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the past have proved their worth. The schools might be encouraged to give more attention to health education, and the Kai-fongs who have given great assistance in the past, might also be approached.
It may also be possible for us to do more to win the confidence of those who own or are responsible for food premises. It might help, for example, if members of the general public could be allowed to contact the Chairman of our various Committees, or even individual members of the Council through the Secretary of the Council. This would bring the Council more into contact with the people and assist in spreading the feeling that the Council was there to help them. We are all, in some measure, their representatives, and I think much good may be achieved if people could feel that there was some one to whom they could turn for sympathetic advice.
I note from the Statement of Progress and Policy that one of the Council's main aims for 1963/64 is to establish a Training Unit to enable Health Inspectors to receive the best possible theoretical and practical training. I wonder if this Unit could also give some short refresher courses which all Health staff could attend, so that they could be assisted to maintain a high standard of administrative efficiency and integrity. They might well find in such a course, a source of renewal of strength enabling them all the better to resist the pressure to which they may be subjected in the course of their work.
I would like to bring another subject to the attention of the Council. The demolition of old buildings and the erection of new multi-storey buildings are now progressing at a rapid rate, and we can see large numbers of building sites all over Hong Kong and Kowloon. For the sake of public health, it is important that these sites be kept clean and free of sanitary nuisances. With the imminent approach of the wet season, the danger of their becoming potential breeding places for mosquitoes should not be overlooked, and I think we should ask that Health Inspectors make more frequent inspections of these sites to prevent the occurrence of any nuisances. While I am on this subject of sites, I should like to ask if there is any way in which, in conjunction with any other Government Departments concerned, we can make building sites safer. There was a distressing case last year at North Point, in which two persons lost their lives by being buried under falling building rubble which had not been sufficiently secured. In addition, greater attention might be paid to the convenience of pedestrians in the matter of the storage of building materials. Perhaps Government officers who were visiting sites in the course of their departmental duties might be encouraged to co-operate with each other much more in the general furtherance of health and safety.
Sir, with these remarks, I beg to support the motion.
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MR. CHAN SHU-WOON:- Mr. Chairman, I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and hearty thanks to my friends and fellow citizens who have kindly voted for my return to the Council. Also I would like to extend my personal greetings to Dr. Raymond LEE on his being re-elected, and Mr. CHEUNG Wing-in and Mrs. Elsie ELLIOTT on their being elected to serve on this Council.
In view of the present need for housing, I am convinced to think that, to cope with the rapid increase in population in the coming years, our present building programmes do fall far short of our expectation. I would therefore urge the Government to make immediate use of part of its budget surpluses or reserves, overseas deposits and investments to finance the housing projects.
At the same time, the resettlement problem is still too serious. There are more than half a million people who are in urgent need of accommodation. They might even be victims of another squatter fire or typhoon or other calamities. Indeed there is much ground for improvement against unfair treatment regarding resettlement. I would therefore like to say that fair compensation for and quick allocation of shop sites or factory sites should be made as justifiably possible.
The existing parks and playgrounds in Hong Kong are negligible when compared with those of other cities in the world. If I remember correctly, New York City has some 840 acres of land for parks and playgrounds. I would therefore press for more urban amenities to be developed at different appropriate locations.
All of us here are aware of the wages of amahs or maid servants being $200, or more a month, but I wonder very much if you all know how much is being paid to teachers in private schools. Most of them actually receive only $160 to $180 a month. Some of them receive even less. Is it not ridiculous? It is heart-rending. If we want our next generations to be good citizens, we should urge the Government to grant appropriate aids in some form or other to private schools or better still directly to their teachers. For instance, priority in low-cost housing, health insurances and free medical care may be extended to all private school teachers. In order to help solve the acute shortage of schools, lands and loans should be made available to private schools so as to enable them to erect their own buildings instead of renting old and unsuitable domestic premises for classrooms. Schools are the only institutions whose receipt of fees is controlled and limited by the Education Department. Also, free education for elementary students should be advocated just as any other citizen in the world.
Since the population of Hong Kong will rapidly grow to, or even surpass the four million mark, I believe it is high time to begin taking progressive steps towards universal suffrage by widening the voting
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