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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Since becoming an Urban Councillor, I have received a substantial number of complaints concerning this problem. As I am also a member of the Mong Kok District Board, I constantly receive similar complaints at the DB level. To my knowledge, the neighbouring Yau Tsim District is beset with the same problem of an intensity comparable to that of Mong Kok District.
The problem of unlicensed hawkers in Mong Kok at night time is getting worse day by day. Streets remain well-lit even late at night as hawkers openly ply their trade, particularly at the black spots around the Sincere Department Store in Argyle Street and near the MTR exit in Portland Street. There are stalls selling all sorts of food: congee, noodles, vermicelli and even hotpots.
Hawker stalls and their patrons therefore congregate in the street, causing obstructions. What is more worrying is that such activities also affect environmental hygiene and pose certain unnoticed hazard. Evidently, when morning comes and all the hawkers have dispersed, the ground is stained with smudge and everywhere is strewn with litter including bamboo skewers, waste paper and foam rubber bowls once used as food containers. Much of the rubbish is even thrown into the gutter, making floods inevitable on rainy days.
More dangerous are the stoves of the stalls. In the event that they are overturned, the consequences would be disastrous, particularly in the case of hotpot stalls. We must understand that the hotpot business is seasonal. We therefore cannot compare indiscriminately the number of raids at the beginning of the year with that at the end of the year and then draw the conclusion that the problem is not serious. Otherwise, we will be deceiving ourselves as well as others.
The potential danger of hotpot stoves is similar to that of a time bomb hidden in a crowd. The Department must pay attention to the problem.
I understand that the Department and the General Duties Team have tried their best to tackle the problem and conduct frequent clearing operations jointly with the police. But as the saying goes, 'Where God has his church, the devil will have his chapel'. I still think that the Department should be more flexible in arranging such operations and improve the GDT's shift hours and establishment.
Yau Tsim District and Mong Kok District will merge to form one administrative district nine months from now. I remember that we strongly opposed the proposal, but the Government insisted on going its own way. Nevertheless, the Government assured us that it would not cut the resources currently allocated to the districts after the merge. Illegal hawking at night-time is rampant in Yau Tsim District and Mong Kok District, particularly near the boundaries of the districts where control is almost non-existent. I hope that after the merge, the allocation of resources for the new district will not be reduced and all departments concerned can work together to clear the district of illegal hawkers.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Now, let me turn to a completely different topic. First of all, I have to stress that although I am mentioning the Legislative Council, I do not intend to talk about political issue. Moreover, I still insist that the Urban Council should not become another arena for political contentions.
But let me point out, since the Legislative Council, the top tier of the three tiers of representative government, has had all its meetings conducted in open sessions, the Urban Council should not insist on discussing the less controversial topics in private sessions.
In order to enhance the transparency and accountability of the Council, we should make improvements in the new year.
Thank you.
MS. ANNA TANG KING-YUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I am greatly honoured to speak at the Urban Council Annual Conventional Debate for the third time. My speech is in many respects related to the numeral 'three', but it is not my intention to initiate or follow the trend of saying something in relation to 'three'. I hereby declare that any similarities are mere coincidences.
The issues which I am concerned about can broadly be divided into three parts:
The first issue is whether the wall stall licensing policy should be reviewed.
According to our records, in 1975, the Urban Services Department had carried out a full investigation on the distribution of wall stalls prior to the issue of licence to the stall operators. Applications for such licences were no longer accepted by the Department after 31 July 1978. At present, there are totally 734 licensed wall stalls in the urban areas, of which 542 are in Kowloon and 192 on Hong Kong Island.
Wall stall licences can be succeeded by or transferred to the licensees' next of kin. Although they show no great difference from the ordinary fixed pitch licences in nature, they do bear their own marks. The licensed wall stalls are neither subject to size restrictions nor required to operate at designated sites. Licensees can set up their stalls in any place provided that the landlord concerned has given his consent or makes no objection.
I propose to conduct a review of the wall stall licensing policy for the following three reasons:
Firstly, the Urban Services Department is in an awkward position because of the existence of the licensed wall stalls. The licensees do not need any shop space and they are not under the control of any other government department. They can set up their stalls against any wall so long as the landlord has given his consent or nobody has raised objection against them. Leaning against the wall and facing the street, they occupy Crown land or private streets and use the roads as their goods stores. They are, so to speak, under the protection of Heaven and Earth. Under these circumstances, it is very difficult for other
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