Page 107
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
In your question you refer to "quite a number of hawkers" and I trust that you will furnish me in due course with more precise details of their complaints so that I can, if necessary, take appropriate remedial measures. In the meantime I can give no assurance that all correspondence with hawkers will necessarily be accompanied by a Chinese translation but I can assure you that the need for clear understanding is regarded as most important and that the situation will be reviewed every six months.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- A supplementary, Mr. Chairman. You stated in paragraph 3 that approximately 2,220 letters per month go out from the Department and probably 30% are in printed form. Do you assume then that the over 70% are individual letters to individual hawkers?
CHAIRMAN:- I don't assume that at all, Mr. Cheong-Leen. This is the total sum of letters emanating from this Department. By no means all those letters go to hawkers.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- I did assume that since this matter specifically concerns correspondence to hawkers. I quite appreciate the fact, Mr. Chairman, that it is very difficult to give any specific complaints but I have received a general complaint from many hawkers that they do not understand English, they do not write English, and when they do receive a letter in English quite often they are unable to find someone to interpret it for them immediately. I would like to put forward a suggestion to be referred to the Policy Committee to consider to what extent translations of individual letters going to hawkers should have an official translation attached.
CHAIRMAN:- I should be happy to lay this on the agenda for the next meeting of the Hawkers Policy Committee.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"(a) Can the Chairman give an estimate of how many rats (rodents) there are in the Urban areas of Hong Kong? Is the number on the increase?
(b) How many cases of adults and children being bitten or attacked by rats were reported during 1959? Was any action taken by the Department?
(c) Since 1960 is the "Year of the Rat" according to the lunar calendar, does the Chairman propose to redouble his department's efforts to eradicate the rat menace?"
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
"This concerns the Year of the Rat on which we are about to embark on the 28th.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I gather that there is no particular auspicious, inauspicious or suspicious significance to the Year of the Rat but obviously Mr. Cheong-Leen is most anxious that it should be auspicious for humans but inauspicious for rats.
(a) It is impossible to estimate how many rodents there are in the urban areas of Hong Kong. The over-all rodent population of the urban areas (whatever it may be) is closely related to the extent, nature, and standards of general sanitation of the existing urban development and human population. Any substantial changes in these respects will usually effect a relative change in the rodent population. In view of expanding urban development, therefore, it is to be expected that there has been some increase in the numbers of rodents.
(b) Only three cases of rat-bite and no other such cases (i.e., attacks by rats) have been reported during 1959. In two of these cases poison baiting was already in progress when the bite occurred, and in the remaining case disinfestation by poison baiting was arranged immediately after the incident.
(c) The rat menace under the prevailing conditions in Hong Kong can be reduced or even minimized (but never eradicated) by: (1) improvement of the general standards of sanitation, (2) protection of food and refuse, (3) reduction or elimination of harbourage for rats and mice, (4) rodent-proofing, and (5) rodent destruction by means of poisoning, etc. These are all long-term measures, which it is the Department's policy to advise, encourage, or apply wherever possible and reasonable to do so. The department's efforts will continue during 1960 within the limits of its establishment. Requests for additional staff specifically for rodent control work recommended in connexion with draft estimates for 1960-61 include two Pest Control Foremen and eleven Pest Control Coolies.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Just one supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Even the Tokyo Municipal Council estimate that there are three rats for every individual in Tokyo. Surely an efficient department such as yours is in a position to make an estimate of how many rats there are in Hong Kong.
CHAIRMAN:- Unfortunately we have not got a statistician on the establishment.
Page 164
Page 165
Page 90 of 91
107
Page 90
Page 91
164
165
107
107
Page 90 of 10
164
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
In
misunderstanding would have proved a useful excuse. your question you refer to "quite a number of hawkers" and I trust that you will furnish me in due course with more precise details of their complaints so that I can, if necessary, take appropriate remedial measures. In the meantime I can give no assurance that all correspondence with hawkers will necessarily be accompanied by a Chinese translation but I can assure you that the need for clear understanding is regarded as most important and that the situation will be reviewed every six months."
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-A supplementary, Mr. Chairman. You stated in paragraph 3 that approximately 2,220 letters per month go out from the Department and probably 30% are in printed form. Do you assume then that the over 70% are individual letters to individual hawkers?
CHAIRMAN:-I don't assume that at all, Mr. Cheong-Leen. This is the total sum of letters emanating from this Department. By no means all those letters go to hawkers.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I did assume that since this matter specifi- cally concerns correspondence to hawkers. I quite appreciate the fact, Mr. Chairman, that it is very difficult to give any specific complaints but I have received a general complaint from many hawkers that they do not understand English, they do not write English, and when they do receive a letter in English quite often they are unable to find someone to interpret it for them immediately. I would like to put forward a suggestion to be referred to the Policy Committee to consider to what extent translations of individual letters going to hawkers should have an official translation attached.
CHAIRMAN: -I should be happy to lay this on the agenda for the next meeting of the Hawkers Policy Committee.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"(a) Can the Chairman give an estimate of how many rats (rodents) there are in the Urban areas of Hong Kong? Is the number on the increase?
(b) How many cases of adults and children being bitten or attacked by rats were reported during 1959? Was any action taken by the Department?"
(c) Since 1960 is the "Year of the Rat" according to the lunar calendar, does the Chairman propose to redouble his department's efforts to eradicate the rat menace?"
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
"This concerns the Year of the Rat on which we are about to embark on the 28th.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
165
I gather that there is no particular auspicious, inauspicious or suspicious significance to the Year of the Rat but obvious- ly Mr. Cheong-Leen is most anxious that it should be auspicious for humans but inauspicious for rats.
(a) It is impossible to estimate how many rodents there are in the urban areas of Hong Kong. The over-all rodent population of the urban areas (whatever it may be) is closely related to the extent, nature, and standards of general sanitation of the existing urban development and human population. Any substan- tial changes in these respects will usually effect a relative change in the rodent population. In view of expanding urban development, therefore, it is to be expected that there has been some increase in the numbers of rodents.
(b) Only three cases of rat-bite and no other such cases (ie., attacks by rats) have been reported during 1959. In two of these cases poison baiting was already in progress when the bite occurred, and in the remaining case disinfestation by poison baiting was arranged immediately after the incident.
(c) The rat menace under the prevailing conditions in Hong Kong can be reduced or even minimized (but never eradicated) by: (1) improvement of the general standards of sanitation, (2) protection of food and refuse, (3) reduction or elimination of harbourage for rats and mice, (4) rodent-proofing, and (5) rodent destruction by means of poisoning, etc. These are all long-term measures, which it is the Department's policy to advise, encourage, or apply wherever possi- ble and reasonable to do so. The department's efforts will continue during 1960 within the limits of its establishment. Requests for additional staff specifically for rodent control work recommended in connexion with draft estimates for 1960-61 include two Pest Control Foremen and eleven Pest Control Coolies."
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Just one supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Even the Tokyo Municipal Council estimate that there are three rats for every individual in Tokyo. Surely an efficient department such as yours is in a position to make an estimate of how many rats there are in Hong Kong.
CHAIRMAN: --Unfortunately we have not got a statistician on the establishment.
拳
Page 90Page 91
107
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.