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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

As regards corruption, the Reform Club for many years has said that the whole future of Hong Kong lies in its youth, and I am indeed very pleased to see that, partly through the efforts of youth, the heavy corruption, especially in Government Departments, has been at last brought out into the open and not swept under the carpet. The young citizens of Hong Kong at least and at last know it for the evil that it is. But there is one aspect of corruption that is still far from being satisfactorily dealt with. That is, corruption in Urban Council Elec- tions. If we want to see this Urban Council cease being a two-bit one, and have some real say, then for Pete's sake, let us ourselves be incorruptible! Corruption, in the last two elections in particular, and before, has become a public scandal. Big entertainments, utterly against the law; hiring of transport, utterly against the law, and then to cap it all, actually paying electors, especially from the New Ter- ritories, to come in and vote and have a meal on the candidate. This is likely to continue unabated. I even hear rumours of entertaining headmasters going on for next year's election! Some headmasters themselves are giving dinners on behalf of prospective candidates. I ask you, where does the money come from? And in the past, has it been included in anybody's Election Return? No. The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Ordinance in relation to Elections has got to be brought into line with the stiffer provisions of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, so that Mr. Jack CATER and his department have as many teeth, as regards these prospective corrupt candidates for the Urban Council, as they do in respect of Government officials them- selves. Otherwise let us go the other way and have no restriction. Let the Elections be after the American style, with parades, massed bands, enormous entertaining throughout the town, and no limit on what the candidates may spend. But if there is a limit on what and how a candidate can spend, then for the good name of the Urban Council, let it be strictly enforced.

I now turn to Housing. The Urban Council used automatically to be the Housing Authority, but the Governor, in his wisdom, chose to re-organize the Housing Authority into a small and select body of persons with knowledge of public housing, and wisely chose to put all public housing under it. The only thing is that the Housing De- partment pays as little attention to the Housing Authority as the old Resettlement Department paid to its nominal overlords, the Urban Council. Indeed, I will say that the Housing Authority is now an Authority without any authority, and the whole thing is managed, or rather mismanaged, by the Housing Department. The Housing Auth- ority is in theory in overall charge of everything in relation to Public Housing and yet, as a member of the Housing Authority myself, I can-

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not even get things that I ask to be put on the agenda, brought up at all. I am told there are management problems. Then I request the Housing Department to put them on the agenda of the Management Select Committee of the Housing Authority. They are not so done. I asked for an Executive Select Committee to co-ordinate the other Select Committees' work and put up a monthly report to the Housing Authority, as was done in the previous Housing Authority. This also was turned down. The Building Select Committee complains that the Public Works Department is holding up construction of new estates. The Public Works Department says that the Housing Authority will not make up its mind on essential features of construction. I do not know who is right, all I know is that the Housing Authority is getting badly behind the estimated target of housing 1.8 million more people in public housing in the next ten years. I myself am on the Operations Select Committee. It is a Select Committee that is most inoperative, only two or three meetings have been held in one year of life. Yet theoretically its role is very important, including the management of all licensed areas, and clearances of illegal structures. The position has apparently arisen where there are not enough licensed areas, and there is a waiting list of people who are destitute and are waiting to get into licensed areas, which itself is meant to accommodate the people whilst they are waiting for public housing. A ridiculous position, but it has not even been brought up before the Operaions Select Committee. The Governor may heed my warning that, unless something drastic is done about the confused state of administration of Public Housing generally, in the next few months, his own target will never be reached in twenty years.

Mr. Chairman, I hope my words will fall on fertile soil. I support the motion. (Applause.)

MRS. E. ELLIOTT (in English): -Mr. Chairman, since this Council attained financial autonomy, some of the frustrations in planning have been removed, but some other frustrations remain.

I must say that it is now a pleasure to plan for future libraries. Originally the application to open a new library was a long drawn-out process, each step waiting for months or even years for approval from above. But now we have been able in our first year of operation to obtain premises for a library in Aberdeen, and it is hoped that a new study room will be opened within the next few months. Thereafter we have plans to provide libraries and study rooms in all built-up urban areas such as Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Mong Kok . . . in fact, one library for each 200,000 of the population. Many study rooms are also being planned, the aim being to open a library and study room each year until we reach our objective.

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