- 2 -
slight upturn in exports at the turn of the year.
A Hong Kong fearful of China, or of its end of year
accounts might not have got over this difficult ground
so easily so far.
4.
I will return to the Police and to the EEC
negotiations, but the main, if less newsworthy, and 45
I hope less ephemeral, feature of the year, has been
the rapid progress made on the social and domestic
fronts.
a)
These can be summarised as follows:
A greater volume of more substantial
labour legislation was enacted or implemented
than in any previous year of Hong Kong's
history. The fields covered included
holidays with pay, sickness benefit, severence
pay, protection of wages, workmens' compensation
and four major sets of industrial safety
regulations. The exclusion of able-bodied
unemployed from eligibility for public
assistance was cancelled.
b) Universal free and compulsory secondary
It will become
education was announced.
universal and free as from this Autumn, and
will be made compulsory one year later, when
the employment of children under 15 years of
age will also be prohibited. To implement
this programme 52 schools have been completed
CONFIDENTIAL