Page 179 of 242
338
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN.
CHAIRMAN:-Ladies and gentlemen, the meeting is called to order.
The Debate on the Statement of Aims for 1972, which was adjourned at Tuesday's meeting, is now resumed. The first speaker this afternoon is Mr. KAN.
MR. RAYMOND Y. K. KAN:-Mr. Chairman, before I begin my speech, may I say on behalf of the Hong Kong Civic Association Council Members that it is a matter of regret that a Member of this Council should have deemed it fit to make a personal charge against other fellow Councillors, particularly on a matter outside the scope of the Urban Council.
Standing Order S.O. 10(8)(c) states that a Member while speaking on a question must not "make a personal charge (except on a substantive motion to that effect) against or improperly impute any motive to any Member".
We urge that all Councillors should at all times refrain from using the Urban Council as a forum for personal attacks against other Councillors.
Sir, as chairman of the Cemeteries, Crematoria and Funeral Parlours Select Committee, I wish to say a few words on matters concerning disposal of the dead.
Funeral Parlours
If I remember correctly, my colleague Mr. Peter P. K. NG mentioned about the "high cost of dying" and the lack of funeral parlour facilities at last year's Annual Conventional Debate. I am happy to say that the situation has greatly improved with the provision of two low-cost funeral parlours, one on each side of the harbour, by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the extension of opening hours of the Hung Hom Funeral Depot in the past 6 months. However, in spite of the improvements made, there is still a lot more to be done.
The Hung Hom Funeral Depot was built in 1950. Although its facilities which are available to members of the public free of charge on a first-come-first-served basis are being put to maximum use, they are not adequate. I understand that a site has been earmarked by Government for the reprovisioning of this Depot. It is hoped that preliminary planning will be started very soon so that improved facilities comparable to those in the commercial funeral parlours are provided for the public in the not too distant future.
(The Secretary for Home Affairs arrived at this point).
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
339
The complaints against the high cost of arranging a funeral in the three existing commercial concerns has abated with the opening of the low-cost funeral parlours. However, I am of the opinion that the cost for this service can best be regulated by keener competition in the business. Establishment of more parlours by either charitable institutions or private enterprises should therefore be encouraged. In this connection, I think Government can help by making available the sites that have been earmarked in the approved zoning plans for this purpose as early as possible.
Crematoria
At present, dead bodies may be disposed of by either burial or cremation. It is, however, the Council's aim to encourage and promote cremation for the simple reason that land available for burials is restricted and has been increasingly difficult to obtain.
There were 2,621 private cremations last year as compared with 336 in 1961, an increase of about 7 times over a period of 10 years. The figures I am about to quote show the number of cremations in Hong Kong in the last 10 years:
Total No. of Deaths Private Cremations Total No. of Cremations No. % 1961 18,738 336 473 1.8 2.5 1962* 20,324 448 1,853 2.2 9.1 1963 19,748 580 4,024 3.0 20.4 1964 18,113 729 4,354 4.0 24.0 1965 17,621 762 4,101 4.3 23.2 1966 18,700 967 4,148 5.2 22.2 1967 19,644 1,414 4,612 7.2 23.5 1968 19,319 1,693 4,205 8.8 21.7 1969 18,730 2,017 4,268 10.8 22.8 1970 20,763 2,621 4,598 12.6 22.2* Opening of Cape Collinson Crematorium in October 1962.
It can be seen from these figures that the idea of cremation is slowly but steadily gaining public favour. But quicker and general acceptance is our aim, and one way of achieving this is the early provision of better and more facilities.
In this connection, the people on the Island are well catered for by the Cape Collinson crematorium, but this is not the case for those in Kowloon who have to be content with the outdated Diamond Hill Crematorium which was built in 1951 and has inadequate facilities to meet present-day needs. While there is plan to re-build this crematorium, progress has not been significant. I hope Government would
Page 180 of 242