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COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: —I confirm that it was a cemetery but it was not No. 9. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -To clarify, Mr. Chairman, I was referring to the same site as Mrs. ELLIOTT was referring to.
MR. SALES: -You were resting on the same mound?
(Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -May I have an assurance, Mr. Chairman, from the Commissioner for Resettlement?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: -I believe it was at one time an unofficial cemetery, which has been cleared long ago. I am not familiar with its past history. There may still be some old gravestones around, but I only know that it was an unofficial cemetery to the best of my knowledge.
MRS. ELLIOTT: -Mr. Chairman, the people are complaining of finding bones in that area.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Mr. Chairman, in view of the remarks made by Mrs. ELLIOTT, may I suggest that the subject be referred to the Cemeteries Select Committee.
CHAIRMAN: -That will be done, Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Thank you.
MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:
(a) Are you aware, Sir, that shopkeepers in clearance areas often complain of unfair allocation of resettlement shop-spaces? What provision is made in the records to safeguard the rights of squatters who dispute the veracity of the facts recorded by the officers?
(b) Why are the squatters not given duplicate forms showing the information supplied to your department concerning their households, so that errors may immediately be detected by the tenants?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
(a) Complaints are sometimes received from squatters who, at the time of clearance, have been judged ineligible for a shop site in an Estate under present policy either because the old shop is not a tolerated structure, or because it measures less than 50 sq. ft. The principal cause for dispute is over the measurement of the squatter shop. To safeguard the interests of squatters, all shops, workshops and factories in a squatter area which is about to be cleared are the subject of a special survey. Full particulars of each business, including the dimensions of the structure, are recorded on a form, one form for each concern. This form is in English, but a translation is read over to the owner who is asked to sign the form acknowledging that the particulars are correct.
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Many of the complaints arise from ignorance of the policy on entitlement to a shop in an estate, and when the policy is explained the persons concerned are usually satisfied. If not, they may appeal to me or to a Member of the Urban Council. The matter is then dealt with personally by an Administrative Officer who will, if necessary, visit the structure and remeasure it himself. To ensure that this can be done, instructions were issued about two months ago that any squatter shop which is the subject of an appeal is not to be demolished until the Administrative Officer has verified the facts on the site.
(b) The whole screening procedure was explained in a paper circulated to Members of the Resettlement (Policy) Select Committee in November 1963 and discussed at a meeting of that Committee on 27th December. On that occasion two Members suggested that the domestic screening form (but not the shop survey form) should be duplicated, so that one copy could be handed to the occupant of the hut. The majority of Members agreed to defer consideration of that proposal until the time came to amend the Resettlement Ordinance and Regulations in the light of Government's decision on the Report of the Working Party on Housing. Members further agreed that a Chinese translation should be printed on the domestic screening form and that this should be brought into use as soon as stocks of the old form were used up. We still have ample stocks of the old screening form, but I propose now to have the new version printed and brought into use as quickly as possible. At the same time, I have given instructions that a Chinese translation should be included in the shop survey form and will introduce this version as soon as it is ready. I suggest, however, that there are serious objections to giving duplicate copies of these forms to the occupants of squatter structures. Apart from the administrative delays to which this could
Page 73 of 312
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Page 73 of 312
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: —I confirm that it was a cemetery but it was not No. 9. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-To clarify, Mr. Chairman, I was referring to the same site as Mrs. ELLIOTT was referring to.
MR. SALES: -You were resting on the same mound?
(Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I have an assurance, Mr. Chairman, from the Commissioner for Resettlement?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I believe it was at one time an unofficial cemetery, which has been cleared long ago. I am not familiar with its past history. There may still be some old gravestones around, but I only know that it was an unofficial cemetery to the best of my knowledge.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, the people are complaining of finding bones in that area.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, in view of the remarks made by Mrs. ELLIOTT, may I suggest that the subject be referred to the Cemeteries Select Committee.
CHAIRMAN:-That will be done, Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you.
MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:
(a) Are you aware, Sir, that shopkeepers in clearance areas often complain of unfair allocation of resettlement shop- spaces? What provision is made in the records to safe- guard the rights of squatters who dispute the veracity of the facts recorded by the officers?
(b) Why are the squatters not given duplicate forms showing the information supplied to your department concerning their households, so that errors may immediately be de- tected by the tenants?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-
(a) Complaints are sometimes received from squatters who, at the time of clearance, have been judged ineligible for a shopsite in an Estate under present policy either because the old shop is not a tolerated structure, or because it measures less than 50 sq. ft. The principal cause for dis- pute is over the measurement of the squatter shop. To
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
125
safeguard the interests of squatters, all shops, workshops and factories in a squatter area which is about to be cleared are the subject of a special survey. Full partic- ulars of each business, including the dimensions of the structure, are recorded on a form, one form for each con- This form is in English, but a translation is read over to the owner who is asked to sign the form acknowl- edging that the particulars are correct.
cern.
Many of the complaints arise from ignorance of the policy on entitlement to a shop in an estate, and when the policy is explained the persons concerned are usually satisfied. If not, they may appeal to me or to a Member of the Urban Council. The matter is then dealt with personally by an Administrative Officer who will, if necessary, visit the structure and remeasure it himself. To ensure that this can be done, instructions were issued about two months ago that any squatter shop which is the subject of an appeal is not to be demolished until the Administrative Officer has verified the facts on the site.
(b) The whole screening procedure was explained in a paper circulated to Members of the Resettlement (Policy) Select Committee in November 1963 and discussed at a meeting of that Committee on 27th December. On that occasion two Members suggested that the domestic screening form (but not the shop survey form) should be duplicated, so that one copy could be handed to the occupant of the hut. The majority of Members agreed to defer considera- tion of that proposal until the time came to amend the Resettlement Ordinance and Regulations in the light of Government's decision on the Report of the Working Party on Housing. Members further agreed that a Chinese translation should be printed on the domestic screening form and that this should be brought into use as soon as stocks of the old form were used up. We still have ample stocks of the old screening form, but I pro- pose now to have the new version printed and brought into use as quickly as possible. At the same time, I have given instructions that a Chinese translation should be included in the shop survey form and will introduce this version as soon as it is ready. I suggest, however, that there are serious objections to giving duplicate copies of these forms to the occupants of squatter structures. Apart from the administrative delays to which this could
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