XN000022-1985-12-16 — Page 7

MUNDAI, DECEMBOn 16, 1985

SINCE THEN MANY PLACES IN ASIA, INCLUDING HONG KONG,

HAD UNDERGONE CONSIDERABLE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES, CREATING FRESH CHALLENGES FOR TEXTILE WORKERS, HE SAID.

DURING THE FIRST PART OF +TO TAKE HONG KONG AS AN EXAMPLE THE PERIOD, WE SAW A CONTINUED INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EMPLOYED IN THE TEXTILES INDUSTRY COMPARED WITH THE REST OF THE ECONOMY.+

IN 1962, HE SAID, HONG KONG HAD 70 000 PEOPLE ENGAGED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILES, ACCOUNTING FOR 28 PER CENT OF THE MANUFACTURING WORKFORCE. BY 1976, THIS NUMBER HAD DOUBLED TO 137 000.

+

+HOWEVER IN THE LATE SEVENTIES. THE FIGURE TENDED TO STABILISE AT ABOUT 126 000. BY MARCH THIS YEAR, THE FIGURE STOOD AT 113 000, WHICH STILL REPRESENTED 13 PER CENT OF EMPLOYEES IN OUR MANUFACTURING SECTOR.+

MR BRIDGE SAID THAT AT ONE TIME STRUCTURAL ECONOMIC CHANGE WAS A TOPIC OF KEEN CONCERN TO LOCAL INDUSTRIALISTS AND WORKERS, SOME OF WHOM WERE WORRIED THAT TEXTILES MIGHT GRADUALLY GIVE WAY TO OTHER HIGH-TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES.

+ IN PRACTICE THIS FEAR HAS SO FAR PROVED TO BE TOO PESSIMISTIC.

+OUR INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE HAS BEEN ABLE TO ABSORB THE RE-DISTRIBUTION OF MANPOWER FROM ONE SECTOR TO ANOTHER, AND ADAPT TO NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES, MR BRIDGE SAID.

+TODAY TEXTILE REMAINS OUR SECOND LARGEST INDUSTRY, SECOND ONLY TO THE GARMENT INDUSTRY AND TOGETHER THESE TWO INDUSTRIES MAKE UP OVER 40 PER CENT OF OUR WORKFORCE, HE ADDED.

THREE-DAY LANGUAGE SEMINAR STARTS

****

A THREE-DAY SEMINAR BEGAN TODAY (MONDAY) FOR LOCAL LANGUAGE EDUCATIONALISTS AND THEIR COUNTERPARTS FROM 15 COUNTRIES TO EXCHANGE IDEAS ON FUTURE DEVELOPMENT IN LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION VITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO ENGLISH AND CHINESE.

THE LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION: FUTURE DIRECTIONS+ SEMINAR HELD AT SHANGRI-LA HOTEL WAS ORGANISED BY THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND OPEN BY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBER MR CHEN SHOU-LUM.

MR CHEN, IN HIS SPEECH, GAVE AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAD RECENTLY BEEN DONE IN HONG KONG TO RAISE THE STANDARD OF LANGUAGE TEACHING. HE REVEALED THAT THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF CARRYING OUT A NUMBER OF RESEARCH PROJECTS TO ASCERTAIN THE EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF STUDENTS.

/ALSO ADDRESSING