HISTORY
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services has been mainly responsible for reducing the infant mortality rate to a level which is now lower than in many developed countries, and a wide variety of other services have brought about a generally good state of health throughout the com- munity. A decade ago, tuberculosis was an important health problem in Hong Kong, accounting for more sickness and deaths than all other communicable diseases com- bined. Today, cancer and heart diseases are the main causes of death.
The most dramatic increase in government expenditure has been registered in the field of social welfare. In 1966-7, expenditure plus subventions to voluntary agencies amounted to $20.5 million. In 1976–7 the figure was some $363 million. Most of the developments in this field have taken place since the expanded public assistance scheme was introduced in 1971, giving assistance in the form of cash grants instead of the dry rations provided under the previous programme. In 1973, a five- year plan was introduced to cover the development and improvement of social welfare services, and several new schemes came into being that year. One provided non- means-tested allowances for the severely disabled and the elderly infirm; another provided for compensation for victims of crimes of violence and for people acciden- tally injured or disabled by law enforcement officers in the execution of their duties; and a third scheme established a network of 17 community and youth officers throughout the territory. The Institute for Social Work Training was also established. The five- year plan is reviewed annually and at the same time it is extended for a further year. In 1976 a major review was undertaken in order to produce a more comprehensive programme to safeguard all vulnerable groups in the community. The work of the government is supplemented by a variety of services offered by more than 100 volun- tary agencies.
Through labour legislation, comprehensive protection is now provided for wages, rest days, holidays with pay, maternity leave, sick pay and severance payments. Legis- lation also gives protection in respect of workmen's compensation and against anti- union acts. Normal hours of work for women and young people employed in industry have been reduced from 10 to eight a day. Some 15 regulations have been introduced in the past decade to improve safety standards in a wide range of hazardous trades and processes. Labour tribunals have been set up by statute to supplement the con- ciliation service of the Labour Department, which now has the backing of the Labour Relations Ordinance. Legislation covering industrial training and apprenticeship is helping Hong Kong to develop its manpower resources to meet the needs of the economy. Altogether 132 items of labour legislation have been enacted since 1967. Further improvements are planned for weekly rest days, severance pay and sickness benefits in 1977, and the provision of one week's paid annual leave from 1978.
New roads and flyovers have completely transformed road travel. It is barely 10 years since Hong Kong's first road tunnel-the Lion Rock tunnel--was opened in 1967. The cross-harbour tunnel, built by private enterprise with government parti- cipation, was opened in 1972. Now a second Lion Rock tunnel is nearing completion, so that there will be two vehicle lanes in each direction between Kowloon and the New Territories; a tunnel under the international airport has recently been completed, as part of a road traffic route up the eastern side of the Kowloon peninsula; and in 1976 tenders were called for the Aberdeen tunnel, which will link the northern and