IS
DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN-SUPPLEMENT
ISSUED BY GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES BEACONSFIELD HOUSE, HONG KONG TEL 5-233191
Speech by H E The Governor on the Occasion of the Opening of the Association of Commonwealth Universities Conference of Executive Heads on Tuesday, March 24, 1981
Hong Kong is honoured to be host to such a distinguished academic gathering. As the Vice-Chancellor has said, the occasion is unique, and I am proud and pleased to bid you welcome.
Your deliberations will be about the major problems that
confront universities all over the world. But before you start let me tell you something about this city in which this conference is held.
Its outstanding feature has been rapid expansion of
population from 600 000 just after the war to 2 million in 1950 and over 5 million today. Anywhere in the world such unnatural surges of immigration would have presented great problems of subsistence, shelter and employment. How much more so in a place almost.devoid of natural resources. The solution was found in the processing of imported materials and their export for sale in overseas markets, and so this great centre of industry emerged supported by a progressively larger financial sector, magnificent communications by sea and air, and a large tourist industry. It is a city built by the value its people have added to imported materials - literally by their sweat and without a cent of outside aid. Its
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success is founded on an ethic of self-reliance, the industry and
adaptability of its work force, the courage and imagination of its manufacturers and traders, and the ever present pressure of external events in far
away markets beyond its control.
The Government's contribution has been the preservation of
a stable economic and political environment free of unnecessary or doctrinaire
controls.
/Since Hong