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admitted and lastly to fight together with the public to have Chinese recognized as an official language.

With these remarks, Mr. Chairman, I have pleasure in supporting the motion. (Applause).

MR. R. H. LOBO:-Mr. Chairman, in rising to support the motion before the Council, I wish to make a few comments and I would like to begin by referring to a matter which, although already thoroughly discussed by this Council, for some unknown reason still remains unsolved.

In the past, this very room has become an arena of discussions, often quite stimulating to the blood pressure of some of my colleagues. The results of these discussions were, however, most fruitful and you, Sir, produced an outline plan for overall improvement of our hawker problems and forwarded it to Government for consideration. These papers have now been in the hands of some functionaries for no less than a year. Like so many other problems, this is as far as we have progressed. Whether they have been placed in cold storage or are being squeezed through the long, narrow bottle-neck is anyone's guess.

One thing, however, we know. In the meantime, the problem has become more acute and today, there is hardly any real difference between a licensed and an unlicensed hawker, a hawker and a stall holder. Furthermore, members of our Hawker Control Force are being constantly assaulted, oftentimes viciously. Whilst we endeavour to protect the interests of these hawkers, we must not overlook and we must safeguard the well-being of the shopkeepers, market stall holders and the rights of the motorists, pedestrians and members of our community, some of whom have been for many years constantly harassed by these traders. I look forward to the day when these plans to improve this chaotic situation are finally adopted and implemented. I would be grateful if, in your reply, you would throw some light on this matter.

And now, Mr. Chairman, controversial as this may be and with due respect to the Commissioner for Resettlement and his able staff, it seems to me that it may not be premature if plans were set in motion for a progressive change and finally, for a complete handing over of that Department's functions to the Housing Authority. Basing myself on statistics shown in the latest Report of the Housing Board and, appreciating the improvements in resettlement accommodation, I feel that we have reached a point where we can say that our housing bodies have become inter-related and one may ask, “Where does resettlement end and low cost housing begin?" After all, they are all set for the same purpose. Perhaps, therefore, if all these Departments of Resettlement, Low Cost Housing and the Housing Authority could...

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in the future, be formed into one single Housing Department, this would eliminate duplication, increase efficiency and reduce expenses.

There is another point I would like to raise. As if it is not difficult enough to walk through the streets in Central in Hong Kong, with hundreds of people waiting for buses, pak pais, etc., we now have an added problem. I have noted a great number of beggars, who not only tug at your coat, pull you aside and thrust tins in your face, but deliberately block your way in the streets. They are using children to beg and annoy our tourists. Beggars, too, are actively engaged in areas such as the North Point vehicular ferry terminal, where I have witnessed elderly women putting their hands through motor car windows, some going as far as opening car doors to beg from passengers, who were visibly most disturbed. I am wondering if these are not the same beggars who operate in Central during busy hours and who converge on other areas during weekends and are taking advantage of our overworked Police. Cannot the Social Welfare Department, in conjunction with other bodies, do something about these people?

And now, to a subject which I know is of great concern to us all. Last year, we experienced outbreaks of disturbances in the form of riots, and the inquiry which followed established, amongst others, the fact that the insecurity and social position of our youth was a basic problem, which could give rise to further disturbances, if not solved.

We, in this Council, are aware of the great need to give the youth of Hong Kong a good and valuable outlet and interest for their natural energy, and for this reason, our Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee has not ceased to press on with every possible means available to provide facilities for our young men and women of tomorrow.

During the summer this year, a greater effort than ever before was made to meet the problem of youth activity and the Social Welfare Department, in conjunction with many Government departments and voluntary organizations, assisted financially by Government and by the generosity of the Jockey Club, provided camp type holidays for many members of our youthful community. This is to be applauded, but is it enough?

Government already maintains an Auxiliary Defence Force and its activities are considerable and provide a basic interest of value to young people. I will not enlarge, but suffice it to ask: How, where and at what cost can youngsters learn to ride a motor scooter or motor cycle, to operate an R/T transmitter and receiver, drive a land rover, car or lorry and learn to maintain and repair them, experience the thrill and excitement of mountain climbing and rescue work. These are not military manoeuvres, nor am I advocating such a measure. Instead, these are new, open fields of opportunity to our younger generation.

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