not attach importance to such discussions. They often come late and leave early.
Faced with the 'gigantic bovine tortoise', we should not try to turn big problems into small problems and small problems into no problems. We should not pay attention to ourselves only and act in isolation. Moreover, we should not try to solve the problems in our constituency just by making telephone calls. On the contrary, we must join hands, regardless of which political party we belong to, and regardless of whether we are in a friendly alliance or in an unfriendly alliance. We should co-operate even in non-political issues. However, unfortunately, the 3 major parties in the Council have shown a united front only once, when members unanimously voted to increase their allowances by 10%. Other than this, there have been no good examples of closer cooperation.
Party politics have brought about overt and covert battles. This is only normal. But faced with today's urban development, we need not fight, because the areas of work for us to do, to participate in and to make improvements are numerous. There are so many problems that 1 or 2 councillors alone or 1 or 2 political parties alone will not be able to resolve. We must not be, as the Chinese saying goes, jealous of the rich and spiteful of the poor. Very much and too often, if a Councillor does not participate in a certain event and take the limelight, or if he does not join a certain working group, he would not want to see others in such positions.
The present situation and the political scenario in the Council have fortunately developed into the above state. But, as a new member, I still wish to take this opportunity to make known what I have observed, and I will put my words into practice, with a view to soliciting the cooperation and support from Councillors and other people who intend to do good.
The following are some items of work which I hope to accomplish in the Council in the coming year:
1.
An accountable allowance system for Urban Councillors
In last October, the 3 parties agreed on a 10% allowance increase which was then endorsed by the Working Party. However, although the Standing Committee has confirmed the need to initiate changes on the allowance system, the progress on the introduction of an accountable allowance system and the formation of an independent ad-hoc committee has been very slow. It
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