HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
end of the long drought, this has been an unprecedented year for typhoons, and although they have brought occasional disaster and sorrow to some, and grave inconvenience to many, our estates have stood up to the buffeting without serious mishap, a tribute to the soundness of the design and construction carried out by the Public Works Department. Even in the cottage, squatter and resite areas which, by their very nature are more exposed to floods, landslides and gales, the damage and casualties have been much less than I feared they would be. We can have nothing but admiration for the patient endurance of the people who have had to face these repeated dangers and tribulations which, it should not be forgotten, were shared during long hours of overtime by many of the staff of the Resettlement and other departments.
Another striking feature of this year, and one which claimed the attention of several speakers at our last meeting, has been the number of dangerous buildings closed under the Buildings Ordinance, and the number of tenants who have in consequence lost their homes. The precise impact of this on the resettlement programme is still far from clear, and depends largely on the extent to which the recent rate of closures continues. There is one aspect of this to which I shall return later. It is however already clear that the Working Party's estimate of the number of people of this category for whom we would have to cater was much too low. This is no criticism of the members of the Working Party who would have required a miraculous crystal ball to foresee what has come about so rapidly. But it does underline the wisdom of their recommendation, which was adopted in the White Paper, that the resettlement programme should be subject to regular and frequent reviews.
This brings me to the third big event of the year, namely the publication of the White Paper itself and the adoption by Government of a new and forward-looking policy for the squatter problem and for the resettlement of these least fortunate members of the community. I venture to suggest that this White Paper which was, incidentally, published shortly after the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Resettlement Department, will in the long run prove to be the most important, and the most lasting in its effects, of the three events of which I have spoken. It is for this reason that I particularly welcome Mr. WATSON's reference to the progress which the White Paper represents in fixing priorities for resettlement, in stepping up the build- ing programme, and in putting an end to the frustrations and despair of the genuinely homeless by the decision to open Licensed Areas. In human terms, the White Paper is less important in itself than in the promise which it holds out and the scene which it sets for the immediate future. It will be the way that it is made to work that counts.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Mrs. ELLIOTT asked how many squatters there are this year com- pared with last year and I hope she will not think I am deliberately ducking this question if I do not give a precise answer. The report of the Working Party contained an estimate of the number of squatters in urban areas at mid-1963. The report, however, made it clear that this was only an estimate. A complete resurvey of squatter structures in the urban area and Tsuen Wan District has taken place during the months of September to November this year. Results have not yet been completely tabulated. In any case, this was a census of structures: it could not be and was not intended to be an accurate census of people. In the course of such a survey we attempt to assess the number of people living in the structures that are recorded, but for this purpose our officers are dependent on statements from persons found in the structures at that time. For obvious reasons, these people are likely to exaggerate the number of people living in their huts. All I can say, therefore, is that the number of squatters has certainly increased since mid-1963. There are four main reasons for this :-
(i) natural increase among the squatters in general;
(ii) the opening of new resite areas on account of the number of people coming out of dangerous buildings;
(iii) the upsurge of illegal squatting in the latter half of 1963; and (iv) the fact that the department has no control over people going in and out of tolerated structures, only over the structures themselves.
It was precisely in order to reverse this trend of growing numbers, which has continued for the last few years, that Government decided to increase the rate of resettlement building to 900,000 units in six years; but it would be unrealistic to expect that this decision would already have started to have the effect of reducing the number of squatters.
Mr. FUNG Hon-chu has criticized the department for taking upon itself to set a ratio of one restaurant per 5,000 persons in Resettlement Estates and suggests that the ratio should be nearer to 1 restaurant for every 1,500 people. I should make it clear that the figure of 1:5,000 is by no means hard and fast, but is taken only as a very rough guide for the purpose of planning the location and number of restaurants in the new estates. In practice, it is proving to be a minimum, and the actual ratios are working out at between 1:3,000 and 1:4,400. There will also be light refreshment restaurants or cafés which will improve the ratios further. The ratio of 1:5,000 was suggested by the Urban Services Department as, I repeat, a very rough guide, and in the knowledge that these restaurants will have a floor area of 545 sq. ft. plus a small backyard. In giving this advice, the Urban Services Department drew attention to the impossibility of being precise since the need for restaurants in a particular estate will depend on the prevail- ing customs of the residents, the facilities available nearby and other
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
end of the long drought, this has been an unprecedented year for typhoons, and although they have brought occasional disaster and sorrow to some, and grave inconvenience to many, our estates have stood up to the buffeting without serious mishap, a tribute to the soundness of the design and construction carried out by the Public Works Department. Even in the cottage, squatter and resite areas which, by their very nature are more exposed to floods, landslides and gales, the damage and casualties have been much less than I feared they would be. We can have nothing but admiration for the patient endurance of the people who have had to face these repeated dangers and tribulations which, it should not be forgotten, were shared during long hours of overtime by many of the staff of the Resettlement and other departments.
Another striking feature of this year, and one which claimed the attention of several speakers at our last meeting, has been the number of dangerous buildings closed under the Buildings Ordinance, and the number of tenants who have in consequence lost their homes. The precise impact of this on the resettlement programme is still far from clear, and depends largely on the extent to which the recent rate of closures continues. There is one aspect of this to which I shall return later. It is however already clear that the Working Party's estimate of the number of people of this category for whom we would have to cater was much too low. This is no criticism of the members of the Working Party who would have required a miraculous crystal ball to foresee what has come about so rapidly. But it does underline the wisdom of their recommendation, which was adopted in the White Paper, that the resettlement programme should be subject to regular and frequent reviews.
This brings me to the third big event of the year, namely the publication of the White Paper itself and the adoption by Government of a new and forward-looking policy for the squatter problem and for the resettlement of these least fortunate members of the community. I venture to suggest that this White Paper which was, incidentally, published shortly after the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Resettlement Department, will in the long run prove to be the most important, and the most lasting in its effects, of the three events of which I have spoken. It is for this reason that I particularly welcome Mr. WATSON's reference to the progress which the White Paper represents in fixing priorities for resettlement, in stepping up the build- ing programme, and in putting an end to the frustrations and despair of the genuinely homeless by the decision to open Licensed Areas. In human terms, the White Paper is less important in itself than in the promise which it holds out and the scene which it sets for the immediate future. It will be the way that it is made to work that counts.
Mrs. ELLIOTT asked how many squatters there are this year com- pared with last year and I hope she will not think I am deliberately
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
475
ducking this question if I do not give a precise answer. The report of the Working Party contained an estimate of the number of squatters in urban areas at mid-1963. The report, however, made it clear that this was only an estimate. A complete resurvey of squatter structures in the urban area and Tsuen Wan District has taken place during the months of September to November this year. Results have not yet been completely tabulated. In any case, this was a census of structures: it could not be and was not intended to be an accurate census of people. In the course of such a survey we attempt to assess the number of people living in the structures that are recorded, but for this purpose our officers are dependent on statements from persons found in the structures at that time. For obvious reasons, these people are likely to exaggerate the number of people living in their huts. All I can say, therefore, is that the number of squatters has certainly increased since mid-1963. There are four main reasons for this :-
(i) natural increase among the squatters in general;
(ii)
the opening of new resite areas on account of the number of people coming out of dangerous buildings;
(iii) the upsurge of illegal squatting in the latter half of 1963; and (iv) the fact that the department has no control over people going in and out of tolerated structures, only over the structures themselves.
It was precisely in order to reverse this trend of growing numbers, which has continued for the last few years, that Government decided to increase the rate of resettlement building to 900,000 units in six years; but it would be unrealistic to expect that this decision would already have started to have the effect of reducing the number of squatters.
Mr. FUNG Hon-chu has criticized the department for taking upon itself to set a ratio of one restaurant per 5,000 persons in Resettlement Estates and suggests that the ratio should be nearer to 1 restaurant for every 1,500 people. I should make it clear that the figure of 1:5,000 is by no means hard and fast, but is taken only as a very rough guide for the purpose of planning the location and number of restaurants in the new estates. In practice, it is proving to be a minimum, and the actual ratios are working out at between 1:3,000 and 1:4,400. There will also be light refreshment restaurants or cafés which will improve the ratios further. The ratio of 1:5,000 was suggested by the Urban Services Department as, I repeat, a very rough guide, and in the knowledge that these restaurants will have a floor area of 545 sq. ft. plus a small backyard. In giving this advice, the Urban Services Department drew attention to the impossibility of being precise since the need for restaurants in a particular estate will depend on the prevail- ing customs of the residents, the facilities available nearby and other
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