HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
We owe much to the many welfare organizations and voluntary bodies for their attempts, in no small way, to alleviate some of the social conditions which are causing distress. Their services include the care for the sick in a number of clinics they sponsor in our estates. In some of our estates, however, especially in those which are far away from the city, there is still an urgent need for more clinics with trained medical personnel. The onus of making up for the shortage of necessity, falls upon the shoulders of the Medical Department, who I hope will not forget their responsibilities for the care of the general health in these communities.
It is regrettable to note how little has been offered in the way of amenities to children in these estates; and even the very modest bits of sites earmarked for playground or open space, have been left undeveloped in many of these resettlements. The lack of green in resettlement estates is another sad example of how amenities, at their minimum, are being neglected.
Mr. SALES has just stressed the importance of promoting public relationship and I sincerely hope that all administrative staff in our resettlement estates will take heed of his words of wisdom. Settlers too, I hope, will play their part to perform their duties such as are expected of good citizens. For indeed, a community can only be as good as the people in it and good communities are comprised of good citizens. However, citizens are made, not born; and I should like to see our district officers and administrative staff do more constructive work along these lines thus helping to promote the spirit of co-operation necessary to build a happy, healthy and prosperous community. It cannot be a pleasant duty to have to repeat constantly, “No, you must not do this, or that, or other things.”; it would be more effective if helpful, constructive criticisms are offered instead, particularly by setting examples; and in this way our officers, I believe, will gain more pleasure from their work and, at the same time, better results will be obtained. Not everyone is fit to be an administrative officer. This job requires skill, experience, training, and a knowledge of how to deal with people and how to help them tackle the various complicated problems that are bound to arise from time to time. I feel that better qualified and trained personnel is indicated here, and at this point I wish to request the authorities to give this suggestion some thought.
I have dwelt at great length on this topic of resettlement and I wish to thank you all for being so patient with me. But bear this in mind, that already 1/6 of our entire population are settlers, and in the very near future, they will account for 1/4 of the Colony's population. Their problems rightly call for our serious consideration and their well-being, their contentment and, yes, even their happiness is of grave concern to us all.
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I am glad to support the motion. (Applause).
MR. CHAN SHU-WOON :- Mr. Chairman, in view of the rapid growth of population and the increasing importance of the Colony, as one of the greatest cities in the Orient, I think the Government should fully utilize the manpower and the resources of its people. May I emphasize the resettlement problem. Although a wonderful job has been done by the Government, about million persons have been resettled in the 12 Estates and 15 Areas, the number of those who are left behind still amounts to more than half a million. I urge that unless greater effort is exerted on this matter the problem of resettlement will not be solved by the next generation. On the other hand, we could place part of the burden onto the shoulders of the commercial and financial leaders in Hong Kong. We could make available to them land in suburban areas near to the city limits on special terms and let them put up their plans for the building of low-cost housing similar to the resettlement blocks or the low-cost buildings. I think this will help a lot to solve the problem.
It is a good thing to note that the rooftops of many resettlement blocks have been utilized by voluntary agencies for the establishment of low-fees schools. The rooftops of those blocks were not designed originally for this purpose, but the need for schools in these areas is so great and so urgent, that we had to overlook many defects for such conversion. Fortunately, this decision was found satisfactory and it has helped out many poor students in the past.
I agree that food inspection is essential. Food premises and restaurants should always comply with all the Health Regulations and requirements. But, too severe a penalty imposed on those licensees or permittees, often in the form of suspension or cancellation of licences, only results in hardening their financial difficulties, and hence creates more social disorder. I am of the opinion that these cases should be handled carefully and considerately. We must realize the fact that much money has been spent in these food premises, in decoration, furniture and fixtures, and many other things before a licence is obtained. Sometimes, it may take more than a year to obtain it. While business is prosperous, a proprietor has to buy all kinds of food or goods beforehand in order to meet the orders placed by their customers. If this particular licensee receives a notice informing him about the suspension of his licence at short notice, he will certainly go 'broke', and his customers will undoubtedly feel very embarrassed on account of the cancellation of his previous arrangements which have been scheduled to take place in the restaurant concerned. It is also impossible for the customers to cancel invitation cards which may have been sent to relatives and friends weeks beforehand, especially in the case of a
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
We owe much to the many welfare organizations and voluntary bodies for their attempts, in no small way, to alleviate some of the social conditions which are causing distress. Their services include the care for the sick in a number of clinics they sponsor in our estates. In some of our estates, however, especially in those which are far away from the city, there is still an urgent need for more clinics with trained medical personnel. The onus of making up for the shortage of neces- sity, falls upon the shoulders of the Medical Department, who I hope will not forget their responsibilities for the care of the general health in these communities.
It is regrettable to note how little has been offered in the way of amenities to children in these estates; and even the very modest bits of sites earmarked for playground or open space, have been left un- developed in many of these resettlements. The lack of green in resettle- ment estates is another sad example of how amenities, at their minimum, are being neglected.
Mr. SALES has just stressed the importance of promoting public relationship and I sincerely hope that all administrative staff in our resettlement estates will take heed of his words of wisdom. Settlers too, I hope, will play their part to perform their duties such as are expected of good citizens. For indeed, a community can only be as good as the people in it and good communities are comprised of good citizens. However, citizens are made, not born; and I should like to see our district officers and administrative staff do more constructive work along these lines thus helping to promote the spirit of co-operation necessary to build a happy, healthy and prosperous community. It can. not be a pleasant duty to have to repeat constantly, “No, you must not do this, or that, or other things."; it would be more effective if helpful, constructive criticisms are offered instead, particularly by setting examples; and in this way our officers, I believe, will gain more pleasure from their work and, at the same time, better results will be obtained. Not everyone is fit to be an administrative officer. This job requires skill, experience, training, and a knowledge of how to deal with people and how to help them tackle the various complicated problems that are bound to arise from time to time. I feel that better qualified and trained personnel is indicated here, and at this point I wish to request the authorities to give this suggestion some thought.
I have dwelt at great length on this topic of resettlement and I wish to thank you all for being so patient with me. But bear this in mind, that already 1/6 of our entire population are settlers, and in the very near future, they will account for 1/4 of the Colony's population. Their problems rightly call for our serious consideration and their well-being, their contentment and, yes, even their happiness is of grave concern to us all.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
41
With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I am glad to support the motion. (Applause).
MR. CHAN SHU-WOON :-Mr. Chairman, in view of the rapid growth of population and the increasing importance of the Colony, as one of the greatest cities in the Orient, I think the Government should fully utilize the manpower and the resources of its people. May I em- phasize the resettlement problem. Although a wonderful job has been done by the Government, about million persons have been resettled in the 12 Estates and 15 Areas, the number of those who are left behind still amounts to more than half a million. I urge that unless greater effort is exerted on this matter the problem of resettlement will not be solved by the next generation. On the other hand we could place part of the burden onto the shoulders of the commercial and financial leaders in Hong Kong. We could make available to them land in suburban areas near to the city limits on special terms and let them put up their plans for the building of low-cost housing similar to the resettlement blocks or the low cost buildings. I think this will help a lot to solve the problem.
It is a good thing to note that the rooftops of many resettlement blocks have been utilized by voluntary agencies for the establishment of low-fees schools. The rooftops of those blocks were not designed originally for this purpose, but the need for schools in these areas is so great and so urgent, that we had to overlook many defects for such conversion. Fortunately, this decision was found satisfactory and it has helped out many poor students in the past.
I agree that food inspection is essential. Food premises and restaurants should always comply with all the Health Regulations and requirements. But, too severe a penalty imposed on those licensees or permittees, often in the form of suspension or cancellation of licences, only results in hardening their financial difficulties, and hence creates more social disorder. I am of the opinion that these cases should be handled carefully and considerately. We must realize the fact that much money has been spent in these food premises, in decoration, furni- ture and fixtures, and many other things before a licence is obtained. Sometimes, it may take more than a year to obtain it. While business is prosperous, a proprietor has to buy all kinds of food or goods before- hand in order to meet the orders placed by their customers. If this particular licensee receives a notice informing him about the suspension of his licence at short notice, he will certainly go 'broke', and his customers will undoubtedly feel very embarrassed on account of the cancellation of his previous arrangements which have been scheduled to take place in the restaurant concerned. It is also impossible for the customers to cancel invitation cards which may have been sent to relatives and friends weeks beforehand, especially in the case of a
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