HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
statutory power to take action against unlicensed cinemas. The main reason is that sub-standard unlicensed cinemas jeopardise public safety.
Because of the size of the audience in cinemas and the fact that it will be all dark when there is an accident, the consequence will be serious. That is why it is important for the licensing authority to be very strict with structural and fire protection requirements.
On the other hand, in our society with space problem, the monthly rental for a cinema can be in the region of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It will be unfair to applicants if they have to wait indefinitely for a license. In fact, we have a good act to follow from our experience in issuing provisional licenses to those food establishments that meet basic safety and structural requirements. If we can adopt the same procedures, cinemas and food establishments in Hong Kong can only fall into 2 categories, namely licensed (provisional or full licenses) and unlicensed.
Under the circumstances, it is important for the Urban Services Department to have statutory power of enforcement and it is all the more important for the Department to take strict enforcement action. I hope Mr. Wong's motion will be carried and that the Legislative Council will vest relevant powers to the Department.
Before legislation takes effect, I hope the Department can ask all licensed cinemas to display their licenses at prominent places as well as publicize the list of unlicensed cinemas. This way, members of the public will be able to make informed choices. The public has the right to know. Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
THE HON. Mok Ying-fan (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I just heard colleagues referring to the 1997 Places of Public Entertainment Amendment Bill which proposes to empower the Urban Council to revoke provisional licenses issued to cinemas that cannot fulfill licensing requirements one year after applications have been made. I think we all know about this, but it is a pity that the Bill was stalled on May 7 at Legco by the joint effort of 2 major parties. We have to wait for further studies into the Bill and see how the matter can be resolved. I hope fellow colleagues who belong to the said major parties will support the Bill when it is re-introduced. I shall report this to Members at the next meeting of the Standing Committee of the Whole Council. I don't want to hold up speeches on the motion debate here.
Mr. Chairman, as for the proposal by Mr. WONG to empower the Department to issue provisional licenses to those cinemas that meet basic requirements. I think it is acceptable as a temporary measure to tackle unlicensed operations, but not one to get to the root of the problem. We have to keep in mind clearly the purpose of issuing provisional licenses. If a cinema has met basic operating conditions and fire safety requirements, shouldn't we
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