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premises are found we cannot go forward, even though we have made provision for these two libraries in our next budget.
The Libraries Select Committee hopes that the Housing Authority will co-operate in providing libraries for the well-being of the residents on their estates, by charging a minimum rent for the premises.
Another point I should like to mention is that our Committee intends to make every effort to counteract the influence of bad books for children, by encouraging healthy reading at comparable prices.
We are grateful for donations of books and money for books given by private organizations, thus widening the scope of our library stock.
I cannot omit mention of our library staff. Without their enthusiasm we could not implement our policies, nor expand our library activities. I take this opportunity of thanking them publicly.
Now I should like to turn to some matters in which we, as members of a public body, should be interested and show some concern.
First on my list of priorities is HOUSING. I will begin by saying that I have never ceased to regret that housing was removed from our jurisdiction in 1973, under the pretext that a crash housing programme was only possible under a separate authority. The Council was, and is, quite capable of carrying out a crash housing programme, given the vast resources in money and manpower now at the disposal of the Housing Authority.
Nearly ten years ago we were promised an enormous 10-year programme that would once and for all break the back of the housing shortage. There has indeed been a programme, plagued by delays in completion, delays which never seem to occur in other major construction projects like M.T.R. And while the programme has lagged behind schedule, the Government has taken measures which have aggravated the shortage of housing.
One of these actions has been to allow Hong Kong to become swamped out by illegal immigrants under its stupid and now defunct touch-base policy, a policy which encouraged people to enter by all possible illegal means.
At the same time, the Government has done nothing to protect people living in private tenements, but has allowed to go unpunished every kind of landlord harassment, from the illegal raising of rent and refusal to issue rent receipts, to outright bullying and intimidation of tenants. Only when there is an official court order, after a process that impatient landlords find tedious, only then does the Government give temporary housing assistance to the victimised tenants. The vast number of persons evicted illegally by lawless landlords therefore have to join the ranks of the illegal immigrants and seek housing in illegal huts, usually built by racketeers. Only a blind set of legislators would claim that decontrolling rents of luxury flats will affect only the rich. On the
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contrary, the downward spiral in the quality of housing that people can afford ultimately affects the poorest workers living in tenement rooms.
Therefore, if the Government had a good housing programme for building new estates, it has failed, partly through building delays, partly because the Government has created a situation resulting in countless homeless illegals, and tenement evictees. Having failed to foresee the housing problems caused by its own policies, the Government then compounds the problem by short-sighted policies which give large portions of our public-housing cake to those who do not need it.
Since the housing situation has taken a major turn for the worse, it is surely time for the Housing Authority to make major changes in policy, to make sure that the housing we have is occupied by those who most need it.
I therefore wish to point out some of the policies now crying out for change:
(1) Public housing in my estimation should no longer be a life-long right to those who live there. While I do not wish to create any feeling of insecurity to tenants, I do consider that each tenancy should be reviewed after say seven years of occupancy. If the tenant still has a housing need he should not fear eviction. But if his income has risen considerably, he should be given the chance to buy under the Home Ownership Scheme. If he owns his own property, he should be compelled to give up his public housing to those more in need of it.
(2) The income limits of those applying for public housing should then be raised high enough to include all those unable to purchase their own flats either outright, or by mortgage. The scheme should be worked out to eliminate what has become known as the sandwich society which appears to have no right to public housing yet no way to purchase a flat.
(3) Another area crying out for policy changes is the queue-jumping loophole. Young people living in public housing before marriage should be advised to register for public housing on getting married, and wait for their turn. They should be given no loophole to obtain housing out of turn by the simple process of deleting their names from the tenancy card of their parents and buying a hut or bedspace in premises likely to be involved in a Government clearance. Nor should they get any rehousing privilege except temporary housing if they become involved in a squatter fire, because that policy only encourages carelessness with fire, or even arson. I would therefore suggest that no family should be allocated public housing (except temporary housing) unless that family has a waiting-list number, and then it should be allocated in turn. The proposal may seem harsh, but if we are short of housing, we should allocate it fairly. To cope with hardship cases, an increase in compassionate housing could be made.
As to newcomers to Hong Kong, no encouragement to illegal practices should be offered. Instead, the Government should set aside areas where they
Page 84 of 14
Page 84 of 146-
124
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
premises are found we cannot go forward, even though we have made provision for these two libraries in our next budget.
The Libraries Select Committee hopes that the Housing Authority will co- operate in providing libraries for the well-being of the residents on their estates, by charging a minimum rent for the premises.
Another point I should like to mention is that our Committee intends to make every effort to counteract the influence of bad books for children, by encouraging healthy reading at comparable prices.
We are grateful for donations of books and money for books given by private organizations, thus widening the scope of our library stock.
I cannot omit mention of our library staff. Without their enthusiasm we could not implement our policies, nor expand our library activities. I take this opportunity of thanking them publicly.
Now I should like to turn to some matters in which we, as members of a public body, should be interested and show some concern.
First on my list of priorities is HOUSING. I will begin by saying that I have never ceased to regret that housing was removed from our jurisdiction in 1973, under the pretext that a crash housing programme was only possible under a separate authority. The Council was, and is, quite capable of carrying out a crash housing programme, given the vast resources in money and manpower now at the disposal of the Housing Authority.
Nearly ten years ago we were promised an enormous 10-year programme that would once and for all break the back of the housing shortage. There has indeed been a programme, plagued by delays in completion, delays which never seem to occur in other major construction projects like M.T.R. And while the programme has lagged behind schedule, the Government has taken measures which have aggravated the shortage of housing.
One of these actions has been to allow Hong Kong to become swamped out by illegal immigrants under its stupid and now defunct touch-base policy, a policy which encouraged people to enter by all possible illegal means.
At the same time, the Government has done nothing to protect people living in private tenements, but has allowed to go unpunished every kind of landlord harassment, from the illegal raising of rent and refusal to issue rent receipts, to outright bullying and intimidation of tenants. Only when there is an official court order, after a process that impatient landlords find tedious, only then does the Government give temporary housing assistance to the victimised tenants. The vast number of persons evicted illegally by lawless landlords therefore have to join the ranks of the illegal immigrants and seek housing in illegal huts, usually built by racketeers. Only a blind set of legislators would claim that decontrolling rents of luxury flats will affect only the rich. On the
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 84 of 146
125
contrary, the downward spiral in the quality of housing that people can afford ultimately affects the poorest workers living in tenement rooms.
Therefore, if the Government had a good housing programme for building new estates, it has failed, partly through building delays, partly because the Government has created a situation resulting in countless homeless illegals, and tenement evictees. Having failed to foresee the housing problems caused by its own policies, the Government then compounds the problem by short-sighted policies which give large portions of our public-housing cake to those who do not need it.
Since the housing situation has taken a major turn for the worse, it is surely time for the Housing Authority to make major changes in policy, to make sure that the housing we have is occupied by those who most need it.
I therefore wish to point out some of the policies now crying out for change:
(1) Public housing in my estimation should no longer be a life-long right to those who live there. While I do not wish to create any feeling of insecurity to tenants, I do consider that each tenancy should be reviewed after say seven years of occupancy. If the tenant still has a housing need he should not fear eviction. But if his income has risen considerably, he should be given the chance to buy under the Home Ownership Scheme. If he owns his own property, he should be compelled to give up his public housing to those more in need of it.
(2) The income limits of those applying for public housing should then be raised high enough to include all those unable to purchase their own flats either outright, or by mortgage. The scheme should be worked out to eliminate what has become known as the sandwich society which appears to have no right to public housing yet no way to purchase a flat.
(3) Another area crying out for policy changes is the queue-jumping loophole. Young people living in public housing before marriage should be advised to register for public housing on getting married, and wait for their turn. They should be given no loophole to obtain housing out of turn by the simple process of deleting their names from the tenancy card of their parents and buying a hut or bedspace in premises likely to be involved in a Government clearance. Nor should they get any rehousing privilege except temporary housing if they become involved in a squatter fire, because that policy only encourages carelessness with fire, or even arson. I would therefore suggest that no family should be allocated public housing (except temporary housing) unless that family has a waiting-list number, and then it should be allocated in turn. The proposal may seem harsh, but if we are short of housing, we should allocate it fairly. To cope with hardship cases, an increase in compassionate housing could be made.
As to newcomers to Hong Kong, no encouragement to illegal practices should be offered. Instead, the Government should set aside areas where they
Page 84 of 14
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