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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):—We adjourn for 5 minutes 4.01p.m.
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):--Members will continue with the debate----4.12 p.m.
(Dr. Philip C. K. Kwok left after the recess.)
Mr. Tong Kam-biu (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, hawker problems have existed in Hong Kong for decades and it is unrealistic to think that these persistent problems can be solved at one stroke. Facts have shown that there is no way to drive the hawkers away.
Hawkers have become a problem since after the War and it is getting more complicated as time goes, due to the increase in population and the pressures of livelihood. The problems are further aggravated by the large number of immigrants coming from the Mainland. Many of them find it difficult to get a job and so join the line of hawkers. At the same time, in the past few years, Hong Kong has experienced economic readjustment and many trades and professions are sagging. Since social benefits in Hong Kong are quite inadequate, many of the unemployed also turn to hawking.
As hawkers are usually found in densely-populated areas and lack self-discipline, they will surely bring problems to the public, such as unfair competition to the factory and shop owners, causing unhygienic conditions, giving rise to intolerable environmental problems, obstruction of roads which leads to traffic and pedestrian congestion, endangering the safety of passers-by in the event of raids, and consuming a large amount of tax-payers' money on management etc. In 1984, hawker problems became the most popular social issue which had caused much public concern. So last April, the Urban Council set up the Working Party to Review Hawkers and Related Policies.
The Working Party prepared papers outlining the current hawker policies of the Urban Council and sent them to the ten urban District Boards, representatives of traders and hawkers, professionals, scholars and the general public for advice so as to tackle the problems. After preliminary discussions with the representatives, it was found that their opinions varied and diverged from one another, reflecting different points of views. The following are some of the general comments received from the various representatives:
(1) The Urban Council is too lenient towards the hawkers. It should take more severe measures especially against the illegal cooked food hawkers;
(2) Classify the penalties for hawking into different categories;
(3) Increase the hawker licence fees and the Inland Revenue Department should levy tax on the hawkers;
(4) Carry out unannounced raids on the hawkers and confiscate their paraphernalia;
(5) Issue summonses to the hawkers, taking down their Identity Card number on the spot and dealing out severe punishment;
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(6) License all hawkers except cooked food hawkers;
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(7) The District Boards should be made responsible for the issue of licences and control of the hawkers and the licence fees should be set in accordance with business conditions in different districts;
(8) Issue hawker licences to the elderly and the handicapped;
(9) The hawkers do satisfy certain social demands and contribute to the economy;
(10) Register all hawkers, categorize them by computer and license all those qualified;
(11) Set up a central co-ordinating body with representatives from government departments concerned to lay down regulations for the control of hawkers and punishment for contravention;
(12) Build more Urban Council complexes and set up more temporary hawker areas to facilitate the management of hawkers;
(13) Place the General Duties Teams under the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and allow the team members to carry truncheons on duty;
(14) Assist hawkers to set up organizations to promote self-discipline and improve environmental hygiene, etc.;
(15) Lay down effective regulations for hawker management on the lines of the policies adopted in Singapore.
More are in favour of the following:
A. To strictly ban all itinerant cooked food hawkers;
B. To take severe measures against illegal on-street hawkers.
Besides taking part in the Urban Council's Working Party to Review Hawkers and Related Policies, I also attend the Central and Western District Board's Working Group on Hawking Problems as well as the Joint Working Group on Hawker Problems composed of Urban Councillors, District Board members, university students, social workers and secretaries of the Urban Councillors' offices. After a number of meetings and discussions, the Joint Working Group has come to the following conclusions:
When examining the policy in relation to hawker problems, the authorities concerned should consider all factors so as to formulate a balanced policy. For instance, they should consider the sales channels of commodities, provision of employment, social welfare, food hygiene, environmental pollutions, supply of food and daily commodities, public complaints and political factors etc. The functions of hawkers may be both positive and negative.
A. Positive functions
1. Unemployment is a waste of human resources and hawking can provide work for the unemployed and those who cannot work in factories. Thus, hawking may help utilize the surplus resources in our society. Consequently, it will help reduce government expenditure on social welfare. The hawkers can earn their own living and need not depend on social benefits.
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