10
REVIEW
extended, and the Hong Kong section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway is being modernised with double-tracking (for its entire length) and electrification, which will result in a much faster and better service between Kowloon and Sha Tin, Tai Po and Lo Wu.
Congestion is, of course, at the root of most of Hong Kong's problems. Land is the most basic need. The unforeseeable and dramatic impact of China's 'four modernisations' policy, the resulting influx of overseas businesses into Hong Kong, and the upsurge in the rate of immigration, combined to put extreme pressure on residential and commercial premises. Thus, there has been growing dissatisfaction at the rate at which new areas have been brought on to the market and into use; equally disturbing have been the spiralling prices and rents. The government has long been opposed to rent controls though, because of the way in which domestic rents were soaring, restrictions (allowing 21 per cent increases for two years) were extended for a further two years to give the government time to revise the out-dated Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. The course preferred by both the govern- ment and the land developers, however, is to speed up land production and supply, and the government has appointed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of an Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council to try and achieve a breakthrough.
New Townships
Long ago it was realised that the old urban areas were incapable of further expansion and the government earmarked several sites in the New Territories for the building of new townships and industrial estates. The new towns are already rapidly becoming handsome and well-planned new cities, as the visitor to Tuen Mun (nestling below Castle Peak) and Sha Tin, will discover. And when these, and areas such as Yuen Long, Tai Po and Fanling (the so-called market towns) are in turn converted into small cities, the government will be focusing its attention on areas like Junk Bay and the north coast of Lantau, which have been recent subjects for commissioned studies. These new towns will be fully inte- grated and though linked by road or rail with Kowloon, will be independent of it for the most part. They will contain their own road and transport systems, housing estates, shopping centres, offices, cinemas and all government services, as well as factory space for industries prepared to break away from the old and increasingly costly and congested urban areas of Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong.
It is also important to note here that, while the government has given industry a free rein to develop, it has become obvious over the years that controls and regulations are needed for the protection of those who work in factories. The old sweatshop image of Hong Kong has changed for the better and, increasingly, factories offer their workers a clean atmosphere, good conditions, reasonable hours and fair pay. There are still many however which do not, and while the whiplash of economic recovery in 1976 has worked a striking improvement in wages (over 25 per cent in real terms in mid-1980), Hong Kong has taken steps to improve conditions for women and young people, to introduce benefits for long-service workers, improve safety, health and welfare, lay down statutory periods for leave and holidays and set up tribunals to adjudicate on conditions and wages.
It was the proud claim of the Labour Department towards the end of the decade that it had introduced more than 150 items of legislation. Perhaps the most noteworthy was that which provided not only one rest day a week and statutory paid holidays (particularly at the major festivals), but also seven days' paid annual leave. While Hong Kong still falls short of the benefits enjoyed by workers in Europe and America, it ranks as one of the most advanced nations in Asia. And moreover, Hong Kong has largely avoided the infection