21
History
continued to grow, reaching four million by 1971, five million by 1980, six million by 1994, and now over seven million.
The surge of people to Hong Kong in the early 1950s led to a drastic increase in the number of squatters. On Christmas Day 1953, a squatter fire left 53,000 people homeless and the government's emergency rehousing measures in response marked the start of the city's public housing programme. It has since developed into a programme encompassing a wide range of rental and home ownership flats and facilities. In the first quarter of 2015, around 2.1 million people roughly 30 per cent of the population were living in public rental housing.
A period of economic stagnation following the 1951 United Nations' trade embargo on China arising from the Korean war caused Hong Kong to begin to industrialise. No longer could the city rely solely on its port to provide prosperity for its greatly increased population. The rise of its manufacturing sector began with the setting up of textile mills. The mills gradually expanded their range of products and, by the 1960s, they included man-made fibres and garments. During this decade, textiles and clothing made up about half of domestic exports by value.
In 1966, as the Cultural Revolution was launched on the Mainland, tension mounted in Hong Kong. During 1967, this developed into a series of civil disturbances, affecting all aspects of life and temporarily paralysing the economy. But, by the year's end, the disturbances were contained and the community continued its tradition of peaceful progress.
Hong Kong continued to expand as an entrepôt, particularly for trade with China. Coupled with tourism, this led to vast improvements in communications, with an increasing number of people entering the Mainland each year from or through Hong Kong, the natural gateway.
The effects of two far-sighted initiatives by the government in the 1970s can be seen in the physical shape of present-day Hong Kong. The first was a decision in 1972 as part of a 10-year housing programme to develop new towns in the New Territories. Nine new towns were developed over the following two decades and these now accommodate about 47 per cent of the population, easing the pressure on development of the main urban areas. At the same time, the enactment of the Country Parks Ordinance in 1976 provided a legal framework for the establishment of the country parks and special areas. There are now 24 country parks and 22 special areas which cover around 40 per cent of Hong Kong and conserve its varied habitats.
The end of the Vietnamese war in 1975 saw a fresh influx of refugees, this time from Vietnam. Between then and 2000, when the last refugee camp was closed, over 200,000 Vietnamese made their way to Hong Kong. Of these, more than 143,000 were resettled overseas and some 72,000 repatriated to Vietnam.
Into the New Millennium
In the 1970s, the approaching expiry of the lease on the New Territories in 1997 caused uncertainties in Hong Kong and in 1982 the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, visited China to discuss the city's future with Chinese leaders. That visit marked the start of two years of negotiations between the Chinese and British governments, culminating in the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong on 19 December 1984. The Joint
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