On the afternoon of Wednesday (15th), an iron-clad wooden house on the opposite side of Yuanxuan College in Tsuen Wan and near Guanyin Rock in Furongshan caught fire, and a large amount of smoke came out for a long time.
The firefighter arrived at the scene and dispatched a one-throat one-breathing apparatus team to fight the blaze. An ambulance was also on alert. Fortunately, no casualty report was received. It is believed that no casualties were caused in the incident, but the alarm of the squatter problem in Hong Kong was once again sounded. .
According to the squatter control policy of the Lands Department, after squatters were registered in 1982, squatters cannot be expanded and new squatters established in violation of regulations, regardless of whether they are on government land or private agricultural land.
Registered squatters are "temporarily permitted" to exist, but their location, size, building materials and use must be consistent with the squatter registration records in 1982, until they are demolished due to development plans, safety or environmental reasons, or until they are naturally drained. ban.
The squatter supervision system is invalid and the department's functions are careless
According to information from the Lands Department, as of 2020, the total number of registered squatters in Hong Kong is about 380,000, and the number of squatters used as residential buildings is 83,233.
In theory, under the squatter control policy, the number of squatters in Hong Kong will only decrease. However, in fact, for squatters that have not been formally registered, even the government does not have official data, so the actual The situation has not been fully reflected, and the number of squatters will only be more serious than the current figures.
Furthermore, a review of government records reveals that between January 2015 and September 2016, squatter control officers under the seven squatter offices confirmed 939 cases of violations of the squatter control policy.
However, among the seven squatter offices, only one (that is, the New Territories East (1) squatter office) kept information on registered squatters that violated the regulations, recording how the violation was found, and showing the office of the department. The standards are different and the information is not circulated.
What's more, nearly 90% of the 206 cases of confirmed violations were complained by citizens or referred by other government departments, which bluntly reflects the doubtful functions of the departments.
The functions of district councillors can fill the gaps
In fact, there are squatter areas in all districts of Hong Kong. It is actually impossible to cover the entire Hong Kong with only seven squatter offices. Therefore, district councilors can actually become a collaborative force.
One of the purpose of the existence of district councilors is to more effectively coordinate the government's work on providing services and facilities at the district level. Therefore, they should work with relevant departments to complement each other to solve or alleviate the squatter problem.
Take the land resumption and clearance of the Kwai Tsing squatter village in Mei Foo in 2019 as an example. The then Kwai Tsing District Councillor, Kwan Kiu Cheung, submitted a document to the Kwai Tsing District Council Community Affairs Committee and asked to discuss the squatters of the Kwai Tsing District Council at the meeting. The Lands Department also gave a written reply to the forced eviction.
The incident reflects that related issues can in fact be discussed and exchanged more extensively through the District Councils.
All in all, squatters in Hong Kong are already a deep-rooted problem that cannot be solved overnight. Past experience tells that through the cooperation of local people, district councilors and government departments, the ability to make the problem faster Handle properly.
All district councillors who swear a valid oath should uphold a correct mentality of "being a district", not "engaging in politics," and pragmatically contribute to the community, continue to perform their duties for the remainder of their tenure, and assist government departments in doing a good job in regional affairs.
The government should have lowered the ceiling of the rent increase for subdivided housing.
