THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1979
THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF SIR MURRAY'S SPEECH:
+THIS YEAR MARKS THE SILVER JUBILLE OF PUBLIC HOUSING IN HONG KONG A QUARTER OF A CENTURY OF ACHIEVEMENTS WHICH, BY ANY YARDSTICK, HAVE BEEN REMARKABLE.
+STATISTICS CAN SPEAK FOR THE SCALE AND SPEED OF DEVELOPMENT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY NOW MANAGES 69 PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES WITH NEARLY TWO MILLION RESIDENTS - ALMOST HALF OUR POPULATION.
+FROM THE EMERGENCY HOUSING OF THE 1950'S, WE HAVE PROGRESSED THROUGH A RANGE OF DIFFERENT DESIGNS FROM THE MOST BASIC, BARE ESSENTIALS TO THE CONCEPT OF FULLY-INTEGRATED, SELF-SUFFICIENT COMMUNITIES IN NEW ESTATES PROVIDED WITH A FULL RANGE OF COMMERCIAL AND SOCIAL FACILITIES SUCH AS WE SEE AROUND US HERE AT SHUN LEE- AND AS WE CAN SEE IN OTHER PARTS OF HONG KONG WHERE ESTATES ARE BEING BUILT ON 12 OTHER SITES.
+STEADILY IMPROVING STANDARDS MEAN THAT THE OLD ESTATES BECOME LESS ATTRACTIVE THAN MODERN DEVELOPMENTS SUCH AS SHUN LEE- HOWEVER, THE TENANTS OF THE OLD ESTATES ARE NOT BEING NEGLECTED AND THE PROGRAMME OF REDEVELOPMENT IS WELL UNDERWAY.
+ INDEED, SOME OF THE NEW RESIDENTS HERE HAVE COME FROM WONG TAI SIN, WHERE DEMOLITION IS TAKING PLACE TO ENABLE REDEVELOPMENT.
+THE HOME OWNERSHIP SCHEME, LAUNCHED IN 1978, HAS BEEN ENTHUSIASTICALLY RECEIVED. GOOD PROGRESS IS BEING MADE ON THE FIRST SIX ESTATES, INCLUDING ONE AT SHUN CHI COURT ADJACENT TO THIS ESTATE.
+ALTHOUGH THIS IS A NEW VENTURE, I AM SURE THAT THE SCHEME WILL PROVE A VALUABLE ADDITION TO THE RENTED HOUSING PROGRAMME AND MAY WELL MAKE A CONSIDERABLE CONTRIBUTION TO SOLVING OUR HOUSING PROBLEMS.
+OUR OBJECTIVE IS THE PROVISION OF DECENT SELF-CONTAINED ACCOMMODATION FOR ALL WHO LIVE IN HONG KONG BUT, AS RECENT IMMIGRATION TRENDS EMPHASISE. THE ROAD IS LONG AND DIFFICULT AND WILL REQUIRE UNCEASING EFFORT AND PLANNING AND A SUSTAINED HIGH LEVEL OF HOUSING PRODUCTION.
+ IN FORMALLY DECLARING OPEN THIS NEW ESTATE, I WOULD LIKE TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY AND TO THE STAFF OF THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR THE IR HARD AND DEDICATED WORK, AND WISH THEM SUCCESS IN THE IR IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE CREATION OF NEW COMMUNITIES IN BETTER ENVIRONMENTS THAN HONG KONG HAS EVER KNOWN. AND TO THE RESIDENTS OF SHUN LEE ESTATE, I WISH GOOD FORTUNE AND HAPPINESS IN YOUR NEW HOMES.
+OF COURSE ENTERING A NEW HOME IS A FULL LIFE THEY MUST GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND TO BUILD UP THE IR COMMUNITY SECURE, AND INTERESTING AND A PLACE OF
JUST THE BEGINNING TO LEAD OTHER, PLAN TO HELP EACH
INTO A UNIT THAT CAN BE HAPPINESS.
+ IN ALL THIS THEIR GOVERNMENT STANDS READY TO HELP AND I WISH THEM ALL SUCCESS.+
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