1977 — Page 111

182

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

appearance of duplication of effort as between the voluntary agencies supported by the Urban Council and other Government Departments.

As the New Towns expand, there will be tremendous scope for the planning and building of recreation and sports facilities. In particular, the Country Parks are proving extremely popular during holidays and on weekends for both urban dwellers and New Territories residents alike. Government should expedite its investigation to open up more parks and resort areas in the outlying islands as well.

Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign

Since the commencement of the "Keep Hong Kong Clean Cam- paign" five years ago, a great deal has been accomplished. Many former residents and visitors who have recently returned to Hong Kong have remarked upon the improved cleanliness of our main roads and streets. In fact, some of them are now saying that Hong Kong is cleaner than many other neighbouring cities in Asia.

However there is still room for more improvement, particularly at picnic spots and ungazetted beaches in the New Territories. Also, in many hawker and market areas, especially in Kowloon, new ways must be found to get hawkers to keep their sites and adjacent areas free from litter. Perhaps organizing more cleanliness competitions among hawker areas in the same district might be one way to generate more hawker co-operation.

Perhaps too "Lap Sap Chung" is getting somewhat stale in prod- ding the conscience of the habitual litter offender, and new approaches may be needed to jolt the litterbug into giving wholehearted support to the "Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign".

Furthermore, the time may be ripe for Government and the Urban Council to intensify the existing efforts to make Hong Kong, both in the urban and outlying areas, more green and beautiful. Within the urban areas, the Urban Council has already done a commendable job, but I am sure that much more can still be done by Government to make Hong Kong more green and beautiful without too much additional cost. This is a concept which needs to be more positively supported through- out the entire gamut of the Government administrative machinery.

Hawkers

There are three main groups of hawkers, those in the urban areas for whom the Urban Council is responsible, those operating within Housing Authority estates, and those in the New Territories.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 111 of 174

183

Insofar as the urban areas are concerned, the immediate problem is to increase the number of General Duties Teams, so that the Council can as soon as possible selectively renew the issuance of hawker licenses to long-time hawkers who do not yet have licenses.

Also, something should be done to expedite the markets construc- tion programme so as to as soon as possible take a larger number of hawkers off the roads.

Hawking today, if properly controlled, is a legitimate street-trading business, and the Urban Council has the responsibility to protect all licensed hawkers from unfair competition by unlicensed hawkers.

Furthermore, it is time that the Urban Council comes up with a long-term plan for the reorganizing of the Hawker Permitted areas which were originally set up as temporary unemployment outlets several years ago.

The Urban Council should be seen to be fulfilling its role of stabiliz- ing the hawker situation in the urban areas, in which it is protecting the rights of its licensed hawkers and having a plan to selectively issue new licenses to other long-time hawkers, who are without licenses and who can be allocated approved sites.

At the same time, the Urban Council cannot forsake its wider responsibility to the general public in preventing hawkers from causing serious obstruction, nuisances and pollution in densely crowded streets

or areas.

Urban Services 1976-77 Report

I must confess that I find the 1976-77 Report of the Urban Services Department somewhat confusing, since it combines very closely together the Department's activities in the urban areas and the New Territories. I am sure the general public is equally confused, as they are mostly unaware that the Council's activities cover only the urban areas.

I would suggest that the Director of Urban Services prepare his next annual departmental report in two volumes, one for the urban areas for which the Urban Council has responsibility and the other for the New Territories. Preferably the departmental report for the urban areas should be issued at the same time as the Urban Council's Annual Report, which is 31st of March every year.

Mr. Chairman, I support the Motion.

(Dr. P. C. WONG arrived at this point.)