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the Legislative Council, as it is today, it will give great encouragement to the campaign.
(Dr. Denny M. H. HUANG left the meeting at this point.)
Cooked Food Stalls
In one of the past annual debates, I suggested my own way to take away the cooked food stall from the streets. Off street bazaars seem not to be a satisfactory answer in that they are too far away from the original sites therefore the hawkers are not quite happy with the arrangements. I had suggested that normal business premises be rented by government (from April 1973 by this Council) to which are removed these cooked food stalls so that they may make their own arrangements for catering their own customers by providing them with a variety of foods. These premises should necessarily be found as nearly to the original sites as possible and should provide a ground floor entrance. I think the hawkers will be happy with the arrangements and the original sites may be converted for valuable public use or even for sale. This appears to be an economic use of land and it will improve the unhealthy, unhygienic and unsightly scene that is generally associated with existing cooked food stalls in urban areas. I got this idea from the cooked food stalls in Happy Valley where one or two fokis are employed by more than ten cooked food stalls to attend the needs of the patrons using jointly owned tables and chairs. The cooked food stalls near the Central market behind the Queen's Road have similar arrangements and the stalls are usually operated in conjunction with the licensed or unlicensed restaurants behind them.
The Council's policy to eliminate cooked food stalls on streets gradually is a sound one but the process is very slow—we have to wait for the licensees to die before we can cancel, under certain circumstances, one single stall. If we allow the genuine operators to substitute the licensees, then we can expect that such cooked food stalls will stay during our lifetime. The consideration of giving compensation to eliminate the cooked food stalls may be a good idea if we can afford it.
Cemeteries
Cemeteries have been very recently a popular topic in the community because the Chinese Permanent Cemetery Board has no more plots to offer and there is little likelihood that plots may be offered in the nearest future. Plots are available in a certain cemetery but it is a condition that a huge sum, say, 50,000 dollars have to be contributed to a designated charity. I have no doubt about this charity. This of course, solves the personal problem of a rich son when his parent dies or the problem of a son when his rich parent dies if this son wants a permanent burial for the parent. The others have little chance of burying their parents in the manner the children or the parents want. This is disappointingly unsatisfactory. Legislators devise the law on wills so that a person may dispose of his property in a way he likes prior to his death, but how will legislators design a way whereby a person may have a say how his body may be disposed of after his death?
With these remarks, I support the motion before Council. (Applause).
ADJOURNMENT — 5 P.M.
CHAIRMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, as previously agreed I now propose that this debate be adjourned until Thursday, 16th November, at 2.30 p.m. in this Chamber.
That concludes the business of this meeting. Council stands adjourned until Thursday, 16th November, 1972 at 2.30 p.m.
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