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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. Before taking the first item on the agenda, I would like to congratulate Mrs. Eleanor LING on being appointed as a Justice of the Peace and Mr. Samuel WONG on being awarded an Honorary Doctor Degree of Laws by the University of Strathclyde. Congratulations. (Applause)
## MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 1989, were confirmed.
## 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 November 1989.
## QUESTIONS
1. MR. JOHN WU MAN-KEUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese):- If District Boards or non-profit making organizations hire Urban Council venues, such as Hong Kong Coliseum, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, City Hall, Ko Shan Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Stadium etc., for community involvement activities, will they be granted concessionary rates? And what are the criteria they have to meet before they can be offered the concessions?
MR. LO KING-MAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):―This question concerns Council's policies with regard to subsidy for hirers of the various Civic Centres under the management of the Council.
The Council's policies on subsidy for hirers have evolved over the years, and are both flexible and pragmatic in order to meet different needs and situations. They were last reviewed in July 1987. It is about two years ago.
Whether or not a particular applicant is eligible for subsidy would depend amongst other things on the nature of the event and the Centre in question. For Centres such as the City Hall, Ko Shan Theatre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre, Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre and the Space Museum Lecture Hall, concessionary rates are offered for non-profit-making organisations who meet the criteria for subsidy. The criteria and application procedure for this is tabled for ease of reference (Appendix).
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
179
In the case of the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the prime objective is to make them self-sufficient when taken together, and subsidy is limited to the use of QES facilities, such as the practice room.
For the newly opened Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the subsidy scheme needs to be tempered by the primary twin objectives for the Centre, which are:
(a) to manage and market the Centre as Hong Kong's premier and international centre for the performing arts, and
(b) to maximise usage and revenue.
From this brief outline of Council's policies, it will be evident that the policies are designed to provide support to organisations who are capable of staging activities of a high standard, and which are commensurate with the objectives of the different facilities at each of the venues.
MR. JOHN WU MAN-KEUNG (in Cantonese):--I wish to thank Mr. Lo for his reply. In the reply, it is mentioned that apart from the practice room in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, there are no subsidy schemes for the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. Could I be informed why no concessionary rates are offered to these two venues?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):-The major reason is that the Urban Council in operating its different venues has to look at its target in revenue and expenditure. When the policy was formulated, we decided that these two stadia would have to be self-sufficient when taken together. Consequently, venues that can help to generate high revenue will be kept primarily for those activities as long as they are commensurate with UC objectives. Our existing strategy is to reduce subsidy to those venues which have a very high capacity to accommodate patrons.
MR. DANIEL WONG KWOK-TUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I know that the review was conducted in 1987, will another review be conducted soon? I would also like to know whether the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium are financially self-sufficient at present? Will these two stadia be considered for subsidy in the future?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):-When the need arises, I believe all Select Committees will review their policies. If Councillors think that it is time to review the policy, then the Culture Select Committee will certainly be pleased to consider the issue. My experience indicates that these two stadia, particularly the Hong Kong Coliseum is very popular to commercial organisations and it is also a very significant source of revenue for the Urban Council. I am afraid it is not very easy for us to subsidize hirers. As regards your second part of the question, since I do not have any information, I can't give you a reply off hand. However, I will give you a written reply once the information is available.
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178
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. Before taking the first item on the agenda, I would like to congratulate Mrs. Eleanor LING on being appointed as a Justice of the Peace and Mr. Samuel WONG on being awarded an Honorary Doctor Degree of Laws by the University of Strathclyde. Congratulations. (Applause)
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 1989, were confirmed.
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 November 1989.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. JOHN WU MAN-KEUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese):- If District Boards or non-profit making organizations hire Urban Council venues, such as Hong Kong Coliseum, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, City Hall, Ko Shan Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Stadium etc., for community involvement activities, will they be granted concessionary rates? And what are the criteria they have to meet before they can be offered the concessions?
MR. LO KING-MAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):―This question concerns Council's policies with regard to subsidy for hirers of the various Civic Centres under the management of the Council.
The Council's policies on subsidy for hirers have evolved over the years, and are both flexible and pragmatic in order to meet different needs and situations. They were last reviewed in July 1987. It is about two years ago.
Whether or not a particular applicant is eligible for subsidy would depend amongst other things on the nature of the event and the Centre in question. For Centres such as the City Hall, Ko Shan Theatre, Sheung Wan Civic Centre, Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre and the Space Museum Lecture Hall, con- cessionary rates are offered for non-profit-making organisations who meet the criteria for subsidy. The criteria and application procedure for this is tabled for ease of reference (Appendix).
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
179
In the case of the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the prime objective is to make them self-sufficient when taken together, and subsidy is limited to the use of QES facilities, such as the practice room.
For the newly opened Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the subsidy scheme needs to be tempered by the primary twin objectives for the Centre, which are:
(a) to manage and market the Centre as Hong Kong's premier and
international centre for the performing arts, and
(b) to maximise usage and revenue.
From this brief outline of Council's policies, it will be evident that the policies are designed to provide support to organisations who are capable of staging activities of a high standard, and which are commensurate with the objectives of the different facilities at each of the venues.
MR. JOHN WU MAN-KEUNG (in Cantonese):--I wish to thank Mr. Lo for his reply. In the reply, it is mentioned that apart from the practice room in the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, there are no subsidy schemes for the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. Could I be informed why no concessionary rates are offered to these two venues?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):-The major reason is that the Urban Council in operating its different venues has to look at its target in revenue and expenditure. When the policy was formulated, we decided that these two stadia would have to be self-sufficient when taken together. Consequently, venues that can help to generate high revenue will be kept primarily for those activities as long as they are commensurate with UC objectives. Our existing strategy is to reduce subsidy to those venues which have a very high capacity to accommodate patrons.
MR. DANIEL WONG KWOK-TUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I know that the review was conducted in 1987, will another review be conducted soon? I would also like to know whether the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium are financially self-sufficient at present? Will these two stadia be considered for subsidy in the future?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in Cantonese):-When the need arises, I believe all Select Committees will review their policies. If Councillors think that it is time to review the policy, then the Culture Select Committee will certainly be pleased to consider the issue. My experience indicates that these two stadia, particularly the Hong Kong Coliseum is very popular to commercial organisations and it is also a very significant source of revenue for the Urban Council. I am afraid it is not very easy for us to subsidize hirers. As regards your second part of the question, since I do not have any information, I can't give you a reply off hand. However, I will give you a written reply once the information is available.
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