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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
venue must comply with the terms and conditions of hire of the Council venue and the laws of Hong Kong." We need to do so now. If we do not support it, we are just spoiling our existing set of effective system.
Mr. Ronnie Wong Man-chiu (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I second the amended motion by Mr. PAO.
Chairman (in Cantonese):—I shall now explain why I accept the amended motion and then go on to give my opinions on both the amendment and the original motion.
I think the amendment is acceptable not only in respect of the wording, but also in that its spirit is more comprehensive. Its mention of complying with terms and conditions of hire and the laws of Hong Kong is actually the responsibility of each and everyone of us as Urban Councillors. For us as the provider of venues, we are responsible to oversee the administration of the Council as well as formulate our policies and rules.
I think when we referred to censorship just now, we restricted ourselves narrowly to indecency. We have neglected that the Entertainment Select Committee had to face a lot of matters each month. On occasions, we received applications from organizers of several concerts for the same date and time. As such, we had to vet and select, for example, we had to consider the applicant's financial position, the balance of different kinds of programmes and the like before making a choice. Whenever there were several bids for the same date, we had to make a choice. We have been doing that earnestly each month, I mean deciding on which organizer to grant a time slot to. You may call it vetting or you may call it enforcing the terms and conditions of hire and the laws of Hong Kong. Whether you like it or not, it is our responsibility to do so as Urban Councillors.
At the monthly meetings of the Culture Select Committee, we discuss about the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Cultural Centre. We do that regularly. If you ask whether we look into the financial position or credit of the applicants, let me tell you that we absolutely have to. I remember there was a foreign organizer for a programme to be held at the Coliseum. We were given a post-dated cheque and it bounced. We suffered a loss of over $100,000. After that incident, we have been asking applicants for sums of guarantee. You see then that we have to study into the financial credit of organizers.
As to whether we accept hirers to stage illegal assemblies, the answer is no. Such matters involve the laws of Hong Kong. As the provider of venues, we have the administrative obligations. Like it or not, we do have the duty to choose and decide. If there are programmes that instigate or affect public order, should we accept these applications? If there are programmes that affect political stability and prosperity, should we accept them as well?