1997 — Page 236

Urban Council Proceedings 市政局議事錄 All AI Reviewed

Page 236 of 654

HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

235

MR. STANLEY NG WING-FAI (in Cantonese):- In fact, the causes of flooding have been explained in a 1995 study report called 'Improvement works to the storm water diversion system of West Kowloon'. The report reveals that 60% of the storm water drains in West Kowloon are not up to 1995 standards. The need for a major overhaul and the rebuilding of more than 100 kilometres of drains is pointed out. The report also reflects that refuse is the main cause for flooding.

In his reply just now, the Chairman of the Select Committee spoke of 'rice dumplings'. Through my discussions with front-line workers of the Department on flooding, I learnt of this situation of “frying spareribs'. It refers to cleaners heaping up refuse at inlets to drains when cleaning, so that some of the refuse is invariably swept into the drains. This same situation has been reported by the media and similar complaints from citizens have been received.

I would like to know the number of such cases within the purview of the Council in the last three years. According to the information I have in hand, there were only a few cases in Mong Kok for the last three years. If we take that as the average and multiply by 40-odd constituencies, the total figure would be over 100 cases, which is quite serious. Can the Chairman of the Select Committee provide us with some figures on the number of cases reported in the Urban Council areas?

MR. JOSEPH Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I do not have that kind of information in hand. As the question refers to West Kowloon, we only retrieved information of that area. In any case, flooding occurred in West Kowloon, not all over Hong Kong. As far as I know, only a few newly recruited staff members made the above mistake and the management already issued verbal warnings and demanded improvements.

Mr. Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum (in Cantonese):—On flooding, I agree that there may be a multiple of factors. Mainly, there must be problems in planning and enforcement. On planning, I believe reclamation in West Kowloon has necessitated the extension of the drainage system. As a result, the width and inclination of drains have led to serious blockage. On improvement works, they have not been carried out in line with the development of reclamation in West Kowloon. The works are reported to lag behind 5 to 10 years. I must say all these reflect problems in planning.

In the reply, I do not see a positive response from the enforcement angle. The reply paints a satisfactory picture. I wonder if the Chairman of the Select Committee will take both questions back to the Committee for discussion. The first question is whether there is an inter-departmental working group comprising the Urban Services Department, Drainage Services Department, Planning Department and Territory Development Department. If not, will one be set up to discuss the flooding problem and report the outcome by the discussion to the Select Committee?

Page 236 of 654

Edit History

2026-05-16 03:22:25 · NVIDIA / meta/llama-4-maverick-17b-128e-instruct

Live

View comparison

AI Proofread

Page 236 of 654 HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 235 MR. STANLEY NG WING-FAI (in Cantonese):- In fact, the causes of flooding have been explained in a 1995 study report called 'Improvement works to the storm water diversion system of West Kowloon'. The report reveals that 60% of the storm water drains in West Kowloon are not up to 1995 standards. The need for a major overhaul and the rebuilding of more than 100 kilometres of drains is pointed out. The report also reflects that refuse is the main cause for flooding. In his reply just now, the Chairman of the Select Committee spoke of 'rice dumplings'. Through my discussions with front-line workers of the Department on flooding, I learnt of this situation of “frying spareribs'. It refers to cleaners heaping up refuse at inlets to drains when cleaning, so that some of the refuse is invariably swept into the drains. This same situation has been reported by the media and similar complaints from citizens have been received. I would like to know the number of such cases within the purview of the Council in the last three years. According to the information I have in hand, there were only a few cases in Mong Kok for the last three years. If we take that as the average and multiply by 40-odd constituencies, the total figure would be over 100 cases, which is quite serious. Can the Chairman of the Select Committee provide us with some figures on the number of cases reported in the Urban Council areas? MR. JOSEPH Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I do not have that kind of information in hand. As the question refers to West Kowloon, we only retrieved information of that area. In any case, flooding occurred in West Kowloon, not all over Hong Kong. As far as I know, only a few newly recruited staff members made the above mistake and the management already issued verbal warnings and demanded improvements. Mr. Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum (in Cantonese):—On flooding, I agree that there may be a multiple of factors. Mainly, there must be problems in planning and enforcement. On planning, I believe reclamation in West Kowloon has necessitated the extension of the drainage system. As a result, the width and inclination of drains have led to serious blockage. On improvement works, they have not been carried out in line with the development of reclamation in West Kowloon. The works are reported to lag behind 5 to 10 years. I must say all these reflect problems in planning. In the reply, I do not see a positive response from the enforcement angle. The reply paints a satisfactory picture. I wonder if the Chairman of the Select Committee will take both questions back to the Committee for discussion. The first question is whether there is an inter-departmental working group comprising the Urban Services Department, Drainage Services Department, Planning Department and Territory Development Department. If not, will one be set up to discuss the flooding problem and report the outcome by the discussion to the Select Committee? Page 236 of 654 Page 236 of 654

Baseline (Original)

Page 236 of 654 Page 236 of 654 HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL 235 MR. STANLEY NG WING-FAI (in Cantonese):-In fact, the causes of flooding have been explained in a 1995 study report called 'Improvement works to the storm water diversion system of West Kowloon'. The report reveals that 60% of the storm water drains in West Kowloon are not up to 1995 standards. The need for a major overhaul and the rebuilding of more than 100 kilometres of drains is pointed out. The report also reflects that refuse is the main cause for flooding. In his reply just now, the Chairman of the Select Committee spoke of 'rice dumplings'. Through my discussions with front line workers of the Department on flooding. I learnt of this situation of “frying spareribs'. It refers to cleaners heaping up refuse at inlets to drains when cleaning, so that some of the refuse is invariably swept into the drains. This same situation has been reported by the media and similar complaints from citizens have been received. I would like to know the number of such cases within the purview of the Council in the last three years. According to the information I have in hand, there were only a few cases in Mong Kok for the last three years. If we take that as the average and multiply by 40-odd constituencies, the total figure would be over 100 cases, which is quite serious. Can the Chairman of the Select Committee provide us with some figures on the number of cases reported in the Urban Council areas? MR. JOSEPH Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese);—Mr. Chairman, I do not have that kind of information in hand. As the question refers to West Kowloon. we only retrieved information of that area. In any case, flooding occurred in West Kowloon, not all over Hong Kong. As far as I know, only a few newly recruited staff members made the above mistake and the management already issued verbal warnings and demanded improvements. Mr. Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum (în Cantonese):—On flooding. I agree that there may be a multiple of factors. Mainly, there must be problems in planning and enforcement. On planning. I believe reclamation in West Kowloon has necessitated the extension of the drainage system. As a result, the width and inclination of drains have led to serious blockage. On improvement works, they have not been carried out in line with the development of reclamation in West Kowloon. The works are reported to lag behind 5 to 10 years. I must say all these reflect problems in planning. In the reply, I do not see a positive response from the enforcement angle. The reply paints a satisfactory picture. I wonder if the Chairman of the Select Committee will take both questions back to the Committee for discussion. The first question is whether there is a inter-departmental working group comprising the Urban Services Department, Drainage Services Department, Planning Department and Territory Development Department. If not, will one be set up to discuss the flooding problem and report the outcome by the discussion to the Select Committee? Page 236 of 654 Page 236 of 654

2026-05-16 03:22:25 · Baseline

View content

Page 236 of 654

HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL

235

MR. STANLEY NG WING-FAI (in Cantonese):-In fact, the causes of flooding have been explained in a 1995 study report called 'Improvement works to the storm water diversion system of West Kowloon'. The report reveals that 60% of the storm water drains in West Kowloon are not up to 1995 standards. The need for a major overhaul and the rebuilding of more than 100 kilometres of drains is pointed out. The report also reflects that refuse is the main cause for flooding.

In his reply just now, the Chairman of the Select Committee spoke of 'rice dumplings'. Through my discussions with front line workers of the Department on flooding. I learnt of this situation of “frying spareribs'. It refers to cleaners heaping up refuse at inlets to drains when cleaning, so that some of the refuse is invariably swept into the drains. This same situation has been reported by the media and similar complaints from citizens have been received.

MR. JOSEPH Chan Yuek-sut (in Cantonese);—Mr. Chairman, I do not have that kind of information in hand. As the question refers to West Kowloon. we only retrieved information of that area. In any case, flooding occurred in West Kowloon, not all over Hong Kong. As far as I know, only a few newly recruited staff members made the above mistake and the management already issued verbal warnings and demanded improvements.

Mr. Ambrose Cheung Wing-sum (în Cantonese):—On flooding. I agree that there may be a multiple of factors. Mainly, there must be problems in planning and enforcement. On planning. I believe reclamation in West Kowloon has necessitated the extension of the drainage system. As a result, the width and inclination of drains have led to serious blockage. On improvement works, they have not been carried out in line with the development of reclamation in West Kowloon. The works are reported to lag behind 5 to 10 years. I must say all these reflect problems in planning.

In the reply, I do not see a positive response from the enforcement angle. The reply paints a satisfactory picture. I wonder if the Chairman of the Select Committee will take both questions back to the Committee for discussion. The first question is whether there is a inter-departmental working group comprising the Urban Services Department, Drainage Services Department, Planning Department and Territory Development Department. If not, will one be set up to discuss the flooding problem and report the outcome by the discussion to the Select Committee?

1997 — Page 236

Edit History

Comments

Private Research Note