REVIEW
5
One of the improvements is that national population censuses are now conceived as being part of a global programme of census taking; their times are roughly synchronized and there is some regard for the need of compatible definitions. The 1961 Hong Kong Census was in this sense a part of the 1960-1 World Census Programme and in addition to receiving the United Nations publications Principles and Recommendations for National Popula- tion Censuses(1), Handbook of Population Census Methods(2) and others, the local census administration was able to call for technical advice from the Bangkok headquarters of the Economic Commis- sion for Asia and the Far East. One of its officers studied (before appointment) under a United Nations fellowship for one year at the Demographic Training and Research Centre at Chembur, and another attended as delegate the United Nations Seminar on Evaluation and Utilization of Population Census Data in Asia and the Far East at Bombay, India, from 20th June to 8th July 1960. Each of these facilities made its contribution, much or more, by saving time and expense and preventing waste of resources or effort.
There remained much to be decided locally. Slavishly to follow the methods of other territories could be a mistake of the same order as obstinately to refuse to alter one's own.
Hong Kong is not a place where census forms can be sent by post to each householder and completed by him. This is self- evident in respect of the boat people and refugees without fixed abode. But even for the settled population a postal census is not practical politics. This is not only because there is still a certain amount of illiteracy, especially among older people and recent arrivals from backward areas. Nor can the inhabitants be called unco-operative, though they are unaccustomed to filling in forms, since life in Hong Kong is singularly free from this habit. The reasons were two in number. Firstly, to conduct a postal census the name and address of each householder and the approximate
(1) ST/STAT/SER.M/27, New York, 1958.
(2) ST/STAT/SER.F/5/Rev.1. New York. Volumes I and II, 1958;
Volume III, 1959.