ENG-1970 — Page 321

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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

They also report on trends of public opinion in the districts. In this general connection it has long been the practice of these two departments to foster links with a variety of private organisations including, in the urban areas, the Tung Wah Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, Kaifong Association, district and clansmen's associations, multi-storey building associations and religious organisations and youth groups.

The City District Office scheme, modelled on the long-established District Officer system, was introduced in 1968. The 10 City District Officers who are located in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon, are charged with the threefold duty of rendering services on behalf of Government, services for the community and services for the individual. They exercise a local co-ordinating -function, test public opinion, watch for sources of grievance and tension, and in general try to interpret to the man in the street, the measures adopted by a specialised and sophisticated administration; they also deal with individual complaints, answer enquiries, provide information and mediate in a variety of disputes.

At the City District offices and sub-offices, almost all of which are located in shop-type premises easily accessible to the public, enquiry service counters are combined with the reception facilities. The primary objects of the enquiry services are to give the man in the street information and guidance on the services provided and functions performed by government departments, to explain rules and procedures, and to supplement broadcast information during tropical storms and other emergencies. During the year the enquiry services handled a total of 678,041 enquiries of all kinds.

In the New Territories the District Commissioner and his five District Officers also exercise political and co-ordinating responsi- bilities, and in addition perform certain executive functions, principally in relation to land administration. The arrangements for consultation with the people are more formalised to the extent that there is a village representative system. More than 900 Village Representatives are chosen from over 600 villages. Villages are grouped under 27 Rural Committees, each of which has an execu- tive committee which is elected by secret ballot every two years by Village Representatives. The Rural Committees execute minor works and carry out certain tasks on behalf of the Government,