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joint schools sport meets or school sports competitions. If the athletic track is deleted after the redevelopment, then the implication will be quite severe. According to statistics, during 1991, 83 weekdays had been used by the schools and in next year, 79 days will be used by schools in the HK Stadium. If we exclude public holidays, Sundays and Saturdays, there isn't much time left for schools to use the Hong Kong Stadium. If the track is deleted, almost 160,000 students from 120 schools will lose their sports activities and they would be deprived of the opportunity of having the sport meets. Rugby which has become more popular in the past few years attracts a lot of people. Unfortunately, rugby still remains a minority sport and it certainly cannot compare with the sports meets in terms of the number of spectators. On Hong Kong Island, there are 3 sports grounds but only Hong Kong Stadium can accommodate more than 10 thousand school children for the joint school sport activities. Schools are the most frequent users of the Hong Kong Stadium. Yet, the Hong Kong Government has not consulted the Urban Council and the biggest user of the Hong Kong Stadium, i.e. schools on the redevelopment of the Hong Kong Stadium. And the Government has certainly made a mistake there. The track in the Mongkok Stadium has already been dispensed with and so we are only left with the Wanchai Sports Ground and the Hong Kong Stadium which have the facilities of track. If the track in Hong Kong Stadium is to be deleted, then we are only left with the Wan Chai Sports Ground as the only facility with track. The chances for school students to hold sport meets will be further reduced. The athletic sport is the fundamental sports event and all along, the Government has been encouraging schools to make use of the Urban Council and Government's facilities which are limited in number. It doesn't make sense to remove the athletic track in the Hong Kong Stadium. In view of the above reasons, I strongly demand that the athletic track after the re-development of Hong Kong Stadium should be retained. Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, regarding the Hong Kong Government's intention to redevelop the Stadium, I feel very indignant and discontented. My colleagues have mentioned for many times that the Urban Council is the managing authority of the Hong Kong Stadium. We have never been consulted. In 1990, we received a paper saying the Government intended to redevelop the Stadium. In November, the Government and the Jockey Club told us they decided to redevelop the Stadium, and the athletic track would be deleted. We were only informed twice of the intention of the Government and the Jockey Club. As for the financial implication and the design, the Urban Council has never been consulted and invited to take part in any discussion. Administratively speaking, I think our members have already pointed out that the Government has made a mistake. I hope that the officials concerned should be held responsible for this incident and should resign so as to calm down the discontent of the general public, especially the educational sector. Now I would like to repeat the utilization rate of the Stadium among schools. According to the figures available to me from 1989 to 1990, the total utilization rate of the stadium is 120 times and 80 times were used by educational sector. From 1990 to 1991, the total utilization rate was 137 times and 83 times were used by schools. So on every 3 days, there is an inter-school competition. Excluding public holidays, schools held 8.5 athletic meets for every month. How are we going to tell the schools in future where to hold their large scale athletic meets? The answer is nil because the Wong Chuk Hang and Wan Chai Sports Grounds cannot accommodate so many students to hold their inter-schools competitions. I really don't understand the reason behind the Government's decision. Thus, we can only analyse the situation from a political point of view. In 1821, the British began to sell opium to the Chinese and many Chinese people were victimized and many people were called the 'Weak People of Asia'. In 1840, the Opium War began. In 1843, the Nanking Treaty was signed and Hong Kong was ceded to Britain. Now, the Hong Kong Government, on the one hand, carries out the programme of getting more youngsters to involve into the community affairs, so there should be a balanced development for young people but on the other hand, it wants to delete the only available venue for young people to hold their athletic meets in order to develop their moral and physical trainings. So what is the rationale behind? Is the Hong Kong Government going to create another batch of Weak People of Asia? The Secretary for Education and Manpower and the Education Department have not said anything on this issue. Is it because the officials are protecting of one another? Now, more than 400 principals have objected to the deletion of the athletic track in the Hong Kong Stadium. Why the Government is still bent on having his own way? Mr. Chairman, I request the Council to make a complaint to the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints to investigate as to whether there are any administrative faults committed by high officials and we should also plot into any political conspiracy. For the benefit of our future generation so that they can have a balanced development, I support the motion made by Mr. Joseph CHAN.
DR. THE HON. SAMUEL WONG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I support the motion moved by Mr. Joseph CHAN. Whilst the University of Science and Technology built by the Jockey Club Charitable Company had been severely criticised by the Director of Audit on the over-spending of the construction cost, we heard from the news media that the RHKJC would spend 850 million dollars to redevelop the HK Stadium. In the proposal, there will be a seating capacity of 40,000 seats and the running track will be taken away. Many of our colleagues have commented on the taking away of the running track and the management problems, I would not add anything on this. I hope the Government and RHKJC would take into considerations the following 6 points. First, with the launching of the airport project and other related big projects, should the Government at this stage start such a large scale re-development project in the Hong Kong Stadium which is not really essential to the livelihood of Hong Kong people? This would speed up the inflation. Secondly, have they calculated the days in the year when the Hong Kong Stadium would be fully utilized really for about 20 days to 30 days? Thirdly,
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utilization rate of the stadium is 120 times and 80 times were used by educational sector. From 1990 to 1991, the total utilization rate was 137 times and 83 times were used by schools. So on every 3 days, there is an inter-school competition. Excluding public holidays, schools held 8.5 athletic meets for every month. How are we going to tell the schools in future where to hold their large scale athletic meets? The answer is nil because the Wong Chuk Hang and Wan Chai Sports Grounds cannot accommodate so many students to hold their inter-schools competitions...
Page 90 of 126
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Page 90 of 126
Page 90 of 126
159
158
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
joint schools sport meets or school sports competitions. If the athletic track is deleted after the redevelopment, then the implication will be quite severe. According to statistics, during 1991, 83 weekdays had been used by the schools and in next year, 79 days will be used by schools in the HK Stadium. If we exclude public holidays, Sundays and Saturdays, there isn't much time left for schools to use the Hong Kong Stadium. If the track is deleted, almost 160 000 students from 120 schools will lose their sports activities and they would be deprived of the opportunity of having the sport meets. Rugby which has become more popular in the past few years attracts a lot of people. Unfortunately, rugby still remains a minority sport and it certainly cannot compare with the sports meets in terms of the number of spectators. On Hong Kong Island, there are 3 sports grounds but only Hong Kong Stadium can accommodate more than 10 thousand school children for the joint school sport acitivities. Schools are the most frequent users of the Hong Kong Stadium. Yet, the Hong Kong Government has not consulted the Urban Council and the biggest user of the Hong Kong Stadium, i.e. schools on the redevelopment of the Hong Kong Stadium. And the Government has certainly made a mistake there. The track in the Mongkok Stadium has already been dispensed with and so we are only left with the Wanchai Sports Ground and the Hong Kong Stadium which have the facilities of track. If the track in Hong Kong Stadium is to be deleted, then we are only left with the Wan Chai Sports Ground as the only facility with track. The chances for school students to hold sport meets will be further reduced. The athletic sport is the fundamental sports event and all along, the Government has been encouraging schools to make use of the Urban Council and Government's facilities which are limited in number. It doesn't make sense to remove the athletic track in the Hong Kong Stadium. In view of the above reasons, I strongly demand that the athletic track after the re- development of Hong Kong Stadium should be retained. Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
MR. WONG SHUI-LAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, regarding the Hong Kong Government's intention to redevelop the Stadium, I feel very indignant and discontented. My colleagues have mentioned for many times that the Urban Council is the managing authority of the Hong Kong Stadium. We have never been consulted. In 1990, we received a paper saying the Government intended to redevelop the Stadium. In November, the Government and the Jockey Club told us they decided to redevelop the Stadium, and the athletic track would be deleted. We were only informed twice of the intention of the Government and the Jockey Club. As for the financial implication and the design, the Urban Council has never been consulted and invited to take part in any discussion. Administratively speaking, I think our members have already pointed out that the Government has made a mistake. I hope that the officials concerned should be held responsible for this incident and should resign so as to calm down the discontent of the general public, especially the educational sector. Now I would like to repeat the utilization rate of the Stadium among schools. According to the figures available to me from 1989 to 1990, the total
Page 90 of 126
!
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
utilization rate of the stadium is 120 times and 80 times were used by educational sector. From 1990 to 1991, the total utilization rate was 137 times and 83 times were used by schools. So on every 3 days, there is an inter-school competition. Excluding public holidays, schools held 8.5 athletic meets for every month. How are we going to tell the schools in future where to hold their large scale athletic meets? The answer is nil because the Wong Chuk Hang and Wan Chai Sports Grounds cannot accommodate so many students to hold their inter-schools competitions. I really don't understand the reason behind the Government's decision. Thus, we can only analyse the situation from a political point of view. In 1821, the British began to sell opium to the Chinese and many Chinese people were victimized and many people were called the 'Weak People of Asia'. In 1840, the Opium War began. In 1843, the Nanking Treaty was signed and Hong Kong was ceded to Britain. Now, the Hong Kong Government, on the one hand, carries out the programme of getting more youngsters to involve into the community affairs, so there should be a balanced development for young people but on the other hand, it wants to delete the only available venue for young people to hold their athletic meets in order to develop their moral and physical trainings. So what is the rationale behind? Is the Hong Kong Government going to create another batch of Weak People of Asia? The Secretary for Education and Manpower and the Education Department have not said anything on this issue. Is it because the officials are protecting of one another? Now, more than 400 principals have objected to the deletion of the athletic track in the Hong Kong Stadium. Why the Government is still bent on having his own way? Mr. Chairman, I request the Council to make a complaint to the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints to investigate as to whether there are any administrative faults committed by high officials and we should also plot into any political conspiracy. For the benefit of our future generation so that they can have a balanced development, I support the motion made by Mr. Joseph CHAN.
DR. THE HON. SAMUEL WONG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I support the motion moved by Mr. Joseph CHAN. Whilst the University of Science and Technology built by the Jockey Club Charitable Company had been severely criticised by the Director of Audit on the over-spending of the construction cost, we heard from the news media that the RHKJC would spend 850 million dollars to redevelop the HK Stadium. In the proposal, there will be a seating capacity of 40 000 seats and the running track will be taken away. Many of our colleagues have commented on the taking away of the running track and the management problems, I would not add anything on this. I hope the Government and RHKJC would take into considerations the following 6 points. First, with the launching of the airport project and other related big projects, should the Government at this stage start such a large scale re- development project in the Hong Kong Stadium which is not really essential to the livelihood of Hong Kong people? This would speed up the inflation. Secondly, have they calculated the days in the year when the Hong Kong Stadium would be fully utilized really for about 20 days to 30 days? Thirdly,
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