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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 9th January, 1973 were confirmed.
## PAPERS
The Chairman laid upon the table the following papers:-
(1) Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of January 1973.
(2) Urban Council and Urban Services Department Statistical Report for the period 1st October, 1972 to 31st December, 1972.
MR. A. de O. SALES (In English):- Mr. Chairman, the Urban Council has an ambitious tree, shrub and flower-planting programme each year. In fact, 158,700 trees, 356,700 shrubs and 817,600 seasonal flowers have been planted in the past five years.
This year the Recreation & Amenities Division will plant out the entire nursery stock of 61,703 shrubs and approximately 110,000 flowers together with the 25,345 larger trees now available, plus the 10,000 large trees that will be purchased from China out of the $2-million for which provision has been made within the 1973-74 estimates.
The emphasis will be on flowering trees and different species will be planted to add colour to our urban localities during most of the year. The majority of the trees being purchased from China will be planted in Kowloon, especially in new development areas such as Kwun Tong where there have been large-scale clearances of Crown Land "black spots" in recent months.
(Mr. Peter P. K. NG arrived at this point.)
This year, too, the policy is to concentrate our planting as much as possible. This will cause an immediate visual impact and an improvement to the environment. To this end, trees will be provided for roadsides, roadside slopes, central dividers, roundabouts and amenity plots: the larger trees will be planted in the most prominent places.
Altogether, this year's planting reflects a major change of policy. The intention from now on is also to be selective and only to plant out the larger trees. Saplings and young trees are more susceptible to damage when planted out so the department will nourish and protect them in the nurseries till they are of a sufficient height and diameter to stand up better to typhoons, vandalism and presumably also pollution.
361
Our two aims are, therefore, concentration and selectivity for better results in our circumstances, which will soon become apparent to our citizens as our Council makes more progress towards our long-standing objective of "Keeping Hong Kong Green". Of course, we need community support in this endeavour. For one, let us hope that parents and teachers will also interest the young in working with this Council to beautify Hong Kong in any way possible.
In the absence of MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN made the following statement on his behalf (In English): — Mr. Chairman, since the new hawker legislation was enacted last November, it has become apparent that the Department is experiencing much difficulty in implementing the legislation due to insufficient manpower in adequate quality and quantity. Because of this manpower shortage, the Department finds it nearly impossible even to contain the existing position. Government should not allow this unsatisfactory position to drag on any longer, and I strongly urge that Government give real priority instead of just promises to solving this problem of manpower as a matter of urgency.
## QUESTIONS
(1) In the absence of MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN put the following question of which notice had been given by MR. CHEONG-LEEN:
What is the Urban Council doing—and how much more can it do to encourage and promote the traditional Chinese acrobatic arts in Hong Kong?
MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (In English): —
This question is concerned with the Urban Council's promotion of traditional Chinese acrobatic arts in Hong Kong.
At present, the Entertainment Section of the Recreation and Amenities Division organizes from 3 to 9 variety shows each month. A display by an acrobatic troupe is always included and is one of the most popular items. The variety shows are usually staged in parks and playgrounds in our densely populated districts and thousands of people attend the shows each month. In the period 1st April, 1972 to 31st March, 1973, 57 such variety shows have been arranged for presentation by the Urban Council in the urban areas. There is every intention of continuing these displays as a direct and practical encouragement of what is evidently a popular form of healthy entertainment.
Page 191 of 200
360
N
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 9th January, 1973 were con- firmed.
PAPERS
The Chairman laid upon the table the following papers:-
(1) Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of January 1973. (2) Urban Council and Urban Services Department Statistical Report for the period 1st October, 1972 to 31st December, 1972.
MR. A. de O. SALES (In English):-Mr. Chairman, the Urban Council has an ambitious tree, shrub and flower-planting programme each year. In fact, 158,700 trees, 356,700 shrubs and 817,600 seasonal flowers have been planted in the past five years.
This year the Recreation & Amenities Division will plant out the entire nursery stock of 61,703 shrubs and approximately 110,000 flowers together with the 25,345 larger trees now available, plus the 10,000 large trees that will be purchased from China out of the $2-million for which provision has been made within the 1973-74 estimates.
The emphasis will be on flowering trees and different species will be planted to add colour to our urban localities during most of the year. The majority of the trees being purchased from China will be planted in Kowloon, especially in new development areas such as Kwun Tong where there have been large-scale clearances of Crown Land "black spots" in recent months.
(Mr. Peter P. K. NG arrived at this point.)
This year, too, the policy is to concentrate our planting as much as possible. This will cause an immediate visual impact and an im- provement to the environment. To this end, trees will be provided for roadsides, roadside slopes, central dividers, roundabouts and amenity plots: the larger trees will be planted in the most prominent places.
Altogether, this year's planting reflects a major change of policy. The intention from now on is also to be selective and only to plant out the larger trees. Saplings and young trees are more susceptible to damage when planted out so the department will nourish and protect them in the nurseries till they are of a sufficient height and diameter to stand up better to typhoons, vandalism and presumably also pollu- tion.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
361
Our two aims are, therefore, concentration and selectivity for better results in our circumstances, which will soon become apparent to our citizens as our Council makes more progress towards our long- standing objective of "Keeping Hong Kong Green". Of course, we need community support in this endeavour. For one, let us hope that parents and teachers will also interest the young in working with this Council to beautify Hong Kong in any way possible.
In the absence of MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN made the following statement on his behalf (In English): —Mr. Chairman, since the new hawker legislation was enacted last November, it has become apparent that the Department is experiencing much dif- ficulty in implementing the legislation due to insufficient manpower in adequate quality and quantity. Because of this manpower shortage, the Department finds it nearly impossible even to contain the existing position. Government should not allow this unsatisfactory position to drag on any longer, and I strongly urge that Government give real priority instead of just promises to solving this problem of manpower as a matter of urgency.
QUESTIONS
(1) In the absence of MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN put the following question of which notice had been given by MR. CHEONG-LEEN :
What is the Urban Council doing-and how much more can it do to encourage and promote the traditional Chinese acrobatic arts in Hong Kong?
MR. A. de O. SALES, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (In English): —
This question is concerned with the Urban Council's pro- motion of traditional Chinese acrobatic arts in Hong Kong.
At present, the Entertainment Section of the Recreation and Amenities Division organizes from 3 to 9 variety shows each month. A display by an acrobatic troupe is always included and is one of the most popular items. The variety shows are usually staged in parks and playgrounds in our densely populated districts and thousands of peo- ple attend the shows each month. In the period 1st April, 1972 to 31st March, 1973, 57 such variety shows have been arranged for presentation by the Urban Council in the urban areas. There is every intention of continuing these displays as a direct and practical encouragement of what is evidently a popular form of healthy entertain-
ment.
Page 191 of 200
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