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of life. In the first place the shortage of domestic servants makes it necessary for more and more housewives to do their own marketing. In the second place, we all agree that hawking is a very demoralizing way of making a living for our young people. These two factors indicate that the provision of cleaner, better arranged and more pleasant marketing facilities is of great importance and a necessity, as against the dirty, noisy, uncontrollable and unlicensed hawking. I feel therefore that a great deal more serious thought and planning should be given to the question of markets before a definite policy can be and should be formed.
Having been a voluntary social worker for the past 25 years, I cannot resist the chance to make a few observations on the White Paper on Social Welfare Policy which interests those of us who concern ourselves with the welfare of the people. The Paper starts off with a general description of the scope of social welfare services in relation to the particular conditions and needs in Hong Kong. In theory, it touches on many branches of social welfare, but unfortunately it narrows down to the very minimum services, mostly relief, Government offers to undertake in order to be "realistic". This negative and cautious approach is in fact "unrealistic" inasmuch as it does not even do justice to what the Social Welfare Department is already doing, or to the support given by that Department to a vast number of voluntary welfare agencies. I feel that the general public has been given a wrong and unfavourable impression by this Paper.
Although it may be correct to assume that in Hong Kong there is still a vast reservoir of unlimited resources of funds and talents to be tapped by the various voluntary agencies to continue their good work, social work in Hong Kong, as in many other parts of the world, is fast becoming highly professional, depending more and more on trained personnel. Obviously then, more and more responsibility must be assumed by Government especially in regard to a training programme which includes vocational, citizenship and leadership training and training for social workers already in service, continuous and increasing support of voluntary agencies in order to maintain the high quality of service and enable them to keep and recruit qualified workers, the undertaking of important research projects and other more constructive, far-sighted and even preventive programmes such as family planning, always depending of course on the availability of funds. But funds, when needed badly enough, can and must always be found. The Government Lottery is one such avenue which is justifiable only when it is devoted to social welfare as originally intended. At best, such avenue is but a choice of the lesser of the two evils—Government Lottery as against football pool. (Laughter).
I must thank Mr. CHEUNG Wing-in for mentioning the importance of family planning work, which is also my hobby-horse. I will leave such important subjects as family planning, equal pay for women, Chinese marriage law, and such other social injustices against women until a more appropriate opportunity and time later.
As this has already been a very long session of speech-making and since Mrs. ELLIOTT and I are not given our women's privilege of having our last word in this council of men, I will end my remarks here and now. However, I must add that I make this remark in a spirit of jest, and not as a complaint, because everyone in this Council, around the table, has been most kind and courteous, and I would like to thank you all now for listening to me so patiently this afternoon.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I am very happy to support the motion before the Council. (Applause).
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, after such an eloquent speech, may I take the hint given by Mrs. Li and move that the question be now put. (Prolonged Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, the question is out of order. (Laughter).
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN: Mr. Chairman, during the tea recess I was deluged with so many solicitous inquiries as to whether I wished to speak longer than 20 minutes, that I feel rather bad that I do not intend to speak longer than 20 minutes this evening. I do intend to confine myself to two subjects: Constitutional Advance and Rents in Business Premises. But before I begin, I just cannot help expressing a few words of sympathy for the underdog of the Markets Select Committee its venerable chairman, particularly since my colleague Dr. Woo and his opposite number Mr. FUNG Hon-chu have formed themselves into a united front to put up passive resistance to any expansion of the market reconstruction and new building programme. Now that Mr. Martin ROWLANDS is back who, I understand, is an expert on markets, I think it would be a good exercise if the Department could bring about an up-to-date survey on the success of the Tang Lung Chau Market, and in the light of such a report, I think the Markets Select Committee could put forward a straightforward recommendation to Government to build a new market either at North Point or elsewhere. Also, the reconstruction programme of old markets should be kept under review, and I would strongly urge that the Markets Select Committee should consider recommending to Government that reconstruction should start first at Shau Kei Wan, where there are two very old markets, which I understand are close to 100 years old.
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, on a point of clarification, is Mr. CHEONG-LEEN now experiencing a change of heart? When he was
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of life. In the first place the shortage of domestic servants makes it necessary for more and more housewives to do their own marketing. In the second place, we all agree that hawking is a very demoralizing way of making a living for our young people. These two factors indicate that the provision of cleaner, better arranged and more pleasant marketing facilities is of great importance and a necessity, as against the dirty, noisy, uncontrollable and unlicensed hawking. I feel there- fore that a great deal more serious thought and planning should be given to the question of markets before a definite policy can be and should be formed.
Having been a voluntary social worker for the past 25 years, I cannot resist the chance to make a few observations on the White Paper on Social Welfare Policy which interests those of us who concern ourselves with the welfare of the people. The Paper starts off with a general description of the scope of social welfare services in relation to the particular conditions and needs in Hong Kong. In theory, it touches on many branches of social welfare, but unfortunately it narrows down to the very minimum services, mostly relief, Government offers to undertake in order to be "realistic". This negative and cautious approach is in fact "unrealistic" inasmuch as it does not even do justice to what the Social Welfare Department is already doing, or to the support given by that Department to a vast number of voluntary welfare agencies. I feel that the general public has been given a wrong and unfavourable impression by this Paper.
Although it may be correct to assume that in Hong Kong there is still a vast reservoir of unlimited resources of funds and talents to be tapped by the various voluntary agencies to continue their good work, social work in Hong Kong, as in many other parts of the world, is fast becoming highly professional, depending more and more on trained personnel. Obviously then, more and more responsibility must be assumed by Government especially in regard to a training programme which includes vocational, citizenship and leadership training and train- ing for social workers already in service, continuous and increasing support of voluntary agencies in order to maintain the high quality of service and enable them to keep and recruit qualified workers, the undertaking of important research projects and other more constructive, far-sighted and even preventive programmes such as family planning, always depending of course on the availability of funds. But funds, when needed badly enough, can and must always be found. The Government Lottery is one such avenue which is justifiable only when it is devoted to social welfare as originally intended. At best, such avenue is but a choice of the lesser of the two evils-Government Lottery as against football pool. (Laughter).
I must thank Mr. CHEUNG Wing-in for mentioning the importance of family planning work, which is also my hobby-horse. I will leave
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
443
such important subjects as family planning, equal pay for women, Chinese marriage law, and such other social injustices against women until a more appropriate opportunity and time later.
As this has already been a very long session of speech-making and since Mrs. ELLIOTT and I are not given our women's privilege of having our last word in this council of men, I will end my remarks here and now. However, I must add that I make this remark in a spirit of jest, and not as a complaint, because everyone in this Council, around the table, has been most kind and courteous, and I would like to thank you all now for listening to me so patiently this afternoon.
Mr. Chairman, with these remarks, I am very happy to support the motion before the Council. (Applause).
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, after such an eloquent speech, may I take the hint given by Mrs. Li and move that the question be now put. (Prolonged Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, the question is out of order. (Laughter).
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, during the tea recess I was deluged with so many solicitous inquiries as to whether I wished to speak longer than 20 minutes, that I feel rather bad that I do not intend to speak longer than 20 minutes this evening. I do intend to confine myself to two subjects: Constitutional Advance and Rents in Business Premises. But before I begin, I just cannot help express- ing a few words of sympathy for the underdog of the Markets Select Committee its venerable chairman, particularly since my colleague Dr. Woo and his opposite number Mr. FUNG Hon-chu have formed themselves into a united front to put up passive resistance to any expansion of the market reconstruction and new building programme. Now that Mr. Martin RowLANDS is back who, I understand, is an ex- pert on markets, I think it would be a good exercise if the Department could bring about an up-to-date survey on the success of the Tang Lung Chau Market, and in the light of such a report, I think the Markets Select Committee could put forward a straightforward recommendation to Government to build a new market either at North Point or else- where. Also, the reconstruction programme of old markets should be kept under review, and I would strongly urge that the Markets Select Committee should consider recommending to Government that reconstruction should start first at Shau Kei Wan, where there are two very old markets, which I understand are close to 100 years old.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, on a point of clarification, is Mr. CHEONG-LEEN now experiencing a change of heart? When he was
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