654
SH
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
He said in Cantonese):-My motion today is 'RESOLVED that the Council freeze charges for one year, including licence fees, venue hire charges and market stall rentals, etc in order not to increase the burden of different businesses and trades and the living expenses of citizens.'
In October last year, Hong Kong was hit by the Asian financial turmoil. Since then, the stock market has plummeted, interest rates have soared, and the property market has plunged, with all the industrial and commercial businesses suffering a downturn and the market conditions weakening. The economy is deteriorating every day. In less than a few months, a lot of enterprises have retrenched their staff, many companies have closed down and a number of shops have been forced out of business. The rate of unemployment has been rising. Workers are worried that they would lose their jobs anytime while businessmen find it increasingly difficult to keep their business. However, the aftershock of the financial turmoil still lingers and it is hard to tell when it will end. Hong Kong's economy remains weak and the people are worried that the difficult times are here to stay for quite a while.
In these hours of distress, the Government's first and foremost task should be to assure the people of Hong Kong that we will tide over the financial crisis. It should implement concrete measures to protect the public from additional burden. It should allay their plight and work closely with them in order to weather the difficulties.
So far, the Hong Kong Housing Society has announced that the rents of its 14 estates will be frozen for one year. The Housing Authority has also endorsed the proposal to freeze the rents of a number of estates as well as the rents of the shops and market stalls in all of its estates. The possibility of rent reduction has also been raised.
The Urban Council is one of the two major providers of municipal services in Hong Kong and is therefore closely related to the livelihood of the people. I consider that the Council should take the lead in freezing charge increases by shelving increases in the hire charges of its venues and facilities, so as to allay the people's plight and also as an indication of our concern. The purpose of freezing increases in the various licence fees is to alleviate the operators' burden so that they have the drive to tide over these difficult times and have more space for survival, which will indirectly contribute to the well-being of society.
As the operator of a food catering business, I am fully aware of the difficulties the food business in Hong Kong is facing. The investors and operators in this field are already suffering from exorbitant rents, high sewage charges and escalating costs of wages and materials. With the spending power further diminishing because of the economic setback, gone are the days when queues were seen in restaurants. Under such circumstances, a lot of restaurants have been forced out of business while others are on the verge of closure.
£654
Page 550
Page 551
Page 551 of 654
654
SH
HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
He said in Cantonese):-My motion today is 'RESOLVED that the Council freeze charges for one year, including licence fees, venue hire charges and market stall rentals, etc in order not to increase the burden of different businesses and trades and the living expenses of citizens.'
In October last year, Hong Kong was hit by the Asian financial turmoil. Since then, the stock market has plummeted, interest rates have soared, and the property market has plunged, with all the industrial and commercial businesses suffering a downturn and the market conditions weakening. The economy is deteriorating every day. In less than a few months, a lot of enterprises have retrenched their staff, many companies have closed down and a number of shops have been forced out of business. The rate of unemployment has been rising. Workers are worried that they would lose their jobs anytime while businessmen find it increasingly difficult to keep their business. However, the aftershock of the financial turmoil still lingers and it is hard to tell when it will end. Hong Kong's economy remains weak and the people are worried that the difficult times are here to stay for quite a while.
In these hours of distress, the Government's first and foremost task should be to assure the people of Hong Kong that we will tide over the financial crisis. It should implement concrete measures to protect the public from additional burden. It should allay their plight and work closely with them in order to weather the difficulties.
So far, the Hong Kong Housing Society has announced that the rents of its 14 estates will be frozen for one year. The Housing Authority has also endorsed the proposal to freeze the rents of a number of estates as well as the rents of the shops and market stalls in all of its estates. The possibility of rent reduction has also been raised.
The Urban Council is one of the two major providers of municipal services in Hong Kong and is therefore closely related to the livelihood of the people. I consider that the Council should take the lead in freezing charge increases by shelving increases in the hire charges of its venues and facilities, so as to allay the people's plight and also as an indication of our concern. The purpose of freezing increases in the various licence fees is to alleviate the operators burden so that they have the drive to tide over these difficult times and have more space for survival, which will indirectly contribute to the well-being of
society.
As the operator of a food catering business, I am fully aware of the difficulties the food business in Hong Kong is facing. The investors and operators in this field are already suffering from exorbitant rents, high sewage charges and escalating costs of wages and materials. With the spending power further diminishing because of the economic setback, gone are the days when queues were seen in restaurants. Under such circumstances, a lot of restaurants have been forced out of business while others are on the verge of closure.
£654
Page 550Page 551
Page 551 of 654
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