TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1974
USE OF RESERVES +ENTIRELY UP TO HONG KONG+
HK COMMISSIONER TELLS LONDON MEETING
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MR. S.T. KIDD, THE HONG KONG COMMISSIONER, TOLD AN AUDIENCE AT THE ROYAL OVERSEAS LEAGUE, LONDON, LAST (MONDAY) NIGHT, THAT IT WAS ENTIRELY HONG KONG'S OWN DECISION WHETHER OR NOT IT KEPT ITS STERLING BALANCES IN LONDON,
*IN THIS MATTER,+ SAID MR. KIDD, +WE ARE UNDER NO CONSTRAINT FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.+
THE HONG KONG COMMISSIONER WAS THE MAIN SPEAKER AT A DISCUSSION ON +HONG KONG TODAY+ AT THE LEAGUE'S LONDON HEADQUARTERS. THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE LEAGUE, MR. PHILIP CRAWSHAW, WAS IN THE CHAIR.
MR. KIDD DESCRIBED HONG KONG'S GROWTH AS A MAJOR COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CENTRE, AND WENT ON TO DESCRIBE THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN THE TERRITORY.
MR. KIDD SAID THAT HONG KONG WAS STILL EXPOSED TO A CONSTANT STREAM OF IMMIGRATION, BOTH FROM CHINA AND THE REST OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA - THE NET GAIN IN 1973, FOR EXAMPLE, VAS RECKONED AT OVER 60,000, OF WHICH THE BULK CAME FROM CHIKA, LEGALLY OR ILLEGALLY:
EVEN THOUGH FACILITIES FOR FAMILY PLANNING WERE BEING RAPIDLY EXPANDED, AND THE BIRTH RATE HAD DECLINED BY A HALF BETWEEN 1963 AND 1973, IT COULD TRULY DE SAID THAT HONG KONG'S GREATEST PROBLEM REMAINED +A PROBLEM OF PEOPLE'.
+TO ILLUSTRATE THE CONSEQUENCES,+ SAID MR. KIDD, +1. NEED ONLY SAY THAT IN AN AVERAGE YEAR AND BY A PRODIGIOUS HOUSING PROGRAMME, VE REHOUSE OVER 100,000 PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT-OWNED OR SUBSIDISED HOUSING, BUT AT THE PRESENT RATE OF IMIGRATION, THE EFFECT ON THE GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SUB-STANDARD HOUSING IS BEING CONTINUALLY ERODED BY EVENTS VERY LARGELY BEYOND OUR OWN CONTROL.
+PERHAPS, HOWEVER, YOU CAN APPRECIATE WHY WE ARE NOT ALWAYS AS RECEPTIVE AS OUR CRÍTICS THINK WE SHOULD DE WHEN FRESH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE DISCOVERED IN TIME FOR THEN TO BE RETURNED TO THEIR PLACE OF ORIGIN.+
TURNING TO FINANCIAL MATTERS, THE COM11SSIONER SAID THAT HONG KONG HAD HITHERTO BEEN ABLE TO MEET THE COST OF ITS CAPITAL AND RECURRENT EXPENDITURE OUT OF REVENUE. INDEED, THE PHYSICAL CAPABILITY TO SPEND MONEY, RATHER THAN BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS, HAD BEEN THE LIMITING FACTOR UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.
THE AVAILABILITY
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