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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
Will the Chairman please state:
(a) How many licensed and unlicensed hawkers were arrested by the Hawker Control Force during the period January-April 1964?
(b) How many licensed and unlicensed hawkers were arrested by the Police during the same period?
(c) What are the figures for (a) and (b) for the period January-April 1963?
(d) To what extent has the number of licensed and unlicensed hawkers increased between January-April 1963 and January-April 1964?
(e) Whether the joint Hawker Control Force and Police efforts have brought about a substantial improvement in the hawker situation as compared to a year ago?
(f) Whether in view of the current shortage of manpower in industry, the Government is prepared to investigate what concrete steps can be taken to train and redivert unlicensed and licensed hawkers into industry?
At the request of THE CHAIRMAN, MR. B. A. BERNACCHI, CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWKERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:-
1,088 unlicensed hawkers and 477 licensed hawkers were arrested by members of the Hawker Control Force in the period January to April 1963. The corresponding figures for the same period in 1964 were 1,869 and 409 respectively.
Overall figures in respect of arrests by the Police were 3,860 in January to April 1963 and 15,282 in January to April 1964. There is not available, I understand, a complete breakdown of those figures as between licensed and unlicensed hawkers.
The number of licensed hawkers at the end of April 1963, was 27,430. The number had risen by 3,283 to 30,713 by the end of April 1964. I am afraid that I have no information on the number of unlicensed hawkers.
These remarks cover the first four parts of the question. As regards the fifth part, the answer to the question really depends on what is meant by "improvement" and by "the hawker situation". It has, I think, to be recognized that the existence of hawkers is a fact of life in Hong Kong and, given that, it becomes a question of balancing the requirements of hawkers against other demands such as traffic, both motor cars and foot. Where, for example, it is essential to free a road for traffic, then it may be necessary to move hawkers from a street in the interest of the general good. On the other hand, when the presence of hawkers in a street does appear to demand priority over other needs, "improvements" are confined to attempting to make the areas cleaner and tidier. To this end, special cleansing arrangements were instituted towards the end of last year as an exercise by the Cleansing Division and the Hawker Control Force, including a drive on the removal of rubbish. As an illustration of the effort put into this, 3,174 lorry-loads of rubbish were removed over Hong Kong and Kowloon as a whole in the last 6 months, and a particular area where the effect of this effort may be seen is the Spring Garden Lane area on the Island which, in orderliness and cleanliness, shows a very substantial improvement indeed. I do not think that anyone would wish to pretend that all in the garden is rosy and one can always pick on spots where the conditions leave much to be desired. However, I think it is fair to say that, in the sense of cleaning and tidying, there has been some improvement; whether one can describe it as substantial may be a matter of opinion.
The Urban Council owes both a duty to the licensed hawkers and a duty to the rest of the general Public. I hope mainly through the Hawkers Select Committee, this duty is discharged.
On the sixth part of the question, I understand that your suggestion will be passed on to Government.
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, regarding the last paragraph of the answer given by the Chairman of the Hawkers Select Committee, might I suggest that Government should also be asked to examine the desirability of making some permanent arrangements for the young people who are now hawking for want of a better way of earning a living, because, Mr. Chairman, there is the opinion that it is demoralizing for young people to earn a living in this manner, there being no discipline, and also there is the question of exposure to triad society activity, which must be taken into account. Might I also ask for this matter to be considered by the Hawkers Select Committee?
MR. BERNACCHI:-It will indeed, Mr. SALES.
MR. SALES: Thank you.
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