After Mong Kok riot, could district see street food made legal next Lunar New Year?

Nearly a year after a crackdown on illegal street food sellers triggered a night of violence which came to be known as the Mong Kok riot, the government is proposing to legalise the operations of these hawkers during the 2017 Lunar New Year period.

In a discussion paper submitted to the Yau Tsim Mong district council, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department proposed setting up a cooked food bazaar from January 28 to 30 in a “suitable” outdoor location that could accommodate 40 hawkers.

This is the first time the government has attempted to legalise street food businesses after decades of illegal operations and official crackdowns during the festive period.

Although the paper did not directly link the proposal to the Mong Kok riot in February, it said the “public demand for cooked food” during the period due to the suspension of eateries had prompted it to consider setting up a legal bazaar.

Lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan, who chairs the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene, said the proposal could facilitate the authorities’ administration by gathering hawkers in one location, but whether food sellers took up the offer would depend on how favourable the terms were.

“If the rents are too high, only big catering operators would move in, and the existing problem would still not be solved,” she said, adding that the profits made by a hawker selling fishballs were very limited.