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is ten times more, Is it not grossly unfair to the shops in the Tin Wan area that they should pay up to half the rent paid by the shops in the Shek Kip Mei area?
MR. LI:-Mr. Chairman, I think Mr. Hu has raised a question of policy, not a question of management, and I think that question should be referred to the Resettlement Policy Select Committee. (Laughter). Now, the gradings were made by the Governor-in-Council on the recommendations of this Council and, of course, they can be changed if the Policy Select Committee has discussed it and finds it advisable so to recommend.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, perhaps I could get Mr. Li out of some of his difficulties. In fact, Mr. Hu has already raised this question of rents at the Tin Wan Estate at Aberdeen in the Policy Select Committee--I think it was on the 18th of last month, I cannot remember the exact date. He raised it under "Any other business". He invited, I think, Mr. CLARK or Mr. MACLEOD to go with him to see these shops on the estate, and it was agreed that, after the visit, a paper would be produced for the Resettlement Policy Committee to discuss. It was intended, in fact, to discuss that at the next meeting of the Policy Select Committee. So Mr. Li does not require to refer it to Policy Select Committee.
MR. HU:-My question was actually, to put it in short terms, that because there are more bigger estates, four grades may not be sufficient. There should be more grades for resettlement shops.
DR. BELL: Mr. Chairman, I have no doubt Mr. Hu will be able to suggest a great deal more than that when he gets the opportunity at the next meeting of the Policy Select Committee. (Laughter). I think the date of that is the 10th of this month, so you have only got 8 more days to wait. (Laughter).
MR. HU: Mr. Chairman, I would ask one last supplementary. I would like Mr. LI to clarify the last three lines in his answer to me "In short, the gradings relate to the premises concerned and reflect the business opportunities of their locations; they do not relate to the personal circumstances of any particular tenant". Would Mr. Li agree, in doing so, it may cause great hardship to some individuals?
MR. LI:-Mr. Chairman, in cases of real hardship, the tenant has a right to appeal, and he usually does appeal. Our Management Select Committee has a sub-committee to deal with all these appeals and I think Mr. Hu and Mr. P. K. NG are the two members of that appeals sub-committee. (Laughter).
MR. HU:-I have never been on that committee.
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MR. LI: Mr. Hu may not be aware of it, but that day he went down to Chai Wan with Mr. P. K. NG to see the shops, it was to investigate an appeal. (Laughter).
MR. HU:-I was not aware that was the position. (Laughter).
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, through you, would Mr. Hu perhaps like Mr. Li and the other members of the Management Select Committee to be also present at the Policy Select Committee? We can hold a joint meeting to discuss this question.
MR. HU:-I would be delighted to be there.
CHAIRMAN:-Mr. Li, do you agree?
MR. LI:-Yes.
CHAIRMAN:-Thank you.
(13) MR. HENRY H. L. Hu asked the following question:
How large is the area of a fixed pitch for hawking? On what basis was the area decided? Is such decision subject to review?
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI, Chairman of the Hawkers Select Committee replied as follows:-
The normal provision for a Fixed Pitch hawker site is a horizontal area of 4' x 3'. I cannot say with certainty on what basis this area was decided, but it has been the statutory size for this type of site since at least 1935. It would appear that it may have been decided as a suitable area to accommodate the wares of a person trading with two baskets. The erection of a stand and permission to a hawker to leave his goods on it were both later concessions.
The permitted sizes for sites for hawkers of various types are given in Sub-section (1) of Hawker By-law 24, and in Sub-section (2) of the same by-law there is a provision for this Council "from time to time by endorsement on the licence of any hawker" to prescribe such other dimensions as may be applicable. It has not, however, been the general policy of this Council to prescribe Fixed Pitch sites larger than 4' x 3'. There is another stall known as General Purpose, considerably larger, but, with the increase in the number of hawkers it was decided that no
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