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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, I understand that you are not too sure about demand, especially in a population which predominantly reads and writes Chinese?
CHAIRMAN: I think Mr. CHEONG-LEEN that this is rather difficult to answer; there may be people who are interested and there may be many people who are not interested, we can only wait and see what the demand is. I would very much like to issue them in Chinese but it does involve a considerable amount of work by our translators and if it's justified well and good.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Have you worked out preliminary arrangements in order to assess the demand Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN: No, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: How soon can the translation be finished in your estimation Mr. Chairman?
CHAIRMAN: I am unable to give you an answer to that at the moment Mr. CHEONG-LEEN.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: When this was reviewed wasn't this point considered, as to approximately when? Surely it is part of good planning to have an estimated date of completion?
CHAIRMAN: It depends again, as we said, on the availability of staff, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Then, Mr. Chairman, have you considered that if the staff is so busy that this will be completed one year hence it will be pointless to have this translation. Sir, I hope you will review these points which I have just raised.
MR. BERNACCHI: I rise to-
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: May I just finish-
MR. BERNACCHI: Oh yes please, I thought you were going on-
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Yes, I was going on to the second supplementary, but if Mr. BERNACCHI wishes to ask supplementaries on the first half, I would be very happy to let him. As regards the translated version of the Resettlement Department report, could the Commissioner for Resettlement give an indication how soon he believes that the translation could be completed?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: I'm afraid I am in much the same position as you, Sir, on this one but my staff inform me that they see no insuperable difficulties and that it should not take very long to produce a translation.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Has the Commissioner considered whether the abridged version referred to in the answer might or might not be suitable for the local population since this version has been prepared primarily for tourists?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: It's not quite correct to say that it's been prepared mainly for tourists; it is for general information for anyone who comes to the whole problem fresh and knows very little about it. It has been designed to give an overall picture of the work of the Department, and with the statistics, of the amount of work done.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Is it a rather long document, this abridged version thus referred to and which has already been stencilled in English?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: Speaking from memory I think it runs to somewhere about 20 pages.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Surely, Sir, then if it's of interest to tourists, so it should be of interest to our own local population and I would urge the Commissioner to expedite this work and to have it distributed. But has the Commissioner also considered whether or not it could be printed for any future annual report? After all, one-quarter of our population are living in resettlement estates.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: I think there again, Sir, it depends on the demand. I am quite willing to ask that it should be printed if there is evidence that there is sufficient demand to justify it.
MR. BERNACCHI: I would ask you Mr. Chairman, what is the intention in issuing these reports? Is it for other members of the Government to read, is it for the tourists to read, or for the public of Hong Kong to read? Because what is the value of the English version in getting the point over to the public of Hong Kong which reads mainly the Chinese language?
CHAIRMAN: Certainly, Mr. BERNACCHI, it must be for anyone who is interested, and certainly for the benefit of the public of Hong Kong. MR. BERNACCHI: Then surely Sir, the Chinese version is more important than the English version.
MR. HU: May I ask one supplementary to the Commissioner for Resettlement. I am approached constantly by people who asked me whether there are any published rules on resettlement, in the Chinese language. I did ask my boy to make search in the public selling centre for Government publications. May I know whether there is any published Chinese translation of rules for resettlement?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: I'm afraid I don't either.
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