HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 1
THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL DEBATES
OFFICIAL REPORT
IN THE SESSION OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF HONG KONG
WHICH OPENED 17TH OCTOBER 1973
IN THE
TWENTY-SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBER
Wednesday, 17th October 1973
The Council met at half past Two o'clock
[MR PRESIDENT in the Chair]
PRESENT
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR (PRESIDENT)
SIR CRAWFORD MURRAY MACLEHOSE, KCMG, MBE
THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY
MR DENYS TUDOR EMIL ROBERTS, CBE, QC, JP
THE HONOURABLE THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY
MR CHARLES PHILIP HADDON-CAVE, CMG, JP
THE HONOURABLE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
MR JOHN WILLIAM DIXON HOBLEY, JP
THE HONOURABLE THE SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS
MR JACK CATER, CBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE DAVID RICHARD WATSON ALEXANDER, CBE, JP DIRECTOR OF URBAN SERVICES
THE HONOURABLE JAMES JEAVONS ROBSON, CBE, JP
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
THE HONOURABLE JOHN CANNING, JP
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
DR THE HONOURABLE GERALD HUGH CHOA, CBE, JP
DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
THE HONOURABLE DENIS CAMPBELL BRAY, JP
DISTRICT COMMISSIONER, NEW TERRITORIES
THE HONOURABLE IAN MACDONALD LIGHTBODY, JP
SECRETARY FOR HOUSING
THE HONOURABLE DAVID HAROLD JORDAN, MBE, JP
DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
THE HONOURABLE LI FOOK-KOW, JP
SECRETARY FOR SOCIAL SERVICES
THE HONOURABLE GEORGE PETER LLOYD, CMG, JP
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY
THE HONOURABLE DAVID WYLIE MCDONALD, JP
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS (Acting)
THE HONOURABLE WOO PAK-CHUEN, CBE, JP
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 2
THE HONOURABLE SZETO WAI, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE WILFRED WONG SIEN-BING, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE WILSON WANG TZE-SAM, OBE, IP
DR THE HONOURABLE CHUNG SZE-YUEN, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE LEE QUO-WEI, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE OSWALD VICTOR CHEUNG, OBE, QC, JP
THE HONOURABLE ROGERIO HYNDMAN LOBO, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE MRS CATHERINE JOYCE SYMONS, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE PETER GORDON WILLIAMS, JP
THE HONOURABLE JAMES WU MAN-HON, JP
THE HONOURABLE HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE LI FOOK-WO, OBE, JP
ABSENT
THE HONOURABLE ANN TSE-KAI, OBE, JP
THE HONOURABLE GUY MOWBRAY SAYER, JP
IN ATTENDANCE
THE CLERK TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
MR KENNETH HARRY WHEELER
Oaths
MR LLOYD and MR MCDONALD took the Oath of Allegiance and assumed their seats as Members of the Council.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT: —I should like to welcome Mr LLOYD and Mr MCDONALD to this Council.
Address by H.E. the Governor
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR: —Honourable Members, last year my address to some extent took the form of first impressions of Hong Kong in my unfamiliar role of Governor.
The year that has followed has been one of intense activity, and it has been shot through with important and sometimes dramatic events. There has been the rise and fall of the stock market; the sterling float and the effect on the value of our reserves; the cleaning of Hong
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 3
Kong in a dramatic campaign; the reprieve, on the advice of Her Majesty's Government, of a convicted murderer against the express advice of the Governor in Council and the wishes of the over-whelming majority of the population; the mounting of an intense effort to come to grips with the problem of rising crime; the move to prosecute Godber, his escape and the harsh light then thrown on the whole problem of corruption in Hong Kong; discrimination and the threat of discrimination against Hong Kong in generalized preference schemes; shortage of raw materials; disruptive changes in the parities of our major trading partners; sharp rises in prices of imported goods. I mention these as some, and only some, of the events that have pre-occupied us in the course of this eventful year.
In this succession of events it has been the duty of your Government with the support of the Executive Council and honourable Members, to direct things within its power as seemed best for the interest of Hong Kong. But it has been our constant concern not to be diverted from the mainstream of our social policies as outlined last year and endorsed by this Council.
These required the formulation of long-term plans to break finally the makeshift conditions forced on Hong Kong by the influx of population in the '50s and the '60s. This was not only because I believed such an approach to be right in itself, and to accord with the advice of honourable Members and the wishes of the public, but also because I was convinced that in many respects current conditions can only be accepted if the public knows that their Government is sincerely determined to improve them and within a reasonable timescale. So on no account have we been prepared to permit the pressing pre-occupations of today to divert us from long term measures to achieve the essential conditions of an acceptable tomorrow.
It is with these long term measures that I start.
First of all housing. Of all these social programmes it is the biggest. Everything that I have seen in the city and read at my desk during this second year in Hong Kong confirms my conclusion that the inadequacy and scarcity of housing, and all that this implies, and the harsh situations that result from it, is one of the major and most constant sources of friction and unhappiness between Government and the population. It also has implications for our twin problems of crime and corruption. It is therefore vital that we press on with our target of self-contained homes for all in a reasonable environment, by the fiscal year 1982-83.
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
The new Housing Authority and Housing Department are addressing themselves to this gigantic task with enthusiasm and imagination. They have inherited a lean period, but they aim to work up to a plateau of production in 1976-77 of new homes for 200,000 a year and thereafter to maintain it. They must do this without making excessive demands on the labour market. Later in the debate the Secretary for Housing will be speaking about this and other problems facing the new Authority. These include, depressingly, the need for resite areas to tide over the lean years the Authority has inherited.
The Authority indeed faces many important problems of day to day administration. But we must never forget that nearly all of these are symptoms of the dominant disease-scarcity of housing. The only sure cure is therefore to end the scarcity. So the primary task of the New Authority and Housing Department must be to build fast, to build well and above all to keep on building.
The new 5-year plan for social welfare, which I referred to last year, has been published together with a White Paper and both came into effect on the 1st of April. The first draft was the product of a mixed working party of official members and of unofficial social workers. This was published as a green paper, and after the views of this Council had been taken an opportunity was provided for the public and the voluntary agencies to express their views on the plan. These were taken into account in the final White Paper which now embodies the plan. I recapitulate because I am sure that this process of consultation will commend itself to honourable Members as the right way to handle plans of this sort.
The plan will now be reviewed each year so as to provide a constant 5-year projection. Implementation of the plan has started well. The Secretary for Social Services will be going into details later in the debate and I only wish to refer to one or two points. The new Institute for Social Work Training has now been established and opened last month. I do hope it will be dynamic. It will provide the community with an increasing and badly needed supply of trained social workers. But I hope that it will also have a major impact on the lines along which social work in Hong Kong develops. It should be both a forcing house for new ideas, and a forum for the analysis and exchange of practical experience.
I should also like to make a special mention of Community Development and Youth projects. The Executive Council has approved,
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subject to the provision of funds by Finance Committee, a 5-year plan for the provision of 14 community centres and 89 community halls, youth centres and estate welfare centres aimed at bringing community facilities within the reach of all sectors of the community.
It has also approved, on the same terms, provision of additional services involving the progressive appointment of a network of officers to promote community and youth activities in all districts in Hong Kong.
I think that these schemes could become of very great importance. They can make a special contribution to a society as young as this. They touch an age group particularly vulnerable to criminal influence. Moreover I believe that in the circumstances of Hong Kong provision of community facilities is an essential step on the road to responsible citizenship and civic sense.
I now turn to the third of the long-term plans announced last year, that for the expansion of secondary education. This was to address ourselves forthwith to the provision of 184,000 additional assisted places in forms 1 - 3 and 55,000 additional places in forms 4 - 5 so as to offer 3 years secondary education to all in the 12-14 year age group, and to double the percentage in the full 5-year course leading to a Certificate of Education.
I asked the Board of Education to let me have their recommendations on the time-scale within which these targets could be achieved, and on any changes in the educational system which should be introduced. To undertake this task the Board of Education was reconstituted under the Chairmanship of Mr Woo, and with a membership of great distinction and authority. I have seen the Board’s report and it is a most able and valuable document. It confirms that these targets could be achieved within a 10 year plan, that is to say, by 1984, and lays down an interim target of places for 80 % of the 12 - 14 year age group by 1981. It recommends that one fifth of the 3-year places should be in pre-vocational schools and that one third of the places in the 5-year course should be in secondary technical schools. The report also recommends that to meet the necessary expansion in the teaching services a fourth college of education should be established as soon as possible, if necessary in temporary accommodation, and that the universities should consider further expansion of their present facilities for graduate training in education.
I have been interested to see recent discussion on the role of English in our schools. The Board has quite separately recommended
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
that Chinese should become the usual medium of instruction for lower forms in secondary schools. In keeping with this the Board also recommends that the early years of secondary education should as far as possible be based on a common core of instruction irrespective of the type of school.
As we have already achieved free primary education, the Board was invited to advise on the extent to which secondary education should be free, in the present circumstances of Hong Kong. The Board endorsed existing Government policy that no child should be denied a place in a Government or assisted secondary school on financial grounds, and concluded that within the present fee structure and feeremission system there is adequate provision to ensure this aim, and that in the present circumstances of Hong Kong there is no compelling need at present to provide free education in the lower secondary ranges for those able to pay the highly subsidized fees. The Board nevertheless recommended that the possibility of free education should be kept under regular review.
I am extremely grateful to the Board for the work they have done. Far be it from me to comment on it. It is most reassuring to have this corpus of expert opinion as a basis for planning the further expansion of secondary education. The Government proposes to follow a similar procedure with this report as with that on the 5-year Plan for Social Welfare last year. It will table the report in this Council forthwith as a Green Paper. After honourable Members have expressed their views, an adequate period will be allowed for the public and interested bodies to comment. In the light of this discussion a White Paper will be submitted for consideration by the Executive and Legislative Councils embodying the final phased plan for reaching our targets. I might add that in examining the Board's targets and proposed timescale it will be our object to see if these could not somehow be improved on. I am sure that the Board would endorse this approach. I also hope that with these basic plans drafted the Board will be able to turn its attention to a thorough review of the examination system.
The Director of Education will be giving details later in the debate of the progress made in his department this year.
I know of the great interest of honourable members in the provision of technical education. It is a fine form of education in itself, and the capacity of Hong Kong to adapt to changing industrial and commercial conditions greatly depends on the programme of expansion
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of technical education. This programme has been pursued with considerable energy, and the present forecast is that in addition to Morrison Hill, technical institutes at Kwai Chung and Kwun Tong will be opened in September 1975, and at Cheung Sha Wan and San Po Kong in September 1976 and September 1977 respectively. We will keep the need for further expansion under careful review. This may well be necessary but we would like to see the degree of support from both the public and industry before taking further firm decisions.
I have little to add to what I said last year about tertiary education. The University and Polytechnic Grants Committee are currently discussing the universities’ plan for the forthcoming quadrennium covering the years 1974-78. These plans should provide an expansion in the two universities, from a capacity of 6,000 to one of 8,400 at least, by 1978.
The Polytechnic is making good progress towards its target of 8,000 full time and 20,000 part-time students by 1978, and I would like to congratulate the Board and the staff of the Polytechnic on their success in launching this new venture. In combination all these measures provide for a tripling of facilities in tertiary education by 1978.
I now turn to our medical and health services-services of which we are justly very proud. It is no small achievement in a high density community such as this to be able to point to the consistently falling levels in the overall death rate, in infant and maternal mortality and in the incidence of infectious diseases.
Since we are reaching the end of the 10-year period of development set out in the 1964 White Paper, the Department of Medical and Health Services drew up comprehensive plans for meeting the needs of the next ten years. We have followed the same procedure over these plans as with those for the expansion of secondary education. A Medical Development Advisory Committee with experienced and authoritative membership was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Albert RODRIGUES. The department's plans were then submitted to it as a basis for recommendations as to what our targets should be for 1983, how we should proceed to achieve them, and what demands this would make in terms of money and trained personnel. The committee has completed and submitted its report, and this will be laid before this Council at our next meeting as a green paper. The committee's recommendations and any views expressed on them by the public and professional bodies will be studied very carefully by the Government. In the light of this consideration early next year we shall lay before
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
the Executive Council and this Council a firm programme for development over the course of the next ten years.
I have counted some twenty main recommendations in the RODRIGUES’ report. I have time today to refer only to a few. Next year we shall reach and pass the target of 4.25 hospital per one thousand of population set in 1964. The Advisory Committee now recommend a new and higher target of 5.5 beds to each thousand members of the population by 1983. This would involve providing an additional 8,250 beds over and above the 3,000 already in the pipeline. That this is a formidable target neither the committee nor the Government doubt, particularly at a time when the scale of development in other fields will be making great demands on our resources. Clearly we are obliged to consider with care the various possible methods by which the target may be reached, and we must decide quickly. Well will need some more hospitals, but we will also have to contrive the fullest use of beds already available.
The report warns us that by the end of the decade we will need each year 100 more doctors than are being produced at present; that a dental school should be established so as to provide about 60 dentists each year from 1980 onwards; and that we should be planning now a further training school capable of taking 150 to 200 student nurses a year. These recommendations have far reaching implications for our universities and involve very considerable cost. In view of the great time lag involved between planning any new medical training facilities and completion of the training of the first students in them, we will need to think both fast and clearly. On these matters the Government will want to take the advice of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee.
I am extremely grateful to Sir Albert and his Committee. Like the Board of Education his committee were confronted with a formidable mass of technical and administrative detail, and with admirable speed were able to reduce this to a clear and valuable report. This will be the basis for our Medical and Health Services in the 80’s.
Apart from these important long term plans, the only other subject in the medical field I wish to mention is that of family planning. This month the Government begins to share with the voluntary agencies responsibility for developing and encouraging family planning. Over the next twelve months the services presently run by the Family Planning Association in Government clinics will become part of the Government
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service, staffed by Government officers and supported and financed directly by the Government. This will make it possible for the Family Planning Association and other agencies to concentrate their efforts in the areas not served by Government clinics. These measures are of great importance because all our efforts to improve the quality of life in Hong Kong could be frustrated by excessive natural increase, just as they could be by excessive immigration, and we face a significant increase in the size of the child-bearing age-group.
So honourable Members the long-term plans for housing and social welfare are thus firmly established, and those for education and medical and health services are far advanced. Each year each projection will be re-examined and rolled forward, so that we will continue to have a clear long term view of what must be done. We thus now have four pillars on which the future well-being of our community can be built. The concern of your Government must now be to ensure that the plans do not slip and that they are carried out with the vigour that the community demands.
The elaboration of these plans across so wide a field, and more or less simultaneously, has placed a considerable strain on the machinery of Government and I am indeed proud of the response of the public service to the challenge involved. I very much hope that the progressive implementation of the recommendations of the consultants, Messrs McKinsey, to strengthen the machinery and planning processes of Government, will eliminate the need for any repetition of such a mammoth operation.
Since the consultants' departure the Colonial Secretariat has been re organized into six policy and two resource branches, the former being based on six groups of programmes, that is to say economic services, environment, home affairs and information, housing, security, and social services.
Now that seven of the eight Secretaries have been named, and are in post, our aim is to develop and implement a workable and reliable Government management system based on the consultants' recommendations, and tailored to our own evolving requirements. Such a system must embrace the assessment of our needs and the formulation of policies required to meet them; it will also entail the implementation of policies in the light of our resources of finance, manpower and land, and the monitoring of their effectiveness.
To do all this, we shall need to train and develop the expertise of our own staff in the techniques of modem corporate management and
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
to do so as quickly as possible. To assist in this we have secured the services, on secondment, of two of the staff of the Greater London Council experienced in these techniques.
All these endeavours, which are now in hand, should facilitate the effective realization of the far-reaching plans of which I have spoken. But, just as important, they should also facilitate and expedite the more mundane work of the Government.
With these major basic programmes and administrative reforms in hand, I believe the time has come to give an additional thrust in two main areas: the first is recreation, leisure and sport; and the second is that broad complex of inter-related problems which might be described under the heading of traffic and transport, land policy and pollution.
Let me start with recreation. With rising standards of living, and time available to be spent on more than just a struggle for existence, facilities for recreation have taken on a new and urgent significance. They are no longer luxuries but essential parts of our social infrastructure which, I suggest to you, we would neglect at our peril. I am conscious of the excellent work already being done by a wide variety of organizations, both Government and Government-aided, and privately financed. But the machinery for a co ordinated drive has hitherto been lacking.
We will therefore set up a Council for Recreation and Sport under the chairmanship of the Secretary for Home Affairs. This will bring together a high-level group of persons with special experience of the public and private organizations controlling the main recreational facilities and services in existence. So as to make it effective and provide it with some administrative muscle it will be equipped with its own secretariat. It will be the chosen channel for advice to Government in this field. In particular it will advise on how to expand facilities, maximize their use, increase supervision of activities in them, and advise the Government on the extent and direction of financial assistance to amateur sport. It will also make recommendations on any special services and facilities it considers necessary to meet the leisure time needs of young people. I trust that these proposals will commend themselves to honourable Members and that they will agree that adequate funds should be made available to implement the Council’s recommendations. I hope this Council may bring new purpose, new impetus and new thinking into what is being done in this field.
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The Council will also include within its purview the 5-year Programme of Recreational Development and Nature Conservation, which was announced last year. This is now beginning to get into its stride, and to pass from the stage of planning to construction.
In addition to country parks and reserves already planned on Hong Kong Island, Tolo Harbour, Shing Mun, Lion Rock and Pak Sha Wan, two areas which are particularly rich in recreational opportunities are Lantau Island and the Sai Kung peninsula. To enable the Government to decide how best to utilise these special opportunities a comprehensive planning study was commissioned from consultants and their recommendations are expected in about a year's time. These plans should provide a framework for the development of major holiday centres for our own people and for visitors, as well as for the informal enjoyment of the countryside and beaches.
I attach importance to this programme. Though recreational facilities in the old areas will be greatly expanded, the sheer lack of space makes it likely that they will always fall short of what we would wish for so large a concentration of population. It is therefore essential that properly equipped recreational areas be opened up in the mountains and beaches that surround the city, with proper road access, and staff to keep them clean and attractive and to help the public to do so, and thus ensure that everyone gets the maximum benefit out of them.
To those of us who are urban in our habits this programme may seem peripheral but to my mind it is central. The mountains and the beaches are for the many what the golf course and the yacht are for the few. And if these magnificent natural facilities are to be enjoyed to the full and not to be destroyed by misuse, they must be catered for and administered just as much as, say, the playgrounds and swimming complexes in the urban areas.
Another wide field to which we must now address ourselves with even greater effort—and I do not decry what has already been done and is being done—is that which might be described under the heading of traffic, transport, land policy and pollution. They are inter-related and intractable subjects which are as hard to solve in Hong Kong as in any other of the great conurbations, and rendered more difficult by the great concentration of population and the limitations of space. I am sure that the drafting of sound and comprehensive policies will be greatly facilitated by the appointment of a single senior officer, the Secretary for the Environment, to evolve and co-ordinate programmes. He is, I am satisfied, undaunted by this daunting responsibility. He will be outlining his approach himself at a later stage in this debate.
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
The most dramatic single item in this group of subjects, though by no means necessarily the most important, is the mass transit project, and I confess I do prefer to call it the underground railway. The negotiation of the contract is in the competent hands of the Financial Secretary and the Steering Group under the direction of the Executive Council and I have nothing to add about the course of the negotiations today.
But even when the underground railway is completed the bus will continue as the major public passenger carrier. It is therefore essential that the quality of the bus services should be steadily improved to a point at which they are readily accepted, at least at peak times, as a satisfactory alternative to the car, the taxi or the public light bus. Discussions are being held with the bus companies on the best way of ensuring this.
As a basis for an overall transport policy, a green paper will be tabled shortly. The paper will present an overall policy, a composition of restraints and improvements designed to keep Hong Kong on the move. I am sure that honourable Members will wish to consider and debate on the propositions in it. But certainly a clear-cut long term policy is essential.
Traffic and transport are of course inter-connected with the problems of on and off-street parking and also to some extent with that of use of street space by hawkers, and consequently with the progressive planning and provision of more adequate markets.
It will be the responsibility of the Secretary for the Environment to ensure the composition and coordination of long-term plans covering all these difficult inter-related issues.
He will also share responsibility with the Secretary for Economic Services for land policy. I think honourable Members will agree that it is time we took a hard look at this. If the standard of living of our people is to continue to rise our economy must continue to expand. We must ensure it does not get stuck on a plateau, either through lack of suitable land for development at reasonable prices, or through any failure of the system of competitive bidding for lots to attract particular types of new industry which would contribute to the expansion and diversification of our economy.
The Government has been examining its industrial land policy and we conclude that some revision may be desirable.
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You may recall that in December of last year I indicated that the Government had decided to make some sites available for special industries for sale on a restricted user basis. The first such site on Tsing Yi Island was sold in April of this year. Honourable Members might like to know that several other sites may be sold on this basis in the near future.
The shortage of land for private development is apparent. A determined search has therefore been made for large blocks of unformed land that could be made available quickly for private development. The Secretary for the Environment will be explaining the results later in the debate.
For the rest there is not so much an absolute shortage of land as lack of access communications that make land attractive to developers. It is against this background that we are pressing on with a second tunnel to Sha Tin, and a motorway to Castle Peak, and both in due course will open up other substantial areas for development, as will the new bridge to Tsing Yi Island, in itself a monument to the farsightedness of our entrepreneurs. But of course the greatest untouched land asset at present is Lantau. Even if, as I think should be the case, the bulk of this large island were reserved for recreation purposes there is still ample room for badly needed additional sites for industry and residential development. It is against this background that we are once more investigating the possibility of constructing a bridge.
The new-style Urban Council has now been inaugurated under a new Ordinance and with full financial autonomy.
Might I say what a happy event this was for all of us, and how much we wish the Council success in its very important work.
I should like to say a separate and special word about the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. It was the brain child and special responsibility of the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department, but in the end most departments of Government, of course including the Police, were involved, as were very large numbers of the public. Its success was manifest. The streets became clean. 24,000 tons of the accumulated rubbish of decades was removed. In the course of it, in the urban area, no less than 64 acres, 2.8 million square feet, comprising some 137 sites were transformed from rubbish dumps into gardens and play areas. Hong Kong was the sweeter for the change. We have also all gained confidence in our ability to tackle great problems of community interest if only we organize ourselves properly and all pull together.
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
I am delighted that this spring clean has been accompanied by great improvements to our parks, and by the planting of many new trees and shrubs in public places. I am sure that in spite of the difficulties Hong Kong can be both clean and green.
This year I will say little myself about labour matters, and thus leave the Secretary for Social Services to speak for himself.
Some progress has been made this year with industrial safety regulations, but there is a long way to go and the rate of industrial accidents remains alarmingly high.
The introduction of the Labour Tribunal has proved an immediate success.
The principal piece of labour legislation we propose for this session is a major addition to the Ordinance to provide for severance payments to workers whose services are terminated through no fault of their own.
Before leaving the subject of labour, I would like to apologize for the delay in setting up the Hong Kong Training Council, to continue the valuable work started by its predecessor, the Industrial Training Advisory Committee. The Council is now established and faces a major challenge. I am sure that it will meet it.
And now a word about the New Territories. I am conscious of the concern of some honourable Members that the Government should be more even handed as between the urban areas and the New Territories in the programmes it undertakes. This concern reflects the views of the Heung Yee Kuk.
The large social programmes, housing, education, medical services and social welfare, will of course benefit the New Territories as much as, or even more than the old urban areas, and will contribute substantially to the standard of life and amenities in the New Territories.
But the rural areas of the New Territories present a special problem. In them, in particular, we are faced with the phenomenon of rural slums. Their elimination involves complex problems because of the mix of small factories, pig, poultry and vegetable farms and residential huts that comprise them. However a pilot scheme is now being worked out for the development of an area near Yuen Long.
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Last year I mentioned that there was a requirement for better housing in the rural New Territories. What is needed on present assessments is, additional, decent housing for something like 250,000. Work on the planning of the estates has started, but it will be one or two years before the first of them is ready for occupation. As an interim step, attention is being paid to improving the conditions in the rural areas wherever possible. Examples of these measures are the two new housing estates, financed mainly by charitable donations from America and Canada, and opened this year at Cheung Chau and Sai Kung; the new small-house policy introduced at the end of last year; the planned provision of over a thousand items of small public works over the next three years: and the doubling of cleansing and sanitation staff over the last three years.
I should add that in re-organizing the machinery of Government it was always accepted that once the new Secretaries were in position, it would be necessary to adjust the position and status of the District Commissioner to ensure that the special requirements of the New Territories were to receive the consideration they deserved. We expect to make an announcement about this before Mr BRAY’s successor takes over.
There has been considerable public discussion about our present laws on gambling and the view has been expressed that these laws are too restrictive, are unenforceable, and should be relaxed. On the other hand, there are those who sincerely believe that changes of this nature would be harmful and that it would be wrong for Government to relax the present laws. Having considered both sides the Government has decided to make only a limited move. Legislation will be introduced to permit the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club to extend its totalizator betting facilities on Hong Kong horse races to premises outside the race course itself. We propose to do no more than this at the moment.
And now I come to the subject of corruption which has troubled us all so much in recent months, has been so much in the news, and has done so much to denigrate Hong Kong in the eyes of the world.
I had been aware of suspicions of high level graft as well as of a certainty of extensive low level corruption. But I had also been impressed by the stringent provisions of the new Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. I also was aware of the increasing efforts of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the police despite tremendous difficulties. It has
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
of course been the practice in the United Kingdom and United Kingdom dependencies, that corruption, like other forms of crime, should be handled by the police, and that when a corrupt act is alleged against a policeman it should still be investigated by policemen but from a different or a specialized unit.
That has been the situation here, except that the Anti-Corruption Branch has worked to the direction of a target committee largely civilian in composition. Though fully aware of the disquiet in many circles about corruption, and about the machinery we had here to deal with it, I wished time to see what results the branch could produce under the new legislation.
The escape of Godber was a shocking experience for all of us, extremely frustrating for the police who had worked so carefully and so secretly to bring him to court. There was great public disquiet about the circumstances of his escape, and this clearly called for an immediate and searching enquiry by a man of the highest calibre and public stature. But I thought it right to charge the same man with reporting also on the workings of our anti-corruption laws and the machinery to enforce them, and thus provide an authoritative and dispassionate view of our situation as a basis for action. This has been done, and I should like to congratulate Sir Alastair BLAIR-KERR on the thorough and forthright way he has performed this considerable public service, with a minimum of soft soap and a maximum of objectivity. Both his reports have been published in full. The public had a right to know, but in any case when something has gone wrong the air is usually soonest cleared by frank acknowledgement of the facts.
After Godber’s escape two things quickly became apparent. The first was that suspicion of corruption on a more extensive scale was better-grounded than I had personally realized. The second was that the men responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption felt that in spite of the new teeth in the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, they still lacked the legal weapons and to some extent other facilities necessary to get the results they and the public wanted and the situation required. These points have now been substantiated in Sir Alastair BLAIR-KERR’s report.
This calls for new measures.
With regard to legal weapons, on the advice of the Executive Council, the Government generally accepts the objectives of Sir Alastair’s
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recommendations. They are being examined in detail in consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Clearly, such drastic changes in established principles of law must be looked at very carefully indeed, but we hope that legislation can be introduced shortly before this Council. Where appropriate, discussions with the main staff associations will be held as some of the changes suggested to civil service regulations will be controversial and staff associations will, quite naturally, seek to protect the interests of their members. But I am sure that the service as a whole will accept that grave situations call for unusual measures, and that honest officers, the huge majority, have nothing to fear and indeed everything to gain.
Sir Alastair left open the question whether the unit to investigate corruption should continue to be part of the police or not. But he implied a personal preference for separation. It is no criticism of the police, or of the devoted work of the Anti-Corruption Branch, to say that I agree with him. I believe that it is quite wrong, in the special circumstances of Hong Kong, that the police, as a force, should carry the whole responsibility for action in this difficult and elusive field. In the past this responsibility has carried with it for many, the implication that the existence of corruption was the fault of the police. As we all know it is nothing of the sort. Outside the public service it is a widespread social problem, and inside it corruption exists in several departments of which the police is only one. Moreover I think the situation calls for an organization, led by men of high rank and status, which can devote its whole time to the eradication of this evil.
A further and conclusive argument is that public confidence is very much involved. Clearly the public would have more confidence in a unit that was entirely independent, and separate from any department of the Government, including the police.
We have therefore decided, on the advice of the Executive Council, to set up a separate Anti-Corruption Commission under a civilian Commissioner. My intention is that the latter’s independence should be established by his position being apart from the civil service in the same way as that of a judge or, say, the Chairman of the Public Services Commission.
He will have under him an operations unit and what I might call a civil or preventive section. The operations unit will in due course take over the functions of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the police.
Its staff will be selected by the Commissioner for Anti-Corruption and his Director of Operations.
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
Combatting corruption will not just be a matter of investigation and prosecution. As Sir Alastair has pointed out, there is much history behind corruption in Hong Kong and deeply ingrained attitudes are involved. The Commissioner will therefore have a civil unit whose main task will lie in educating the public as to the evils of corruption not only from the point of view of the recipient but also from that of the giver. It will also critically examine administrative procedures which lend themselves to corrupt practices.
To combat corruption, good laws and good organization are essential, but I put my trust principally in the services of sound men.
The Commissioner will be Mr CATER, I hope his appointment will commend itself to honourable Members. I believe him to be uniquely qualified to do the job. The Commissioner, like the Chairman of the Public Services Commission, will have access to the Governor whenever he wishes. I need scarcely say that I will take a very close personal interest in the development of this Commission.
Might I take this opportunity to say how intensely I appreciate the public spirit of the Telephone Company, and particularly of the Chairman, Dr LEE, in releasing Mr CATER from his contract, at very great inconvenience to themselves, to allow him to undertake this service to Hong Kong.
We have taken very careful advice from the Overseas Police Adviser to the Secretary of State and others on what outside help we should enlist to get the operations unit of the Commission off to a good start, and build it up into the highly expert, effective and dedicated organization that it must be if it is to make headway. In the light of this advice we are appointing immediately Mr John PRENDERGAST to be Director of Operations. His record as a policeman is one of unbroken success in many different situations, and he has the advantage of experience of Hong Kong between 1960 and 1966 as Director of Special Branch. In due course we will be appointing one or two more from United Kingdom police forces, at different levels, with special experience of anti-corruption work. But these are all the importations we have in mind. Basically it is for us in Hong Kong to put our own house in order, and I know very well we have the men and women both inside and outside the police force to do it.
The implications of these appointments will be apparent—the Government means business.
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The calibre and experience of these men provides assurance that this is so. None are better qualified to find out the truth, and to set about carefully but inexorably eradicating this endemic disease. I have no illusions that this will be anything but a slow, long, uphill process; but everything that energy, devotion and official backing can do to achieve these results will be done.
I would like to add a few more words on this subject. We here in Hong Kong know the strengths as well as the weaknesses of our community, of our Government and of our public services. When we criticize faults here, we do so to an audience well aware of the strengths and achievements that make up the full picture of Hong Kong. But this is not so overseas. As this matter is developing, the people of many countries will soon believe that the only thing notable about Hong Kong is its corruption.
We know that Hong Kong is not alone in the world in facing a problem of corruption. We know of many cities and countries much worse and many no better in Europe, America, and Asia, and which have not known the pressures under which we here have existed. I wonder what the result would be if many governments whether national or municipal, opened their most confidential files to impartial and expert scrutiny and published the results? We have done this, because we realize that there is only one way to stop people calling Hong Kong corrupt, and that is to eradicate corruption from our society. This we are determined to do.
The Godber affair has highlighted the case for amendment of the Fugitive Offenders Act, as recommended by Sir Alastair BLAIR-KERR. The requirement of double criminality is hard to understand in the case of a dependent territory, such as Hong Kong. We feel sure it was not Her Majesty's Government intention in the Fugitive Offenders Act to frustrate in the United Kingdom the intention of laws approved by Her Majesty's Government in Hong Kong.
I have represented to the Secretary of State the strong feelings on this subject here. This, of course, is not the only way to bring Godber back for trial. It remains only for one man to come forward and give conclusive evidence of a corrupt transaction.
Corruption in Hong Kong is a very old story. So is narcotics addiction. But the latter is a field in which devoted and imaginative work has been done in Hong Kong on a wide scale by many dedicated men and women. This work is second to none in the world and has received considerable international acclaim. But one must recognize
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 20
[HE THE GOVERNOR]
that the problem persists on a very large scale and that if we are to make headway, much more will have to be done in the future than has been possible in the past.
In attempting to reduce and eradicate this problem there appear to us to be four separate but inter-related fields in which we must make progress.
First, prevention of production and despatch to Hong Kong. This relates to the Golden Triangle and Thailand, the country from which come nearly all opium and opium derivatives consumed in Hong Kong. This is for international action.
Secondly, interception of shipment over the high seas, mostly by trawler, to international waters off Hong Kong. This field too is for international action.
Thirdly, suppression of clandestine entry into Hong Kong and distribution to addicts by local criminals. This lies within our direct jurisdiction.
Fourthly, the eradication of demand by cure of addicts. This too is within our jurisdiction.
Action on any of these fronts assists action on others. For instance, if shipments are intercepted and the price of the drug rises, it is a strong inducement to an addict to seek a cure. But equally failure on any front undermines success on others. Thus improved treatment of drug addiction could do little in the face of an abundant and cheap supply of drugs. Nor would interruption of the seaborne traffic have much effect if abundance of production in the Golden Triangle and a strong demand in Hong Kong remained an open invitation to traffickers to bridge the gap.
As I see it we must now work to achieve progress on all four fronts, while making our own major effort on those two within our jurisdiction.
I said last year that the first step towards the formulation of a coherent and forceful policy was the appointment of a single senior officer, the Commissioner for Narcotics, to co-ordinate all aspects of this problem which are handled by so many different Government departments and voluntary agencies. Over the last year his work has largely been investigatory and preparatory, critically examining what
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 21
is being done in each of these fields and with what result. This phase is nearly completed, and the threads are now being drawn together in recommendations for action. When approved these will be embodied in a White Paper to be published about the end of the year.
One decision already taken is to second a Liaison Officer to the staff of our Ambassador at Bangkok, with of course the full agreement of the Thai Government. He will take up his duties next month. This follows visits by the Commissioner to Burma, Laos and Thailand earlier this year.
Another decision relates to the organization, co-ordination and control of the intensified effort we have in mind. The Executive Council has decided that the controlling body should be the Action Committee against Narcotics, and that its membership should be streamlined for this purpose. Its chairman will be Sir Albert RODRIGUES. His experience, devotion and authority in this field are unparalleled; and he is clearly the man to preside. The terms of reference of the committee will be strengthened to make it the sole channel of advice to the Government on all policy aspects of the drive against narcotics and narcotic addiction, including the allocation of resources both to Government departments and voluntary agencies alike. The Commissioner for Narcotics will be a member of the committee and he and his staff will form the committee's executive arm, and provide it with the administrative muscle it has lacked hitherto.
Most distinguished work has been done in the field of cure of drug addiction by the Prisons Department, and by various voluntary agencies subsidized by the Government, and particularly SARDA, the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society, and other agencies. Nevertheless, we feel that further progress and greater co ordination in this field is essential, and that it is the responsibility of the Government to provide a sufficient pool of expertise and authority to give a lead and to advise the committee on how this work can be pressed forward and co ordinated.
It has therefore been decided to place responsibility for Drug Addiction Treatment and Research firmly on the Department of Medical and Health Services, and that a new division be formed in the department for this purpose as soon as possible. I know that Dr Gerald CHOA accepts this new challenge eagerly.
I cannot sufficiently emphasize the importance for our programme of eradication of having a form of treatment for addicts which can
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
be applied en masse and without long confinement in an institution. The pilot schemes now being conducted by the Department of Medical and Health Services, and by the Discharged Prisoners' Aid Association are therefore of critical importance. Dr CHOA will be expanding on this later in the debate.
I spoke at some length last year of my deep concern about the growth of crime, and particularly of violent crime. During the year, action has been taken on a very wide front. One might say that this action has fallen under three main headings: to increase the numbers and effectiveness of police on the street; to change things done by the police to make them more acceptable to the public; to change things done by the public to make them more helpful to the police and to themselves.
There is still great doubt amongst real experts as to what the root causes of crime are. But a working group has produced an illuminating interim report on facets of life in Hong Kong that probably contribute to crime, and we await its final report with great interest. These papers suggest that certain aspects of our social programmes and certain defects in them, have more immediate relevance for the combatting of crime than others. It is extremely valuable to have these critical areas pin-pointed and the implications will be very carefully considered. Certainly it is reasonable to hope that the great programmes of improvement in housing, education and social welfare will all help over crime, though the programmes are justified on their own merits. But in the short term we must rely very largely on deterrence and all experts are agreed that the basic deterrent is fear of detection. Few men commit crimes which they know will be detected.
One of the key elements in deterrence is a large and visible and effective police presence. One of our endeavours has therefore been to increase the number of police. The Government started by a drive to expand the Auxiliaries as the quickest way of raising numbers, and because of the vital role which the Auxiliaries could play as a link between the regular police and the neighbourhoods they serve. Within a period of something like 9 months the Auxiliaries have been increased from 3,500 to 7,000 trained men. This has been a magnificent effort by all concerned.
We subsequently conducted a campaign for the recruitment of regulars. This was done following the first action phase of the Fight Violent Crime Campaign, and yielded 400 acceptable recruits. While
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 23
this was substantially more than had been obtained for some time in a similar drive, I think it is fair to say that the result was greatly prejudiced by the escape of Godber and the attendant publicity, which ironically coincided with the recruitment drive. Certainly we had hoped to do better. We will be mounting a further drive later this year, and as a result the police still hope to be able to recruit in 1973 about half as many again as in 1972, that is to say about 1,200 men. But this is still not enough, and the shortfall in recruitment and the wastage from the ranks must not be allowed to continue. We have therefore been looking again urgently at police pay and conditions of service, and proposals will be made to the Finance Committee of this Council in a fortnight's time. One of the most significant single contributions that could be made to increasing the deterrence to crime that the regular police force provides would be to bring it up to strength. I assure honourable Members that with their support, we will do our utmost to achieve this.
To gain more uniformed officers for the beat a review has been undertaken of jobs which could be done by civilians. This will be a gradual, long term process, but 200 or 300 should have been gained this way this year, and this process will continue.
Finally, in this field of recruitment, I am glad to say that the new Police Cadet School has already opened in temporary quarters in Fanling, and that plans are far advanced for the construction of the permanent school on Tolo Harbour, which will house about 1,200 cadets. This is the beginning of a project of the greatest interest. Provided it develops along the right lines it could make a major contribution not only to the quantity but equally, or even more important, to the quality of the young men joining the force.
So much for recruitment.
With regard to police/public relations, the police took a radical new look at themselves to consider ways and means of making their facilities and procedures more convenient to the law-abiding public. Their reporting procedures were changed to be less time-consuming; the 999 call system was expanded; new police relations with the public via Area Committees were created, and the public's views on current police practices sought and listened to. It soon became apparent that the public was anxious for a rapid expansion of a permanent police presence in estates by the construction of new stations. Though some of these were in the pipeline the building programme could not meet these wishes overnight, so the system of reporting centres was greatly
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 24
[HE THE GOVERNOR]
expanded. We now have 43, and they are being supplemented by mobile units equipped with radio stationed at fixed points.
The public for its part set about organising itself to make the life of the criminal more difficult in various ways. By increasing security in the home and the shop and the residential block; by reporting crime when seen; and by raising a hue and cry after criminals. This has been done through the excellent work of area and mutual aid committees, assisted by the City District Officers. Might I say in parenthesis what an excellent system that of the CDO’s has come to be, and how constantly it proves its worth.
All this was backed by a strong publicity campaign.
A very large element in what was done was a maximum effort by the regular police and the Auxiliaries to deter and arrest criminals and, though tactics necessarily change from time to time, this effort is continuing and will continue.
Five months is, of course, too short a time for decisive or permanent results to be achieved. The success of the campaign in encouraging people to report crimes they would not previously have done has also distorted the statistics of reported crime just as we always expected would be the case. The Secretary for Home Affairs, as chairman of the campaign committee, will be going into details later in the debate.
But I can say here and now from the reports received from a very wide variety of sources, I believe that we are getting to grips with the problem. The methods chosen appear to have been ones the public understand and appreciate, and they have secured the public's cooperation and involvement on a scale and in a way that is quite new. Many people, from all levels of society, have come forward to help, to organize and to give a lead in making their neighbourhood safer. With this civilian endeavour and sustained police effort, public confidence and ease of mind has improved. Crime was once regarded as a problem for the police alone. It is now accepted as one for the community. There is a new and healthier spirit, new determination, new hope.
So far so good. We should not be dismayed by the length of the road that we still have to travel. We always knew it would be very
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 25
long and hard. But we can take encouragement from having made a sound start. Now everyone. Government, police and public, must continue as they have started, must not be deflected, and we will prevail.
I myself will continue to take the closest possible interest in this joint effort by police and public to reduce crime. I believe that nothing touches so intimately the ease of mind and happiness of our community.
Finally a word about the state of our economy. It is on the success of this that our future development depends. I have said in the past that the aim of this Government was prosperity with social progress. Social progress can only be based on prosperity. What then is the state of our prosperity?
It has been a year of exceptional difficulty for our exporters, our business Men, our bankers and our developers. Let me remind you of a few.
The rise and fall of our stock market was a sad and basically very dangerous phenomenon which has left deep scars. It would have brought a less robust economy to its knees. There was an immediate loss of confidence in the market both local and international, and this is only gradually recovering. I think all investors are agreed that in this instance laissez-faire produced excessive risks both for individuals and for Hong Kong, and I am sure that the introduction of disciplines having the force of law is an essential step on the road to full recovery.
I should like to express my thanks for the devoted work of the Securities Advisory Council under the very able chairmanship of Mr Y. H. KAN, and also of Mr SELWYN, the Commissioner for Securities. The draft legislation which is the fruit of their labours will be placed before this Council very shortly. No doubt honourable Members will wish to look closely at the details. It would be surprising if there were not room for improvement in such massive drafts. But, with the safeguards that legislation can provide for investors, with market values bearing a much more attractive price earnings ratio, and with good prospects for growth in the economy, I think we can look forward to brighter days ahead. It is clear from what has been said to me in the City of London and by visiting financiers, that while the phenomenon of the rise and fall of the stock exchange was a temporary deterrent to overseas investors, the fact that the economy has been able to weather such a shock has made a very favourable impression.
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
I note that the steady stream of merchant banks setting up it Hong Kong continues and this is a fair indication of international estimates of the importance and soundness of Hong Kong as a regional financial centre.
It is the rise in prices which is now causing most immediate concern to all of us. The plain fact of the matter is that the world is going through a particularly inflationary phase, and that Hong Kong cannot insulate itself from it.
This world inflationary trend has coincided with a significant rise in the prices being charged for imported foodstuffs. This is partly a result of world grain shortages, partly the exceptional climatic conditions of this summer in Hong Kong and South China, and partly due to new pricing policies which have brought the price of perishable foodstuffs in Hong Kong to levels comparable with prices elsewhere in the world. We must face the fact that those who sell us their goods are just as entitled to charge the going rate for them as we are entitled to do the same for our exports.
In this situation we will of course watch closely to see whether the prices of foodstuffs not subject to normal international competition get out of line with prices elsewhere. We can eliminate artificial restrictions on the source of supply of food and this we have done in the case of rice. To some extent we can discourage exploitation of the uncertainties of the food market by excessive mark-up, and this too has been done in the case of rice. The rise in prices should encourage an increase in domestic supplies of produce and this in time may help as should the prospect of better weather. But basically, we are in the grip of a world shortage of commodities and we can only hope that forecasts of the easing of this trend will prove correct.
The main contribution the Government can make towards containing inflationary trends is through its social policies: cheap subsidized housing for those least able to afford commercial rents, and the control of rents themselves; free primary education, and heavily subsidised secondary and tertiary education; social services and relief for the handicapped and the destitute, and charges for medical care which are so subsidized as to be almost free.
Inevitably the rise in prices will tend to put pressure on wages. In considering the effect on our competitive position, what has happened elsewhere is relevant; you will appreciate that our competitors have
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 27
not been confronted with the same rise in prices of perishable foodstuffs due to climatic conditions that we have. It is true that the trend has sharply increased recently, but a study of comparable figures elsewhere shows that up to May, which is the last month for which we have a complete set, the rate of inflation in Hong Kong was no worse than elsewhere—and I refer both to our competitors and to our markets. This is not at all to say that present prices here do not press hard upon the population, or that in the last months the comparative trend may not have been against us.
Apart from rising prices two other major problems have beset the economy during the past year. One has been international currency instability. This has created many difficulties for our manufacturers and traders, particularly since so much of our trade has always been transacted in US dollars and sterling. I wish that it were possible for me to suggest that international currency stability is near at hand, but it seems clear that uncertainties will continue for some time to come, and that there is nothing which we here can do about it. Meanwhile there is welcome evidence of our own currency maintaining its strength.
Today I can add little on the problem of our sterling holdings and the unilateral offer of a 6-month guarantee announced by Her Majesty's Government aimed at stabilizing the market. As a major holder the Hong Kong Government of course has a very strong interest in the stability of sterling, and friendly exchanges continue with the Treasury about what we might do in our own and the general interest.
Another major problem for our manufacturers has been a worldwide general shortage of raw materials. I have been impressed by the tremendous efforts made by our importers. The trading and industrial organizations also have played a most helpful role in seeking out raw material sources, whilst the Commerce and Industry Department has assisted with official representations and coordination of effort.
A further difficulty looms ahead in the obligation of the British Government, as from the 1st of January, to make its first move towards harmonization with the common external tariff of the EEC. Under the accession arrangements, which involved the exclusion of textiles and footwear from Hong Kong in the extension to Hong Kong of EEC generalized preferences this would involve progressive discrimination by Great Britain against Hong Kong in respect of these two products. Of course the other side of this coin is that this was the price paid by the negotiators to obtain acceptance by the EEC of Hong Kong’s inclusion in all other generalized preferences. Nevertheless
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[HE THE GOVERNOR]
we find this development a most disquieting one, and we have left Her Majesty's Government in no doubt as to the strength of our feeling on this subject in Hong Kong. We regard this issue as an open one on which adjustments could and should be sought in the course of annual reviews.
Against this background of so many difficulties it is encouraging that the value of our domestic exports alone, that is to say excluding re-exports, in the first eight months of this year was 21 % up in value on the same eight months of 1972, and let us remember that this is an export-led economy. Even allowing for inflation of values, it was a remarkable result. It would appear that real as the difficulties have been, they have affected different sectors in different ways and to different degrees. Some exporters have found their expansion slowed down by export restraints, for instance in the United States. Others have found increased opportunities in other markets or in other lines. Our business with the EEC has substantially increased, and there are prospects of a more liberal attitude towards imports in Japan. Similarly, changes in international parties have brought loss in some markets, but opened up new opportunities in others. Making allowance for such shifting patterns of light and shade I find the general picture, the picture that affects Hong Kong as a whole, an encouraging one. It is remarkable that in the face of so many problems and uncertainties expansion should still have continued. This gives solid ground for hope that the ingenuity of our exporters and their labour force, the hard-headedness of our official negotiators, and the sheer demand for I Hong Kong's goods can continue to combine to ensure the expansion of our economy.
So, honourable Members, it is on this cautiously bullish note that I end this year's address. We have had our measure of problems, and not unnaturally it is these that have tended to hold public attention. But insofar as they have been economic Hong Kong has managed to hold its way through them and maintain its expansion. And for the future the Financial Secretary confidently predicts an annual growth rate of the gross domestic product in real terms of 7%—a remarkable figure. Insofar as our problems have been social or administrative I have explained what we have done or intend to so, and have told you of such progress as has been made.
We all welcome the progressive relaxation of international tensions in this area, the product of realistic statesmanship. We welcome in particular the new relationship between the United Kingdom and
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL—17th October 1973 29
China, and the prospect of the Prime Minister’s visit to Peking in January.
If all these different portents hold up I am therefore tolerably confident that the year ahead will be one of the prosperity and social progress to which your Government is committed.
Adjournment and next sitting
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT: —I think at this point honourable Members would like a break. So in accordance with Standing Orders I now adjourn the Council until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday the 31st of October.
Adjourned accordingly at four o'clock.
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