1973 — Page 192

312

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

unfair. As to the many who have more than 10 years' experience and recognized by the Director of Education as registered teachers, if they are teaching in subsidized schools, they would never be able to get the pay on par with that of the qualified teachers. This is a discrimination. Then, it comes to my second point, namely, labour. I regret to point out the existing relation between Government and many civil servants is not a pleasant one. Take for instance the dis- putes between Government and civil servants like Clerical Officers, Medical Auxiliaries, Social Welfare Assistants and even some senior officers, many of them are yet to be solved though a number of years have already elapsed. Despite the current inflation, low and medium ranking civil servants are still left out in the cold as far as housing allowance is concerned. At the present, only those senior officers earning a monthly salary of over $4,000 are eligible to receiving a monthly housing allowance of $2,000 - $3,000. This is unfair. Be- sides, the approximately 50,000 blue-collar workers who represent more than 50% of the total number of civil servants still do not have the opportunity to take part in negotiation meetings held between Government and its employees discussing problems affecting their interests. The Senior Civil Service Council could only discuss prob- lems arising between Government and its white-collar staff. I feel it is most unreasonable.

I do not intend to discuss again in this annual conventional de- bate the many problems which do not fall within the Council's ambit, like education, medical service, public transport, public housing, labour and social welfare, etc. However, these problems are intimately con- nected with the local affairs and people's livelihood. I hope the authorities would understand the importance and urgency of enlarging the Council's sphere of work. In fact, an enlargement of the Council's ambit not only can make people have a genuine sense of belonging and sense of responsibility towards Hong Kong but also enable them to have a genuine confidence in the Council Elections.

As to the Urban Council itself, since gaining financial autonomy, there has been a very great progress under the leadership of Mr. A. de O. SALES, the Chairman, and Chairmen of all Select Committees. Truly, people's lukewarm response to the Council elections is an un- deniable fact. I think the most important method to encourage people to take part in public affairs is to enlarge the Council's sphere of work so that people of Hong Kong would have the right to participate in the local affairs which are closely connected with their daily life.

Finally, I hope Government would seriously consider people's needs and wishes so that Hong Kong could continue being prosperous

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 192 of 212

313

and people of all classes, including employers and employees, could share prosperity and stability.

I support the motion. (Applause.)

MR. EDMUND W. H. CHOW (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, fellow Councillors, since I have been serving on the Urban Council for the past ten months, the integrity, sincerity and efficiency of my learned fellow Councillors have completely changed my impression on the Council. Before I was elected Councillor in last March, just like other citizens of Hong Kong, I was skeptical about the works of the Urban Council and the scope of its jurisdiction. I also even doubted the integrity of some of those sitting on the Council. It was not sour grape feeling, I must stress here, but on the contrary, I would attribute my feeling and that of many people in Hong Kong to a communication gap that separates the Council and the community it serves.

The work of the Urban Council is closely linked with the daily life of the people. However, this feeling does not exist among the general public, or at least, they are not aware of this vital relationship. If we seek the smooth implementation of our policies it is absolutely essential for us to strengthen and broaden the communication channels between Urban Council and the public, and to foster in the minds of the public a sense of participation in our work. To achieve this, we have to strengthen our efforts to break down the invisible wall which keeps the Council from the public. By bridging the gap, I personally believe that although manpower and finance may be a problem, the Urban Council should still take the initiative to actively collect the public opinions towards our various policies. Before deciding an important policy, it would be better if an idea of the actual general reaction of that sector of the public concerned will first be sought. We need more than the opinions of the leaders and representatives of a particular trade. We should obtain by way of random sample survey or other survey techniques, the views, comments and suggestions direct from that sector of the community which may be directly affected by such particular policy or decision. We then formulate our policies tailored to the widest public need. The existing ward system is unable to fulfil this function because almost all of the complaints brought to us tend to concern only an individual's private interests or affairs and have little to do with the public at large. If we do not have time to collect the public views on a suggested policy, a clear and adequate explanation at a later appropriate stage should be given as to why such a policy is necessary in order that all suspicions and misinter- pretation of the public may be removed. This also provides the general public with a chance to sing out their grievances, if there is any.