OCTOBER 20, 1930.
OUR UNOFFICIALS.
CC
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE HONG KONG DAILY PRESS."]
SIR, One of the most refresh- ing pieces of news in the Press re- cently is that, because of the deter- mined opposition of the Unofficial Members in the F.M.S., no less than a milion and a half-dollars expenditure proposed by the Gov- ernment was wiped out and, in ad- tition, all the new taxation pro- posals were deferred.
Hong Kong is no better off than the F.M.S. and surely what has been achieved by our friends in the South should afford an inspira- tion and spur to our own unoffici- al minority to take a similar firm stand.
In these hard times, it is no use beating about the bush, and I think it can safely be said that public opinion in the Colony is that our unofficial representatives made an indifferent show of their opposition to the recent increases in the sal- aries of the public servants and, if they have no better success over the latest Government proposals, the only self-respecting course our Unofficial members can take is to resign en bloc and see to it that no one else in the Colony accepts any position on the Council until there is a definite prospect of a return to sane government.
I have heard it said that, as our parochial Government servants have the backing of the Secretary of State, they do not care what the Unofficials do. If this is so, then the sooner such a view is corrected the better. It is hard to believe that the Secretary of State himself | has time to give to the affairs of a comparatively small place like Hong Kong, and I feel sure that some gesture, such as I suggest, is essential to call attention to the stupid acts of our Government.
Unless the Unofficial Members take some such action, it is my view they will not be truly repre- sentative of the public opinion of the Colony. Surely they do not place their own personal interests and social position before the wel- fare of the people of the Colony whom they are supposed to repre- sent. Yours, etc.
Hong Kong, October 18.
PYM.
13
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