HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
15
is not my intention to shake the earth or to strive to outshine my colleagues. Neither is it my intention to attack those who do not belong to my political party. In fact, it can be seen from the past that I was the one being attacked on many occasions. Nevertheless, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss with my colleagues the possibility for this Council to, besides discharging its usual duties relating to environmental health, markets and hawkers, do more in the run-up to and beyond 1997 to ensure that the Hong Kong we know and love will not vanish with time. In other words, can we make some practical contributions to the implementation of 'one country, two systems'?
Recently I have been thinking, after 1997 Hong Kong will become part of China, albeit a Special Administrative Region. Will activities and works which are not allowed in China be allowed in Hong Kong then? Even if the people in general are treated with some degree of tolerance, will such activities and works be allowed within the jurisdiction of this Council which is an official institution? How much autonomy will we enjoy and how much right of self-determination will we have? If we subjectively hope for autonomy, what should we do when the Central Government intervenes?
Why do I bring this question up today? It is because this Council is actually responsible for the management of a large portion of so-called 'cultural hardware', for example, our libraries, the Museum of Art, the Cultural Centre, performing companies under our management, and the Victoria Park and Chater Garden where supporters of the Democratic Movement often assemble. In fact, such 'hardware' dominates the development and direction of culture, and the development of and changes in our culture will definitely decide indirectly the people's ideology. Therefore, as I have already stated clearly at the very beginning, if we want to retain ideological freedom and varied culture existing in Hong Kong, we must give this question some thoughts. For example, can we still have literary works of dissidents like FANG Lizhi, Wang Ruoshui and LIU Binyan for lending in our libraries? Can assemblies in memory of the June Fourth Incident still be held in the Victoria Park and Chater Garden after 1997? These are vivid instances that I often think about.
I believe all of us admit that after 1997, China will be Hong Kong's sovereign state. And we should know by now that we must rely on Hong Kong and on ourselves, not on the British Foreign Secretary or the United States, to fight for and protect Hong Kong's freedom and culture. Members here today come from different political parties and backgrounds. Some of us may adopt a more aggressive stance while others take the moderate line of communication, but I believe all of us have the same target, and that is to retain Hong Kong's practices and existing ideology. We are all moving in the same direction. Here I hope that each of us will think carefully about one thing: on what basis will China exercise its sovereignty over Hong Kong after we become part of China in 1997?
Our return to China and China's exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong are all founded on the concept of 'one country, two systems'. If it had not been for this
Page 302 of 485
Page 302 of 485
Page 302 of 485
Page 302 of 485
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
15
is not my intention to shake the earth or to strive to outshine my colleagues. Neither is it my intention to attack those who do not belong to my political party. In fact, it can be seen from the past that I was the one being attacked on many occasions. Nevertheless, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss with my colleagues the possibility for this Council to, besides discharging its usual duties relating to environmental health, markets and hawkers, do more in the run-up to and beyond 1997 to ensure that the Hong Kong we know and love will not vanish with time. In other words, can we make some practical contributions to the implementation of 'one country, two systems'?
Recently I have been thinking, after 1997 Hong Kong will become part of China, albeit a Special Administrative Region. Will activities and works which are not allowed in China be allowed in Hong Kong then? Even if the people in general are treated with some degree of tolerance, will such activities and works be allowed within the jurisdiction of this Council which is an official institution? How much autonomy will we enjoy and how much right of self-determination will we have? If we subjectively hope for autonomy, what should we do when the Central Government intervenes?
Why do I bring this question up today? It is because this Council is actually responsible for the management of a large portion of so-called 'cultural hardware”, for example, our libraries, the Museum of Art, the Cultural Centre, performing companies under our management, and the Victoria Park and Chater Garden where supporters of the Democratic Movement often assemble. In fact, such 'hardware' dominates the development and direction of culture, and the development of and changes in our culture will definitely decide indirectly the people's ideology. Therefore, as I have already stated clearly at the very beginning, if we want to retain ideological freedom and varied culture existing in Hong Kong, we must give this question some thoughts. For example, can we still have literary works of dissidents like FANG Lizhi, Wang Ruoshui and LIU Binyan for lending in our libraries? Can assemblies in memory of the June Fourth Incident still be held in the Victoria Park and Chater Garden after 1997? These are vivid instances that I often think about.
I believe all of us admit that after 1997, China will be Hong Kong's sovereign state. And we should know by now that we must rely on Hong Kong and on ourselves, not on the British Foreign Secretary or the United States, to fight for and protect Hong Kong's freedom and culture. Members here today come from different political parties and backgrounds. Some of us may adopt a more agressive stance while others take the moderate line of communication, but I believe all of us have the same target, and that is to retain Hong Kong's practices and existing ideology. We are all moving in the same direction. Here I hope that each of us will think carefully about one thing: on what basis will China exercise its sovereignty over Hong Kong after we become part of China in 1997?
Our return to China and China's exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong are all founded on the concept of 'one country, two systems'. If it had not been for this
Page 302 of 485
Page 302 of 485
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