XN000022-1979-04-22 — Page 2

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 1979

SURVEY ON SQUATTER INDUSTRIES

****

THE GOVERNMENT IS PLANNING TO CARRY OUT A SURVEY TO ESTABLISH THE TRUE EFFECTS OF ITS CLEARANCE PROGRAMME ON SQUATTER FACTORIES THAT CANNOT NORMALLY OPERATE IN MULTI-STOREY FLATTED FACTORIES.

THE SURVEY IS TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT IN JUNE OR JULY THIS YEAR AND THE RESULTS STUDIED BY GOVERNMENT TO SEE IF ANY SPECIAL MEASURES ARE NEEDED TO COPE WITH THE SITUATION.

A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN POINTED OUT TODAY (SUNDAY) THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, PARTICULARLY IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, WOULD MEAN ABOUT 9,000 SQUATTER FACTORIES WOULD HAVE TO BE CLEARED OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

MOST OF THESE FACTORIES, HE SAID, OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO FIND ALTERNATIVE ACCOMMODATION IN EITHER GOVERNMENT OR PRIVATE FLATTED FACTORIES.

+AMONG THE FACTORIES TO BE CLEARED, HOWEVER, WOULD BE A PROPORTION OF SO-CALLED INADMISSIBLE TRADES -- THOSE TRADES WHICH, BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE IR PRODUCTS OR PROCESSES, GOVERNMENT CANNOT ACCEPT IN ITS OWN FLATTED FACTORIES AND GENERALLY ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR OPERATION IN MULTI-STOREY BUILDINGS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

+THE AIM OF THE SURVEY WILL BE TO SEE HOW MANY OF THESE FACTORIES THERE ARE AND TO PINPOINT AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE THE EFFECT OF CLEARANCE ON THEM, AND THE TERRITORY'S INDUSTRY GENERALLY.+

THE SPOKESMAN SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT WAS TO IDENTIFY HOW MANY SQUATTER INDUSTRIES WHICH WERE AN ESSENTIAL LINK IN THE PRODUCTIVE CHAIN OF HONG KONG'S EXPORT INDUSTRIES COULD NOT BE REACCOMMODATED IN PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SECTOR MULTI-STOREY INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.

THE SURVEY WOULD TRY TO ESTABLISH THE RELATIONSHIP OF SUCH OPERATIONS WITH THE MAJOR PRODUCERS IN HONG KONG INDUSTRY, HE SAID.

THE SPOKESMAN ADDED THAT THE QUESTIONNAIRE DRAWN UP FOR THE SURVEY HAD BEEN KEPT SIMPLE, BUT THE INFORMATION OBTAINED WOULD PROVIDE THE BASIC DATA WHICH WOULD CONCENTRATE ON THESE +PROBLEM TRADES+.

THE SPOKESMAN STRESSED THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS AS ANXIOUS AS INDUSTRY TO DISCOVER THE TRUE EXTENT OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM AND THAT THE REQUEST FOR THE SURVEY HAD ORIGINATED AT +A VERY HIGH LEVEL IN THE GOVERNMENT.+

/HE POINTED