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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

our control. What I would like to see is legislation introduced to prohibit smoking in these places of public amusement, as is done in our Concert Hall as well as similar institutions in most great cities in the world. I am afraid that my proposal will not be a popular one, but we must try our very best to remove this great discomfort caused to theatre-goers generally.

The building and management of schools and hospitals are the responsibilities of the counterparts of this Council in the United Kingdom, but here in Hong Kong this Council has absolutely no say in all matters concerning medical and educational facilities. This Council is not represented even on such purely advisory bodies as the Medical Board and the Board of Education. In my opinion, it is now time for Government to consider enlarging the functions of this Council so as to bring within its purview these vital matters affecting the day- to-day life of the citizens in Hong Kong.

For the past few years many private school premises have been demolished by landlords for re-development, and the headmasters of these schools have almost always failed to secure alternative accom- modation. As far as I know, many more private schools will be demolished in the next two or three years. The fact that private schools have played, and are still playing, a very important part in the educa- tional system of the Colony cannot be denied, and it is indeed a pity to see so many of them slowly die out, especially at a time when there is still an acute shortage of school places.

With your permission, Sir, I would like to refer to a subject of great importance to the community, namely, pornographic literature and obscene films. Everybody knows that all films have been passed by censors before they are released for showing, but many films which have been shown here have sinned against public decency. I suggest that Government exercise stricter censorship of films, especially those from Japan and Continental countries.

The question of pornographic literature is a much more serious one, as it affects children and adolescents more than adults. An editorial in the China Mail published some time ago sounded a timely warning note. One only has to visit some hawker stalls to be con- vinced of the large quantity of such literature displayed in public. Occasionally one or two offenders are caught and fined, but there has been no concerted effort to get to the source of the evil. Much of the pornographic literature in Chinese is printed locally, but some has come from foreign countries. To my mind the only way to stamp out this evil is stop the source of supply.

The great harm done to young minds by such trash cannot be over-emphasized. I should perhaps state at this stage that I am neither a moralist, nor am I an alarmist. I am speaking only as a parent and

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I wish to state categorically that unless this problem is tackled success- Of what use to society are fully, education will defeat its purpose.

a group of educated young men with no moral fibre?

I understand that Singapore faced the same problem to a worse extent a few years ago, and that by the joint effort of Government and people, they have been able to eradicate the evil. What has been done by Singapore can be done by us, provided that we have a firm determina- tion to do it. With your permission, Sir, I suggest that since this is a matter of public decency, this Council appoint an ad hoc Select Com- mittee to co-ordinate efforts to deal with the question; and if this sug- gestion is supported by my esteemed colleagues, I shall move a motion to that effect at some future date. That Committee, if and when formed, should enlist the co-operation and support of many Govern- ment departments as well as public organizations. I can envisage that the work of the Committee is not going to be easy, and nothing short of a sustained Colony-wide campaign can ensure its success.

Let us therefore pool our resources together to keep this City clean, both physically and morally.

With these few remarks, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure to support your motion. (Applause).

MR. K. A. WATSON:-Mr. Chairman, coming in rather late in the batting order means that most of the subjects included in the Statement of Progress and Policy have already been dealt with most eloquently by my colleagues. Rather than cover the same ground, I would like to comment on certain events during the past year which are of considerable concern to us as Members of the Urban Council, although they may not come directly under the aegis of the Urban Services Department.

The first is the rise in domestic rents and the vociferous demands that Government do something about them. This is, of course, a symptom of our greatest social welfare problem, the deteriorating housing situation. In the past this has been mainly apparent amongst the poor. But the law of supply and demand is no respecter of income groups and if the amount of accommodation becomes seriously less than the demand, inflation in rents is inevitable.

Many partial solutions to this problem have been suggested. A Fair Rents Tribunal would perhaps restrain the worst cases of profiteering, but any serious attempt to limit rents in private buildings will, I am afraid, merely increase the amount of black market key- money transactions.

Obviously what is required is a vast expansion of building, and many people have advocated spending much more on public low-cost housing by Government and the Housing Authority. But here the

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