XN000022-1973-10-31 — Page 30

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Wednesday, October 31, 1973

"Despite all their good efforts, the voices of Hong Kong people

are seldom heard within the U.K. Government," he said, citing the guarantee

on Hong Kong's sterling reserves and the discrimination against Hong Kong

in Britain's own generalised preference scheme as just two examples.

Dr. Chung also felt that the current programme for inviting

Members of Parliament to visit Hong Kong should continue and be expanded.

Turning to inflation, Dr. Chung said he had not been able to come

to a conclusion whether some form of price control similar to those in the

United States and in Britain should be adopted or whether the present

policy of minimum control and interference should be maintained.

Like his Unofficial colleagues, however, he did favour the formation

of a committee of experts to look more deeply into anti-inflation measures.

"The important thing is to have sufficient expertise in the

committee to devise sone efficient and effective means for curbing the

present rapid rate of inflation," he emphasised.

He hoped that the government would give urgent consideration to

this in view of the alarming increase in the average general consumer prive

index which was 26.5 per cent up in September this year compared to the same

month last year.

Based on comparative figures, he said, the average annual rate of

inflation for the whole of this year would probably be about 20 per cent,

compared with about six per cent last year, four per cent in 1971 and seven

per cent in 1970.

/The high

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