Page 181
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I would like to draw Members' attention to the purpose of the proposed amendments to the Hawker By-laws. These are to allow the Council to regulate the hours during which hawkers may operate in Hawker Permitted Areas. This has been brought forward at this time as a matter arising out of the forthcoming experimental scheme, but is a power which it is desirable for Council to have in any case.
The provisions in the current By-laws allow times of operation to be specified in individual licences. However, Council will have better control if operating hours are laid down for specific areas rather than for individual licences.
In view of this matter arising out of the Hawker Permitted Street exercise, I think that I ought at the same time briefly give the background to this scheme, as there has been considerable misunderstanding over it.
The scheme is designed to:
(a) give anyone who wishes to hawk on a mobile basis a place in which to do so with little or no formalities by creating Hawker Permitted Streets.
(b) Restrict hawking activities to a limited number of streets so that the effect on shopkeepers, transport, and other forms of economic activity, etc. is kept to a minimum by the creation of "Cordons Sanitaires".
(c) Recognize that longstanding hawkers with pitches, even in "Cordons Sanitaires", shall be allowed to continue trading as before.
Only a limited number of streets in a few areas have been chosen initially for this scheme, as we are experimenting. (Dr. Denny M. H. HUANG and Mr. Peter P. K. NG left the meeting at this point.) One of the most difficult problems is to balance the legitimate rights of businessmen and shopkeepers with the aspirations of hawkers, and we are looking at this carefully. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by rationing trading hours so that business and shops can flourish unimpeded by hawkers at various times of the day when hawking will not be allowed.
I must repeat that the intention of the scheme is not to give additional hawkers rights to permanently alienate a section of street, but to allow them to trade on a mobile basis during certain hours, and any new stalls or goods which are left on the street after the gazetted trading hours, which will be displayed on the street signs, will be seized.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
321
The Hawkers Select Committee has visited all the areas involved, and has also agreed to a small extension of the areas in a few places where there appears to be insufficient space for those who wish to hawk.
The streets proposed for the experiment, together with the hours proposed, are tabled in Appendix II.
MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, as this motion is for the benefit of those people who are not employed, this is one of the good measures of our Council. I hope that we can issue a time-limit licence to all those people wishing to hawk. This would make it easier to control them, and we must pay attention to those people collecting bribes so that they will not increase the burden of the hawkers and not lose revenue. But anyway, I support this motion and I second it.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the purpose of these amendments is to enable the designation, as Mr. Hu has said, of a substantial number of streets as Permitted Areas for unlicensed hawking during specified hours of each day. The effect of this scheme must be to set back the Council's policy on hawker control by at least 5 years in almost all of its major objectives.
I am not opposed, in principle, to creating Hawker Permitted Areas on an experimental and controlled basis as originally envisaged. However, I must express serious disquiet on the scheme as it is now being presented to the Council.
The proposition of free hawker zones was first made to Council by an Assumption Paper dated 24th September, 1974, itself a remarkable way in which to present a major policy consideration for the approval of Members. At the time, the Hawkers Select Committee asked for endorsement of an "Experimental Scheme". It was indicated that this was a pilot project to be carried out on a restricted scale, which would be the subject of careful assessment before changes in law or policy were introduced.
In fact, the scheme is extending now to 23 streets, with the promise or threat of additional streets being available; to my mind, this no longer constitutes an experimental scheme. The Hawker Area Scheme has been launched prematurely, partly because of the worsening of the economic situation and partly, also, because of leakage of information from this Council. The immediate results were evident in the remarkable scenes witnessed in Shun Ning Road, Sham Shui Po, on the morning of 20th
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Page 181 of 18
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I would like to draw Members' attention to the purpose of the proposed amendments to the Hawker By-laws. These are to allow the Council to regulate the hours during which hawkers may operate in Hawker Permitted Areas. This has been brought forward at this time as a matter arising out of the forthcoming experimental scheme, but is a power which it is desirable for Council to have in any case.
The provisions in the current By-laws allow times of operation to be specified in individual licences. However, Council will have better control if operating hours are laid down for specific areas rather than for individual licences.
In view of this matter arising out of the Hawker Permitted Street exercise, I think that I ought at the same time briefly give the back- ground to this scheme, as there has been considerable misunderstanding over it.
The scheme is designed to:
(a) give any one who wish to hawk on a mobile basis a place in which to do so with little or no formalities by creating Hawker Permitted Streets.
(b) Restrict hawking activities to a limited number of streets so that the effect on shopkeepers transport and other forms of economic activity etc. is kept to a minimum by the creation of "Cordons Sanitaires".
(c) Recognize that longstanding hawkers with pitches even in "Cordons Sanitaires" shall be allowed to continue trading as before.
Only a limited number of streets in a few areas have been chosen initially for this scheme, as we are experimenting. (Dr. Denny M. H. HUANG and Mr. Peter P. K. NG left the meeting at this point.) One of the most difficult problems is to balance the legitimate rights of businessmen and shopkeepers with the aspirations of hawkers and we are looking at this carefully. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by rationing trading hours so that business and shops can flourish unimpeded by hawkers at various times of the day when hawking will not be allowed.
I must repeat that the intention of the scheme is not to give additional hawkers rights to permanently alienate a section of street, but to allow them to trade on a mobile basis during certain hours and any now stalls or goods which are left on the street after the gazetted trading hours, which will be displayed on the street signs, will be seized.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
321
The Hawkers Select Committee has visited all the areas involved, and has also agreed to a small extension of the areas in a few places where there appears to be insufficient space for those who wish to hawk.
The streets proposed for the experiment together with the hours Appendix II proposed are tabled.
MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, as this motion is for the benefit of those people who are not employed, this is one of the good measures of our Council. I hope that we can issue a time limit licence to all those people wishing to hawk. This would make it easier to control them and we must pay attention to those people collecting bribes so that they will not increase the burden of the hawkers and not to lose revenue. But any way, I support this motion and I second it.
MR. JOHN MACKENZIE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, the purpose of these amendments is to enable the designation as Mr. Hu has said of a substantial number of streets as Permitted Areas for unlicensed hawking during specified hours of each day. The effect of this scheme must be to set back the Council's policy on hawker control by at least 5 years in almost all of its major objectives.
I am not opposed, in principle, to creating Hawker Permitted Areas on an experimental and controlled basis as originally envisaged. However, I must express serious disquiet on the scheme as it is how being presented to the Council.
The proposition of free hawker zones was first made to Council by an Assumption Paper dated 24th September, 1974 itself a remark- able way in which to present a major policy consideration for the approval of Members. At the time the Hawkers Select Committee asked for endorsement of an "Experimental Scheme". It was indicated this was a pilot project to be carried out on a restricted scale which would be the subject of careful assessment before change in law or policy were introduced.
In fact, the scheme is extending now to 23 streets with the promise or threat of additional street being available, to my mind, no longer constitute an experimental scheme. Hawker Area Scheme has been launched prematurely, partly because of the worsening of the economic situation and partly, also, because of leakage of information from this Council. The immediate results were evident in the remarkable scenes witnessed in Shunning Road, Sham Shui Po on the morning of 20th
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.