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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:- Mr. Chairman, where does Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN get the figure of 19,000 children of primary school age who are not attending school. Was it given or mentioned at the October meeting? Because the obvious answer to his other supplementary is to add the number of children who are going to primary school to this 19,000 and that will give the total number of children.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, this information was obtained from a letter which was addressed to me by the Commissioner for Resettlement and it represents the latest figure of children who were not going to school, children of primary school age in the urban area Resettlement Estates.
MOTION.
Resumption of the following motion moved by Mr. A. de O. SALES at the meeting of the Council held on 29th November, 1966: -
That this Council endorse the Statement of Aims for 1967.
CHAIRMAN: The debate on the Statement of Aims for 1967 which was adjourned from the last meeting will now resume, and I have pleasure in calling on the Commissioner for Resettlement.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:- Mr. Chairman, three years ago, I spoke of my pride in being associated for the first time with a rehousing project which, in sheer magnitude and speed of execution, is outstanding and, in relation to the territory's population, is possibly unparalleled in the developing countries. I did so because the earlier speeches on that occasion expressed no sense of achievement, and some of them were highly critical of what we were doing. It is of course one of the functions of this Council to be critical and no one would wish it otherwise. Nevertheless, I was happy, three weeks ago, to hear that several members share my sentiments on the record of the resettlement programme while not, thank goodness, surrendering their critical faculties. Mr. BERNACCHI, on behalf of the Urban Council, took "full credit" for housing over a million people in Resettlement, Low-Cost and Housing Authority estates in ten years, while Dr. LEE blew a trumpet for the Council's achievement in clearing so many squatters from Crown land. I would not wish to belittle the record of this Council, but would I be accused of being captious, Mr. Chairman, if I were to suggest, in a whisper, that others also have had a hand in this programme, that for example the Resettlement Estates are designed and built by the Public Works Department, and that the clearance of squatters is solely the responsibility of my department, though I hasten to add that in this field I need every ounce of support that a united Council can give me? I have tried to, but been unable to picture, Mr. BERNACCHI at his drawing board, with a very skeleton staff of assistants, designing and supervising the construction of our estates; nor Dr. LEE screening an area due for clearance, separating the genuine squatters from the impostors who have moved in after the eleventh hour in the hope of jumping the queue.
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I share Dr. BELL'S distaste for criticism of Hong Kong's achievements in the field of housing by outsiders who are unaware of or ignore the background. At the same time I do not think that any of us would wish to deny that the older estates are a very basic form of housing to which we would never wish to revert. Those who were in Hong Kong in the early 1950's recognize the conditions of emergency which gave rise to this first experiment in multi-storey resettlement and, although it is extremely basic in design and in the facilities which it provides for the residents, it is still today preferable to conditions which are found in many of the squatter areas and indeed many private tenement buildings. I am always glad when visitors to Hong Kong find time to look at what we are doing but I could wish that, before criticizing the older estates, they would first go and have a look at a typical crowded squatter area or a private tenement slum. They would find that in the Mark I estates the settlers at least have adequate light and air, freedom from the constant fear of disaster from fire or flood, and easy access to proper toilet facilities with a flushing system and to a pure water supply. I could also wish that the organizations which provide coach tours for our visitors would recognize that, although Shek Kip Mei Estate is an easy option on the route to Tai Po, it is not the only nor indeed a typical resettlement estate today.
There have recently been criticisms in the press, both by visitors to and residents of this Colony, regarding the dirt and litter in the older resettlement estates. I would not attempt to deny that these charges, which Mr. LOBO briefly echoed, have some validity, but I suggest that our critics should look more closely into the underlying causes. The old Mark I and II blocks, unlike the newer estates which are now being built, have no refuse chutes, and access to the rooms is by open balconies running round each wing. These conditions provide a constant temptation for the residents to throw their litter over the side on to the courtyard or public spaces below, even although sanitation companies provide a door-to-door collection service for a very small fee. In addition, many of our residents earn or supplement their living by hawking in the estates, unlike the more well-to-do tenants of the Housing Authority. I know of nothing like a hawker bazaar for creating litter and obstructing the cleansing services. Apart from the refuse which hawkers create, my department is now removing from the estates 30 lorry loads a day of abandoned crates, boxes and baskets, and the quantity is going up. Attempts to educate settlers and hawkers to mend their ways have not been very successful but I hope soon to put forward proposals for improving communications between the estates staff and the public in this and other matters. We have also started, as an experiment in two of the smaller estates, to provide a free door-to-door
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