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would do well to remind ourselves that expatriate Civil Servants administer this Colony of Hong Kong by consent of the people. We welcome them as advisers and as friends, and when they leave for good we will indeed be sorry to see many of them go. (Laughter). But if during their years of service in Hong Kong they will have trained young Hong Kong men and women to replace them in the great traditions of the British Civil Service, their time in Hong Kong will not have been spent in vain. By and large, Hong Kong pays good salaries to most of its expatriate Civil Servants. This we should not begrudge them.
What I am more concerned about is the low salaries being paid to our lower-income Civil Servants. The recent pay increases announced by Government go only half-way, and, in my opinion, are not enough. This half-way policy of half-way increases is not realistic. Our lower-income Civil Servants must pay high school fees and high rents from month to month. They have no reserve to keep them going until the Salaries Commission finishes reviewing the salary scales next year. I do hope that Government will progressively raise the wages of the lower-income groups in the Civil Service so that they can have a decent living standard.
It is obvious to everyone that the sharp rise in the cost of living is being caused principally by Government's questionable rent policies which protect the rich and neglect the poor. Fantastic fortunes are being made by unscrupulous landlords of business premises who increase their rents overnight by between 100% to 300%, and in addition, demand exorbitant construction money. This is starting up all over again in Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, North Point and other business areas. I personally know of many shop owners whose rents are now between 35% to 40% of their entire overheads. And to pay for rising shop rents, they are forced to increase their prices, both to tourists as well as to local residents. On many occasions in the past, the Hong Kong Tourist Association has warned us that at the rate how prices are rising which obviously is due primarily to inflated shop rents- we are going to do incalculable harm to our tourist industry. But apparently Government cannot be bothered; it is too busy protecting the interests of the unscrupulous landlords. In referring to unscrupulous landlords, Mr. Chairman, I must state clearly that all landlords in Hong Kong are not unscrupulous. (Laughter). Most of them fortunately are good and reasonable persons. But it is too bad that a few black sheep are clouding the image of the entire flock. And because Government is tacitly permitting unscrupulous landlords of business premises to "milk dry the goose that lays the golden egg"
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, is this a development of which the Council is not aware-milking the goose? (Laughter). May I suggest that this Mendelian mutation be referred to the appropriate Select Committee? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, by way of explanation, may I mention to Mr. SALES that he obviously has not read Darwin. (Laughter).
MR. SALES: I have not found this mutation. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: the poor labourer and the white-collar worker must stand by and helplessly watch the cost of living spiral higher and higher. On several occasions in the past, my colleagues have called upon Government to regulate the rents of business premises, by setting up Fair Rents Tribunals or by some other means, but Government is apparently too intent on protecting the interests of unscrupulous landlords who pay no more than 12% business profits tax on their huge annual income. If this is social justice, then something is wrong somewhere within the Hong Kong Colonial Administration.
MR. WATSON: ----On a point of clarification, are these the same unscrupulous landlords? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, with your permission, may I ask Mr. WATSON who he is referring to? (Laughter).
MR. SALES: The goose or the landlord? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: If there were a reasonable degree of control over business premises, I am sure that the good and reasonable landlords would not be affected. Many of them who are decent, civic-minded citizens have personally told me that they would welcome it. In the view of the Civic Association, it is the responsibility of Government to effectively bring in line the oppressive acts of the few black sheep in the fold who are creating havoc out of all proportion to their number.
The question of stabilization of rents in business premises is perhaps of even greater importance than the 15% surcharge recently imposed by the United Kingdom Government on Hong Kong products. I earnestly urge Government and the Colonial Office to give this harassing problem their immediate attention.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate the Director of Urban Services and the Commissioner for Resettlement for the tremendous amount of work which has been accomplished by their staffs despite the shortage of personnel. I would also like to express appreciation for the assistance and co-operation given by the other Official Members in those aspects of Council's work which have to do with the activities of their respective departments. I am sure that this sentiment is shared by all Unofficial Members of the Council. Let me also assure
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
would do well to remind ourselves that expatriate Civil Servants admin- ister this Colony of Hong Kong by consent of the people. We welcome them as advisers and as friends, and when they leave for good we will indeed be sorry to see many of them go. (Laughter). But if during their years of service in Hong Kong they will have trained young Hong Kong men and women to replace them in the great tradi- tions of the British Civil Service, their time in Hong Kong will not have been spent in vain. By and large, Hong Kong pays good salaries to most of its expatriate Civil Servants. This we should not begrudge them.
What I am more concerned about is the low salaries being paid to our lower-income Civil Servants. The recent pay increases announced by Government go only half-way, and, in my opinion, are not enough. This half-way policy of half-way increases is not realistic. Our lower- income Civil Servants must pay high school fees and high rents from month to month. They have no reserve to keep them going until the Salaries Commission finishes reviewing the salary scales next year. I do hope that Government will progressively raise the wages of the lower-income groups in the Civil Service so that they can have a decent living standard.
It is obvious to everyone that the sharp rise in the cost of living is being caused principally by Government's questionable rent policies which protect the rich and neglect the poor. Fantastic fortunes are being made by unscrupulous landlords of business premises who in- crease their rents overnight by between 100% to 300%, and in addition, demand exorbitant construction money. This is starting up all over again in Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, North Point and other business areas. I personally know of many shop owners whose rents are now between 35% to 40% of their entire overheads. And to pay for rising shop rents, they are forced to increase their prices, both to tourists as well as to local residents. On many occasions in the past, the Hong Kong Tourist Association has warned us that at the rate how prices are rising which obviously is due primarily to inflated shop rents- we are going to do incalculable harm to our tourist industry. But apparently Government cannot be bothered; it is too busy protecting the interests of the unscrupulous landlords. In referring to unscru- pulous landlords, Mr. Chairman, I must state clearly that all landlords in Hong Kong are not unscrupulous. (Laughter). Most of them fortunately are good and reasonable persons. But it is too bad that a few black sheep are clouding the image of the entire flock. And because Government is tacitly permitting unscrupulous landlords of business premises to "milk dry the goose that lays the golden egg"
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, is this a development of which the Council is not aware-milking the goose? (Laughter). May I suggest
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
447
that this Mendelian mutation be referred to the appropriate Select Committee? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, by way of explanation, may I mention to Mr. SALES that he obviously has not read Darwin. (Laughter).
MR. SALES: I have not found this mutation. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:
the poor labourer and the white-collar worker must stand by and helplessly watch the cost of living spiral higher and higher. On several occasions in the past, my colleagues have called upon Government to regulate the rents of business premises, by setting up Fair Rents Tribunals or by some other means, but Gov- ernment is apparently too intent on protecting the interests of unscru- pulous landlords who pay no more than 12% business profits tax on their huge annual income. If this is social justice, then something is wrong somewhere within the Hong Kong Colonial Administration.
MR. WATSON: ----On a point of clarification, are these the same un- scrupulous landlords? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, with your permission, may I ask Mr. WATSON who he is referring to? (Laughter).
MR. SALES: The goose or the landlord? (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: If there were a reasonable degree of control over business premises, I am sure that the good and reasonable land- lords would not be affected. Many of them who are decent, civic- minded citizens have personally told me that they would welcome it. In the view of the Civic Association, it is the responsibility of Government to effectively bring in line the oppressive acts of the few black sheep in the fold who are creating havoc out of all proportion to their number.
The question of stabilization of rents in business premises is perhaps of even greater importance than the 15% surcharge recently imposed by the United Kingdom Government on Hong Kong products. I earnestly urge Government and the Colonial Office to give this harass- ing problem their immediate attention.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would like to congratulate the Director of Urban Services and the Commissioner for Resettlement for the tre- mendous amount of work which has been accomplished by their staffs despite the shortage of personnel. I would also like to express appre- ciation for the assistance and co-operation given by the other Official Members in those aspects of Council's work which have to do with the activities of their respective departments. I am sure that this sentiment is shared by all Unofficial Members of the Council. Let me also assure
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