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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 1st October 1971.
[MR PRESIDENT]
The situation now is that, in all, the number of people housed in resettle- ment estates, Government low cost housing estates, Housing Authority and Housing Society estates, has increased from 814,000 in 1964 to about 1,500,000 in round figures at the present time. We have been careful also to try to avoid inhibiting private development, which has itself made a very considerable contribution to meeting housing needs, partic- ularly, of course, for the higher income groups.
But the hillside shacks are still with us, although the recent Census has shown that fewer squatters remain than had been thought, and their numbers will certainly decrease as development spreads. They will, however, I fear, continue to be with us for some time to come, but at least we have now come to the point of being able to decide to clear some of the worst areas, even though not required immediately for development.
Indeed I think housing is, perhaps, one of the fields in which I think we have most obviously come to a turn in our affairs of the kind I spoke about earlier. The days when the pressing need was for mass emergency accommodation, at almost any standard, are nearly over. We are starting to be able to pay more attention to the whole environment in the estates, and to plan new estates as more attractive self-contained entities with a wider range of facilities; while at the same time endeav- ouring to improve the older estates. It has already been decided to go ahead with a scheme to redevelop the oldest estate at Shek Kip Mei, and I have no doubt that this will be followed by other similar schemes.
Our final aim, I am convinced, must be to merge all our aided low-cost housing programmes into one co-ordinated programme, doing away with the distinction between resettlement and low-cost housing. There are grave practical difficulties in this so long as squatters have to be moved from land needed for development: but, nevertheless, it is an aim that I think we should always keep in view.
It is perhaps in the field of education amongst the social services that the most obvious progress has been made. Up to 1965, our main aim was merely to provide, in aided and private schools, a primary school place for every child. Subsequently we were able to amend our aim to providing an aided primary education to all children in the age group who sought it. This aim has recently been virtually achieved, and it has been accompanied by a progressive drop in primary school fees. Now we have amended our aims again, have abolished primary school fees in the generality of aided primary schools, are introducing a form of compulsory primary education, and have embarked on an ambitious programme to provide three years of aided secondary educa- tion for all children who seek it. Throughout, we have in addition
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