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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
recently it seemed to me that the rule has been relaxed. May I ask Mr. LEE whether in future the prohibition of hawkers in streets near the markets will be reconsidered?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, this question appears to be a little different from the original one. In the past, we used to have hawkers prohibited areas in certain streets. In fact, it had existed in the 60s and 70s when I was not yet in Urban Council. I don't know the reason why those areas were established. But according to the papers, there were many hawker problems when a market was completed. In order to make the market viable, certain streets were declared as hawkers prohibited areas. Nevertheless we should not consider which specific market in isolation. There is no need to stipulate very strictly that certain districts ought to be prohibited areas for hawkers. But we should analyse the situation to see if the illegal hawkers in the vicinity of some markets threaten the business of the markets and if they do then the matter will be dealt with accordingly.
MR. K. K. FUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, may I ask Mr. LEE about para. 3 which enlists six to seven improvements to future market designs. What about existing old markets? Will ventilation system be improved before the Working Party Report comes out?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in para. 3(a) – (g), seven improvements or suggested improvements have been listed. Since long lead time for building market is required in the Capital Works Programme and these improvements are by no means controversial, they will be included in the markets under planning and even those under very advanced stage of planning. So in answer to Mr. FUNG's question, I wish to say that all these seven points would be considered in all future markets. As regards the old markets, the new ventilation system such as the MEAT system will be installed if they are found to be feasible. In fact, we have already started installing this in some of the old markets.
2.
THE HONOURABLE HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in Cantonese): It was alleged recently in the press that the drastic increase in the number of illegal hawkers in the past three years had made the hawker problem even more serious. May I ask whether this had really been the case and if so what positive steps is the Council taking at the moment as an interim measure to try to contain this problem within manageable limits before the issue of the Report on hawkers and related policies?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-The question asks about an alleged drastic increase in the number of illegal hawkers in the past three years and the interim measures adopted to contain the hawker problem before the issue of the Report on Hawker and Related Policies.
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The Department conducts a half-yearly headcount of illegal hawkers in all districts. These statistics show that the number of illegal hawkers in the urban area has declined since June 1983 from about 17,500 to about 15,000 by June 1985, coinciding with the introduction of the experimental schemes in Wan Chai and Yau Ma Tei. However, there has been an increase to about 16,000 since then. The Department continues to take action to combat the hawkers' moves, and currently emphasis is being placed on introducing greater flexibility of GDT duty hours and deployment to forestall the hawkers.
The Department has, in the past two years, introduced the following measures to contain the hawker problem:-
(1) provision of radio communication equipment for General Duties Teams to improve communication, staff deployment, supervision and morale; (2) two hawker control pilot schemes in Wan Chai, and Yau Ma Tei, now extended to Kwun Tong, to test experimental GDT structures, strategies and tactics;
(3) creation of 31 Health Inspector (Hawkers) posts and re-arrangement of the duties of Senior Health Inspector (Hawkers) posts in the district hawker sections to strengthen the management and supervision of the GDT and thereby to improve hawker control work;
(4) setting up of a Hawker Control Operations Review Committee in USD chaired by DD (ER) to recommend improvements in all aspects of GDT operations;
(5) secondment of two senior police officers to the Department to give professional Police advice to the Director of Urban Services on the structure, strategy, equipments, and training of the GDT, and their capability of carrying out their task.
THE HONOURABLE HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in Mr. LEE's reply, he said that recently there had been an increase in the number of illegal hawkers from 15,000 to 16,000. What is the main reason for the increase and whether there are any measures to stop this trend of increase?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, in 1983, there were 17,500 illegal hawkers. As a result of the pilot schemes implemented in Wan Chai and Yau Ma Tei, the number dropped in 1985 to 15,000. Now the number of illegal hawkers has increased, but it is still less than the number three years ago. So if we compare the figures in two years instead of three years we may find that there is a general decline. The reason why the number of illegal hawkers has increased is that according to the departmental experts, it might be due to the initial effectiveness of the pilot schemes. The hawkers were afraid of the pilot schemes. Now that they are more familiar with the GDT's strategies and there is a great likelihood of them staying around. I wish to inform Mr. CHEONG-LEEN that the number of illegal hawkers is on the decline if we compare the figures in 1983.
3. MR. PAUL T. K. YOUNG asked the following question (in English):-The Repulse Bay Beach is one of the Council's most popular bathing facilities, yet the