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And so I suggest that every effort must be made by this Council and all Government Departments concerned to stabilize and improve sanitary and other conditions in squatter areas. The introduction of fibreglass self-contained chemical toilets which we saw in one squatter area should improve this particular source of pollution, and I trust their usage will extend to other areas without toilet facilities.
I commend the efforts being made by Howard YOUNG, the energetic Chairman of the Clean Hong Kong Campaign Committee and trust this motion will bring the problem more forcefully to the attention of the public and spur his Committee on to even greater efforts. After all, cleanliness is next to godliness.
I support the motion.
MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo seconded (in English):- Mr. Chairman, when we think of the Clean Hong Kong Campaign, we usually think of publicity campaigns to persuade people not to drop cigarette butts or small items of litter on the streets and to keep picnic areas and barbecue sites clean, etc. Most publicity material is directed to this type of thing.
Although this side of the campaign is very important, it is by no means the whole thing and I would like to draw attention to other aspects of pollution which are perhaps more difficult to deal with. I refer to the dumping of large items and in particular motor vehicles. This sort of pollution is the product of an increasingly affluent society. In a poor and backward country, very little is regarded as waste. Even plastic bags are washed and recycled. Simply to dump a motor vehicle would be unthinkable.
But in Hong Kong, this kind of anti-social behaviour will increase unless we do something drastic about it. As it is, other large items such as refrigerators, T.V. sets, air-conditioners and furniture are also being dumped.
For the selfish people who do this sort of thing, persuasion will be useless. It will be necessary to wave the big stick at them. We should take them to court. Heavy fines should be imposed. Greater efforts should be made to trace the offenders.
In conclusion, I would strongly urge the public to support the Clean Hong Kong Campaign.
Mr. Walter M. SULKE seconded (in English):- Mr. Chairman, it is very noticeable in Hong Kong, that whereas the streets and public places, beaches, etc. are littered sometimes thoughtlessly and sometimes with a will. Homes, wherever they are, including squatter huts, are meticulously clean. This means that people think of home as a place to keep clean and do not think Hong Kong as a home, and therefore, dirty it. What we have to do is to instil a sense of belonging to Hong Kong and to our population, so that because they think of it as their home, they will keep it clean as a matter of course rather than as a matter of force. It is not easy to instil a sense of belonging anywhere in the
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world. Our problem is not just a problem in Hong Kong as in many places in the world, people do not feel their cities are home even though, unlike our people, they are born there and have their own nationality, and not an in-between nationality like ours. I believe this Council should think about this problem and discuss it as this goes far deeper than just keeping Hong Kong clean. Sir, I support the motion.
MRS. GRACE HO seconded (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I would like to support the motion put forward. I would like to add that I am encouraged by Mr. Howard Young's report that fines have increased in both numbers as well as in the amount. You will remember some years ago, we felt that a greater deterrent was necessary. I still think that it is necessary to keep it up although we seem to have overtaken Singapore, but it is also important that we should have the education side and publicity channels. On the other point Mr. FORSGATE has spoken about, the squatter areas. However, there is one area which I think we should do more work, i.e. to insist that property developers whether they are building new buildings or removing old ones and re-developing them; that they should put within the premises, especially in large developments, proper refuse chambers so that refuse could be put in there and it could be properly disposed of. We do not then have to resort to having temporary refuse collection centres in our streets. With these words I support the motion.
MRS. E. ELLIOTT seconded (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I also rise to support the motion. I think it is up to all members of the public not only to keep the streets clean themselves, but also wherever possible, to give the disapproving eye to those people who just throw things in the streets thoughtlessly. At the same time, I'd like to remind everyone that about half the children of Hong Kong are living either in resettlement estates, public housing or in squatter areas, and as Mr. FORSGATE has mentioned the frozen squatter areas, and I've mentioned the dirty public housing estates, it is very difficult to educate children not to throw things on the streets when they see the rubbish is collecting in their own estates or in the area where they live. It doesn't seem to them much harm to throw a little bit more down and therefore, it is up to the public and the authorities to work together on this and therefore to urge the Housing Authority to make more effort to keep the estates and squatter areas clean, and the U.S.D. to look out for areas needing cleansing and at the same time, of course, the public. I support the motion.
DR. KIM Y. S. Cham seconded (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I'd like to support the motion. I think it is very important for us and the community to exert efforts towards cleaning our city. I think it is important both from the old and younger generations that this idea be in-bred well into their minds. I would also support the idea that tougher action be taken against people who are dumping illegally. In this case, I think some action could be generated from the department in identifying certain black spots of illegal dumping, and we should seriously take very tough measures against those who dump in all the spots around Hong Kong. In so doing, we will be able to deal with some consistent offenders whom I believe, have been doing this repeatedly.
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