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# PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
taken up by a merged Municipal Council. I consider that this was a fair question.
The eighth question asked whether all the members of the district representative organizations should be elected.
I have studied and taught statistics. I can't see anything in the questionnaire which was aimed intentionally at misleading the respondents. With these remarks, I wish to make a correct record. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese): As the mover, I have the right to respond to what Members have said.
A Member was correct in saying that of the 12 incidents quoted in relation to food safety, none of them was directly linked to the functions of the municipal councils. In fact, all the aspects of food safety and environmental hygiene, with no exception at all, are now being taken up by Government departments. The only thing is that the duties are scattered over a number of departments without coordination. Even if inter-departmental working groups are set up, they will fail because of the lack of coordination. It is on this pretext that the Central Government has proposed that the duties be placed under one single department, overlooking the fact that because of the absence of coordination with the other departments, it is destined to fail. Even if the recommendations are implemented according to the direction laid down in the Consultation Document, it is destined to fail. This future Government department, which will be operating under limited terms of reference just as the USD, is destined to fail. Why should the reforms this time be targeted at the Council? Why aren't the executive arms be reformed instead? Why aren't attempts made to improve the coordination among the government departments and reforms introduced to these departments, such as the D of H, AFD, EPD and the others? Why should the Council alone be picked on?
I would like to respond to what Mr. Chan Choi-hi said. Just because he is an independent Councillor without being responsible to any political party, he thought he could spell out what he liked. I too am an independent Councillor without being responsible to any political party and am not a member of the Democratic Party, but somehow I agree to the survey the Party conducted this time. I am only judging things on their merits. I do not know much about politics and I am only being scientific in mind. I am quite ignorant of politics at times, but I am very supportive of the findings of the survey carried out by the Democratic Party this time. I consider that there is only one purpose behind the Consultation Document on Review of District Organizations and that is to place the management of food safety and environmental hygiene under the umbrella of one department under the Central Government. Mr. CHAN Choi-hi did not consider this to be retrogression in democratization. If it is not retrogression in democratization, what retrogression can it be? Hygiene matters have been under the supervision of an elected representative
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