1972 — Page 33

Page 33 of 206

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

statement made by the Commissioner which means, in practice, that children entitlement to resettlement space would be dependent upon their parents' ability to pay for it.

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, just for clarification. 364,000 persons, does that mean adults?

The

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, yes, this is a composite figure made out of x adults plus y children, the y children being 2 per adult.

MRS. ELLIOTT: So actually the number of persons living at less than 24 sq. ft. or 12 sq. ft. could be half a million or more?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: Mr. Chairman, I would like notice of that question too, because I would not like to mislead the Council, but perhaps we could look into that and let Mrs. ELLIOTT know what happened.

MRS. ELLIOTT:-Well, it was supposed to be in my question.

MR. SALES: Mr. Chairman, as you are unwilling to give me that assurance, perhaps the Chairman of the Select Committee, being more enlightened, might wish to do that?

MR. CHAN:-Well, in the beginning, Mr. SALES referred to the Resettlement Policy Committee which does not exist so I did not bother to jump up at the time. The second time I was about to stand up but somebody stood up before me. However, this matter will be looked into by the Select Committee. I understand from my previous experience as an ordinary member of the Committee, there is a higher authority who decided that children under 10 will be counted as half. The higher authority called itself something like Housing Board, or something equivalent at least, but if that is not the case, of course, you know I would very much like to change the policy being the father of 2 children under 10.

MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, may I finish off with one additional supplementary addressed to the Commissioner. Could he look into the flexibility which is adopted by the Housing Authority in regard to this particular point, and endeavour as far as possible to see whether the Resettlement Department can follow the same stand.

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: -Well, I am glad to say, Mr. Chairman, that our resettlement flexibility tables are almost an exact crib of the Housing Authority table. This is one of the good results of the way in which we are trying to apply Housing Authority practice as well as to the management of Resettlement Estates.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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(7) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question :—

What progress to date has been made by Government to encourage those residents so qualified to register as voters for Urban Council Elections? How many persons have so far registered?

THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:-

This question concerns progress made by the Government Campaign Committee to encourage qualified residents to register as voters. With Mr. Hu's permission, I would like to answer his question which appears as No. 13 on the Order Paper at the same time. The answer to this question has, of course, been obtained from the Commis- sioner of Registration whose responsibility it is, inter alia, to register voters.

The campaign was planned in four phases. The first, com- mencing on 15th February, was directed at persons already included on the present roll who are required to re- register. The second, which started on 24th March, was directed at those persons qualified, but not already included in the register. The third, which is now in progress, is intended to serve as a reminder to both categories. The fourth phase, which will take place in the last fortnight, will be an all-out effort before the closing of the register.

Some 10,000 posters, 500,000 leaflets and 50,000 car stickers were produced for the campaign and given the widest possible distribution. The posters were intended only for general publicity--without details and most of them were attached to Government vehicles and to Government poster sites. The leaflets were directed at new registra- tions and listed where application forms could be obtained. Further lists are included as paid notices in the press during all phases. The leaflets were distributed through all Government outlets, mainly City District Offices. In addition, two kiosks were set up in strategic positions, one in Hong Kong and one in Kowloon, where people can obtain application forms, and a mobile registration van is distributing application forms in various parts of Hong Kong and Kowloon. The bulk of the car stickers were distributed at the Car Parks.

As part of the "Hong Kong Today" series, two films were made for the campaign and there were constant radio slogans on all channels. Radio Hong Kong Television