Urban Council, Hong Kong

The Urban Council (UrbCo, zh-c|c=市政局) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the Urban Services Department. The equivalent body for the New Territories was the Regional Council.

History

The Urban Council was first established as the Sanitary Board in 1883. In 1887, a system of partial elections was established, allowing selected individuals to vote for members on the board. On March 1, 1935, the Sanitary Board was reconstituted to carry out the work which remained much the same until World War Two broke out. The council gained its name in 1936.

After the Second World War, the Urban Council received its pre-war form but without any elected members. The work of the Sanitary Department of the government began to separate out from the medical and health service. The first Urban Council meeting to take place after the Japanese occupation was held on May 28, 1946, with the council being empowered to carry out all its old duties - cleaning, burying the dead, running bath houses and public lavatories, hawker control - as well as some new ones, such as the use of bathing beaches throughout Hong Kong.

Only in May 1952 were elections returned to the Urban Council when two members were elected. And later in 1952, the number of elected members was doubled, their terms of office extended to two years and the electoral roll enlarged.

Finally by April 1956 half of the members of the Urban Council was elected by a small minority of the population eligible to vote. The qualifications for eligibility were very complex: For example, a voter had to be at least 21 years of age, have lived in Hong Kong for at least 3 years and must be qualified in at least one of 23 categories, which included educational qualifications (School Certificate Examination or equivalent), be a juror, salaried taxpayer, or a member of certain professional organizations. More details can be found in "First Schedule of the Urban Council Ordinance" (Cap. 101) [Norman Miners. 1981. "The Government and Politics of Hong Kong". Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.] . It was estimated that in 1970 there were 250,000 eligible voters [“Elected Urbco protest over reform plan,” in: "South China Morning Post", 1970] and in 1981 the number had increased to 400,000 – 500,000 [“Sing Tao Jih Pao,” in "Hong Kong Standard", March 8, 1981] .

In 1960s, the responsibilities of the Urban Council continued to multiply. The City Hall in Central was opened in 1962, followed by the first multi-storey markets in Jardine's Bazaar in March 1963.

In 1973 the council was reorganized under non-government control with financial autonomy, which meant that the budget could be planned without the approval of the Legislative Council. Furthermore the changes also removed housing as one of its main tasks. Since then, there were no government officials on the council and both the chairman and vice-chairman were elected among the 24 members. At that time, the council was the only one which solely consisted of members of the public.

Source: Norman Miners, 1986, "The Government and Politics of Hong Kong" p. 167.

Prominent elected Urban Councilors were Elsie Elliot (now called Elsie Tu) and Brook Bernacchi of the Reform Club.

An equivalent body, the Regional Council was set up in 1986 to serve the New Territories (excluding New Kowloon).

In 1994 the Council became fully elected based on universal and equal adult suffrage [ [http://www.info.gov.hk/basic_law/upload/973585517/CACV1_2000.doc CACV 1/2000] ] ..

After the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, the name was changed to Provisional Urban Council, consisting of members of the pre-handover UrbCo, and new members appointed by the Chief Executive.

Duties and Services

The Urban Council had provided a spectrum of services to Hong Kong people over the years. The Urban Services Department was the executive branch of the council to implement policies and services. In 1997, it had about 16,000 employees, according to its published leaflet of 'service promises'.

The council's services included: recreational venues and activities, libraries, museums, cultural and entertainment venues, ticketing, wet markets, hawkers registration and control, cremation, cleaning, issuing licenses, [hygiene] and butcheries.

Arts and Culture

The Urban Council had played a significant role in the arts and cultural development in Hong Kong.

"Cultural Events"

Since 1976, the council held its major cultural presentation - Festival of Asian Arts. The International Film Festival was another council-sponsored event, taking place annually mid-year and giving Hong Kong people a rare chance to see a range of international film-making, as well as Chinese films.

"Museums"

The Hong Kong Museum of Art gives regular exhibition of both Chinese and Western art and sculpture and frequently arranges art exchanges with overseas countries. The Hong Kong Museum of History, once temporarily housed in the Kowloon Park, featured the recording of local history and oral tradition. It is now located at Chatham Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The Hong Kong Space Museum presents shows in the Space Theatre and exhibitions on astronomy, nature and space exploration with IMAX techniques.

"Arts Groups"

The council had directly financed or even managed many local arts groups. In 1983, at "An Evening With the Council's Performing Companies" - one of the events in the Urabn Council Centenary Celebration - the then-council chairman Mr. Hilton Cheong-Leen said, "Together with the Government, the Urban Council is committed to the development of the arts in Hong Kong. We aim to do so at the professional level so that gifted Hong Kong citizens can develop their artistic potential. We also aim to make available to all members of the community a wide range of artistic performance for their enjoyment and appreciation. And is the not too distant future we hope to see Hong Kong recognized as a major international centre of the performing arts."

Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra was established in 1977 and had been under direct financial support and management by the Urban Council.

The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre was also founded in 1977 and had been directly financed and administered by the Urban Council, aiming to promote and raise the standards of Cantonese drama in the territory through professional administration, training and production.

The Hong Kong Dance Company was established in May 1981, was once directly administered by the Urban Council. It aims to combine classical and folk traditions of China with contemporary international awareness. These groups were later taken over by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department when the Urban Council was dissolved. In 2001, the groups were privatized and became limited companies, but still receive funding from the government.

Demise

The elected body, together with the Provisional Regional Council (its equivalent in the New Territories), was dissolved on 31 December 1999 under the then-Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa's plan to streamline and centralize municipal services as part of his government's policy reforms.

The functions of the two councils were replaced by two newly-established government departments, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.fehd.gov.hk/indexe.html Food and Environmental Hygiene Department]
* [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk Leisure and Cultural Services Department]
* [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/19_08.01/41268.pdf Urban Council of Hongkong] "(Hong Kong Standard, Oct 26, 1978)"