- 3
Monday, June 26, 1972
slums. This strikes me as perhaps the most difficult problem of the New
Territories because in each individual case it is a question of degree as to
what is tolerable and what is not. Here we must listen carefully to the advice
of the Heung Yee Kuk; but I am sure that Small Government Housing Estates of
which seven have already been approved in principle for the New Territories,
will play a considerable part in ameliorating this problem, as will also the
concept of New Villages now being investigated, for instance, in the Tai Po
District. I should like to assure the Kuk that we recognise this as a problem
which must not be ignored.
"Finally there are the mountains, beaches and the truly rural areas.
These are becoming less and less areas of the traditional and picturesque
village life based on the cultivation of rice. The inhabitants have largely
left them for more remunerative work in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom. But
they are more and more becoming areas of week-end recreation. For my part I
unreservedly welcome this new development and I hope I have the support of the
Kuk in this.
"This function of the New Territories will grow with the steady rise
of living standards and increase in leisure time of the urban population. I
suggest that for these areas our object must be firstly to ensure that they
are accessible to holiday-makers and secondly, that people unaccustomed to
the countryside do not destroy it through ignorance, or through lack of the
necessary installations and supervision, Provided these conditions are met, and
the recreational use of these areas develops in an orderly way,
I believe that,
thirdly, these areas could form the basis for a useful ancillary of the growing
tourist industry of Hong Kong; if Government provided the necessary communications,
as I think it must do in any case,
You,