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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
QUESTIONS.
(1) DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:-
In view of the increasing number of tourists visiting Hong Kong, what action does the Urban Services Department intend to take to improve the cleanliness and condition of some pavements of Peking Road and Canton Road? What assurance can the Chairman give that this will be implemented soon?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
I believe that the question refers particularly to the condition of the pavements adjoining the Tsim Sha Tsui cooked food stall bazaar which have deteriorated largely as a result of their being used by some of the hawkers in connexion with their businesses. Fences which are now virtually complete, are being erected around the hawker bazaar to discourage hawkers from operating outside their area and the reconstruction of the pavements will now be carried out by the Public Works Department. An additional factor affecting the cleanliness of Canton Road has been the trenches opened by utility companies, but this work has been completed and reinstatement is in hand. Both Peking and Canton Roads are swept six times daily and the cleansing staff have been instructed to pay closer attention to this area.
DR. LEE:-A supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Never in my 12 years' service on the Urban Council have I seen such prompt action taken as in this case. It was only a few days after I had sent the question to the Secretary that I saw the railings being put up. I should be obliged therefore if you would give the same vigour and attention to the matters of re-arranging the position of the cooked food stalls, the customer accommodation, also possibly some unused and illegal fixed pitch stalls, and generally the sanitary condition of the whole area, including the Tsim Sha Tsui Market. I am sure that users of the pavements will be eternally grateful to you.
CHAIRMAN:-Sir, the Department will do its best.
MR. SALES:-Mr. Chairman, are you answering a supplementary question or a statement by the Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee? (Laughter).
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(2) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:
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(a) Is it true that certain recommendations regarding shop-sites for cultivators and pigbreeders were made at an Urban Council Select Committee meeting on 29th October, 1964? (b) Can finance be made a reasonable excuse for breaking faith with the squatters who in many cases have had difficulty in making a living since being deprived of their land?
(c) Can a firm promise be made that this compensation offered to pigbreeders and cultivators to remove them from their way of livelihood will be honoured within the next three months? If not, what answer can be offered to the people concerned for breaking faith?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
The answer to the first part of the question is "Yes". It was the Resettlement Policy Select Committee. On the second part of the question, I think there is some misunderstanding as to the nature of the proposals. There is no question of breaking faith with any cultivator or pig-breeder whose cultivation or pigsties have been cleared. Nor can I accept the implication in the question that these people had any title to the land which they were occupying. In view of my answer to the second part, the third part of the question does not arise.
I should add that the precise nature of the proposals for dealing with the long waiting list of former cultivators and pig-breeders must remain confidential until the Governor in Council has made a decision on the Select Committee's recommendations. I hope to be in a position to make a statement in about one month.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask the Commissioner, through you, if he realizes that I was not really intending to suggest that the land belongs to the people, but the fact that the land has been taken away from them, thus depriving them of their livelihood? I do not know if the Commissioner realizes that the people are just expected to use the compensation they were given to put into capital for their shops and that they are really losing hope in this matter and that there is a constant stream of inquirers asking why they have not yet been given any fulfilment of the promise that was made to them. I would therefore like to ask the Commissioner if he would keep in mind the fact that every month of waiting means hardship to the people who are still expecting to get their shops?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I certainly will.
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