Would any government official want his children or grandchildren to live on a boat in Yau Ma Ti for a month? Certainly not! Why then force other children to continue to live in such a dirty place? In this year of the child we ask that they be given a decent house and play area.
Recently a lot of attention has been focused on "illegal" demonstrations. Ten years ago there were riots in Hong Kong that affected the whole society. It was an extraordinary situation and an emergency law was passed to deal with that situation. The emergency situation has passed and now the law
is used to prevent the poor from going to the government to give their views and demands.
The law forbids all people from taking part in demonstrations, but the rich have no need to take part in demonstrations. They invite government officials to lunch or go to their homes for supper or invite them out for a drink after work. They use these occasions to state their problems, give their views on an issue and make their demands. The poor do not have this easy access. One of the few means available to them is a public
demonstration.
I know that Jesus was often the center of large public gatherings and that he often spoke in these informal public assemblies.
As a Christian I believe this basic right of all people to take part in a public assembly or demonstration should be an even special right of the poor because of their difficulty in getting the attention of public officials. The small inconvenience to a small part of the public for a short period of time during a public assembly should not be used as an excuse to deny a basic right.
Lastly I would like to once more repeat my request to all here present and others that during the year of the child we and others work hard to help the children of Yau Ma Ti to obtain decent housing.
Mr. Lee Wing Tak (Representative of the HKUSU)
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Owing to mechanization of fishing boats and lacking the government's help, the boat people were forced to live in such an inhuman shelter harbour. The Hong Kong government sould be responsible for the poverty and tragedies incurred. No resettlement, no appropriate responce and no sign of solving the housing problem had caused the poor boat peole in affliction for years."
YMT
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