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HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
595
He said (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would first of all clarify that the motion I have put forth today is by no means directed against the incumbent Director of Urban Services. Neither is it directed against any individual. My aim is simply to improve the relationship between the Council and the Department in the context of the overall system, so as to ensure effective supervision over the Department's performance. In fact, the Democratic Party has been of the view that there are a lot of defects and institutional problems in the relationship between the two Parties (May I ask the Chairman whether he has any specific instructions?) For example, the independence of the Council's Secretariat has always been questioned. There is now a working group under the Council appointed to study the establishment of an independent secretariat. Today's proposal for a question-and-answer session for the Director at the monthly meetings is just the first step to improve the system.
I believe that none of the Members who are present considers that the relationship between the Council and the Department in the past few years has been calm and tranquil. The reasons for the inharmony are by no means simple ones like personal grudges or 'crazy phoenix versus wild dragon', as some have speculated. Such a simplification is an oversight of the existence of the problems in the entire system. We have no doubt at all as to the devotedness of most of our colleagues in the Department in fulfilling their duties properly and serving the community. The problem is that between the Department, which is a large bureaucratic structure, and the Council, which is an elected representative body with decision-making power, there are inevitably serious and even irreconcilable contradictions.
A large bureaucratic structure is like a living organism, which is aiming at expansion, whether consciously or otherwise, forever asking for the creation of more posts and seeking more resources just to enable it to grow stronger. It is strongly opposed to any attempt at rationalization of the framework and any proposals for cutting down on the use of resources. Policy-wise, the operation of a bureaucratic system naturally tends to be gradual in nature, reserved and elite-based, while as a decision-maker, an elected representative council invariably prefers rapid reforms in order to meet public aspirations and is intolerant of a bureaucratic, gradual and inert style of doing things. These contradictions can be said to be unavoidable, but there are in fact many ways to remove them. A lot of representative bodies in other jurisdictions have adopted the ministerial system, under which the party in office is the chief executive responsible for implementing policies, or possessing the power to dismiss the executive officials working under the representative body. However, the structure of the Urban Council is a very special one, which was designed by the Colonial Government to check and balance the elected representative body with policy-making power. We are aware of the authority of the Director of Urban Services. It is stipulated in the Provisional Urban Council Ordinance that 'the principal executive officer of the Council shall be
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Page 605 of 654
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
595
He said (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would first of all clarify that the motion I have put forth today is by no means directed against the incumbent Director of Urban Services. Neither is it directed against any individual. My aim is simply to improve the relationship between the Council and the Department in the context of the overall system, so as to ensure effective supervision over the Department's performance. In fact, the Democratic Party has been of the view that there are a lot of defects and institutional problems in the relationship between the two Parties (May I ask the Chairman whether he has any specific instructions?) For example, the independence of the Council's Secretariat has always been questioned. There is now a working group under the Council appointed to study the establishment of an independent secretariat. Today's proposal for a question-and-answer session for the Director at the monthly meetings is just the first step to improve the system.
I believe that none of the Members who are present considers that the relationship between the Council and the Department in the past few years has been calm and tranquil. The reasons for the inharmony are by no means simple ones like personal grudges or 'crazy phoenix versus wild dragon', as some have speculated. Such a simplification is an oversight of the existence of the problems in the entire system. We have no doubt at all as to the devotedness of most of our colleagues in the Department in fulfilling their duties properly and serving the community. The problem is that between the Department, which is a large bureaucratic structure, and the Council, which is an elected representative body with decision-making power. there are inevitably serious and even irreconcilable contradictions.
A large bureaucratic structure is like a living organism, which is aiming at expansion, whether consciously or otherwise, forever asking for the creation of more posts and seeking more resources just to enable it to grow stronger. It is strongly opposed to any attempt at rationalization of the framework and any proposals for cutting down on the use of resources. Policy-wise, the operation of a bureaucratic system naturally tends to be gradual in nature, reserved and elite-based, while as a decision-maker, an elected representative council iinvariably prefers rapid reforms in order to meet public aspirations and is iintolerant of a bureaucratic, gradual and inert style of doing things. These contradictions can be said to be unavoidable, but there are in fact many ways tto remove them. A lot of representative bodies in other jurisdictions have adopted the ministerial system, under which the party in office is the chief executive responsible for implementing policies, or possessing the power to dismiss the executive officials working under the representative body. However, the structure of the Urban Council is a very special one, which was designed by the Colonial Government to check and balance the elected rrepresentative body with policy-making power. We are aware of the authority oof the Director of Urban Services. It is stipulated in the Provisional Urban Council Ordinance that 'the principal executive officer of the Council shall be
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