HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Chairman (in Cantonese):-Please continue.
491
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese):-Okay, Mr. Chairman, I shall continue. I hope most of all, Mr. Chan Choi-hi can clarify this point. If not, we have been going against the principle in formulating budgets. I hope Mr. Chan can clarify this. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. ADA WONG YING-KAY (in Cantonese):—Point of order, Mr. Chairman. I would like Mr. Kam to clarify wherefrom I have insider information. I don't know why he said that.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):—What did he say?
MS. ADA WONG YING-KAY (in Cantonese):—Mr. Kam said I might have insider information. Where did he get that idea from?
Mr. Kam Nai-WAI (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I hope you heard what I said clearly. I said, 'We don't know whether Ms. Ada Wong has insider information.' I do not know and I said I did not know.
Chairman (in Cantonese):—This ‘don't know' has become
Mr. Kam Nai-wal (in Cantonese): —Mr. Chairman. I don't know. I don't know that sentence of mine is not in order or anything.
Chairman (in Cantonese):—Okay, Members have spoken. Will the original mover, Mr. CHAN, like to reply?
MR. CHAN CHOI-HI (in Cantonese):-First of all, let me state that the motion does not signal surrender to central government. The spirit of the motion, as pointed out by several Members, is that we are facing a new situation. It is not that central government has unilaterally destroyed the arrangement. If you read the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement of 1973 carefully, central government never said anything like this. I think Mr. KAM's allegation does not stand. If the Secretary for the Treasury is present here today. I think he would not admit it either. I think you should say this very carefully. You should look at the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement of 1973 between central government and the Urban Council. It is an important piece of document. I feel we should not make allegations against central government. Sometimes, it is a usual thing to criticize government, but we have to straighten things out before lashing out our criticism. We cannot say that government has unilaterally destroyed the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement. I still cannot accept that. That is my first point.
The second point concerns 'keeping expenditure within the limit of revenue'. I feel that keeping expenditure within the limit of revenue' and 'both opening
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Chairman (in Cantonese):-Please continue.
491
MR. KAM NAI-WAI (in Cantonese):-Okay, Mr. Chairman, I shall continue. I hope most of all, Mr. Chan Choi-hi can clarify this point. If not, we have been going against the principle in formulating budgets. I hope Mr. Chan can clarify this. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. ADA WONG YING-KAY (in Cantonese):—Point of order, Mr. Chairman. I would like Mr. Kam to clarify wherefrom I have insider information. I don't know why he said that.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):—What did he say?
MS. ADA WONG YING-KAY (in Cantonese):—Mr. Kam said I might have insider information. Where did he get that idea from?
Mr. Kam Nai-WAI (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I hope you heard what I said clearly. I said, 'We don't know whether Ms. Ada Wong has insider information.' I do not know and I said I did not know.
Chairman (in Cantonese):—This ‘don't know' has become
Mr. Kam Nai-wal (in Cantonese): —Mr. Chairman. I don't know. I don't know that sentence of mine is not in order or anything.
Chairman (in Cantonese):—Okay, Members have spoken. Will the original mover, Mr. CHAN, like to reply?
MR. CHAN CHOI-HI (in Cantonese):-First of all, let me state that the motion does not signal surrender to central government. The spirit of the motion, as pointed out by several Members, is that we are facing a new situation. It is not that central government has unilaterally destroyed the arrangement. If you read the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement of 1973 carefully, central government never said anything like this. I think Mr. KAM's allegation does not stand. If the Secretary for the Treasury is present here today. I think he would not admit it either. I think you should say this very carefully. You should look at the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement of 1973 between central government and the Urban Council. It is an important piece of document. I feel we should not make allegations against central government. Sometimes, it is a usual thing to criticize government, but we have to straighten things out before lashing out our criticism. We cannot say that government has unilaterally destroyed the Memorandum of Administrative Arrangement. I still cannot accept that. That is my first point.
The second point concerns 'keeping expenditure within the limit of revenue'. I feel that keeping expenditure within the limit of revenue' and 'both opening
Page 447 of 498
Page 447 of 498
Page 447 of 498
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