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strengthen for the younger generation the cultural, moral and spiritual foundation of our Hong Kong society.
Sir, I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.
MR B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): — Mr Chairman, I rise to make this speech on behalf of some of my fellow Councillors as well as myself. Those others will not be making speeches at this Debate, but I will invite them to indicate their agreement with my speech.
Before 1973, the Urban Council was limited in its franchise and scope, but at least it was a voice for the people, as may be seen from the many lively debates which took place before that date, as recorded in the Hansard and even before.
Since 1973, there has been an erosion not only in the jurisdiction of the Council, which lost its major function, housing, but also in the everyday work and spirit of the Council. It has not advanced one step in the matter of enlarging the franchise or elected membership, nor will it ever do so while we are prohibited from raising even these matters in debate.
To put the matter in a nutshell, this Council has been silenced and stagnated, and its public utterances are now mainly made through its public information office controlled by the Chairman. The silencing process was largely accomplished by two neat moves: —
1 An amendment to Standing Order 14 confined all motions to matters within the jurisdiction of the Council, leaving only this annual debate as a platform from which I now take the opportunity of speaking; 2 By the Chairman being at liberty to refer any matter for debate first to the Standing Committee of the Whole Council which now has almost all the powers of the Urban Council but meets behind closed doors. But the views of individual members are concealed from the public, a deplorable position indeed for Elected Members answerable to the electors, especially if the Motion as a result does not get debated at all.
This control on public debates has killed the monthly public meetings of the Council which have now become a mere ritual, now largely only of use for the propaganda effect of the Chairman's own personal public utterances some of them never even debated in a select committee.
Moreover, because no progress has been made in the proportion of Elected to Appointed Members on the Council, the business of the Council is now controlled almost entirely by the Appointed Members. The Chairmanship of the Council and the Select Committee Chairmanships are determined in the last resort by Appointed Members under the direction of some of their senior members. They therefore speak as one voice, whereas Elected Members speak only as individuals or members of quasi-political parties, condemned to be always in the minority. Therefore the Elected Members
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
are liable always to be defeated on any matter by the united appointed camp.
The powers of the Select Committees have also been curtailed, since any decision disagreed to by the Chairman of the Council can be (and has been) referred to the Full Council and defeated, relying mainly on the same appointed vote, even from Members who have never been on that particular Select Committee and know little or nothing of its work or problems.
Nor are Elected Members the only ones who have been deprived of executing their rights by the present autocratic system. Complaints filter in from the administrative staff and other officials of Government Departments whose work is in any way connected with the Council, that their executive powers have been overruled. Other complaints come from organizations which, quite rightly, see the Council no longer as a public body dealing with matters of policy related to the general public, but as a rival impressario and sports association interfering in matters that could and should be dealt with more effectively by experts in the field.
The root of the matter lies in the composition of the Council, and its misfortune in falling partly under the control of men whose personal ambitions seem to be to rule others.
To be effective, the Council needs to become almost wholly elected, by a colony-wide franchise consisting of all residents over the age of 18, with 5 years' residence or the holding of a permanent (black seal) identity card as the only qualification. Also, there must be a phasing out of most of the Appointed Members to make the Council truly democratic. We no longer live in colonial times. Even though Hong Kong has not shaken off our colonial status, at least our people are no longer subservient. We must listen to what they are saying, and we must not allow policies to be manipulated possibly for personal ambition, by persons out of touch with the rising aspirations of our people today. Other voices must be heard and new policies formulated. Time is now running short: Government must do something, at least at the Urban Council level, to introduce democracy here.
As the Senior Elected Urban Councillor, I call upon my Elected Colleagues, and upon any others on the appointed side who agree, to join me, as I am sure Dr Henry Hu would join me if he were present, in a walk-out in protest at this farcical ritual misnamed a debate, by a Council controlled by a dictatorial system to such a degree that it is no longer even able to debate freely in public.
(Mr B. A. Bernacchi, Mrs E. Elliott, Dr Denny M. H. Huang, Miss Cecilia L. Y. Yeung and Mr Tsin Sai-nin left at this point.)
(Cries of rubbish, rubbish.)
Page 83 of 135
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Page 83 of 135
Page 83 of 135
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
strengthen for the younger generation the cultural, moral and spiritual
foundation of our Hong Kong society.
Sir, I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.
MR B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): --Mr Chairman, I rise to make this speech on behalf of some of my fellow Councillors as well as myself. Those others will not be making speeches at this Debate, but I will invite
them to indicate their agreement with my speech.
Before 1973, the Urban Council was limited in its franchise and scope, but at least it was a voice for the people, as may be seen from the many lively debates which took place before that date, as recorded in the Hansard
and even before.
Since 1973, there has been an erosion not only in the jurisdiction of the Council, which lost its major function, housing, but also in the everyday work and spirit of the Council. It has not advanced one step in the matter of enlarging the franchise or elected membership, nor will it ever do so while we are prohibited from raising even these matters in debate.
To put the matter in a nutshell, this Council has been silenced and stagnated, and its public utterances are now mainly made through its public information office controlled by the Chairman. The silencing process was largely accomplished by two neat moves : —
1 An amendment to Standing Order 14 confined all motions to matters within the jurisdiction of the Council, leaving only this annual debate as a platform from which I now take the opportunity of speaking; 2 By the Chairman being at liberty to refer any matter for debate first to the Standing Committee of the Whole Council which now has almost all the powers of the Urban Council but meets behind closed doors. But the views of individual members are concealed from the public, a deplorable position indeed for Elected Members answerable to the electors, especially if the Motion as a result does not get debated at all.
This control on public debates has killed the monthly public meetings of the Council which have now become a mere ritual, now largely only of use for the propaganda effect of the Chairman's own personal public utterances some of them never even debated in a select committee.
Moreover, because no progress has been made in the proportion of Elected to Appointed Members on the Council, the business of the Council is now controlled almost entirely by the Appointed Members. The Chairmanship of the Council and the Select Committee Chairmanships are determined in the last resort by Appointed Members under the direction of some of their senior members. They therefore speak as one voice, whereas Elected Members speak only as individuals or members of quasi political parties, condemned to be always in the minority. Therefore the Elected Members
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
are liable always to be defeated on any matter by the united appointed
camp.
The powers of the Select Committees have also been curtailed, since any decision disagreed to by the Chairman of the Council can be (and has been) referred to the Full Council and defeated, relying mainly on the same appointed vote, even from Members who have never been on that particular Select Committee and know little or nothing of its work or problems.
Nor are Elected Members the only ones who have been deprived of executing their rights by the present autocratic system. Complaints filter in from the administrative staff and other officials of Government Depart- ments whose work is in any way connected with the Council, that their executive powers have been overruled. Other complaints come from organiza- tions which, quite rightly, see the Council no longer as a public body dealing with matters of policy related to the general public, but as a rival impressario and sports association interfering in matters that could and should be dealt with more effectively by experts in the field.
The root of the matter lies in the composition of the Council, and its misfortune in falling partly under the control of men whose personal ambitions seem to be to rule others.
To be effective, the Council needs to become almost wholly elected, by a colony-wide franchise consisting of all residents over the age of 18, with 5 years' residence or the holding of a permanent (black seal) identity card as the only qualification. Also there must be a phasing out of most of the Appointed Members to make the Council truly democratic. We no longer live in colonial times. Even though Hong Kong has not shaken off our colonial status, at least our people are no longer subservient. We must listen to what they are saying, and we must not allow policies to be manipulated possibly for personal ambition, by persons out of touch with the rising aspirations of our people today. Other voices must be heard and new policies formulated. Time is now running short: Government must do something, at least at the Urban Council level, to introduce democracy here.
As the Senior Elected Urban Councillor, I call upon my Elected Colleagues, and upon any others on the appointed side who agree, to join me, as I am sure Dr Henry Hu would join me if he were present, in a walk-out in protest at this farcical ritual misnamed a debate, by a Council controlled by a dictatorial system to such a degree that it is no longer even able to debate freely in public.
(Mr B. A. Bernacchi, Mrs E. Elliott, Dr Denny M. H. Huang, Miss Cecilia
L. Y. Yeung and Mr Tsin Sai-nin left at this point.)
(Cries of rubbish, rubbish.)
No comments yet.
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