Page 311 of 654
Page 311 of 654
~T 054
308
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
councils) have to date been maintained at a very low level, such as flower shows, Clean Hong Kong campaign, administration of the Music Office, etc. But even in these joint activities, examples of lack of communication and cooperation have outnumbered those of cooperation. I wish to quote a few cases below.
The first example is the lack of cooperation between the two Councils in the cultural and recreational field. As far as performances by overseas groups are concerned, the number of joint activities has been very small. There were 5 such activities in 1991, but no more in the two ensuing years. There was one each in 1994 and 1996. It ended up that similar performance groups were invited to Hong Kong separately by both councils, resulting in wastage of resources. At the same time, some residents missed many chances of attending art performances of a very high standard. Those living in the New Territories had to travel to Kowloon by train to attend the shows while those living in the urban area had to go to the New Territories, also by train, for this purpose.
The second example is in the aspect of environmental hygiene. Different definitions are applied by the two councils under the municipal services ordinance governing the same kind of food. Take the ordinance governing food for instance. As mentioned just now, the sale of sushi, sashimi, raw oysters is subject to the control of the Regional Council while the sale of sushi, sashimi, raw oysters and uncooked meat is subject to the control of the Urban Council, that is, an extra item is covered. The area of control exercised by the two councils under the same ordinance also differs. Another point is that, pardon me for being rude, the ‘kinky' part about it is that the effective dates are not the same either. While the legislation of the Regional Council came into effect on 1 February this year, that of the Urban Council came into effect a month later, that is, on 1 March. The result was confusion. Both departments complained about difficulties in implementation because of the different dates.
The third point is about capital projects. For years, the Regional Council has accumulated considerable experience in beach management. Take the shark net for instance. The Regional Council has rich knowledge of the shark net project. It has an anti-shark committee and there are 21 beaches run by it that are equipped with similar facilities. It is very experienced in this aspect. Moreover, the Regional Council often makes overseas visits, so it has first-hand information. On the other hand, the Urban Council has conducted considerable research into toilet facilities and undoubtedly it has a lot to share with the Regional Council. But in fact, the councils do not exchange with each other their expertise or knowledge of how things are done, thereby wasting their efforts in overseas visits as well as the information obtained from researches and the time spent.
The fourth point is about the implementation of the municipal services ordinance. The Mid-autumn Festival is just over. The activities of melting wax
Page 311 of 654
Page 311 of 654
~T 054
308
was removed as it is repetition, the rest of the text is formatted according to the instructions. However, upon closer inspection, it is noticed that the original text had some minor errors and formatting issues. The corrected version is as above.Page 311 of 654
Page 311 of 654
~T 054
308
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
councils) have to date been maintained at a very low level, such as flower shows, Clean Hong Kong campaign, administration of the Music Office, etc. But even in these joint activities, examples of lack of communication and cooperation have outnumbered those of cooperation. I wish to quote a few cases below.
The first example is the lack of cooperation between the two Councils in the cultural and recreational field. As far as performances by overseas groups are concerned, the number of joint activities has been very small. There were 5 such activities in 1991, but no more in the two ensuing years. There was one each in 1994 and 1996. It ended up that similar performance groups were invited to Hong Kong separately by both councils, resulting in wastage of resources. At the same time, some residents missed many chances of attending art performances of a very high standard. Those living in the New Territories had to travel to Kowloon by train to attend the shows while those living in the urban area had to go to the New Territories, also by train, for this purpose.
The second example is in the aspect of environmental hygiene. Different definitions are applied by the two councils under the municipal services ordinance governing the same kind of food. Take the ordinance governing food for instance. As mentioned just now, the sale of sushi, sashimi, raw oysters is subject to the control of the Regional Council while the sale of sushi, sashimi, raw oysters and uncooked meat is subject to the control of the Urban Council, that is, an extra item is covered. The area of control exercised by the two councils under the same ordinance also differs. Another point is that, pardon me for being rude, the ‘kinky' part about it is that the effective dates are not the same either. While the legislation of the Regional Council came into effect on 1 February this year, that of the Urban Council came into effect a month later, that is, on 1 March. The result was confusion. Both departments complained about difficulties in implementation because of the different dates.
The third point is about capital projects. For years, the Regional Council has accumulated considerable experience in beach management. Take the shark net for instance. The Regional Council has rich knowledge of the shark net project. It has an anti-shark committee and there are 21 beaches run by it that are equipped with similar facilities. It is very experienced in this aspect. Moreover, the Regional Council often makes overseas visits, so it has first- hand information. On the other hand, the Urban Council has conducted considerable research into toilet facilities and undoubtedly it has a lot to share with the Regional Council. But in fact, the councils do not exchange with each other their expertise or knowledge of how things are done, thereby wasting their efforts in overseas visits as well as the information obtained from researches and the time spent.
The fourth point is about the implementation of the municipal services ordinance. The Mid-autumn Festival is just over. The activities of melting wax
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.