498
490
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. LAI HOK-LIM (in Cantonese):--Mr. Chairman, according to Standing Order 21(7), the speaker should not use impolite or offensive language.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, if the saying 'take off trousers to break wind' is regarded as improper use of language, I am willing to take it back.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-We should avoid the use of language on 'physiological need'.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):-It is just a piece of common colloquialism.
We should work on our budget for 97/98. If there is a deficit, the Secretary for the Treasury, as clearly indicated in his letter of reply, will provide us with funding. There is no need to compete for it. Mr. Chairman, I support the original motion.
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese):—I would like to bring out a clear message before Mr. CHAN Choi-hi makes his concluding remarks. In drafting the amendment, the Democratic Party pinpoints 'to keep expenditure within the limit of revenue'. As interpreted by Ms. Ada WONG, 'revenue' in 'within the limit of revenue' should include funding from central government as well as income from other charges.
In our amended motion, it has been clearly stated that the emphasis should be on opening up more revenue sources. We are doing this so as to increase our income. The most important thing for us now is to 'keep expenditure within the limit of revenue'. If we design our budget on the basis of funding from central government, we are going a different direction from the past.
I hope Mr. Chan Choi-hi will state the case clearly to all Members. The purpose of the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement is to allow for coordination between central government and the Council in formulating budgets. However, this year, central government has unilaterally destroyed the administration arrangement of 1973 in dictating the funding amount. At this stage, we all feel, as put by Mr. CHAN, or we don't know whether Ms. WONG has insider information in this regard, that there is no way to change the decision of central government. We don't know about that. However, if we accept
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese): Some of the speeches just now divert from the truth. I don't want to put a stop to the discussion, so just state your opinions, don't clarify point by point. Please continue.
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, what have I said to warrant this?
198
498
490
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. LAI HOK-LIM (in Cantonese):--Mr. Chairman, according to Standing Order 21(7), the speaker should not use impolite or offensive language.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, if the saying 'take off trousers to break wind' is regarded as improper use of language, I ar willing to take it back.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-We should avoid the use of language on 'physiological need'.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):-It is just a piece of common colloquialism.
We should work on our budget for 97/98. If there is a deficit, the Secretary for the Treasury, as clearly indicated in his letter of reply, will provide us with funding. There is no need to compete for it. Mr. Chairman, I support the original motion.
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese):—I would like to bring out a clear message before Mr. CHAN Choi-hi makes his concluding remarks. In drafting the amendment, the Democratic Party pinpoints 'to keep expenditure within the limit of revenue'. As interpreted by Ms. Ada WONG, 'revenue' in 'within the limit of revenue' should include funding from central government as well as income from other charges.
In our amended motion, it has been clearly stated that the emphasis should be on opening up more revenue sources. We are doing this so as to increase our income. The most important thing for us now is to 'keep expenditure within the limit of revenue'. If we design our budget on the basis of funding from central government, we are going a different direction from the past.
I hope Mr. Chan Choi-hi will state the case clearly to all Members. The purpose of the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement is to allow for coordination between central government and the Council in formulating budgets. However, this year, central government has unilaterally destroyed the administration arrangement of 1973 in dictating the funding amount. At this stage, we all feel, as put by Mr. CHAN, or we don't know whether Ms. WONG has insider information in this regard, that there is no way to change the decision of central government. We don't know about that. However, if we accept
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese): Some of the speeches just now divert from the truth. I don't want to put a stop of the discussion, so just state your opinions, don't clarify point by point. Please continue.
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, what have I said to warrant this?
198
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.