HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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the Communist Party and ask the Chinese Government to restrain her perverse acts.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
Mr. Kam Nai-WAI (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, my speech today will mainly focus on the Central Market and the services of Urban Council libraries, and I will also respond to some Councillors' remarks at the end of my speech just as the Hon. Li Wah-ming did.
First of all, I would like to talk about the history of the Central Market. According to the information I have acquired, the Urban Council has been discussing the redevelopment of the Central Market ever since 1976, which was more than 20 years ago. However, it is 1997 now and the Central Market has yet to be redeveloped. The environment in the district is as poor as before; there is still traffic jam in the vicinity and the site has not been fully utilized. I think the Central Government has to bear most of the responsibility and should keep the public informed of the past development of the issue.
In 1989, the issue of the redevelopment of the Central Market was once again brought up for discussion in the Urban Council and the Council proposed to build a new Central Market near Wing Sing Street in Central. However, we were told by the government that the Land Development Corporation (LDC) intended to carry out a redevelopment project at the site, which would include a market for wet and dry goods. Hence, the Council waited for the good news from the government. In 1992, the Planning, Environment and Lands Branch approached the Council again and proposed that the Council give up the market site in Wing Sing Street which was under redevelopment by the Land Development Corporation because there was a better and more suitable site in Central-the Gage Street redevelopment, which was also undertaken by the LDC. As such, the Council gave up the market site in Wing Sing Street rashly. The site near the Eu Yan Sang in Central where two extremely tall buildings now stand was the Council's original site for the redevelopment of the Central Market. However, the Council gave it up to the LDC, allowing the latter to reap higher profit. The Council was really generous in surrendering the site unconditionally to the LDC for commercial development. This case revealed that the government would not meet with much resistance in executing its decisions in the era of appointed Councillors, although some of the Councillors were elected members at that time.
In 1995, the Land Development Corporation informed the Central Government that the Gage Street redevelopment, where the formerly proposed Central Market site was to be located, would not be pursued because the project was not profitable. As a result, the Council's plan for the redevelopment of the Central Market went up in smoke. As members of the fully elected Urban Council, we have the responsibility to reflect public views
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