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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, after two years of discussions, investigations, visits, and consultations, the Working Party to Review Hawker and Related Policies, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Elsie Tu, has finally published a consultative document on hawker and market policies on 13 December last year. The document covers nearly all major problems hawkers and markets. It may be said that the document represents the most detailed and comprehensive studies on hawker and market policies in the 102 years of the Council.
Many of the Council's current hawker and market policies are outdated, even impracticable. It is therefore time for the Council to revise the policies and strengthen control in order to solve the many problems arising from hawkers and markets. There are altogether 56 recommendations published in the consultative document. I think they may be summarized as follows: - to face the reality, balance the various interests, be flexible, regularize the position of hawkers, and place them under control.
Hawker problems are indeed very controversial. On the one hand, hawkers provide convenient and cheap retail outlets and they serve as main retailers of foodstuffs, vegetables, and provisions, catering for the daily needs of the public. They form part of our daily life and do contribute to the community. On the other hand, disorderly hawking leads to environmental problems, such as traffic obstruction and food hygiene problems. In the circumstances, one has to admit that a perfect solution to the hawker problems is not to be found.
The following examples clearly illustrate the situation: At one District Board meeting, a District Board member frankly admitted that when he went to the movies in his young days (in fact, he is not yet 30), he surely would look for the hawkers to buy something to eat. However, when the movie was over and the audience crowded out, he would strongly resent the hawkers and desire to have all those who obstructed the exits of the cinema driven away. I think many people will share his mixed feeling towards the hawkers. A housewife would complain that it is inconvenient to buy food if there are no hawkers near where she lives, but she also complains of obstruction and noises if there are lots of hawkers converging on where she lives.
The present recommendations are to face the reality and balance the various interests. It is proposed to resite all the hawkers dealing in 'wet' goods who easily cause environmental problems into markets, while those hawkers selling 'dry' goods are to be moved to selected areas and placed under effective control.
'There is no physical solution to a social problem, but every social problem has its physical aspect.' Some may think that hawker problems only arise in the older areas which lack town planning and that precise town planning will completely solve the hawker problems. When we look at some new towns, many areas are already plagued with hawker problems. In some new housing estates, the hawker problems are not so serious just because the estates are small and easily managed, and the hawkers find it difficult to operate inside these estates. Instead, they ply their wares just outside the estates. Precise town planning cannot be easily attained, and there must be well-coordinated management policies in order to solve the hawker problems.
Since the hawker and related problems are very complicated, the Council's Working Party dare not take hasty actions. So we are now consulting the general public for their opinions. Here I would like to appeal to and advise some community representatives: You should widely consult the people affected in the district, including the hawkers, consumers, people living near the markets, and shopowners, before presenting your views on hawker and related policies. Otherwise, you will put yourselves in a dilemma and get no thanks for your hard work.
One major factor on which the success of the document's recommendations depends is whether suitable places can be found as hawker permitted areas. Every district has its own characteristics, and some will face more difficulties than others. At the same time, opinions from the people in the district, including District Board members, are very important because without their support, it is impracticable to assign certain places as hawker permitted areas. Personally, I think the Council should consider allocating some of its land, appropriate for the purpose, as a hawker permitted area. Another solution to the problem of a shortage of land is to arrange some form of rotation for different hawkers to hawk in the same place at different times.
Hawker problems are so complicated that there is no easy solution. However, the Council will not shirk its responsibility, and the Working Party now proposes some revolutionized ideas. Some may say it is a reoccurrence of history, to which I do not agree. The reforms proposed are not the same as the hawker permitted area scheme introduced in the 70's but are deduced from basic hawker philosophy and include policies on various aspects of the situation. As a member of the Working Party, I dare not say they are perfect, and I hope they will form the basis of public discussion of the issue. If they think the proposals are impracticable, they should point out the defects and suggest alternatives. I believe all members of the Working Party will keep an open mind. But if people just criticize and demand the withdrawal of the whole set of recommendations, it will be tantamount to saying: let the present chaos go on.
One of the important purposes of consulting the public on this document is to lay before them the real situation the Council faces and the complication of the hawker problems. It is only with the acceptance of the majority of the public, as well as the support of the departments concerned and the District Boards, that hawker policies may be implemented successfully.
Finally, I would like to thank all the colleagues for their advice and their efforts. As an elected member, I cannot guarantee that I can come back to sit in this Council, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the senior Councillors for their help and guidance.
Sir, with these words, I support the motion.
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