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who have been residing in Government housing estates for 10 years or longer. For example, if the income of a tenant has reached a very high level, would it not be possible to offer the tenant a number of choices, such as paying a higher rent so that he would receive less public subsidy, or getting assistance to buy his own flat with a 10% down payment either within a Government Estate or in privately built housing.
Fourthly, tenants who have purchased flats outside should be required to give up their Government housing accommodation to make room for those poorer families who are in desperate need for low- cost accommodation.
Fifthly, Government should do more to assist white collar families to purchase their own flats. Two possibilities come to mind. One is that the Hongkong Building & Loan Co. Ltd. should have more funds at its disposal and should be prepared to accept a lower minimum down payment. Another possibility is that any person with a family who puts a down payment on a flat for the family to live in could apply for income tax relief on the down payment amount.
Note: At this point, Mr. CHEONG-LEEN continued his address
in English.
I shall now continue my address in English on the subjects of Public Transport and Traffic, and on the Promotion of Culture.
Public Transport and Traffic
In view of the recent statement by the British Foreign Secretary that the medium-term future of Hong Kong looks bright and optimistic, it is time now for Government to take a firm and affirmative decision on building the mass rapid transit system.
This decision will come none too soon in view of the more than 13% annual increase in the number of motor vehicles that are using our roads, and the continuing increase in traffic accidents yearly.
There are at present 180,000 motor vehicles in Hong Kong, and at the present rate of increase we will have 360,000 vehicles by 1980, or over 700 vehicles per mile of road.
Some of the questions which Government must now face and plan for by 1980 are:
How will our road system cope with such a large number of vehicles?
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Will there be a sufficient number of multi-storey and underground car parks suitably located in different districts so as to significantly reduce the obstruction caused by too much on-street parking?
Will it be possible to establish more weekend traffic free precincts for the convenience and recreation of the public?
Apart from carrying out two more general traffic safety campaigns every year, what more can be done to bring down the number of traffic accidents? Can specific campaigns be directed at certain cate- gories of drivers, or to reduce the accident rate at certain perennial "black-spots"? Between January and September this year, the number of traffic accidents reached 270 fatal cases, 3,362 cases involving serious injuries, and 5,715 cases of minor injury, making a total of 9,364 accident cases within nine months.
Since space in the urban areas available for mass recreation is becoming scarcer, how much of a role can the mass rapid transit system play to open up more recreation space for urban families in the New Territories and at beaches both in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island?
It is reported that the World Bank may be invited to look at the possibility of lending money to Hong Kong to build the mass rapid transit system. Would it be worthwhile to invite a team of United Nations' experts to come to Hong Kong to carry out a survey on the economic and social aspects of Hong Kong's future growth, to which the mass rapid transit system bears a close relation?
These are some of the key questions to which Government must address itself in regard to our increasingly complex public transport system.
Before I leave the subject of public transport, Mr. Chairman, may I make reference to the problem of noise pollution caused by increased aircraft traffic at Kai Tak airport.
I very much hope that Government is giving this the attention it deserves, and that it will assign to one of the two existing Committees on Pollution the responsibility of studying noise pollution in Hong Kong particularly at Kai Tak airport, and make suitable recommenda- tions to Government.
Promotion of Culture
The last subject on which I am speaking today is on the promotion of culture.
As an international community, we in Hong Kong have an out- standing opportunity to promote our Chinese cultural heritage on the