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this problem. I also wonder what official guidance is given to them in the matter of air pollution, what standards of measurement are adopted, and whether any liaison exists between the officers of the various departments who are concerned with this matter. I would further suggest that air pollution is not purely a matter of abatement of smoke nuisances, but covers pollution from any cause whatsoever, including, for example, the fumes emitted by over-worn diesel car-engines. Would it not be preferable to make one Authority, this Council for instance, responsible for implementing the Ordinance, on the understanding that it worked through the Labour Department regarding industrial concerns? The density of population in the urban areas makes this a matter of importance to the health of our people, and I feel that the present position is not as satisfactory as it might be. Perhaps it might be advantageous to have this position examined once more.
With these comments, Mr. Chairman, I wish to support the motion. (Applause).
MR. LI YIU-BOR:—Mr. Chairman, I rise to support your motion before this Council to-day.
This debate is a departure from tradition, as annual debates of this Council used to take place in April, and I would say that it is a welcome departure.
In supporting your motion, Mr. Chairman, I wish to speak on education and medical facilities, two matters which affect the life of the community most profoundly. I should like to state at the outset that in doing so I should refer only to systems, and not to personalities, as the present Director of Medical & Health Services was an esteemed member of this Council and the present Director of Education is a most conscientious member of the civil service in Hong Kong.
As you will doubtless agree, Mr. Chairman, every organized society owes to its young an opportunity of a basic education. In Hong Kong we have not been able to provide every child with education, and universal education is not just around the corner. This is quite understandable because of our special circumstances and limited resources. Although the Education Department has on the whole done creditable work, there are many fields in which improvement should be made, especially in the field of planning. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that any plan in education will vitally affect the future life of the whole community.
Many responsible citizens of Hong Kong will appreciate that the new primary system was tailored to the existing resources of the Colony, but few will agree that for the same cost the system adopted could not have been made more realistic, or that such a change was really necessary. In my humble opinion, the system seemed to have been rushed through: it had merely been "endorsed" by the Board of Education; it had not been debated at the Legislative Council; responsible public opinion had not been heeded. It would be premature and unfair of me to criticize the system at the present juncture, but I do hope that within the next year or two when the effects of the system will have become apparent, the misgivings of the community about it will have been proved to be wrong.
Planning is the most important work in education, but with due respect to members of the Board of Education, I must say that the Board is not an effective body for planning. It is an advisory and not a mandatory body; it usually meets three or four times a year; it has an official chairman. All members of the Board are without doubt prominent and able men and women with a high sense of dedication to their task, but I am afraid that the existing system does not provide them with the fullest opportunity to make their influence felt in the planning of any educational policy.
My remarks on the Board of Education may be equally applied to the Medical Board which should be the body entrusted with the task of planning adequate medical facilities for the Colony. For both Boards to better serve the public interest, I suggest that (i) both Boards should be raised to the status of policy-making bodies, (ii) they should have unofficial chairmen, and (iii) recommendations to His Excellency the Governor for appointment to both Boards should be made direct by the Colonial Secretary, independently of the departments concerned.
An even better alternative, Mr. Chairman, is to ask Government to appoint the Director of Medical & Health Services and the Director of Education as members of this Council, with each department under a Select Committee headed by an unofficial chairman. Then matters relating to education and medical facilities can be debated in this Council, and views on them aired publicly. When matters have been fully debated, decisions reached will enjoy the confidence and support of the whole community. I have mentioned these two Departments specifically because their work is too important for overall planning to be carried out by the Departments themselves.
What I am proposing, Sir, is no constitutional reform, but merely streamlining for the benefit of the community the functions of two of the most important Government Departments whose work, I repeat, deeply affects us and our children for many generations to come. No matter what we may think, it is not right that citizens of Hong Kong should have no say at all in educational and medical matters.
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is kept as is. Minor corrections made: - "car- engines" to "car-engines" - "to-day" to "to-day" (no change, as it is in the original text) - All other minor spacing and formatting issues corrected. The output is in HTML format usingfor paragraphs.
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this problem. I also wonder what official guidance is given to them in the matter of air pollution, what standards of measurement are adopted, and whether any liaison exists between the officers of the various departments who are concerned with this matter. I would further suggest that air pollution is not purely a matter of abatement of smoke nuisances, but covers pollution from any cause whatsoever, including, for example, the fumes emitted by over-worn diesel car- engines. Would it not be preferable to make one Authority, this Council for instance, responsible for implementing the Ordinance, on the understanding that it worked through the Labour Department regarding industrial concerns? The density of population in the urban areas makes this a matter of importance to the health of our people, and I feel that the present position is not as satisfactory as it might be. Perhaps it might be advantageous to have this position examined once
more.
With these comments, Mr. Chairman, I wish to support the motion. (Applause).
MR. LI YIU-BOR:—Mr. Chairman, I rise to support your motion before this Council to-day.
This debate is a departure from tradition, as annual debates of this Council used to take place in April, and I would say that it is a welcome departure.
In supporting your motion, Mr. Chairman, I wish to speak on education and medical facilities, two matters which affect the life of the community most profoundly. I should like to state at the outset that in doing so I should refer only to systems, and not to personalities, as the present Director of Medical & Health Services was an esteemed member of this Council and the present Director of Education is a most conscientious member of the civil service in Hong Kong.
As you will doubtless agree, Mr. Chairman, every organized society owes to its young an opportunity of a basic education. In Hong Kong we have not been able to provide every child with education, and universal education is not just around the corner. This is quite under- standable because of our special circumstances and limited resources. Although the Education Department has on the whole done creditable work, there are many fields in which improvement should be made, especially in the field of planning. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that any plan in education will vitally affect the future life of the whole community.
Many responsible citizens of Hong Kong will appreciate that the new primary system was tailored to the existing resources of the Colony, but few will agree that for the same cost the system adopted could not
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
247
have been made more realistic, or that such a change was really necessary. In my humble opinion, the system seemed to have been rushed through: it had merely been "endorsed" by the Board of Educa- tion; it had not been debated at the Legislative Council; responsible public opinion had not been heeded. It would be premature and unfair of me to criticize the system at the present juncture, but I do hope that within the next year or two when the effects of the system will have become apparent, the misgivings of the community about it will have been proved to be wrong.
Planning is the most important work in education, but with due respect to members of the Board of Education, I must say that the Board is not an effective body for planning. It is an advisory and not a mandatory body; it usually meets three or four times a year; it has an official chairman. All members of the Board are without doubt prom- inent and able men and women with a high sense of dedication to their task, but I am afraid that the existing system does not provide them with the fullest opportunity to make their influence felt in the planning of any educational policy.
My remarks on the Board of Education may be equally applied to the Medical Board which should be the body entrusted with the task of planning adequate medical facilities for the Colony. For both Boards to better serve the public interest, I suggest that (i) both Boards should be raised to the status of policy-making bodies, (ii) they should have unofficial chairmen, and (iii) recommendations to His Excellency the Governor for appointment to both Boards should be made direct by the Colonial Secretary, independently of the departments concerned.
An even better alternative, Mr. Chairman, is to ask Government to appoint the Director of Medical & Health Services and the Director of Education as members of this Council, with each department under a Select Committee headed by an unofficial chairman. Then matters relating to education and medical facilities can be debated in this Council, and views on them aired publicly. When matters have been fully debated, decisions reached will enjoy the confidence and support of the whole community. I have mentioned these two Departments specifically because their work is too important for overall planning to be carried out by the Departments themselves.
What I am proposing, Sir, is no constitutional reform, but merely streamlining for the benefit of the community the functions of two of the most important Government Departments whose work, I repeat, deeply affects us and our children for many generations to come. No matter what we may think, it is not right that citizens of Hong Kong should have no say at all in educational and medical matters.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.