PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
615
by the public. So, if we are indeed to pay tribute to those in the film industry, we must respect and establish the selection mechanism seriously.
Mr. Chairman, I remember that at the meeting held several months ago, we discussed the setting up of a Bruce Lee memorial gallery. The Democratic Party (DP) moved an amendment to the motion, suggesting the setting up of a Kung Fu Movie Stars memorial gallery instead. We recognize the remarkable achievements of Mr. Bruce LEE, but however remarkable his achievements were and however much we respect Mr. Bruce LEE, when we spend public money, the Council must provide a system for recognizing the achievements of the film industry and the remarkable contributions of the talents in the industry instead of just recognizing the achievements of an individual. The Council should not go beyond its authority by selecting the personalities to be honoured for the film industry. The motion we move today is, in fact, an extension of this concept, but the area to be covered is even more extensive. Regardless of the types of films and the posts that the film workers are in, we just want to recognize the achievements of all those that deserve praise.
The first main point of Mr. Lam Man-fai's amended motion is that he wishes to broaden the coverage of our tribute and to revise the mechanism of selection. The suggestion involves extending the coverage to the very large performing arts sector, which includes the filming, TV, singing and even dancing and drama industries and so on. We understand that these industries are interrelated in many ways, but after all each of them has its own uniqueness. In fact, throughout the world, the performing arts are often classified in various categories. For example, in the United States, they have the Oscars for films, Grammy Awards for singing talents and Emmys for outstanding TV talents. If our Hall of Fame is to include talents in all these fields, I am afraid our original objective of paying tribute to the filming industry will become obscure.
Another part of the amended motion has something to do with the mechanism of selection. The amended motion suggests that the selection mechanism should be such that performing arts workers are invited to attend the selection committee. I think that the amended motion apparently ignores the fact that if we do so, the entire performing arts sector will have to be represented in order to validate the term 'performing arts industry'. The selection committee has to take care of television, singing, Chinese opera, Beijing opera, drama, filming, dancing, choral performance and orchestras and so on. If there is any omission, we will come under criticism. If the selection committee is to truly represent all these industries, how can we ensure that the selections are objective and credible? When doubt is cast on the selection mechanism, the direct effect is that the honour of those selected will also be subjected to doubts.
Let me repeat, the Film Awards Preparatory Committee has spent more than 10 years to successfully incorporate in a professional manner the views of
171 of 606
Page 471 of 606
Page 471 of 606