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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN.
CHAIRMAN:-Order, order. Ladies and gentlemen, the time is 4 o'clock, and with your agreement we will start our meeting.
Before we take the first item, I would like, on your behalf, to welcome Dr. CRAIG, our new Vice-Chairman. As you know, Dr. BROWNE is just going on leave, and I am sure you would want us to record in our minutes our gratitude for all he has done for us. Dr. CRAIG, I'm sure, is going to enjoy his time with us. If he looks to me for help, I'm sure he'll find it's the blind leading the blind, but if he gets the same courtesy and co-operation I have always had as Deputy Director then I'm sure he has nothing to fear. I also have to welcome back Mr. TSUI, once again acting as Secretary for Home Affairs, and Mr. HOLT-KENTWELL who is acting as Director of Social Welfare, again very well known to all of us; and while we are doing this welcoming, Mr. Woo Po-shing, who missed our last meeting. We hope he had a happy holiday and came back refreshed.
Mr. ASERAPPA, unfortunately, is suffering from the after effects of a small operation, and this morning told us he was unable to attend this meeting.
One other thing I would like to say before we move on.
You may have noticed in the papers last week the death of Mr. WARBURTON. Mr. WARBURTON left the service of the Government and the service of this Council before almost any of us were here, but I think he deserves a special mention and a record in our proceedings. He was an unusual person who made Hong Kong his home, made many people of Hong Kong his personal friends, a man who gave great service to us, or our predecessors, and we note his passing with great regret.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:--Mr. Chairman, I would like to join with you in that.
Mr. WARBURTON was well known to me, and all that you have said is amply justified by his character.
MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting held on 2nd June, 1970, were confirmed.
PAPER.
THE CHAIRMAN laid upon the table the following paper:-
(1) Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of June 1970.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, I also lay on the table a certain newspaper and printed matter generally relating to "Tse Fa", that Urban Councillor Peter CHAN and I found this morning on an illegal "Tse Fa" table at Ngau Tau Kok Resettlement Estate with the comment that apparently even the Urban Council cannot control gambling in its own estates under the antiquated laws enforced in Hong Kong.
MR. PETER C. K. CHAN:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask whether you can look into the possibility of adding one item in the future report of the Urban Council. On page 3, item 9, regarding licences, that the number of applications received and the number of licences issued are tabled.
I understand that there was a great number of applications received in the past and licences have not been issued, so there are outstanding applications. Can that item be also listed in future, or would you look into the possibility of having it included.
CHAIRMAN:-Mr. CHAN, I am not sure if this comes in at this moment in due order, but nevertheless I am sure this can be arranged.
QUESTIONS.
(1) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:-
(a) On 2nd June, in answer to a question about decantation, it was stated in this Council that no rooms were available for external decantation except at Ham Tin. Can the Chairman explain why programmes in English on Radio Hong Kong (Late Call) and reports on Chinese Commercial Radio have recently informed the people that rooms are available in Pak Tin but overcrowded families refuse to accept them?
(b) Can a denial be issued, so that overcrowded families will not be misled?
THE CHAIRMAN, in the absence of the Commissioner for Resettlement, replied as follows:-
The Commissioner has been unable to trace the source of the statements mentioned, but they certainly did not originate from the Resettlement Department. It is probable that there has been a misunderstanding of the fact that 30% of overcrowded families in Shek Kip Mei were unwilling to accept larger accommodation in Pak Tin when this accommodation was available.
But this accommodation is no longer available. The existing 4 blocks in Pak Tin were fully occupied in mid-July 1969.
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