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FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1984
+ IT IS ALSO WORTH REMEMBERING THAT WE IMPORT AS MUCH AS WE EXPORT. FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH WE EXPORTED OVER HK$7 000 MILLION WORTH OF TEXTILES LAST YEAR, WE ACTUALLY IMPORTED OVER THREE TIMES AS MUCH, OVER HK$24 000 MILLION. OF COURSE, MUCH OF THIS WAS THEN CONVERTED INTO GARMENTS AND THEN EXPORTED.
+ IT IS THIS FACT, THAT WE HAVE TO IMPORT TO EXPORT, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY OUR FREE TRADE POLICY IS SO MUCH TO OUR BENEFIT: THE IMPOSITION OF TARIFFS OR QUOTAS OR OF BUREAUCRATIC RULES AND DELAYS ON IMPORTS WOULD INEVITABLY MAKE OUR EXPORTS MUCH LESS COMPETITIVE. AND THIS APPLIES NOT ONLY
HENCE TO PRICE BUT TO SPEED OF RESPONSE AND OVERALL EFFICIENCY. OUR DETERMINATION TO PRESERVE OUR SUCCESS BY (AMONG OTHER THINGS) PRESERVING OUR FREE TRADE PHILOSOPHY, MR MACLEOD STRESSED.
SIR PHILIP ATTENDS VOLUNTEERS'
130TH FOUNDATION DAY DINNER
+
***
THE ACTING GOVERNOR, SIR PHILIP HADDON-CAVE AND THE COMMANDER BRITISH FORCES, MAJOR GENERAL DEREK BOORMAN, ATTENDED A DINNER RECEPTION IN CELEBRATION OF THE 130TH FOUNDATION DAY OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT (THE VOLUNTEERS) THIS (FRIDAY) EVENING.
SIR PHILIP WAS GREETED ON ARRIVAL BY THE HONORARY COLONEL OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT, JOHN HEYWOOD, AND THE
HONORARY AIR COMMODORE OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE, ROSS PENLINGTON.
MAJOR GENERAL BOORMAN WAS WELCOMED BY THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT, LIEUTENANT COLONEL T.C. VILLIERS- AND THE COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE, WING COMMANDER A.P. ASPREY.
THEY ALSO MET SENIOR OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT AND THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE.
THE ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT WAS FORMED IN MAY 1854 WHEN 99 LOCAL RESIDENTS WERE RECRUITED AS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP DEFENDING THE CHINA COAST AGAINST PIRATES WHO FREQUENTLY RAIDED THE AREA.
OVER THE YEARS, THE VOLUNTEERS UNDERWENT STRUCTURAL CHANGES. NOW IT CONSISTS OF FOUR SQUADRONS AND THE NUMBER OF THE VOLUNTEERS HAS GROWN TO 1 000, INCLUDING 31 FEMALE MEMBERS. THEY CONTINUE TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MAINTAINING THE STABILITY OF HONG KONG.
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