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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
THATCHER shouted herself hoarse to deliver a speech while the Labour Party MPs booed loudly to cover up the Prime Minister's voice. They shouted ‘liar’ from their seats now and then and the Speaker had to adjourn the meeting because the situation went out of control. I asked my colleague why the Parliament in Britain operated in this way. He said I was a newcomer and that was often the case. Even the Parliament in an old-line democratic country like Britain behaves in this way. Therefore if anyone sees this, shouts 'This is a political arena' and then supports the restoration of monarchy in Britain, I believe he will surely be sneered at by all Britons and even the whole world.
I believe parliaments in most countries have different voices in their discussions. Only the voices in the parliaments of totalitarian countries are in one accord. They even raise hands in the same way, and invariably with their left hands only.
There is an English proverb 'If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen'. The spirit of parliamentarism allows discussing issues with different opinions, provided the rules of parliament are not breached. Therefore I would like to ask the Councillors who cannot stand the heat: (1) to follow Mr. LEUNG Kam-tao's example and resign; (2) not to participate in the next UC election, be it direct or indirect, if you feel you are accountable to your voters; (3) to participate in the National People's Congress election and you may find meetings with a mode more suitable to you. All these are your own choices and I sincerely hope my colleagues will not support reinstatement of the appointment system with this reason.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, the Urban Council has all along given people an impression that it is financially autonomous since the Demand Note for Rates clearly states that the Council shares a percentage of the rates collected. But unfortunately, the meeting on the allocation of funds to Council this year conveys an explicit message to us that the only difference between the Urban Council and ordinary government departments is that the Council enjoys financial autonomy for a period of three years. Ultimately, it still needs to apply funds from the Central Government for its capital projects. Such an arrangement makes it more necessary for the Urban Council to rely on the Central Government, not to mention that the Council already has a less favourable terms of reference than the municipal councils of foreign countries. Theoretically, it is without doubts that our provision can be cut down to a destructive level of not sharing any income from the rates at all. But logically, the lack of absolute financial autonomy will make the Council lose the status of being a genuinely independent public organization.
On the other hand, the Council has no authority to decide on the appointment and dismissal of those employees who are members of the civil service because recruitment and promotion of civil servants have to be
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