(Translation) Minutes of the 12Th Meeting of the Food

(Translation)

Minutes of the 12th Meeting of the Food & Environmental Hygiene Committee 5th Wan Chai District Council Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Date: 24th October 2017 (Tuesday) Time: 2:30 p.m. Venue: District Council Conference Room, Wan Chai District Office, 21/F, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai

Present Chairperson Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline

Vice-chairperson Mr LEE Man-lung, Joey

Members Mr NG Kam-chun, Stephen, BBS, MH, JP Dr CHOW Kit-bing, Jennifer, BBS, MH Dr TANG King-yung, Anna, BBS, MH Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH Ms LEE Kwun-yee, Kenny, MH Mr SUEN Yat-hau, MH Ms LEE Pik-yee, Peggy Mr LAM Wai-man, Wind, Anson Mr CHENG Ki-kin Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse

Representatives of Government Departments Miss WONG Wing-yee, Amy Assistant District Officer (Wan Chai), Home Affairs Department

Mr KAM Chun-cheong, Patrick Senior Executive Officer (District Management), Wan Chai District Office, Home Affairs Department

Ms CHAN Siu-ping, Daphne Senior Liaison Officer (Community Affairs), Wan Chai District Office, Home Affairs Department

Dr CHAN Vivian Senior Medical & Health Officer (Community Liaison) 2, Department of Health

Mr WONG Lung Assistant Divisional Commander (Administration), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr SIT Ka-fai Station Sergeant, District Traffic Team, Wanchai District, Hong Kong Police Force

Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita Chief Health Inspector 1 (Wan Chai District), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Mr CHAN Chi-sing Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing and Pest Control), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department

Mr WONG Lung Assistant Divisional Commander (Administration), Hong Kong Police Force

Mr SIT Ka-fai Station Sergeant, District Traffic Team, Wanchai District, Hong Kong Police Force

Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman, Senior Health Inspector (Hawker Control Task Agenda Force) HK and Islands, Food and Environmental Item 5 Hygiene Department

Ms LEUNG Tsz-chun Sub-Unit Commander, Patrol 4, North Point Division, Hong Kong Police Force

Mr TANG Wai-hei Sub-Unit Commander, Patrol 3, North Point Agenda Division, Hong Kong Police Force Item 3

Ms YEUNG Yu-shan, Alice Senior Field Officer (Avian Influenza), Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

Mr CHUI Wai-yiu Inspector of Works/Eastern 1, Drainage Services Department

Mr CHEUNG Ka-lai, Gally Building Surveyor/B3-2, Buildings Department Agenda Item 4 Mr CHAN Chu-fai, Keith Senior Estate Officer/Land Control (2) (District Lands Office, Hong Kong East), Lands Department

Mr KAM Yuet-wang Maintenance Engineer/Wanchai District, Highways Department

Mr YU Wing-lun, Alan Senior Environmental Protection Officer(Regional Agenda S)4 , Environmental Protection Department Item 3&4 Mr WONG Man-wong, Ricky Manager (Victoria Park), Agenda Leisure and Cultural Services Department Item 3&5

Agenda Ms CHU Siu-lai Chairperson, Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society Item 7&8 Mr HO Chun-leung Secretary, Percy Club Agenda Item 9

Secretary Mr LAM Wai-shing, Wilson Executive Officer (District Council) 1, Wan Chai District Office, Home Affairs Department

______Action Opening Remarks

1. The Vice-chairperson, Mr LEE Man-lung, Joey welcomed Members and the representatives of the government departments to the 12th meeting of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee.

2. The Vice-chairperson, Mr LEE Man-lung, Joey reported that Mr LAU Chi-keung and Mr LAW Tin-fong of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (hereinafter referred as FEHD) were unable to join this meeting, so Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita, Chief Health Inspector 1 (Wan Chai District), and Mr CHAN Chi-sing, Senior Health Inspector (Cleansing and Pest Control) (Wan Chai), attended this meeting on their behalf.

Item 1: Confirmation of Minutes of the 11th Meeting of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee of the Wan Chai District Council

3. The Vice-chairperson, Mr LEE Man-lung, Joey reported that the Secretariat had received a proposed amendment before the meeting. Mr LAM Wai-man, Wind, Anson moved and Mr SUEN Yat-hau, MH seconded it, so the revised minutes of the 11th meeting were confirmed.

Reporting Matters

Item 2: Position of Wan Chai District Council Funds Appropriated to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee for 2017/18 (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 35/2017)(Revised)

4. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline asked the secretary to

introduce the document.

5. Members noted the abovementioned document.

Matters for Discussion

Item 3: Action Checklist of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee of the Wan Chai District Council (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 36/2017)

6. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline welcomed the following department representatives to attend the meeting:

Mr TANG Sub-Unit Commander, Patrol 3, North Point Division, Wai-hei Hong Kong Police Force Ms LEUNG Sub-Unit Commander, Patrol 4, North Point Division, Tsz-chun Hong Kong Police Force Mr WONG Manager (Victoria Park), Leisure and Cultural Services Man-wong, Department Ricky Mr YU Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional S)4, Wing-lun, Environmental Protection Department Alan Ms YEUNG Senior Field Officer (Avian Influenza), Agriculture, Yu-shan, Fisheries and Conservation Department Alice

7. According to the discussion results of the 11 th meeting, respective government departments had updated the items on the action checklist.

8. It was pointed out that there were itinerant hawkers using flame cooking, which could cause danger in crowded places easily. The FEHD was asked to propose a solution for this matter and to draft a proposal for optimisation and placement and safety operation advice.

9. Mr CHAN Chi-sing of the FEHD replied that the FEHD had established a policy on hawker control. To tackle the problems caused by licensed itinerant

hawkers, if the operation carried out by a licensed itinerant hawker would impose any impediment to the public, especially in crowded places,the hawkers would be dispersed if necessary, and the FEHD would generally follow up on the cases by adopting the principle of giving warning first before taking enforcement action.

10. Members had the following questions/comments:

i. The FEHD was asked to follow up on the cases more closely and to review the overall hawker control policy. In addition, the concerned departments were requested to report on the illegal selling of cooked food and the environmental noise created at the periphery of the Victoria Park;

ii. It was pointed out that there were many hawkers trading near the entrance of Nanyang Bank at Happy Valley. The FEHD was asked to follow up on the case;

iii. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse pointed out that shops were packed densely at Tung Lo Wan Road, Leighton Road and Causeway Road. Also, there were promotional displays, some of which were carried around , which caused street obstruction. The problem was serious, so she asked the FEHD about the law enforcement situations at the abovementioned locations. In addition, Miss YEUNG asked the FEHD for the number of prosecutions made against unlicensed hawkers offering mobile phone acquisition outside Hysan Place;

iv. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH expressed that she recognised the principle of Human Pigeon Harmony adopted by the FEHD on dealing with the problems caused by wild pigeons, but there were no obvious efforts made regarding the wordings of the warning signs of the prohibition of feeding wild pigeons. The problem of pigeon droppings was becoming increasingly serious near Paterson Street. She had mentioned different international experiences on dealing with such problem for several times in previous meetings for the FEHD to make reference, so she asked the FEHD to follow up on the matter. Furthermore, the performance of clearing the on-street rubbish bags in Causeway Bay area was very unsatisfactory in the past two months. The environmental hygiene problem of the street food shops was serious. She asked the FEHD to step up cleaning and enforcement efforts. Previously, the FEHD had been successful in combatting the illegal food production

inside an illegal food factory in a domestic unit, so she expected the law to be reinforced continuously. Ms NG also pointed out that the problem of illegal cooking inside and at the periphery of the Victoria Park was worsening recently, so she asked the FEHD and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (hereinafter referred as LCSD) for new solutions to tackle this problem and requested the concerned departments to carry out joint operations and provide an action timetable to deal with the abovementioned items;

v. Ms LEE Kwun-yee, Kenny, MH asked the FEHD to continue following up on the bad odour problem at Luard Road Refuse Collection Point. Ms LEE also pointed out that the Policy Address mentioned allocating additional resources on handling local hygiene problems, so she asked the FEHD for the timetable for adding resources in Wan Chai district. In addition, Ms LEE requested the FEHD to increase the frequency of cleaning dog droppings collection boxes.

11. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. The FEHD noted the problems of itinerant hawkers raised by Members, and the FEHD would continue to follow up on the cases by adopting the principle of giving warning first before taking enforcement action;

ii. The FEHD would follow up on the problem of street obstruction caused by unlawful advertising;

iii. Regarding the problem of dirtying areas caused by feeding of wild pigeons in the district, the FEHD had already conducted 3 special actions in the past few months and had made 2 prosecutions for dirtying public areas caused by feeding wild birds. Although the time for feeding of wild pigeons was not fixed which caused difficulties in law enforcement, the FEHD would continue to reinforce the law;

[Remarks after the meeting: After the meeting, the FEHD supplemented that regarding the problem of dirtying areas caused by feeding of wild pigeons in the district, the FEHD had already conducted 19 special actions in the past 3 months.]

iv. Regarding the problem of the illegal selling of cooked food by foreign helpers inside the Victoria Park and at its periphery, the FEHD had conducted 10 actions against this problem in the past 2 months and had

passed one case of prosecution of illegal hawking committed by a foreign helper to the Immigration Department for follow-up action in September. However, some of the foreign helpers involved in the illegal selling of cooked food would make adjustments according to the FEHD’s actions, thus difficulties were encountered in law enforcement;

v. If notice about the increase of manpower was received, the FEHD would notify the Committee about the updated arrangements as soon as practicable;

vi. The FEHD had deployed staff to reinforce the clearing of rubbish bags blackspots.

12. Mr WONG Man-wong, Ricky of the LCSD replied that trilingual (Chinese, English and Indonesian) publicity boards and banners were placed at the main entrances and the central lawn of the Victoria Park on holidays and public holidays. The legislation and maximum penalties of violation of conditions of stay due to committing illegal hawking were listed out clearly in order to efficiently publicise the message of prohibition of illegal hawking. Furthermore, since the joint operation in August was cancelled due to typhoon, another joint operation was arranged in September as substitution. The LCSD would continue to conduct joint operations with the concerned departments to strengthen the law enforcement against illegal hawking committed by foreign helpers inside the Victoria Park.

13. Ms LEUNG Tsz-chun of the Hong Kong Police Force pointed out that the Police Force would continue to provide support and to assist other departments in conducting joint operations. During the joint operations, if any person concerned would obstruct other enforcement departments, the Police Force would arrest or prosecute the person concerned according to the Summary Offences Ordinance.

14. Members had the following follow-up questions/comments:

i. It was pointed out that the pigeon repellent provided by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (hereinafter referred as AFCD) was not effective, so the AFCD was asked whether there were new ways to tackle the wild pigeon droppings problem;

ii. The FEHD was requested to follow up on the problem of fodder disposal

on the top of Tin Hau MTR Station. In addition, the AFCD was asked whether it could take follow-up actions on the poisonous beehive found at Park Towers. The concerned departments were also asked to follow up on the occupation of public place near King Ming Road by a recycling shop.

iii. Concerned departments were asked to solve several long existing problems, including illegal cooking and hawking inside the Victoria Park and at its periphery, street obstruction near the Victoria Park caused by collection of large parcels , as well as illegal hanging of banners on the bridges near the Victoria Park;

iv. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse asked the FEHD once again about the unlawful advertising around Tung Lo Wan Road, Leighton Road and Causeway Road.

15. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. The FEHD would provide information on unlawful advertising around Tung Lo Wan Road, Leighton Road and Causeway Road in the next meeting;

［Remarks after the meeting: After the meeting, the FEHD supplemented that in the past month, the FEHD had removed 280 illegal display of promotional materials at the abovementioned areas and a warning letter was issued to a beneficiary of the promotional materials.］

ii. The FEHD would follow up jointly with other departments on the occupation of public place by a recycling shop.

［Remarks after the meeting: After the meeting, the FEHD supplemented that the FEHD had conducted a joint operation with the Hong Kong Police Force on 29 th November, but it was found that the concerned shop did not obstruct the cleaning work of the FEHD. The FEHD and the Hong Kong Police Force would continue to keep an eye on the concerned shop and carry out appropriate actions.］

16. Ms YEUNG Yu-shan, Alice of the AFCD replied as follows:

i. One of the main duties of the AFCD was to monitor Avian Influenza. From January to September 2017, the AFCD received 43 complaints on feral pigeon nuisances, in which, 170 bird dropping samples were taken

for Avian Influenza test and all the testing results were negative;

ii. The principle of the pigeon repellent was to repel the wild pigeons through smell, but if there were citizens continuously feeding the wild pigeons or there was bad weather, the efficiency of the pigeon repellent may be reduced;

iii. The AFCD would hold a carnival on 25th and 26th November 2017. Games and exhibition boards would be used to educate citizens the influences on animal welfare and ecology caused by feral pigeon feeding;

iv. The handling of poisonous beehives was not within the terms of reference of the AFCD, but if the concerned hive involved tree problems, the AFCD suggested the contact with the related departments that were responsible for tree management for follow-up actions;

v. The AFCD had researched on the use of pigeon contraceptives to tackle the problem, but the contraceptives had to be used continuously on the same wild pigeon and had to be mixed with the fodder, so it might attract more wild pigeons and intensify the problem. In addition, the AFCD had purchased and installed ultrasonic bird repellers, which had little use in repelling the wild pigeons.

17. Mr WONG Man-wong, Ricky of the LCSD replied that before the concerned departments conducted joint operations against illegal selling of cooked food by foreign helpers inside the Victoria Park and at its periphery, an internal meeting would be held to briefly introduce the updated arrangements. The LCSD would bring the comments given by Members to the next internal meeting for discussion in order to improve the effectiveness of the joint operations.

18. Ms LEUNG Tsz-chun of the Hong Kong Police Force replied that if the collection of large parcels would cause serious obstruction to pavements, the police would give advice to the concerned person and his/her information would be recorded. If necessary, prosecution could be brought against the concerned person according to the Summary Offences Ordinance; if the collection of large parcels would cause serious obstruction to the traffic road , summons could be issued to the concerned vehicles based on the road condition at the time. Regarding the problem of occupation of public place on King Ming Road by a recycling shop, police officers would be sent to follow

up on the case.

19. The FEHD was asked to follow up on the problem of occupation of public place on King Ming Road by a recycling shop. The FEHD was also requested to follow up on the problem of illegal roll up banner stands on Tsing Fung Street.

20. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. The FEHD had cleared the roll up banner stands on Tsing Fung Street and was considering issuing warning letters to the concerned beneficiaries;

ii. The FEHD would follow up on the problem of occupation of public place on King Ming Road by a recycling shop in cooperation with other departments.

21. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline, pointed out that the Committee unanimously agreed to request the FEHD and the Hong Kong Police Force to conduct an inter-departmental joint operation with the Wan Chai District Office (hereinafter referred as WCDO) to effectively combat the illegal stalls of “villain hitting” and the road occupation problem caused by such activity under Canal Road Flyover. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline noted that the concerned departments had conducted at least two joint operations against the abovementioned problem, and invited the concerned departments to report on the effectiveness of the operations as well as further follow-up actions.

22. Assistant District Officer, Miss WONG ing-yee, Amy pointed out that in the last Committee meeting, concerned departments were requested to strengthen the law enforcement against occupation of pavements by “villain hitting” activities. Therefore, the WCDO had conducted two joint operations with the concerned departments, and the WCDO was mainly responsible for inter-departmental coordination on arranging joint operations. Before conducting the first joint operation, various departments, including Hong

Kong Fire Services Department, Hong Kong Police Force, Immigration Department, FEHD, Lands Department, and the WCDO, had held a meeting to discuss the content of the joint operation. Miss WONG added that since the abovementioned location was a normal public street, so each department enforced the law according to its individual terms of reference and lawful authorities, for example, the Immigration Department would investigate whether the person involved in the “villain hitting” activity had violated the Immigration Ordinance; in the morning of the joint operation, the FEHD would post the “Notice to Remove Obstruction” on the articles placed under Canal Road Flyover, and if the articles were not cleared, the FEHD would send staff to remove the unclaimed articles; the Fire Services Department would investigate whether there was fire danger at the abovementioned location caused by the “villain hitting” activity. During the joint operation on 23rd October 2017, the course of operation was smooth and some persons in charge of the “villain hitting” stalls agreed to tone down their activities.

23. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD replied that the FEHD would post the “Notice to Remove Obstruction” on the articles placed under Canal Road Flyover in the morning of the joint operation, and if the articles were not cleared in the afternoon on the same day, the FEHD staff would remove the unclaimed articles and clean the street. A total of 14 “Notices to Remove Obstruction” were issued during the 2 joint operations. In addition to the abovementioned 2 joint operations, the FEHD would constantly arrange outsourced service contractors to clean the abovementioned sections of streets.

24. Mr WONG Lung of the Hong Kong Police Force added that the role of the Hong Kong Police Force in the joint operations was mainly to provide support to other law enforcement departments. Since the persons in charge of the concerned “villain hitting” stalls were cooperative during the joint operations, and no person was found having violated the Immigration Ordinance of the Immigration Department, the Hong Kong Police Force did not intervene in the operations.

25. Mr CHAN Chu-fai, Keith of the Lands Department added that the Lands Department had not found any illegal structure during the joint operations.

26. A Member who attended the joint operations pointed out that the problem of occupation of streets by the “villain hitting” stalls was lessened significantly after the joint operations, but it resumed very soon. The Member pointed out that one of the reasons for that was because the persons in charge of the

“villain hitting” stalls were moving out their stalls to occupy more pavement space in order to attract more customers. In view of this, other stalls followed this practice and moved out their stalls even further to occupy the more favourable position, thus created a vicious cycle. The Member requested the concerned departments to prosecute the persons in charge of the concerned stalls to strengthen the deterrent effect.

27. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline thanked the concerned departments for their work and expressed that she understood that there was pressure for the staff for law enforcement, but in terms of the overall effect, the operation was not successful. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline restated that the Committee agreed with and respected the Heritage Project of Intangible Cultural Heritage (i.e. “Villain Hitting”), but at the same time, attention should also be given to the environmental hygiene and pedestrian safety problem, thus the purpose of the joint operation was to solve the problem of passage obstruction to ensure pedestrian safety. In addition, the Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline pointed out that during the two joint operations, many banners were still hanging on the railings, which would affect drivers’ judgement and safety. Although this indicated that the joint operation still had certain level of deterrent effect, it could not solve the problem directly. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline requested the WCDO to continue to take the lead on conducting joint operations. If the situation persists, the intensity of actions should be strengthened. Moreover, the Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline noticed that there were still unclaimed articles left under Canal Road Flyover, so she requested the concerned departments to follow up on the matter.

28. Assistant District Officer, Miss WONG Wing-yee, Amy suggested to consider placing planters at the pavement sides under Canal Road Flyover in order to prevent the concerned persons to move their stalls of “villain hitting” to the middle of the pavement, thus vacating more pavement space.

29. Regarding the abovementioned proposal, Members raised/gave follow-up questions/comments as follows:

i. It was pointed out that the abovementioned proposal would cause the stalls of “villain hitting” to move further out, thus the feasibility was not high. A more effective way would be bringing appropriate prosecution against the offenders;

ii. A Member worried that there would be dangerous cases of persons in charge of the “villain hitting” stalls burning joss paper with open fire. There would be chances of disposing ashes on the planters, affecting the growth of the plants and creating environmental hygiene problems at the same time;

iii. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH pointed out that the landscaping work with the theme of “The 24 Solar Terms” carried out under Canal Road Flyover by the District Council had dismantled the enclosed small garden to give back a bright clear space to the citizens. If planters were installed, it would directly contradict the previous work and may even cause blockage to the street. Furthermore, Ms NG expressed that she supported the idea that the area belonged to “Villain Hitting” activities, which was one of the characteristics of Hong Kong and belonged to Intangible Culture Heritage, but the situation had changed in recent years. The activity was traditionally operated by several elderly people and it had currently developed into a commercial operation, so she recommended to make it a special topic for discussion;

iv. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline agreed that the abovementioned proposal could not solve the problem directly. Apart from the point that placing planters may obstruct the pavement, the concerned persons in charge of the stalls may also move their stalls further out, worsening the problem. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline thought that joint operations should be conducted continuously in order to strengthen the law enforcement. In addition, the Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline requested the WCDO to continue on the educational work and try to differentiate the traditional “villain hitting” stalls from the “commercialised stalls”.

30. Assistant District Officer, Miss WONG Wing-yee, Amy replied that the WCDO would keep on coordinating departments to conduct joint operations. However, the WCDO had no information on how to differentiate traditional “villain hitting” stalls from non-traditional ones, so if other departments had the need to carry out related educational work with the WCDO, the WCDO would be willing to coordinate.

31. Apart from the problem of “villain hitting” stalls, the Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline requested the concerned departments to develop new proposals to tackle the environmental hygiene problem and noise

pollution problem derived from illegal cooking and illegal hawking inside the Victoria Park and at its periphery.

32. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH clarified that there was no such saying of “elderly woman of Intangible Culture Heritage Villain Hitting” and “elderly woman of Non-Intangible Culture Heritage Villain Hitting”. The act of “villain hitting” itself already possessed the traditional cultural values. Some elderly women who had been performing “villain hitting” there for a long time were the so-called “old masters”, but the problem was that later there were people coming to deceive others for money. The Committee had also previously discussed this matter.

Item 4: Environmental Hygiene Blackspots Action Checklist of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee of the Wan Chai District Council (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 37/2017)

33. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline welcomed the following department representatives to attend the meeting:

Mr KAM Maintenance Engineer/Wan Chai, Highways Yuet-wang Department Mr CHEUNG Building Surveyor/B3-2, Buildings Department Ka-lai, Gally Mr CHAN Senior Estate Officer/Land Control (2) (District Lands Chu-fai, Office, Hong Kong East), Lands Department Keith Mr CHUI Inspector of Works/Eastern 1, Drainage Services Wai-yiu Department

34. According to the discussion results of the 11 th meeting, respective government departments had updated the items in the action checklist.

35. Members raised/gave the following questions/comments:

i. Ms LEE Pik-yee, Peggy asked the FEHD for the cleaning frequency of the drainage channel outside the snack shop of 2 O’Brien Road and requested the FEHD to provide details on the 2 prosecutions brought against the street snack food shops that had violated the law. In addition, Ms LEE felt unsatisfied with the FEHD on the fact that only 29 Notices of

Fixed Penalty were issued in the area around Exit A3 of the Wan Chai MTR Station and O’Brien Road. She thought that this number could not reflect the actual situation of littering, so she requested the FEHD to strengthen their law enforcement. Ms LEE also inquired about the respective number of prosecution cases charged by the Police Force near the Methadone Clinic at 2 O’Brien Road;

ii. The problem of rubbish pilling up at the rear alley near Wing Hing Street Refuse Collection Point raised concern and the FEHD was asked to follow up on the matter. In addition, it was noticed that there were still oil stains on the abovementioned road, thus the FEHD was requested to provide the cleaning frequency of the abovementioned road and the solution to tackle the bad odour emitted by the oil stains;

iii. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse asked the concerned departments for the schedule of on-site inspection at 1 Moreton Terrance. She believed that it should be easy to find construction wastes and rubbish bags at this place at night on weekends, so she continued to ask whether the concerned departments had conducted on-site inspections at such time during weekends;

iv. Ms LEE Kwun-yee, Kenny, MH pointed out that there had been courier companies occupying the pavement of Lun Fat Street to collect and deliver mail items from afternoon to evening, as a result, the pedestrians always had to walk on the traffic road, which was very dangerous. She asked the FEHD to follow up on the matter. In addition, Ms LEE also noticed that there were cases of random placement of recycling cages by recyclers and illegal parking, which led to road congestion, so she asked the Police Force to follow up on the matter;

v. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH said that there were illegal structures at the rear alley of Jaffe Building and she noted that the case was more complicated than a general case, so she asked the Buildings Department to follow up on the case. In addition, Ms NG inquired about the details of the 4 cases of issuing Notice of Fixed Penalty by the FEHD around Jardine's Bazaar and she asked the FEHD to clarify whether the cleaning was only for part of Jardine's Bazaar.

36. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. The FEHD cleaned the drainage channel outside the snack shop of 2 O’Brien Road once a week. In addition, the FEHD had deployed staff to conduct fixed-point patrolling at 2 O’Brien Road and would combat littering through law enforcement;

ii. The FEHD would follow up on the problem of rubbish pilling up at the rear alley near Wing Hing Street Refuse Collection Point. Furthermore, the abovementioned road was cleaned once a week and was cleaned by using high pressure washers once in two weeks whenever possible to remove the oil stains. In addition, the new contract with the cleaning service contractor would be effective in 2018, thus the FEHD would allocate more resources on cleaning the abovementioned road;

iii. If the FEHD staff found that there was construction waste at 1 Moreton Terrance, the FEHD would report it to the Highways Department for follow-up. In addition, the FEHD staff had been following up on the environmental hygiene problem at the abovementioned location in the morning as well as at night, and would send staff for inspection during weekends;

iv. The FEHD would remind the persons in charge of the courier companies situated at Lun Fat Street to shorten their collection and delivery time;

v. The 4 cases of issuing Notice of Fixed Penalty around Jardine’s Bazaar were mainly against littering. In addition, it was not the case that the FEHD would only clean parts of the Jardine’s Bazaar.

37. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline asked the FEHD to give detailed replies in the next meeting on the questions that were not answered yet.

38. Ms LEE Siu-lei, Anita of the FEHD agreed.

39. The summarised reply from Mr WONG Lung of the Hong Kong Police Force was as follows:

i. The Police Force would strengthen the law enforcement around 2 O’Brien Road. In addition, the Police Force had conducted several anti-drugs operations and had arrested 6 people suspected of drug possession during August to September 2017;

ii. The Police Force would continue to cooperate with the FEHD to conduct joint operations at 2 O’Brien Road and the operation coverage would be extended to the Wanchai Market and public toilets in Cross Street, Bowrington Road Market and public toilets to reduce the nuisances to the district caused by drug problems;

iii. The Police Force would strengthen the law enforcement and tackle the related obstruction problems and illegal parking at Lun Fat Street.

40. Mr CHEUNG Ka-lai, Gally of the Buildings Department replied that the Buildings Department would enforce the law according to the Buildings Ordinance. If illegal structure was found, the Buildings Department would issue a removal order to the respective owner. Regarding the illegal structure at the rear alley of the Jaffe Building, since the ownership of the related section belonged to the Building, so a removal order was issued to the Owners Corporation of the Building. The Buildings Department would continue to follow up on this matter and provide assistance to the Owners Corporation of the Building.

41. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse asked whether the concerned departments could arrange an on-site inspection at 1 Moreton Terrance on weekends.

42. Mr YU Wing-lun, Alan of the Environmental Protection Department (hereinafter referred as EPD) replied that the EPD would send staff to 1 Moreton Terrance for on-site inspections on weekends.

43. Mr KAM Yuet-wang of the Highways Department replied that the Highways Department would ask the contractor to send staff to 1 Moreton Terrance for on-site inspections on weekends.

44. Mr CHAN Chu-fai, Keith of the Lands Department added that the Lands Department could not send staff to 1 Moreton Terrance for on-site inspections on weekends, but if construction waste was found by other departments, the Lands Department could be contacted. The Lands Department would send staff to post a notice on the construction waste to request the concerned person to remove it. If it was not claimed, the Highways Department would be notified to remove the respective construction waste.

［ Remarks after the meeting: After the meeting, the Lands Department supplemented that according to the division of labour stated in EPD Circular

Memorandum No. 1/2009, it was not the responsibility of the Lands Department to handle the obstruction and environmental problems caused by construction wastes. However, if assistance from the Lands Department was required from other departments when handling the related construction wastes, e.g. to provide related land information or to post related notices, the Lands Department would provide appropriate assistance. Therefore, the Lands Department would not send staff to conduct on-site inspections at 1 Moreton Terrance during weekends.］

45. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse said that the Lands Department should take the initiative in assigning appropriate staff to conduct on-site inspections during non-office hours to handle the abovementioned problem.

46. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline asked the Lands Department to review their practice and send the comments from the Members to their headquarters to allocate more manpower to tackle this problem.

47. Mr CHAN Chu-fai, Keith of the Lands Department said that he would pass the comments to the department.

48. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline added that she received a proposal from a Member before the meeting suggesting that “On Lok Lane” should be added as an Environmental Hygiene Blackspot.

49. After discussion, Members agreed to add the abovementioned spot to the Action Checklist of Environmental Hygiene Blackspots.

Item 5: Introduction to 2018 Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair on Hong Kong Island by the FEHD (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 38/2017) (Revised)

50. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline welcomed Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman, Senior Health Inspector (Hawker Control Task Force) HK and Islands of the FEHD, to attend the meeting.

51. Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman of the FEHD introduced the document to Members.

52. Members noted the arrangements and details of 2018 Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair and raised/gave follow-up questions/comments as follows:

i. It was pointed out that the FEHD would normally clean up the site in a rush upon the end of the Lunar New Year Fair, the FEHD was asked to make improvements. In addition, Members asked the FEHD whether environmental protection terms were included when approving the leasing of a stall. The problem of traffic congestion derived from the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair also raised concerns, thus the concerned departments were asked to make improvements. Expanding the width of the zebra crossing to divert the crowd was recommended;

ii. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse asked the FEHD about the location of the 8 “Thematic Stalls” and whether their content should follow specific bidding guidelines. She believed that if adjacent stalls could be granted to the same bidder, effect similar to the “Thematic Stalls” could be achieved. Furthermore, Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse inquired about the guidelines for stall bidding. She also requested the FEHD to open the lawn of the Victoria Park for setting up a food zone in the Flower Show, and to split the stall into smaller ones, so that more small-scale stalls could participate in the Lunar New Year Fair.

53. Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. Since the crowd size was large during the Lunar New Year Fair, in some time-slots, people would even be densely packed. Therefore, based on crowd control considerations, the FEHD would not consider extending the Lunar New Year Fair to the lawn of the Victoria Park or setting up a food zone there. In addition, the FEHD had not applied to the LCSD to rent the lawn of the Victoria Park this year. On the other hand, regarding the recommendation of increasing the number of stalls that were allowed to sell cooked food or snacks in addition to the three fast food stalls in the Lunar New Year Fair, the FEHD believed that the food production procedure generally required a comparatively large space in the stall, and snack stalls would attract a certain size of crowd to stay for a longer time at or near the stalls, thus it could easily cause obstruction to the walkway and hinder the crowd control;

ii. The FEHD staff would enter the Victoria Park to clear up and clean the site after 8:00 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Under normal circumstances, the FEHD would finish such work at night. After removing all the articles at the site, the FEHD would return the site to the LCSD.

Since the clearing of large amount of rubbish and cleaning of the site took time, and the site had to be cleared as soon as practicable in order to return to the LCSD for public use, there was insufficient time to handle all recyclable wastes. However, in the 2017 Lunar New Year Fair, the FEHD had recycled general recyclable wastes, including papers, plastics and metals, and a pilot scheme of wood waste recycling was also introduced, in which, wood wastes such as pallets were transported to the recycler at EcoPark of the EPD in Tuen Mun for handling. Moreover, the FEHD had collected the unsold flowers and potted plants from voluntary flower stall masters in the Lunar New Year Fair, then the flowers and potted plants were sent to places such as homes for the aged, homes for persons with disabilities and public hospitals by a team of volunteers on the first day of the Lunar New Year. In 2018 Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair, the FEHD would continue to carry out the abovementioned recycling work. In addition, the FEHD would cooperate with the EPD as much as possible and try its best to complete the recycling work without affecting the speed of cleaning up of the site;

iii. The FEHD would continue to cooperate with other concerned departments to solve the traffic congestion problem in the vicinity during the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair;

iv. The 8 “Thematic Stalls” were set up mainly for selling goods related to the Lunar New Year, for example, New Year food, Fai Chun, New Year paintings, New Year decorations and supplies. No specific guidelines were set for bidding the “Thematic Stalls”. The FEHD would continue to follow the established procedures and ensure the goods sold in the stalls fulfilled the requirement stipulated in the licence agreement by observing the principle of public safety.

54. Mr WONG Lung of the Hong Kong Police Force replied that the Wan Chai and Eastern Police Districts would estimate the size of the crowd and traffic before the event took place and appropriate police force would be deployed. In addition, the Police Force would make appropriate arrangements for crowd control and traffic diversions in order to maintain smooth traffic flow and to reduce the influence to other road users.

55. Members raised/gave follow-up questions/comments as follows:：

i. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH was happy to see that the FEHD had

been strengthening the recycling work in recent years. However, it was found from time to time that the FEHD would use large grab-mounted lorries to grab the abandoned flowers away. This handling method may mislead the citizens to think that the FEHD was collecting garbage. The FEHD was recommended to pay attention to this point. Moreover, Ms NG asked the Police Force to follow up earnestly on the illegal parking problem in the vicinity of the Victoria Park. Ms NG also recommended the FEHD to take the initiative to contact environmental protection groups to strengthen the support in recycling work;

ii. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse asked the FEHD once again for the location and content of the 8 “Thematic Stalls” and inquired about the definition of “goods related to the Lunar New Year”. She thought that the reply from the FEHD was vague. In addition, Miss YEUNG questioned the past judgements made by the FEHD on determining a Fair stall as “affecting public safety”, including the cases in the Lunar New Year Fair last year, in which “Youngspiration” and some political bodies were disqualified for licencse agreement. She asked for the reasons for disqualification and criticized the FEHD as making excuses and blurring the focus. Miss YEUNG thought that the government was promoting the policy of rural market development and all walks of life in different districts were encouraged to be self-reliant. She believed that the Lunar New Year Fair policy implemented by the FEHD was contradictory to the macro-policy of the government, so she asked the FEHD to review their practice and explain the underlying reasons clearly;

iii. It was pointed out that the FEHD had already rented most of the space of the Victoria Park to hold the Lunar New Year Fair, so the lawn should be reserved for public use. In addition, the FEHD was requested to submit the documents of Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair as early as possible in the coming year and detailed recycling figures and handling methods should be included in the document, so that the Committee could monitor it. Members also agreed that the FEHD should take the initiative to contact environmental protection groups to strengthen the support in recycling work.

56. Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman of the FEHD replied as follows:

i. The FEHD would provide more figures on recycling in the coming year and the FEHD would keep contact with the environmental protection

groups through the EPD;

ii. The FEHD withdrew individual stalls from the 2017 Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair based on the consideration of “public safety”, and the FEHD had provided written explanation to the concerned authorised people at that time;

iii. The size of each “Thematic Stall” was double to the normal dry goods stall and situated at the turning corners in the middle of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair. The exact locations were displayed on the document.

57. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse thought that the FEHD did not have the need to deliberately set up the additional “Thematic Stalls” in the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair. She also thought that the FEHD had not replied clearly on how the FEHD determined whether an individual stall affected public safety, and how the Fair stalls, including the one rented to “Youngspiration” last year, “affected public safety”.

58. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline reminded Members that the information of the Lunar New Year Fair, including the location of the 8 “Thematic Stalls” and their contents, was already on the documents submitted by the FEHD for reference. On the other hand, the Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline would like Members to focus on discussing the arrangements and details of the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair and individual cases were not suitable for discussion in the Committee meeting.

59. Mr CHOW King-sze, Benjaman of the FEHD replied that the FEHD had been setting up “Thematic Stalls” in the previous years for selling goods related to the Lunar New Year, including New Year food, Fai Chun, New Year paintings, New Year decorations and supplies.

Item 6: The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society –“ Hong Kong Cancer Day 2017 (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 39/2017)

60. Since the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society could not send any representative to attend the meeting, the Chairperson invited the Secretary to introduce the documents.

61. The Secretary introduced the document.

62. After discussion, it was approved that the Committee would become a supporting organisation of “Hong Kong Cancer Day 2017” and the mode of support would be “promoting the event message to the staff and members under the Committee”.

Item 7: Application for Wan Chai District Council Funds – Eat Smart to Keep Fit (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 41/2017) and

Item 8: Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food – Funding Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture in the District: Eat Smart to Keep Fit (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 42/2017)

63. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline invited Members to discuss the two funding applications and reminded Members that Members should fill in the Declaration of Interests for Projects Financed by District Council Funds and withdraw from the meeting if necessary.

64. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline welcomed Ms CHU Siu-lai, Chairperson of the Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society to attend the meeting.

Recom mended Funds Approp Application Amount riation Document No. Project Name Applicant (HKD) (HKD) 41/2017 Eat Smart to Wan Chai 62,588 62,588 Keep Fit Yin Ngai (Apply for District Society Council Fund) 42/2017 Eat Smart to Wan Chai 241,966 241,966 Keep Fit Yin Ngai (Apply for funding Society from the “Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture

in the District”)

[Remarks: Dr. TANG King-yung, Anna, BBS, MH declared that she was the founder and founding president of the applicant (i.e. Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society) and she withdrew from the meeting during the vetting of the funding application.]

65. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline asked Members to pay attention to the point that, regarding the project Eat Smart to Keep Fit, Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society applied for both “Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food - Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture in the District” and Wan Chai District Council Fund. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline recommended that item 7 and item 8 should be merged for discussion.

66. No Members present objected.

67. Ms CHU Siu-lai of Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society introduced the document to Members. Questions and comments given by Members were summarised as follows:

i. Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse thought that the expenditure on the launching ceremony was unreasonably high, so she inquired about the details of the ceremony, how could the aims of the project be achieved through the proposed activities, and whether the expenditures were necessary; ii. Ms LEE Kwun-yee, Kenny, MH thought that the venue (i.e. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company) may not be able to accommodate 350 people, so she asked for clarification. In addition, Ms LEE requested the applicant to clarify on the difference of quantity of food ingredients (for 15 teams) and participating teams (100 teams);

iii. Ms NG Yuen-ting, Yolanda, MH agreed that the launching ceremony of the event could pass the message of “reduction of salt and sugar in food” to more citizens. Furthermore, Ms NG hoped that the applicant could take the nutrition of the ingredients into consideration during the purchase of food ingredients and convey the related knowledge to the participants through various activities;

iv. Ms LEE Pik-yee, Peggy thought that “the production fee of props and

PowerPoint for teaching” was expensive and she inquired about the content of the concerned props and presentation. Ms LEE also asked for the details of the launching ceremony of the event.

68. Ms CHU Siu-lai of Wan Chai Yin Ngai Society replied as follows:

i. “Tasty Food with Less Salt and Sugar Cooking Competition” would invite 100 families to submit recipes. After reviewing, 15 teams would be chosen to participate in the Cooking Competition, so the quantity of food ingredients depended on the number of participating families;

ii. The presentation took up only a small part in “the production fee of props and PowerPoint for teaching”. The remaining expenditures were for making creative props to materialise the “salt and sugar content” in order to enhance the effect, thus making it easier for participants to receive the information;

iii. The launching ceremony of the event was expected to be held on Pak Sha Road and the ceremony would adopt a simple form to reduce the cost. A certain number of health stations would be set up at the ceremony to promote the message of less salt and sugar.

69. After discussion, with Ms LEE Pik-yee, Peggy abstained from voting and Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse voting against it, the Committee approved the abovementioned funding application. In addition, with Miss YEUNG Suet-ying, Clarisse voting against it, the Committee supported the applicant to apply to the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food for the “Subsidy Scheme on the Promotion of Low Salt and Sugar Food Culture in the District” for its subsidy and exemption.

Item 9: Occupational Safety and Health Promotional Campaign 2017 - Occupation Safety Concerns You (The Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee Document No. 40/2017)

70. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline invited Members to discuss on the funding application and reminded Members that they should fill in the Declaration of Interests and withdraw from the meeting if necessary.

71. The Chairperson, Ms CHUNG Ka-man, Jacqueline welcomed Mr HO

Chun-leung, Secretary of the Percy Club to attend the meeting.

Recom mended Funds Approp Application Amount riation Document No. Project Name Applicant (HKD) (HKD) 34/2017 Occupation Percy 40,000 40,000 Safety Concerns Club (Apply for funding from You “Occupational Safety and Health Promotional Campaign 2017”)

72. The Chairperon added that in the 11th meeting, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee had discussed on this application and agreed to be a co-organiser as well as a sponsor of the Percy Club to hold the event “Occupation Safety Concerns You”. This time, the Percy club submitted the application form for applying funding from “Occupational Safety and Health Promotional Campaign 2017”. The Chairperson asked Members to read the documents and if there were no comments, the application form would be submitted to Occupational Safety Helath Council for vetting.

73. After discussion, the Committee approved to support the applicant to apply to Occupational Safety Helath Council for funding from “Occupational Safety and Health Promotional Campaign 2017”.

Item 10: Date of Next Meeting

74. The next meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 19 th December 2017 (Tuesday).

75. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.

Wan Chai District Council Secretariat December 2017

These minutes were officially confirmed on 19th December 2017