Page 55 of 132
117
116
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. PAUL YOUNG TZE-KONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, as Chairman of the Administration Select Committee, under the ambit of which the field of public relations lies, I take pleasure in seconding the motion for the formal adoption of the Annual Report for 1992–93.
You, Mr. Chairman, have rightly commented on the 110th anniversary of the Council, but I would like to draw attention to another significant ‘birthday', so to speak, in which the Council has been directly concerned. This is the fact that during the period under review, the City Hall celebrated its 30th anniversary.
When we look today at such magnificent Urban Council venues as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Coliseum and the new Museum of Art, we are inclined to forget that 30 years ago Hong Kong was regarded as a 'cultural desert', and that the opening of the City Hall with its relatively modest Concert Hall and Theatre was the turning point for Hong Kong.
To celebrate that 30th anniversary, more than 40 cultural presentations were staged at the City Hall covering a full spectrum of art forms, and I am happy to say that more than 140 000 people went there to see the various performances or visit the complementary exhibitions, while almost two million people watched on television a quite stunning entertainment spectacular staged there.
This is just one very small, though significant, part of the proud record of the Urban Council's work as outlined in the 1992–93 Annual Report.
Every day, all around us, the activities of the Council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department, continue with the minimum of fuss. That such services are provided unobtrusively and efficiently is taken for granted by the people of Hong Kong which is, in itself, an implied compliment to the Department's staff.
On behalf of the Council, I thank the Department for another year's hard work, the story of which can be found in this year's Annual Report, whether it touches on the provision of essential basic civic services, the wealth of cultural presentations staged, the ever-expanding stock of leisure and recreation facilities provided and funded by the Council, which keep this great city of ours running smoothly.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YEUK-SUT (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, both you and the Chairman of the Administration Select Committee praised this Annual Report, but even by looking at the colour of the cover it is a bit too dark. And you could not see a bit of light, it is dull and it creates a rather gloomy effect. This is actually a philharmonic orchestra performance but it appears to be performing in the under world. For years ever since 1983 when I first joined the Council, every year I receive an Annual Report. And this year, the impression that I have got is that it shows a lot of pressure and it is rather gloomy and dark,
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
different from the vital lively dynamic image that the Council should present. As for the photographs which I have gone through carefully, the Governor only appears in one small photograph in one small corner visiting the Sheung Wan Civic Centre. I remember in previous years, the Governor appeared in many of our activities in the photographs and that shows that the current Governor has really cold shouldered the Urban Council in the past year. This Governor perhaps is the one Governor that has been most cool towards the Urban Council. It has been said that the Governor only concerns himself with political reforms and I tend to agree. As to questions of things connected immediately with our people, the Governor does not really appear directly. It was said that the Governor would appear at our Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, but his appearance was cancelled at the last minute. I hope that in the coming year our Annual Report will be different. I hope that the Governor will participate in more of our activities so that he will be able to enjoy these things with our people. I remember in previous years we were invited either to the Government House or the Chief Secretary's residence for lunch or for dinner. But it seems as if this practice has been dropped and people who go in and out of the Governor's house are political parties and politicians. The article on Hong Kong and Urban Council by Mr. LEWIS is a very good one. It is very well worth reading. It has covered the setting up of the Urban Council and the loss of some of our powers subsequently. In 1973 the Council lost its jurisdiction over housing and it says that this is something that is good. But I do not think so. Here it talks about expatriate members such as Mr. BERNACCHI and Dr. Elsie Tu. I respect them tremendously and I feel that they deserve our tribute. But I also feel that there are Chinese members who are also worthy of tribute. You, Mr. Chairman, is an outstanding member of this Council too. As for Mr. Ambrose CHOI, he participated in all select committees and also sub-committees. He was a businessman and he spent so much time at this Council and this is definitely very valuable. Some people said that it was the tremendous work load at these committees that took his life. But anyhow he was somebody who deserved our respect and I do not think any member now can join all select committees and attend all meetings. Coming back to photographs, in relation to the library, we have four photographs, three is Lai Chi Kok Library, one is the Arts Library, and also the CD-ROMs and its functions. It seems as if it has failed to fully reflect the wide range of services provided by the library. Is it because the photographers were lazy? They just went to one library that took three photographs and then put them in, and that is it. As for introduction of materials, perhaps we should not separate articles from photographs. Perhaps in introducing the functions of the Council, there should also be photographs so that we will have photographs and words side by side. It will be more easier for reference and more interesting. Otherwise, if you just read the words, it is rather dull. But there are some improvements that I think are good. The organisation chart of the Urban Services Department will be of interest to our citizens. It is good and innovative to also have a list of membership of select committees, working groups and sub-committees. Mr. Chairman, may I suggest in future something else be added. We are now taking a more active part in
Page 55 of 132
Page 55Page 56
Page 56 of 132
Page 55 of 132
Page 55 of 132
117
116
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. PAUL YOUNG TZE-KONG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ADMINISTRATION SELECT COMMITTEE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, as Chairman of the Administration Select Committee, under the ambit of which the field of public relations lies, I take pleasure in seconding the motion for the formal adoption of the Annual Report for 1992–93.
You, Mr. Chairman, have rightly commented on the 110th anniversary of the Council, but I would like to draw attention to another significant ‘birthday', SO to speak, in which the Council has been directly concerned. This is the fact that during the period under review, the City Hall celebrated its 30th anniversary.
When we look today at such magnificent Urban Council venues as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the Coliseum and the new Museum of Art, we are inclined to forget that 30 years ago Hong Kong was regarded as a 'cultural desert', and that the opening of the City Hall with its relatively modest Concert Hall and Theatre was the turning point for Hong Kong.
To celebrate that 30th anniversary, more than 40 cultural presentations were staged at the City Hall covering a full spectrum of art forms, and I am happy to say that more than 140 000 people went there to see the various performances or visit the complementary exhibitions, while almost two million people watched on television a quite stunning entertainment spectacular staged there.
This is just one very small, though significant, part of the proud record of the Urban Council's work as outlined in the 1992–93 Annual Report.
Every day, all around us, the activities of the Council's executive arm, the Urban Services Department, continue with the minimum of fuss. That such services are provided unobtrusively and efficiently is taken for granted by the people of Hong Kong which is, in itself, an implied compliment to the Department's staff.
On behalf of the Council, I thank the Department for another year's hard work, the story of which can be found in this year's Annual Report, whether it touches on the provision of essential basic civic services, the wealth of cultural presentations staged, the ever-expanding stock of leisure and recreation facilities provided and funded by the Council, which keep this great city of ours running smoothly.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YEUK-SUT (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, both you and the Chairman of the Administration Select Committee praised this Annual Report, but even by looking at the colour of the cover it is a bit too dark. And you could not see a bit of light, it is dull and it creates a rather gloomy effect. This is actually a philharmonic orchestra performance but it appears to be performing in the under world. For years ever since 1983 when I first joined the Council, every year I receive an Annual Report. And this year, the impression that I have got is that it shows a lot of pressure and it is rather gloomy and dark,
Page 55 of 132
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
different from the vital lively dynamic image that the Council should present. As for the photographs which I have gone through carefully, the Governor only appears in one small photograph in one small corner visiting the Sheung Wan Civic Centre. I remember in previous years, the Governor appeared in many of our activities in the photographs and that shows that the current Governor has really cold shouldered the Urban Council in the past year. This Governor perhaps is the one Governor that has been most cool towards the Urban Council. It has been said that the Governor only concerns himself with political reforms and I tend to agree. As to questions of things connected immediately with our people, the Governor does not really appear directly. It was said that the Governor would appear at our Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, but his appearance was cancelled at the last minute. I hope that in the coming year our Annual Report will be different. I hope that the Governor will participate in more of our activities so that he will be able to enjoy these things with our people. I remember in previous years we were invited either to the Government House or the Chief Secretary's residence for lunch or for dinner. But it seems as if this practice has been dropped and people who go in and out of the Governor's house are political parties and politicians. The article on Hong Kong and Urban Council by Mr. LEWIS is a very good one. It is very well worth reading. It has covered the setting up of the Urban Council and the loss of some of our powers subsequently. In 1973 the Council lost its jurisdiction over housing and it says that this is something that is good. But I do not think so. Here it talks about expatriate members such as Mr. BERNACCHI and Dr. Elsie Tu. I respect them tremendously and I feel that they deserve our tribute. But I also feel that there are Chinese members who are also worthy of tribute. You, Mr. Chairman, is an outstanding member of this Council too. As for Mr. Ambrose CHOI, he participated in all select committees and also sub- committees. He was a businessman and he spent so much time at this Council and this is definitely very valuable. Some people said that it was the tremendous work load at these committees that took his life. But anyhow he was somebody who deserved our respect and I do not think any member now can join all select committees and attend all meetings. Coming back to photographs, in relation to the library, we have four photographs, three is Lai Chi Kok Library, one is the Arts Library, and also the CD-ROMs and its functions. It seems as if it has failed to fully reflect the wide range of services provided by the library. Is it because the photographers were lazy? They just went to one library that took three photographs and then put them in, and that is it. As for introduction of materials, perhaps we should not separate articles from photographs. Perhaps in introducing the functions of the Council, there should also be photographs so that we will have photographs and words side by side. It will be more easier for reference and more interesting. Otherwise, if you just read the words, it is rather dull. But there are some improvements that I think are good. The organisation chart of the Urban Services Department will be of interest to our citizens. It is good and innovative to also have a list of membership of select committees, working groups and sub-committees. Mr. Chairman, may I suggest in future something else be added. We are now taking a more active part in
Page 55 of 132
Page 55Page 56
Page 56 of 132
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.