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Extract from Weekly Press Summary July 20-26
The chief events of the week were the publication on July 24 of the proposals for a municipal council for Hong Kong, and the arrival the follow- ing day of the new Governor, His Excellency Sir Alexander Grantham, K.C.M.G.
The official summary of the municipal council proposals was publish- ed by the Sing Tao Jih Pao, Hwa Shiang Pao, National Times, Sing Pao and some of the smaller evening papers. The "Wah Kiu Yat Po" and "Kung Sheung Daily News" published both the official summary and the full text of the despatches on the subject between the Governor of Hong Kong and the Colonial Office. There was no comment on the day of publication except by the "New Life Evening News", which spoke of the "birth of a new Hong Kong",
On the following day there were comments by the "Sing Tao Jih Pao" which expressed dissatisfaction at the allocation of only half the seats in the proposed municipal council to the Chinese, and at the difference in residential qualifications required for non-British subjects and that for British subjects, and by the "Kung Shoung Daily News", which expressed similar views and also complained of the limited powers of the municipal council. However, the latter paper welcomed the proposals as a step forward.
The pro-Communist "Hwa Shiang Pao", in an article headed "Welcome Sir Alexander Grantham" said, "Sir Alexander Grantham is the first Governor appointed by the Labour Government. We trust he will translate the Labour Government's progressive colonial policy into reality in rospect of the colony of Hong Kong. We want political power to be gradually and rapidly opened to the people of Hong Kong so as to make Hong Kong Government into a people's self-governing democracy at an early date. The using Papil
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