Page 118 of 237
214
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
might well ruin the primary function of the Hall and perhaps destroy its fine acoustics which have been praised by some artists of international renown.
The City Hall Select Committee has, of course, every sympathy for charitable organizations and is giving them such preferential treatment for the use of our facilities as can be done within reason.
MR. P. F. CHAN:- Mr. Chairman, may I thank Mr. SALES for his reply, I have no supplementaries.
MR. BERNACCHI:- I have one. Do the plans for the proposed Civic Centre in Kowloon include facilities for the showing of films?
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, if you allow this question and I applaud you for your indulgence towards the senior Elected Member, I would be glad to answer the question. Certainly, the Civic Centre in Kowloon, with a seating capacity of 3,000, will have a combined Concert Hall and Cinema.
MR. BERNACCHI:- Thank you.
(6) DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG asked the following question:-
Would the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee inform the Council if the newly completed abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan is working to its full capacity? If not, when will it be operating fully?
MR. WILSON T. S. WANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ABATTOIRS AND OFFENSIVE TRADES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:
The new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan opened for cattle slaughtering as from 1st August, 1969. It is operating smoothly and has already reached an output rate of over 300 cattle (i.e. 60 head above the designed capacity of 240) per eight-hour shift.
Slaughtering work in the pig and goat departments will start when additional staff to man these sections are available. A request for such additional staff is being examined and processed in the Secretariat. As soon as these additional posts are approved recruitment will be put in hand. Making allowance for the time needed for recruitment and initial training, we estimate that the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir should be in full operation sometime towards the end of this year.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
215
DR. HUANG:- Mr. Chairman, may I ask one supplementary? As a result of the repeated newspaper reports, the public is under the impression that our new slaughterhouse is less efficient than the old one. I wonder if the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee could tell us what was the accepted output rate for the old one in comparison with 300 cattle now for the new slaughterhouse?
MR. WANG:- I think before this new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan was completed, more cattle were slaughtered on the Hong Kong side because of the limited capacity of Ma Tau Kok. But since this new Cheung Sha Wan abattoir was opened, naturally it would be more convenient for more cattle to be slaughtered in Kowloon and that is why we put a very heavy load on the sections for slaughtering of cattle on the Kowloon side. This is on the question concerning cattle. For pigs and goats, as the reply says, these are still being slaughtered in the old Ma Tau Kok slaughterhouse.
DR. HUANG: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to learn that the Cheung Sha Wan abattoir should be in full operation sometime towards the end of this year, and I am hoping that the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee will assure us that we are going to get additional staff in time and that we can be assured that we will really have it in operation before the end of this year.
MR. WANG:- I believe so.
MR. SALES:- Mr. Chairman, surely if the press has any misgivings, the best course to follow would be for the Chairman of that Select Committee to give a practical demonstration of slaughtering cattle in Ma Tau Kok. (Laughter).
MR. BERNACCHI:- Mr. Chairman, as this abattoir has already reached an output of cattle over the design capacity, do I assume that this new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan is already inadequate to meet the demands of the people in that area?
MR. WANG: The figures given are for an eight-hour shift, and actually there is a possibility of a longer shift. As a matter of fact, in the old Ma Tau Kok slaughterhouse they were working for 12 hours or even more than that, and besides I think a third abattoir is in the planning or sort of study stage.
(7) MR. PETER C. K. CHAN asked the following question:
I have received complaints from residents of Ma Tau Wei Road, Hung Hom to the effect that during working hours, a certain factory ejects dusty fragments of feather
Page 119 of 237
Page 118 of 237
214
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
might well ruin the primary function of the Hall and perhaps destroy its fine acoustics which have been praised by some artists of international renown.
The City Hall Select Committee has, of course, every sympathy for charitable organizations and is giving them such preferential treatment for the use of our facilities as can be done within reason.
MR. P. F. CHAN:-Mr. Chairman, may I thank Mr. SALES for his reply, I have no supplementaries.
MR. BERNACCHI-I have one. Do the plans for the proposed Civic Centre in Kowloon include facilities for the showing of films?
MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, if you allow this question and I applaud you for your indulgence towards the senior Elected Member, I would be glad to answer the question. Certainly, the Civic Centre in Kowloon, with a seating capacity of 3,000, will have a combined Concert Hall and Cinema.
MR. BERNACCHI:-Thank you.
(6) DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG asked the following question:-
Would the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee inform the Council if the newly com- pleted abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan is working to its full capacity? If not, when will it be operating fully?
MR. WILSON T. S. WANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ABATTOIRS AND OFFENSIVE TRADES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:
The new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan opened for cattle slaughtering as from 1st August, 1969. It is operating smoothly and has already reached an output rate of over 300 cattle (i.e. 60 head above the designed capacity of 240) per eight-hour shift.
Slaughtering work in the pig and goat departments will start when additional staff to man these sections are available. A request for such additional staff is being examined and processed in the Secretariat. As soon as these additional posts are approved recruitment will be put in hand. Making allowance for the time needed for recruitment and initial training, we estimate that the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir should be in full operation sometime towards the end of this year.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
215
DR. HUANG:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask one supplementary? As a result of the repeated newspaper reports, the public is under the impression that our new slaughterhouse is less efficient than the old I wonder if the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee could tell us what was the accepted output rate for the old one in comparison with 300 cattle now for the new slaughter- house?
one.
MR. WANG:--I think before this new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan was completed, more cattle were slaughtered on the Hong Kong side because of the limited capacity of Ma Tau Kok. But since this new Cheung Sha Wan abattoir was opened, naturally it would be more convenient for more cattle to be slaughtered in Kowloon and that is why we put a very heavy load on the sections for slaughtering of cattle on the Kowloon side. This is on the question concerning cattle. For pigs and goats, as the reply says, these are still being slaughtered in the old Ma Tau Kok slaughterhouse.
DR. HUANG: Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to learn that the Cheung Sha Wan abattoir should be in full operation sometime towards the end of this year, and I am hoping that the Chairman of the Abattoirs and Offensive Trades Select Committee will assure us that we are going to get additional staff in time and that we can be assured that we will really have it in operation before the end of this year.
MR. WANG-I believe so.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, surely if the press has any mis- givings, the best course to follow would be for the Chairman of that Select Committee to give a practical demonstration of slaughtering cattle in Ma Tau Kok. (Laughter).
MR. BERNACCHI:-Mr. Chairman, as this abattoir has already reached an output of cattle over the design capacity, do I assume that this new abattoir at Cheung Sha Wan is already inadequate to meet the demands of the people in that area?
MR. WANG: The figures given are for an eight hour shift, and actually there is a possibility of a longer shift. As a matter of fact, in the old Ma Tau Kok slaughterhouse they were working for 12 hours or even more than that, and besides I think a third abattoir is in the planning or sort of study stage.
(7) MR. PETER C. K. CHAN asked the following question:
I have received complaints from residents of Ma Tau Wei Road, Hung Hom to the effect that during working hours, a certain factory ejects dusty fragments of feather
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.