Page 209 of 237
394
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
For Hong Kong, it would be more practical if an Ombudsman is appointed for him to open his doors to any member of the public who wishes to make a complaint. It will be up to the Hong Kong Ombudsman to decide whether or not to investigate such complaint.
Since Hong Kong does not have even a single Elected Member in the Legislative Council at the present time, it is considered that any highly paid administrative secretary who is appointed to the UMELCÓ office can in no way act as a substitute for an Ombudsman. The Members of the Legislative and Executive Councils as sensible and intelligent persons are fully aware of this.
The UMELCO office is a combined office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and it is a convenient place where the Members of these two Councils can meet with members of the public. However, since all the Members of Executive and Legislative Councils are appointed by the Government, the system is colonial in nature and is completely different from that of the United Kingdom, where all members of the House of Commons are elected.
It is for this reason therefore that the Hong Kong Civic Association advocate that the Ombudsman should be an independent institution apart from the UMELCO office, the Urban Council Ward Offices, or the C.D.O. system. Instead, this independent office of a Hong Kong Ombudsman should be directly responsible to His Excellency the Governor, who may take action on any report or recommendation from the Ombudsman either through the Colonial Secretary or if he so desires, the matter may be referred to Executive Council which, under Letters Patent and Royal Instructions, is supposed to advise the Governor on any matter that he wishes to bring to the Council's attention.
I would warn the Hong Kong public at this stage that the appointment of a Hong Kong Ombudsman would not really solve most of our serious community problems. The Ombudsman would if appointed be one additional and one more effective channel to receive and process the grievances or complaints of Hong Kong residents. It would also assist in reducing the frustration that is felt by many who are under the impression, mistaken or otherwise, that the Hong Kong Government has only their short-term interests at heart, and is not too much concerned with their long-term future.
The Civic Association therefore urges that there should be some form of elected representation in the Legislative Council, which is responsible for enacting all the laws governing the welfare of Hong Kong people and the rate and manner of taxation, as well as how the taxes collected are to be spent.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
395
There is a general and widespread feeling that there is not enough long-term commitment, or that not enough money is being spent on giving our young people a better education, more social services, better working conditions, and a sound social security system. Judging from what the newspapers print, it seems that young people today are pretty cynical about the efficiency or dedication of the Administration in giving a wider share of Hong Kong's prosperity to the lower income and under-privileged sections of our community. An Ombudsman system no matter how desirable will not provide solutions to these major problems.
In the long term, only some form of direct or even indirect system of elected representation to the Legislative Council will provide the impetus which will give our young people, 90% of whom are Chinese in background and tradition, a greater sense of belonging and commitment to Hong Kong, to the extent that they will throw off the shackles of a colonial mentality and replace it with a new dynamism so as to transform Hong Kong into the most progressive, most modern and most industrialized city in Asia.
Mr. Chairman, I have much pleasure in supporting the Motion.
MR. D. J. R. BLAKER:- Mr. Chairman, As you know, I have spoken on this issue in the past, and I will, therefore, restrain myself at present and make only two brief points, even at the risk of being described now and again as passionate.
The original, and still the principal function of the Appointed Unofficial is to serve in an advisory or policy-making role. It is only recently that the additional and secondary function of assisting in the examination of complaints has been added to their role. But an essential ingredient in this second function is that it should be performed independently of the Administration, and this the Appointed Unofficial is not considered by the public to be. I believe that the present practice of adding this function to those of the Appointed Unofficial is a misconception, and that if one were to approach the question purely as a search for the best institution for the redress of grievances, one would inevitably conclude that a form of Ombudsman or Commissioner for Administration would be the answer.
I believe, moreover, that the continued debate by the public as to whether the Appointed Unofficial is the best organ for this purpose has unfortunate results. I think that the quite understandable questioning as to whether he is the ultimate answer for assisting in the redress of grievances brings with it some quite undesirable and un-
Page 209 of 237
Page 209 of 237
394
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
For Hong Kong, it would be more practical if an Ombudsman is appointed for him to open his doors to any member of the public who wishes to make a complaint. It will be up to the Hong Kong Ombudsman to decide whether or not to investigate such complaint.
Since Hong Kong does not have even a single Elected Member in the Legislative Council at the present time, it is considered that any highly paid administrative secretary who is appointed to the UMELCÓ office can in no way act as a substitute for an Ombudsman. The Members of the Legislative and Executive Councils as sensible and intelligent persons are fully aware of this.
The UMELCO office is a combined office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and it is a con- venient place where the Members of these two Councils can meet with members of the public. However, since all the Members of Executive and Legislative Councils are appointed by the Government, the system is colonial in nature and is completely different from that of the United Kingdom, where all members of the House of Commons are elected.
It is for this reason therefore that the Hong Kong Civic Association advocate that the Ombudsman should be an independent institution apart from the UMELCO office, the Urban Council Ward Offices, or the C.D.O. system. Instead, this independent office of a Hong Kong Ombudsman should be directly responsible to His Excellency the Governor, who may take action on any report or recom- mendation from the Ombudsman either through the Colonial Secretary or if he so desires, the matter may be referred to Executive Council which, under Letters Patent and Royal Instructions, is supposed to advise the Governor on any matter that he wishes to bring to the Council's attention.
I would warn the Hong Kong public at this stage that the appoint- ment of a Hong Kong Ombudsman would not really solve most of our serious community problems. The Ombudsman would if appoint- ed be one additional and one more effective channel to receive and process the grievances or complaints of Hong Kong residents. It would also assist in reducing the frustration that is felt by many who are under the impression, mistaken or otherwise, that the Hong Kong Government has only their short-term interests at heart, and is not too much concerned with their long-term future.
The Civic Association therefore urges that there should be some form of elected representation in the Legislative Council, which is responsible for enacting all the laws governing the welfare of Hong Kong people and the rate and manner of taxation, as well as how the taxes collected are to be spent.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
395
There is a general and widespread feeling that there is not enough long-term commitment, or that not enough money is being spent on giving our young people a better education, more social services, better working conditions, and a sound social security system. Judging from what the newspapers print, it seems that young people today are pretty cynical about the efficiency or dedication of the Administration in giving a wider share of Hong Kong's prosperity to the lower income and under-privileged sections of our community. An Ombudsman system no matter how desirable will not provide solutions to these major problems.
In the long term, only some form of direct or even indirect system of elected representation to the Legislative Council will provide the impetus which will give our young people, 90% of whom are Chinese in background and tradition, a greater sense of belonging and commit- ment to Hong Kong, to the extent that they will throw off the shackles of a colonial mentality and replace it with a new dynamism so as to transform Hong Kong into the most progressive, most modern and most industrialized city in Asia.
Mr. Chairman, I have much pleasure in supporting the Motion.
MR. D. J. R. BLAKER:-Mr. Chairman, As you know, I have spoken on this issue in the past, and I will, therefore, restrain myself at present and make only two brief points, even at the risk of being described now and again as passionate.
The original, and still the principal function of the Appointed Unofficial is to serve in an advisory or policy-making role. It is only recently that the additional and secondary function of assisting in the examination of complaints has been added to their role. But an essential ingredient in this second function is that it should be per- formed independently of the Administration, and this the Appointed Unofficial is not considered by the public to be. I believe that the present practice of adding this function to those of the Appointed Unofficial is a misconception, and that if one were to approach the question purely as a search for the best institution for the redress of grievances, one would inevitably conclude that a form of Ombudsman or Commissioner for Administration would be the answer.
I believe, moreover, that the continued debate by the public as to whether the Appointed Unofficial is the best organ for this purpose has unfortunate results. I think that the quite understandable ques- tioning as to whether he is the ultimate answer for assisting in the redress of grievances brings with it some quite undersirable and un-
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