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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
Asian Games in the years after 2000, the opportunity should be taken to attract athletes from overseas and to bring the Asian Games to Hong Kong.
In essence, the spirit of Mr. Wong Man-chiu's motion today is to upgrade the Council's facilities to help the SF&OC to bid for the Asian Games in 2006. The Council, being the main provider of sports venues, has indeed an obligation to find out how to raise the standards of our sports venues and facilities so as to improve our chances of bidding for international games. Mr. Chairman, I second the motion and I hope that Members will also support it. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese): Ms. Au Yuk-har.
Ms. GRACE AU YUK-HAR (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, last month the LegCo passed a motion raised by the Hon. FOK Tsun-ting on hosting the Asian Games in 2006. Mr. Wong Man-chiu moved a similar motion in this Council today. But in terms of wording and contents, both the DP and I feel that Mr. Wong's motion is more comprehensive when compared to the one raised in the LegCo, for Mr. Fok's motion has given the impression that he is only concerned with bidding for the Asian Games without overall comments or advice on Hong Kong's sports policy and structure. It seems to suggest that he doesn't think there is any need for particular improvements in our existing sports policy and structure. In contrast, Mr. Wong's motion today is very much in line with what the DP has been advocating and so we support this motion.
My speech today will cover 2 parts. First, I will talk about the existing sports facilities of the Council and second, the reason for the DP's support for formulating a policy on sports. First, it is about the sports facilities of the Council. As Mr. WONG has pointed out just now, if we want to hold individual international events, the Hong Kong Coliseum, Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Kowloon Park Swimming Pool or even the Hong Kong Stadium can be used for such purposes. That is undeniable. But I believe that it is virtually impossible for us to hold the Asian Games with only four such venues. The Asian Games to be held in Pusan in 2002 actually needs more than 30 such venues. As for the Council's other sports facilities, most of them can only be used for inter-school events or regional games. Take the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground as an example. Although it is a modern sports venue and is up to international standard, the seating capacity is limited. If we want to use it for the Asian Games, we will have to increase the seating capacity. So if we want to upgrade our venues to make them fit for international events like the Asian Games, we really have to plan ahead and have to liaise with the Administration and the SF&OC in order to identify suitable sites or venues of the Council for such purpose. We also have to carefully work out the financial implications for such modifications.
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