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attitude towards the vicious, obscene and vulgar publications which are offered as "Children's Comics" on a scale which must be as profitable as it is despicable and morally corrupting. If Councillors have not already seen it, I recommend to your study the "Report on Violence and Sex in Children's Comic Books" prepared by the Joint Interact Council of Rotary and the H.K. Social Workers' Association. As the present laws are apparently inadequate to stop this exploitation of children. I suggest that our Government and legislators introduce provisions similar to the "Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955" which has been in existence in Britain for 20 years.
4. I would like to conclude with the suggestion that the system of Council Debates might be reviewed so as to permit two or three regular Council Debates during the year. A Policy Manual is now being prepared for endorsement by Select Committees and the Council at the start of our new year in April. Many municipal authorities in the U.K. have an annual review of policies and this practice might be adopted here in the form of a Policy Debate related solely to Select Committee business.
This would have the advantage, also, of keeping the public informed.
Mr. Chairman, I support the Motion.
(Applause).
(Mr. Alex S. C. WU arrived at the meeting at this point.)
MR. CHARLES C. C. SIN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this is the last debate I am attending, and I would like on this occasion to summarize some of the ideas I have advocated during my term of office for the further consideration of my colleagues who are continuing to serve this Council.
First, I would like to comment on the subject of Hawkers. This Council has recognized that in times of adverse economic circumstances hawking is capable of acting as a buffer against unemployment. This buffer in my view is more significant today than at any other time in the past.
Many of us are most apprehensive of the economic slump, with it the problem of unemployment existing in countries who are buyers of our products. We are concerned because economic recession in these
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countries diminishes their purchasing power of our goods and this in turn must affect badly our manufacturing industries. This adversity in other parts of the world is beginning to have its telling effect on us, and hawking is already being practised as a buffer against unemployment. I have recently read a newspaper report that as at the 31.12.1974 those who are unemployed and in partial employment in Hong Kong totalled more than 210,000, and that this figure is some 90,000 more than the figure for the 1st half of 1974. In Hong Kong where we do not have unemployment benefits it is imperative that we must avoid having unemployment. Many of us must have noticed the already increasing number of residents have turned to hawking in our streets to earn their livelihood.
Unlicensed hawking will have to be tolerated as a buffer against unemployment, but in doing so we must protect the interest of licensed hawkers, small shop-keepers, the environmental conditions of residents in districts where hawkers congregate.
It is therefore my considered view that the hawker problem is more acute and deserves more attention today, and is in greater need of solving or at least of being better controlled and managed.
As it is so difficult if not impossible to obtain sites from the government, I would advocate that no efforts be spared to develop immediately and with our own resources all presently available hawker bazaar sites and markets. We must quickly build well-planned bazaars and markets so that as many hawkers as possible can be accommodated to carry on their trade in an orderly manner.
In the planning of these bazaars, I once again strongly urge that there must be the most economical use of available land which is so sadly limited. In my view, we must develop upwards. The hackneyed argument that both hawkers and their clients dislike to trade on upper floors can be overcome by intelligent planning and by appropriate arrangement of the types of commodities that are sold on different floors; for example, one can put the most popular type of goods on the uppermost floor which will ensure that buyers will walk up to make their purchases then buy their ancillary needs on their descent. I realize that some of the available sites are small or irregular in shape and that hawking space would be reduced if staircases have to be provided so I will leave the decision to the discretion of those concerned in the design of our future bazaars and markets as to which site is suitable to have more than 1 storey, but with the rider that maximum and more economical use must be made of our few available sites.
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