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ment and Fire Services Department. Now all these departments have been involved for ten months. It is one of my Ward cases
CHAIRMAN: ---Are you asking a supplementary?
DR. HUANG---I am going to ask one.
Do you know who is responsible to actually, I mean to ask some department to issue a warning about this. I wrote to the Commissioner for Resettlement . .
CHAIRMAN: Dr. HUANG, would you please come to the question.
DR. HUANG: Yes, I wrote a letter about six months ago regarding this, but received no reply. I reminded the Commissioner of such agreement made about two years ago. Now who is responsible for such unlicensed restaurants who fail to comply with requirements for more than 10 months. Would the Chairman of the Select Committee care to answer?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—Mr. Chairman, shall I deal with that one? It is not indeed an unusual matter, I believe, for certain restaurants to remain unlicensed for more than six months without complying with Council's requirements. Indeed, if you look beyond resettlement estates you will find some which have been unlicensed for years, very large restaurants. But speaking of the resettlement estate situation, it appears that my department, Mr. Chairman, in applying this joint decision of the two select committees, which was taken in 1970, interpreted it as applying to restaurants opened after July 1970, that is new restaurants opened after July 1970. I myself see no reason why, if this rule has to be applied to resettlement estates, it should not be applied to all regardless of when the restaurant went into business and I will make sure that this is now done.
DR. HUANG---Mr. Chairman, can I say a few words about what the Commissioner has said. It was me, perhaps, who raised the question that there were over 600 unlicensed restaurants in the urban area. I think it is...
CHAIRMAN: Dr. HUANG, please; not a story.
DR. HUANG: All right. All I ask is that because unlike restaurants in resettlement estates
CHAIRMAN:---Dr. HUANG, I really can't let you go on like this. Please ask your supplementary.
DR. HUANG:---All right. May I ask once more of the Chairman of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, who is actually responsible for carrying out agreements between the Select Committees? That is to say, the Resettlement Department issuing a warning letter to unlicensed restaurants.
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MR. NG:---Mr. Chairman, I presume the Commissioner for Resettlement would be doing the job.
MR. C. K. CHAN:---Mr. Chairman, I think if my memory
CHAIRMAN:---Are you asking a supplementary? (Laughter).
MR. C. K. CHAN:---Yes, definitely. Is it true that if the resettlement department has warned them that the premises are too small for a restaurant, that they should not start it, and they start without a licence, then the Resettlement Department will evict them. But if the premises are big enough, and another department refuses a licence then it has nothing to do with the resettlement tenancy. Is that the case?
MR. NG:---I think this is very simple. All Mr. CHAN has to do is to look back at the minutes of the joint meeting in 1970.
MR. CHAN:---Because I dig it up, and I can remember it, I ask you whether you can? (Laughter).
MR. NG:---I cannot remember but if you want to you can go back and read it again.
MR. CHAN:---I have read and remember it and I know that you don't and you haven't read it. (Laughter).
If you
DR. HUANG---Mr. Chairman, can I ask one question? think it is no good you can rule me out of order. Can I ask the Commissioner for Resettlement to tell me how long does it take to answer a letter? I have been for several weeks without an answer?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:---Mr. Chairman, I must apologize if a letter of this sort has been unanswered, but I would say frankly that my department is much in battle these days for reasons known to all members, and if, indeed, there are delays of this sort, I hope members will bear with us. But it is in a good cause, and as I have said, speaking of the restaurants to which the question refers, we will now deal with these with the extra power to take action.
DR. HUANG:—I want to say one thing more. I have sent to the Commissioner a reminder three weeks ago—still no reply.
MRS. SYMONS:---May I ask a supplementary please? This figure of 299 unlicensed restaurants in Mr. NG's reply and "outstanding general restaurants" which amounts to 115 on page 2 of the monthly report, is the larger figure 299 inclusive of the smaller figure or, in fact, are there 115 plus 299? I don't understand these details.
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ment and Fire Services Department. Now all these departments have
been involved for ten months. It is one of my Ward cases
CHAIRMAN: ---Are you asking a supplementary?
DR. HUANG-I am going to ask one.
Do you know who is res- ponsible to actually, I mean to ask some department to issue a
warning about this. I wrote to the Commissioner for Resettlement . .
CHAIRMAN: Dr. HUANG, would you please come to the question. DR. HUANG: Yes, I wrote a letter about six months ago regarding this, but received no reply. I reminded the Commissioner of such agreement made about two years ago. Now who is responsible for such unlicensed restaurants who fail to comply with requirements for more than 10 months. Would the Chairman of the Select Committee care to answer?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:—Mr. Chairman, shall I deal with that one? It is not indeed an unusual matter, I believe, for certain restaurants to remain unlicensed for more than six months without complying with Council's requirements. Indeed, if you look beyond resettlement estates you will find some which have been unlicensed for years, very large restaurants. But speaking of the resettlement estate situation, it appears that my department, Mr. Chairman, in applying this joint decision of the two select committees, which was taken in 1970, interpreted it as applying to restaurants opened after July 1970, that is new restaurants opened after July 1970. I myself see no reason why, if this rule has to be applied to resettlement estates, it should not be applied to all regardless of when the restaurant went into business and I will make sure that this is now done.
DR. HUANG-Mr. Chairman, can I say a few words about what the Commissioner has said. It was me, perhaps, who raised the question that there were over 600 unlicenced restaurants in the urban area. I think it is...
CHAIRMAN: Dr. HUANG, please; not a story.
DR. HUANG:All right. All I ask is that because unlike restaur- ants in resettlement estates
CHAIRMAN:-Dr. HUANG, I really can't let you go on like this. Please ask your supplementary.
DR. HUANG:-All right. May I ask once more of the Chairman of the Food and Food Premises Select Committee, who is actually responsible for carrying out agreements between the Select Committees? That is to say, the Resettlement Department issuing a warning letter to unlicensed restaurants.
:
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MR. NG:-Mr. Chairman, I presume the Commissioner for Resettlement would be doing the job.
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Mr. Chairman, I think if my memory CHAIRMAN:---Are you asking a supplementary? (Laughter).
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Yes, definitely. Is it true that if the resettle- ment department has warned them that the premises are too small for a restaurant, that they should not start it, and they start without a licence, then the Resettlement Department will evict them. But if the premises are big enough, and another department refuses a licence then it has nothing to do with the resettlement tenancy. Is that the
case?
MR. NG:--I think this is very simple. All Mr. CHAN has to do is to look back at the minutes of the joint meeting in 1970.
MR. CHAN:-Because I dig it up, and I can remember it, I ask you whether you can? (Laughter).
MR. NG:-I cannot remember but if you want to you can go back and read it again.
MR. CHAN:-I have read and remember it and I know that you don't and you haven't read it. (Laughter).
If you
DR. HUANG-Mr. Chairman, can I ask one question? think it is no good you can rule me out of order. Can I ask the Com- missioner for Resettlement to tell me how long does it take to answer a letter? I have been for several weeks without an answer?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, I must apologize if a letter of this sort has been unanswered, but I would say frankly that my department is much in battle these days for reasons known to all members, and if, indeed, there are delays of this sort, I hope members will bear with us. But it is in a good cause, and as I have said, speaking of the restaurants to which the question refers, we will now deal with these with the extra power to take action.
DR. HUANG:—I want to say one thing more. I have sent to the Commissioner a reminder three weeks ago—still no reply.
MRS. SYMONS:-May I ask a supplementary please? This figure of 299 unlicensed restaurants in Mr. NG's reply and "outstanding general restaurants" which amounts to 115 on page 2 of the monthly report, is the larger figure 299 inclusive of the smaller figure or, in fact, are there 115 plus 299? I don't understand these details.
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