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parts just now with the powers that be as they are in Hong Kong. (Laughter).
Be that as it may, the Council has now stated its aims. In essence, it is the select committees that have defined their objectives. In practice, they will now set about choosing the best ways to achieve each and every goal while together the Council will consider priorities where necessary. For, our human and financial resources are not without limit. But, by a careful examination of our position, we can prudently determine what resources are required to gain each objective. In reality, our success will depend on the intelligent deployment of resources for every purpose at each stage of development.
I know, in debating our Statement of Aims for the next financial year, this Council will show once again that deeds, not words, are still the measure of our service to the community. I so move.
DR. HENRY H. L. Hu (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I second the motion. The year under review has again been a difficult one for the Hawkers Select Committee.
Dominant throughout has been the Hawker Permitted Area Scheme. This experimental scheme, as you know, was conceived against a background of widespread illegal hawking. The idea behind the scheme was to provide places where both licensed and unlicensed hawkers could operate without bringing them into direct confrontation with the law relating to licensing. Before the scheme came into operation, it was necessary to consider :-
(a) gazetting sufficient streets to accommodate hawkers already plying their trade in those streets and those hawkers trading nearby;
(b) introducing a "cordon sanitaire" so that hawking was actually confined to the H.P.A.;
(c) keeping law and order within the H.P.A. (the responsibility of the Police) and arranging nightly cleansing (the responsibility of U.S.D.);
(d) making known that pitches would be available on a "first come, first served" basis and
(e) gazetting trading hours.
After due consideration of these and other matters, Council agreed to proceed with the scheme and it was introduced on 14th March, 1975,
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when a total of 36 sections of streets were gazetted as Hawker Permitted Areas. Despite the sterling work of all the departments concerned prior to the introduction of the scheme, there was initially some confusion and the "first come, first served" principle, in particular, came in for considerable criticism. Throughout the six months' experiment, continuous efforts were made to balance the interests of
(a) the shopkeepers, who naturally feared competition from the hawkers and visualized the loading and unloading of goods being made impossible;
(b) the resident, whose way of life could be said to have been considerably upset;
(c) industrialists, in a part of Shunning Road who thought that hawkers might block access to and egress from their factory gates and
(d) the hawkers themselves.
As far as the hawkers were concerned, those trading in H.P.A.s before they were gazetted as such, naturally regarded newcomers with suspicion especially if the latter managed to take over a choice site through being first come and first served. Also there was the resentment of the licensed hawkers, many of whom had traded in what had become H.P.A.s for some time, against the unlicensed hawkers, most of whom were newcomers.
With all these potentially explosive ingredients, it was not surprising that a good deal of publicity was given to the scheme, especially the Tung Choi Street H.P.A.
By October 2nd last year, when I announced that the experiment as such was over but that in the light of the conditions at the time, trading in the H.P.A.s would continue, a measure of control had been obtained. Steady pressure continued to be maintained by the U.S.D. and the Police on the hawkers and by the end of the year trading conditions in all H.P.A.s with the possible exception of one or two spots were satisfactory and complaints were few and far between.
I apologize for delving so much into history, Mr. Chairman, but I wish to indicate the difficulties which face us in attempting to confine hawkers to particular areas where they can carry on their business freely and in which some control can be exercised over them without the use of tremendous resources.
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