HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. The minutes of last meeting were approved by assumption.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October 1989.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. B. A. BERNACCHI asked the following question (in English):---There has been recently a lot of publicity about the Police helping the USD to control illegal hawking. However, the hawker situation is still bad both on flyovers and outside markets in Chai Wan, particularly outside the Chai Wan Temporary Market. I have heard the Police and the USD are quarrelling over the hours of working, the USD Union complaining about working at night. Is this true, is this producing general confusion? I would like to have this whole thing clarified.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this question concerns police participation in the control of illegal hawking activities and hawker blackspots in the vicinity of the Chai Wan Temporary Market.
Although the bulk of hawker control is undertaken by the Council, it remains a shared responsibility between the Urban Council and the Police. This general principle is not under dispute. There are regular meetings between the Police Regional and the District Commanders and their Urban Services Department counterparts to review hawker problems, to determine hawker blackspots and to plan major joint operations. Occasionally differing views do exist between Urban Services Department and the Police on resources and priorities. The Police have a wide range of responsibilities, and usually may not be able to give hawking a high priority. This fact, Urban Services Department has to acknowledge, but in general, cooperation is good. Admittedly, there was some argument in the past in respect of the control of late night hawking by the two departments. However, the principle that such hawking should be dealt with by joint operations is now by and large accepted. A number of joint operations of this nature have been successfully conducted, in particular in Wan Chai and Mong Kok, and these joint operations will continue.
The hawker problem in Chai Wan, particularly outside the Chai Wan Temporary Market, is admittedly difficult but not completely insurmountable. There are two major hawker blackspots in Chai Wan with a conglomeration of about 15 and 80 illegal hawkers trading respectively at the footbridge over Chai Wan Road Roundabout and in the vicinity of the Chai Wan Temporary Market. The current tactics employed by Urban Services Department to tackle these illegal hawkers are by way of static patrol and raiding operations. Static patrol is carried out every morning during the local peak hawking time, i.e. 7 a.m.-9 a.m., and 2-3 times a week in the afternoon as well. Raiding operations are conducted regularly in the morning before the static patrol starts and in the afternoon when static duties are not performed. In addition, there have been several joint Urban Services Department/Police operations carried out recently in these two blackspots. These two hawker blackspots are now under close observation and enforcement action will be stepped up to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
It is a fact that Urban Services Department's General Duties Team staff do not like late-night hawker control duties, and there have been some operational difficulties. However, Urban Services Department is reviewing the shift pattern and other arrangements, and I hope this review will help to overcome some, if not all of such difficulties in the not too distant future.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the last sentence of the Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee's answer is very vague. Could he be more specific when in fact would it be improved?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I am assured by the Department that the situation will be monitored constantly and given the resources available to the Department the General Duties Teams will do everything they can to keep the situation under control. Apart from that, the Department is in close liaison with the Police in the area to see what joint operations can take place. As Mr. BERNACCHI is aware the General Duties Teams do find it quite difficult to confront resistance of particularly militant hawkers and to maintain hawker control in large hawker congregations. Also there is the possibility of interference of triad elements which do pose threatening situations and potential dangers to the enforcement staff. So under such circumstances, Mr. BERNACCHI will appreciate that the assistance of the Police is very important. Now I would also mention that apart from routine control by General Duties Teams, raiding operations were mounted around hawker blackspots. 122 arrests and 43 seizures were effected in the past three months. Besides, four joint operations with Police have been conducted in the past four weeks with a view to deterring hawkers' activities in the area. So, we will hope that more such types of joint actions will continue.
MR. MA LEE-WO (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I am quite interested in the shift pattern mentioned by Mr. CHEONG-LEEN. We are all aware that the GDTs do not really have sufficient manpower and they have recruitment difficulty as well. So I would like to know under what circumstances, will we be able to achieve the purpose of changing our shift pattern without affecting the efficiency of the
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order. The minutes of last meeting were approved by assumption.
PAPER
The following paper was laid on the table:
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and
Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October 1989.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. B. A. BERNACCHI asked the following question (in English):---There has been recently a lot of publicity about the Police helping the USD to control illegal hawking. However, the hawker situation is still bad both on flyovers and outside markets in Chai Wan, particularly outside the Chai Wan Temporary Market. I have heard the Police and the USD are quarrelling over the hours of working, the USD Union complaining about working at night. Is this true, is this producing general confusion? I would like to have this whole thing clarified.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this question concerns police participation in the control of illegal hawking activities and hawker blackspots in the vicinity of the Chai Wan Temporary Market.
Although the bulk of hawker control is undertaken by the Council, it remains a shared responsibility between the Urban Council and the Police. This general principle is not under dispute. There are regular meetings between the Police Regional and the District Commanders and their Urban Services Department counterparts to review hawker problems, to determinc hawker blackspots and to plan major joint operations. Occasionally differing views do exist between Urban Services Department and the Police on resources and priorities. The Police have a wide range of responsibilities, and usually may not be able to give hawking a high priority. This fact, Urban Services Department has to acknowledge, but in general, cooperation is good. Admittedly, there was some argument in the past in respect of the control of late night hawking by the two departments. However, the principle that such hawking should be dealt with by joint operations is now by and large accepted. A number of joint operations of this nature have been successfully conducted, in particular in Wan Chai and Mong Kok, and these joint operations will continue.
The hawker problem in Chai Wan, particularly outside the Chai Wan Temporary Market, is admittedly difficult but not completely insurmountable. There are two major hawker blackspots in Chai Wan with a conglomeration of
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
151
about 15 and 80 illegal hawkers trading respectively at the footbridge over Chai Wan Road Roundabout and in the vicinity of the Chai Wan Temporary Market. The current tactics employed by Urban Services Department to tackle these illegal hawkers are by way of static patrol and raiding operations. Static patrol is carried out every morning during the local peak hawking time, i.e. 7 a.m.-9 a.m., and 2-3 times a week in the afternoon as well. Raiding operations are conducted regularly in the morning before the static patrol starts and in the afternoon when static duties are not performed. In addition, there have been several joint Urban Services Department/Police operations carried out recently in these two blackspots. These two hawker blackspots are now under close observation and enforcement action will be stepped up to prevent the situation from deteriorating.
It is a fact that Urban Services Department's General Duties Team staff do not like late-night hawker control duties, and there have been some operational difficulties. However, Urban Services Department is reviewing the shift pattern and other arrangements, and I hope this review will help to overcome some, if not all of such difficulties in the not too distant future.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the last sentence of the Chairman of the Markets and Street Traders Select Committee's answer is very vague. Could he be more specific when in fact would it be improved?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I am assured by the Department that the situation will be monitored constantly and given the resources available to the Department the General Duties Teams will do everything they can to keep the situation under control. Apart from that, the Department is in close liaison with the Police in the area to see what joint operations can take place. As Mr. BERNACCHI is aware the General Duties Teams do find it quite difficult to confront resistance of particularly militant hawkers and to maintain hawker control in large hawker congregations. Also there is the possibility of interference of triad elements which do pose threatening situations and potential dangers to the enforcement staff. So under such circumstances, Mr. BERNACCHI will appreciate that the assistance of the Police is very important. Now I would also mention that apart from routine control by General Duties Teams, raiding operations were mounted around hawker blackspots. 122 arrests and 43 seizures were effected in the past three months. Besides, four joint operations with Police have been conducted in the past four weeks with a view to deterring hawkers activities in the area. So, we will hope that more such types of joint actions will continue.
MR. MA LEE-Wo (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I am quite interested in the shift pattern mentioned by Mr. CHEONG-LEEN. We are all aware that the GDTs do not really have sufficient manpower and they have recruitment difficulty as well. So I would like to know under what circumstances, will we be able to achieve the purpose of changing our shift pattern without affecting the efficency of the
Page 81 of 16
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