1964 — Page 214

of 312

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Page 214 of 312

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Hawkers. The Urban Services Department and the Police have a working committee which has reached agreement on most of the dif- ficulties caused by hawkers. Mrs. ELLIOTT has asked recently whether able-bodied men should be stopped from hawking and Mr. SALES has always been an advocate that youth should be directed to more produc- tive employment in other trades. What is being done? Pedlar licences are still issued on demand even though the applicants may have other forms of licence and also probably other jobs as well. With the proposed gazetting of licensed and forbidden roads for hawking, a step will have been taken in the right direction. By this means hawking will be confined, and so licences eventually issued only in sufficient numbers to cover the space available. Already the Labour Department and Hawker Licensing Offices display notices of jobs available which should help in decreasing the demand for licences and ultimately the maximum number of hawkers' sites will be known and so a limitation on the issue of new licences and a step away from mobile hawkers on wheels.

Cooked Food Stalls. With the rapid demolition, sometimes in- voluntary, of buildings, it has become increasingly difficult to resite fixed pitch stalls, whether cooked food or general purpose, even tem- porarily, let alone permanently. However, through the development by Government of new industrial towns, there are some areas which are not adequately served by restaurants or cooked food stalls. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of "food for man" un- licensed hawkers in these areas. In order to counteract this, I would suggest that all factories should provide canteens for their workers, subsidized in the same way as some textile factories do. By this means the demand, which certainly exists, for these "food for man" hawkers would be eliminated making it easier for the Hawker Control Force and the Police to enforce and remove these undoubted health hazards from the streets of Hong Kong.

To go on to things unconnected with Urban Council affairs.

Diesel Fumes. Another possible health risk in the streets of Hong Kong is diesel fumes. To a certain extent this can be controlled by efficient maintenance, sadly lacking here in Hong Kong, but in many countries, especially those with smog areas, the exhaust pipes of diesel trucks and buses are extended upwards above the drivers' cabs thus helping to dissipate the fumes. Whether this is practical for the many diesel taxis we have, I do not know, but there are some filters in exis- tence which could probably be adapted for their use.

Water Skiing. There is an increasing number of powered pleasure boats in the waters of Hong Kong, ranging in size from pirate galleons to small dinghies. Many are being used for water skiing, a popular sport and a safe one provided it is properly controlled. To some extent this is done at the more popular beaches, where buoys are laid to protect

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the swimmers. However, I feel that further regulations should be introduced whereby in addition to the existing regulations that all helmsmen should hold a coxswain's licence, all boats used for water skiing should have two persons on board whilst skiing is in progress, the helmsman looking ahead and the other to the rear, thereby reducing, if not eliminating the cause of injury to swimmers and other skiers. This regulation is in force in various parts of the United States and in Australia.

To go on to larger ships. It is probably little realized that Hong Kong Shipowners control over 4,000,000 deadweight tons of shipping ranging in size from 500 tons to nearly 100,000 tons. These ships alone, apart from the many foreign owners who recruit seamen in Hong Kong, require deck officers and engineers in addition to ratings. The Hong Kong Sea School provides basic training for some of the seamen but this is not sufficient. I feel that more facilities should be provided for training all seagoing personnel of whatever rank in Hong Kong so that this valuable section of Hong Kong's economy is adequately served and also another employment opportunity is not lost to Hong Kong.

Before I close, I must state how much I appreciate the whole- hearted support, Sir, advice and good-natured guidance we get from the whole of the Urban Services Department, from the Chairman himself down to the most junior constable in the Hawker Control Force.

With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I support the Statement of Aims for 1965.

DR. R. H. S. LEE:-Mr. Chairman, the annual debate of the Urban Council is the only public meeting of the year when Standing Orders are suspended, and Mr. Chairman, I intend to make full use of this privilege.

The Urban Council is not only the most important administrative body in Hong Kong, but also the most representative. In any local government throughout the world, for its size and multiplicity of functions its proper name should be a City or Municipal Council, and not a district Urban Council. To many visiting dignitaries like the Mayor of Rome and the Mayor of Vienna, our present name sounds absolutely ridiculous. Mr. Chairman, who is the Mayor of Hong Kong? I urge Government and Whitehall to listen to my plea to change its title to that of a City Council commensurable to its dignity and function.

There are cogent reasons for the twin cities of Hong Kong and Kowloon, which comprise more than 34 million people, to be administer- ed by a City Council. It will not be long before new Kwai Chung