XN000022-1973-03-14 — Page 25

24

|

Wednesday, March 14, 1973

"The prime objective of insuring one's own life is primarily not

saving for old age but to safeguard against premature death or sudden disability.

"In a society like Hong Kong where social security is minimal, there

is no or negligible financial assistance to widows, orphans and dependents

when a family suddenly lost its bread-earner.

"Government has, in the first instance, failed to provide any meaningful

social security for these unfortunate people and now even tries to penalise

those responsible families which wish to insure themselves against financial

and social disaster in case of calamity."

Disservice

Dr. Chung emphasised that the Government was doing the public a

disservice if such tax relief was abolished "because considerable paper work

is involved or difficulty encountered by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue

in handling schemes linking life insurance and investment."

He also spoke on Hong Kong's manufacturing industry which had contributed

in 1972 the largest portion amounting to $6,319 million or over 32 per cent

in the Net Dosestic Product, and offered the greatest proportion of employment

(about 50 per cent) of the total working population.

"The export of our manufactured goods is still and will continue to

be, for a long time to come, the main pillar in our economy without which the

whole Hong Kong economy will, I regret to say, be in jeopardy.

"It is therefore in the overall interest for the Government to ensure

that the manufacturing sector continues to succeed in the world markets."

/At the