XN000022-1995-09-08 — Page 17

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Referring to the LegCo election day on September 17, Mr Tsang appealed to voters to "exercise their franchise on that day to ensure that they elect councillors who can truly represent the public and serve the community".

Expressing delight at the record high number of registered voters, Mr Tsang said: "This is solid public support for Hong Kong's electoral system. A fair and open election will give us a new Legislative Council with the credibility to serve and speak for the people."

To help achieve this goal, Mr Tsang noted that the Government had adopted a number of measures, including the lowering of voting age and the introduction of nine new functional constituencies.

Mr Tsang also reminded voters that apart from casting their ballots in the geographical constituencies, they should also vote in their respective functional constituencies.

Meanwhile, promotional activities have been organised by various District Offices to drive home the election messages. These include election forums for candidates in their respective districts, exhibition, vehicle parades, carnivals and distribution of souvenirs.

During today's gathering at HAD headquarters, senior government officials also presented election souvenirs to media representatives covering the event.

End/Friday, September 8, 1995

Mid-Autumn Festival fire safety advice

Members of the public are reminded to take extra care in handling fire when visiting the countryside during the Mid-Autumn Festival period.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Department's Country Parks Protection Officer, Mr Edmond Lam, said today (Friday) that visitors should refrain from releasing any Hung Ming lantern and be extremely careful with barbecue fire and hand-held candle- lit lanterns.

According to Mr Lam, the annual Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the high fire risk periods in the year.