HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3539 OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Wednesday, 19 May 1993
The Council met at half-past Two o'clock
PRESENT
THE PRESIDENT
THE HONOURABLE JOHN JOSEPH SWAINE, C.B.E., LL.D., Q.C., J.P.
THE CHIEF SECRETARY
THE HONOURABLE SIR DAVID ROBERT FORD, K.B.E., L.V.O., J.P.
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY
THE HONOURABLE NATHANIEL WILLIAM HAMISH MACLEOD, C.B.E., J.P.
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE HONOURABLE JOHN WOOD, C.B., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ALLEN LEE PENG-FEI, C.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MRS SELINA CHOW LIANG SHUK-YEE, O.B.E., J.P. THE HONOURABLE HUI YIN-FAT, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LEE CHU-MING, Q.C., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE SZETO WAH
THE HONOURABLE ANDREW WONG WANG-FAT, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE EDWARD HO SING-TIN, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE RONALD JOSEPH ARCULLI, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MARTIN GILBERT BARROW, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MRS PEGGY LAM, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MRS MIRIAM LAU KIN-YEE, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE LAU WAH-SUM, O.B.E., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE LEONG CHE-HUNG, O.B.E.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3540 THE HONOURABLE JAMES DAVID McGREGOR, O.B.E., I.S.O., J.P. THE HONOURABLE MRS ELSIE TU, C.B.E.
THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP
THE HONOURABLE VINCENT CHENG HOI-CHUEN THE HONOURABLE MOSES CHENG MO-CHI
THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG MAN-KWONG
THE HONOURABLE CHIM PUI-CHUNG
REV THE HONOURABLE FUNG CHI-WOOD
THE HONOURABLE TIMOTHY HA WING-HO, M.B.E., J.P. THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL HO MUN-KA
DR THE HONOURABLE HUANG CHEN-YA
THE HONOURABLE SIMON IP SIK-ON, J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE LAM KUI-CHUN
THE HONOURABLE LAU CHIN-SHEK
THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING
THE HONOURABLE LEE WING-TAT
THE HONOURABLE GILBERT LEUNG KAM-HO
THE HONOURABLE ERIC LI KA-CHEUNG, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE FRED LI WAH-MING
THE HONOURABLE MAN SAI-CHEONG
THE HONOURABLE STEVEN POON KWOK-LIM
THE HONOURABLE HENRY TANG YING-YEN, J.P. THE HONOURABLE TIK CHI-YUEN
THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN
DR THE HONOURABLE SAMUEL WONG PING-WAI, M.B.E., J.P.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3541 DR THE HONOURABLE PHILIP WONG YU-HONG
DR THE HONOURABLE YEUNG SUM
THE HONOURABLE HOWARD YOUNG, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ZACHARY WONG WAI-YIN
DR THE HONOURABLE TANG SIU-TONG, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE CHRISTINE LOH KUNG-WAI
THE HONOURABLE ROGER LUK KOON-HOO
THE HONOURABLE ANNA WU HUNG-YUK
ABSENT
THE HONOURABLE DAVID LI KWOK-PO, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE NGAI SHIU-KIT, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE PANG CHUN-HOI, M.B.E.
THE HONOURABLE TAM YIU-CHUNG
THE HONOURABLE PETER WONG HONG-YUEN, O.B.E., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE MARVIN CHEUNG KIN-TUNG, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE
DR THE HONOURABLE CONRAD LAM KUI-SHING
IN ATTENDANCE
THE HONOURABLE MRS ANSON CHAN, C.B.E., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE
THE HONOURABLE JOHN CHAN CHO-CHAK, L.V.O., O.B.E., J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER
MRS ELIZABETH WONG CHIEN CHI-LIEN, I.S.O., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE
MR JAMES SO YIU-CHO, O.B.E., J.P.
SECRETARY FOR RECREATION AND CULTURE
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3542
THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL SZE CHO-CHEUNG, I.S.O., J.P. SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
MR ANTHONY GORDON EASON, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS
MR DONALD TSANG YAM-KUEN, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY
MR MICHAEL DAVID CARTLAND, J.P.
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
THE CLERK TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MR CLETUS LAU KWOK-HONG
THE DEPUTY CLERK TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL MR PATRICK CHAN NIM-TAK
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3543 Papers
The following papers were laid on the table pursuant to Standing Order 14(2): Subject
Subsidiary Legislation L.N. No. Prison (Amendment) Rules 1993 ............................................................... 152/93
Telecommunication (Control of Interference)
(Amendment) Regulation 1993 ...................................................... 153/93
Cremation and Gardens of Remembrance (Regional
Council) (Amendment) Bylaw 1993............................................... 154/93 Exhumation (Fees) (Regional Council) Bylaw........................................... 155/93
Public Cemeteries (Regional Council) (Amendment)
Bylaw 1993 .................................................................................... 156/93
Kowloon-Canton Railway (Restricted Area) (No. 2)
Notice 1993 .................................................................................... 157/93 Sessional Paper 1992-93
No. 79 — Report of Broadcasting Authority
September 1991 - August 1992
Obituary
PRESIDENT: It is my sad duty to speak today to mark the death of our colleague, Mr Stephen CHEONG Kam-chuen, and to pay respect to his memory.
Stephen was first appointed to this Council in December 1980 and became an elected Member in October 1985, representing the Industrial Constituency, and has had unbroken service since then.
In his 13 years with this Council, Stephen has served on numerous committees, panels and ad hoc groups and was in his second term as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. His public service outside of this Council reads as a scroll of honour and is well known to all of us and to the community.
I think the abiding memory that most of us will carry of Stephen both inside and out of this Chamber is the passion and depth of his convictions, and the spirit and eloquence with which he expressed these convictions. But there
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was also a generosity of spirit and a sentimental side to Stephen which many of us will remember with affection.
Hong Kong has suffered a grievous loss with his sudden death and we are all the poorer for it.
To his widow Joan, his four sons and his parents, I offer our deepest condolences. After other Members have spoken, I will ask that we all stand and observe silence for one minute in honour of his memory.
CHIEF SECRETARY: Mr President, on behalf of the ex officio Members of the Council and all my colleagues throughout the public service, I would like to express the shock and deep regret with which we received the news of Stephen CHEONG's untimely death.
Those of us who worked closely with Stephen admired the dedication, enthusiasm and competence he brought to the task of addressing the many complex issues of great public importance with which he was involved. We valued in particular the leadership and guidance he provided in the Council as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and as Convener of the ad hoc group on the Financing of the Airport Core Programme.
Outside the Legislative Council Stephen's particular field of interest was of course that of industrial development, a field in which he served with distinction as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Industries General Committee and Chairman of the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation Board. Closely linked to his day-to-day involvement in industrial development was his commitment to the development of higher education in the field of industrial technology. He was a first class Chairman of the Council of the Hong Kong Polytechnic and a dedicated, hard-working member of the Council of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
In short, his contribution to the constituency he represented, to this Council as a whole and to the entire community of Hong Kong has been immense.
In his personal relationships with colleagues in this Council and elsewhere Stephen was recognized as someone who was genuinely open to ideas and could be relied upon to give honest and frank opinions on the issues which came before him. Above all we will miss his friendship, his zest and enthusiasm for life, and his sense of fun.
Joan and the boys can surely be proud of all that Stephen has done for Hong Kong and to them we send our most sincere condolences. Our thoughts are with you.
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MR ALLEN LEE (in Cantonese): Mr President, Mr Stephen CHEONG's sudden death is a loss to this Council and indeed a loss to Hong Kong.
Stephen was first appointed to this Council in December 1980. Since then, he has devoted himself to industrial development and trade promotion in Hong Kong. He has worked for the future of Hong Kong with immense zest and is a typical politician who has Hong Kong's interest at heart.
As I recollect, in the early 1980s, Stephen and I were of the opinion that the increase in electricity charges by the two public utility companies was unfair and unacceptable to Hong Kong people. However, the Government approved the application for increase in charges on grounds of a control scheme. The control scheme was a secret document not open to the public at that time. We considered that it was extremely unreasonable to keep it from the public so we moved a debate in this Council in an attempt to compel the Government to make public the control scheme. People who were well-informed of the political situation at the time felt that what we were doing was mission impossible and that the Governor would not re-appoint Stephen and me to this Council. In spite of this, Stephen and I held that being Members of this Council, if we were unable to pursue the truth and uphold justice and our belief, we would rather not be re-appointed.
In May 1983 when Hong Kong's future still hanged in the balance, Stephen and I organized a young professionals delegation to Beijing to express Hong Kong people's worries to the Chinese leaders, in the hope that it could help to end the jitters about the future of Hong Kong. Many of the serving Legislative Councillors were members of the young professionals delegation at that time. The Sino-British negotiations finally commenced in July 1983, which led to the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Since then, Stephen had done a lot in respect of "smooth transition" and "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong". He advocated the hosting of the World Expo at Hong Kong in 1997. It was a pity that his proposal did not gain the Government's support. Stephen also set up the Hong Kong Foundation to keep the Chinese authorities informed of Hong Kong's developments. He insisted that a proper communication channel should be established between Hong Kong and China so as to let the Chinese side realize Hong Kong people's views. He was also a member of the defunct Basic Law Consultative Committee. He was appointed a Hong Kong affairs adviser in April this year.
Stephen became an elected Member in 1985, representing the Federation of Hong Kong Industries. He has been devoted to public service for years. He has served as chairman on numerous committees in the field of industrial development, vocational training and post-secondary education. He was also the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of this Council and the convener of the ad hoc group on the Financing of the Airport Core Programme and the Economic Services and Public Utilities panel. His impartiality and selfless working attitude earned our greatest esteem. Such a gifted man's untimely death in the prime of life is really our tragic loss. It is saddening that, though
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3546
fighting for the interest of Hong Kong for the past 10 years, he could not witness the transfer of sovereignty and the implementation of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" in 1997. But I think that his efforts would not be futile.
On behalf of members of the Liberal Party preparatory committee, I extend our deepest condolences to Stephen's parents, his wife, his four sons and other relatives. His devotion to Hong Kong will live on forever in our heart. I would also like to express our gratitude to the doctors and nursing staff of the Queen Mary Hospital for their efforts in trying to save Stephen's life. They deserve our commendation.
MR MARTIN LEE: Mr President, South China Morning Post says, in an article published today, that our dear colleague Stephen CHEONG had reportedly said two weeks ago: "Many people hate me".
I am sure that was what Stephen really felt, because he always spoke from the heart. But I think he was wrong on this. Of course, many of his beliefs were not shared by all his colleagues in this Council. Indeed, the Hansard bears testimony to the many issues, mostly on politics, that Stephen and I totally disagreed on. But who can hate a person who always spoke from the heart?
Mr President, during my eight years in this Council, I served with Stephen on numerous committees and panels, many of which were chaired by him. I am deeply impressed by his total commitment to his work. And he always tried to be fair to everybody, particularly his less experienced colleagues. It will be difficult to find replacements for Stephen in the committees and panels that he chaired. And it will be even more difficult for his successors to follow him.
To my honourable colleagues of the newly formed Liberal Party, I wish, on behalf of the United Democrats of Hong Kong, to express our deepest sympathy for the loss of their dear colleague right after the birth of their party. I know only too well how they feel because we went through exactly the same almost 11 months ago when we lost our dear colleague Stephen NG Ming-yum.
Mr President, at a time like this, it is difficult not to call to mind what the Bible says:
"Remember man, thou art dust,
And into dust thou shalt return"
Indeed, in our moment of sorrow, we might even feel the utter futility of all our endeavours in this Council. But this is too negative, and I am sure that this is not what both Stephens would like us to think. For they both worked so hard for their beliefs with such total devotion. And they will be so sadly missed by
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all of us in this Council and by the many people in Hong Kong whom they served so well, for many years to come.
To Stephen's parents, Mr and Mrs CHEONG Ying-chan, his wife Joan, and his four fine sons, Anthony, Bernard, Christopher and Daniel, I extend our deepest condolences and sympathy. I pray that God will give them strength and courage to face this great tragedy in their lives. Let us hope that they will find some comfort in the conviction that their Stephen had done much for our community, and that they have good cause to be proud of him.
Mr President, the songs that Stephen loved to sing, and sang so well, will linger on. We will miss him.
DR LEONG CHE-HUNG: Mr President, I had the singular but very sad privilege of attending to Stephen during his last few moments with us and this world. I had also the very sad privilege of sharing perhaps his last words. For on the way to the hospital when I was trying to resuscitate and comfort him, he said "對唔住，對唔住" (I am sorry, I am sorry) in Chinese. I took this to mean that he was sorry he had caused inconvenience to so many of us.
Mr President, these words say all. They symbolize the character of this man to whom we pay our respects and tributes today. For Stephen CHEONG was not an ordinary man, he was a man extremely sensitive to human feelings, a man who only wanted to contribute and give but not to receive, a man who would not like to inconvenience others, even to fight for and save his own life.
I knew Stephen for some five years. Not too long, but long enough to be able to appreciate his openness, his frankness, his direct attitude and his unfaltered beliefs, though some I might not share.
My deepest condolences and those of Meeting Point go to his wife Joan and family. For us, we have lost a respectful colleague and a friend. To this Council, we have lost a stimulator. To Hong Kong, we have lost a true fighter.
His last words will linger on forever.
MRS ELSIE TU: Mr President, like you and my colleagues, I am finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that Stephen has suddenly left us.
I believe my colleagues would agree that one of Stephen's great attributes was his outspokenness. Whether one agreed with him or not, one could always be sure that he said exactly what he meant and often said it with deep feeling and conviction.
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There is no doubt that Stephen was devoted to the service of Hong Kong, and for what he believed was for the good of Hong Kong. He was prepared to face any criticism of himself. Our community is the poorer for his passing.
Stephen's place in our affections was evident yesterday by the reaction of us all to his sudden and untimely passing. We were all crushed. But for those who do not know the esteem in which he was held by the staff of the Legislative Council Secretariat, I can say that they were devastated and I saw some of them in tears.
Our sympathies now go out to Stephen's family and their sad and all too sudden bereavement. Let us hope that they may find some comfort in knowing that many share in their grief.
MR STEVEN POON (in Cantonese): Mr President, overwhelmed with grief, I mourn the passing of my close friend and most respected colleague Mr Stephen CHEONG.
I first knew Stephen in the early 1980s when he, representing the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, presented to the China Light and Power Company Limited the Federation's case as regards the impact of high electricity charges on the industries of Hong Kong and the overall economy. I was then deeply impressed by his insight and sincerity and my conversation with Stephen on that occasion made me realize the power company's responsibility to society. Since then, I have had numerous occasions to work with Stephen in the conduct of public affairs ranging from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Vocational Training Council, the Advisers for Hong Kong Affairs to the Preparatory Committee of the Liberal Party. Stephen was full of verve and vigour; he went about his work with care and attention and was very dedicated to it. But what I admired most was his sincerity.
Stephen was a sentimental person with rich feelings. The enthusiastic way he dealt with public affairs showed his true feeling for Hong Kong. This feeling sprang from his fervent love for Hong Kong, his confidence in Hong Kong's future, his steadfast adherence to the dignity of human nature and his upholding of the interests of the Hong Kong people. In the current political circumstances of Hong Kong where human nature is very often spurned at and shady means are commonly employed, Stephen's sincerity was hard to come by.
Stephen had participated in countless community services varying from industry to education, and he was totally committed to each of these jobs. Very few people know that Stephen, besides contributing his efforts to these jobs without any complaints whatsoever, quietly contributed money for these jobs and equally without making any complaints. When there seemed to be no end of a row in Hong Kong over the unconditional renewal of China's MFN status, Stephen visited the United States at his own expense to lobby the American Congress and government officials. When people were busy decrying the
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construction cost overruns of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Stephen flew to many countries around the world again at his own expense to recruit teaching staff for the University. He also gave donations to the University to support its programme of employing the world's first class professors. His spirit of serving the community is a model from which we should learn.
It is a cause for sorrow that Stephen should die in his prime and at such a key moment which matters so much to Hong Kong. I believe that what Stephen would most like to see up in Heaven is that Hong Kong would weather the storm of the next few years and smoothly pass the most difficult days.
Stephen, we will not disappoint you.
"The ancient pass o'ergrown with withered grass,
At the parting my grief cannot but grow.
Your road will lead beyond cold cloud, alas!
While I'll return at dusk into the snow.
You wandered young without father and mother;
In frustration I came to know you late.
Hiding our tears, we stare long at each other;
What can we expect from our bitter fate?"
Stephen, we will forever miss you!
PRESIDENT: May I ask all present to stand and observe silence for one minute. The Council observed one minute's silence
Address
Report of Broadcasting Authority September 1991 - August 1992
SECRETARY FOR RECREATION AND CULTURE: Mr President, I have much pleasure in laying the annual report of the Broadcasting Authority for the year ending 31 August 1992 before the Council today.
During the year under report, the broadcasting industry of Hong Kong went through significant developments. A comprehensive television broadcasting review was conducted and the licensing framework for subscription television was drawn up. The regulatory framework for free-to-air wireless and satellite television was also reviewed to enable these media to cope with the changing broadcasting environment brought about by new technology and more competition.
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Thanks to an intensive work programme undertaken by Members of this Council, the legislation paving the way for the introduction of subscription television service was enacted in March this year. We are now ready to issue a subscription television licence and we expect to see the commencement of the subscription television service by October this year.
The Broadcasting Authority has played a significant role in all these developments in pursuit of its policy to improve the quality and quantity of broadcasting services for the people of Hong Kong. The Authority will also continue to strive for the maintenance of an equitable regulatory framework so as to ensure fair and healthy competition among existing and future broadcasters.
To regulate the quality of services provided, the Broadcasting Authority has a well established mechanism to consider complaints. During the period under report, the Authority's Complaints Committee dealt with a total of 648 complaints. Twenty-one warning letters had been issued to various broadcasters to remind them of the need to observe more closely the different codes of practice. In addition, the Authority had fined licensees on two occasions, with fines ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 for more blatant breaches.
The Broadcasting Authority has also set up a Working Group to review the codes of practice on programme, advertising and technical standards for both television and radio broadcasts. This is to ensure that these standards reflect changing social needs and attitudes and fast developing technology. Major revisions to the codes arising from the television broadcasting review were endorsed by the Authority during this period. These included greater flexibility in the showing of feature films, repeats of children programmes, and advertising for financial services, property, educational institutions and publications. A new set of standards on programme sponsorship for wireless television and a new code of practice on technical standards for sound broadcasting were also drawn up.
During the period covered by this report, the Authority also maintained close liaison with overseas regulatory authorities and broadcasting organizations through attending international conferences and discussions with overseas visitors. These kept the Authority in close touch with the latest broadcasting developments in the rest of the world.
Overall, last year has been a significant one in the development of broadcasting and an eventful year for the Broadcasting Authority. Looking ahead, the Authority will be actively involved in the regulation of the subscription television service when it is introduced, and in the radio broadcasting review which is now underway.
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I would like to thank members of the Broadcasting Authority, in particular its chairman, Sir Roger LOBO, for their valuable contributions in regulating the fast developing broadcasting industry and for their advice to the Government in the formulation of broadcasting policy to cope with the rapid changes in the industry.
Thank you.
Oral answers to questions
1994-95 electoral arrangements
1. DR YEUNG SUM asked (in Cantonese): Will the Government inform this Council whether it is still prepared to honour its undertaking to ensure the completion of the legislative process of the relevant Bill(s) on electoral arrangements for 1994-95 within this Legislative Council Session; if not, what electoral arrangements will be made for the impending district board elections in 1994?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, our aim is to give Members of this Council as much time as possible to discuss the electoral arrangements for 1994-95 although it will of course be a matter for Legislative Council to determine when this process will be completed. On the question of the timing of the introduction of the remaining legislation, there are a number of factors to be balanced. These include the need to give the current talks with China a fair wind to help ensure that they are brought to a successful conclusion. But we do not have an infinite amount of time. The necessary legislation must be in place well before the elections are due.
DR YEUNG SUM (in Cantonese): Mr President, recently, there have been talks about the Government's intention to submit the bills on the 1994-95 electoral arrangements to the Legislative Council separately. That would mean that the bill on the district board elections in 1994 would be submitted to the Legislative Council first, and subject to circumstances, the bill on the Legislative Council elections in 1995 would then be submitted. Would the Administration confirm that this would not be the case?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, the Government is aware of the need to have the necessary legislation in place as early as practicable. But it would not be prudent for me to speculate the ways and means of achieving this while the talks are still going on.
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MR RONALD ARCULLI: Mr President, will the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, in reply to the Honourable YEUNG Sum's supplementary question, advise this Council whether the question of separating the electoral arrangements for the district board elections in 1994 from those affecting the municipal councils and indeed this Council in 1995 is still a live option, in case more time is required for the current Sino-British negotiations?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, the current talks are about the electoral arrangements for 1994 and 1995. With two rounds of talks behind us and a third in two days' time, it would really not be appropriate or helpful for me to start hypothesizing on what might or might not happen in the weeks ahead.
MR TIK CHI-YUEN (in Cantonese): Mr President, will the Administration inform this Council of the latest date by which the bill on the 1994 district board elections should be passed so that there will be enough time for such preparatory work as registration of electors and re-designation of electoral constituencies?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, I am fully aware that the next district board election is in September 1994. It is only 16 months away. So clearly we are aiming to have the relevant legislation in place sooner rather than later. It would not, however, be helpful for us to talk about absolute deadlines at this point. Again, I would like to assure Members that the necessary arrangements will be made in good time for the next district board elections.
MR LEE WING-TAT (in Cantonese): Mr President, I feel rather regretful that that is the case. If an election is to be fair, all serving members, prospective candidates in particular, must be given ample time to fully prepare for it. The Secretary has in fact not answered Mr TIK Chi-yuen's question. Would the Secretary inform this Council how much time, in his view, a new candidate should be given to make preparations in order to have a fair and reasonable election? Would the Secretary consider electoral arrangements to be fair and reasonable if the relevant legislation is only passed in May or June 1994?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, there are specific stages in any elections as regards the registration of electors, the drawing up of electoral boundaries, so on and so forth. The Administration is fully aware of those stages and we are working very hard towards keeping to them. But, as I have said in my main reply, there are factors to be balanced and I think the important thing now is for us to work hard for a successful outcome
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of the talks. This, I believe, is what the community, and what, I am sure, this Council wishes to see.
MR HOWARD YOUNG: Mr President, regardless of the outcome of the talks, is it not a fact that the 1994 election and the 1995 election are in fact approximately 12 months apart? Therefore, by commonsense, if one were to try and determine a so-called "red" date for each election by which date arrangements would have to be well in place, these dates would not necessarily have to be the same date to achieve the same purpose.
PRESIDENT: That is a question, Mr YOUNG?
MR HOWARD YOUNG: Yes, Mr President, my question is: Is it not a fact that because the elections are one year apart therefore if one were to set a date for each election by which date arrangements would have to be in place in good time, then the dates would not necessarily have to be one single date, but could be different dates?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, I am happy to confirm that those are facts.
MR MARTIN LEE: Mr President, will the Secretary confirm to this Council whether his answers given so far this afternoon were all taken directly from or inspired by the book "Yes, Minister" which many of us read?
PRESIDENT: I do not think that is really a question within Standing Orders, Mr LEE.
MR CHEUNG MAN-KWONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, from what the Secretary has said in his reply, we could easily get the feeling that the Administration is still looking on the outcome of the third or even later rounds of talks. Will the Administration inform this Council whether there is an overall time frame for the introduction of electoral legislation, or that each move the Administration will make is very much dictated by the outcome of the Sino-British talks?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, we are far more positive in our approach than the Honourable Member's question may suggest. I have already made clear in my main reply that we will have to balance a number of factors in deciding on the timing for the introduction of
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legislation. We will obviously also have to make an assessment on the progress of the talks as we proceed. It would be less than sensible if I were to go beyond what I have said.
MR JIMMY McGREGOR: Mr President, has the Chinese side been given advice by the British side on the possible need to establish a deadline for agreement in view of the need to ensure that these elections are held in good time?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, whilst I am not at liberty to disclose the contents of the talks, I am very sure that the Chinese side is aware of the exact dates of the elections in 1994 and 1995.
MR FRED LI (in Cantonese): Mr President, I have waited a week for the Secretary's reply to my follow-up question I raised last week and, to my disappointment, I cannot get a substantive reply from the Secretary. Before the Sino-British talks, the Administration has stated unequivocally that the relevant bills will have to be introduced to the Legislative Council before the current session ends on 21 July or else there will not be sufficient time to make preparations for the elections. I would like the Secretary to confirm whether the target date has now been deferred to the end of this year?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, as I have said, the legislation has to be in place well before the elections which are 16 months away. I do not think it would be very useful for me to specify deadlines at the moment when talks are going on, and I do not wish to say anything today which may be regarded by either the media or by the community as being not conducive to the success of the talks.
MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): Mr President, a while ago, the Secretary agreed with what Mr Howard YOUNG said in his question — that as there are two elections, one in 1994 and another in 1995, theoretically or logically, there should be different times for making preparations. May I follow that up and ask the Secretary whether he would agree that the length of time a candidate would require to make preparations for the Legislative Council direct elections is greatly different from that of district board or municipal council elections? In fact, even if the bills on the 1994-95 electoral arrangements can be introduced to this Council within this legislative session, it is already the latest that can be tolerated in giving candidates reasonable time to make the necessary preparations.
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SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, I am slightly confused by the focus of the question. If I may ask Mr TO to clarify it.
PRESIDENT: Would you like to put the question again, Mr TO, please?
MR JAMES TO (in Cantonese): Mr President, what I mean is that given that the Legislative Council direct elections are different in scale from that of the municipal council and the district board elections, does the Secretary think that candidates for the Legislative Council direct elections should be given sufficient time to make preparations? In fact, even if the relevant bills are passed within the current legislative session, the time given to candidates of the Legislative Council direct elections or other elections to make preparations is already the barest minimum that should be given.
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS: Mr President, I think I might be stepping on thin ice. Because I am not an elected Member of this Council, I would not presume to speculate as to what preparation someone like Mr TO would need to make for a geographically based election to this Council. But I am definitely able to agree with Mr TO that the preparation for a Legislative Council geographically based election involves a much larger constituency than that of a district board. So if one were to work on that basis, I think there would be strength in Mr TO's argument.
Employment opportunity for local workers
2. MR MICHAEL HO asked (in Cantonese): Regarding the stipulation that employers who apply for importation of labour must first register the vacancies with the Local Employment Service of the Labour Department, so as to prove that in spite of their efforts, they still cannot recruit the required local workers to fill such vacancies, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has been found in the past that employers set excessively demanding and harsh conditions of employment while so registering with the Labour Department, and thus were unable to fill these vacancies locally;
(b) if so, the details and statistics of such cases; and how they were handled by the authorities; and
(c) of the measures that will be adopted to prevent employers from such practice as a ploy or to be adopted by them to reduce the employment opportunity for local workers?
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SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Mr President, in the last two rounds of applications for quotas under the General Labour Importation Scheme, 3 537 employers (out of a total of 14 336 applicants) were found to have stipulated unreasonably restrictive requirements in terms of age, education and work experience when registering their vacancies with the Labour Department. All their applications were rejected as a result.
As regards the Special Labour Importation Scheme for the new airport and related projects, there have been two cases in which employers stipulated unreasonable requirements. These employers subsequently agreed to relax their requirements upon the advice of the Government.
The Government will continue to reject applications submitted by employers who impose unreasonably restrictive job requirements when registering their vacancies with the Labour Department. In addition, employers who are known to have refused to engage suitable local workers without reasonable grounds will also have their applications rejected. Employers are made aware of the Government's intentions both through general publicity and in the guidance pamphlets on the Labour Importation Schemes.
MR MICHAEL HO (in Cantonese): Mr President, it was mentioned in the first paragraph of the reply that over 3 500 employers were found to have stipulated unreasonably restrictive requirements when they registered their vacancies with the Labour Department and these were in fact examples of abuse. Can the Administration inform this Council of the cost of handling these 3 000 or so cases? What action is the Administration going to take to prevent these employers from further wasting public money?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, I have not calculated the cost. As for actions to prevent further occurrence, as I have said in my main answer, employers in general should be well aware of the Government's position, that is, if an employer imposes unreasonably restrictive requirements, his application for hiring imported labour will be rejected. I believe that this message is clear enough. Moreover, under the Labour Importation Scheme, the authorities will take into consideration any record of non-compliance when handling an application from an employer.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, from my previous contacts with factories which have hired imported labour, I understand that some owners will find some excuses to get rid of older workers. Can the Administration inform this Council what it does to monitor these factories to ensure that the livelihood of old workers will not be threatened as a result of importation of labour?
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SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, one of the preconditions of the Labour Importation Scheme is that an employer should not dismiss local workers upon securing the quota for imported labour. In other words, they cannot replace local workers with imported ones. Or else, we can take away the quota already allocated to him.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, actually my question is on how the Administration monitors these factories but it has not been answered. Does the Administration actually inspect these factories regularly and find out their employment situation?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): I am sorry, Mr President, I have missed out that part. The Labour Department will inspect workplaces regularly or irregularly through routine factory inspections. In places where imported labour are employed, staff of the Labour Department will try to find out whether imported workers have replaced local ones. Besides, if a local employee thinks that he has been unfairly treated, he can lodge a complaint with the Labour Department and the department will handle all such cases.
MR LAU CHIN-SHEK (in Cantonese): Mr President, may I ask the Administration the number of staff deployed and the number of cases involved in connection with inspections to check against replacement of local workers by imported labour in the past year? Have these cases been brought to court and what are the hearing results?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, as regards the first part of the question, I do not have any statistics ready at hand. As for the second part, staff of the Factory Inspectorate Division of the Labour Department very often do not visit factories or other workplaces just for a particular case or a particular purpose. In other words, the inspections are not confined to just seeing for example whether local workers have been dismissed and then returning the next day to check whether safety rules under the relevant ordinances have been breached, followed by further investigation the day that followed on whether there is any contravention of other ordinances. Therefore, it is very difficult to provide statistics on inspections that were conducted for the sole purpose of finding out whether local workers have been replaced by imported labour. As for prosecutions, I do not have the statistics in hand, but I will give a written reply. (Annex I)
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MR MARTIN BARROW: Mr President, following up on other supplementary questions, is it not true that examples of abuse are few and far between and represent a small percentage of those bringing in imported labour?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Mr President, I think our experience has been that obviously there have been a number of cases where the conditions of the General Labour Importation Scheme have been breached. I think I can also confirm that in the majority of cases employers have been observing correctly the required procedures.
MR RONALD ARCULLI: Mr President, will the Secretary for Education and Manpower inform this Council how many jobs were actually covered by what I imagine would be called "valid and proper applications" and whether this in fact is taken into account by the Government in setting the current limit of 25 000 under the present importation of labour scheme?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Mr President, in the case of each of the last two rounds of applications, the number of jobs covered by applications received were several times in excess of the amount of quotas available. I think the actual figures have been publicized on each occasion, although I am afraid I cannot remember them precisely today. But I think in the first case it was about four or five times oversubscribed and in the second case about three or three and a half times oversubscribed. However, the number of jobs covered by applications need not necessarily represent the exact number of vacancies which are waiting to be filled at any one time because there have been indications that some applicants may have deliberately inflated their applications in the expectation that the quotas would be oversubscribed and that by inflating their applications they would stand a better chance of getting an allocation. This practice is of course wrong.
In relation to the determination of the total quota for allocation, this is a figure which is determined by the Government, having regard to a whole range of factors including the local unemployment and under-employment rate, the number of vacancies registered in various industries, general forecasts of economic growth and a whole range of other factors.
DR HUANG CHEN-YA (in Cantonese): Mr President, some employers stipulate unreasonably restrictive requirements only when they interview job applicants but these requirements are nowhere mentioned in the advertisements they place in newspapers. What measures will the Administration take to guard against such a ploy?
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3559
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER (in Cantonese): Mr President, if a local worker has been unfairly treated or that he found some of the terms offered by an employer during a job interview are unreasonable, he can lodge a complaint with the Labour Department who will then investigate the case. If the employer is found to have stipulated unreasonable requirements, we will then consider rejecting his current application or even all his future applications.
Sale of public housing flats to sitting tenants
3. DR LAM KUI-CHUN asked (in Cantonese): It has been more than two years since the public was consulted by the Housing Authority on the proposed scheme for the sale of flats in public housing estates to sitting tenants. Will the Administration inform this Council of the progress of the proposed scheme and the target date for its implementation?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, the Housing Authority formulated revised terms on which to offer public rental flats to sitting tenants in November 1992. This was done after a review of the response to and public comments on the original terms, which were announced in mid 1991. The revised terms were put to the Government for consideration. In March this year, after careful deliberation, the Government decided that the revised approach should not be pursued for the present. It was concerned that the revised terms of offer might not be sufficiently attractive to persuade sitting tenants to move into home ownership in the numbers required to make the scheme viable.
As a result of the Government's decision, the proposed scheme has been shelved. The Housing Authority is now considering other ways of achieving the primary objective of increasing home ownership among sitting tenants.
DR LAM KUI-CHUN (in Cantonese): Mr President, since the Administration did not accept the Housing Authority's revised approach to sell public rental flats, can the Secretary explain in detail what conditions the Administration will accept in order to implement the proposed scheme to sell public rental flats?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, I do not believe that, in deciding not to support the proposal by the Housing Authority, the Administration should itself take on the task of formulating revised terms. The Administration has asked the Housing Authority or put it to the Housing Authority to consider other approaches and that, I believe, is what the Housing Authority is now doing.
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MR EDWARD HO: Mr President, will the Secretary inform this Council what the timetable is for the Housing Authority to come up with other suitable ways of achieving the primary objective?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, as soon as possible.
MR ANDREW WONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, may I ask the Secretary if the Housing Authority's proposal is believed to be infeasible and therefore not supported by the Administration, and as such, does he think that the Administration should formulate on its own another proposal for the sale of public rental flats?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, as I said in my main answer, the Government was concerned that the revised terms of offer might not be sufficiently attractive to those tenants at whom it was directed and that there would not be sufficient numbers in response to produce a viable scheme.
MR RONALD ARCULLI: Mr President, this is the second time that the Secretary for Lands and Works has referred to the revised terms as not being sufficiently attractive. Could he perhaps tell us in what respect they were not sufficiently attractive, whether it was simply payment terms that were unattractive, or the condition of the premises or the restriction on resale of those premises, to name but a few possibilities?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, I think the Honourable Member was referring to my predecessor in referring to the Secretary for Lands and Works. However, the Administration, I believe, is concerned that there is a difficult balance to be struck between, for example, setting a sale price which will be, if I may say so, low enough to be attractive to the prospective purchaser and, on the other hand, not being seen to give away a public asset at virtually no cost at all.
MR LEE WING-TAT (in Cantonese): Mr President, does the Administration think that this is very unfair, because the community, Members of this Council and even I myself, a member of the Housing Authority, still do not understand why the Administration has for the second time rejected the proposal? Should Mr EASON explain openly on behalf of the Executive Council or the Administration what the problems are with the second proposal of the Housing Authority, such that the community, this Council and other people concerned can express their views on a scheme which is considered better by the
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Administration? Otherwise how can the public be expected to put forward their views if the Administration only refuses to endorse but does not explain the rationale behind?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, I believe that the chairman of the Housing Authority wrote to members of the Housing Authority on 31 March conveying to them the information contained in a letter sent to him by the Chief Secretary on the reasons and they were basically along the lines that I have said in previous answers to questions and supplementaries today. I would add that I believe that the Administration would be very willing indeed to consider with the Housing Authority, through its chairman or vice chairman, fresh thinking on how the aim of this exercise might be achieved.
MR LEE WING-TAT: Mr President, may I make a point?
PRESIDENT: If it is a follow-up .....
MR LEE WING-TAT: No, Mr President, elucidation.
MR LEE WING-TAT (in Cantonese): Mr President, may I ask Mr EASON to elucidate one point. In the letter from Sir David FORD to the Housing Authority to which he referred, was it only said that the proposal was rejected because of problems like price and management, without going into details as to why the Executive Council or the Administration rejected the proposal?
PRESIDENT: That was the question, was it not, Mr LEE?
MR LEE WING-TAT: Mr President, it is not a question; it is not a question because I would like Mr EASON to elucidate whether the letter which was sent by Sir David FORD to the chairman of the Housing Authority only said that the Executive Council did not agree with the decision but did not explain why the Executive Council rejected a second time the proposal.
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, I am not sure about the reference to a second time. As far as I am aware, the Administration has only once offered views on the scheme as presented by the Housing Authority. The letter from the chairman of the Housing Authority to members of the Authority dated 31 March 1993 contains the following:
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3562
"You may wish to note that some Members (of the Executive Council) had expressed serious reservations concerning the financial aspects of the Scheme. They were of the view that the proposed terms of offer were not sufficiently attractive to entice sitting tenants to move into home ownership in the numbers required to make the Scheme viable. Moreover, Members were concerned that the proposed 30% threshold required to trigger the Scheme in individual blocks could lead to real problems of management and subsequent upgrading of blocks in a mixed ownership situation".
I believe that if the Housing Authority wishes to receive further indications from the Administration as to the basis of the statements contained in this letter, the Administration would be prepared to provide the Authority with further elucidation.
MRS SELINA CHOW: Mr President, from the Secretary's various answers and particularly the answer that he gave to Mr Edward HO when he said "as soon as possible", it certainly begs the question as to where the buck is right now. Could the Secretary please tell this Council what initiative the Government is taking or the Secretary is taking to achieve the objective of increasing home ownership among sitting tenants as soon as possible and how soon is that "as soon as possible"?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, the Administration believes that it is the task of the Housing Authority to formulate the thinking on housing policies of this kind. The Administration has made views known to the Housing Authority and I believe that the Housing Authority is considering these views and is considering other possible ways, for example, of adjusting the division of available home ownership flats between those who are in effect sitting tenants in Housing Authority flats and those who are outside the Housing Authority's area of responsibility. It is also reconsidering the basis of the Home Purchase Loan Scheme. So I believe that both the Administration and the Housing Authority are fulfilling their responsibilities and as soon as the Housing Authority has formulated further ideas these can be discussed with the Administration. I do not think it is possible in complex situations like this to devise realistic deadlines but, as I have said, I believe we should be moving ahead as quickly as we can and I think that is about as far as I can go with the definition of "as soon as possible".
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3563 Putonghua training for civil servants
4. MR MARTIN BARROW asked: Will the Government inform this Council of the progress made in the learning of Putonghua amongst civil servants, in particular,
(a) how many civil servants are currently having lessons;
(b) has any check been made on the proficiency of civil servants at senior levels; (c) is any reward payable for those passing language tests; and
(d) what steps are being taken to improve the current standards and whether lessons are mandatory for the officials?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: Mr President,
(a) At present, 545 civil servants are taking Putonghua lessons. Since 1985-86, some 4 600 civil servants have undergone Putonghua training.
(b) A survey is being carried out on the Chinese language proficiency of the Executive Grade. A similar survey will be conducted among senior departmental officers. Putonghua proficiency tests are carried out on Administrative Officers and Executive Officers on completion of each stage of training.
(c) There is no monetary reward for passing language tests. We do not think it is appropriate for civil servants to expect a reward for acquiring a language skill through training which is provided free and which will make them more effective at their work. Certificates of Attendance are issued on completion of each stage of training, in recognition of the level of proficiency attained.
(d) To a large extent, language proficiency comes with practice. In addition to a threefold increase in training opportunities since 1985, the Government also encourages use of Putonghua through visits to China for which interpretation service is not provided. One of the objectives of the Chinese Studies Course in Beijing is also to improve the Putonghua proficiency of civil servants through immersion training. At present, Putonghua training is compulsory for local Administrative Officers.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3564
MR MARTIN BARROW (in Putonghua): Mr President, will the Administration allow civil servants .....
PRESIDENT: I do not think Putonghua is permissible, Mr BARROW.
MR MARTIN BARROW: I apologize, Mr President. What I was trying to ask is whether or not the Government would consider allowing Putonghua in this Council to provide more practice opportunities for both officials and Members. I, for one, clearly need practice.
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: Mr President, although I have not checked Standing Orders myself, I am assured that Standing Orders currently do not allow the use of Putonghua in this Council.
PRESIDENT: Is that your question, Mr BARROW?
MR MARTIN BARROW: That is my question, Mr President.
MR STEVEN POON (in Cantonese): Mr President, as there will be more and more contacts between our government officials and their counterparts in China with the approach of 1997, will the Administration consider making Putonghua proficiency one of the promotion criteria for civil servants?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: Mr President, we do not at present contemplate making Putonghua proficiency a test for promotion although, as I have stated in my principal reply, it is our longer-term objective to improve proficiency both in written Chinese and Putonghua.
DR TANG SIU-TONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, would the Administration inform this Council how many of the 4 600 civil servants who have received Putonghua training are in the Administration Officer Grade?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: I am sorry, Mr President. I thought I had the statistics available but in fact I do not. I shall supply a written reply. (Annex II)
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3565
MR CHIM PUI-CHUNG (in Cantonese): Mr President, it was mentioned in the Secretary's reply that Certificates of Attendance were issued to officers on completion of their training. However, has the Administration recognized the need to carry out a test on their proficiency in listening and verbal communication or in either aspect before issuing them the Certificates of Attendance so that they can express themselves better when they say anything in Putonghua on behalf of members of the public or other parties?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: Mr President, as I stated in my principal reply, we do carry out a test of language proficiency by issuing Attendance Certificate and also in terms of testing the proficiency of Administrative Officers. That is carried out. In general, we believe that these should be sufficient to ensure increasing proficiency in Putonghua.
MR HOWARD YOUNG: Mr President, does the Government have a system of priorities among departments in enhancing proficiency in Putonghua, in particular giving priority to those departments where there is a lot of day to day interaction with Putonghua speakers, such as Immigration Department officers at Lo Wu who deal with China visitors and also Immigration Officers at Kai Tak who have to deal with Putonghua speaking visitors from China and Taiwan?
SECRETARY FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE: Mr President, we do in fact give priority to improving proficiency in Putonghua amongst those departmental officers who have an operational requirement, for example, regular contact with PRC officials. And, as Mr Howard YOUNG has pointed out, we do give priority, for example, to officers of the Customs and Excise Department and also Immigration Department.
Private sector's funding support for government projects
5. MR MOSES CHENG asked: Will the Administration inform this Council of its policies regarding the acceptance and acknowledgement of funding support or sponsorship from the private sector for government projects and programmes?
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY: Mr President, the Administration welcomes financial support of the private sector for government projects and programmes. It is an important form of public participation in government activities. While departmental practice varies somewhat depending on the
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nature and purpose of the donation, there are two broad principles in accepting a private donation or sponsorship.
First, the Government only accepts a donation or sponsorship from a reputable individual or organization in a manner which will not impair the image of the Government. Second, a donation must not result in an unacceptable recurrent commitment on public funds. For example, if a private donor wished to pay for a major piece of equipment, the Government would need to ensure that it could meet the cost of servicing that equipment before it accepted the donation. The same general principle applies to donations to projects undertaken by subvented organizations. The Hospital Authority, for example, would need the agreement of the Secretary for Health and Welfare if it wished the Government to meet any additional cost arising from a donation.
The way in which a donation is acknowledged depends upon the wishes of the donor and the value of the donation. Customarily, the more important the donation, the more elaborate the acknowledgement. Public recognition can take a variety of forms, including a mention in speeches or the participation of donors in ceremonies marking the key stages of a project's development, such as ground-breaking, topping-out. As a general rule, publicity must be in good taste. If a donor wishes to have the honour of naming a government project, he or she would normally be required to contribute at least 50% of the total cost of that project. Subvented organizations follow even more flexible rules. They are generally free to select names for their projects and to publicize donations as they see fit.
MR MOSES CHENG: Mr President, the Administration's answer tends to concentrate much more on accepting and acknowledging donation. Does it mean that the Government is less prepared to accept sponsorship from the commercial sector? In view of the ever increasing difficulties in getting donations, would the Government be prepared to accept sponsorship from the commercial sector on a much more extensive basis, and what is the policy regarding acceptance and acknowledgement of such sponsorship?
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY: Mr President, as I said in my main reply, the Government has a policy that welcomes donation and sponsorship. But any department accepting a donation or sponsorship would have to be rather careful to ensure that the acceptance would not give, or be perceived as giving, the donor/sponsor company or commercial organization any unfair advantage over other companies in the same field. But each case will have to be considered on its own merits and I believe the Government's practice in accepting donations and sponsorships is fairly flexible.
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MRS SELINA CHOW: Mr President, is the Secretary satisfied that the appropriate expertise and initiative exist in Government in the identification and marketing of government projects and programmes so that sponsors are secured wherever and whenever the opportunities arise?
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY: Mr President, of course, no programme is perfect, but over the past years we did receive substantial donations and sponsorship. For instance, in 1991-92 total donation came to $38 million and in 1992-93 total donation rose to $120 million. I am not saying that that would be enough. Nor am I implying that more need not be done. We would welcome ideas on what more can be done if there is a general feeling that the Government's present practice is inadequate.
MRS SELINA CHOW: Mr President, I do not think that my question has been answered. I asked whether the Secretary is satisfied that the appropriate expertise and initiative exist. He gave me an answer on how much the Government has managed to get in the way of donations. I would like to ask for an answer to my question, please.
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY: Mr President, I think my answer indicates the expertise or the lack of it within the Government in this regard. But I think the rising value of donations received indicates that the situation is not unsatisfactory. We do not employ professional people to enlist donation and sponsorship. But clearly it is already widespread practice in government, not only in central government but also in district boards as well, to receive donations where appropriate. But this is an area in which I am quite open to ideas.
DR PHILIP WONG: Mr President, would the Secretary confirm to this Council that there are no strings attached to these donations except for the naming of those projects?
SECRETARY FOR THE TREASURY: Yes, Mr President, in normal circumstances we would not accept any strings attached, and as regards the suggestion that a project should be named a certain way, we have a requirement which I have already explained. But as I also said, in accepting any donation a department need to ensure that the acceptance will not give any unfair advantage to the donor individual or company in any official dealings with the department.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3568 Written answers to questions
Guidelines to teachers on lessons on political subjects
6. MR CHIM PUI-CHUNG asked (in Chinese): Will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider issuing guidelines to the teaching profession, so that teachers will take a neutral stand to provide comprehensive education and guidance to students when giving lessons in or holding discussions on political issues?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Mr President, the Education Department has, for a number of years, issued general guidelines to teachers on the teaching or discussion of political issues. Teachers are advised to be objective and balanced in the treatment of the subject matter and to cover the pros and cons of any ideas, systems and processes. They are also asked to help students accept that other people may hold views different from their own and strive for co-operation and harmony with others who do not necessarily share their views. The overall objective is to help students form their own opinions on matters taught or discussed. Teachers who wish to express their own personal opinion are specifically invited to make this clear to the students.
In addition, teachers are given more specific curriculum guidance on subjects involving the discussion of political issues, such as Social Studies, Government and Public Affairs, Economic and Public Affairs and Liberal Studies.
Police resources to handle special situations
7. MR DAVID LI asked: Will the Government inform this Council whether the Royal Hong Kong Police Force has the resources to effect the required response to special situations, such as multiple bank robberies occurring simultaneously in one district, without compromising the existing level of effectiveness and efficiency?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Mr President, the resources of the police are sufficient to respond to all emergencies, including several incidents happening simultaneously in one district.
We have a high police to population ratio. Police officers on beat patrol are able to provide an immediate response to incidents on the street but they may call on other police formations for support. In the various police regions, support formations include motorcycle and mobile patrol units, Emergency
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Units and Police Tactical Units. The main function of the Emergency Units in each police region is to provide a fast response to emergency situations and to provide enhanced police presence on the ground to combat crime. The Police Tactical Units also provide backup capability to deal with emergencies. When the need arises, specialist formations from Police Headquarters may also be called in for service to assist.
The Police Force is also well equipped and well trained. Its communication system and information systems enable speedy transmission and retrieval of information and quick analysis of incidents.
Hospital facilities in Tseung Kwan O
8. MISS EMILY LAU asked: On 31 March 1993, the Secretary for Health and Welfare stated in this Council that the Administration would conduct a full review in two years' time to assess the need for additional hospital facilities in Tseung Kwan O, and in the meantime, would explore the need for other improvements in the short term such as the provision of specialist clinics. Is the Government aware that the non-committal nature of the Secretary's statement was greeted with disappointment and dismay by residents of Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung, and will it take steps quickly to reassure residents by announcing firm plans to build specialist clinics in Tseung Kwan O; if so, where and when will they be built?
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Mr President, I fully understand the concern of the Tseung Kwan O and Sai Kung residents for additional medical facilities. I assured Members in this Council on 31 March 1993 that we would bear the needs of our community firmly in mind. However, any proposal for a new medical facility must be carefully examined and fully justified on its own merits to ensure that public funds are spent in a cost-effective manner to cater for those in need. In the case of Tseung Kwan O, we must also take into account the pace of population build-up and the interface with other existing and facilities under planning.
At present, the Hospital Authority is working with the relevant government departments to identify a suitable site for the provision of a specialist clinic in Tseung Kwan O. Until this is done, it is not possible to be precise about the location or the timing of the completion of the project. Members may wish to know that once a site is identified and subject to the availability of resources, it would take two to three years for the construction of a clinic.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3570 Southeast New Territories landfill
9. MISS EMILY LAU asked: Regarding the development of the Southeast New Territories landfill, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) why the landfill site has to encroach on the Clear Water Bay Country Park;
(b) why such encroachment was not mentioned in the Public Works Sub Committee (PWSC) paper issued on 15 January 1992 in respect of this development project; and
(c) what mechanism is in place to ensure that the Finance Committee and its sub-committees are provided with all the information necessary for them to make decisions?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President,
(a) The South East New Territories (SENT) landfill encroaches onto the Clear Water Bay Country Park for the following reasons: it increases the capacity of the landfill by about 20% and substantially extends its potential life; it permits a more natural landfill design which, upon completion, will blend more readily with the surrounding landscape; and it will reduce the unit cost of disposal.
(b) Paragraph 3 of the 15 January 1992 PWSC paper referred to the need for "remedial measures for the nearby country park". This related back to a November 1991 PWSC paper which sought approval for the costs of "mitigation works due to encroachment onto country park area". The maps attached to both papers showed that the landfill indeed encroaches onto the country park.
(c) The object of PWSC and FC papers is to seek funding approval for projects for which all necessary consultation procedures have been completed and statutory or administrative approvals have been obtained. The papers are intended to be comprehensive but concise and to focus on the key issues requiring decision, namely the financial implications of the proposal they cover. Sufficient information should be included to enable Members to understand the background to the project and the primary uses to which the funds being sought will be put. Members are always welcome to seek additional information from the Government if necessary.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3571 Industrial accidents
10. MR TAM YIU-CHUNG asked (in Chinese): Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of industrial accidents, major industrial accidents and fatal industrial accidents in 1992 and their respective rates per 1 000 workers;
(b) of the causes of the fatal and non-fatal industrial accidents in 1992, broken down by the types of industry;
(c) of the number of inspections made on work sites, the number of prosecutions initiated in 1992, and the average amount of fine imposed in the successful prosecutions; and
(d) whether the methodology for preparing the statistical data on industrial accidents will be reviewed in order to show such statistics more accurately?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Mr President, the answers to Mr TAM's question are as follows:
(a) There were 55 343 industrial accidents in 1992, of which 65 were fatal. The accident rate was 57.23 per 1 000 workers. As at end of April 1993, 41 480 accidents have been assessed and 6 006 were identified as major accidents.
(b) The relevant statistics are annexed.
(c) The Factory Inspectorate of the Labour Department made 78 364 inspections in 1992 and initiated 2 811 prosecutions. The average fine for each conviction was $5,302.
(d) The methodology for preparing industrial accident statistics follows that adopted by the International Labour Organization. Practically all industrial accidents are reported due to the operation of the compulsory employees' compensation insurance system. The statistics accurately reflect the situation.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3572 Table 1
Industrial Accidents in Construction Industry
in 1992 Analysed by Cause
Cause of accident
Total No.
of accidents
No. of
fatal accidents
Stepping on, striking against or struck by objects
7 702 4
Handling without machinery 3 694 - Fall of person 3 036 24 Falling objects 1 109 3 Hand tools 818 - Machinery 805 5 Hot or corrosive substance 250 - Explosion or fire 88 3 Transport 74 1 Electricity 35 3 Fall of ground 15 -
Gassing, poisoning and other toxic substances
13 3
Miscellaneous 1 176 2 -------- --- TOTAL 18 815 48 ===== ==
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3573 Table 2
Industrial Accidents in Catering Industry
in 1992 Analysed by Cause
Cause of accident
Total No.
of accidents
No. of
fatal accidents
Hand tools 4 995 - Hot or corrosive substance 3 195 - Handling without machinery 1 878 -
Stepping on, striking against or struck by objects
1 875 -
Fall of person 1 830 Explosion or fire 257 1 Falling objects 225 - Machinery 220 - Transport 65 -
Gassing, poisoning and other toxic substances
4 -
Electricity 4 -
Miscellaneous 590 - --------- ---
TOTAL 15 138 1 ===== ==
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3574 Table 3
Industrial Accidents in Manufacturing and Other Industries
in 1992 Analysed by Cause
Cause of accident
Total No.
of accidents
No. of
fatal accidents
Stepping on, striking against or struck by objects 5 978 4 Handing without machinery 4 405 - Machinery 3 363 5 Fall of person 2 477 2 Hand tools 1 509 - Falling objects 1 033 - Hot or corrosive substance 718 - Transport 679 1 Explosion or fire 137 2 Electricity 19 2 Gassing, poisoning and other toxic substances 16 -
Miscellaneous 1 056 - --------- --- TOTAL 21 390 16 ===== ==
Town Planning Board's membership
11. MR LAU CHIN-SHEK asked (in Chinese): With regard to the composition of the Town Planning Board (TPB) and the question of the interests of its members, will the Government inform this Council of the following:
(a) the respective trades and professions to which members of TPB belong; and the proportion of members representing each of those trades and professions in TPB;
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3575
(b) the criteria by which members are appointed for ensuring representativeness in TPB; and the consideration given in the appointment process to the proportion of various trades and professions represented in its membership as well as the question of the appointees' interests; and
(c) what mechanisms are available in TPB to deal with the question of members' interests, so as to ensure that its decisions will not be influenced by those members who have individual interests?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, the membership of the Town Planning Board (TPB) should provide a range of knowledge and expertise in matters relating to urban planning and development. Members are appointed on the basis of individual expertise and involvement in various fields of relevant work. They are not, however, required to contribute to the deliberations of the Board purely from the narrow standpoint of their particular expertise, but to take a broader view based on common sense. To maintain a balance of interests in the Board, the background, business activities and public involvement of each member are all carefully considered before appointment is offered.
At present, the Board has 30 members. There are six official members, namely Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, as Chairman, Secretary for Home Affairs, Secretary for Transport, Director of Planning, Director of Buildings and Lands and Director of Environmental Protection and their alternates. The 24 non-official members, when broadly categorized by trade and profession, include four industrialists, four academics from fields related to planning, three engineers, three surveyors, three architects, two lawyers, two businessmen, one town planner, one social worker and one conservationist.
In line with the practice of other major public bodies, all members are required to complete a registration form declaring the pecuniary interests they hold. These registration forms are included in a register which is available for public perusal on request. Furthermore, TPB Procedures and Practice include guidelines requiring members to declare their interest in any relevant discussion item before the Board. The Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Attorney General's Chambers have been consulted on these procedures.
Illegal immigrant mothers
12. MR LAU CHIN-SHEK asked (in Chinese): Regarding the 56 "illegal immigrant mothers" who were repatriated to China by the Government in January 1988, will the Government inform this Council:
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3576
(a) how many of these illegal immigrant mothers have since been allowed to settle in Hong Kong; and
(b) of the respective places of origin of those mothers whose applications to come to Hong Kong have not yet been approved; and how the Administration is going to follow up their applications in order to facilitate their early settlement in the territory?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Mr President,
(a) A total of 70 "illegal immigrant mothers" were repatriated to China in January 1988. Sixty-two of them have now returned to Hong Kong on one way permits issued by the Chinese authorities, and been allowed to remain here.
(b) The places of origin of the remaining eight "illegal immigrant mothers" who have not yet obtained their one-way exit permits are:
Native No. of II mothers
Haifeng 4
Guangzhou 1
Panyu 1
Shantou 1
Shanwei 1--
Total: 8=
The Hong Kong Government has asked the Chinese authorities to consider sympathetically the case of this group for the early issue of one-way exit permits.
Public medical and health services at Discovery Bay
13. DR LEONG CHE-HUNG asked: Will the Administration inform this Council:
(a) of the public medical and health services currently available at Discovery Bay or its vicinity; and
(b) whether the Government has plans to increase such services and facilities in the near future to cater for the increasing population in the area as a result of the new airport and port development projects taking place in north Lantau; if so, what the specific details and time schedule are?
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3577 SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Mr President,
(a) At present, Discovery Bay has a population of 9 000 and is served by two clinics in Peng Chau and Mui Wo. Both clinics are managed by the Department of Health and provide general out-patient consultations, maternal and child health services, as well as an accident and emergency service.
Furthermore, Discovery Bay is served by a private clinic with three doctors providing general out-patient consultations and 24-hour home visit services.
(b) To cater for the projected population increase on Lantau Island, plans are in hand for the construction of a new health clinic in Tung Chung in accordance with the current planning ratio of one clinic per 100 000 population. This new clinic is expected to be completed by the year 1997 to dovetail the expected population intake. Medical facilities to be provided will include a general out-patient department, a family health service centre, a dental clinic and a chest clinic.
Arrests and convictions from identification checks
14. MR DAVID LI asked: Will the Government inform this Council of the trend since 1983 of the number of arrests and convictions resulting from identification checks by the Royal Hong Kong Police Force?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Mr President, statistics on the number of arrests and convictions resulting from identification checks are not kept.
The police do, however, keep statistics on the total number of identification checks conducted by police officers through the Enhanced Police Operational Nominal Index System (EPONICS) which came into operation in 1991. Details are as follows:
1993
1991 1992
(1 st quarter)
Total no. of EPONICS identification checks
2 553 095 2 596 135 637 850
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3578 Central Co-ordinating Committee of Elderly Services
15. DR YEUNG SUM asked (in Chinese): Will the Government inform this Council of the progress of the preparatory work for the establishment of the Central Co-ordinating Committee of Elderly Services which the Government has earlier undertaken to set up, and the Government's proposals on the functions and the development of this Committee?
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Mr President, the Administration recognizes that the policies on elderly services need to be reviewed to ensure that they continue to meet the changing needs of Hong Kong. We are already going full steam ahead to implement targets set out in the 1991 White Paper Social Welfare into the 1990s and Beyond for services for elderly persons, such as residential care services and social centres for the elderly to ensure timely completion of these projects. We are also examining the feasibility of the introduction of a senior citizens card in Hong Kong. To pull the various strands together, it is intended that a Working Group on Care for the Elderly will be established in 1994 to co-ordinate and monitor the provision and development of services for elderly persons.
Detection of water leakage
16. MR VINCENT CHENG asked: Regarding investigation of complaints of water seepage in private domestic premises where leakage source is unknown, and the Governor's pledge to provide efficient services to the public, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it is the case that colour water tests conducted to identify the source of leakage often take months to complete; and
(b) if so, what the reasons are for the time taken and what measures will be taken to speed up the process, such as by improving intra-departmental and inter-departmental co-ordination?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, the investigation of complaints about water seepage in private domestic premises is undertaken primarily by the two municipal services departments. More serious cases which constitute a potential health hazard or risk to the structure of the building are referred to the Water Supplies Department and the Buildings and Lands Department for action.
Water seepage tends to be a complex problem. The time taken to identify the source varies depending on the complexity of the case and the co-operation of the occupants concerned. Where the source of water seepage is not readily identifiable by visual inspection, a colour dye test using fluorescent green will
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3579 be carried out at drain outlets in the premises immediately above the affected flat.
The process of colour dye tests involves identifying likely sources of seepage and making an appointment with the owner or occupant of the premises in which the sources are located to carry out the test at a mutually convenient time. Success in making such arrangements depends on the co-operation of the owners or occupants. It is not unusual for investigating officers to be able to gain access to the premises only after weeks or months. The nature of colour dye tests is such that they take time to produce results — water seepage can be caused by a range of factors, the source may be remote from the manifestation of the problem and may be intermittent. A series of colour dye tests may well need to be conducted before a source can be identified.
If a dye stain is seen following a colour dye test, this is accepted as prima facie evidence of the source of the nuisance. Action can then be taken under sections 12(1)(a) and 127 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. If the colour dye test fails to help identify the source of seepage, water samples are collected for analysis by the Government Laboratory.
If, after physical inspection and colour dye testing, the municipal services department cannot trace the source, the case will be referred to the Water Supplies Department and the Buildings and Lands Department for further investigation. Whether this will help ascertain the source of seepage and how long it will take depends on individual circumstances which may vary widely.
To date, colour dye testing is considered the most practicable and effective means to trace the source of seepage. However, the departments concerned will continue to keep in touch with technological developments in this area, for instance, on the availability of equipment capable of detecting embedded leaking pipes within buildings. Recently, the referral system among the departments has been improved and this should help speed up the time taken to investigate cases.
Social workers engaging in political activities
17. MR CHIM PUI-CHUNG asked (in Chinese): Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the numbers of social workers employed by the Government and subvented agencies respectively; and
(b) whether the Administration is aware of any social workers who have made use of their working hours and relationships to take part or engage in political activities; if so, whether there is any plan to formulate the necessary code of conduct or guidelines to be observed by social workers and their employers?
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3580 SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE: Mr President,
(a) There are about 1 250 social workers employed by the Social Welfare Department in the Social Work Assistant grade and the Social Work Officer grade and about 2 800 social workers in subvented posts employed by non governmental organizations.
(b) Guidelines are provided to civil servants on joining political organizations or participating in political activities. There is no objection to non-directorate government social workers in engaging in political activities (except for standing for election) provided that such activities do not affect the performance of their own duties and do not take place during their normal working hours. However, as a general principle, it is important that the civil service should remain politically neutral in order to ensure that government business is conducted impartially. Civil servants should therefore ensure that their involvement does not give rise to any conflict of interest with their official duties.
Subvented non-governmental organizations are not a part of nor an extension of the Government. As the funding body, the Government monitors the services provided by non-governmental organizations through the use of output measures and performance indicators to ensure that the subvented services are provided at the intended standards.
Staff of non-governmental organizations, like other citizens of Hong Kong, have the right to participate in public life, including standing for election or being appointed by the Government to public offices such as members of district boards or the Urban or Regional Council. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service has since 1989 developed a set of administrative guidelines or pointers with regard to staff taking public offices for the general reference of non-governmental organizations. The main objective of these guidelines is to facilitate mutual understanding and to clarify expectations and obligations between agencies and their staff.
Water supply from China
18. MR ALLEN LEE asked: Will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the total water storage at the end of April 1993 compared to that at the same time in 1992;
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3581 (b) the unit price of water supplied by China; and
(c) the expiry date of the current agreement with China concerning the supply of water to Hong Kong?
SECRETARY FOR WORKS: Mr President,
(a) The total water storage on 30 April 1993 was 302.062 million cubic metres (51.5% full) and that on 30 April 1992 was 277.272 million cubic metres (47.3% full).
(b) The current unit price of water supplied by China is HK$1.772 per cubic metre. The unit price is applicable for the period 1 March 1993 to 28 February 1994.
(c) There is no expiry date of the current agreement with China concerning the supply of water to Hong Kong. The yearly quantities have been agreed up to year 2000 and the designed maximum capacity of the supply system is 1 100 million cubic metres per year. The two sides will decide in due course through mutual consultation the annual increments of supply beyond 2000.
Plot ratio of Kwun Tong industrial areas
19. MR SZETO WAH asked (in Chinese): Will the Government inform this Council whether or not it plans to reduce the existing plot ratio of the industrial areas in Kwun Tong; if so, the reasons for the changes, details of the changes, and when the changes will be implemented?
SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS: Mr President, the Kwun Tong industrial areas are at present subject to airport height restrictions under the Hong Kong Airport (Control of Obstructions) Ordinance. Development intensity there is also subject to restrictions under the Temporary Control of Density of Building Development (Kowloon and New Kowloon) Ordinance.
The planning, traffic, infrastructural and environmental implications of changing airport height restrictions, particularly after the relocation of the airport, are currently being studied in the "Review of Building Density and Height Restrictions in Kowloon and New Kowloon". Since the study is still in progress, it is premature to say whether the existing plot ratio restrictions will be changed or not. The study will be completed this year.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3582 First Reading of Bills
BUILDINGS (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL 1993
LIFTS AND ESCALATORS (SAFETY) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993 INSURANCE COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
Bills read the First time and ordered to be set down for Second Reading pursuant to Standing Order 41(3).
Second Reading of Bills
BUILDINGS (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) BILL 1993
THE SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS moved the Second Reading of: "A Bill to amend the Buildings Ordinance."
He said: Mr President, I move the Second Reading of the Buildings (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1993.
The present proposals should be considered together with the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1993 which will be introduced into this Council later today. The main purpose of the Bill is to rationalize the statutory framework for the control of lift and escalator works, in that one single authority should be responsible for all the related statutory controls.
Control over the design and maintenance of lifts and escalators is at present exercised principally by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services under the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance. However, the technical standards for the construction of lifts and escalators are specified in the Building (Lifts) Regulations and the Building (Escalators) Regulations under the Buildings Ordinance. To rationalize the arrangements, we propose that a single authority, namely the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, should be responsible for all these controls. On this basis, the existing provisions in the Buildings Ordinance on lift and escalator works which do not directly affect the fabric and safety of buildings should be incorporated into the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance. The building requirements for the installation of lifts and escalators will remain in the Buildings Ordinance under the supervision of the Building Authority.
Thank you, Mr President.
Bill referred to the House Committee pursuant to Standing Order 42(3A).
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3583 LIFTS AND ESCALATORS (SAFETY) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
THE SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, ENVIRONMENT AND LANDS moved the Second Reading of: "A Bill to amend the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance."
He said: Mr President, I move the Second Reading of the Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1993.
In addition to the transfer of statutory controls of lift and escalator works from the Buildings Ordinance, the present proposals seek to strengthen the control over the safe operation of lifts and escalators. As a first step, we propose that the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services should be given the power to publish from time to time codes of practice giving guidance and directions as regards the design, construction, maintenance and testing of lifts and escalators. This approach will allow more flexibility in the revision of these technical standards to keep pace with changes in technology.
To strengthen control over the safe operation of lifts and escalators, the definition of "escalator works" and "lift works" will be broadened to ensure that the inspection and checking of lifts and escalators is carried out by competent persons. In addition, registered lift and escalator contractors will be required to assist the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services in investigations relating to lift or escalator accidents by, for example, submitting accident reports. The sub-contracting or assignment of lift or escalator maintenance works to non-registered contractors will be regulated.
Minor amendments are also proposed to the Ordinance to update the definition of technical terms, to allow non-government lawyers to serve as legal advisers to disciplinary and appeal boards set up under the Ordinance, to increase fines to take account of inflation, and to enable the serving of some orders by regular post.
The proposals in the present Bill together with those in the Buildings Amendment (No. 2) Bill 1993 should bring more effective control to lift and escalator works for the greater safety of the public. I therefore commend them to Members for favourable consideration.
Thank you, Mr President.
Bill referred to the House Committee pursuant to Standing Order 42(3A).
INSURANCE COMPANIES (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
THE SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES moved the Second Reading of: "A Bill to amend the Insurance Companies Ordinance."
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3584
He said: Mr President, I move the Second Reading of the Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1993.
This is a composite Bill seeking a three-fold amendment to the Insurance Companies Ordinance — firstly, to delegate from the Governor in Council to the Insurance Authority the power to approve certain minor operational arrangements; secondly, to ensure that the Authority is notified and can, where appropriate, intervene when an ailing insurer is about to cease operations in Hong Kong or is subject to liquidation or similar proceedings whether within or outside Hong Kong; and thirdly, to impose additional solvency margin requirements on long-term insurers.
Let me first deal with the proposed delegation of powers to the Insurance Authority. These are powers exercisable by the Governor in Council under sections 6 and 19 of the Ordinance.
Section 6(1)(c) provides that an association of underwriters, other than Lloyd's, intending to carry on insurance business in or from Hong Kong, may be approved only by the Governor in Council. For this purpose, the criteria, set forth in section 8, whereby the Authority may authorize a company to carry on insurance business, should apply equally to an association of underwriters.
As to section 19(1), the provisions of that section of the Ordinance empower the Governor in Council to prescribe certain arrangements as undesirable and to require specific information from an insurer entering into them.
Since the exercise of these powers under sections 6 and 19 falls well within the competence of the Authority, the Bill proposes that they be delegated to him.
The Bill also seeks to provide for the power to require notification of cessation of place of business and of liquidation or similar proceedings to the Insurance Authority. At present, an insurer incorporated outside Hong Kong is not required to notify the Insurance Authority when it closes its place of business in Hong Kong. Although the Authority will eventually be notified through the Companies Registry, he is unable to take timely action to protect policy holders' interests. Nor is the Authority notified of insolvency and liquidation proceedings taken against an insurer outside Hong Kong or of similar proceedings, such as the enforcement of a judgement for payment, taken against an insurer incorporated either within or outside Hong Kong. Such proceedings may adversely affect the interests of Hong Kong policy holders, as the insurer's assets in Hong Kong may be at risk or, in the case of an overseas insurer, may be seized by an overseas liquidator for the benefit of preferential creditors overseas. The Authority should be notified of such events early on.
Therefore the Bill seeks to enhance the Authority's powers of supervision by requiring an insurer to notify him in advance of events indicative of the
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3585
company's insolvency and, in the case of an overseas insurer, that the company intends to cease business in Hong Kong.
I now turn to proposed amendments which would require long-term insurers to maintain an enhanced solvency margin.
Under section 10(2) of the Ordinance, a long-term insurer is required to maintain a solvency margin, that is, a minimum excess of assets over liabilities, of HK$2 million. This minimum, set in 1983, is no longer adequate to protect policy holders against the risk that the insurer may be unable to meet its obligations in full, particularly where the volume of business written by the insurer is substantial.
It is therefore proposed to enable the Authority to adjust the level of solvency margin to reflect current monetary values and to introduce two additional, higher levels of solvency margin below which the Authority would require an insurer to submit for approval, and implement, a financial plan or short-term scheme. The amounts of solvency margin to be maintained by a long-term insurer will be prescribed in regulations to be made under the Ordinance. These proposals accord with international practice and are well understood by the insurance industry.
Thank you, Mr President.
Bill referred to the House Committee pursuant to Standing Order 42(3A).
Members' motions
PRESIDENT: I have accepted the recommendations of the House Committee as to time limits on speeches and Members were informed by circular yesterday. The mover of the motion will have 15 minutes for his speech including his reply. Other Members will have seven minutes for their speeches. Under Standing Order 27A, I am required to direct any Member speaking in excess of the specified time to discontinue his speech.
ARTS POLICY REVIEW
MISS CHRISTINE LOH moved the following motion:
"That this Council expresses disappointment over the 'Arts Policy Review Report' and in particular, its failure to provide forward looking policy objectives and implementation options, and urges the Government to make a firm commitment to arts development, formulate a comprehensive arts policy to take Hong Kong into the next century, and release its definitive proposals for public comment before consideration by the Executive Council."
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3586
MISS CHRISTINE LOH: Mr President, I rise to move the motion standing in my name in the Order Paper.
I feel sad today because the Honourable Stephen CHEONG cannot be with us. The arts are something very close to my heart and I would like to dedicate the speech to him.
Any attempt to fix a policy for the arts is, by its very nature, a hazardous and imperfect exercise.
The concepts of predictability and objectivity, which are central to government policy-making in almost every other field of activity, are tools of only limited value when applied to the arts.
A successful arts policy must give at least an equal priority to the concepts of quality and creativity — subjective and unpredictable as those concepts may be. In consequences, those who devise arts policy must be flexible and adaptive. Their role is to create the conditions and the opportunities through which the arts may flourish, while leaving the talent and imagination of the arts community itself to decide how those conditions and opportunities are best to be exploited.
I sympathize, therfore, with the Commissioner for Recreation and Culture and with the members of his Review Group, whose duty it was to:
"Review Government's policy towards the ...... Arts, and to make recommendations ...... on Government's role in the future". (Paragraph 1.6)
They have worked diligently within the terms of their brief, and they have assembled much useful information about public policy towards the arts during the last 12 years.
But I must confess to a disappointment that so much of their report is occupied by the recording of past achievements, and so little of it by new thinking about the future. I fear, too, that the Review Group, as a purely internal creation of the Recreation and Culture Branch, has been rather too ready to assume the wisdom of past policy decisions, and in consequence rather too reluctant to ask any very radical or critical questions which might tend to upset existing preconceptions or existing arrangements.
Where recommendations are made, they are hesitant, vague and inconclusively argued.
I recognize that this Report is being offered as a "consultation paper" on which comments are invited. I hope, therefore, that all those people and groups with an interest in the arts will make a particular effort to offer detailed and constructive submissions.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3587
They are more likely to do so, of course, if they are confident that the Recreation and Culture Branch will give full weight to those outside comments and submissions which it receives, and particularly those which help to supply the perspective, the imagination and the originality which its own consultation paper lacks.
We need a policy which is more comprehending of the needs and the conditions of arts and artists in Hong Kong, and one which is more adequate in the development of a new arts policy to take Hong Kong into the 21st century.
Role of Government
I am particularly sorry that the Report, emanating as it does from a branch of the Government, does not arrive at a clearer formulation of what the purpose of an arts policy should or might be; and what role in consequence, the Government itself should or might seek to play.
The phrase which recurs at least three times in the Report is that the Government should be a "catalyst" for the arts. But I am not quite sure what exactly that is supposed to mean. I do not think the writers of the Report know either. In paragraph 2.6, they give the term a very interventionist connotation, portraying the Government as:
"..... a catalyst promoting and nurturing new performing arts groups and art forms". Then, in paragraph 3.5, they favour non-intervention, with the Government:
"..... maintaining its role as a catalyst by means of cultivation of a social and creative environment conducive to the flourishing of the arts".
Rather than try to arbitrate between these essentially meaningless generalizations, I would like to suggest how the Government's role in the arts might be rationalized. The Government should be there:
- to recognize and to articulate the importance of the arts to the intellectual, moral, psychological and spiritual well-being of society and of individuals;
- to assist and to encourage creativity, diversity and innovation;
- to assist and to encourage public participation and appreciation; - to provide appropriate and necessary funding;
- to oversee the administrative processes necessary to the efficient use of the money; and
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3588
to protect the legitimate rights and freedoms of the creative and performing artist.
Obviously, therefore, the starting-point for any coherent analysis of arts policy should be the Government's own understanding of why the arts should be supported. The reluctance of the Report to pose such a basic question is in large measure responsible for the very limited nature of its conclusions.
In failing to reflect very deeply on the purpose of an arts policy, the Report merely echoes the disinclination of the Government itself to clarify those objectives in the past.
At best, the Government has recognized that the arts may serve an educational role; that they may provide entertainment for the general public; and that they may, on a grand enough scale, bring international prestige. It does not appear to have attached very much value to the more intangible, but nonetheless vital, contribution which creative artists make to the society in which they live and work; nor to the pleasure which ordinary people may derive from amateur artistic activities, outside the context of formal education.
The consequence of those perceptions has been the evolution of an arts policy in Hong Kong over the past two decades which has overwhelmingly favoured the performing arts to the near-exclusion of the literary and visual arts; and which has channeled a very high proportion of available funds to the subsidizing of a few large professional groups.
That state of affairs is highly questionable, and it certainly deserves a far more searching and critical analysis than it receives in this Report.
Money
A second factor which limits the usefulness of the Report is its presumption that no more government money can be made available to the arts, whatever arguments might be made in favour of doing so.
Paragraph 4.7, for example, says that:
"..... the prospect of any significant increase in Government funding in 1993-94 and in years ahead is dim".
I do not find in the Report any very useful discussion of why so negative a presumption should be taken as a precondition. I can only hope that the Financial Secretary is less anxious to prejudge the results of the Review than is the Review Group itself.
Arts spending has risen relatively quickly in recent years mainly because it was starting from such a very low base. It is still not large in absolute terms, and in some aspects it is absurdly small. If strong arguments can be made that
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3589
the arts needs and deserves more public money, and that such money will be efficiently and productively spent, then the Government must surely be prepared to respond sympathetically.
If — and, I emphasize, if — one accepts, as the Review does, that money for the arts is going to be much tighter in the coming decade than it was in the last one, then the cost of maintaining a series of relatively large and expensive professional companies assumes a central role. The key paragraph of the Report (3.4) merely says:
"There is definitely a need to provide continued funding support to those seven professional performing companies, whose achievements have gained so much international prestige for Hong Kong".
This point is not even argued. It is merely asserted, and even then rather confusingly. Is the "international prestige" which these professional companies gain for Hong Kong the reason why they must, in the view of the Report, receive continued funding? Or is it merely a related observation — in which case, what is the basis for asserting so categorically the need for continued funding?
Do not misunderstand me: I am not looking for reasons to deprive any arts group of funding. I am merely trying to understand how the Government and the municipal councils analyze and rationalize the way they spend public money.
If professional arts companies are being funded in Hong Kong as a means of buying international prestige, then who is that prestige in turn supposed to benefit? And is it fair that money spent at least partly for reasons of "prestige" should be charged against the same budget which is being used for sustaining arts at the community and creative levels?
Further, the suggestion in the report that more might be done to encourage private sponsorship in the arts is unsupported by any useful discussion of how this might be achieved.
Literary and visual arts
The question of budgetary priorities becomes still more acute when one notes the continuing absence of any provision for the literary and visual arts. It was, quite simply, illogical and wrong for the literary and visual arts to have been excluded from the objectives and structures defined by the Executive Council in 1981. But I look in vain to the Report for any criticism of this damaging oversight; and, indeed for any explanation of the failure to make any substantial provision for the literary and visual arts in the intervening years.
The Report does try to suggest that writers and painters may have helped to disadvantage themselves by being, and I quote "..... highly individualistic and
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3590
fragmented" in their working habits. The truth of the matter is, I suspect, rather different. It is that literary and visual artists have suffered from the tendency of the Government to equate art with "entertainment", and in consequence to privilege performance at the expense of creation.
The individualistic nature of the literary and visual arts requires an individualistic approach. I suggest that creative art in these areas is best stimulated through a multiplication of grants, scholarships, fellowships and prizes, designed both to sustain and to reward the artists.
Whether this should be done through some small and dedicated body, or through a new and broadly-based Arts Council, is a separate matter. But equally, such questions are academic unless the Government accepts that the visual and literary arts do form an essential part of our culture, alongside the performing arts; and unless the Government accepts a corresponding responsibility to nurture and to fund those arts, for the civilizing pleasure which they bring.
An "Arts Council"
The creation of an "Arts Council", in place of the Council for the Performing Arts, is suggested as one possible device for integrating the literary and visual arts into the government-supported apparatus for arts administration.
The intention is a laudable one. But at the same time, the notion of an Arts Council raises other, and in some ways deeper, questions, which the Report goes out of its way to avoid addressing. It declares in paragraph 3.15 that:
"There can be no question ..... of the new Arts Council attempting to 'pool' Government and municipal councils' funds for subsequent disbursement, or seeking to establish policies for the arts which impinge on the municipal councils' policies and programmes".
Again, we are confronted with an unargued assertion of the utmost importance. Let me quote from comments on this point by the Hong Kong Cultural Sector Joint Conference:
They say, "If this were truly the case, then the establishment of a new Arts Council would be pointless, in this respect, as keeping the CFPA ..... While we know that ..... the problem of centralizing policy and funding of the arts is a very difficult one, nevertheless we feel that a blind refusal to even discuss the problem in the Report invalidates its claim to outline arts strategies for Hong Kong."
The comment is a fair one. Even if one admires the work of the municipal councils, there is no sense in simply trying to exclude discussion of their status from the Policy Review process, and it would be helpful for the
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Recreation and Culture Branch to state why they excluded the municipal councils from the review.
With respect to the proposed Arts Council itself, the best way forward is to set up a provisional body, along the lines suggested by the arts community. This provisional body would investigate the function and role which a definitive Arts Council might assume, and on that basis recommend the appropriate structure, composition and budget for an eventual establishment. The arts community must be fully involved in the provisional body. The Government cannot be allowed to rush something as important as the Arts Council through with the obvious lack of forethought which they have shown not to have in the Review.
Freedom of expression
I have touched on two of the areas in which I believe the Government has an essential role to play: those of money and administration. The third area is that of protecting the legitimate freedoms of the artist.
I presume that the Recreation and Culture Branch thought it would be in some way tactless, or superfluous, to observe that Hong Kong will soon be under the control of a sovereign power which is far more preoccupied with the suppression than with the promotion of free expression. But with that prospect in view, the recommendations in the Report are both timid and naive, namely that:
"Government should continue to maintain a neutral stand in such matter as artistic creation and expression .....", and
"Government should continue to review relevant existing laws to ensure their consistency with the Bill of Rights".
On the contrary, it is absolutely essential that the Hong Kong Government should pronounce its vigorous support for the maximum possible creative freedom and the maximum possible artistic expression, just as it supports the preservation of all other rights and freedoms in the territory. And it is equally essential that the Hong Kong Government be prepared to defend those freedoms, however strong the overt or covert pressure which may be applied to erode them in the future.
The Hong Kong Government should, moreover, not merely be "reviewing" laws for conformity with the Bill of Rights: it should be hurrying to strike down the ones which fail to conform, and it should be encouraging the widest possible interpretation of Article 16 of the Bill of Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression.
If an Arts Council is to be set up, its statutory duties should include, specifically, the defence and the promotion of artistic freedom.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3592 Music Office
Of the Report's other recommendations, I find the proposal to transfer the work of the Music Office to the Academy for the Performing Arts somewhat capricious. The arguments presented for such a move are slight and the benefits uncertain. The proposal seems to have been inspired by the desire to cut cost, but the Recreation and Culture Branch denies it. It is time for the Government to come clean and to argue its case fully and convincingly.
With these sentiments, I beg to move.
Question on the motion proposed.
MRS SELINA CHOW: Mr President, that the Arts Policy Review Report is a pink rather than a green paper is cause enough to make many who care about the arts and culture in Hong Kong see red. In it, apart from congratulating itself for what it regards as its great achievement in the last decade, the Government in the guise of the Recreation and Culture Branch (RCB) has shown no intention whatsoever of making any significant changes in what it and the two municipal councils have been doing in the development of the arts so far. The Review is merely an internal exercise to streamline present procedures and to trim its economy. Thus not surprisingly only two solid recommendations are made.
(i) The Government should, in consultation with the Council for the Performing Arts (CFPA), consider reorganizing the CFPA into a non-statutory Arts Council, so as to advise the Government on the development of the performing, visual and literary arts.
(ii) The Government's role in providing direct instrumental training by the Music Office should be reviewed and the possibility of transferring part or all of the Music Office's functions to other non-government organizations such as the Academy for the Performing Arts (APA) should be explored.
Such recommendations cannot be described as forward looking. The development of the visual and literary arts should long have been started with or without the Arts Council. And the intended transfer of the Music Office's functions to the APA is obviously a move to economize rather than to develop the popular direct instrumental training achieved by the Music Office.
An arts policy should be an accurate chart of the waters and the weather conditions ahead to help the Government navigate the arts in Hong Kong into the next century and not to encourage the Government to flounder in the present shoals in which it is stuck. Using the obsolete objectives approved by the Executive Council in 1981 is simply inviting disaster: the arts in Hong Kong have come a long way in the last decade and a new agenda is needed. The
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problems of writing a comprehensive arts policy for Hong Kong in the 1990s are many and complex. There are the historical problems which we have inherited from the cultural activities of the municipal councils, especially their financial autonomy, which make centralized planning and funding very complex. And there are increasing constraints on the growth in government funding which increases the necessity for the arts to look for private sponsorship. And in the face of increasing workload in schools, arts in education gets pushed more and more out of the school life of most students. Meanwhile time marches on and the problem of integrating our arts and cultural programmes with those of China becomes more urgent. These are all very real and very difficult problems: problems which need to be solved with wisdom and with diplomacy. To take time over finding a solution to these problems is necessary. To escape from them is foolish and dangerous.
If we think that the arts and culture are important to us, if we think that we would like to leave a legacy of the freedom and the ambience to lead creative lives to our children and our grandchildren, now is the time to act. The first step is to urge the Government of Hong Kong to make a firm commitment to the development of the arts. It can start to do so by setting up an arts administrative structure, which is made up of people who are knowledgeable in and committed to the arts, to formulate a comprehensive arts policy. The Government should not repeat its mistake of setting up yet another non-statutory and purely advisory committee where ideas and action may get constantly hindered or even stifled by bureaucratic constraints. For the new structure to work, it must be given sufficient power to do what previous arts administrative structures have never had the clout to do — tackle the mighty task of achieving central planning and central funding by integrating the functions and funding of the central government and the two municipal councils.
This new arts administrative structure should then have the power to give space to the artists and performers to practise their arts — the space which comes from a guaranteed freedom of expression as well as the freedom of the artists to express themselves in any way they choose so long as they do not infringe the law pertaining to national security and public order and in respect to the rights and reputations of others.
The new structure must also carry as one of its responsibilities the cultivation of young artists and audience. And this it would do by working towards the inclusion of an arts subject within the school curricula so that students would grow up learning about the performing, visual and literary arts as part of their natural process of growth.
The popularization of the arts is important and we would want to see a support of not only what has been described as the high arts, but also a "grass root" culture. Organizations like the Music Office has done sterling work with the dissemination of music appreciation through the teaching of musical instruments in areas which most need them and at a fee level acceptable to those areas. But in recommending a transfer of these functions to the APA, the RCB
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is surely confusing the need for the wide dissemination of the arts with the need for any city or country to help its talented artists in their pursuit of excellence. Both are necessary for a society which wants to ensure a life style of creativity for its young. Neither contradicts the other. If the Government had a centralized arts administrative structure, it would be able to devise a strategy whereby those who participated in the wide variety of culture would also be able to enjoy the pool of artistic talent of their home city. Incidentally, this clear division between an encouragement of the general populace to vitally participate in a variety of culture and the nurturing of artistic talent to international standards of excellence may also help to sort out the confusion between the encouragement of the professional and the amateur. The culture development of a city should not be seen as a progression from the amateur to the professional. Rather it should be seen as complementary development of both the amateur and the professional so that the creative vitality of the city is seen in its free creativity as well as in its dedicated cultivation of skills. In this perspective, the work of the Music Office cannot be achieved by the APA since the former encourages the creative vitality at grass root level whereas the latter professes to train professional skills to their highest level.
Singapore has already stated its aim of becoming the arts capital of Asia by 2000 AD. Hong Kong is in a good position to vie for this position. It can win if we can stir up the political will to draw up an arts strategy that will lead Hong Kong and ultimately China into the 21st century.
MR EDWARD HO: Mr President, I welcome this opportunity to debate on the Arts Policy Review Report of the Hong Kong Government. Matters that affect the mind and the intellect are not often the subjects of debates in this Council. Yet they are just as essential as other more materialistic matters that affect the physical well-being of our citizens.
The development of arts in Hong Kong has been rather one-dimensional. Due to the decision of the Executive Council in 1981, the development of the performing arts was made possible with government funding. As someone who particularly enjoys the performing arts, I welcome the improvement that that decision was able to make to performing arts in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, because development was narrowly based upon the performing arts, very little was done to develop visual and other forms of arts.
In considering the development of arts, it must be understood that all arts are interrelated and it would be a mistake to forge ahead on one form of arts without support given to other forms. Whilst not many can aspire to achievement of excellence in the arts, the opportunity to acquire appreciation of the arts should be available to all. This opportunity should be given to all our children from the very early age. I shall therefore comment briefly on arts in education.
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In discussing arts in education, I have to ask the question of what is our aim in our education system. I assume that our aim in education is not just to produce walking depositories of facts. Our aim should be to educate our children so that they have a broad balance of knowledge and culture. Besides the acquisition of knowledge, they should be able to develop creativeness, initiativeness and a strong sense of value in themselves. Arts in education is not just one period a week in painting or music but the cultivation of a general awareness in arts and culture in many subjects that are to be taught: history and geography come most readily to mind, but there are others, which are subjects that can and should incorporate appreciation of aesthetic values, cultures and heritage. These values can only be imparted to students if resources were given so that teaching materials were designed with those objectives in mind.
The Report totally ignored the interdependence between arts, architecture and urban design. In addition, it failed to note the importance of the public awareness of the arts to the creation of better architecture and urban design. Because architecture and urban design have been totally left out from the Review, the Report did not suggest any commitment of the Government in the promotion of public awareness, promotion and sponsorship of a higher standard of architecture. This is regrettable because our physical environment directly affects our quality of life.
I share the same feeling of many of my colleagues in this Council as well as members of the arts community that the Arts Policy Review Report lacked vision, comprehensiveness and commitment to the promotion and development of arts in Hong Kong. I strongly object to the abolition of the Music Office and pushing it to the Academy for Performing Arts. I consider that this is a retrograde step considering that the Music Office has done so much to provide affordable opportunities for our young to develop their performing skills, which they would find it almost impossible to obtain in non-government funded organizations.
Mr President, I suggest that the future Arts Council should develop a strategy for the promotion of the arts along the same line as what has been achieved in the performing arts. I urge the Government to make the commitment to provide the additional resources to make that possible, without diluting the resources given to the promotion of the performing arts.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR MARTIN BARROW: Mr President, I welcome the Report and its release for public consultation. However, this paper is basically a review of what has happened and where we are now. What we now look forward to is a creative paper which outlines plans for the future.
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 19 May 1993 3596 Importance of the arts in enhancing Hong Kong's image internationally
The arts play a pivotal role in shaping our society by enhancing the quality of life and strengthening the cultural identity of Hong Kong. Architecture, the design of our city, the decoration of our homes, the contents of our entertainment, the design of the goods we consume are all derived from the insights of talented artists. It also provides a positive outlet for the energy of our young people and nurtures their creativity, the latter being particularly important in providing us with the competitive edge over other cities in East Asia. Let me refer to the role of the arts in enhancing Hong Kong's international image.
Hong Kong has become a leading cultural capital in East Asia in the last decade. We can take pride in having so many purpose-built cultural facilities in Hong Kong and professional performing companies in almost all the art forms. The vibrant arts scene is reflected in the full schedule of artistic events featuring both local and overseas artists throughout the year as well as the annual Hong Kong Arts Festival which attracts attention both locally and in the region.
The Report has, however, failed to view the achievements of the arts in such a wider context. It is only natural that one objective for the next decade should be to consolidate and enhance the position of Hong Kong as a leader in the arts in East Asia.
The vibrant arts scene in Hong Kong is increasingly becoming an attraction for tourists, particularly those from the region. When the Arts Festival was publicized in Taiwan last year, there was strong support from the media there. Needless to say, one of the attractions for the international community working and living in Hong Kong is the rich programme of cultural activities on offer.
It is disappointing that there was no mention in the Report of the importance of maintaining international cultural exchanges and no indication of commitment from the Government to support such activities in the future.
Strengthening and promoting Hong Kong as an international city has been a key theme in this Council for some years and I hope Members will agree the importance of the arts in this context.
Development of the arts in relation to China
I turn now to the development of the arts in relation to China. It is a pity that the Report ignores the increasingly close links Hong Kong has with China and its impact on the arts. When people in China are so fascinated by the food, fashion, and popular culture of Hong Kong, they should be informed that Hong Kong people also enjoy a unique and rich cultural life, which we will maintain beyond 1997.
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It is therefore important that the achievement of the arts in Hong Kong and our unique cultural identity be publicized in China, through visits of Hong Kong artists and companies. Our distinguished dance director Willy TSAO and his City Contemporary Dance Company have been doing exactly that, but with no government support so far. In many other fields, Hong Kong has successfully acted as China's window to the world. This can happen in the arts and should be one of the priorities.
The Hong Kong Arts Festival
Turning to the Hong Kong Arts Festival, on which I declare an interest as chairman, it is disappointing that the Festival merits little mention in the Report. This omission seems to overlook the Festival's role as a catalyst in stimulating a wider interest in the arts and in helping to underpin Hong Kong's strength as an international city. The Government's contribution to the Festival was less than 3% of total expenditure on the arts last year and I feel it deserves a longer-term commitment. The Festival is determined to strengthen local participation while broadening the artistic horizon of the people of Hong Kong by featuring innovative programmes. I can assure my colleague, Miss Christine LOH, that the Festival is not just in business for prestige. Sponsorship income has increased rapidly over the past three years including support for special student ticket sales at very low prices. Attendances have been consistently high at over 80%. The freeze in grants over the past two years has curtailed activities, both of the Festival as well as other subvented organizations. I urge the Government to re-examine this policy.
Encouragement of private initiatives
Turning to the support and encouragement of private initiatives, whilst it was only logical that the Arts Council proposed in the Report should be given additional resources to the present Council for the Performing Arts in order to support new initiatives in the visual and literary arts, it is important that the Government and the two municipal councils should regularly review their funding policies and the cost-effectiveness of their present structures.
I believe that independent arts organizations, even if they are funded by government agencies, are much more cost-effective than government managed institutions. In most cultural capitals around the world, arts events are presented by commercial promoters or non-profit arts organizations rather than by government institutions. Government subsidies are thus able to achieve the greatest impact.
I must however acknowledge that the arts in Hong Kong would not have developed as quickly without the direct involvement of government agencies, in particular the Urban Council, to whom we must be grateful. However, the continued success of the arts in future would require the participation of private impresarios and independent non-profit organizations. It is time to urge the
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municipal councils to examine whether some of their functions in the arts, such as the management of performing companies, can be privatized.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Mr President, I welcome the proposal to establish an Arts Development Board which I consider the most appropriate name, expanding its scope to cover the visual and literary arts. However, it should not be just an expanded version of the existing Council for the Performing Arts. Experience in dealing with the present system shows that it is inadequate and fundamental changes are necessary.
I agree with the suggestions that the future Arts Development Board should be executive rather than advisory, that it should have broad representation from different interests, that it should be independent from the Government, served by arts professionals and helped by first rate professionals with a personal interest in the arts and the broad background in the community.
I urge the Government to appoint without delay a Provisional Arts Development Board to make preparations for the setting up of the Arts Development Board. Once a plan has been drafted, there should be public consultation and I hope the Government will set themselves tight deadlines so that the final board can be up and running by the end of 1993.
Finally, I take this opportunity to encourage the Government to support the proposal that there should be an arts and culture functional constituency in 1995 as this would do much to enhance Hong Kong's cultural life and ensure a channel of communication between the Government and the arts field.
Mr President, I support the motion.
MRS MIRIAM LAU (in Cantonese): The Government's efforts to promote arts development over the past 10 years have certainly resulted in Hong Kong's shedding its bad name as a "cultural desert". Yet, compared with other countries in the world, arts development in Hong Kong still remains at an early stage. Indeed, the Government must take a more positive approach, and make a greater commitment, to culture and the arts. However, instead of doing so, the Government in the past three or four years appropriated very little money for the arts (the performing arts in particular). This has not only put arts development on hold but caused many up-and-coming arts groups to wonder where they should go from now.
During the latter half of the 1980s, artists were delighted to see that the Government made available generous financial resources for cultural and arts development. Appropriations on that front increased from $320 million in 1987 to $570 million in 1990. And allocations for the performing arts, in particular, increased by nearly 100%. During that period, the spending of the
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two municipal councils (MCs) on arts promotion also went up by 86%. For a time, the Government's policy for the promotion of the arts, plus the money it invested in the Academy for the Performing Arts, filled the arts community with hopes in the future. But then, the three years from 1990 to 1992 saw a steady decline in the rate of increase in arts spending by the two MCs. In addition, the Government basically froze appropriations for the promotion of the performing arts at $35 million a year. The news that an arts policy review was to be conducted, when it was first announced by the Government, raised the expectations of the arts community, including arts lovers. They looked forward to the Government's laying down a policy that would set the direction for cultural and arts development, a forward-looking and imaginative policy that would aim high. They hoped that this would end their bewilderment of the past years. Yet the review has turned out to be very different from these expectations. And no wonder it has incurred so much harsh criticism.
I am disappointed at the Review Report for two reasons. Firstly, the review fails to provide a serious assessment of the successes and failures of the existing arts policy. Secondly, it does not answer the question of insufficient funding, which is the cause of the plight into which arts development has now sunk.
Review of existing policy
The Report fails to make an assessment of the successes and failures of the existing arts policy. In particular, it fails to make a review of the relationship between the Government and the two MCs in the area of arts promotion. The Report seems to give its blessing to the existing policy and regard it as correct, effective and free of error. Should this be the case, it ignores the basic problem that has been ailing arts development for a long time. Our total spending on the arts is $730 million and 77% of which comes from the two MCs. The rest of the fund is allocated by the Government on arts education and on the promotion of the performing arts. Firstly, the money is far from being evenly distributed. Secondly, there is no co-ordination between the Government and the two MCs, thus leading to a situation where each party has been doing its own thing and pursuing its own arts development goals. This is euphemized as arts diversification, but, in reality, such arrangement fails to set a direction for Hong Kong's arts development. Now the problem is that we have spent substantially but the results have not been satisfactory.
The two MCs have always been represented on the Council for the Performing Arts (CFPA). They have also been represented on the subcommittees under CFPA, where their representatives serve as some kind of a link between the Government and two MCs. At one time, I was a member of the Regional Council (RC). I am still a member of CFPA. Speaking from experience, I cannot see that this kind of arrangement can serve to establish the needed channel of communications between the Government and the two MCs. The Government, in fact, does try, or indeed is unable, to influence the orientation of the two MCs in the area of arts development. Nor are the two
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MCs apparently interested in influencing the Government's arts policy. How can there be sound arts development in this way?
The Government has now proposed to set up an Arts Council (AC) and to promote arts including visual arts and literary arts. This proposal deserves a lot of support. However, if the Government and the two MCs are to entirely rely on their representation on AC to maintain communications in the same old way, they would encounter the same problem as in the case of CFPA. And the results again will not be satisfactory. It is a common practice for the Government to set up an inter-departmental group to deal with a major issue. For the promotion of the arts, I think that consideration should be given to the establishment of an inter-agency group composed of representatives of the Recreation and Culture Branch and representatives of the two MCs. This body will process the views of the three parties and come up with an arts policy they endorse. The responsibilities for implementation will then be divided among the Government and the two MCs. Each will take steps to do its share. This will not impair the autonomy of the two MCs; yet it will enable arts development to be moving in the same direction through concerted efforts.
Problems arising from insufficient resources
Honestly, the Government's funding for the promotion of the performing arts is far from enough. Worse still, appropriations were frozen during the past three years and they will increase by only 4.5% in the current year, not enough even to catch up with inflation. A mere $30 million or so is to serve the purposes of performing arts promotion and arts development. At the end of the day, I am afraid neither purpose will be adequately served. In the past few years, there was no increase in real terms in annual appropriations for the subsidized professional or semi-professional arts groups. The inadequate subsidy, coupled with inflation, has landed these groups in serious financial difficulties. And they have found it hard to make ends meet and simply have been unable to pursue any development programme. At the moment, financial resources made available for the subsidized professional and semi-professional arts groups take up the lion's share of the total funding for the arts. Only very little is left for the subsidized amateur arts groups. As the number of professional and semi-professional arts groups increases, if they all continue to be subsidized on the same scale, then less and less money, relatively speaking, will go to the amateur arts groups. The Government will in consequence find it harder to use subsidies to help amateur performing arts groups to attain professional status. Unless the Government swiftly finds a solution, the situation is bound to get worse. For solving the problem, the Government must make a greater commitment to the development of the performing arts. And, over the long term, the Government should consider phasing out subsidies earmarked for arts groups which have attained professional status. The proviso is that the Government must arrange things carefully before going ahead with such a plan, so as to make sure that each arts group will receive all the help that it needs to survive and grow without subsidy.
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I understand that the Government's resources are not infinite. To ease the Government's burden, the best thing to do is to let the private sector sponsor arts activities and indeed performing arts groups. However, I have learnt from performing arts groups that private institutions are generally lukewarm when they are approached to act as sponsors and that participation in the matching grant programme has not been enthusiastic. This is all the more reason why the Government should take steps to encourage private institutions to sponsor arts activities. One possible measure is to allow them to deduct for tax purposes any money that they spend on such sponsorship.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support the motion.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr President, the term "the arts" very easily conveys the meaning of things classy, abstract and aloof. The mention of "arts policy" often gives one the feeling that it is something exclusive for a high intellectual or a professional artist. But my interpretation is different. I think that the arts have to do with everyday life. Just as everybody needs food, clothing, housing and transport, he needs the arts as spiritual food or food for the mind.
Arts policy affects every citizen closely. A popular arts policy must be able to make the lives of the public more colourful and to add meaning, fun and pleasure to the otherwise boring lives of the citizens. Arts policy has traditionally been for the middle class and the intelligentsia. It used to overlook the needs of the general public. As a result, the arts have become increasingly irrelevant to the general public. The Recreation and Culture Branch (RCB) of the Government Secretariat, in its recent consultation paper on arts policy, failed as usual to consider the interests of the general public. For instance, the consultation paper recommends dissolving the Music Office and making it a part of the Academy for the Performing Arts. This recommendation clearly intends to turn a popular training office into an elite body. The needs of the general public are thus disregarded.
It has been seven full years since I first became a member of the Regional Council (RC). I have learnt deeply from experience over the years that there is no co-ordination between the Central Government and RC in the area of arts promotion and the area of arts training, and that resources are not put to optimum use. Yet the Review Report this time fails to make a comprehensive review of the functions and responsibilities of the two municipal councils (MCs). This is really a serious mistake. I believe that an arts policy based on such a mistake will be unbalanced and without a solid foundation.
Why do I think that arts policy must cover the two MCs? The reason is that, practically speaking, the two MCs together account for 70% of total spending on the arts. The two MCs together practically control all of Hong Kong's venues for the performing arts. How, then, can the two MCs be left out of the review of arts policy? What exactly is the Central Government
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trying to hide? What is it afraid of? Confining my observations to RC, spending on the performing arts accounts for only 6% of its total annual spending. I believe that we will have better development of the performing arts if RC gives them a higher priority.
From my contacts with officials of RCB, I know why the arts policy review this time did not extend to the two MCs. The reason is that the two MCs are supposed to be independent and autonomous bodies. In my view, however, the fact that the two MCs are functionally independent should not be a justification for failing to extend the review to them or for failing to consult them. I am disappointed by what the two MCs and the Central Government did in the arts policy review this time. They ignored the public; they disregarded the realities.
During the 11 May meeting of RC's Recreation and Culture Select Committee, I suggested that RC should adopt a more positive approach to arts policy and that it should initiate contacts and consultations with performing arts groups. Unfortunately, my suggestions were rejected by RC. RC behaved as an independent kingdom. Even worse, its executive arm, the Regional Services Department (RSD), took a bureaucratic and closed door approach. Here is an example. When it was suggested that it should take over the Music Office, RC came back with a totally negative response, for which three justifications were cited:
(1) The suggested course of action would be a departure from existing policy, under which arts training is a territory-wide matter and the responsibility of the Hong Kong Government.
(2) The Music Office has an establishment of 145 full-time employees. RC would have to have a lot of extra money and manpower to take it over.
(3) The suggestion would affect RC's priorities in funding other competing works projects on its programme.
I personally think that none of the three justifications is convincing. Firstly, is it not true that RC is a component of the Government? Clearly, the first justification is simply not tenable. Secondly, it is not true that RC will have to have a lot of extra money and manpower before it can take over the Music Office. In preparing its discussion paper and other papers, the RSD simply failed to consult RCB, which had already made it clear that whichever agency took over the Music Office would be given the original resources for the Music Office. There would be no need for this agency to come up with extra resources on its own. When I asked the Director of Regional Services about this matter, he said that as the consultative paper had not mentioned this point, he did not have this point canvassed in RC papers and that there was no need for him to seek further information from RCB. Mr President, if this is the bureaucratic attitude of a senior official responsible for $130 million worth of
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spending on the performing arts, how can we have confidence in RSD's ability to provide arts activities to meet the public's needs?
Mr President, as a Legislative Council Member and an RC member, I understand very well the consequences of resource duplication and waste in the area of arts promotion. I also know of young people with ambition and zeal who wanted to contribute in different ways to arts development in Hong Kong but who were disappointed and frustrated by the lack of facilities, resources and manpower and finally had to give up their ambition. I believe that, if the review this time fails to be a genuine comprehensive review, more talented and ambitious young people will meet the same fate and walk away in disappointment. I hereby call on the Government as well as the two MCs and the two municipal services departments to have the courage to accept a genuine comprehensive review of arts policy.
Mr President, I personally think that an arts policy that is really right for Hong Kong must be based on three principles as follows:
1. Arts development in Hong Kong must serve the interests and needs of all social strata.
2. The statutory bodies and organizations with responsibilities for the arts must have their duties and responsibilities clearly spelt out.
3. The Government must provide ample money and manpower to enable the set policy to be implemented.
Mr President, I fully support the Honourable Christine LOH's motion.
MR CHEUNG MAN-KWONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, the arts is a yardstick for civilization and progress. An important duty of government is to promote arts development. One function of education is to put young people in touch with the arts and turn them into arts lovers or creative artists.
In reading the Arts Policy Review Report, I focus my attention first of all on basic arts education and training. I am convinced that, while creative talent comes with birth and good works of art are inspired, the ability to understand and appreciate the arts is acquired through education and training. Good arts are said to be difficult to understand. Sometimes, the problem is not so much that an arts work itself is too profound as that people are not trained to understand it. Therefore, in arts development in Hong Kong, a step that must not be overlooked is to raise the standard of arts education in primary and secondary schools.
If we look at the Review Report from such an angle, we will find that the Recreation and Culture Branch (RCB) is shirking its responsibility by recommending turning over the Music Office to a non-government body, such
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as the Academy for the Performing Arts (APA), citing cost-effectiveness as the justification. Such a move will be a heavy blow to popular music education. In fact, the Music Office has been providing services, including Chinese and Western musical instrument training, band training and music appreciation training for school children, that effectively make up for the shortfalls of music teaching in the present school system, enable students to fill out their after-school hours and widen the range of music training. These are positive functions. Such functions will be more effective if they are directly sponsored by government agencies and are supported by co-operation between government departments and private organizations.
Mr President, if the Music Office did have a problem, it was the problem of diminishing government investment. This problem caused the number of instructors, learners and bands to decline steadily. Many school children wishing to receive training at the Music Office were turned away at the door. Here is the best example. In 1990, the Music Office operated eight music training centres. In the three years since then, the centres at Yuen Long, Tai Po and Yau Ma Tei were closed. Many school children living in remote areas have since had to travel far to receive training. They are not "country hicks coming to town." They are "cello carriers coming to town" to take music lessons. RCB apparently wants there to be fewer music students and more obstacles for music learners. This is hard to understand.
Mr President, I support the conversion of the Council for the Performing Arts into an Arts Council (AC) that covers the visual arts and the literary arts, with a corresponding increase in government subsidies. In the area of the visual arts, popular education and development are at a very backward stage and the policy for fine arts education in primary and secondary schools is contradictory and confusing. Under the present rules of the Education Department, teachers of fine arts and designing in junior middle schools must have received fine arts training. But, among the 9 000 or so fine arts teachers of primary schools, more than half have not received any kind of professional training. Mr President, why, under the same Education Department, are the requirements on fine arts teachers so different between primary schools and secondary schools? One can only conclude that the Education Department simply belittles the importance of fine arts education in primary schools, where the fine arts subject is an indifferent sort of pastime and not meant to provide the beginner's training in esthetics.
Mr President, each year, over 8 000 of the students sitting for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination take the fine arts subject. But very few move onwards to study visual arts in tertiary institutions. Hong Kong produces many world-class billionaires but scarcely any potential world-class artists. This imbalance between economic development and cultural development must be gradually corrected. I think that the Government should consider expanding APA and even building an independent Academy for the Visual Arts to teach such pure arts and applied arts courses as the environmental arts, the electronics and computer arts, arts administration and management,
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arts education and training, the comics and cartoon arts and arts production. Mr President, arts education should not be looked at as a matter of investment in individuals or patronization of groups. One should see that a higher quality of arts means a higher quality of life for the entire population. Wherever there is man, there is room for the arts and artists. Let the arts become a major part of life.
Mr President, apart from music and fine arts, we must not overlook the dramatic art in schools. Because school children are too exposed to TV, dramas and children's plays are worth promoting. In Japan, there is a children's play troupe called "Son of Wind". In Hong Kong, too, we have the Chung Ying Theatre Company, which, acting on its own initiative, takes dramas into schools, into the midst of school children, thus opening their eyes and broadening their horizon. This is a very good thing. RCB should work together with the Education Department to promote the dramatic art in schools as one of the centres of activities, sponsor performances by greater numbers of accomplished play troupes in schools and even help schools to set up their own dramatic societies. In this way, schools will have more colourful arts activities and lay a broad and solid foundation for students' education and training in the arts.
Over the long term, for implementing an arts education policy, I suggest that the proposed AC should include representatives of the Education and Manpower Branch and of the Education Department, and that there should be an Arts Education Committee under it to co-ordinate the development of arts education in primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions and to make such recommendations as may be appropriate.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support the Honourable Christine LOH's motion.
REV FUNG CHI-WOOD (in Cantonese): Mr President, there have been a multiplicity of responses from the community to the Arts Policy Review Report since its publication by the Recreation and Culture Branch last March. I believe the strongest response must be the one from a group of parents of Music Office trainees. They are strongly opposed to disbanding the Music Office so much so that they set up a Music Office Parents' Association specially to express their sentiment through various courses of action. They hope that the spirit of the Music Office in propagating music will continue, so that opportunities for basic training in music may remain open to school children aged six to 23.
Mr President, I was deeply impressed at a meeting with six core members of the Music Office Parents' Association. They highly commended the spirit, the manner of operation and the quality of instructors of the Music Office. They were indeed gravely concerned that such a successful Music Office that has contributed so very much to the community should be disbanded. From their experience they have told us that learning activities made available by the Music
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Office have been very helpful to the group life, psychological development and school and family life of the children.
A parent said his son loved attending lessons at the Music Office despite its very great distance from home. Another said his son had made considerable improvement to his schoolwork and developed an ambition to do better after taking a Music Office course. Few government departments in fact receive such hearty praise and that the Music Office is so popular is a rare achievement indeed. Therefore, the Music Office should continue as a government department rather than being subject to any changes. This is a wish of the parents. And I believe this arrangement will be the best.
The Music Office is so popular that applications for enrolment have always been numerous. But many people are denied an opportunity for music training given the limited quota of places. However, funding for the Music Office has been decreasing rather than increasing. Several Music Office centres were closed down over the last few years, one being in Tai Wo Estate, Tai Po. As an elected Member from the New Territories North, I feel very sorry indeed that that particular centre cannot open upon completion to nurture more children and young people.
Mr President, I hope that the Music Office will carry on with the very outstanding work it has been doing. Rather than cutting the services of the Music Office, the Government should in fact increase its funding and promote further the education work of propagating music, so that the lives of more children and young people may be enriched.
With these remarks, I support the motion.
MR LAU CHIN-SHEK (in Cantonese): Mr President, one of my reasons for participating in today's debate is that I formed an experimental Cantonese opera troupe with a group of opera enthusiasts in 1970 and we have been performing intermittently ever since. For this reason, I am very concerned about the arts policy. Today I would concentrate on discussing the freedom of creation and the localization of the arts.
As regards the freedom of creation, I think an artist has two missions which are as inseparable as the four limbs from an human body. The first mission is to speak the truth — to speak the truth through musical notes, words, colours and shapes. The second mission is the readiness to pay a price for speaking the truth. In this connection, when it comes to many controversial social issues, the artists' commitments are different from those of the general public. To speak the truth and to pay the price for speaking the truth are the inseparable parts of their life as an artist. If their works fail to speak the truth, they are not artists because artists should inspire people to move towards "truth". Vincent VAN GOGH is an artist who pursued truth at great personal sacrifice. His paintings, filled with a strong sense of crudity, were at variance
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with the contemporary climate which admired "sweetness", "softness" and artificiality. His paintings convey truth and are not meant to please others. He never sold a single piece of works during his lifetime and eventually took his own life. Yet, in today's western society even seven or eight-year-old primary students know that VAN GOGH was a great man because he spoke the truth.
In Chinese communist history, it shows that many artists spoke the truth to the Kuomintang, and paid the price for speaking the truth. They should know clearly that these two characteristics are integral to artistic creation. And, for this reason, we can also answer a related question: what is the freedom of artistic creation? The answer is that as long as an artist speaks the truth, he can speak freely through the mode of expression at his own choice. He not only enjoys the freedom of expression but should also speak from the bottom of his heart because this is both his responsibility and mission.
The freedom of creation is crucial to an artist because it is impossible for him to disregard his living environment and the interplay of political and social factors. And political and social factors are precisely the essential nutrients where the arts is concerned. Absence in the works of Hong Kong artists has all along been a local political and social dimension. This explains why Hong Kong is criticized for having no artistic identity whatsoever. To nurture our own arts with our social characteristics, artists must not neglect the political and social factors nor should they be deprived of the freedom of giving their comments on political and social issues.
How can we ensure their freedom of creation and their right to give their observations on political and social issues? In fact, this is included in the civic freedom enjoyed by every citizen. A citizen may not take off all his clothes at will but he does enjoy the right to probe social problems or give his political vistas. It is not necessary for them to submit their works for preview or examination nor should their works be prohibited, banned or censored. In this connection, a citizen's rights of expression is virtually adequate for an artist. LIN Fengmian, a renowned artist, once said, "An artist is like a butterfly which comes out from its chrysalis. He must stay in the chrysalis and undergo metamorphosis before breaking the chrysalis and coming out as a beautiful butterfly."
I think it should be the Government's arts policy to provide material resources to artists so that they can undergo metamorphosis alone in their chrysalises before they break through their chrysalises and come out. Specifically speaking, the Hong Kong Government should follow the example of some countries which provide artists with resources such as arts studios, rehearsal rooms and even a public access channel on television.
It is beyond doubt that the arts can improve human quality. And the arts are particularly important to Hong Kong, which is not an affluent society but merely a place where people can easily get rich. The arts can lead one temporarily away from one's being and guide one into another realm by the
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stimulation of some images, sounds or stories through the arrangement of colours, shapes, musical notes, words and so on. If one is led to a realm which is loftier than the one he is usually in, this will be a sublimation of one's spiritual life or, in other words, an improvement of the quality of one's spiritual life. When its people's spiritual life gets improved, a society can then go down the road leading to true affluence.
Friedrich ENGELS became cognizant of what a free man is from BEETHOVEN's music. In the last two movements of BEETHOVEN's Symphony No. 6, ENGELS thrilled to the vitality of nature after rain, which is expressed through the musical notes, and sensed the freedom and dignity of skylarks and squirrels. This realization made it impossible for him to stand any longer the way his father exploited and bullied the child workers and indeed sowed the seed in his mind to formulate his school of thinking and to take action to liberate workers in later days. The animals and plants in the Vienna Woods depicted by BEETHOVEN are familiar to the Europeans. It is easy to strike a responsive chord in their hearts. However, this piece of BEETHOVEN's works fails to produce a similar effect of sublimating one's spiritual life for the people in Hong Kong. This may be due to the fact that Hong Kong has no skylarks' singing that is commonly found in Europe. These days Hong Kong has seen an increasing number of popular songs borrowed from Japan. Yet we have no samurai, ronin or geishas. Nor do we have the kind of man and woman relationship in common Japanese society. To deal with this situation, Hong Kong must have its own arts. We should end the import of works of art from Japan and the West either in the form of adaptation or copying. This is what should be looked at squarely when the arts policy is formulated.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support Miss Christine LOH's motion.
MR GILBERT LEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr President, the Arts Policy Review Report issued by the Recreation and Culture Branch in March has aroused much criticism from the arts community. Their comments can be summarized as follows:
(1) The review conducted by the Government on its arts policy is vague, conservative and lacks substance. It dares not make any constructive criticism.
(2) The Report lacks vision and direction in the future development of the arts in Hong Kong.
(3) The dissolution of the Music Office is against the wishes of the public. The proposal is made in a hurry without adequate public consultation and such an act is against the spirit of democracy.
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Honestly speaking, the comments made by the arts community are relevant and hit the nail on the head. However, it is not advisable to shift the responsibility of developing Hong Kong's arts entirely to the Government, especially to a bunch of Administrative Officers who may not have any knowledge about the arts. This is tantamount to a case of the blind leading the blind and we can hardly expect any fruitful results. Such comments are also unfair and far from the truth as they have denied completely the efforts made by the Government in the development of the arts in Hong Kong in the past.
As it was pointed out in the "Introduction" of the Arts Policy Review Report that the roles of the Government in the development of the arts have all along been "a co-ordinator and catalyst, as a provider of the necessary infrastructure and as a promoter, providing where necessary, financial or other assistance". Through the expansion of education and the participation of the community, and with the full support of the two municipal councils, the Government has made significant progress in the past two decades, at least insofar as the provision of the necessary infrastructural support and in the promotion of the arts are concerned. The results are obvious to all and cannot be denied.
Of course, Hong Kong's arts need to be further developed and promoted. The Government has to make greater effort and commitments, particularly in providing infrastructural and financial support. It should not adopt the attitude of a twilight government, acting with hesitation or in a compromising manner. The lack of resources will result in the unbalanced development of the arts. For instance, emphasis may then be placed on developing the high arts among the elite who are in pursuit of fame only. The educational and promotional work for elevating the standard of arts appreciation amongst the local population will then be brushed aside. I therefore raise strong objection to the dissolution of the Music Office. Such an act will undoubtedly deprive the lower and middle class children of their opportunities to learn musical instruments at a low cost. On the other hand, I would like to extend my full support to the request made by the arts community for the speedy establishment of a Provisional Arts Council with representation from different interests. This Council will co-ordinate the consultation on the arts policy and make preparations for the setting up of the future Arts Council. Only with the co-operation of all parties and the benefit of collective wisdom, then we can formulate an arts policy which will look after the interests and needs of the masses. Such a policy will therefore be beneficial to the development of the arts in Hong Kong.
However, the development of the arts are different from the provision of economic infrastructure. Financial assistance alone cannot make things work. Material support is an essential prerequisite but not the sole ingredient. If the arts workers of Hong Kong are narrow-minded, lacking vision and commitment, the arts in Hong Kong will not bear fruit even though there are unlimited supporting resources. The Great Wall in China was not built within one day. The development of the arts is the same. It is a process of hard work which demands persistent effort and total devotion. It demands also the
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concerted efforts of those who are committed to the arts. In the past, Hong Kong was often described as a "borrowed place with borrowed time". There are indeed quite a number of "borrowing" or "purchasing" incidents in various areas. The best example is in the sports scene where a large number of players have been hired from overseas. If the arts workers do not take root in Hong Kong and China, face new challenges, widen their horizon and work with great zeal and persistent effort, I am afraid the arts of Hong Kong will only develop into a "borrowed culture" even if there is much infrastructural and material support from the Government. We may boast of it to the world, but certainly not to our descendants. I hope that such a culture would not come up.
With these remarks, I support the motion.
MR MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, as Hong Kong is about to enter the 21st century, the meaning we attach to the arts should not be as simple as it has been. The arts should stop being just a pastime. The arts have a positive meaning in that they inspire, delight and help individuals to understand, criticize and appreciate society. The Government has the duty to promote popular art forms and to enable every citizen to enjoy them and participate in them as of right. In addition, the Government should have a clear and forward-looking long-term strategy for providing arts education, for promoting the arts and for protecting the freedom of artistic expression. But the Arts Policy Review Report, published on 21 March, is totally devoid of substantive strategic recommendations. Nor does it set any policy direction. It shows complacency in the status quo. It tells the good news but not the bad news. It is a very disappointing report indeed.
Unlike other countries, Hong Kong does not have an arts policy goal of any kind. Among the countries nearby, Singapore, for instance, has woke up to the need for such a policy goal. The Singapore Government has set the goal of making Singapore a cultural metropolis of Asia before 1990. Singapore intends to play a conspicuous global role. Its government has set itself the clear goal of improving the quality of life for its citizens and broadening their horizons; the government will assist and promote arts development. In contrast, Hong Kong has no such big ambition or far-sighted goal. Other countries look at cultural development as an important national goal. Here in Hong Kong, our Government is indulging in self-intoxication and self-inhibition. This is lamentable indeed.
The Review Report talks about setting up an Arts Council (AC) to formulate arts policy, to request funding for subsidizing cultural and arts groups and to co-ordinate arts development. In my opinion, all of this is proper. However, the question remains unanswered as to whether or not there will be artists on AC. Suppose that AC is set up and that it replaces the existing Council for the Performing Arts (CFPA) and has additional responsibilities for the development of the visual arts and the literary arts. There will have to be professional artists on AC so that their professional views may influence policy.
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AC will definitely need more resources than what are now available to CFPA. Without the additional resources, AC will not be able to attend to the development of the performing arts, the visual arts and the literary arts. Another thing is that the cinematic art receives no mention in the Review Report and is not among the arts that AC will promote. I feel deeply that Hong Kong's cinematic art is also an art form that should be preserved, developed and promoted. Now that we are debating arts policy, can the Government, in its reply, positively make substantive recommendations and responses to Members concerning the promotion of the cinematic art?
Of course, the Government is accountable to taxpayers for the money that it provides to cultural and arts groups. This accountability does not excuse the Government from failing to make a deeper commitment. Money spent on arts training, on subsidizing arts groups, on building arts facilities and on promoting the arts is money well spent. It is well spent because it improves the quality of life for everybody. It makes the citizens more creative and more imaginative. It satisfies their need for a spiritually meaningful life and increases their sense of belonging to Hong Kong. Money spent on arts development is also, in economic terms, beneficial in that it will create more jobs, promote prosperity and attract more tourists to Hong Kong.
Everybody can testify to the accomplishments of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Had the Government not invested the money, avant-garde and experimental arts forms would not have continued developing in Hong Kong and Hong Kong's arts development would not have been so diversified. Of course, public accountability requires that spending should be based on the principles of fairness, openness, simplicity of procedure, good purpose and no waste. The Government must directly provide monetary assistance and non-monetary technical assistance. In addition, it should consider using tax deductibility to encourage private institutions and arts lovers to donate money to cultural and arts groups. I am very much in favour of what some other countries are doing. They require each public building to set aside a certain percentage of the cost of construction, perhaps 0.5% or 0.1%, for the purchase of works by local artists. The purchases are used for decorating the building or beautifying its environment. This is a way of making a commitment to local artists and showing support for them. I think that funding support is the most important if we want to promote local arts development, if we want to stop relying on borrowing from foreign culture and stop buying foreign works of art.
Freedom of artistic expression is a very important part of arts development. If we want diversified arts development, we must safeguard the freedom of artistic expression. Therefore, I urge the Recreation and Culture Branch to expedite its review of existing legislation. Any provision in existing legislation found to be in conflict with the freedom of artistic expression or the Bill of Rights Ordinance should be repealed immediately. For instance, the Film Censorship Ordinance provides for political censorship, which in fact is not necessary. It provides that, if the Television and Entertainment Licensing
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Authority finds a movie to be prejudicial to Hong Kong's good relations with a neighbouring country, it may prohibit the movie from being shown in Hong Kong or it may require the movie to be politically censored and edited. This is clearly in conflict with the Bill of Rights Ordinance, which provides that citizens should have free access to the arts. Any Ordinance that fails to safeguard the freedom of artistic expression definitely deprives the citizenry of the right of free access to the arts. The closer we draw to 1997, the more we must take a square look at this problem. Room for free artistic expression in Hong Kong and the delicate ground it is on make one worry.....
The buzzer sounded a continuous beep.
PRESIDENT: You have to stop, Mr MAN.
DR YEUNG SUM (in Cantonese): Mr President, many of us who are in our forties read The Chinese Student Weekly when we were at the secondary school. When we entered the university, we attended classical music, drama and dancing performances staged at the City Hall. More than 30 years ago, Hong Kong was described as a "cultural desert". After the riots in 1966-67, the Government started to promote cultural activities among teenagers actively in a bid to distract them from taking part in anti-social activities. The past two to three decades saw a period of economic growth. Development on the cultural front has also expanded. The term "cultural desert" is less used nowadays. However, if we take a closer look, we will discover that although there are flowers and trees on this "cultural field", the overall situation is messy. It lacks a sense of direction and a far-sighted and ambitious plan.
In this regard, I would like to make several points and suggestions. The first point concerns Hong Kong's cultural policy. The Government has all along advocated a free and laissez-faire cultural policy. But in practice it has its own established policy, which can be seen in the following three aspects: firstly, as far as administrative structure is concerned, there is no co-ordination among relevant government departments such as the Music Office, the two municipal councils and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. They each do things in their own way. This is borne out by the fact that the current review on cultural policy conducted by the Government has not touched on the two municipal councils' roles and duties in the cultural scene. Secondly, on the issue of subsidy, we have the impression that the Government tends to subsidize established performing groups, that is formal or classical organizations such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and so on. However, it is very difficult for avant-garde performing groups like Man Chung Drama Society, Zuni Icosahedron to obtain government subsidy. Hence they have great problems with office sites, manpower and funding. Thirdly, in the area of censorship, the Government often censors performances with more sensitive subjects for fear of damaging the relationship with neighbouring countries. The
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above shows that the Government does have its guiding principles although it has all along championed a free and laissez-faire cultural policy. This is evident in the allocation of its resources and these principles can be summarized as follows:
1. Insofar as subsidy is concerned, preference would be given to those performances staged by formal and classical groups.
2. Sensitive subjects have to be censored or even be banned in order to maintain the Government's political neutrality.
3. It is disappointing the Government only sets its eyes on the existing range of cultural activities without making any ambitious and far-sighted plans.
Mr President, in view of the above, I have the following suggestions:
1. The Government should consider developing Hong Kong into a cultural city. Then its citizens may enjoy a rich cultural life and have good appreciation of the arts. These two elements are essential to the enrichment of the spiritual life of the people in a city or a country. The devastating effect of the Cultural Revolution already did great damage to the cultural life of people in Mainland China. Worse still, the open economy and the emphasis on "profit making" activities are now producing a negative effect on the Chinese people's cultural life and their appreciation of the arts. As Hong Kong achieves economy progress and adopts an open political system, the Government should be forward-looking. It should formulate an ambitious and far-sighted plan for our cultural development which will put Hong Kong on a par with Florence of Italy, Paris of France and New York of the United States.
2. The Government should promote an open cultural policy and encourage diversified development in this arena. It should allow performances with a wide variety of subjects to be staged, thereby enriching the cultural life of Hong Kong people and enhancing their appreciation of the arts. Strict censorship will not only stifle diversified cultural development but also threaten freedoms of speech and expression enjoyed by Hong Kong people.
3. The Government should subsidize all sorts of cultural organizations to facilitate diversified cultural development in Hong Kong. Such policy is essential to Hong Kong's move towards a democratic and open society.
Mr President, the political, economic and social developments of a country are inter-related. A democratic political system safeguards human rights, liberty and social stability. Economic development leads to an increase
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in social resources and improves people's material life. Cultural development enriches people's spiritual life and cultivate their civic-mindedness — that is self-respect and respect for other people, and the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support the motion
MR HOWARD YOUNG (in Cantonese): Mr President, the Arts Policy Review Report is barely satisfactory to the public in general. I trust the major reason is that the Report fails to spell out a directional development policy and to provide a development blueprint that caters for the cultural needs of various social strate. As the word "review" suggests, the Report is retrospective in nature and is mainly a record of past achievements (we certainly cannot disregard the achievements). Still it does not make much soul searching with regard to what objectives have been neglected or yet to be fulfilled.
One, when expressing concern over the arts, certainly cannot command much attention from the public and voters who are more interested in government policy, housing or welfare issues. However, since the release of the Report, many artists, who have quietly slogged away, have expressed their views enthusiastically. This bears evidence of the fact that Hong Kong is by no means a cultural desert. Determined to promote the arts, many people are willing to do their best in the promotion of arts and cultural activities. It is hoped that their efforts will meet with the Government's same determination.
First of all, I feel that a directional development policy is one in which the Government identifies the needs of the community, the objectives to be reached and the means required to achieve the objectives. Needless to say, the overall objective should be the creation of an ambience under which the principles of popularity not equity are upheld so that everyone or every resident may, so long as he wishes, receive education in the arts and culture and enjoy such performances. It is hoped that with the full participation of the community, the public's tastes and appreciation level may be enhanced and the undesirable elements of our culture can be rid of to invigorate people's social consciousness. Education and performance indeed carry same weight to the development of the arts and culture. At the moment, both encounter difficulties in their development and government's funding becomes all the more important.
Although it puts forward the setting up of the Arts Council, the Report is silent on how the Government is to go about the allocation of, or an increase in, its resources in the promotion of cultural development. Rather it seems to hint that future government funding will be minimal. This upsets those who are concerned about the the development of arts and culture programmes. At present, arts and culture matters are principally handled by the Recreation and Culture Branch, the municipal councils and the Council for the Performing Arts (CFPA). Under the existing system, communication gaps can be found in respect of resources utilization and the targets of funding. Worse still, the fact
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that the municipal councils enjoy financial autonomy places the Recreation and Cultural Branch in an awkward position when formulating the arts policy. Besides, most of the resources go to highbrow arts programmes and there lacks a commitment in the promotion and cultivation of popular arts and culture. In view of this, interested parties are hoping that the proposed Arts Council will play a part in the formulation of an arts policy and the promotion of popular arts. If the proposed Arts Council is to be integrated with CFPA, will it still remain a consultative organization rather than a statutory one? What about the composition of its membership? In my opinion, should the Arts Council become an independent and statutory body, it will be capable of achieving better results and flexibility in respect of resources allocation, funding of organizations and making proposals to the Government. Since members of the Arts Council are charged with the important task of giving advice on the way forward with regard to our arts development, it is most desirable that it is made up of professionals who are knowledgeable in the arts. Better still, people of the arts and culture circles may elect their representatives among themselves so as to enhance the transparency of the Arts Council and to ensure that it will get more professional advice from its members. Whilst maintaining their autonomy in the management of performance venues, the funding of local professional companies and the invitation of overseas performers, it is hoped that the municipal councils can make available some resources to the Arts Council to nurture up-and-coming artists and to finance a resources centre or a training centre for them.
Meanwhile, artists are very concerned about whether they can obtain fund from the Government or other public and commercial organizations. I hold that more government resources should be spent on the promotion of newly established performing companies and new arts forms. Such companies are not as well-known to the public as the professional groups, partly because some of them are engaged in unpopular arts. They have difficulties in operating and making both ends meet, let alone breaking any new ground. I believe that every arts group should have the right to hold performance and to seek recognition. Hong Kong is no longer a cultural desert. But public funding to up-and-coming artists is still far from enough. It is sad to see them encounter difficulties in development and even come to a premature end. On the countrary, it is easier for some famous and well-funded groups who have their staunch supporters to secure commercial sponsorship. The same situation can be found in the banking sector: the more money one has, the easier he may secure a loan from a bank. I think it would be more proper to make available fund in the direction of nurturing artists. Between popular arts and highbrow arts, I think that if the Government can provide appropriate funding support to popular arts, then those who are engaged in such fields may achieve their goals whereas the public may have more chances to enjoy their performance.
Mr President, with these remarks, I support the motion.
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MR WONG WAI-YIN (in Cantonese): Mr President, Meeting Point fully supports the motion moved by Miss Christine LOH today. The consultation paper has not put forward any definite policy objective nor any implementation proposal. In fact, there is not much that is worthy of discussion throughout the whole paper. Generally speaking, Meeting Point is disappointed with the paper which has devoted copious coverage to a review of the Administration's achievements in arts development in the 1980s without pointing out where the existing problems lie. And the information used came in fact from the working targets approved by the Executive Council in 1981. The Arts Policy Review Report lacks a sense of direction. Although there are merits in some of the proposals made in the Report, there is hardly any indication that the Administration is making further commitments in arts development. What is the role played by the Administration in regard of arts development? Meeting Point thinks that the Administration should not intervene in artistic creation and criticism by giving directives. Its role is to provide a good environment for the free development of arts and to protect by way of legislation the freedoms of artistic creation and expression.
Mr President, I will concentrate on two aspects, namely foundation education in the arts, and subsidies for arts development and services.
The objective of foundation education in the arts is to generally enhance the interest and ability of our young people in arts appreciation, encourage their participation in arts activities and to tap their artistic potential. However, the consultation paper has not made any in-depth study of these matters. The proposals in the Report are also rather vague. The problems in fact are: Firstly, the education system in Hong Kong attaches no importance to arts education. The teachers of arts and music subjects in primary school are mostly not specifically appointed to teach these subjects which are regarded as non-core ones. This practice has seriously affected the achievements of arts education, and the Administration must speedily remedy this situation. Secondly, arts education in primary and secondary schools needs additional resources and outside-school support, which includes employing part-time tutors to teach musical instruments, dancing, calligraphy and so on, arranging students to attend some regional arts exhibitions and musical groups to give performances at school. Currently, the Administration has not provided any support of this kind. The third and the most controversial issue is the disbandment of the Music Office as proposed in the consultation paper. This is in fact a small problem. The Music Office does have the function of scouting and training the talents and there is a need to maintain this function. The Report fails to provide a cogent reason for disbanding the Music Office or combining it with other organizations. I hope that the Administration can reconsider maintaining the Music Office. But if the Administration is determined to use administrative means to disband the Music Office, I still hope that the Administration can give an assurance that no matter which organization is to take up the duties currently undertaken by the Music Office, it will keep intact the existing development framework and regional development mode. Also, its charges should be low.
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Fourthly, the district board and the mass media can support the development of arts education at school through a non-conventional way of education.
As regards subsidies for arts development and services, the Administration should cater for different requirements of society by providing different levels of subsidies and services. That includes providing opportunities of arts appreciation to the general public, stepping up training for the talents engaged in artistic creation, and supporting amateur artists and professional bodies. The ultimate objective is to popularize and diversify our arts activities. In this connection, we have the following opinions:
Firstly, the Administration welcomes the idea of reorganizing the Council for the Performing Arts into an Arts Council in order to cover the performing, visual and literary arts. Meeting Point is of the opinion that the Administration should consider the comprehensiveness of its arts policy. For example, it can include film art into the ambit of its arts policy.
Secondly, the Administration's funding for arts development is on the whole insufficient, and emphasis has been laid upon the existing seven professional bodies so far as allocation of funds is concerned. The funding for the promotion of cultural arts and support for amateur artists is, even more markedly, extremely insufficient. This directly stifles the development in this regard. Meeting Point proposes that the Administration should increase its financial commitment in arts development. When it comes to the allocation of funds, the Administration should increase the amount for the promotion of cultural arts and the support for amateur artists and organizations.
Thirdly, the Administration should review at regular intervals its subsidies for various arts organizations in accordance with their performance. Such intervals can be three or five years. The amount of subsidies should also be regularly reviewed to avoid some professional bodies taking up most of the government funding so that other organizations can also have a chance of development.
Fourthly, as the two municipal councils are playing a very important role in the promotion of culture and arts, so their work should also be reviewed by an appropriate body. Such a duty can be undertaken by the two municipal councils themselves or by an independent body. Moreover, the Administration should strengthen the co-ordination with the two municipal councils for the purpose of a better use of resources.
Finally, in respect of freedom of expression, the Administration is still susceptible to criticisms that the Film Censorship (Amendment) Bill has not amended the provision concerning the damage to relations with neighbouring regions. It seems that the Administration does not have sufficient resolve to safeguard freedom of the arts.
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Mr President, I think it will be quite embarrassing for the Official Members to support this motion because that will mean expressing disappointment at the consultation paper compiled by the Administration itself. However, the Administration cannot evade the responsibility of making further and more resolute commitment in arts development. Therefore, Meeting Point hopes that the Official Members can also vote for today's motion to show the Administration's commitment in arts development.
Mr President, I so make my submission. Meeting Point is supportive of this motion.
DR TANG SIU-TONG (in Cantonese): Mr President, on learning more than a month ago that the Administration had issued an Arts Policy Review Report, I told people in my constituency who are interested in the arts to read the report and then give me their valuable opinions. However, they could not get a copy of the report despite trying all sorts of channels. Finally, they approached the Tuen Mun District Office to look for one. The response they got was that there was only one copy with the office and they had to visit the office in person if they wanted to read it. Could it be regarded as extensive consultation when members of the public have to queue up at the district office in order to read so thick a report which is supposed to be a consultative document? How can opinions of the public be collected? Like the Governor's policy address, the Arts Policy Review Report is meant for public scrutiny. But the great disparity in the way the Administration has treated one and the other is evidence of how lightly the Government has taken its arts policy.
The arts constitute a form of sublimation of human culture. Promoting the arts is helpful to raising people's quality of life and cleansing society of its violent sentiments. However, promotion of the arts is more than inviting one or two groups of foreigners to Hong Kong to stage a performance or two, or holding an exhibition of RODIN's sculptures. It has to be done from the foundation level up. We know all too well that Hong Kong is grossly short of arts education. Ask any teenager who the four pop music kings are, I believe he or she surely knows. But ask who RODIN is, I am afraid not everybody knows. The Hong Kong Museum of Art is now holding an exhibition of sculptures by the internationally renowned master RODIN. I wonder who has brought his children to the exhibition.
I think that the authority concerned has not given serious consideration to the real situation or conducted any consultation and study during the one year it has taken to compile this report. In paragraph 3.11, the Administration explained that "There is no one major organization such as a writers guild or a painters association where the Government could channel its support and seek advice and maintain liaison." I believe at least the Honourable Christine LOH who sits next to me and the Honourable MAN Sai-cheong who sits in front of me will hardly agree to this comment. Miss LOH has in her collection many modernist paintings and pottery works by local artists, while Mr MAN is a
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