1998 — Page 353

Urban Council Proceedings 市政局議事錄 All AI Reviewed

Page 353 of 606

PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

341

bird flu incident. Unfortunately, this has hit the right nail on the head. Amidst strong criticisms and disgruntled remarks, the Central Government finally admitted openly that the mistakes made in handling the bird flu issue had nothing to do with the two Municipal Councils which should not be held responsible. However, on the Review of District Organisations, the Government, against all advice and ignoring the wishes of the majority, is bent on scrapping the two Municipal Councils and published the Consultation Paper on the Review of District Organisations in October 1998.

The Government's justifications for scrapping the Municipal Councils are open to question. While the cause of bird flu has nothing to do with the Councils' work, the Government has given a false impression to public opinion that upon the abolition of the Municipal Councils and subsequent to the withdrawal of authority over food safety and environmental health and the establishment of a new structure, the Government will control and handle any incidents similar to bird flu more effectively. In this connection, we would like to ask: (1) Will all the problems relating to food safety, environment and health be readily solved upon the return of authority to the Central Government? (2) Since the bird flu problems were invoked by poor co-ordination within the government bureaucracy, why doesn't it take appropriate remedial steps to redress the situation?

It must be emphasized that this Council is more flexible and efficient than other government departments in the management of businesses. Last year, an unlicensed hawker burned himself to death in court in protest against the judge's decision to confiscate all the commodities he traded in. The Council responded promptly after the incident. In less than a week's time, the issue was discussed at the meeting of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee, and a resolution was passed to amend the relevant subsidiary legislation to allow the court greater flexibility in exercising its discretion as to whether the goods seized should be confiscated. The amended legislation is expected to come into effect in about four months' time. This clearly shows that it took a very short time for the Council to put up the legislation amendment proposal and then reach a decision. I believe the policy bureaux and government departments will not be so efficient if the Council no longer exists. This indeed proves the Council's value of existence and the need for it to continue to operate.

Both inside and outside the Council, many people of various sectors have put forth their arguments in favour of retaining the Council, and the Legislative Council also supports the proposal of "One Council One Department" endorsed by the Provisional Urban Council and the Provisional Regional Council. Now I am not going to recapitulate the reasons for retaining the Council. As a matter of fact, some people do support the scrapping of the two Municipal Councils. Why is it so? Many people ascribe it to the Council's image. I somewhat agree with it. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons. In any case, as Urban Councillors, we certainly have our own views as well as our

Page 352 f

Page 353 of 606

Edit History

2026-05-16 07:23:08 · NVIDIA / meta/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct

Live

View comparison

AI Proofread

Page 353 of 606 PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 341 bird flu incident. Unfortunately, this has hit the right nail on the head. Amidst strong criticisms and disgruntled remarks, the Central Government finally admitted openly that the mistakes made in handling the bird flu issue had nothing to do with the two Municipal Councils which should not be held responsible. However, on the Review of District Organisations, the Government, against all advice and ignoring the wishes of the majority, is bent on scrapping the two Municipal Councils and published the Consultation Paper on the Review of District Organisations in October 1998. The Government's justifications for scrapping the Municipal Councils are open to question. While the cause of bird flu has nothing to do with the Councils' work, the Government has given a false impression to public opinion that upon the abolition of the Municipal Councils and subsequent to the withdrawal of authority over food safety and environmental health and the establishment of a new structure, the Government will control and handle any incidents similar to bird flu more effectively. In this connection, we would like to ask: (1) Will all the problems relating to food safety, environment and health be readily solved upon the return of authority to the Central Government? (2) Since the bird flu problems were invoked by poor co-ordination within the government bureaucracy, why doesn't it take appropriate remedial steps to redress the situation? It must be emphasized that this Council is more flexible and efficient than other government departments in the management of businesses. Last year, an unlicensed hawker burned himself to death in court in protest against the judge's decision to confiscate all the commodities he traded in. The Council responded promptly after the incident. In less than a week's time, the issue was discussed at the meeting of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee, and a resolution was passed to amend the relevant subsidiary legislation to allow the court greater flexibility in exercising its discretion as to whether the goods seized should be confiscated. The amended legislation is expected to come into effect in about four months' time. This clearly shows that it took a very short time for the Council to put up the legislation amendment proposal and then reach a decision. I believe the policy bureaux and government departments will not be so efficient if the Council no longer exists. This indeed proves the Council's value of existence and the need for it to continue to operate. Both inside and outside the Council, many people of various sectors have put forth their arguments in favour of retaining the Council, and the Legislative Council also supports the proposal of "One Council One Department" endorsed by the Provisional Urban Council and the Provisional Regional Council. Now I am not going to recapitulate the reasons for retaining the Council. As a matter of fact, some people do support the scrapping of the two Municipal Councils. Why is it so? Many people ascribe it to the Council's image. I somewhat agree with it. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons. In any case, as Urban Councillors, we certainly have our own views as well as our Page 352 f Page 353 of 606

Baseline (Original)

Page 353 of 606 Page 353 of 606 PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 341 bird flu incident. Unfortunately, this has hit the right nail on the head. Amidst strong criticisms and disgruntled remarks, the Central Government finally admitted openly that the mistakes made in handling the bird flu issue had nothing to do with the two Municipal Councils which should not be held responsible. However, on the Review of District Organisations, the Government, against all advice and ignoring the wishes of the majority, is bent on scrapping the two Municipal Councils and published the Consultation Paper on the Review of District Organisations in October 1998. The Government's justifications for scrapping the Municipal Councils are open to question. While the cause of bird flu has nothing to do with the Councils' work, the Government has given a false impression to public opinion that upon the abolition of the Municipal Councils and subsequent to the withdrawal of authority over food safety and environmental health and the establishment of a new structure, the Government will control and handle any incidents similar to bird flu more effectively. In this connection, we would like to ask: (1) Will all the problems relating to food safety, environment and health be readily solved upon the return of authority to the Central Government? (2) Since the bird flu problems were invoked by poor co- ordination within the government bureaucracy, why doesn't it take appropriate remedial steps to redress the situation? It must be emphasized that this Council is more flexible and efficient than other government departments in the management of businesses. Last year, an unlicensed hawker burned himself to death in court in protest against the judge's decision to confiscate all the commodities he traded in. The Council responded promptly after the incident. In less than a week's time, the issue was discussed at the meeting of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee, and a resolution was passed to amend the relevant subsidiary legislation to allow the court greater flexibility in exercising its discretion as to whether the goods seized should be confiscated. The amended legislation is expected to come into effect in about four months' time. This clearly shows that it took a very short time for the Council to put up the legislation amendment proposal and then reach a decision. I believe the policy bureaux and government departments will not be so efficient if the Council no longer exits. This indeed proves the Council's value of existence and the need for it to continue to operate. Both inside and outside the Council, many people of various sectors have put forth their arguments in favour of retaining the Council, and the Legislative Council also supports the proposal of "One Council One Department" endorsed by the Provisional Urban Council and the Provisional Regional Council. Now I am not going to recapitulate the reasons for retaining the Council. As a matter of fact, some people do support the scrapping of the two Municipal Councils. Why is it so? Many people ascribe it to the Council's image. I somewhat agree with it. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons. In any case, as Urban Councillors, we certainly have our own views as well as our Page 352 f Page 353 of 606

2026-05-16 07:23:08 · Baseline

View content

Page 353 of 606

PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

341

The Government's justifications for scrapping the Municipal Councils are open to question. While the cause of bird flu has nothing to do with the Councils' work, the Government has given a false impression to public opinion that upon the abolition of the Municipal Councils and subsequent to the withdrawal of authority over food safety and environmental health and the establishment of a new structure, the Government will control and handle any incidents similar to bird flu more effectively. In this connection, we would like to ask: (1) Will all the problems relating to food safety, environment and health be readily solved upon the return of authority to the Central Government? (2) Since the bird flu problems were invoked by poor co- ordination within the government bureaucracy, why doesn't it take appropriate remedial steps to redress the situation?

It must be emphasized that this Council is more flexible and efficient than other government departments in the management of businesses. Last year, an unlicensed hawker burned himself to death in court in protest against the judge's decision to confiscate all the commodities he traded in. The Council responded promptly after the incident. In less than a week's time, the issue was discussed at the meeting of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee, and a resolution was passed to amend the relevant subsidiary legislation to allow the court greater flexibility in exercising its discretion as to whether the goods seized should be confiscated. The amended legislation is expected to come into effect in about four months' time. This clearly shows that it took a very short time for the Council to put up the legislation amendment proposal and then reach a decision. I believe the policy bureaux and government departments will not be so efficient if the Council no longer exits. This indeed proves the Council's value of existence and the need for it to continue to operate.

1998 — Page 353

Edit History

Comments

Private Research Note