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night but not so often in the daytime. What measures are being taken to deal with such problem under the present Council policy?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):—This question asks what measures are taken to deal with illegal cooked food hawkers.
Illegal cooked food hawkers outside schools, cinemas, swimming pools, beaches, ferry concourses and bus termini etc. tend to have their own different trading hours which vary with peak demand. The peak trading time of illegal cooked food hawkers thus varies from locality to locality. For example, in the Kwun Tong industrial area their peak trading hours are the midday lunch hours; whilst in Mong Kok they are most active in the late hours at night, even up to and after midnight.
For these reasons, in planning enforcement action the district General Duties Teams have to be flexible in their operational hours to cope with the local trading time of these hawkers.
It is sometimes necessary for some districts to extend the General Duties Team operational hours, whenever required, to beyond midnight to deal with the illegal cooked food hawkers.
With the advent of the hot summer season which has already arrived, when food-borne diseases are prevalent, the Department has taken steps to accord the highest possible priority to the control of illegal cooked-food hawkers. A special squad has been formed and deployed in each district to focus action against these hawkers in the known popular areas where they habitually operate.
When circumstances justify it, police escorts are requested and provided; they work jointly with the General Duties Team in raiding illegal cooked-food hawkers.
MR. LAM CHAK-PIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I am glad to hear that in the coming season, attention will be paid to the problem. Actually in some areas where the illegal hawkers operate, there are various conditions. For some hawkers the peak hours are in the morning but according to Mr. LEE, these hawkers are not in large numbers. In the evening and at night, a large number of illegal cooked food hawkers occupy spaces on the pavements and also make the street dirty. These cooked food stalls have tables and chairs and they even steal electricity from nearby premises to install large electric fans. Personally, I think in the coming season, we should step up our efforts in safeguarding public health especially in the evening and at night so I hope that our Select Committee will take action to deal with these illegal hawkers.
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I regard that it is a question. I think Mr. LAM as the Vice-Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee should be clear about the situation. I think he is asking about a policy matter. Since he does not specify an area and he is just speaking in general terms about the evening operation of hawkers, it is hard to make comparison. As I have said, in factory areas midday is the peak period while in tourists zones the evening is the peak period. Unless we have specific complaints, we will take uniform action both during the day time and in the evening. As the summer season is approaching and because of disease problems, the department has actually accorded top priority to this kind of operation.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask what are in general the operational hours of the GDTs?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, since the GDT members are civilian team members, their working hours are the same as those civilian staff which range from 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening. But I would like to reiterate that the GDT members may work flexi-time and we are going to have some studies in this regard. Of course, we will have more staff in the day time but we will be more flexible.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, since generally the operational hours of GDT follow those for the civilian staff, when the GDT members go off duty, many illegal hawkers become active in many areas. I wonder if the Council will consider changing the duty hours of the GDT members because of this situation?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, in my reply I have said that, at present, the working hours of the GDT members are very flexible. Before the implementation of the policies laid down by the Working Party to Review and Related Policies, arrangements have already been made for members of GDTs to have flexible operational hours. In the longer term, I think we have to wait for the Report and there may be new ideas.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a question. I wonder if Mr. LEE can give us some figures to show that when GDT members carry out their duties, they are really trying their best to implement Council's policy during the day time and in the evening?
CHAIRMAN (in English): You can give a hypothetical answer if you like.
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I think the Council does not have any indicator to gauge people's effort. We don't have this kind of figure.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in English): Mr. Chairman, for example prosecution records in the evening times for hawkers.
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night but not so often in the daytime. What measures are being taken to deal with such problem under the present Council policy?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET Traders Select COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-This question asks what measures are taken to deal with illegal cooked food hawkers.
Illegal cooked food hawkers outside schools, cinemas, swimming pools, beaches, ferry concourses and bus termini etc. tend to have their own different trading hours which vary with peak demand. The peak trading time of illegal cooked food hawkers thus varies from locality to locality. For example, in the Kwun Tong industrial area their peak trading hours are the midday lunch hours; whilst in Mong Kok they are most active in the late hours at night, even up to and after midnight.
For these reasons, in planning enforcement action the district General Duties Teams have to be flexible in their operational hours to cope with the local trading time of these hawkers.
It is sometimes necessary for some districts to extend the General Duties Team operational hours, whenever required, to beyond midnight to deal with the illegal cooked food hawkers.
With the advent of the hot summer season which has already arrived, when food-borne diseases are prevalent, the Department has taken steps to accord the highest possible priority to the control of illegal cooked-food hawkers. A special squad has been formed and deployed in each district to focus action against these hawkers in the known popular areas where they habitually operate.
When circumstances justify it, police escorts are requested and provided; they work jointly with the General Duties Team in raiding illegal cooked-food hawkers.
MR. LAM CHAK-PIU (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I am glad to hear that in the coming season, attention will be paid to the problem. Actually in some areas where the illegal hawkers operate, there are various conditions. For some hawkers the peak hours are in the morning but according to Mr. LEE, these hawkers are not in large numbers. In the evening and at night, a large number of illegal cooked food hawkers occupy spaces on the pavements and also make the street dirty. These cooked food stalls have tables and chairs and they even steal electricity from nearby premises to install large electric fans. Personally, I think in the coming season, we should step up our efforts in safequarding public health especilly in the evening and at night so I hope that our Select Committee will take action to deal with these illegal hawkers.
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I regard that it is a question. I think Mr. LAM as the Vice-Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee should be clear about the situation. I think he is
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asking about a policy matter. Since he does not specify an area and he is just speaking in general terms about the evening operation of hawkers, it is hard to make comparison. As I have said, in factory areas midday is the peak period while in tourists zones the evening is the peak period. Unless we have specific complaints, we will take uniform action both during the day time and in the evening. As the summer season is approaching and because of disease problems, the department has actually accorded top priority to this kind of operation.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask what are in general the operational hours of the GDTs?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, since the GDT members are civilian team members, their working hours are the same as those civilian staff which range from 8 in the morning to 6 in the evening. But I would like to reiterate that the GDT members may work flexi-time and we are going to have some studies in this regard. Of course, we will have more staff in the day time but we will be more flexible.
MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, since generally the operational hours of GDT follow those for the civilian staff, when the GDT members go off duty, many illegal hawkers become active in many areas. I wonder if the Council will consider changing the duty hours of the GDT menbers because of this situation?
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, in my reply I have said that, at present, the working hours of the GDT members are very flexible. Before the implementation of the policies laid down by the Working Party to Review and Related Policies, arrangements have already been made for members of GDTs to have flexible operational hours. In the longer term, I think we have to wait for the Report and there may be new ideas.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a question. I wonder if Mr. LEE can give us some figures to show that when GDT members carry out their duties, they are really trying their best to implement Council's policy during the day time and in the evening?
CHAIRMAN (in English): You can give a hypothetical answer if you like.
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I think the Council does not have any indicator to gauge people's effort. We don't have this kind of figure.
MR. L. H. KWAN (in English): Mr. Chairman, for example prosecution records in the evening times for hawkers.
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