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a lot of nuisance. The USD has taken some actions to curb the illegal restaurant extensions in the streets and the initial actions have gained the support of the members of the public as well as the District Boards. I have to find out that the action has been targeting at the licensed operators that extend the operation onto the streets. No action has been taken against the unlicensed food operators. I hope the Department would redress the balance somehow and do something about the second category that I mentioned, otherwise people would accuse the Department of being unfair. I think that such action should continue into the future because the operations have gone down very well and they have benefited members of the public an awful lot and the public at large would like to see these operations continue. Thirdly, I hope that the Department would really be able to step up the publicity and education so that the operators would be made to understand what they are supposed to do and not supposed to do. And also the Department may wish to release the figures about those whose licences have been suspended so as to have a deterrent effect. With these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English): Mr. Chairman, I regret that as I only came back to Hong Kong yesterday, I have nothing new to contribute to this motion. However, I agree with most of the points made by the other councillors that have spoken. It seems to me that the Department wraps up activities of this sort too early in the evening not only in regard to the motion in question, but in regard to illegal hawking generally in Hong Kong. And I shall support this motion.
MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, as regards the Department's action against illegal restaurant extensions in the streets, I am really gratified about the motion. We have seen this problem has been growing increasingly seriously and many people's health is really jeopardized because of the illegal operations. Hong Kong is a place where many people would like to patronize the hawkers or the restaurants on the streets despite a bit unhygienic conditions. We have a lot of barbecue pork and shiumay and lomays and so on, and many of these items are sold uncovered and exposed on the streets. Not only are they standing in the way of passers-by, they are really posing some health hazard. Many of these operations would carry on business until late into the evening. And these illegal extensions would really cause a lot of obstructions and sometimes they just chained up their tables and chairs on the streets near their signboards. This is not something peculiar to Sham Shui Po or any other areas. This is something that happens all over Hong Kong. Sometimes people point an accusing finger at us for being malinger and do nothing about these particular problems. Many of the operators are simply taking chances. They operate illegally so blatantly. They take the chances that we might not have enough manpower to curb them. I think that after these operations after the past months or so, the street has been cleared of these illegal operations. In the middle of the night, it is really distressing to see many tables and chairs, hot pots and so on being operated on the pavements. I am sure that members are fully aware of the situation that I am talking about. I do not have to go into
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detail. I am appreciative of the determination shown by the Department as some previous speakers said a moment ago, this kind of operation should continue well into the future, it should not stop there and then. These kind of operations are going to be very tough on the staff members concerned because they will have to be kept busy into the wee hours of the morning but I think that the Department should give them a better arrangement to take better care of the staff members and we have to really grit our teeth to carry out these kind of operations because we simply cannot allow these villains to carry on with impunity. I support the motion.
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be brief. I have seen this motion and I feel that the law in fact is used to control the law-abiding or the semi-law-abiding people. I am of the opinion that the Department should raid against the illegal food operators particularly those who operate in the evening because they are the people that cause environmental pollution and nuisance. I am in support of this motion and I also wish that the Department can step up operation against unlicensed food operators.
MR. MA LEE-WO (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, as a seconder of this motion, I would like to express my personal opinion. Like other Councillors, we appreciate the good work done by the Department in April. Since I joined the Urban Council in 1989, I have raised these problems in Public Health Select Committee and I am glad to see that this year the Department and the Councillors acted together and took action against this problem. Some members said that after May there had been a marked improvement, I beg to differ on this matter although we have 789 prosecutions since May. Yet the effectiveness made is still far from the targeted aim despite the fact that the raid made at a particular night was effective. I live in Sham Shui Po and I am aware of the environmental problem in Sham Shui Po. After the raid, I inspected Sham Shui Po and discovered that these illegal food stalls still continued to operate on the street at night time. People suggest that for the less serious offenders we should turn a blind eye to their operation, but it is very difficult to say whether the offence is serious enough or not. Also, this cannot be accepted in the eyes of the law. If a person has offended against the law then it is an offence. We cannot say that we can let those less serious offenders go. I think our raiding operation should continue. Councillors have mentioned just now and I like to reiterate the very significant point. Food hygiene, environmental hygiene are important matters. Also, when the food stall operators place the desks and chairs on the streets, pedestrians are forced to walk on vehicular roads and that will cause danger to the road users. And sometimes they extend their business on the road and the patrons to these food stalls illegally park along the food stall and so pedestrians are forced to walk on the road and cause danger to their lives. Also, noise nuisance is another problem. When the patrons of these illegal food stalls patronize the food stall, they talk aloud and this will cause nuisance to the residents living in the vicinity. If members recall, there was a murder case because of these problems. If we do not do anything, then I think that I or all
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a lot of nuisance. The USD has taken some actions to curb the illegal restaurant extensions in the streets and the initial actions have gained the support of the members of the public as well as the District Boards. I have to find out that the action has been targeting at the licensed operators that extend the operation onto the streets. No action has been taken against the unlicensed food operators. I hope the Department would redress the balance somehow and do something about the second category that I mentioned, otherwise people would accuse the Department of being unfair. I think that such action should continue into the future because the operations have gone down very well and they have benefited members of the public awful lot and the public at large would like to see these operations continue. Thirdly, I hope that the Department would really be able to step up the publicity and education so that the operators would be made to understand what they are supposed to do and not supposed to do. And also the Department may wish to release the figures about those whose licences have been suspended so as to have a deterrent effect. With these remarks, I support the motion.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I regret that as I only came back to Hong Kong yesterday, I have nothing new to contribute to this motion. However, I agree with most of the points made by the other councillors that have spoken. It seems to me that the Department wraps up activities of this sort too early in the evening not only in regard to the motion in question, but in regard to illegal hawking generally in Hong Kong. And I shall support this motion.
MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, as regards the Department's action against illegal restaurant extensions in the streets, I am really gratified about the motion. We have seen this problem has been growing increasingly seriously and many people's health is really jeopardized because of the illegal operations. Hong Kong is a place where many people would like to patronize the hawkers or the restaurants on the streets despite a bit unhygienic conditions. We have a lot of barbecue pork and shiumay and lomays and so on, and many of these items are sold uncovered and exposed on the streets. Not only are they standing in the way of passers-by, they are really posing some health hazard. Many of these operations would carry on business until late into the evening. And these illegal extensions would really cause a lot of obstructions and sometimes they just chained up their tables and chairs on the streets near their signboards. This is not something peculiar to Sham Shui Po or any other areas. This is something that happens all over Hong Kong. Sometimes people point an accusing finger at us for being malinger and do nothing about these particular problems. Many of the operators are simply taking chances. They operate illegally so blatantly. They take the chances that we might not have enough manpower to curb them. I think that after these operations after the past months or so, the street has been cleared of these illegal operations. In the middle of the night, it is really distressing to see many tables and chairs, hot pots and so on being operated on the pavements. I am sure that members are fully aware of the situation that I am talking about. I do not have to go into
Page 24 of 126
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detail. I am appreciative of the determination shown by the Department as some previous speakers said a moment ago, this kind of operation should continue well into the future, it should not stop there and then. These kind of operations are going to be very tough on the staff members concerned because they will have to be kept busy into the wee hours of the morning but I think that the Department should give them a better arrangement to take better care of the staff members and we have to really grit our teeth to carry out these kind of operations because we simply cannot allow these villains to carry on with impunity. I support the motion.
MR. RONNIE Wong Man-CHIU (in Cantonese): Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would brief. I have seen this motion and I feel that the law in fact is used to control the law abiding or the semi law abiding people. I am of the opinion that the Department should raid against the illegal food operators particularly those who operate in the evening because they are the people that cause environmental pollution and nuisance. I am in support of this motion and I also wish that the Department can step up operation against unlicensed food operators.
MR. MA LEE-Wo (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, as a seconder of this motion, I would like to express my personal opinion. Like other Councillors, we appreciate the good work done by the Department in April. Since I joined the Urban Council in 1989, I have raised these problems in Public Health Select Committee and I am glad to see that this year the Department and the Councillors acted together and took action against this problem. Some members said that after May there had been a marked improvement, I beg to differ on this matter although we have 789 prosecutions since May. Yet the effectiveness made is still far from targeted aim despite the fact that the raid made at a particular night was effective. I live in Sham Shui Po and I am aware of the environmental problem in Sham Shui Po. After the raid, I inspected Sham Shui Po and discovered that these illegal food stalls still continued to operate on street at night time. People suggest that for the less serious offenders we should turn a blind eye to their operation, but it is very difficult to say whether the offence is serious enough or not. Also, this cannot be accepted in the eyes of the law. If a person has offended against the law then it is an offence. We cannot say that we can let those less serious offenders go. I think our raiding operation should continue. Councillors have mentioned just now and I like to reiterate the very significant point. Food hygiene, environmental hygiene are important matters. Also, when the food stall operators place the desks and chairs on the streets, pedestrians are forced to walk on vehicular roads and that will cause danger to the road users. And sometimes they extend their business on the road and the patrons to these food stall illegally park along the food stall and so pedestrians are forced to walk on the road and cause danger to their lives. Also, noise nuisance is another problem. When the patrons of these illegal food stall patronize the food stall, they talk aloud and this will cause nuisance to the residents living in the vicinity. If members recall, there was murder cases because of these problems. If we do not do anything, then I think that I or all
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