LegCo Paper No. CB(2) 387/96-97
(The minutes have been seen by the Administration)
Ref : CB2/PL/RC
LegCo Panel on Recreation and Culture
Minutes of Meeting
held on Thursday, 10 October 1996 at 9:00 a.m.
in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building
Members Present :
Hon Lawrence YUM Sin-ling (Chairman)
Hon Mrs Selina CHOW, OBE, JP
Hon Albert CHAN Wai-yip
Hon Howard YOUNG, JP
Hon Andrew CHENG Kar-foo
Hon Paul CHENG Ming-fun
Hon NGAN Kam-chuen
Hon SIN Chung-kai
Hon Mrs Elizabeth WONG, CBE, ISO, JP
Member Absent :
Hon MOK Ying-fan (Deputy Chairman)
Member Attending :
Hon IP Kwok-him
Public Officers Attending :
- Mr CHAU Tak-hay
- Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture & Sport
- Mrs Rita LAU NG Wai-lan
- Deputy Secretary
(Broadcasting & Entertainment)
- Mr Benjamin TANG Kwok-bun
- Deputy Secretary (Culture & Sport)
- Miss CHEUNG Man-yee
- Director of Broadcasting
- Mr Peter CHEUNG Po-tak
- Commissioner for Television and
Entertainment Licensing
Clerk in Attendance :
- Mrs Anna LO
- Chief Assistant Secretary (2) 2
Staff in Attendance :
- Mrs Justina LAM
- Assistant Secretary General 2
- Mr Colin CHUI
- Senior Assistant Secretary (2) 2
At the Chairmans invitation, the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport briefly introduced members to the policy commitments in his programme areas. In response to members comments and questions, the Secretary and other representatives of the Administration made the following points:
Broadcasting and public entertainment
Access to indecent materials
2. Regarding access to indecent materials through the Internet, the Administration had difficulties in collecting statistics on such access which was usually undertaken at home. In view of the large number of web sites on the Internet, the Administration did not have statistics on the web sites containing indecent materials. The Administration had completed its consultation exercise on "Regulation of obscene and indecent materials transmitted through the Internet" which had been discussed at a joint meeting of the Recreation and Culture Panel and Information Policy Panel. The Administration was considering the views of the public and the industry on the proposals in its consultation paper.
3. As for access to indecent materials in the newspapers, a tribunal set up under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance was empowered to decide whether the materials breached the provisions of the Ordinance. Parents should not allow children to have access to newspapers containing indecent materials, particularly at home.
Development of high-quality family entertainment
4. Under the existing Amusement Games Centres Ordinance, there were two types of licensed amusement game centre, one for persons below 16 and the other for people on or above 16. To facilitate the development of high-quality family entertainment, the Administration would review the Ordinance and develop a licensing framework for family entertainment centres where family members of all ages could play amusement games together.
Shelving of the comprehensive Broadcasting Bill
5. The shelving of the Broadcasting Bill neither hindered development of the broadcasting industry; nor adversely affected the government policy on broadcasting. In fact, in line with development of the broadcasting industry, the Administration had already completed a review of subscription television market and formulated a framework to regulate video-on-demand programme services. The Administration would conduct a comprehensive review of the television industry and regulatory practices in 1998.
Public-funded Film Commission
6. The Government considered that the film industry should grow and prosper on its own strength. It therefore did not support a public-funded Film Commission.
Public access channel
7. Following careful considerations of the proposal, the Government had decided not to pursue the matter. The decision and the reasons behind it had been fully explained.
Current affairs productions on transition-related issues
8. The Radio Television Hong Kong would focus its current affairs productions in the coming year on transition-related issues, with particular emphasis on the formation of the Special Administrative Region Government. Some of these productions, such as the television programme "Tomorrows Hong Kong", had already been produced and broadcast to the general public.
Arts and culture
Urban heritage trail
9. The Administration proposed to establish the first urban heritage trail in May 1997 by linking up some 50 monuments in Central and Western Districts (Central, Sheung Wan and the Peak). The proposal would be discussed at the Central and Western District Board meeting to be held on 17 October 1996.
Sport and physical recreation
Fundamental sports training for the general public
10. Sports training was structured as follows:
- The Municipal Councils (MCs) provided sports and recreational facilities and organised sports training programmes for the general public to learn basic sports knowledge and skills. These programmes were funded by the MCs.
- National Sports Associations (NSAs) organised more in-depth training programmes for people with basic sports skills. The Sports Development Board (SDB) also provided junior sports development programmes for primary and secondary school students. Training programmes organised by NSAs were funded by SDB.
- The Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) provided specialised training for elite athletes. The operation of HKSI was financed by Hong Kong Jockey Club funds.
11. Provision of sports training for the general public was not a statutory requirement of the MCs. In considering whether to put forward legislation to include such a requirement, the Administration would take into account the views of the Panel on the policy on and funding for sports development to be discussed in the November meeting. If legislation were considered necessary, it would be unlikely to come before LegCo in the current session in view of the Administrations 1996/97 legislative programme and the time required for law drafting.
Financial strategy to fund HKSI
12. As the existing Hong Kong Jockey Club funds available to HKSI would be used up by mid-1998, additional funds would be required for the operation of HKSI in the 1998/99 financial year. The Government would try its best to secure funds for the HKSI to continue to train local athletes to international standards. In this connection, the Administration was studying the consultancy report on the future of HKSI and would brief the Panel on the way forward in early 1997.
Financial support for local athletes education and training programmes
13. The SDB set up two funds, i.e. Sports Aid Foundation Fund and Sports Aid for the Disabled Fund, to provide education and training programmes for local athletes. The Government had also set up the Athletes Fund in August 1996 to help local athletes attain higher levels of achievement. Programmes financed by the Athletes Fund would include retraining courses for retired athletes and sponsorship for them to attend degree courses. The Administration would discuss with representatives of SDB, HKSI, Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled in late October 1996 on the functions of the Fund. The Administration would make allocation to the Fund on a dollar-for -dollar basis (up to a maximum of $8 million) to match contributions from the community.
(Post-meeting note:The Administration had pledged to allocate $8 million even if public contributions did not reach this amount.)
Coordination between the Administration and MCs, Arts Development Council (ADC) and SDB
14. The MCs, with fully elected membership, were independent in formulating their policies and financing their activities. In exceptional circumstances the Governor was empowered to give directions to the MCs but such power had not been excercised before. The ADC and SDB were public-funded statutory bodies with a high degree of autonomy in policy formulation and disbursements of their funds. The representative of the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch on the two bodies only played an advisory role. The Branch was responsible for coordinating, where necessary the policies on recreation, culture and sport among the two MCs, the ADC and SDB.
15. The meeting ended at 10:02 a.m..
LegCo Secretariat
7 November 1996
Last Updated on 12 Aug, 1998
