HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
the question of illegal hawking activities late at night in Wanchai Causeway Bay area was raised. Members had then been advised that there would be more action to be taken to tackle the problem. However, situation has further deteriorated. May the Council be informed what further action is being considered to improve the situation?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this question concerns the action to be taken to tackle illegal hawking activities at night in the Wan Chai Causeway Bay area.
Controlling illegal hawking requires joint multi-departmental efforts for its proper management and effective results. Due to the shortage of manpower, financial, land and other resources the Urban Council cannot solely take up full responsibility for the proper control of all illegal hawking activities. This is particularly so when the General Duties Teams withdraw from the field after their normal shift hours.
Causeway Bay is an area where night hawking activities cannot be effectively handled by the Council alone. Joint USD/Police enforcement operations were regularly planned and mounted in the past whenever resources permitted. However, such joint operations have not been found possible recently because the Police resources have already been over-stretched for reasons that are well-known to us all.
The Department has been monitoring the situation and no serious deterioration in late night hawking activities in Causeway Bay area has been noticed over recent months.
It is hoped that the Police will find it possible to resume joint enforcement operations with USD in the near future to further improve the situation in the area.
MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, since our Open Meeting in April to now, has there been any joint operation against the hawkers? Secondly, the Department as well as the Police now claim that there are not sufficient resources, does it mean that in the near future no action will be taken against illegal hawking at night time in that area?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I cannot provide the information immediately as to whether there have been any joint operations since April this year. But from my reply it has been made clear that recently the Police due to other priority requirements have not been able to conduct joint operation with the Department. As to the second question raised by Mr. CHAM, I have explained that the GDTs perform during normal working hours, up to 10.30 p.m. at night and the Department believes that it has adequate staff to keep the situation under control during its normal shift hours. However, there have been complaints about the situation after 10.30 p.m. at night. As I said a little while ago, I hope that the Department and the Police can get together previously. As Mr. CHAM is aware, I have been in touch with the local District Board and with the Director of Urban Services. I have myself written to the Police hoping for closer co-operation all around to keep the situation even better under control.
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MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, according to understanding, since the meeting in April up to now, there has not been any joint operation against the hawkers. Therefore, my supplementary question is: when will the next joint operation be conducted or should we expect that there will be no solution forthcoming regarding this problem in the near future?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, I myself am very concerned about the situation there. I am hoping that together with Members of the District Board, before the end of the month we could pay an on-the-spot visit to the blackspots, one of which would be the Causeway Bay area in Wan Chai. I believe that the Department has been in liaison with the Police to see how soon it would be possible for joint operations to commence again. As soon as something does happen, I am sure we will keep Mr. CHAM up-to-date on it.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—Mr. Chairman, we spend vast sums of money on control of illegal hawking. Why is it the Urban Council's responsibility and not the Police?
CHAIRMAN (in English):-That is outside the supplementary. Can you rephrase it to come to a real supplementary?
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): --I confine it to the whole Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, I think both the Department and the Select Committee are very much concerned about the support from other Government Departments, especially the Police and it is this aspect of co-operation on which we are working very hard now and we would like to see what action can take place within the coming weeks. I do not speak about other districts in which the co-operation between the Urban Services Department and the Police have been very good; it may vary from district to district and I see no reason why in time that the Urban Council should not get the full co-operation of the Police. I think that is something on which we will have to work very hard at.
8. MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG asked the following question (in Cantonese): Could this Council be informed whether the imaginatively designed Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Boating Park, for which $5.3 million had been spent and was opened to the public in the summer of 1986, is still in operation? If not, what is the future plan for the site?
ן ז'י
72
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
the question of illegal hawking activities late at night in Wanchai Causeway Bay area was raised. Members had then been advised that there would be more action to be taken to tackle the problem. However, situation has further deteriorated. May the Council be informed what further action is being considered to improve
the situation?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this ques- tion concerns the action to be taken to tackle illegal hawking activities at night in the Wan Chai Causeway Bay area.
Controlling illegal hawking requires joint multi-departmental efforts for its proper management and effective results. Due to the shortage of manpower, financial, land and other resources the Urban Council cannot solely take up full responsibility for the proper control of all illegal hawking activities. This is particularly so when the General Duties Teams withdraw from the field after their normal shift hours.
Causeway Bay is an area where night hawking activities cannot be effectively handled by the Council alone. Joint USD/Police enforcement operations were regularly planned and mounted in the past whenever resources permitted. However, such joint operations have not been found possible recently because the Police resources have already been over-stretched for reasons that are well- known to us all.
The Department has been monitoring the situation and no serious deterioration in late night hawking activities in Causeway Bay area has been noticed over recent months.
It is hoped that the Police will find it possible to resume joint enforcement operations with USD in the near future to further improve the situation in the
area.
MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have two supplementary questions. Firstly, since our Open Meeting in April to now, has there been any joint operation against the hawkers? Secondly, the Department as well as the Police now claim that there are not sufficient resources, does it mean that in the near future no action will be taken against illegal hawking at night time in that area?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I cannot provide the information immediately as to whether there have been any joint operations since April this year. But from my reply it has been made clear that recently the Police due to other priority requirements have not been able to conduct joint operation with the Department. As to the second question raised by Mr. CHAM, I have explained that the GDTs perform during normal working hours, up to 10.30 p.m. at night and the Department believes that it has adequate staff to keep the situation under control during its normal shift hours. However, there
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73
have been complaints about the situation after 10.30 p.m. at night. As I said a little while ago, I hope that the Department and the Police can get together previously. As Mr. CHAM is aware, I have been in touch with the
to operate as
local District Board and with the Director of Urban Services. I have myself written to the Police hoping for closer co-operation all around to keep the situation even better under control.
my
MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, according to understanding, since the meeting in April up to now, there has not been any joint operation against the hawkers. Therefore, my supplementary question is: when will the next joint operation be conducted or should we expect that there will be no solution forthcoming regarding this problem in the near future?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, I myself am very concerned about the situation there. I am hoping that together with Members of the District Board, before the end of the month we could pay an on-the-spot visit to the blackspots, one of which would be the Causeway Bay area in Wan Chai. I believe that the Department has been in liaison with the Police to see how soon it would be possible for joint operations to commence again. As soon as something does happen, I am sure we will keep Mr. CHAM up-to-date on it.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—Mr. Chairman, we spend vast sums of money on control of illegal hawking. Why is it the Urban Council's responsibility and not the Police?
CHAIRMAN (in English):-That is outside the supplementary. Can you rephrase it to come to a real supplementary?
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): --I confine it to the whole Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, I think both the Department and the Select Committee are very much concerned about the support from other Government Departments, especially the Police and it is this aspect of co-operation on which we are working very hard now and we would like to see what action can take place within the coming weeks. I do not speak about other districts in which the co-operation between the Urban Services Department and the Police have been very good; it may vary from district to district and I see no reason why in time that the Urban Council should not get the full co-operation of the Police. I think that is something on which we will have to work very hard at.
8. MR. ARTHUR CHAM YAU-TONG asked the following question (in Cantonese): Could this Council be informed whether the imaginatively designed Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Boating Park, for which $5.3 million had been spent and was opened to the public in the summer of 1986, is still in operation? If not, what is the future plan for the site?
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