visit to the Colony. For its part, Hong Kong maintains a Government Representative in Tokyo and a Government Agent in London with an office in Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, W.C.2.
Relations with Thailand, Burma and Indo-China have, as in former years, been principally devoted to the negotiations of rice purchases. Due to the fact that normal diplomatic relations have not yet been established between Great Britain and the Central People's Government of China, it has been impossible for any official relations to be developed between the Government of Hong Kong and the Chinese authorities in Kwangtung.
The traditional friendly relations between Hong Kong and its neighbour, the Portuguese Colony of Macao on the western side of the Pearl River estuary, have been maintained as in previous years, and the retiring Governor of Macao, Commander Albano de Oliveira, passed through the Colony during the year on his return to Portugal.
Relations with United Nations
The Seventh Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East was held in January at Lahore, Pakistan, but coming as it did shortly after the imposition of the American embargo when Hong Kong's economic position was particularly uncertain it was reluctantly decided not to send a delegation to the conferences. This was the first session of E.C.A.F.E. at which Hong Kong has not been represented since the Commission first met at Shanghai in 1947.
Later in the year, in November, the Commission organized its first Trade Promotion Conference, a step which the Hong Kong delegation to the Sixth Session at Bangkok in 1950 had warmly supported. The conference was held at Singapore, and Hong Kong sent a strong delegation of representative businessmen led by an official of the Department of Commerce and Industry.
A mobile x-ray unit was donated to the Medical Department by U.N.I.C.E.F. and has been put into extensive use in connexion with anti-tuberculosis work.
Development and Welfare
Only half of the £1,000,000 allocated to Hong Kong by His Majesty's Government under the terms of the Colonial Development and Welfare Act 1945 has yet been spent.
It had originally been
decided to spend £500,000 on rural projects but in view of the steady and satisfactory progress made by the farming and fishing community it is now considered that the Colony's most pressing need is the provision of adequate housing in the urban areas, and it is therefore
URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES
15