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HISTORY
woollens and, in the late 1960s, man-made fibres and made-up garments. In 1959, 53 per cent of Hong Kong's total domestic exports were textiles and clothing, com- pared with 47 per cent in 1977, showing economy's continued dependence on textiles. While textiles remain the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy, major contributions are made by plastic goods, electronic products and other industries.
As the volume of trade has increased so has the level of product design and sophistication. Quality standards and production methods have greatly improved with mechanisation being increasingly adopted as growth leads to higher labour costs. Economic expansion has enabled the government to increase its social and other services to match overall growth. The first public housing estate was built in 1954 after 50,000 squatters lost their homes in a Christmas Day fire at Shek Kip Mei in Kowloon. These housing blocks had only basic facilities and were intended to provide quickly a large number of homes at low rents. Standards have greatly improved since then.
A new, unified Housing Authority was formed in April, 1973, with the respon- sibility of planning, building and managing all public housing estates in Hong Kong. It is served by the Housing Department. Today more than two million people - 46 per cent of the population – live in government-subsidised accommodation. During 1977, 101,900 people moved into Housing Authority accommodation, making a total of almost two million in the authority's 64 estates with a further 131,010 in subsidised housing provided by the Hong Kong Housing Society - a voluntary government-aided organisation.
The design and layout of public housing estates, particularly in the provision of social and commercial facilities, has been greatly improved. Older estates are being upgraded and the Housing Authority has made a start on the government's plan to build homes for sale within the public housing sector.
Expenditure on education has increased enormously over recent years - forming 20 per cent of total government expenditure in the 1977-8 financial year. There are now 2,500 schools, four technical institutes, three colleges of education, a technical teachers' college, a polytechnic and two universities.
The government has announced that, from 1978, sufficient places will be made available for every primary school-leaver to complete three years of secondary educa- tion. In October, 1977, the Governor announced that junior secondary education would be made free and compulsory with the abolition of the standard $400-a-year fee. In November, 1977, a Green Paper issued for discussion outlined proposals for developing senior secondary and tertiary education over the next 10 years.
University education has expanded greatly since World War II. The University of Hong Kong re-opened in 1946 with 109 students. In 1977-8, there were 3,839 under- graduate places and 854 post-graduate places. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which opened in 1963, had an enrolment of 4,247 undergraduates in September, 1977, with a further 468 students enrolled in the graduate programme.
Enormous strides have been made in social welfare in Hong Kong and a com- prehensive review of social security and welfare services was undertaken during 1977. Following the publication of a White Paper on Rehabilitation in October, three Green Papers dealing with the development of social security, services for the elderly and personal social work among young people were published in November.