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City Hall is doing and for much more he shall be expected to do, it is certainly more appropriate that he should be called the Assistant Director in charge of Cultural Service Division of the Urban Services Department.
With these remarks, within 20 minutes I hope, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in supporting the motion. (Applause).
MR. LI YIU-BOR:- Mr. Chairman, I rise to support the motion before Council this afternoon.
I feel very much honoured at being mentioned twice by Mr. WONG in his speech, and I can assure him that his speech has been most eloquent and that his vital statistics on the Hansard and also on the mechanical sweeper are most convincing. As Mr. WONG has already taken the wind out of my sails on the subject of pornography, I will, as it is safer to leave the barber shop in his hands, go on with other subjects. (Laughter).
When one visits the community centres run by Government and the social centres run by various voluntary agencies, one finds that they are fully utilized both day and night. These centres are really doing the community a great service, and the Social Welfare Department and the various voluntary agencies concerned are to be congratulated on their success in running these institutions.
Apart from recreational facilities, these centres offer vocational training to adults and youths in order to enable them to acquire a skill in a particular trade so as to make a living, thereby making a useful contribution to the community. I feel that Hong Kong needs more of such centres, especially in the poorer districts. Government should, on the one hand, build more community centres, and, on the other, encourage reputable voluntary agencies to build and run more social centres by assisting them with initial capital grants as well as adequate subventions in order to cover part of their recurrent expenses. It is important, of course, to see that a centre is efficiently run before approving a subvention to ensure that public funds are not misused.
It is time that Government should have a more substantial vote on community development. It is all very well to have Government lotteries set aside for social welfare projects, but this is by no means a satisfactory way of financing a service which the community so urgently needs. I firmly believe that the best way to combat juvenile delinquency is to provide our youths with such activities as are at present being provided by community and social centres in different parts of Hong Kong. The matter is urgent, and our choice in the matter is quite limited; more social centres or more remand homes and more prisons.
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349
The acute shortage of hospital beds in the Colony is another matter of great concern to the community. What can be more saddening than to see the sick poor needing hospitalization but unable to get it? It is appreciated that even though Government has sufficient funds to build more hospitals, the problem of staffing them with trained personnel does not admit of an easy solution. It would therefore be unreasonable to expect that the number of hospital beds can be substantially increased in a very short time. As some voluntary agencies (whose members are dedicated to the work of caring for the sick) are willing to operate hospitals for the benefit of the poor and also have the experience to do so, I suggest that Government assist these agencies with building grants and interest-free loans so that more hospital beds may be provided in the not too distant future. To increase secondary school places, Government has offered voluntary agencies as high as 90% of the building cost and equipment of a school, and I should like to see the same encouragement being given to the building of hospitals.
An Ad Hoc Committee on the Control of Boarding Houses was appointed by the Standing Committee of this Council last year, and a report on the subject, after being considered by the Standing Committee, was later submitted to Government for consideration and, if considered feasible, implementation. As the matter affects the moral health of the whole community, I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to urge Government very strongly to give this report early consideration. Whilst appreciating the difficulties of implementing all the recommendations of the report, I believe that if Government decides to take action, the obstacles are not insurmountable.
Before I conclude, I should like to support the proposal by Mr. SALES that there should be a Civic Centre in Kowloon, and Mr. Chairman I should like to associate myself with the tribute paid by various members to the staff of your Department.
With these few words, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in lending my support to the Motion before Council this afternoon. (Applause).
MR. DANIEL LAM SEE-HIN:- Mr. Chairman, the Council's Statement of Aims for 1967 is before us. It is brought out through intensive review and careful consideration, and may I congratulate our colleagues who have produced such a good range of activities to be undertaken by the Council for the coming year.
As a body whose duty is to look after the wellbeing of the general public, it is gratifying indeed to note that each and every Urban Council through the years has done its job well. It has accomplished much to safeguard the general health of the population, and has spared
Page 188 of 279
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Page 187 of 279
348
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
City Hall is doing and for much more he shall be expected to do, it is certainly more appropriate that he should be called the Assistant Director is charge of Cultural Service Division of the Urban Services Department.
With these remarks, within 20 minutes I hope, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in supporting the motion. (Applause).
MR. LI YIU-BOR:-Mr. Chairman, I rise to support the motion before Council this afternoon.
I feel very must honoured at being mentioned twice by Mr. WONG in his speech, and I can assure him that his speech has been most eloquent and that his vital statistics on the Hansard and also on the mechanical sweeper are most convincing. As Mr. WONG has already taken the wind out of my sails on the subject of pornography, I will, as it is safer to leave the barber shop in his hands, go on with other subjects. (Laughter).
When one visits the community centres run by Government and the social centres run by various voluntary agencies, one finds that they are fully utilized both day and night. These centres are really doing the community a great service, and the Social Welfare Department and the various voluntary agencies concerned are to be congratulated on their success in running these institutions.
Apart from recreational facilities, these centres offer vocational training to adults and youths in order to enable them to acquire a skill in a particular trade so as to make a living, thereby making a useful contribution to the community. I feel that Hong Kong needs more of such centres, especially in the poorer districts. Government should, on the one hand, build more community centres, and, on the other, encourage reputable voluntary agencies to build and run more social centres by assisting them with initial capital grants as well as adequate subventions in order to cover part of their recurrent expenses. It is important, of course, to see that a centre is efficiently run before approving a subvention to ensure that public funds are not misused.
It is time that Government should have a more substantial vote on community development. It is all very well to have Government lotteries set aside for social welfare projects, but this is by no means a satisfactory way of financing a service which the community so urgently needs. I firmly believe that the best way to combat juvenile delinquency is to provide our youths with such activities as are at present being provided by community and social centres in different parts of Hong Kong. The matter is urgent, and our choice in the matter is quite limited; more social centres or more remand homes and more prisons.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
349
The acute shortage of hospital beds in the Colony is another matter of great concern to the community. What can be more saddening than to see the sick poor needing hospitalization but unable to get it? It is appreciated that even though Government has sufficient funds to build more hospitals, the problem of staffing them with trained personnel does not admit of an easy solution. It would therefore be unreasonable to expect that the number of hospital beds can be substantially increased in a very short time. As some voluntary agencies (whose members are dedicated to the work of caring for the sick) are willing to operate hospitals for the benefit of the poor and also have the experience to do so, I suggest that Government assist these agencies with building grants and interest-free loans so that more hospital beds may be provided in the not too distant future. To increase secondary school places, Government has offered voluntary agencies as high as 90% of the building cost and equipment of a school, and I should like to see the same encouragement being given to the building of hospitals.
An Ad Hoc Committee on the Control of Boarding Houses was appointed by the Standing Committee of this Council last year, and a report on the subject, after being considered by the Standing Committee, was later submitted to Government for consideration and, if considered feasible, implementation. As the matter affects the moral health of the whole community, I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to urge Government very strongly to give this report early consideration. Whilst appreciating the difficulties of implementing all the recommenda- tions of the report, I believe that if Government decides to take action, the obstacles are not insurmountable.
Before I conclude, I should like to support the proposal by Mr. SALES that there should be a Civic Centre in Kowloon, and Mr. Chairman I should like to associate myself with the tribute paid by various members to the staff of your Department.
With these few words, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure to lend my support to the Motion before Council this afternoon. (Applause).
MR. DANIEL LAM SEE-HIN:-Mr. Chairman, the Council's State- ment of Aims for 1967 is before us. It is brought out through intensive review and careful consideration, and may I congratulate our colleagues who have produced such a good range of activities to be undertaken by the Council for the coming year.
As a body whose duty is to look after the wellbeing of the general public, it is gratifying indeed to note that each and every Urban Council through the years has done its job well. It has accomplished much to safeguard the general health of the population, and has spared
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