TNAG-0642-FCO40-790-Kowloon-Walled-City-and-aircraft-safety-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 82

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XII

XIII

13.

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City District Committee, with MACS acting as the

At the district level, community involvement is channelled through a 3-tier district infrastructure Area Committees and Mutual Aid Committees source of grassroots level participation, augmented by the ACS which are conglomerates of grassroots as well as the more sophisticated, traditional or well-off sectors, towered by the CDC which acts as a kind of quasi-local council, comprising of AC chairmen, representatives of important local organizations and Government officials operating in the district. Formed to reinforce the two Campaigns, these organizations have now gradually branched out from local cleanliness and law and order matters into issues of wider common interest and at times, with political implications.

Mutual Aid Committees

14.

There are at present 280 MACS in Kowloon City, covering private housing, squatter area, schools, factories and public housing. In accordance with a decision in August 1975 to forge ahead with further expansion, concentrating on public housing, a programme (App. X) has been drawn up to establish 36 MACs in all public housing estates within the district by March 1976. The emphasis is therefore in Homantin area where an overall community development programme (App. XI) for public housing within the MAC framework will, hopefully, provide useful experience for the New Town communities in future. Reguler interdepartmental co-ordination meetings are held to monitor progress for the current expansion programme.

15.

MAC formation work is being carried out in three stages: delivery of explanatory pamphlets, floor meetings a week later and finally, election of office bearers among the floor representatives. Although the minimum qualifying number for MAC is 20% of the residents in a block or a building, a standard of 90% tenants' participation has been set and this is being attained to through the team work of 12 community organizers working nightly from 8 to 9.30 p.m. under the supervision of the respective liaison officer and ACDO (sub-office) and the overall command of ACDO (Liaison).

16.

Reviews on these unique socio-political organisms are made by field staff from time to time. One (App. XII) produced in November 1974, shows their achievements and the other, on future strategy and produced in August 1975, (App. XIII) highlights the need for a progressive but cautious approach. It is intended that as soon as circumstances permit, the existing available resources would be rediverted for both formation and servicing work to ensure that these organizations are developed and mature along the right track.

Area Committees

17.

Initially, area committees were formed for the KKCC, with membership appointed mainly from middle-class and above group. Arter the launching of the FVCC and inception of MAC in 1973, the nature of ACS has changed substantially: the membership has been increased, embracing people from a wider sector of the sub-district, and the activities extended to talks by Government representatives and familiarization visits to Government offices/departments. Currently, representatives from the Film and TV Authority are giving talks on censorship to all ACs in the district.

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