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some years to become almost 'traditional' which also encouraged the speculative vendors to sell more candles than lanterns and thereby increase the tendency of this mis-guided trend. I wonder if the Council has ever done any review of the situation and start to frame some policy or regulations to protect both the genuine style of celebration of the Festival as well as the physical environment of all the open space and recreation areas under its management in the coming years?

MR. CHAN KWOK-MING, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENTERTAINMENT SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):―This question concerns the Council's policy on the control of burning naked candles in public pleasure grounds to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

There are provisions in the Pleasure Grounds (Urban Council) By-laws which can be applied to control the burning of naked candles. However, the department has in the past years tolerated such practice in the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival in order to enhance the festive mood of the occasion. So far the problem has been confined to staining caused by burning wax and the department has been able to have the wax and stains removed effectively by high-pressure jet cleaners. Perhaps this is the time to review the situation and I will undertake to request the department to do so accordingly.

MR. JASON YUEN KING-YUK (in English): Mr. Chairman, I have three very simple supplementary questions.

1. Will this promised review be conducted well before the next Mid-Autumn Festival?

2. Will this review concern not only the question of cleaning but also the question of positively preserving the more authentic style of celebrating this festival of the lanterns as a traditional custom?

3. When and under what circumstances will the Pleasure Grounds By-Laws be exercised to control the burning of naked candles? Will it only be exercised after casualties have occurred?

MR. CHAN KWOK-MING (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank Mr. YUEN for three questions. Firstly, the answer is in the affirmative. Before the next Mid-Autumn Festival we will conduct a review. Secondly, concerning the existing practice, of course we will maintain the present mode of celebration and we will not change the tradition. As regards the third question, I believe an appropriate review will be conducted in due course.

MR. MOK YING-FAN (in Cantonese): My question has been asked by Mr. YUEN.

11. MR. AMBROSE CHEUNG WING-SUM asked the following question (in English):-In view of three new markets in Sham Shui Po District namely Tung Chau Street temporary market, Nam Cheong Street temporary market and Lai Wan Market will all be completing between June 1992 to August 1992, I would like to ask:

# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

(1) What measures will be taken to ensure the viability of these markets will not be affected by illegal hawking activities outside or nearby these markets?

(2) What arrangements have been or will be made to ensure the Department in the said district will have sufficient manpower and resources to carry out any new measures to protect the viability of these markets without adversely affecting their existing duties and responsibilities?

MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):---This question concerns the three new markets which are scheduled to come into operation in Sham Shui Po District in or around September 1992. The first part asks what measures the Department will take to protect the viability of these markets.

Market protection to ensure viability is always a very high departmental priority, particularly in respect of newly opened markets. For more than a decade, it has been the policy that for at least the initial period following the commissioning of any new market, a GDT presence should as far as possible be maintained on static control and enforcement duties around the market. The three markets mentioned in this question will be no exception to this policy and I can confirm the Department's clear intention to protect their viability, as far as practicable and with all available resources, through stringent enforcement action designed to deter illegal hawker activities in their environs.

In addition to the planned GDT market protection measures, in the case of the two temporary markets at Tung Chau Street and Nam Cheong Street respectively, the opportunity will be taken once the nearby wet-goods hawkers have been resited into these markets, to re-order the remaining dry-goods hawkers on-street. The aim will be to transform the existing somewhat congested hawking situation in these localities by bringing the remaining licensed hawkers under firm control through a comprehensive re-ordering scheme. This in turn should make the task of deterring illegal hawking in the vicinity somewhat more manageable.

In respect of the new Lai Wan Market, where there is no licensed hawking in the area, all efforts will be concentrated on deterring illegal hawking in the immediate vicinity through the provision of continuous and enhanced GDT presence in the vicinity of the market during key marketing hours, in addition to the existing GDT raiding operations regularly mounted in and around Mei Foo Sun Chuen area.

The second part of this question concerns the arrangements to ensure a sufficiency of manpower and resources to protect the viability of these three new markets without adversely affecting existing duties and resources. Firstly, I am assured that the Department will continue to make every effort to optimise the use of its resources with a view to keeping the hawking situation under control in Sham Shui Po and in all other districts. However, even with these new markets, Sham Shui Po will still have a very large hawking population, both legal and unlicensed, and it is essential that the Department maintains a balanced deployment of resources to meet all its various commitments.

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