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they are in a dangerous condition. I hasten to add however, in view of the fact that these new blocks in Hing Wah are primarily being used for families who have become overcrowded in the older Chai Wan Estate alongside, it may slightly affect that particular object.
The delegation of tenants also raised with me the question of shops and factories which are also on the premises, and I have made arrangements for this matter to be discussed in the relevant Select Committees later this month. I would request the Commissioner for Resettlement to instruct his screening teams to find out the full extent of this problem before the matter comes before this Council. I have not however given the representatives any indication that this Council, as a Council, can do anything which is not at least within the spirit of the 1964 White Paper which lays down what people are entitled to resettlement, and the type of resettlement accommodation. The White Paper does not provide for commercial resettlement from any dangerous buildings. However, the case of the Chong Hing Mansion in my opinion makes it quite clear that in 1971 a revision of persons entitled to resettlement and their priorities is needed. I for one would like to see all the victims of natural disasters, including house collapses, automatically entitled to resettlement, whereas the less immediate and more planned clearances of squatter huts on Crown land could be made the subject matter for more detailed investigation to see whether the income of the squatter justifies his being offered public housing, and if so, the nature of the public housing suitable for any particular family.
MR. A. de O. SALES: --Mr. Chairman, it is as Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee that I would like to make a statement in reference to item 2(1) of the Agenda, paragraphs 74 and 75. When Committee Paper CA/59/70 was issued on 20th February, I decided to write to you on the 24th setting out the point of view of my Committee on the important subject of a Civic Centre for Kowloon. Mr. Chairman, with your permission I would like to read this letter into the record of the Urban Council.
"I am greatly taken aback by the impression that has been created with me and presumably also with my colleagues in the Urban Council when they come to hear of Government's attitude towards our proposal to build a Centre in Kowloon for civic, cultural and other uses. For want of a better term, this project has come to be known as the Kowloon Civic Centre.
I should have thought that there would be no call for the Urban Council to argue the case for such facilities. The great success of the City Hall has proved beyond doubt the need for the provision of more such amenities. It is true to say that the City Hall is 'bursting at the seams'. In fact, applications for the use of our facilities are far greater than we can meet. We must not judge
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by the written applications alone because many verbal enquiries have to be turned down, in my own experience, because the City Hall is unable to cope with demand. In addition, the Cultural Affairs Select Committee has met with increasing difficulty in satisfying good claims on the use of our rooms, halls, etc. It can be said without exaggeration that we can even justify the construction of a second hall on the Island for such facilities as the present City Hall does not have and for the expansion of the existing facilities in greatest demand.
How much more do we need to justify the proposal for the Civic Centre in Kowloon where the population is said to be more than double that of the Island? It is reasonable to suppose that there are far more schools and school children in Kowloon and so even from this sector alone the demand would be very great. After all, the facilities are intended to serve the interest of our own population, particularly the rising generation with more definite aspirations for leisure and cultural pursuits.
All I can say is that Government's proverbial dilatoriness in reaching decisions on worthwhile schemes and, when such decisions are eventually taken, the great tardiness in implementing them have caused the tax-payer far more money in the end--needless to say, far more than what interest such money would have earned had it been salted away elsewhere and invested in other cities and municipalities on the development of perhaps similar facilities for the education and entertainment of their citizens."
And I would like to add here, Mr. Chairman, while our own people have to go without them.
"I consider Government's latest request no more than another example of Government's stalling tactics a penny-wise, pound-foolish policy. Is this fair to the people of Hong Kong?"
MR. R. H. LOBO:-Mr. Chairman, at last month's meeting, I enquired if it was intended to add more units to our fleet of mechanical sweepers next year. I was informed that additional sweepers had been requested. I note from the paper on Special Expenditure which you have just tabled that these sweepers have not been approved along with many other requests for vehicles. Unfortunately, my Friend, Mr. P. K. NG, Chairman of the Estimate Select Committee, is not here today, but he has requested me to say that he would like to have these deletions put back to the Estimates Select Committee for consideration. He would also like to invite a member of the Vehicle Allocations Committee, referred to in the note attached to the paper, to that meeting for discussion.
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