340
Page 188 of 194
341
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Some critics have rightly pointed out that all along the Urban Council's services are not extended to the N.T. I must therefore clarify that it is the law enacted by the central government that prevents the Councils from so doing. Demands of not a few Councillors for extension of services are all rejected by the government.
The people of the N.T. point out that they have a right of participation in the N.T. administration. I fully support their claim, but cannot agree to the view that the N.T. should be run by the N.T. people themselves. Following such a theory, does it mean that both the Executive and Legislative Councils should also be split into two to deal with urban and N.T. affairs separately? This will only result in the fragmentation of Hong Kong.
So far as I understand, the Urban Councillors are not demanding extension of the U.C. jurisdiction to expand their influence. They only feel that a territory-wide central council will work more efficiently.
Some have suggested that the Urban Council with wider jurisdiction will require a larger membership which will render the Council unwieldy. This should be a mere technical problem. From the experience of other countries, by delegating powers to a standing committee, councils with a membership of as many as a hundred can still operate without a hitch.
Critics have observed that because of the marked differences between the urban areas and the N.T., it is not advisable for the Urban Council to also take charge of the N.T. affairs. But I doubt if this point is valid. As new towns develop in the N.T. which is becoming urbanized, many urban people have moved to the N.T. The gap between the N.T. and the urban areas is thus getting smaller.
There is also the opinion that as the proposed regional council is to be financed by rates from the N.T., it is a matter of collecting money from the N.T. people to be spent on them. I would like to draw the attention of the people of N.T. to this particular point and in any case one single council should prove to be more effective.
Situation arising from the setting up of a separate regional council
3.
a.
b.
The establishment of a separate regional council may provide the N.T. people with a channel of political participation, thus making up for what has been denied them all these years.
However, from the viewpoint of administrative efficiency, the setting up of a separate regional council will definitely give rise to the following problems:
i. An additional council will cost the government extra expenditures, apart from those expenses mentioned by other Councillors, there are still other expenses to be met; and
4.
ii.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
As many have pointed out, two regional councils may adopt different policies on the same issue. Hence administrative confusion.
My proposals
a. As sufficient information is needed in order to arrive at a decision, I would like to call on the government to make public all information in respect of the new council—expenditures, financing and relationship between the Urban Council and U.S.D., and relationship between new council and district board.
b.
A committee comprising Urban Councillors, members of the Heung Yee Kuk, N.T. personalities, senior officials of the U.S.D., scholars in political and administrative sciences as well as other elected board members should be set up by the government to study the issue and to prepare a green-paper for public consultation to get their feedback.
I also support the motion.
MR. FREDERICK K. K. FUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to discuss with you the question of whether there should be one council or two councils. I would concentrate on four points. Firstly, what are the special characteristics of the Urban Council? The particular characteristics of the Urban Council might affect the decision. Secondly, from my personal analysis, why does the Government now propose a second council? I will try to analyse the reasons behind this proposal. Thirdly, I will try to analyse the consultative process adopted by the Government after the announcement. And fourthly, I will give you my suggestions.
On the first point, the special characteristic of the Urban Council is really very special indeed in the political framework of Hong Kong. The Urban Council is one of the decision-making bodies of the Government. It functions on a similar level as the Housing Authority. It can decide on certain policy fields and delegate authority to its department to carry out functions. Under the Housing Authority, there is the Housing Department, and under the Urban Council, we have the Urban Services Department. Therefore, we can make decisions so far as administrative work is concerned and we should be considered as an administrative body. Administration, however, should be spread all over the territory similar to that administered by other departments of the Central Government. There is one special characteristic of this Council, i.e., we have elected elements in this Council. All other Government departments did not have this, including the Housing Authority. Everybody is appointed in all those policy-making bodies. With elected membership, this means that this particular body would have a large role to play in the field of politics and this policy shows our difference from other Government bodies. Since there is such a difference, if we think about the development of the Urban Council, the
340
Page 188 of 194
341
a.
b.
C.
d.
e.
f.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Some critics have rightly pointed out that all along the Urban Council's services are not extended to the N.T. I must therefore clarify that it is the law enacted by the central government that prevents the Councils from so doing. Demands of not a few Councillors for extension of services are all rejected by the government.
The people of the N.T. point out that they have a right of participation in the N.T. administration. I fully support their claim, but cannot agree to the view that the N.T. should be run by the N.T. people themselves. Following such a theory, does it mean that both the Executive and Legislative Councils should also be split into two to deal with urban and N.T. affairs separately? This will only result in the fragmentation of Hong Kong.
So far as I understand, the Urban Councillors are not demanding extension of the U.C. jurisdiction to expand their influence. They only feel that a territory-wide central council will work more efficiently.
Some have suggested that the Urban Council with wider jurisdiction will require a larger membership which will render the Council unwieldy. This should be a mere technical problem. From the experience of other countries, by delegating powers to a standing committee, councils with a membership of as many as a hundred can still operate without a hitch.
Critics have observed that because of the marked differences between the urban areas and the N.T., it is not advisable for the Urban Council to also take charge of the N.T. affairs. But I doubt if this point is valid. As new towns develop in the N.T. which is becoming urbanized, many urban people have moved to the N.T. The gap between the N.T. and the urban areas is thus getting smaller.
There is also the opinion that as the proposed regional council is to be financed by rates from the N.T., it is a matter of collecting money from the N.T. people to be spent on them. I would like to draw the attention of the people of N.T. to this particular point and in any case one single council should prove to be more effective.
Situation arising from the setting up of a separate regional council
3.
a.
b.
The establishment of a separate regional council may provide the N.T. people with a channel of political participation, thus making up for what has been denied them all these years.
However, from the viewpoint of administrative efficiency, the setting up of a separate regional council will definitely give rise to the following problems:
i. An additional council will cost the government extra expendi- tures, apart from those expenses mentioned by other Council- lors, there are still other expenses to be met; and
4.
ii.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
As many have pointed out, two regional councils may adopt different policies on the same issue. Hence administrative confusion.
My proposals
а. As sufficient information is needed in order to arrive at a decision, I would like to call on the government to make public all informa- tion in respect of the new council-expenditures, financing and relationship between the Urban Council and U.S.D., and relation- ship between new council and district board.
b.
A committee comprising Urban Councillors, members of the Heung Yee Kuk, N.T. personalities, senior officials of the U.S.D., scholars in political and administrative sciences as well as other elected board members should be set up by the government to study the issue and to prepare a green-paper for public consultation to get their feedback.
I also support the motion.
MR. FREDERICK K. K. Fung (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to discuss with you the question of whether there should be one council or two councils. I would concentrate on four points. Firstly, what are the special characteristics of the Urban Council? The particular characteristics of the Urban Council might affect the decision. Secondly, from my personal analysis, why does the Government now propose a second council? I will try to analyse the reasons behind this proposal. Thirdly, I will try to analyse the consultative process adopted by the Government after the announcement. And fourthly, I will give you my suggestions.
On the first point, the special characteristic of the Urban Council is really very special indeed in the political framework of Hong Kong. The Urban Council is one of the decision-making body of the Government. It functions on the similar level as the Housing Authority. It can decide on certain policy fields and delegate authority to its department to carry out functions. Under the Housing Authority, there is Housing Department, and under the Urban Council, we have the Urban Services Department. Therefore, we can make decisions so far as administrative work is concerned and we should be considered as an administrative body. Administration, however, should be spread all over the territory similar to that administered by other departments of the Central Government. There is one special characteristic of this Council, i.e. we have elected elements in this Council. All other Government departments did not have this, including the Housing Authority. Everybody is appointed in all those policy making bodies. With elected membership, this means that this particular body would have a large role to play in the field of politics and this policy shows our difference from other Government bodies. Since there is such a difference, if we think about the development of the Urban Council, the
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