HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
the Secretariat, public hygiene of food premises, culture and arts to hawker control, the Council's finances and the liquor licensing policy.
Shortly afterwards, our UC Members will express their views briefly to share them with you and solicit views from you. Please be generous with your views. Tell us more about what you think about the way to improve our municipal services, to subject ourselves to public vigilance and to create a good image. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. LI WAH-MING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I will give my views on the issue of order of meetings and in particular, the powers of the UC Chairman.
Just now Mr. KAM Nai-wai mentioned we had given the public the impression that our meetings were not orderly. The most orderly ones were the monthly meetings but at the meetings of the standing and select committees, sometimes disorder was witnessed. Having studied and analyzed the UC Standing Orders, the Standing Orders of the former Legislative Council and even the proceedings of the parliaments in Canada and the UK, we have come up with some suggestions.
At some of the past UC meetings, mass media and members of the public who were present as observers might find Councillors making phone calls, reading newspaper or conducting small group discussions without paying due respect to the Chairman presiding at the meetings. During debates, they were active enough but order was hardly kept. They interposed and followed up. When members of the public, in particular the press and reporters, saw the Councillors behave in such a way, they certainly were rather disappointed.
The incident in which the Chairman cast two votes at the special meeting of the Standing Committee of the Whole Council on 8 August attracted wide attention. We looked up the UC Standing Orders and found that Section 23 stipulates that the Chairman of the Council or the Chairmen of select committees may give his or their own vote as well as the casting vote when there are an equal number of votes for and against a proposal. Such an arrangement was also provided for in the Standing Orders of the Legislative Council, meaning that the President of the Legislative Council was also entitled to two votes. However, the Legislative Council created a tradition whereby the President refrained from voting unless there was a tie, in which case he would give the casting vote. Nevertheless, the practice concerning casting votes exists within the traditional mode. It is not something decided personally by the chairman.
According to the practice of the House of Commons in the UK, the casting of votes is based as far as practicable on the original motion or the matter under consideration. In other words, if votes are cast on an amendment and there are an equal number of votes, then irrespective of his preference, the chairman must cast a vote objecting to the amendment. This is the traditional
Page 257
of
654