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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-May I ask Council to come to order. Before we transact the business on today's agenda, in your name and in my own, I congratulate Mrs. ELLIOTT upon her appointment as Com- mander of the Order of the British Empire. It is very richly deserved. I would also like to wish Mr F. K. Hu all success and satisfaction as
a Justice of the Peace.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meetings held on 13th and 15th December 1977 were confirmed.
STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-
General
HAWKERS
THE BACKGROUND
Hong Kong has always had hawkers. And, perhaps, always will. However, the situation was aggravated beyond all recognition nearly three decades ago. At that time, a heavy influx of people in short order taxed the capacity to absorb them into the economy. It was officially declared then that they would be assimilated into the community without distinction. They were mostly left to fend for themselves nevertheless. Hence, there were hawkers and squatters too, here, there and everywhere, at first.
The Police
Control was a police responsibility then. It stood down in good time and has avoided intervening ever since except to mount support operations and clear obstructions and also to collaborate on special ventures. Perhaps, "the finest police force in the world" might be persuaded to take time off counting its blessings in order to give more help with a job which the community must do together. After all, hawking also creates grave problems of law and order, rightly belonging to the police to tackle effectively as the Government's principal law enforcement agency.
The Government
The new Council inherited the difficult situation. It did not make it. An independent report drawn up in 1976 described it as "an im- possible task" and stated categorically that, after under-managing it for years on end, the Government entrusted the Council with the responsibility without giving it adequate land, staff and financial resources to do the job properly. Accordingly, the Council asked the Government point blank whether it could count on financial assistance to engage more manpower sorely needed to enforce regulations and effect the control now conspicuously absent except in selected areas. The Government turned it down flat in mid 1977. This is the position in essence.
The Council
It does not mean to say however that the Council is without fault. On the contrary, collective responsibility has been made the cover for evasion of direct blame for ineffectual management. A distinct minority long looked upon the policy and management of hawker affairs as its own preserve; it took no action on demands for reform; it lacked sympathy with the opinion of the majority on policy; it procrastinated over management on the ground. It seemed odd that all other select committees should turn in good performances while this particular section should miss its cue, fumble its passages and play out of tune. This attitude led inevitably to dissatisfaction and brought about strong objective criticism from all sides. The Council's verdict was given by clearcut votes in open meeting and in the Standing Committee of the Whole Council as well, on separate points of policy and practice. In effect, the Council has decisively rejected the notion that it must perpetuate an alarming situation and play along with an old theme of growing irrelevance in current conditions. And, as the public good cannot be sacrificed on any account, so the Council as a whole must now take over the reins. The minority response was amusing but not helpful; it was a futile and off-key gesture. Because of the undue publicity that was instigated as a smoke-screen presumably, the facts of life here have to be made known without recrimination but in fairness to the other Members. The Council should now close ranks for the common good and by fair means sort out the sensitive situation with systematic management.
THE PROBLEM
Street-Trading, Public Assistance & Job Training
In Hong Kong, hawking, as it is still commonly called, is street- trading in effect. While it is essentially a retail marketing system, it