Page 239 of 243
388
HONG KONG. URBAN COUNCIL
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I please ask the Chairman of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee if he is talking about what happens in theory or in fact?
MR. LO:-I am talking about what happens in fact, Mrs. ELLIOTT.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-May I ask if the Chairman has himself inspected to see if this is a fact?
MR. Lo:-I do go to various restaurants, but not to make definite inspections. These are carried out by various senior members of the department.
(4) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
(a) What is the Urban Council doing to organize Cantonese and Peking opera performances as well as modern Chinese drama performances?
(b) To what extent is the Urban Council providing opera and modern drama entertainment within its current entertainment programmes for the people of Hong Kong?
(c) Are there any plans to build a theatre to provide for the various opera and drama groups, since many of these groups are already finding it very difficult to carry on in view of insufficient support?
MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:-
Mr. Chairman, I ought perhaps to mention at the start the good facilities for presenting Chinese opera and plays which were included in the design of the City Hall, and to emphasize the extent to which they are used. In the three-year period from 1966 to 1968, no less than 140 performances were staged of Cantonese and Peking opera, and the public was able to enjoy some 86 Chinese plays in addition.
Sir, as an indication of the value which the Urban Council places on this form of entertainment, there should be added to these figures the number of occasions on which playgrounds, managed by this Council, have been made available to various organizations for the staging of Chinese operas. In the same three years, 29 performances were held in these areas.
The Council has not yet directly presented performances in Chinese in the City Hall. Emphasis in the Popular Concerts series has been placed on Western classical music,
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
389
but 2 dramatic performances have been arranged of a type believed to have particular interest for Chinese audiences.
In our public recreation programme outside the City Hall we have, moreover, since last April, entertained an estimated 48,000 people in a series of 17 Cantonese operatic shows. If the funds we have sought for this aspect of our work are voted to us in the coming financial year, I am confident of being able to expand still further this highly popular form of entertainment.
Members of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee have for long been conscious of the need to provide better facilities for the many drama and operatic groups in Hong Kong. In 1964, we recommended the provision of a hall in each urban district which would serve both as a covered small area for a variety of indoor games and as an auditorium for operas and plays. The design of a prototype has now been agreed for inclusion in a new playground to be built at Kai Tak East; I hope that the requisite funds for its construction will be made available soon.
Moreover, our plans for the development of Kowloon Park include the construction of an open-air theatre. If this materializes, as I trust it will, we shall have an ideal setting for all forms of drama and operatic entertainment.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, could Mr. SALES provide some information as to the size of the prototype auditorium that is being considered for Kai Tak East playground, and does he know when that prototype auditorium can be completed?
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to have the dimensions sent to Mr. CHEONG-LEEN by the Secretary of the Select Committee. The plans were approved by the Select Committee after study by the Public Works Department. Now, in answer to the second part of Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's question, an application has, I think, been made for an allocation of funds from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. The prototype costs approximately $354,000, if I am not mistaken, and as soon as the allocation of money is made, we will proceed with it.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Also, a little while back, Mr. SALES spoke about the possibility of having a Civic Centre in Kowloon, Mr. Chairman. Could he clarify whether the Civic Centre will have equivalent facilities for Chinese opera and drama performances on the same scale, and will it include facilities as we already have in the City Hall?
Page 239 of 243
Page 239 of 243
388
HONG KONG. URBAN COUNCIL
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I please ask the Chairman of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee if he is talking about what happens in theory or in fact?
MR. LO:-I am talking about what happens in fact, Mrs. ELLIOTT. MRS. ELLIOTT:---May I ask if the Chairman has himself inspected to see if this is a fact?
MR. Lo:-I do go to various restaurants, but not to make definite inspections. These are carried out by various senior members of the department.
(4) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
(a) What is the Urban Council doing to organize Cantonese and Peking opera performances as well as modern Chinese drama performances?
(b) To what extent is the Urban Council providing opera and modern drama entertainment within its current entertain- ment programmes for the people of Hong Kong?
(c) Are there any plans to build a theatre to provide for the various opera and drama groups, since many of these groups are already finding it very difficult to carry on in view of insufficient support?
MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:-
Mr. Chairman, I ought perhaps to mention at the start the good facilities for presenting Chinese opera and plays which were included in the design of the City Hall, and to emphasize the extent to which they are used. In the three-year period from 1966 to 1968, no less than 140 performances were staged of Cantonese and Peking opera, and the public was able to enjoy some 86 Chinese plays in addition.
Sir, as an indication of the value which the Urban Council places on this form of entertainment, there should be added to these figures the number of occasions on which playgrounds, managed by this Council, have been made available to various organizations for the staging of Chinese operas. In the same three years, 29 performances were held in these areas.
The Council has not yet directly presented performances in Chinese in the City Hall. Emphasis in the Popular Concerts series has been placed on Western classical music,
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
389
but 2 dramatic performances have been arranged of a type believed to have particular interest for Chinese audiences.
In our public recreation programme outside the City Hall we have, moreover, since last April, entertained an estimated 48,000 people in a series of 17 Cantonese operatic shows. If the funds we have sought for this aspect of our work are voted to us in the coming financial year, I am con- fident of being able to expand still further this highly popular form of entertainment.
Members of the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee have for long been conscious of the need to provide better facilities for the many drama and operatic groups in Hong Kong. In 1964, we recommended the provision of a hall in each urban district which would serve both as a covered a small area for a variety of indoor games and as auditorium for operas and plays. The design of a proto- type has now been agreed for inclusion in a new play- ground to be built at Kai Tak East; I hope that the requisite funds for its construction will be made avail- able soon.
Moreover, our plans for the development of Kowloon Park include the construction of an open air theatre. If this materializes, as I trust it will, we shall have an ideal setting for all forms of drama and operatic entertainment. MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, could Mr. SALES provide some information as to the size of the prototype auditorium that is being considered for Kai Tak East playground, and does he know when that prototype auditorium can be completed?
MR. SALES: ----Mr. Chairman, I would be happy to have the dimen- sions sent to Mr. CHEONG-LEEN by the Secretary of the Select Committee. The plans were approved by the Select Committee after study by the Public Works Department. Now, in answer to the second part of Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's question, an application has, I think, been made for an allocation of funds from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. The prototype costs approximately $354,000, if I am not mistaken, and as soon as the allocation of money is made, we will proceed with it.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Also, a little while back, Mr. SALES spoke about the possibility of having a Civic Centre in Kowloon, Mr. Chairman. Could he clarify whether the Civic Centre will have equivalent facilities for Chinese opera and drama performances on the same scale, and will it include facilities as we already have in the City Hall?
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.