1986 — Page 116

190

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

consideration to such ideas and I would certainly make sure that your ideas and thoughts will be put to the proper quarter. I now trust that the ideas put forward will reflect the spirit of this Council when dealing with civic topics.

When we were set up some nine months ago after the March 6 elections which resulted in five new members joining the Council. There was a further infusion of, my term, new blood—the replacement of two retiring Councillors—giving us seven new minds in all.

Veteran members and newcomers have all combined into an energetic and hardworking team, and the Council has in recent months received a certain amount of accolade for the accomplishments in meeting the rising civic aspirations of the people in Hong Kong.

In May last, you will recall what we were received great encouragement from the Governor, the late Sir Edward Youde, when he met us for a frank exchange of views on both our work and our problems.

The Governor made it clear that the present three-tier system of Government in Hong Kong—District Boards on the lower rung, the Urban and Regional Councils in the middle and the Legislative Council on the top line—should be maintained because it had amply proved itself best suited to Hong Kong's needs.

H. E. added that the Council had a proud record of service to this community dating back more than a century.

More recently, in our visit to China, the Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Mr. Ji Pengfei and his some complimentary comment about our work.

Mr. Ji said that the Council played a vital role in both environmental and cultural activities, and in helping to maintain Hong Kong as a stable and prosperous territory. He urged us to continue with our important work, and made a further point about it and our efforts in the 'greening' of Hong Kong and he wished only too hard that Beijing was as green as Hong Kong.

Actions speak louder than words, and the accomplishments of the Urban Council are proof of its dedication to the wellbeing, welfare and happiness of the people.

Many projects which were but dreams 20 years or so ago when I joined the Council are now reality—we have some magnificent cultural and entertainment venues with several more under construction, plus a wide range of sports and recreational facilities. Our city, despite being highly populated and congested, can pride itself on being cleaner and greener than most, if not all other cities in the region.

As we head into the 90's, we must keep up the pace of upgrading our services and facilities to improve the quality of life.

I so move.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 116 of 201

191

MRS. ELSIE TU, VICE-CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL seconded the motion (in English): ---Mr. Chairman, I rise to second your motion.

Today I don't want to speak on any particular select committee work, because I am sure that each Select Committee Chairman will deal with his or her own subject. What I would like to mention is that after attending meetings of all select committees and visiting all divisions of the Department during this present term of office, I have been impressed with the volume of work and research being done by the Department, as well as by Council Members. A great deal of progress has been made, but I believe that progress will be even greater when we can eventually get down to the task of reviewing the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangements, now sadly out of date. We have collected data on that subject, and look forward to an early date for its discussion.

I would now like to change to the subject of leaks. The nature of our work frequently raises the question of leaks in public toilets. But the Council has now sprung another kind of leak, a leak that has severely handicapped the Working Party on Hawker Policies and other Committees. I am talking of information leaks to the press which have several times pre-empted decisions on issues not yet even discussed by the Council. As in plumbing, we need to watch carefully to find out the sources of the leaks, whether it be Members, their office staff, or the Department, and we must consider how to plug the leaks.

Having said that, I would now like to take the opportunity afforded by this annual debate to mention other matters which I am afraid are outside the Council's jurisdiction.

The political situation makes daily news in the press. The antics of the Legislative Council enliven, even if they do not greatly enlighten us in our daily lives. Those who press most for what they call 'consensus' of opinion, have no regard for public opinion, but are merely asking for the yes-man system to continue. They are afraid of a system of direct election, in which very few if any of them would win a seat for themselves, and which they would be unable to manipulate. They dream that as it was in the beginning, and is now, so shall it always be. They prefer to remain accountable only to their masters who appointed them, because that is the only way in which they can remain in power. In their own eyes they are the elite, the all-knowing ones. In truth, they are just the remnants of a bygone age, when education was not particularly for the clever but only for the rich and powerful, and laws were made to protect their elite status. This is no longer feasible. Since 1978 all children have had a chance, admittedly only an unequal chance of higher education. Young people can no longer be gulled with the claim that members are appointed to the Legislative Council because they are supermen, and that other mortals may not enter their forbidden city. Recent nonsensical statements by some of the appointed or anointed ones, would suggest that their privileged education in the past has produced wealthy, but not necessarily intelligent people. The gods have been found to have feet of clay, and they will never look the same again.