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families living in these have also been offered estate In all, a total of 1,351 licensees have so far been offered rehousing from this area alone. Public housing is being offered to a total of some 21,000 people whose huts are now regarded as being at risk and therefore must be cleared, but only a few thousand will be taken into resettlement estates; the great majority will be rehoused in Low Cost Housing Estates. About 7,500 are from Tai Hang Sai, 2,000 from Mission Hill and 1,000 are from Sai Cho Wan. 4,000 are from various areas in Hong Kong Island and 2,000 from Tsuen Wan. The remaining 4,500 are from various parts of Kowloon Just to make a personal statement here as I did at the beginning of this meeting. We have a lot of sympathy for these people suffering, but on that night I saw people in Terrace 1, Terrace 2 and Terrace 3 resite area properly accommodated in temporary shelter on that particular night, and both the Resettlement Department and the Social Welfare Department worked all night up to the next morning to see that they are properly housed.
MRS. ELLIOTT-Mr. Chairman, does the last paragraph about the various places where people are being resettled, does it include the people, if this is not too technical, in Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Could I have the question again please.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-You mentioned various places from which people are being resettled because of danger, do you know if that includes Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong, where people have also complained?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-I think the Hong Ning Road site has been checked and rechecked by the Works Division in conjunction with the Public Works Department, and if these two divisions of expert people do recommend that they should be rehoused, they will be considered subject to the confirmation of the Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Yes, Mr. Chairman, I think those who are included in these figures know that they are included. They have all been initially screened and if the people in that area have been so screened then they are eligible eventually to be moved out of that area. If they have not been so screened, or rather if they have not been initially screened, we may assume that their area has not been found dangerous.
MRS. ELLIOTT: May I ask that some check be made at Hong Ning Road because people are complaining that they are still knee deep in water?
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MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, how many people have been offered accommodation at Pak Tin estate. Could the Commissioner or the Select Committee Chairman tell us?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I am sorry Mr. Chairman, I am still thinking about Mrs. ELLIOTT's interesting question. Could that question be repeated please?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-How many people have been offered accommodation in Pak Tin estate from this 21,000?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-None, Mr. Chairman.
MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask a supplementary? first paragraph, 1,351 licensees, it means 1,351 families?
In the
MR. C. K. CHAN:-I think it is 1,351 persons, it may be 100, or more than 100 families, but of course you know that a child under 10 is considered half as far as space is offered.
MR. HU:-I am sorry, I would like to ask another question. This 21,000 people being offered Government housing, are those people from the resite areas?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Yes, these are the resites we have mentioned, Mission Hill, Tai Hang Sai, Sai Cho Wan.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, could I just supplement Mr. CHAN's reply, and from other areas too, squatter areas and including some cottage areas.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I now have an answer to my question? Could Hong Ning Road be checked because a few days ago they said they were still knee deep in water?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I think it has been checked. If it has not been checked I will see that it is so done.
MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask one supplementary? What makes the Resettlement Select Committee or Resettlement Department to settle these 21,000 people, is there any reason for doing that at this stage?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I am surprised, Mr. Chairman. I can only assume from Mr. Hu's question that our public relation attempts are a dramatic failure. If you have read the press in recent weeks you will have seen that they are full of reports about areas being at risk, of engineering surveys being done in these particular areas. This
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rooms.
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families living in these have also been offered estate In all, a total of 1,351 licensees have so far been offered rehousing from this area alone. Public housing is being offered to a total of some 21,000 people whose huts are now regarded as being at risk and therefore must be cleared, but only a few thousand will be taken into resettlement estates; the great majority will be rehoused in Low Cost Housing Estates. About 7,500 are from Tai Hang Sai, 2,000 from Mission Hill and 1,000 are from Sai Cho Wan. 4,000 are from various areas in Hong Kong Island and 2,000 from Tsuen Wan. The remaining 4,500 are from various parts of Kowloon Just to make a personal statement here as I did at the beginning of this meeting. We have a lot of sympathy for these people suffering, but on that night I saw people in Terrace 1, Terrace 2 and Terrace 3 resite area properly accommodated in temporary shelter on that particular night, and both the Resettlement Department and the Social Welfare Department worked all night up to the next morning to see that they are properly housed.
MRS. ELLIOTT-Mr. Chairman, does the last paragraph about the various places where people are being resettled, does it include the people, if this is not too technical, in Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Could I have the question again please.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-You mentioned various places from which people are being resettled because of danger, do you know if that includes Hong Ning Road, Kwun Tong, where people have also complained?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-I think the Hong Ning Road site has been checked and rechecked by the Works Division in conjunction with the Public Works Department, and if these two divisions of expert people do recommend that they should be rehoused, they will be considered subject to the confirmation of the Commissioner.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: -Yes, Mr. Chairman, I think those who are included in these figures know that they are included. They have all been initially screened and if the people in that area have been so screened then they are eligible eventually to be moved out of that area. If they have not been so screened, or rather if they have not been initially screened, we may assume that their area has not been found dangerous.
MRS. ELLIOTT: May I ask that some check be made at Hong Ning Road because people are complaining that they are still knee deep in water?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
131
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, how many people have been offered accommodation at Pak Tin estate. Could the Commissioner or the Select Committee Chairman tell us?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I am sorry Mr. Chairman, I am still thinking about Mrs. ELLIOTT's interesting question. Could that question be repeated please?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-How many people have been offered accom- modation in Pak Tin estate from this 21,000?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-None, Mr. Chairman.
MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask a supplementary? first paragraph, 1,351 licensees, it means 1,351 families?
In the
MR. C. K. CHAN:-I think it is 1,351 persons, it may be 100, or more than 100 families, but of course you know that a child under 10 is considered half as far as space is offered.
MR. HU:---I am sorry, I would like to ask another question. This 21,000 people being offered Government housing, are those people from the resite areas?
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Yes, these are the resites we have mentioned, Mission Hill, Tai Hang Sai, Sai Cho Wan.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, could I just supplement Mr. CHAN's reply, and from other areas too, squatter areas and including some cottage areas.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I now have an answer to my question? Could Hong Ning Road be checked because a few days ago they said they were still knee deep in water?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I think it has been checked. If it has not been checked I will see that it is so done.
MR. HU:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask one supplementary? What makes the Resettlement Select Committee or Resettlement Department to settle these 21,000 people, is there any reason for doing that at this stage?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I am surprised, Mr. Chair- man. I can only assume from Mr. Hu's question that our public relation attempts are a dramatic failure. If you have read the press in recent weeks you will have seen that they are full of reports about areas being at risk, of engineering surveys being done in these particular areas. This
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