TNAG-0316-FCO40-352-Reform-of-local-government-of-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 28

Finance

10. A significant abvance will be made in the field of finance by giving the Council its own rate and by authorizing it to raise capital funds in the market. (This is discussed in more detail in paragraphs 21-25 below). The Council will have to be incorporated for this purpose.

Chairman of the Council

11. The Council will be free to select its own Chairman who might be either an unofficial or a co-opted official or even an eminent private citizen from outside the Council.

Use of Cantonese

12. Legislation and the Council's Standing Orders will be so phrased as to allow proceedings to be conducted in Cantonese as well as English. Further advances in bilingualism should be along the lines suggested in the First Report of the Chinese Language Committee which has been accepted in principle by Government.

Official Membership

13. All Official Members will be removed from the Council. The present Officials are the Chairman, appointed by the Governor, who is traditionally the Director of Urban Services, the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services (the statutory Vice-Chairman), the Secre- tary for Home Affairs, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Social Welfare and the Commissioner for Resettlement. This change will leave the remaining constituent members free to take their decisions without the intervention of officials and will make them wholly responsible and accountable for the Council's actions. The Council will however be empowered by the new legislation to co-opt on to its Committees the Director of Urban Services and other staff of the Urban Services Department, the Commissioner for Resettlement or his representative and, with the approval of the Colonial Secretary, public officers from other Government departments as the need arises.

Unofficial Membership

14. The number of the remaining members will, it is proposed, be increased from ten elected and ten appointed to twelve elected and twelve appointed members, a total of twenty-four.

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