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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
rumour of corruption among the Council's staff or rather the staff that are carrying out the Council's work. There is no question that this Council does not and will not condone corruption, but the Council has not been able to take any step to bring the culprits to book because of the unwillingness on the part of the victims of the alleged corruption to come forward to give evidence. I therefore take this opportunity of appealing to all the members of the public to do their civic duty by coming forward to assist the Council, if they have any evidence of corrupt practice among any of the Council's staff. Their co-operation and assistance will be most appreciated and welcome by the Council. Under the proposed new legislation the Council will have wide power of waiver of compliance with any by-law, and I will not hesitate to recommend to the Council to exercise this power of waiver in suitable cases in favour of those who will come forward to assist the Council to track down the black sheep.
Sir, with these remarks I have much pleasure in supporting your motion.
MR. LI FOOK-SHU :- Mr. Chairman and Members of the Council, thank you very much for the words of welcome. Being a member of the Finance and Management Committees of the Housing Authority, I have had the privilege of knowing all members of the Council, and I am glad to have the opportunity of working more closely with them now. I hope fellow members will give me the benefit of their advice in regard to the work of the Urban Council which, as I understand, covers a very wide field as evidenced by the fact that there are no less than 14 Select Committees at present. The public is well aware of the important part which the Urban Council has played in the rehabilita-tion of the Colony in the post-war years, and apart from matters con-cerning public health and sanitation, one of the most difficult and important task which the Council has ever been called upon to face is the squatter problem. Due to the unsettled condition in the China mainland, Hong Kong has become the haven for hundreds of thousands of Chinese refugees whose entry into the Colony has caused the popula-tion to increase from the pre-war figure of less than 1 million to the present figure of about 3 millions. As a result of this influx of refugees, housing became a serious problem, and many squatter areas came into existence not only in the outlying districts of the Colony, but also in the urban areas, causing a menace to public health and safety. It is noteworthy that according to the report of the Commissioner for Reset-tlement for the Quarter ended 31st December, 1959, there were 14 fires during the quarter, of which three major ones involved a large number of persons. For the clearance of the squatters, the Government has set out various Resettlement Areas where cottages or multi-storey buildings have been erected. In spite of this action by Government, the squatter problem has only been partly solved, and there still remain
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
15
to-day a large number of squatters waiting for resettlement. One aspect of the squatter problem which deserves urgent attention now is how to deal with roof-top squatters. Their trespass upon private property is illegal, and landlords and tenants, much as they dislike the situation, have been at their wits' end to keep them away. Needless to say, the existence of these squatters endangers the health and safety of the residents, and although the Resettlement Department has set up a Roof-top Squatter Prevention Section to stop new structures from being erected on roofs, I think urgent action should be taken to offer resettle-ment to these squatters.
Another matter I wish to mention now is bathing facilities in the Colony. Before the war, there were quite a number of bathing sheds at North Point, but in the post-war years, the sites of these sheds were resumed by Government for the development of the district. At present the only bathing sites within urban areas are those at Kennedy Town and Ah Kung Ngam on the island side and at Lai Chi Kok Beach in Kowloon. The close proximity of these sites to densely populated areas has undoubtedly the advantage of making bathing facilities avail-able to a great many people who cannot afford the time or expense to go to bathing beaches in the New Territories or other outlying districts, but one wonders whether this advantage can outweigh the potential danger to public health arising from the water being polluted by the continuous discharge of sewage into the sea. With regard to the sites at Lai Chi Kok, there is greater cause for concern as they are very near to the Government Infectious Disease Hospital, and there is always the possibility, however remote, of the water getting con-taminated. It will be recalled that during an outbreak of poliomyelitis in the Colony about a year ago, there was fear that the cause was attributable to the contamination of the sea water at Lai Chi Kok, although an assurance was subsequently given by the authorities con-cerned that all waste matters passing into the sewer leading from the Infectious Disease Hospital had been disinfected. Probably, the recla-mation work on the praya on the Hong Kong side will eventually result in the removal of the Kennedy Town bathing sites, and Government will also abolish the other sites if and when the time is opportune. I am of the opinion that Government should consider the construction of public swimming pools to enable local residents to enjoy bathing facilities at a small expense.
One last comment I wish to make now is that on limewashing. I understand that before the war, all domestic tenement houses were required to be limewashed once a year, and that this practice was discontinued, due probably to the shortage of staff to undertake the inspection of limewashing. I quite realize that the inspection of lime-washing from floor to floor would entail a tremendous amount of time and work for the inspectorate, but I feel that the importance of lime-washing, from a health point of view, should not be overlooked. The
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Page 16
Page 15 of 118
14
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
rumour of corruption among the Council's staff or rather the staff that are carrying out the Council's work. There is no question that this Council does not and will not condone corruption, but the Council has not been able to take any step to bring the culprits to book because of the unwillingness on the part of the victims of the alleged corruption to come forward to give evidence. I therefore take this opportunity of appealing to all the members of the public to do their civic duty by coming forward to assist the Council, if they have any evidence of corrupt practice among any of the Council's staff. Their co-operation and assistance will be most appreciated and welcome by the Council. Under the proposed new legislation the Council will have wide power of waiver of compliance with any by-law, and I will not hesitate to recommend to the Council to exercise this power of waiver in suitable cases in favour of those who will come forward to assist the Council to track down the black sheep.
Sir, with these remarks I have much pleasure in supporting your motion.
MR. LI FOOK-SHU :- Mr. Chairman and Members of the Council, thank you very much for the words of welcome. Being a member of the Finance and Management Committees of the Housing Authority, I have had the privilege of knowing all members of the Council, and I am glad to have the opportunity of working more closely with them now. I hope fellow members will give me the benefit of their advice in regard to the work of the Urban Council which, as I understand, covers a very wide field as evidenced by the fact that there are no less than 14 Select Committees at present. The public is well aware of the important part which the Urban Council has played in the rehabilita- tion of the Colony in the post-war years, and apart from matters con- cerning public health and sanitation, one of the most difficult and important task which the Council has ever been called upon to face is the squatter problem. Due to the unsettled condition in the China mainland, Hong Kong has become the haven for hundreds of thousands of Chinese refugees whose entry into the Colony has caused the popula- tion to increase from the pre-war figure of less than 1 million to the present figure of about 3 millions. As a result of this influx of refugees, housing became a serious problem, and many squatter areas came into existence not only in the outlying districts of the Colony, but also in the urban areas, causing a menace to public health and safety. It is noteworthy that according to the report of the Commissioner for Reset- tlement for the Quarter ended 31st December, 1959, there were 14 fires during the quarter, of which three major ones involved a large number of persons. For the clearance of the squatters, the Government has set out various Resettlement Areas where cottages or multi-storey buildings have been erected. In spite of this action by Government, the squatter problem has only been partly solved, and there still remain
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
15
to-day a large number of squatters waiting for resettlement. One aspect of the squatter problem which deserves urgent attention now is how to deal with roof-top squatters. Their trespass upon private property is illegal, and landlords and tenants, much as they dislike the situation, have been at their wits' end to keep them away. Needless to say, the existence of these squatters endangers the health and safety of the residents, and although the Resettlement Department has set up a Roof- top Squatter Prevention Section to stop new structures from being erected on roofs, I think urgent action should be taken to offer resettle- ment to these squatters.
Another matter I wish to mention now is bathing facilities in the Colony. Before the war, there were quite a number of bathing sheds at North Point, but in the post-war years, the sites of these sheds were resumed by Government for the development of the district. At present the only bathing sites within urban areas are those at Kennedy Town and Ah Kung Ngam on the island side and at Lai Chi Kok Beach in Kowloon. The close proximity of these sites to densely populated areas has undoubtedly the advantage of making bathing facilities avail- able to a great many people who cannot afford the time or expense to go to bathing beaches in the New Territories or other outlying districts, but one wonders whether this advantage can outweigh the potential danger to public health arising from the water being polluted by the continuous discharge of sewage into the sea. With regard to the sites at Lai Chi Kok, there is greater cause for concern as they are very near to the Government Infectious Disease Hospital, and there is always the possibility, however remote, of the water getting con- taminated. It will be recalled that during an outbreak of poliomyelitis in the Colony about a year ago, there was fear that the cause was attributable to the contamination of the sea water at Lai Chi Kok, although an assurance was subsequently given by the authorities con- cerned that all waste matters passing into the sewer leading from the Infectious Disease Hospital had been disinfected. Probably, the recla- mation work on the praya on the Hong Kong side will eventually result in the removal of the Kennedy Town bathing sites, and Government will also abolish the other sites if and when the time is opportune. I am of the opinion that Government should consider the construction of public swimming pools to enable local residents to enjoy bathing facilities at a small expense.
One last comment I wish to make now is that on limewashing. I understand that before the war, all domestic tenement houses were required to be limewashed once a year, and that this practice was discontinued, due probably to the shortage of staff to undertake the inspection of limewashing. I quite realize that the inspection of lime- washing from floor to floor would entail a tremendous amount of time and work for the inspectorate, but I feel that the importance of lime- washing, from a health point of view, should not be overlooked. The
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