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In the first place, 326 is only a very small part of the total number of multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong. Even discounting all those that are under direct management by the developers, 326 is not I believe as much as a quarter of the remainder. In the second place there are buildings in which most of the residents are for one reason or another uninterested in co-operating together under any circumstances. In the third place we have had to give virtually no help at all to nearly 200 of the 326 who have approached us, because we have no staff for this work. Until this year all the time needed for it had to be found by Liaison Officers who were already stretched to the full on other commitments. However, since March I have been able to make some slight re-arrangement whereby my most expert officer in the field, Mr. CHEUNG is working virtually full-time in the service of as many old, new and projected multi-storey Residents' Associations as he can manage in Kowloon. Meanwhile his colleagues in my Kowloon branch office assist him if and when they have any time available, and the Liaison Staff in my Eastern and Western offices in Hong Kong Island, and to a lesser extent in Kwun Tong, are doing what they can in those areas in addition to their normal full-time work. We have, incidentally, collected from all quarters a great deal of information—and, I may add, a great deal of most encouraging information about how Residents' Associations are financed and conducted.
One final and very important point. The part that housewives play in multi-storey buildings is of paramount importance. As a general rule they have not, so far, been willing to come forward and serve on any management committee, although there is one striking exception in Kowloon. This shyness is unfortunate, but the housewives' influence can still be almost as effective if they bring pressure to bear on their husbands to shoulder some of the burden of forming and running an effective Association. With only four ladies in the whole of my Liaison Staff, all of whom are already fully committed in many other fields of particular concern to women, it has not been possible to make more than marginal contacts with the housewives in multi-storey buildings, to find out what they feel and what they want in the way of better management, and to see if we can be of any use in helping them achieve their aims. We do not waste our time exhorting housewives or for that matter anybody else to do what we think is good for them. If they are concerned about health, security or other problems and if they are also inclined to think that a measure of co-operation through a Residents' Association could be an effective way of tackling those problems, then we see to it that they know that our help is to be had for the asking.
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MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, does the Secretary for Chinese Affairs have an approximate idea of how many multi-storey buildings there are in the Urban Areas which could do with residents' associations?
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS:- That is a matter of opinion, Mr. Chairman, the operative words being "could do with". Whether or not there is an ideal answer, or a correct answer, I do not know. There are, I understand, roughly four to five thousand multi-storey buildings either completed or virtually completed. It could be argued that all could do with residents' associations, but I should hate to lay that down without knowing something about the individual circumstances, Mr. Chairman, in each particular case.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, the management of quite a few residents' associations have told me personally that they would very much like to see Government, in a fairly short time, introduce some sort of legislation which would enable residents' associations, once they are established, to get fuller co-operation from other residents in multi-storey buildings: residents who do not wish to co-operate fully with the management. Has the Secretary for Chinese Affairs put forward this point of view, which has quite often been expressed by the residents' associations, to Government?
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS:- Yes Sir, it is a point I too have frequently heard, though I hope that an earlier passage from my formal answer will not be misunderstood when I said something about legislation not being much use unless supported by the people. Here is a case where we have people who are interested, and it is a case where legislation could be very useful indeed. I have received a good many representations; people feel that legislation is necessary because of the black sheep, the lazy and the unco-operative who otherwise would just turn these buildings into slums. That is certainly a point of view I have had presented to me, and it is one of the points made by my Department to Government.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- In other words then, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs can give an assurance that he is pursuing this aspect of multi-storey management very actively with Government.
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS:- Yes Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Thank you very much. One last supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Can the Urban Services Department staff in
Page 116 of 279
Page 116 of 279
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5.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
In the first place, 326 is only a very small part of the total number of multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong. Even discounting all those that are under direct management by the developers, 326 is not I believe as much as a quarter of the remainder. In the second place there are buildings in which most of the residents are for one reason or another uninterested in co-operating together under any circumstances. In the third place we have had to give virtually no help at all to nearly 200 of the 326 who have approached us, because we have no staff for this work. Until this year all the time needed for it had to be found by Liaison Officers who were already stretched to the full on other commitments. However, since March I have been able to make some slight re-arrangement whereby my most expert officer in the field, Mr. CHEUNG is work- ing virtually full-time in the service of as many old, new and projected multi-storey Residents' Associations as he can manage in Kowloon. Meanwhile his colleagues in my Kowloon branch office assist him if and when they have any time available, and the Liaison Staff in my Eastern and Western offices in Hong Kong Island, and to a lesser extent in Kwun Tong, are doing what they can in those areas in addition to their normal full-time work. We have, incidentally, collected from all quarters a great deal of information-and, I may add, a great deal of most encouraging information about how Residents' Associations are financed and conducted.
One final and very important point. The part that house- wives play in multi-storey buildings is of paramount importance. As a general rule they have not, so far, been willing to come forward and serve on any management committee, although there is one striking exception in Kowloon. This shyness is unfortunate, but the house- wives' influence can still be almost as effective if they bring pressure to bear on their husbands to shoulder some of the burden of forming and running an effective Associa- tion. With only four ladies in the whole of my Liaison Staff, all of whom are already fully committed in many other fields of particular concern to women, it has not been possible to make more than marginal contacts with the housewives in multi-storey buildings, to find out what they feel and what they want in the way of better manage- ment, and to see if we can be of any use in helping them achieve their aims. We do not waste our time exhorting housewives or for that matter anybody else to do what we think is good for them. If they are concerned about
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207
health, security or other problems and if they are also inclined to think that a measure of co-operation through a Residents' Association could be an effective way of tackling those problems, them we see to it that they know that our help is to be had for the asking.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, does the Secretary for Chinese Affairs have an approximate idea of how many multi-storey buildings there are in the Urban Areas which could do with residents' associa- tions?
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS:-That is a matter of opinion, Mr. Chairman, the operative words being "could do with". Whether or not there is an ideal answer, or a correct answer, I do not know. There are, I understand, roughly four to five thousand multi-storey buildings either completed or virtually completed. It could be argued that all could do with residents' associations, but I should hate to lay that down without knowing something about the individual cir- cumstances, Mr. Chairman, in each particular case.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, the management of quite a few residents' associations have told me personally that they would very much like to see Government, in a fairly short time, introduce some sort of legislation which would enable residents' associations, once they are established, to get fuller co-operation from other residents in multi- storey buildings: residents who do not wish to co-operate fully with the management. Has the Secretary for Chinese Affairs put forward this point of view, which has quite often been expressed by the residents' associations, to Government?
SECRETARY FOR Chinese AFFAIRS :-Yes Sir, it is a point I too have frequently heard, though I hope that an earlier passage from my formal answer will not be misunderstood when I said something about legisla- tion not being much use unless supported by the people. Here is a case where we have people who are interested, and it is a case where legis- lation could be very useful indeed. I have received a good many representations; people feel that legislation is necessary because of the black sheep the lazy and the unco-operative who otherwise would just turn these buildings into slums. That is certainly a point of view I have had presented to me, and it is one of the points made by my Department to Government.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: --In other words then, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs can give an assurance that he is pursuing this aspect of multi- storey management very actively with Government.
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS:-Yes Sir.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -Thank you very much. One last supple- mentary, Mr. Chairman. Can the Urban Services Department staff in
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