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HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

flea market. In fact, the letting out rate of the Hong Kong Coliseum is over 90% every year and a number of events are held there every night. It is my hope that the relevant Select Committees would consider this suggestion which could also help to solve the problem of itinerant hawkers. The opening hours of the flea market may begin at 4 p.m. and last till the programmes held inside the Coliseum have finished. Certain areas in the podiums should be let to hawkers for setting up stalls on a daily basis. On the management aspect, we certainly have to monitor the traffic condition there and adopt suitable crowd control measures. Should this pilot scheme prove to be successful, I suggest that similar rental arrangements be made for the coastal piazzas of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (such as the piazza by the Clock Tower and the one opposite the Serenade Chinese Restaurant). This arrangement will increase the Council's income on one hand, and help to promote Hong Kong's tourist industry on the other hand.

In respect of advertisement incomes, I hope that we can put up advertisements in the City News. The City News, having a print run of 95 000 copies every month for free distribution to the public, is one of the free publications of the Council and one that has a wide circulation. By putting advertisements in the City News as a means to increase revenue, I believe that this would also help to enrich the content of the publication and add to its appeal. And undoubtedly, this will contribute to promoting the Council's activities and boost the publication's circulation. In case there is insufficient hands to handle the job, I suggest we can employ advertising agencies to do the job on our behalf. In respect of the printed materials of the Council's activities. I hope that sponsorship may be enlisted for our posters and pamphlets, and advertisements can also be printed at the back of the tickets issued through URBTIX as a means to increase revenue.

There are a lot of Urban Council buildings in different parts of the urban area. I am of the view that we should try to increase income by making use of the outer walls, inner walls and other conspicuous places of these buildings to put up advertisements, provided that they match well with the environment.

We also hope to enlist sponsorship for the cultural activities organized by the Council. At present we have 3 performing companies, namely the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Dance Company. Can we seek sole sponsorship for each performing company or for individual programmes presented by them? We should consider the feasibility of this proposal in detail as, if implemented, this will help much in creating income.

On recreation and sports, sponsorship has, as a matter of fact, been introduced for many of our sports programmes. The Hang Seng Table Tennis Development Programme, for instance, is sponsored by the Hang Seng Bank Ltd., and the Hong Kong Youth (Boys and Girls) Football Promotion Scheme is sponsored by the Swire Coca-cola Hong Kong Ltd. In this regard, I am

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