HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I hope Members will support the motion.
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Mr. Joseph CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):--There is a proposer and a seconder and I have not received any amendment to the motion. So I shall follow the list of those who have indicated their intention to speak and call upon them to speak. First in the line is Mr. Christopher CHUNG Shu-kun.
MR. CHRISTOPHER CHUNG Shu-kun (in Cantonese):-I find this situation helpless because when I rode by after work each day, I saw people going to a mini cinema in Wanchai. At our meetings, I have learnt that the cinema has not obtained a license for years mainly because of inadequate fire facilities. The Fire Services Department would not grant approval.
And yet, we are allowing people to go to that particular cinema. These people do not know that the fire escape routes there have not been approved by the Fire Services Department. In case a serious fire occurs, I would be unable to estimate the catastrophic effect. As the licensing authority, we cannot get by in ambiguity. As Mr. Wong just pointed out, for cinemas which meet basic licensing requirements but are pending the completion of procedures, provisional licenses should be granted. Just like food premises, we do grant provisional licenses and specify a date for the completion of necessary procedures upon which formal licenses are issued. However, for cinemas which have not been granted licenses for years, we should close them so as not to endanger lives and properties.
Mr. Chairman, I feel we should urge the Department to carry out licensing work in order to protect lives and properties. I support the motion.
MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese):-According to departmental figures, there are 5 unlicensed cinemas within the urban area. This situation is pretty much the same as when I raised a question at the monthly meeting in May 1995. It reflects that such a situation exists all along. Take New Imperial Cinema for example, it submitted an application in March 1994 but has not been granted a license because of building structure. This cinema has been operating without a license. As the enforcement body of the Public Entertainment Ordinance, the Department is unable to take action against the cinema operator because of legal limitation.
The Democratic Party is pleased to learn that government has recently submitted a Public Entertainment Amendment Bill to the Legislative Council for deliberation. Unfortunately, the Bill was further delayed at the recent Legco session because of procedural matters. I hope it can be passed soon so that the Urban Services Department, as the enforcement body, will have
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