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place. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I propose that Chinese should be the principal language to be used in the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, and English should only be used as a second language.
Mr. Chairman, there was a traffic accident the other day. The family members of the deceased believed that the accident had happened because the deceased was unable to see the traffic condition when he crossed the road as his sight was blocked by the propaganda boards put up by Councillors of various political parties. After the accident, nobody spoke out for the victim from a sense of justice. I am sure all of us know the reasons fairly well. There are numerous banners and placards of various sizes putting up on the railings along the roadside and on the central dividers of the roads in Hong Kong. Most of them are put up by Councillors, political parties, trade unions and social organisations. They are in fact taking advantage of the loophole in legislations to turn the streets and roads of Hong Kong into a hopeless mess and seriously damaging the appearance of our city. Those Councillors and political parties often boast how they work for the benefits of the public. However, their banners and placards not only damage the appearance of the city, but also affect the traffic, and even wrest human lives. In a previous meeting of this Council, a Councillor from a certain political party denounced the Department's staff for failing to clear up the posters in the streets speedily enough. Mr. Chairman, isn't this a good illustration of the saying "the officials are free to set fire to houses while the ordinary people are forbidden even to light lamps?" I once considered this saying a sarcasm on the bureaucrats, but now I find it an apt description of our Councillors. It is the responsibility of the Urban Council to ensure the cleanliness and tidiness of the city. I have for a number of times made suggestions on the control of placards and banners in the streets. However, I have thus made myself abominable in the Council. No one ever responded to my suggestions. Can anyone say for sure that this has nothing to do with the interests of the individual or political parties? Would staff of the Urban Services Department dare to beard the lion in its den? Who would dare to clear up the banners and placards in the streets? What kind of a world we are living in!
Mr. Chairman, these are my remarks.
MR. SUEN KAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, the question that I am bringing up for discussion today is to urge the Urban Council to improve the members' remuneration monitoring system as soon as possible. It is common knowledge that the Urban Council's source of income is the rates paid by the public. Since this is public money, Members of the Urban Council should be careful with every cent that they spend. This is Members' responsibility towards the public who place their trust in them. Our society is always making progress but the remuneration monitoring system of the Urban Council has remained unchanged. In today's society, people have an increasingly higher awareness of their democratic rights and a higher
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place. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I propose that Chinese should be the principal language to be used in the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, and English should only be used as a second language only.
Mr. Chairman, there was a traffic accident the other day. The family members of the deceased believed that the accident had happened because the deceased was unable to see the traffic condition when he crossed the road as his sight was blocked by the propaganda boards put up by Councillors of various political parties. After the accident, nobody spoke out for the victim from a sense of justice. I am sure all of us know the reasons fairly well. There are numerous banners and placards of various sizes putting up on the railings along the roadside and on the central dividers of the roads in Hong Kong. Most of them are put up by Councillors, political parties, trade unions and social organisations. They are in fact taking advantage of the loophole in legislations to turn the streets and roads of Hong Kong into a hopeless mess and seriously damaging the appearance of our city. Those Councillors and political parties often boast how they work for the benefits of the public. However, their banners and placards not only damage the appearance of the city, but also affect the traffic, and even wrest human lives. In a previous meeting of this Council, a Councillor from a certain political party denounced the Department's staff for failing to clear up the posters in the streets speedy enough. Mr. Chairman, isn`t this a good illustration of the saying "the officials are free to set fire to houses while the ordinary people are forbidden even to light lamps?' I once considered this saying a sarcasm on the bureaucrats, but now I find it an apt description of our Councillors. It is the responsibility of the Urban Council to ensure the cleanliness and tidiness of the city. I have for a number of times made suggestions on the control of placards and banners in the streets. However, I have thus made myself abominable in the Council. No one ever responded to my suggestions. Can any one say for sure that this has nothing to do with the interests of the individual or political parties? Would staff of the Urban Services Department dare to beard the lion in its den? Who would dare to clear up the banners and placards in the streets? What kind of a world we are living in!
Mr. Chairman, these are my remarks.
MR. SUEN KAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese);—Mr. Chairman, the question that I am bringing up for discussion today is to urge the Urban Council to improve the members' remuneration monitoring system as soon as possible. It is common knowledge that the Urban Council's source of income is the rates paid by the public. Since this is public money, Members of the Urban Council should be careful with every cent that they spend. This is Members' responsibility towards the public who place their trust in them. Our society is always making progress but the remuneration monitoring system of the Urban Council has remained unchanged. In today's society, people have an increasingly higher awareness of their democratic rights and a higher
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