XN000022-1980-01-10 — Page 4

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1980

INTERVIEWER: PRESUMABLY THE PEOPLE PROBLEM THAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO IS GOING TO HAVE RAMIFICATIONS IN OTHER AREAS WITHIN HONG KONG, I AM THINKING HERE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, FOR INSTANCE, THE PROBLEMS OF TRANSPORT FOR THE EIGHTIES.

SIR JACK: OUR PROBLEMS, PARTLY BECAUSE OF THIS INCREASE IN

IMMIGRATION HERE, ARE ENORMOUS. THERE IS NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY SHOULD TRY TO HIDE THAT FACT. IT'S NOT JUST HOUSING, IT'S NOT JUST TRANSPORT. CLEARLY THERE HAVE TO BE IMPROVEMENTS. I'M HOPEFUL THAT THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY SYSTEM WILL BE THE BACKBONE AS IT WERE OF OUR TRANSPORT SYSTEM.

BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE BUS COMPANIES AND THE TRAMWAY COMPANY WILL HAVE ANY LESS TO DO. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR VERY CONSIDERABLE IMPROVEMENT IN THE CARRIAGE OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG.

INTERVIEWER: IN TALKING ABOUT THESE ACHIEVEMENTS, SIR JACK, IN

TALKING ABOUT THE MASSIVE PEOPLE PROBLEM THAT HONG KONG HAS, CAN WE SUSTAIN THE QUALITY OF LIFE THAT YOU SPEAK OF INTO THE EIGHTIES, THROUGH THINGS LIKE RECREATION, THROUGH BETTER LABOUR CONDITIONS AND SO FORTH?

SIR JACK: WELL, LOOKING BACK OVER THE 70S YOU KNOW I AM IMPRESSED WITH WHAT ALREADY HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN TERMS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEISURE. I CAN RECALL ONLY TOO CLEARLY THE PROBLEMS FACING US IN 1967 AND EARLY 1968 WHEN WE DISCUSSED WITH INDUSTRIAL ISTS THE NEED TO BRING DOWN THE WORKING WEEK IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR FROM 60 TO 48 HOURS. IN SOME WAYS THAT SEEMS A LIFETIME AGO BUT IT WAS ONLY JUST OVER 10 YEARS, AND I'M DELIGHTED THAT THEY AGREED TO OUR SUGGESTION, DELIGHTED THAT THIS WAS ACHIEVED IN THE EARLY 70S'. AND THEN THE SUNDAY HOLIDAY. WHAT A BATTLE THAT WAS AT ONE TIME AND YET IT HAS TAKEN QUITE PROBABLY AS BEING THE NATURAL THING AND IT GIVES ME THE GREATEST OF POSSIBLE PLEASURE TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE UP ON THE HILLSIDES, OUT WALKING ENJOYING THE COUNTRY PARKS, ENJOYING OUR COUNTRYSIDE AND WOULD CERTAINLY EXPECT THAT SORT OF THING TO CONTINUE, I WOULD EXPECT OUR COUNTRY PARK SYSTEM TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE. I THINK THE DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES HAS DONE A GRAND JOB HERE BUT THERE IS STILL MUCH MORE TO BE DONE IN TERMS OF MAKING THE COUNTRY PARKS ATTRACTIVE TO YOUNG PEOPLE ESPECIALLY AND WE HAVE GOT TO GET OLDER AND MORE ELDERLY PEOPLE OUT THERE.

SO I THINK THAT'S BEEN GOOD AND THAT IT WILL BE MAINTAINED AND THERE CAN BE NO GOING BACK. AND TALKING ABOUT LABOUR CONDITIONS, THERE CAN CERTAINLY BE NO GOING BACK ON WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED.

INTERVIEWER: SIR JACK, IS IT NOW POSSIBLE THAT WITH ALL THIS

PROSPERITY AND YET AT THE SAME TIME THE PROBLEMS THAT GO HAND IN HAND WITH IT, THAT HONG KONG WILL EVENTUALLY SINK IN ITS OWN MIRE BECAUSE OF YOU KNOW, THE TREMENDOUS NUMBER OF PEOPLE HERE, THE TREMENDOUS PRESSURES THAT HAS PUT ON PEOPLE.

ONE CAN'T DENY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURES AND THE PRESSURES GENERALLY ON PEOPLE HERE IN HONG KONG. THERE IS NO QUESTION ON THAT. BUT I DON'T SEE THERE IS ANY QUESTION ABOUT OUR SINK ING INTO ANY PARTICULAR MIRE. NO SYSTEM IS PERFECT, THIS IS TRUE.

/EIR JACK: