(1) Introduction
Expansion of UMELCO
1
It is my pleasure to begin this year's address by welcoming
to this Council two new Unofficial members, Dr. Rayson Huang and ¡ir.
Charles Yeung, and one Official, Mr. Walden.
2.
The addition of a distinguished academic and a New Territories
personality and lawyer continues your Government's policy of broadening the
professional and social background from which members of this Council
are able to speak.
3.
The number of unofficial members has increased from 13 in
1971 to 24 now and the overall size of the Council from 26 to 45. This
reflects the steadily increasing burden that the Council in general, and
its Unofficial members in particular carries, and the multiplicity
of tasks that Unofficial Members perform to the great benefit of the public
interest. If, as I should expect, the workload of Unofficials increases
we should not exclude the possibility of some further additions to the
Council in due course.
Scheme of speech
4.
Last year I spoke to you in the full flood of Hong Kong's
recovery from deep recession. Against this background, I considered
how this renewed prosperity could be used to strengthen our economy,
improve our living standards and advance towards our social objectives.
I described how we were making up ground lost through the recession in
our housing, education and other programmes and, in the light of our
experience during the recession, I laid a new and special emphasis on labour
legislation and social welfare. Today I would like to start by defining
our current economic situation and prospects, and the action the
/Government