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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1987
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ASKED WHY THE CLEARANCE WAS DIVIDED INTO THREE PHASES, HE POINTED OUT THAT IT WAS A VERY BIG PROJECT INVOLVING ABOUT 40 000 PEOPLE.
ALSO, HE SAID THE CLEARANCE WOULD HAVE TO BE PHASED TO MATCH THE AMOUNT OF PERMANENT HOUSING AND TEMPORARY HOUSING AVAILABLE.
+ IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO ALL AT ONCE. + AND THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY WILL BE, AS IT WERE, SUPERVISING THE CLEARANCE IN THOSE DETAILS,+ HE SAID.
SIR DAVID SAID HE COULD NOT ESTIMATE THE COST OF THE CLEARANCE. ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE QUITE LARGE. +BUT NEVERTHELESS, THESE 40 000 PEOPLE ARE RESIDENTS OF HONG KONG, LET'S REMEMBER THAT.
+THEY LIVE HERE AND WE'LL BE REHOUSING THEM AS PART OF OUR HOUSING COMMITMENT. AND WE'LL BE GETTING RID OF A PLACE WHICH HAS BEEN OF GREAT CONCERN TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG FOR A GREAT MANY YEARS,+ HE ADDED.
SIR DAVID HOPED THAT THE CLEARANCE OF THE WALLED CITY WOULD BE WELCOMED BY THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AS TACKLING IT IN A REALISTIC WAY, SOMETHING WHICH NEEDED TO BE TACKLED FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
ASKED WHY THE LOCAL RESIDENTS WERE NOT CONSULTED PRIOR TO THE SURVEY, SIR DAVID SAID: +WELL, THAT IS A SENSIBLE QUESTION. BUT ONE HAS TO REMEMBER IN ANY OF THESE CLEARANCES THAT IF YOU OPEN UP THE QUESTION, YOU OPEN UP THE POSSIBILITY OF IMPOSTORS TRYING TO MUSCLE IN ON THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GETTING REHOUSING, GETTING COMPENSATION.+
+ AND USUALLY WITH ANY OF OUR BIG CLEARANCES, THIS IS THE WAY IN WHICH WE DO IT, HE SAID.
SIR DAVID HOPED THAT BY APPOINTING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE LEGITIMATE REQUEST OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED AND THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.
ASKED ABOUT VARIOUS PROBLEMS OF THE COMING CLEARANCE
SIR DAVID CITED AN EXAMPLE OF A MAJOR CLEARANCE IN TSUEN WAN FOR THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY A FEW YEARS AGO.
+WE CLEARED SOMETHING LIKE 65 000 PEOPLE IN A PERIOD OF 20 MONTHS. AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT CLEARANCE WE MET ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE DIDN'T THINK WE WERE GOING TO MEET.
+ AND WE WERE ABLE TO SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THAT CLEARANCE WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS OUTCRY FROM THE PEOPLE INVOLVED. AND I AM CONFIDENT THAT IF WE TACKLE THIS IN A SENSIBLE AND REALISTIC WAY, WE WILL ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULTS,+ HE SAID.
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