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Yes, resettlement should have been a good plan; but if we want it to be more successful, we must make our policy fit the circumstances. When we can see that a law is causing suffering, we must investigate how this law can be changed.
To refer again to our prosperity—Can we talk of prosperity when statistics show almost forty deaths weekly from T.B.? The statistics seem to suggest a recent rise in the death rate. It is difficult to wade through the rather confusing statistics, but any doctor or social welfare worker can testify how difficult it is, almost impossible, to get a case of T.B. hospitalized, except in the case of Government workers or a few others connected with churches or other organizations. According to the Hong Kong Annual Report for 1962, there were only 1,748 beds available for T.B. cases. In the same year there were 1,881 deaths from the disease, whilst 14,263 cases were reported, as against 12,584 for the previous year. I am certain that the incidence is very much higher than statistics show, as many poor people never have a chance to see a doctor. Hon. Dhun RUTTONJEE has spoken with knowledge and concern on this subject, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. The report of the Director of Medical and Health Services makes gloomy reading, because of limited finance. There is not enough zest in our efforts, not enough imagination in our planning.
A visitor to the Colony recently said that the Resettlement houses look like T.B. factories. They certainly will become T.B. factories unless we isolate T.B. victims. With the circumstances of Hong Kong in mind, we could devise a simple plan of treatment: a colony of temporary huts or Nissen huts in the New Territories, food, rest, a daily visit by voluntary doctors, and of course there would have to be superintendents. The patients could help themselves a lot, given the required surroundings. Most of the victims are hard-working labourers; should we not care for them, for the sake of public health, as well as for their own sakes? We blame them for the filthy habit of spitting, and I loathe the thought of spitting; but T.B. is one of its major causes, and at the same time the main cause of T.B. infection. But unless we feel responsible for the victims of T.B., we can scarcely demand that they should feel responsible for public health.
And now for my last point, on which I believe the other problems hinge: the need for democratic progress. Civic consciousness in Hong Kong is at an extremely low ebb; and I think the Government is responsible for not encouraging the people to take an interest and a part in running their own affairs. Of course, we are encouraged to keep the streets clean, to avoid spitting, to keep free from crime and drug addiction—which is good, of course—but we are expected to be good boys and girls, only we must not ask awkward questions. The Hong Kong Government could make the Urban Council Elections a very important piece of civic training, but instead of that, the vast majority have no voting rights. Thousands of people do not even know if they have voting rights, or how they can vote. Many who do have voting rights think it is useless to vote because the Urban Council has so little jurisdiction over the things that concern their civic life. Others here today have spoken on this subject, and all I wish to do is to endorse what they say and ask that more jurisdiction be granted to the Council. Only in this way can the Government and people live together in harmony, and only in this way can there be true co-operation.
I have come to the end of what I wish to say. Maybe I have spoken with some emotionalism; the reason is that I have lived too long amongst too much suffering, and I cannot but feel deeply about it. If in my zeal I have hurt anyone, I am sorry, but my words are not aimed at any individuals to hurt; my one and only aim is to speak for the good of the many, to the best of my ability.
With these remarks, Sir, I beg to support the motion. (Applause).
MR. FUNG HON-CHU: —Mr. Chairman, practically all the problems arising out of the Council's affairs can be, and are being dealt with by the various Select Committees. It is, however, felt that there are matters which Members, for want of time and opportunity, could not bring up for discussion at such meetings. There were also instances of meetings which produced resolutions that could not be effectively implemented. It is on some of these subjects that I wish to address the meeting today.
The primary concern of this Council is to beautify the City and keep it clean, but in our efforts to do so, we are being constantly hampered by the diggings of roads in the Colony. Not only do they frustrate our efforts, they are also a source of nuisance, and, sometimes, danger, to pedestrians and motorists alike, not to mention the financial loss that they usually bring to the shopkeepers. While this had been discussed by others, time and again in the past, the conditions have remained much the same. The general picture of our roads is one that can be described as shocking—shocking not because the roads are badly built, but purely because of the frequent diggings. Argument has been advanced that, having regard to the terrific pace at which the growth of the City is proceeding, it should be accepted as inevitable. Few right-minded people will quarrel with the digging up of the City's roads, which is admittedly necessary, and is something the public must learn to tolerate, if progress is to be maintained. My complaint is, therefore, not directed against the frequent diggings so much as the unnecessary drawn-out length of time during which the roads are kept open, and the debris kept lying around for days, even after the repair work has been completed. To improve matters, I submit that it is necessary to set a time limit in which repair works calling for the opening up of a road should be completed, as this will have the salutary
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