XN000022-1985-01-22 — Page 32

3.

7.

While the harbour may be Hong Kong's main physical asset, its greatest resource has been its people. Just about everything in and about Hong Kong is man-made. There will be about, 40 square miles more of flat land in Hong Kong in 1997 than there were in 1898. All

that land from Queen's Road to the waterfront, which comprises the

central business area, has been reclaimed from the sea. So has the

land on which the airport stands. Hong Kong's industries, including

its growing service industries, have grown up, not on the basis of

physical resources, but as a result of the vision, imagination,

determination and hard work of its people.

8.

The forty years since the end of the Second World War have seen the most spectacular development of Hong Kong's industrial

economy, against all the odds. Hong Kong finished the war a devastated

city with a population of somewhat under 600,000. The population, by

the end of 1950, had risen, largely through immigration from China, to

2.4 million. Today, the population numbers nearly five and a half

million. The newcomers first created an immense social problem with

their homes on roof tops, in stairways and in crude shanty towns. But

their willingness to work for their own future, in partnership with

the long term residents of the territory, has over the years provided

Hong Kong with an efficient workforce and a source of professional and

teomical skills. In 1947, we had just over 1,000 industrial undertakings employing 64,000 people. Today, we have over 47,000 industrial undertakings employing over 900,000 people. This expansion of, and revolution in, Hong Kong's industry have been essential to its survival.

9.

Light manufacturing retains today its vitally important role in Hong Kong's economy. It employs about 35% of the work force and accounts for approximately 22% of the gross domestic product. Our

manufacturers have over the years constantly upgraded the quality of

their goods. You can find them not only in the chain stores, but also

in the prestige and high fashion shops of London and New York. Our

industrialists have moved into new areas, such as toys, electrical goods,

/watches,