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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, might I make a point on that? Because of the great importance of this Tomb in our Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee scheme of things, there must be a resident caretaker, in point of fact, to protect the Tomb at all times and for that reason, naturally the expenditure involved over the Tomb is much greater than would have been the case otherwise had it only been a park or a rest garden. That is the main point that has to be made known.
MR. HU:-I would ask Mr. SALES as Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee as I think this Tomb is not attractive enough, could he consider any other way in which it could be made more attractive, as a tourist attraction?
CHAIRMAN:-Mr. Hu, I apologize for interrupting you. This is a perfectly legitimate question, but it is a new question. Would you ask it next month?
MR. HU: Mr. Chairman, I have not finished my question yet, I want to come to the admission fee of this Tomb. I would suggest, could Mr. SALES consider increasing the admission fee to make it more attractive, instead of admission free. To charge 20 or 10¢ nowadays for a local visitor means nothing.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, at the next Select Committee meeting I assure Mr. Henry Hu that we will have the matter on the agenda and the Department would be issuing a covering paper as to the advisability or not of increasing the admission fee. As to making the Tomb more attractive, I would like to remind Mr. Henry Hu that we did not put up the Tomb ourselves, but it was discovered and it was built 2,000 years ago. However, if he wishes to improve that Tomb I would like this matter to be referred to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Select Committee. (Laughter).
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask if Mr. SALES would investigate whether the drop in the attendance may be due to the fact that the book "The Message from the Tomb" by Mr. TINGAY has been struck off the school syllabus, and if he wants to increase the number of visitors perhaps he can get this book put on the syllabus again.
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, perhaps to put this question in its proper perspective, I should like through you to inform Mrs. ELLIOTT that the attendance figures have fluctuated. In fact in 1962 it was 11,000 and it went up to 17,000 in 1965. It has been decreasing and the cycle is likely to turn the other way and go up again. For all we know, if Mrs. ELLIOTT could use her influence with the Board of Education and put it on the syllabus, it might really go up and we would be delighted.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RESETTLEMENT POLICY SELECT COMMITTEE.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, on 3rd October 1967, this Council passed a motion in the following terms:-
"That domestic resettlement should be given, if needed, to the dependants of persons killed and to persons seriously incapacitated and their dependants, as a result of injuries received during the disturbances while going about their lawful business." At the same meeting, this Council also decided that a report should be made of the action taken on any motion passed and I undertook to do this in regard to the motion which I have just quoted.
The Resettlement Department has agreed on a procedure with the departments of Government which are likely to come in touch with cases of this kind. These are the Social Welfare Department, Police, Medical and Health Department, Secretariat for Chinese Affairs and the New Territories Administration. Any of these departments finding a case which might qualify a family for resettlement under the terms of the motion will report the details to the Resettlement Department. That department will then request confirmation from the Commissioner of Police that there was no evidence to suggest that the person killed or injured was not going about his lawful business. On receipt of the Commissioner of Police's confirmation of this, the Resettlement Department will ask either the Social Welfare Department or the Medical and Health Department for an investigation to establish the need for resettlement, and resettlement will be offered if recommended by one of these departments as a result of its investigations.
To ensure that people who might have benefited from this motion as a result of incidents which occurred before the motion was passed do in fact benefit, the Resettlement Department examine the files of persons who have claimed ex-gratia payments from the Government Compensation Board 1967, and thirteen cases were referred to the Medical and Health or Social Welfare Departments for investigation. As a result, it has been established that 9 do not want resettlement, one family has recently been recommended by the Medical and Health Department for resettlement, and the three other cases are still under investigation, by the Medical and Health and Social Welfare Departments and by the Compensation Board. The family recently recommended for resettlement is likely to be resettled in the Tsz Wan Shan or Ngau Tau Kok Estate. The bread-winner of the family was injured by a bomb blast on 13th October and was hospitalized for about two months. He worked in a laundry at a salary of approximately $350 per month. He has been left with a residual weakness in his left leg and at present he is getting material support from the Social Welfare Department.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, might I make a point on that? Because of the great importance of this Tomb in our Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee scheme of things, there must be a resident caretaker, in point of fact, to protect the Tomb at all times and for that reason, naturally the expenditure involved over the Tomb is much greater than would have been the case otherwise had it only been a park or a rest garden. That is the main point that has to be made known.
MR. HU:-I would ask Mr. SALES as Chairman of the Parks, Recreation and Amenities Select Committee as I think this Tomb is not attractive enough, could he consider any other way in which it could be made more attractive, as a tourist attraction?
CHAIRMAN:-Mr. Hu, I apologize for interrupting you. This is a perfectly legitimate question, but it is a new question. Would you ask it next month?
MR. HU: Mr. Chairman, I have not finished my question yet, I want to come to the admission fee of this Tomb. I would suggest, could Mr. SALES consider increasing the admission fee to make it more attractive, instead of admission free. To charge 20 or 10¢ nowadays for a local visitor means nothing.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, at the next Select Committee meeting I assure Mr. Henry Hu that we will have the matter on the agenda and the Department would be issuing a covering paper as to the advisa- bility or not of increasing the admission fee. As to making the Tomb more attractive, I would like to remind Mr. Henry Hu that we did not put up the Tomb ourselves, but it was discovered and it was built 2,000 years ago. However, if he wishes to improve that Tomb I would like this matter to be referred to the Cemeteries and Crematoria Select Committee. (Laughter).
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask if Mr. SALES would investigate whether the drop in the attendance may be due to the fact that the book "The Message from the Tomb" by Mr. TINGAY has been struck off the school syllabus, and if he wants to increase the number of visitors perhaps he can get this book put on the syllabus again.
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, perhaps to put this question in its proper perspective, I should like through you to inform Mrs. ELLIOTT that the attendance figures have fluctuated. In fact in 1962 it was 11,000 and it went up to 17,000 in 1965. It has been decreasing and the cycle is likely to turn the other way and go up again. For all we know, if Mrs. ELLIOTT could use her influence with the Board of Education and put it on the syllabus, it might really go up and we would be delighted.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RESETTLEMENT POLICY SELECT COMMITTEE.
439
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, on 3rd October 1967, this Council passed a motion in the following terms:-
"That domestic resettlement should be given, if needed, to the dependants of persons killed and to persons seriously incapac- itated and their dependants, as a result of injuries received during the disturbances while going about their lawful business." At the same meeting, this Council also decided that a report should be made of the action taken on any motion passed and I undertook to do this in regard to the motion which I have just quoted.
The Resettlement Department has agreed on a procedure with the departments of Government which are likely to come in touch with cases of this kind. These are the Social Welfare Department, Police, Medical and Health Department, Secretariat for Chinese Affairs and the New Territories Administration. Any of these departments finding a case which might qualify a family for resettlement under the terms of the motion will report the details to the Resettlement Department. That department will then request confirmation from the Commissioner of Police that there was no evidence to suggest that the person killed or injured was not going about his lawful business. On receipt of the Commissioner of Police's confirmation of this, the Resettlement Depart- ment will ask either the Social Welfare Department or the Medical and Health Department for an investigation to establish the need for resettle- ment, and resettlement will be offered if recommended by one of these departments as a result of its investigations.
To ensure that people who might have benefited from this motion as a result of incidents which occurred before the motion was passed do in fact benefit, the Resettlement Department examine the files of persons who have claimed ex-gratia payments from the Government Compensation Board 1967, and thirteen cases were referred to the Medical and Health or Social Welfare Departments for investigation. As a result, it has been established that 9 do not want resettlement, one family has recently been recommended by the Medical and Health Department for resettlement, and the three other cases are still under investigation, by the Medical and Health and Social Welfare Depart- ments and by the Compansation Board. The family recently recom- mended for resettlement is likely to be resettled in the Tsz Wan Shan or Ngau Tau Kok Estate. The bread-winner of the family was injured by a bomb blast on 13th October and was hospitalized for about two months He worked in a laundry at a salary of approximately $350 per month. He has been left with a residual weakness in his left leg and at present he is getting material support from the Social Welfare
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