Tuesday, September 4, 1973
CALL FOR REAPPRAISAL OF OUTDATED CUSTOMS
The people of Hong Kong were today urged to shed "mistaken values"
based on outdated traditions and to aim for "sensible goals" concerned
with the needs of living rather than the preservation of appearances.
The appoal was made by Mr. Jack Cater, Secretary for Home Affairs,
in his opening address to the Fifth Asian Regional Credit Union Training
Conference being held at the University of Hong Kong.
Mr. Cater said credit unions in Hong Kong were flourishing, "but
problems often arise because of the mistaken values which cloud some
people's judgment when it comes to determining the goal of their aspirations."
They might be handicapped in this regard, he said, by the need
to preserve 'face' an inheritance from the past which they accepted
without question.
It was not uncommon to hear of families reduced to poverty
because of excessive funeral expenses of a departed breadwinner, and of
newly weds spending their hard earned savings, which might give them a
valuable start in life, on exorbitant wedding feasts as is often demanded
by custom.
"Needless to say, there are much cheaper and more realistic
alternatives, no less reverent and dignified, but these are discarded because
they do not comply with alleged traditional proprieties," he said.
He noted that other societies had managed to reappraise their
traditions and social customs and adjusted accordingly.
"It is
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