1981 — Page 64

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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. The meeting is called to order.

## MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 1981 were confirmed.

## STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):—

Urban Council Plays Important Role in Community Building

The formation of the District Boards is now well under way. This significant advancement in involving the people to a greater extent in the administration of matters which affect their daily lives will be fully on-going in another year's time.

The Urban Council has already made it clear that it fully supports this new evolution for a better community at the district level. Twelve Urban Councillors are already serving and taking an active part in the Boards that have been formed so far. And more Urban Councillors will join other Boards as they are set up.

But serving on the District Boards is not the end of it all for there is very much more that the Urban Council does and will continue to do for our urban population of four million.

I am thinking here of community building to develop a sense of identity at the district grassroots level and to help make people feel that they who are Hong Kong's main asset do belong. In this way people will be encouraged to take a more active interest in improving their surroundings and thus contribute positively to the future of Hong Kong.

What is the Urban Council's role in all this and how do we go about it? The Council, through the Urban Services Department, is already working extensively in the districts in many spheres of activities, including the building of many facilities where they are needed and as land becomes available. In physical facilities alone, the Council has nearly 2300 amenities of various types, divided between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. And more are yet to come. In our day-to-day work of cleansing, looking after the health of the people and other matters for which we are responsible, the Urban Services Department's organizational structure is such that it is operating on a decentralized system that allows greater and quicker attention to be given to problems by staff who actually work in each district.

# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

In the promotion and development of sport, recreation and culture, the Council is also becoming more involved at the district level catering to the needs and aspirations of the people and working jointly with them to achieve what they want. Our outdoor entertainment programme is a good example for this and there are on average three events going on in different districts each day. In sport too, the Council is actively engaged in organizing events and programmes in the ten urban districts. In all of these there is involvement by either individuals, local organizations or even the national sports bodies, to encourage more joint participation and thus develop a feeling of commitment and belonging.

In our new design district Council buildings for instance, we are adding libraries, recreation cum cultural halls and other facilities, in addition to providing essential marketing and eating facilities. This will enable social functions and activities as well as cultural and sporting events to be organized and to take place within a district itself.

The Urban Council is committed to working closely with other Government departments operating in the District Boards, so that the people themselves will play an active role in building up a strong and vigorous sense of community spirit for a better Hong Kong.

(Miss Cecilia L. Y. YEUNG and Mr. CHAN Chi-kwan arrived during the Chairman's address.)

## PAPER

The following paper was laid on the table:-

(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October 1981.

## QUESTIONS

1. MR. WALTER M. SULKE asked the following question (in English):----In view of the need to overcome smells and other deleterious effects from R.C.P.s, does the Council intend to enforce the use of plastic bags, as is done by other municipalities in the World, and, if so, may I suggest trying this method in one particular district for a period of three months to see whether it is practical under Hong Kong conditions?

DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—This question concerns the practicability of enforcing the use of plastic bags for the storage of refuse in Hong Kong.

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