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the necessary information about them. The collection of information could be completed in a year's time after it starts. A survey should also be made on how many fixed pitches could we offer to hawkers. The two figures should match each other. In order to solve this problem, a hawker licence should only be issued to the applicant when it is socially justifiable to do so. Any person who has not reached 21 years of age should not generally be the licence holder which must be a personal entitlement and cannot be transferred. Each family is limited to have one licence only. If the social reason for having a hawker licence disappeared, the licence should be cancelled and the site should be handed back with a reasonable compensation. Hawking without licensing should then be strictly prohibited but not before. We must at the same time have a very efficient and clean licensing authority for otherwise the whole purpose would be defeated. I do not think it would be in the public interest to treat the hawking problem on a business basis.
Resettlement Problem
Turning to the question of resettlement, I strongly urge to abolish the Licence Class II of the resite area, i.e., people living in the resite area have no right to be resettled whatsoever. In other words, I advocate turning all resite areas into a transit centre. People living there would be resettled sooner or later according to the length of time they have lived in the resite area and the availability of resettlement estate. As I have said, in Hong Kong we lack many essential social services. It would be the minimum duty of the Government to provide a safe shelter to the poorer echelon of our population. Without their labour and efforts, Hong Kong could not enjoy its prosperity. It is a great hardship for people living in resite areas moving from one place to another. They spend about $40.00 per square foot to construct their hut. In other words, to construct a hut of about 100 square feet, it needs at least $4,000.00. Would it be too heavy a burden to them? When they move to another place, it would be a total loss. I most strongly urge direct resettlement if possible to save money for and alleviate the great hardship of the poorer population in our midst. Furthermore, Government makes money from running resettlement estates; there would be no reason whatsoever to refuse resettlement when it is asked for. I am therefore also against any rent increase for the resettlement estates because such a measure is not financially justified.
About the question of decantation, some estates require a density of 16 sq. ft. per adult or more; children below 10 are treated as adults. I would say that if Government is reluctant to be liberal for the adult, I would urge that each child after birth should be treated as one person. The difference in treatment between an adult and a child should be abolished. It is practically true that a child may need more space to live than an adult. It is for the purpose of having our next generation better bred and better educated that this should be done. In resettlement buildings themselves, much improvement has been made in recent years, but further building improvement should continue to be pursued. Generally speaking, resettlement is a success.
Urban amenities
It is before everybody's eyes that the Urban Council has achieved a great deal in recent years in improving urban amenities by providing more playgrounds and sitting-out areas. We are proud of it and should continue our efforts. On the other hand, the present amenities, with the exception of swimming pools, may still have room for improvement. In particular, we are still lacking beautiful gardens in the urban area. For years, I have always advocated planting more trees. Our city would be further beautified if proper attention could be given in this direction.
I also heard much talk about building a convention hall in Hong Kong. I should think if Hong Kong is to be developed at the present rate, it probably needs such a hall. If land cannot be spared for us in the urban area, we probably should look elsewhere, such as in the New Territories or off-Islands. Hong Kong is a small place; with modern transport facilities, the convention hall could be reached from the centre of the city within a short time. It may also help the tourist trade in Hong Kong.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I would say that besides the sense of belonging and sense of responsibility as I have said before, we also need some sense of social justice and social conscience without which it may be difficult to maintain the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. I hope more attention could be paid in the future along this line. (Applause).
MR. PETER P. F. CHAN:- Mr. Chairman, this afternoon I will try to make some practical suggestions.
Cemeteries
No one really wishes to speak about deaths and cemeteries, but this subject, may I say, is part of life. Many people talk about the high cost of living, but seldom people talk about the high cost of dying, except my friend Mr. LOBO in last year's debate. In spite of the fact that Chinese families are breaking down into smaller families due to urbanization, the death of a parent or a relative remains a burden and a problem for some living person. We are happy to know that unclaimed bodies are taken care of by the Department, and we
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