HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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CHAIRMAN: I would need notice of that question, I am afraid, Mr. BERNACCHI. I don't know if Director of Public Works could help or not.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: ---Offhand, I would say that the mass transit scheme will require the full reclamation of Chai Wan. I am speaking now, please, off the cuff. I think the line is going into part of the land, part of the land which is planned but which is at present in the sea.
MR. BERNACCHI: So that really, the extent of further reclamation is dependent upon the final adoption of the mass transport system?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: --No, Sir. I think the reclamation has been planned, the quantity, the extent, the limit of reclamation. What has not been planned is the intimate detail within that reclamation because this, to some extent, will depend on the alignment of the mass transit scheme. But quite honestly, I think it is rather the reclamation which is holding up the park rather than the mass transit scheme.
MR. BERNACCHI: That was my next question. Can I have an assurance that the reclamation will be completed by the time that the mass transport system proposals are finally adopted, or not?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: I am quite happy to give that confirmation, or assurance, because I think the mass transit line on the Island will not be put forward until after the main one, the one from Kowloon to Hong Kong.
MR. HU: Mr. Chairman, before I ask Question 8, I should comment on Mr. SALES asking very meaningful questions. They needed a great deal of answering from the Government. Mr. Chairman, with this remark, may I ask Question 8?
(8) MR. HENRY H. L. HU asked the following question:
I understand that the Licences of Hawkers in Kowloon will be renewed for this year in June, 1970. Would the Chairman please inform the Council whether the Hawker Registration Office will endeavour to take any information from the hawkers who come to renew their licences? The information which is necessary to decide our future policy. If the answer to my question is in the affirmative, then what information will be taken from the hawkers? If the answer to my question is negative, then why we do not take necessary information from the hawkers about hawker matters?
MR. R. H. LOBO, CHAIRMAN OF THE HAWKER MANAGEMENT SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:
This question concerns the annual renewal of hawker licences in Kowloon.
The annual renewal period for hawker licences in Kowloon commenced on 7th April and will continue up to 16th May.
The only information which is taken from hawkers who come to renew their licences or, indeed, to take out new Pedlar Hawker licences is that which was enumerated in the reply to a similar question at the Council meeting in February, 1969. The need to deal expeditiously with the issue of licences precludes the possibility of the staff spending any considerable amount of time on obtaining additional information from individual hawkers. For example, the number of Pedlar Hawker licences alone being issued in the Kowloon Office has averaged 100 per day for the past two months. You will see, therefore, that it is not possible for each individual to be accorded more than some 3 minutes for dealing with the licensing procedures. However, information of the kind to which, I think, you are referring and which will be of considerable use for future planning purposes, is now being obtained by Hawker Liaison staff during their daily field work, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong will shortly be undertaking a detailed study which, it is anticipated, will provide a wealth of useful data.
MR. HU: I thank Mr. LOBO for the answer, but I would like Mr. LOBO to confirm that in the Annual Debate of the last two years, I insisted and I urged that the relevant authority for Hawker matters should have detailed data or information for us to formulate a correct hawker policy. I think Mr. LOBO, when he answered my question, had this in mind. Is that correct?
MR. LOBO: Yes.
MR. HU: Is it true that I learned from the local newspaper that originally the renewal of hawker licences will be up to June this year, instead of 16th May as it is said in the second paragraph?
MR. LOBO: No, we plan the renewal to end on the 16th of this month.
MR. HU: So that it is only a little bit over one month's time?
MR. LOBO: No, on the 16th May.
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