HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
563
The second objective is that if the motion was carried, the people's confidence in the future of Hong Kong would be fostered.
The third objective is that if the motion was carried, the services such as cultural, cleansing provided by the Council to the people of Hong Kong would be maintained both in quality and quantity,
Hence, I support Ms. CHOW's amended motion in principle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. BENEDICT LEE SHUI-SING (in Cantonese):-First of all, I too would express my support of Ms. CHOW's amended motion.
I wish to respond to Mr. Kam's accusation that no figure has been provided by the Liberal Party. The existing proposal is that reduction of the hire charges of the various venues should be further examined. To get this done, we need to endorse the motion first, and I am sure that afterwards, our colleagues in the Council and Department will study the feasibility, which is very important. We need to examine the types of charges that have to be revised and reduced. I am sure that if the motion is carried, examination in this respect will be made.
Secondly, I consider this an opportune time to give due consideration to rental reduction. We all know that the rent of a property should be in proportion to its value and it is obvious that the value of all the properties in Hong Kong has dropped substantially. The hire charge of a venue and the rent of a house or shop are determined by the property owners based on the amount of money they pay for when purchasing these properties. You can see that the rents charged for prime shop spaces are often excessive because their prices are very expensive. There are tenants who are willing to pay for the high rents because after offsetting the rent with the money earned, there is still a reasonable profit.
However, at this time when business is poor, it is unacceptable to have to pay expensive rents which are not in proportion to the value of the properties at all. Basically, each tenancy is governed by an agreement, which stipulates the term of tenancy and the condition that the new rent will not be determined until the tenancy expires. However, we need to discuss this issue now because we have to be sympathetic with the public to enable them to survive. It would not be to the owners' advantage at all if the tenants could not maintain a living or operation because of the expensive rents. If the rents were too expensive to be affordable, there would be no tenants and the owners would no longer be able to get reasonable profit out of their properties. Hence I consider that under prevailing circumstances, there is a need to examine reasonable reductions of rents.
Lastly, I wish to respond to what Mr. Kam Nai-wai said just now. He said we often sent out wrong messages to the public, in that the decisions we had made were very often vetoed. He cited the example of the design of the
Page 569 of 654
Page 569 of 65+
Page 569 of 654
Page 569 of 654
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
563
The second objective is that if the motion was carried, the people's confidence in the future of Hong Kong would be fostered.
The third objective is that if the motion was carried, the services such as cultural, cleansing provided by the Council to the people of Hong Kong would be maintained both in quality and quantity,
Hence, I support Ms. CHOW's amended motion in principle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. BENEDICT LEE SHUI-SING (in Cantonese):-First of all, I too would express my support of Ms. CHOW's amended motion.
I wish to respond to Mr. Kam's accusation that no figure has been provided by the Liberal Party. The existing proposal is that reduction of the hire charges of the various venues should be further examined. To get this done, we need to endorse the motion first, and I am sure that afterwards, our colleagues in the Council and Department will study the feasibility, which is very important. We need to examine the types of charges that have to be revised and reduced. I am sure that if the motion is carried, examination in this respect will be made.
Secondly, I consider this an opportune time to give due consideration to rental reduction. We all know that the rent of a property should be in proportion to its value and it is obvious that the value of all the properties in Hong Kong has dropped substantially. The hire charge of a venue and the rent of a house or shop are determined by the property owners based on the amount of money they pay for when purchasing these properties. You can see that the rents charged for prime shop spaces are often excessive because their prices are very expensive. There are tenants who are willing to pay for the high rents because after offsetting the rent with the money earned, there is still a reasonable profit.
However, at this time when business is poor, it is unacceptable to have to pay expensive rents which are not in proportion to the value of the properties at all. Basically, each tenancy is governed by an agreement, which stipulates the term of tenancy and the condition that the new rent will not be determined until the tenancy expires. However, we need to discuss this issue now because we have to be sympathetic with the public to enable them to survive. It would not be to the owners` advantage at all if the tenants could not maintain a living or operation because of the expensive rents. If the rents were too expensive to be affordable, there would be no tenants and the owners would no longer be able to get reasonable profit out of their properties. Hence I consider that under prevailing circumstances, there is a need to examine reasonable reductions of rents.
Lastly, I wish to respond to what Mr. Kam Nai-wai said just now. He said we often sent out wrong messages to the public, in that the decisions we had made were very often vetoed. He cited the example of the design of the
Page 569 of 65+
Page 569 of 654
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.