-
- 2 -
-
の
Cap
сар
to maintain continuity of policies to enable us to deal
with the tremendous social problems which have followed from the vast increase in our population over the best pest
40 forty years: an increase which is unparalleled in any
place of this size over such
such a
a period. The economic
success which has rewarded the hard work, energy and
enterprise of the people of Hong Kong, has enabled us to
meet the
the challenges we have had to face in providing
housing, education, medical services and welfare for our
ever increasing population. But continuity alone would
not have been enough. The
The success could not have been
achieved without a system of government which was both
effective and responsive and able to command the support
and the confidence of the community it serves.
Sir, at
A
the heart of our system of government has
-
been the consultative process. We have prided ourselves
on being a government which listens to a community which
expresses itself publicly, through the media and through a
network of boards and committees, no less than 250 in
all.
The government has listened to and benefitted from the advice of a wide range of people from all sectors of
this community; the value of their contribution cannot be
overstated. In our society, they are able to speak freely
according to what they believe to be in the best interests
of the community as a whole; and when they do so, it is
with the assurance that their views are important and that
they will be listened to.