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road and rail communications.
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He also explained some of the developments in design and construction techniques in public housing. HE emphasized that good communications were a necessary pre-condition for industrial development. There was some discussion of the proposed Hong Kong/Guangzhou/Macau highway. Mr. LIANG confirmed that the project had received the blessing of Prime Minister ZHAO Ziyang who had discussed it recently in Peking with Mr. Gordon Wu.
8.
HE asked whether any final decision had been taken on the proposed Nuclear Power Station in Guangdong which would also provide electricity for Hong Kong. Mr. LIANG said that it was still under consideration. In response to a question, Mr. LIANG said that there were no worthwhile deposits of coal or oil in Guangdong province. The Chinese authorities were trying to improve the railway line between Guangzhou and Peking to facilitate the transport of coal from the North. The Guangdong authorities were hopeful that commercially exploitable deposits of oil would be found under the South China Sea.
9.
In discussion of general problems of city administration, it emerged that Guangzhou city had some unemployment problems. As in cities everywhere, there had been a movement of population from the countryside to the city which had caused particular difficulties with housing. Mr. LIANG said that he did not think the methods adopted in the cities he had visited in the United States were particularly suitable for Guangzhou. Hong Kong was a much better example, except that housing blocks in Guangzhou were normally no higher than 7 or 8 stories because of a shortage of lifts. There was also a traffic problem in Guangzhou, largely caused by 1.3 million bicycles. HE observed that Hong Kong's traffic problems were particularly acute; he doubted whether there was much Hong Kong could teach Guangzhou in this area.
10.
There was some discussions of environmental pollution which Mr. LIANG admitted was becoming a serious problem, although not as bad as in Peking and Tianjin. HE said that pollution could get a grip very swiftly. He had noticed how bad the pollution in Lanzhou and Peking had become since he had last been there. London had had a particularly acute pollution problem which had now largely been overcome by applying a consistent policy over a period of 20 years. Hong Kong had relied on strong tides and strong winds for a long time: more modern and more expensive solutions were now becoming necessary and a comprehensive programme to meet this end had been drawn up.
11.
HE referred to the delays in shipment of goods to China caused by the need to tranship goods from the large container ships which could berth easily in Hong Kong to the smaller ships needed for Chinese ports. With the very rapid expansion in the China trade, Hong Kong needed to know more about Guangzhou's plans for developing a deep water port in order to make its own plans to cope with the increased traffic. This might involve an even greater expansion of the container port than was already planned. Mr. LIANG
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