1982 — Page 127

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

closely with the Recreation and Culture Department, the Council for Recreation and Sport, the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Com- mittee, the National Sports Associations and the Jubilee Sports Centre. The Hong Kong Schools Sports Council also will have an active role to play in the setting up of a good sports development scheme for youth.

In sum total, the Urban Council is desirous of promoting recreation and sports as an integral part of community building and of the way of life of every person in Hong Kong for a healthier and happier community.

Expanding Culture and Entertainment

It is the aim of the Council to seek an integrated approach of Asian cultures- and in particular Chinese culture--with Western culture, in other words, the creation and development of art forms both in the performing arts and the visual arts which are particular and unique to this international city of Hong Kong.

Due to the current world recession and financial constraints in public spending in Hong Kong, there will unavoidably be delays in the planning and building of the Museum of Art in the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Complex site, and also the Museum of Science and Technology. As the building of the permanent Museum of Science and Technology will require some time to be given a high priority, the Council is at present studying the feasibility of building a temporary Museum of Science and Technology on the site reserved for the purpose. When the Urban Council delegation visited Singapore last December, it was impressed at the strong support given to the Singapore Science Centre by the community and the close and extensive links the Centre had with all schools in Singapore. I believe that the early completion of a permanent Museum of Science and Technology will be highly beneficial to Hong Kong not only by way of general knowledge for the general public, but also for the educational, industrial and commercial sectors of the community.

Meanwhile, the expansion of library services continues apace and com- puterization of the service is now being actively pursued. Of a certainty, the Council through the Libraries Select Committee will not lose momentum in encouraging and providing a wider range of wholesome reading material suitable for children.

As regards support for the literary arts, the Council through its Libraries Select Committee will again this year be organizing a Chinese Literary Week, as well as awards for Creative Writing in Chinese for both adults and children. This year the adult awards will be for drama and fiction. Next year they will cover poetry and prose and, subject to the recommendation of the panels of judges, the winning entries will be published by the Council.

100th Anniversary

As stated by the Chairman of the Centenary Committee last month, there will be a series of programmes to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Urban

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Council. The Council would welcome suggestions and joint efforts from all sections of the community to help it commemorate its centenary, whether by way of community development projects, or in cultural or sporting activities.

Tribute to U.S.D.

I would like to pay tribute to the approximately 17 000 members of the Urban Services Department who have loyally supported the Urban Council in implementing its policies and programmes. There are, of course, areas for improvement in quality of staff, in efficiency and in productivity, and in this respect the Urban Council cannot be complacent at any time. The Administra- tion Select Committee will continue to closely monitor the efficiency and productivity of the Department and it aims to keep any staff expansion in the coming year to 4% or less.

Urban Council Elections

As has already been announced the next Urban Council Elections for 15 elected seats in the ten urban districts will be held on March 8, 1983. To facilitate voters exercising their right to vote, the voting period will be between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. at a total of 134 polling stations spread over the urban areas.

Many District Board voters to whom I spoke recently did not know that they also have an equal right to vote at the Urban Council Elections and I hope that between now and March 8 District Board voters will become more aware that they automatically have the right to vote at the Urban Council elections.

I was recently asked whether I expected that the turnout for the Urban Council Elections on March 8 will be as large as for the District Board Elections last September. I explained that one should compare like for like, that is, to bear in mind the following differences between District Board and Urban Council Elections:

(1) At the Urban Council Elections held two years ago there were 34 381 registered voters for the whole territory, whereas for the March 8 election there will be 708 119 voters voting in 15 separate constituencies. Therefore in the aggregate, there will be a much larger number of voters this year as compared to the Urban Council Elections held two years ago.

(2) At the urban District Board Elections held in September last year, there were 229 candidates running for 76 urban District Board seats, whereas for the Urban Council Elections to be held on March 8 there will be 38 candidates running for 12 Urban Council elected seats (which does not include another 3 seats having only one candidate each being uncontested). Proportionately this would seem a fair comparison.

(3) It should also be borne in mind that the nature and character of District Boards are quite different from that of the Urban Council. First of all, the District Board system is advisory in nature but the range of subjects and problems discussed at all ten District Board meetings is virtually unlimited