FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1990
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FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT IS WAY OF LIFE: GOVERNOR
THE FREEDOM WHICH HONG KONG PEOPLE ENJOY TO COME AND GO FROM THE TERRITORY REMAINS ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF OUR WAY OF LIFE, THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID TODAY (FRIDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE (ISS) INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM, SIR DAVID SAID: "IN STATISTICAL TERMS, IMMIGRATION FROM CHINA ALONE CONTINUES TO ACCOUNT FOR OVER ONE-THIRD OF OUR ANNUAL POPULATION GROWTH.
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HE NOTED THAT A VIGOROUSLY CHANGING AND MIGRATORY SOCIETY LIKE HONG KONG PRODUCED UNUSUAL PROBLEMS.
"TO COPE WITH THESE HONG KONG HAS EVOLVED ITS OWN SYSTEM OF WELFARE SERVICES THROUGH CLOSE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE SECTORS, SIR DAVID SAID.
SIR DAVID NOTED THAT THE ISS WAS A UNIQUE ORGANISATION, DEDICATED TO REACHING OUT WORLD-WIDE FROM ITS BASE IN GENEVA TO HELP FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS IN NEED, PARTICULARLY TO HELP THEM DEAL WITH SOCIAL PROBLEMS WHICH WERE ASSOCIATED WITH MIGRATION OR WHICH TRANSCEND NATIONAL BOUNDARIES.
"MIGRATION-RELATED PROBLEMS ARE IN NO WAY NEW TO HONG KONG. FOR MUCH OF OUR HISTORY WE HAVE BEEN A MIGRANT SOCIETY.
"INDEED, UNTIL THE MID-1960'S, THE MAJORITY OF HONG KONG POPULATION WERE BORN OUTSIDE HONG KONG. IT WAS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND THAT THE HONG KONG BRANCH OF THE ISS CAME INTO BEING IN 1958," THE GOVERNOR SAID.
HE POINTED OUT THAT HONG KONG WAS THEN IN TREMENDOUS NEED OF WELFARE SERVICES IN ORDER TO HELP A POPULATION WHICH HAD NEARLY TRIPLED IN THE PREVIOUS 10 YEARS THROUGH A CONTINUING IMMIGRANT INFLUX.
"LIFE WAS VERY HARD FOR MANY. THERE WERE IN PARTICULAR MANY ABANDONED CHILDREN, AND THE ISS PIONEERED WORK WITH OVERSEAS ADOPTION IN ORDER TO FIND HOMES FOR MANY OF THESE.
"SINCE THEN, HONG KONG AND ITS PEOPLE HAVE COME A LONG WAY, AND OUR SOCIAL SYSTEM HAS DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED.
CENTRE FOR
"BUT, AS A PROSPEROUS AND THRIVING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND TRADE, WE INEVITABLY RETAIN MANY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OPEN AND MIGRATORY SOCIETY.
"THE PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION BORN OUTSIDE REMAINS REMARKABLY HIGH AT AROUND 40 PER CENT," HE SAID.
HONG KONG
HE SAID THE ISS AND MANY VOLUNTARY AGENCIES COULD, AND DID, RIGHTLY PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN INTEGRATING NEW MIGRANTS INTO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THROUGH THE PROVISION OF A COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF SERVICES.
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