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Coliseum. The Kowloon Park Swimming Pool has already been used for holding 25-metre international swimming competitions.
Our colleagues and Mr. Wong Man-chiu may really want to see the 2006 Asian Games to be held in Hong Kong. But I think the focal point is the SAR Government rather than the PUC. We should urge the Government to set up an ad-hoc group to take care of the overall coordination work. The SF&OC can only assume the role of a 'volunteer'. The provision of venues should be the responsibility of the Government.
In parenthesis, I would like to talk about the Hong Kong Stadium. Rugby is the favourite sport of only a minority of the people. However, in order to stage rugby matches, a total of $850 million was put aside for refurbishing the whole Stadium. No track and field games have ever been held in the Stadium after its tracks were removed. Hence, even if the Asian Games can be hosted in Hong Kong, the Stadium is clearly not a suitable venue for holding the opening and closing ceremonies. The seating capacity of the Stadium is just 40,000, whereas a world-class venue should at least have a seating capacity of 50,000 to 60,000. To cater for the special interest of some people, the development of the Stadium has been hampered. If we are to host the Asian Games, a new world-class stadium having a seating capacity of 60,000 and provided with track and field facilities must be built. At present, we do not have a stadium of this scale and I think this is the biggest problem. We certainly have other venues for holding competitions, but if we do not have a stadium of international standards, even the opening and closing ceremonies cannot be held.
Should the 2006 Asian Games be held in Hong Kong, the PUC venues can only serve as supporting venues. Most importantly, we should press the Government to undertake to provide a 60,000-seat world-class stadium in Southeast Kowloon or West Kowloon. We fully support this, but construction of new venues should be undertaken by the SAR Government.
In the final part of his speech, Mr. Wong capitalized on the issue to air his own complaints. The Government wants to scrap the Council, and he wants to scrap the SDB. I believe that the LegCo will debate about the issue in future and I also hope to hear the views of fellow Members. After the dissolution of the two MCs, the very existence of the SDB will give rise to another issue. Certainly, some sports organizations may think that the SDB is no longer needed. As this issue concerns the future sports development in Hong Kong, there will certainly be debates on it. I hope Members will pay due regard to this debate. No matter whether the Council exists or not, we should take part in the discussion of this issue. The crucial thing is that the administration should dedicate more efforts to the training of sports talents in Hong Kong, allocate resources for sports development and promote sports for the people of Hong Kong, whereby cultivating a sense of sportsmanship. With these remarks, I support Mr. Wong's motion.
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