HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
61
MR. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG SHU-KUN (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, after Mr. Tim S. Manuel CHAN, it is now my turn to speak. What I am going to talk about is the Urban Council after 1997, which is a subject of concern to all of us. Mr. Chairman, let me try to tax my intelligence and describe to you what it will be like after 1 July 1997. I think, by that time, if we are lucky enough to come back here after the restructuring of the Council (or without having to go through re-election), we will probably find the Urban Council much more technologically advanced with a lot of changes. For instance, this leaking ceiling will be replaced by a big television screen on which shots taken from all angles can be projected, thus enabling us to see a lot of things. If each of us has a computer on our desk, our Council will become a small-scale Local Area Network, which will greatly facilitate our work. In the first place, we will use computers and office automation equipment extensively. When the Chairman says something humorous, our chairman in his humorous mood will appear on the television screen, and of course, the facial expressions of all individual Members will also appear: some listening with full attention, some sitting there in a trance, some sitting in their seats doing nothing, and some practising calligraphy or even writing Christmas cards.
Secondly, with this computer network, the Council will become an environmentally friendly council because we will not use paper anymore. And in case we forget to bring any of the Committee papers to the Council Chamber, we need not ask the Council staff shamefacedly for another copy because the computer will show us all the documents required for discussion at the meeting. The computer is also useful in many other ways. For instance, when we are discussing an issue, we can immediately retrieve matters or information mentioned by Members 100 years ago through the UC network and the USD network with the use of Internet technique; then the Department will have no excuses but to answer queries and be monitored. When we are facing other problems, such as worries about our museum collections, we can see from the computer screen each and every item in our collections thoroughly, even the inside of a vase. By then, such techniques will not be impossible. Of course, the computer has many other functions too. For instance, when we need some reference materials from other countries, we can readily obtain such materials via the World Wide Web. We can also gain immediate access to all relevant data on municipal facilities kept in major libraries and museums all over the world. Then we will not have to argue about which flight to take on a study tour.
The computer can also be used for monitoring Members at work. It can show what time we are working at our desks and what time we are not. In this way, we need not introduce the accountable system of payment as suggested by Mr. Chan just now. We can even adopt the principle of "value for money". If we take too long a rest in the Common Room, if our office is too large, or if it is used for personal business purposes, our honorarium will be deducted.
Computerization of the Urban Council will not only benefit Members and the Department but also the general public. For example, we can set up information kiosks in various districts and on the street so that the public can have access to the
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