-
5.
Advertisements and a press release were accordingly inserted in two English and three Chinese newspapers on 9th December, 1946. The response was however at first unsatisfactory and letters were addressed to the editors of the same newspapers on 31st December, 1946, appealing to the public to come forward and express its views. As a result several interesting letters were received.
6. The response to the personal letters sent on behalf of the Committee to individuals and organisations was satisfactory and some most helpful and informative memoranda were thus received. To all those who assisted us with oral evidence or written advice or memoranda we tender our gratitude.
7.
The Chairman of Urban Council also tabled from time to time at our meetings various memoranda, compiled by Inspectors, whose work brings them into contact with hawkers, and by the Price Controller, which supplied lists of the comparative prices of goods now sold by shops and hawkers and by eating houses and cooked food hawkers.
8. Translations were made of articles and commentaries on the subject of hawking which appeared recently in the Chinese press and these as well as all other documents received from time to time were copied and circulated to each member.
10.
There are in the Colony three Hawkers Guilds namely:— (i) The Hong Kong Hawkers Trade Union (EIA
A) with a membership of about 4,000.
(ii) The Hong Kong and Kowloon Hawkers Supreme General
·Society (港九小販營業超立總社) with a membership
of about 400.
(iii) The Hong Kong Hawkers Supreme Guild (ĮKEI
) with a membership of about 450.
The Chairmen of these three Guilds were invited to appear in person before us and give evidence, which they did at great length. Their evidence was translated, taken down fully in shorthand, and transcribed for record. As will appear below, these guilds represent only a very small proportion of the numbers of persons engaged at present in hawking in the Colony,
11.
Having amassed all possible material, we proceeded to sift it with a view to determining the role played by hawkers in the economy of the Colony, and to formulating recommendations for their control and the extent of the facilities which should be provided to enable them to function in limited numbers.
Hawkers Guilds.
9.
Numbers.
12.
III. THE PROBLEM.
On the evidence available we estimate that there are in the Colony at present, in contrast with pre-war numbers estimated as between 15,000 and 16,000, fluctuating numbers of hawkers ranging from a minimum of 40,000 to a maximum of 70,000. These very swollen numbers are in our opinion due to the following normal or abnormal causes :
(i) Poverty in the neighbouring parts of China, which drives destitute persons to forsake their native places and crowd into the focus of wealth and trade represented by Hong Kong.