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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
ourselves for another election in four years' time. It should be up to the voters to decide whether I. Francis TANG Chi-ho, could still have the opportunity to speak as councillor in this chamber. However, the Government is now regaining the power originally in the hands of the people. I wonder if our Government has been formed by the people as our motherland tells us, or it is simply formed according to its will. Instead of claiming that he has a clear conscience, I hope the man in power could have a self-examination. I do not think he is more transcendent than the sages.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. PETER WONG MAN-KONG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, fellow colleagues,
Ringing out 1998, we are now ringing in 1999. As most Councillors have said, the most important business to the Urban Council, which is also our greatest concern, is the present position and the future of the Council. It is very likely that the Council will be dissolved as a result of the review of district organizations, but we should not forget that the delivery of municipal services will continue. I firmly believe that many colleagues attending this meeting, especially those engaged in practical work, be they appointed or elected, will continue to have opportunities to involve themselves in municipal services in the future.
In the past year, I have had the opportunity to work together with all of you in the Council, gaining quite a lot of experience. With regard to the review of district organizations, though I have not raised the issue for discussion with you, I did discuss it with the Chairman at a very early stage. At the end of 1997 when the Government proposed to conduct a review exercise, I suggested that we should take the initiative to respond promptly to the Government. Unfortunately, we procrastinated. We responded only after the Government determined its direction and issued instructions in mid-1998. We have now put ourselves in a very passive position. Though the "One Council One Department" option is generally supported by public opinion, we cannot acquire the momentum. Time is not on our side. Dissolution of the Council seems inevitable.
Under these circumstances, how should we interpret the term "scrapping of the Councils"? As I have just said, the Council is nothing but an organization. It is the municipal services that Councillors should be concerned about. Now that the Government has already put forward a proposal, I feel it is too late for us to insist on fighting for "One Council One Department". If the Government has already had a proposal, what we should do in 1999 is to devote more effort to studying the Government's proposal in a constructive way. Wouldn't that be a better use of time? I understand that many colleagues have formed groups, mainly to fight for "One Council One Department” in the year. However, I believe that it is more desirable to spend our time on monitoring and making
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