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It is true that some illegal hawkers can regularly be seen trading inside the shopping arcade of Tai On Building, close to the entrance facing Sai Wan Ho Market. As they are trading inside a private building, it is the responsibility of the management to take whatever action they deem appropriate to tackle the problem. From time to time, some hawkers may be seen trading on the pavement around Tai On Building and they are subject to enforcement action by the GDT. However, such action indicates that these hawkers are not market lessees. In fact, streets in the close vicinity of the market are covered by GDT squads as part of their daily patrols and such staff have again been alerted following the complaints lodged by the management of Tai On Building.
According to Departmental records, there are over 50 lessees in Sai Wan Ho Market who hold more than one stall. Some of them choose to physically trade only at what they consider to be their most viable stall. They continue, however, to display goods at their other stall or stalls. This is particularly true in cases where stalls held by the same lessee are situated close to each other. This may have given the false impression that some lessees are operating outside the market as illegal hawkers and are using their market stalls only for storage or display purposes.
The fourth part of the question asks whether USD considers that better conditions within Sai Wan Ho Market would stop or reduce the illegal hawking in the vicinity of Tai On Building.
Whilst better conditions can often be a factor in improving market viability, whether at Sai Wan Ho or elsewhere, it is however true that a number of our older and less sophisticated markets in terms of design and condition are nevertheless very viable. Experience would tend to indicate that market viability is dependent upon a variety of factors of which 'location' and 'competition' are probably pre-eminent.
There is only limited illegal hawking in the vicinity of Sai Wan Ho Market. Therefore this should have a fairly limited impact on the viability of the market. However, the 'convenience' factor is sometimes predominant and it is unfortunately a fact of life that some housewives will always find it more convenient to patronize illegal on-street hawkers than to go into markets. As such, the Department will do all it can to take stringent enforcement action against illegal hawking on-street in the vicinity of Sai Wan Ho Market and Tai On Building.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—I have several supplementary questions, I am afraid. The first supplementary question is on page 2 of the English version, the bottom of paragraph one. Does the Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee know how the rumours started because I was assured by the cooked food stall holders themselves that such a promise had been given and now it had been extended to April next year. As that is untrue, does the Chairman know or speculate even how this question has arisen?
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MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):-Thank you, Mr. BERNACCHI for your supplementary question. In fact, I believe that before getting the approval of this Committee, the Department would not promise the stall holders that air-conditioning system would be installed within a certain period of time because at present, all our cooked food centres are not air-conditioned. It is not our general policy to air-condition such centres. Thank you.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):-The second supplementary question is on page 3, the end of the first paragraph again. The remark the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department have been requested to examine', I take it therefore that is in the past. The Department is awaiting the answer. Am I right?
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):-Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In fact, the USD has already asked the EMSD to examine the overall performance and the efficiency of the MEAT system within the Sai Wan Ho Market. The results indicated that there was no problem concerning the system. Probably, some stall holders feel that their pitches are particularly hot, and this is understandable because the temperature does vary in different locations in the market. This is particularly true where stalls are selling cooked food or poultry. Since big refrigerators for cooked food stalls and many light bulbs for fish stalls are installed, the temperatures there are higher.
(Mr. Ambrose CHEUNG Wing-sum arrived at 2:42 p.m.)
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—I still have questions to go. Now the third paragraph of page 3. I myself visited the market between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Certainly I did not see anything like 1,300 people, particularly on the first floor. That floor was in my experience particularly hot and I would ask therefore, whether the Chairman means 1,300 people in the whole market, and if so, whether he or the Department would work out how many were on the bottom floor which is better although not good and how many were on the top floor which is very very hot indeed.
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):-Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In fact, I also visited the Sai Wan Ho Market. When I conducted the visit, it was around noon. I saw a lot of customers within the market. In response to Mr. BERNACCHI's question, I didn't pay a visit at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. However, since there were a lot of customers at the non-peak hours, I absolutely believe that at the peak hours of 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., there should be a lot of customers within the market. I believe that 1,300 is the figure for all the customers within the market and it is quite unnecessary to divide the market into two. Should Mr. BERNACCHI request for such a breakdown, I will ask the Department to give him a detailed breakdown. When I visited the first floor of the Sai Wan Ho Market at noon, it was not really so hot as described by Mr. BERNACCHI. As I have just mentioned, people may feel differently in different locations. On the first floor, there are a lot of dry goods stalls. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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