CONF.DENTIAL
10.
29.
Inspite of this the Government must manage things so that the population feel that the Government is theirs, and identify themselves with it. The network of unofficial advisory bodies, the dedicated work of unofficials of Executive and Legislative Councils, the work of the Urban Council and that of the City District Officers, taken together produce a good starting point. But it is nowhere near enough. This problem has been my constant care.
30.
One approach is to aim at civic pride through drawing up and dramatising adequate social programmes. This we are attempting, and by it have achieved at least a quickening of interest.
31.
Another approach is to involve the public and unofficial organisations in the larger decisions of Government affecting the population. This is done by means of the Green-Paper-and- Public-Debate technique which I have described above. Though of limited application it too is having its effect.
32.
The third method is by direct participation. Though in the Chinese tradition, this is new in Hong Kong. We used this technique of direct participation with striking effect in the 1972 campaign to clean Hong Kong. In 1973 we used it again in the campaign to fight crime. But we widened its scope to encourage people to combine in their apartment blocks not only for security, but for cleanliness administration and other purposes.
The basic units of combination (usually one to a block) were called Mutual Aid Committees ( a good old Chinese term) of which we now have about 1,300 in existence, controlled by about 80 area and 15 district committees. The impulse has been fear of crime and desire for more orderly and clean living conditions, but the result is something in the nature of a mass organisation under Government supervision, touching already several hundreds of thousands of people, and growing fast. It has some of the characteristics of the 'Community Centre' system evolved so successfully in Singapore, though there somewhat perverted for P.A.P. ends. It is still a tender and very new growth and too much should not be
CONF.DENTIAL