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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Tim S. Manuel Chan (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I'd like to raise one or two points briefly to support Ms. Au Yuk-har's motion. In fact, supporting sports development at district level is the same as supporting part of the motion I am going to move in a moment. I think that developing recreational and sports activities effectively not only provides recreational activities for the public, but also provides an opportunity for discovering and training talents in the sports field. Looking back, more and more recreational facilities are being provided, e.g. pitches, basketball courts, tennis courts and indoor games halls. However, the Recreational Amenities and Sports Offices are only organizing the relevant activities as a routine, following the practice in the past. When we subsidise the district sports activities, how much does the Department understand the needs of these sports associations and local sports community? Have we ever reviewed the relationship between us and these bodies? Do we have a systematic method to collect their opinions?
As regards the venues, can they meet the requirements of the various sports activities? I think that the Department should get these information as well as understand the popularity level of the various sports activities in different districts. As we look at the relevant reports, the difference in usage rate among different venues is rather great. Location may be one reason for this. Venues in certain districts have very high usage rate while those in other districts have low usage rate. This also happens with regard to time slots, some time slots have low booking rate while others are fully booked and users have to queue up in advance. As the manager of the district sports facilities, can the Department make relevant adjustments in accordance with the popularity of the activities?
On the whole, these are the two points I wish to bring out in support of Ms. Au Yuk-har's motion. We should work on this area as soon as possible. Views of the public on the district offices and the activities they organize should be collected as the basis for evaluation.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support Ms. Au's motion.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Albert Lai Wing-lin has raised his hand to speak.
Mr. Albert Lai WING-LIN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I am in support of Ms. Au's motion, but I want to emphasize that, in consulting local residents, opinions of various sectors should be considered. It should be conducted as a professional research. At a District Board meeting, I learnt that the District Board Members objected to building a golf course in the district, holding that golf is an activity of the higher-income community. In fact, from the viewpoint of schools, the athletic community and the people who are interested in golf, the need for building a golf course is urgent. Thus, I think that in conducting the survey, the views of different sectors should be included. We should not consult only the local residents because the scope will be too