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Shing Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road. At present GDT static and patrol duties are performed in Tai Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on a daily basis. Raid operations are also carried out between noon and 4 p.m. In the past 10 months, a total of 854 raids resulting in 777 arrests and 265 seizures have been effected by the GDT in Tai Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and the surrounding areas.
The fourth question concerns further action to improve the situation in Tai Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road. While GDT enforcement action will continue and where necessary stepped up, joint USD/Police action will be carried out to improve the situation.
MR. FUNG KWONG-CHUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, from Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's answer, it is learned that the GDTs in the Tai Tung Street, Tai Shing Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road usually start work mainly in the morning from 8 a.m. to noon and also from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. I don't think it is very effective. It is not able to solve the problem of illegal hawking before 8 a.m. in the morning because these hawkers usually start their businesses very early at 6 o'clock in the morning. They take up pedestrian walkways and also the pavements and they obstruct pedestrians who have to walk onto the roads thus creating pedestrian and vehicular conflicts. I hope something concrete must be done to solve the problem. I would like to ask could the GDTs' duty hours be advanced, so that the situation can be better improved and students can gain easy access to the schools and the general public can walk on the pavements?
(Mr. Paul YOUNG Tze-kong left the meeting at 3:50 p.m.)
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I do appreciate the point raised, but this is quite complicated and it relates not solely to the control of unlicensed hawkers, it also has to do with the control of licensed hawkers. The whole question of the future of the GDT organization which includes the question of manning ratio is now under very active consideration. I understand that the package of improvement proposals will be considered by the Working Group on Hawker Control and this package of improvements will be put forward to the Committee concerned during the month of December this year for consideration. I would also mention that there are also other hawker blackspots in Wong Tai Sin. In fact, there are 20 hawker blackspots in Wong Tai Sin District, for example, Sha Tin Pass Road, Lung Cheung Road, Lung Cheung Road in front of Wong Tai Sin Temple, junction of Lok Sin Road and Yuk Kwan Street, and Social Avenue. I do realize the problem is involved, but we hope that we can get additional resources, so that improvement to the situation can take place in the future.
14.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK asked the following question (in English):—As the historic KCR Clock Tower and the new Hong Kong Cultural Centre have now been successfully integrated and blended together to become one of the most unique landmarks in Hong Kong and have been commonly and respectively symbolizing a very significant medium for the cultural exchange of the East and the West, in the PAST and in the FUTURE, I wish to ask when will the Council allow the KCR Clock Tower be declared a monument (historic building) so that the historic continuity of the same symbol can be secured for the public?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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MR. LO KING-MAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, Councillor YUEN's question concerns the possible declaration of the former Kowloon Canton Railway Station Clock Tower as a historical building alias a monument.
I understand that our executive arm, the Urban Services Department has on the 20th of October received a request from the Antiquities and Monuments Office requesting our consideration to have this particular Clock Tower declared a monument. According to our usual practice, the Department will analyse the implications of this particular request and the request itself together with whatever view the Department may have, to be presented to the Culture Select Committee for consideration. I understand that in this matter, there are varieties of ramifications to be considered and I can pledge here that the Culture Select Committee will be duly considering the issue in detail.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK (in English):—Mr. Chairman, may I ask two supplementary questions? No. 1, may I know how soon will this subject be put up in the agenda of the Culture Select Committee for discussion? Can there be a rough indication of time frame because as I know that this is not the first time that the Antiquities and Monuments Office had ever put up such a request. Question No. 2 is: in the meantime, who is responsible for the proper maintenance of the structure as well as the Clock mechanism till the day when the declaration can be made and whether such maintenance is up to the preservation standard as required?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in English):—Well, the first supplementary question concerns timing. As I have indicated already in my main reply, we have only as I understand received a request addressed to the Department on the 20th of October, so I think at this point, I must allow time for the Department to analyse the particular ramification of this request and I think the earliest would be about the third week of this month, that's the earliest possible time when the Culture Select Committee would consider the issue. Otherwise, I would expect that probably the latter part of December. But it all depends on exactly what the request is involved and this leads to the second question. To be honest without the particular details before me, I cannot answer the exact question. But it is in fact this type of ramification that has to be studied and the study of this question would obviously occupy time and that reflects back on the first supplementary question. Thank you.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK (in English):—I believe that this question must be in the good hand of the Culture Select Committee's Chairman.
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170
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Shing Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road. At present GDT static and patrol duties are performed in Ta Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on a daily basis. Raid operations are also carried out between noon and 4 p.m. In the past 10 months, a total of 854 raids resulting in 777 arrests and 265 seizures have been effected by the GDT in Tai Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and the surrounding areas.
The fourth question concerns further action to improve the situation in Tai Shing Street, Tai Tung Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road. While GDT enforcement action will continue and where necessary stepped up, joint USD/Police action will be carried out to improve the situation.
MR. FUNG KWONG-CHUNG (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, from Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's answer, it is learned that the GDTs in the Tai Tung Street, Tai Shing Street and Tung Tau Tsuen Road usually start work mainly in the morning from 8 a.m. to noon and also from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. I don't think it is very effective. It is not able to solve the problem of illegal hawking before 8 a.m. in the morning because these hawkers usually start their businesses very early at 6 o'clock in the morning. They take up pedestrian walkways and also the pavements and they obstruct pedestrians who have to walk onto the roads thus creating pedestrian and vehicular conflicts. I hope something concrete must be done to solve the problem. I would like to ask could the GDTs duty hours be advanced, so that the situation can be better improved and students can gain easy access to the schools and the general public can walk on the pavements?
(Mr. Paul YOUNG Tze-kong left the meeting at 3.50 p.m.)
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I do appreciate the point raised, but this is quite complicated and it relates not solely to the control of unlicensed hawkers, it also has to do with the control of licensed hawkers. The whole question of the future of the GDT organization which includes the question of manning ratio is now under very active consideration. I understand that the package of improvement proposals will be considered by the Working Group on Hawker Control and this package of improvements will be put forward to the Committee concerned during the month of December this year for consideration. I would also mention that there are also other hawker blackspots in Wong Tai Sin. In fact, there are 20 hawker blackspots in Wong Tai Sin District, for example, Sha Tin Pass Road, Lung Cheung Road, Lung Cheung Road in front of Wong Tai Sin Temple, junction of Lok Sin Road and Yuk Kwan Street, and Social Avenue. I do realize the problem is involved, but we hope that we can get additional resources, so that improvement to the situation can take place in the future.
14.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK asked the following question (in English):— As the historic KCR Clock Tower and the new Hong Kong Cultural Centre have now been successfully integrated and blended together to become one of the most
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
171
unique landmarks in Hong Kong and have been commonly and respectively symbolizing a very significant medium for the cultural exchange of the East and the West, in the PAST and in the FUTURE, I wish to ask when will the Council allow the KCR Clock Tower be declared a monument (historic building) so that the historic continuity of the same symbol can be secured for the public?
MR. LO KING-MAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, Councillor YUEN's question concerns the possible declaration of the former Kowloon Canton Railway Station Clock Tower as historical building alias a monument.
I understand that our executive arm, the Urban Services Department has on the 20th of October received a request from the Antiquities and Monuments Office requesting our consideration to have this particular Clock Tower to be declared a monument. According to our usual practice, the Department will analyse the implications of this particular request and the request itself together with whatever view the Department may have, to be presented to the Culture Select Committee for consideration. I understand that in this matter, there are varieties of ramifications to be considered and I can pledge here that the Culture Select Committee will be duly considering the issue in detail.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK (in English):--Mr. Chairman, may I ask two supplementary questions? No. 1, may I know how soon will this subject be put up in the agenda of the Culture Select Committee for discussion? Can there be a rough indication of time frame because as I know that this is not the first time that the Antiquities and Monuments Office had ever put up such a request. Question No. 2 is: in the mean time, who is responsible for the proper maintenance of the structure as well as the Clock mechanism till the day when the declaration can be made and whether such maintenance is up to the preservation standard as required?
MR. LO KING-MAN (in English):--Well, the first supplementary question concerns timing. As I have indicated already in my main reply, we have only as I understand received a request addressed to the Department on the 20 of October, so I think at this point, I must allow time for the Department to analyse the particular ramification of this request and I think the earliest would be about the third week of this month, that's the earliest possible time when the Culture Select Committee would consider the issue. Otherwise, I would expect that probably the latter part of December. But it all depends on exactly what the request is involved and this leads to the second question. To be honest without the particular details before me, I cannot answer the exact question. But it is in fact this type of ramification that has to be studied and the study of this question would obviously occupy time and that reflects back on the first supplementary question. Thank you.
MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK (in English):—-I believe that this question must be in the good hand of the Culture Select Committee's Chairman.
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