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SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1982
HONG KONG SOCIETY IN CONSTANT CHANGE, SCOUTS ARE TOLD
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IN THE LAST 30 YEARS IN HONG KONG WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A SOCIETY OF CONSTANT CHANGE AND THE VERY ENVIRONMENT HAS UNDERGONE A DRAMATIC PHYSICAL CHANGE.
THIS WAS STATED THIS EVENING (SATURDAY) BY THE SECRETARY FOR CITY AND NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION, MR DAVID AKERS-JONES, AT A GATHERING OF SCOUT OFFICIALS AT THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL.
STATING THAT THE PACIFIC WAR HAD BROUGHT AN END TO +THAT ORDERED WAY OF LIFE+. MR AKERS-JONES SAID THERE HAD BEEN THE ENORMOUS EXPANSION OF POPULATION WHICH HAD INCREASED IN BROAD TERMS BY ABOUT ONE MILLION EVERY 10 YEARS, AND IT HAD EXPANDED, NOT BY THE EASILY ABSORBED PROCESSES OF FAMILY INCREASE, BUT BY WAVE AFTER WAVE OF IMMIGRATION BY PEOPLE WHO WHEN THEY ARRIVED HERE WERE FOR THE MOST PART HOMELESS AND WORKLESS.
+THE VERY ENVIRONMENT OF HONG KONG HAS ALSO UNDERGONE A DRAMATIC PHYSICAL CHANGE BROUGHT ABOUT BY EXTENSIVE CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT, HE SAID.
+LIFE TODAY IN INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL HONG KONG IS FAR REMOVED FROM THE MARKET PLACE, THE VILLAGE AND AGE-OLD TRADITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH FARMING, FISHING AND THE PASSING OF THE SEASONS.+
IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES IT WAS NOT SURPRISING THAT THE FAMILY HAD CONTRACTED AS A SOCIAL UNIT AND DEVELOPED A PROTECTIVE WALL, PLACING THE FAMILY AND ITS MATERIAL PROSPERITY ABOVE A WIDER RESPONSIBILITY TO SOCIETY.
+HOWEVER THERE SEEMS NOW TO ME TO BE A SECOND GENERATION OF
CHANGE.
+YOUNG PEOPLE OF TODAY SEEM TO FIND THE LIMITED RELATIONSHIPS OF THE FAMILY AND THEIR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS LESS SATISFYING AND FULFILLING.
+THEY HAVE GROWN UP IN A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD AND HAVE BEEN EXPOSED THROUGH EDUCATION, TRAVEL, BOOKS, CINEMA AND TELEVISION TO DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES, TO DIFFERENT HORIZONS.
+THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN OPPORTUNITIES TO LOOK BEYOND THE IR FAMILIES TO A MORE EXCITING AND FULFILLING EXISTENCE IN THE WIDER FRAMEWORK OF SOCIETY.
+BUT THE PROBLEM OF ROOTLESSNESS AND THE RESTLESSNESS OF YOUNG PEOPLE IS NOT SIMPLY A HONG KONG PROBLEM,+ MR AKERS-JONES SAID.
THIS WAS QUITE OBVIOUS IF WE LOOKED FOR THE MOMENT AT THE PROBLEMS FACED BY OTHER COUNTRIES.
BUT OUR PROCLEMS IN HONG KONG HAD A DIFFERENT DIMENSION.
/+WE HAVE