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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
According to my knowledge, it is for the convenience of their workers that many factories operate canteens to provide meals for them. Most of these canteens are subsidized by factory operators who, in some cases, even provide free meals. The canteen facilities are regarded as a kind of welfare services provided by the factories to help workers to solve their luncheon problem due to the inadequate provision of food premises in industrial areas. As these canteens are run on a non-profit making basis and the food they offer are cheap, they are very popular among the workers.
It is obvious that in all the industrial areas in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, there are not enough food premises to provide lunch for workers. As some factory canteens have been forced to close down, others who intend to commence business are thus discouraged due to difficulties in obtaining a licence. As a result, many workers cannot find a place to lunch. They have to content themselves with standing on pavements or stooping their heads in narrow streets and side lanes to eat at cooked food stalls. It is indeed very inconvenient and unhygienic.
The Kwun Tong district, for instance, has 4000 factories and 140 000 workers. In view of all the restrictions, some factories refrain from operating canteens. As a result, illegal and crudely-built cooked food stalls spring up like mushrooms in the rear lanes of factory buildings. The authorities concerned have in fact made attempts to clear them but as the business proves very profitable, it is difficult to wipe them out. What makes things most unbearable is that very often people on upper floors throw down refuse and junk and there is filthy water in the rear lanes too. Such cooked food stalls are the ones to be affected. As workers have to lunch at these unhygienic cooked food stalls, they are more exposed to the danger of food poisoning.
I believe this is also the case in other industrial areas in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. Owing to the lack of natural resources, Hong Kong relies solely on her 40000 odd local factories to earn foreign exchange. Hence the well-being of industrial workers is very important. In fact, a factory is like a big family and workers should be regarded as family members. As employers try to take care of their workers by providing them with meals, it is natural that they do not want their workers suffering from food poisoning in their factories. If this should occur, production will be affected and the employers will suffer great losses. Such being the case, the employers will surely pay close attention to the wholesomeness of the food they provide for their canteens.
Moreover, it is undeniable that workers should take credit for what makes Hong Kong so prosperous to-day. Although they work at least eight hours a day, it is not easy for them to find a place to lunch. In order to provide one million workers in Hong Kong with meals which are prepared under hygienic conditions, I propose that the regulations stipulating the licensing of factory canteens be revoked and that factories should be encouraged to operate their own canteens. The authorities concerned should, apart from ensuring factory owners to observe and comply with all health requirements, continue to carry out inspection. Factory owners should also be instructed about the basic knowledge of food handling. As it is not difficult to put these proposals into practice, I really hope that they will be adopted and carried out.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I also want to make a point about the typhoon shelter in Lei Yue Mun, Kwun Tong. As there is only one outlet, stagnant filthy water with human wastes is often found within the area bounded by the shelter. The typhoon shelter has thus become a 'mud pond' or a 'refuse pool'. As Hong Kong is a sub-tropical territory, summer is very hot. The typhoon shelter which emits obnoxious smell during the hot season is not only an eye-sore but also brings shame on our municipal administration. Needless to say, people's health is greatly affected.
The campaign for making Hong Kong clean has been launched for years but the authorities concerned still turn a blind eye to this black spot. It is most regrettable that despite a great deal of the taxpayers' money was spent, environmental hygiene has not been improved completely.
I suggest that the authorities concerned should promptly reclaim the typhoon shelter so that a garden may be constructed for the Kwun Tong residents on the reclaimed area with the provision of more recreational facilities to cater to their recreational needs. On the other hand, the authorities should look for a suitable alternative site to build a new typhoon shelter with at least two to three outlets. This will be a brilliant achievement in line with our efforts in keeping the city clean. In this way, people can have a cleaner place in which to live, with various recreational facilities provided for their enjoyment.
Lastly, I want to talk about the great expense incurred by the City Services Department on clearing the refuse left by hawkers. Every year, about $30 million are spent. I think it is most unreasonable to use so much of the taxpayers' money to clear the refuse for hawkers. Hawkers should be ashamed of themselves for that.
Everybody knows that hawker concentrations provide some of the worst litter problems. It is difficult to keep such places clean. In places where cooked food stalls are situated, pavements are smeared with grease and dirt and it is impossible to clean those dirts accumulated over a long period of time. As early as October 1975, I did suggest that hawkers in the Hawkers Permitted Area must clear their refuse left at the end of the day's business in order to keep the places clean. However, according to my knowledge, hawkers usually leave behind heaps and piles of refuse requiring the City Services Department to spend a huge sum of money to employ extensive labour for the cleaning job. The taxpayers' money is indeed misused.
As revealed in his letter dated 18 December 1981, the Chairman of the Fa Yuen Street North Section Hawker Mutual Aid Committee, Mr.
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