XN000022-1994-10-14 — Page 4

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1994

**

THERE ARE NEARLY 30,000 AMERICANS WORKING HERE UP 28 PER CENT ON AUGUST 1992.

OVER 24,500 BRITONS, UP 42 PER CENT.

OVER 23,000 CANADIANS, UP 42 PER CENT.

153,600 NEW BUSINESSES

NO

WONDER OVER

FITURE, 153,600 NEW BUSINESSES LAST TWO YEARS.

-

I'LL

REPEAT

THAT

-

HAVE BEEN SET UP IN HONG KONG IN

THE

*NO WONDER,

THERE ARE NOW 714 REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS BASED IN HONG KONG, UP FROM 588 IN 1992; AND 1,132 REGIONAL OFFICES, COMPARED WITH 757 TWO YEARS AGO. THE NUMBER OF FOREIGN COMPANIES REGISTERED HERE

AUGUST IS UP FROM AROUND 3,200, TWO YEARS AGO, TO OVER 3,800 IN THIS YEAR.

I

WHY HAVE THEY ALL COME? IS IT BECAUSE WE ARE ALLEGEDLY TURNING SOCIALIST? RED SKIES OVER HONG KONG. WELFARISM STRIKES BACK.

RAMPANT BANKRUPTCY LOOMS.

CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS

ΤΟ THREATENS

UNDO DECADES OF SUCCESS. IS THAT IT? IS THAT WHY THEY ARE HERE? WELL, HARDLY. I HAVEN'T SPENT THE LAST 50 YEARS OF MY LIFE AS A CONSERVATIVE,

A TORY, AS A FREE MARKETEER, TO TURN SOCIALIST IN MIDDLE-AGE. CERTAINLY NOT IN HONG KONG. I LEAVE IDEOLOGICAL ADVENTURES AND PHILOSOPHICAL CHANGES OF GEAR TO OTHERS. AND I GUESS IF THEY WERE HERE, ANSON CHAN AND HAMISH MACLEOD WOULD SAY EXACTLY THE SAME.

IT IS TRUE, HOWEVER, THAT WE ARE SPENDING MORE ON SOCIAL

PROGRAMMES.

MORE ON HOUSING, FOR EXAMPLE. BUT DO WE THINK HONG KONG WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF WE LEFT THE TEMPORARY HOUSING AREAS, AND THE SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS, AND THE CAGE-MEN, EXACTLY AS THEY ARE. I GUESS THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM TODAY WHO GREW UP IN SQUATTER HOUSING. ISN'T IT A FACT THAT MASSIVELY IMPROVED HOUSING CONDITIONS ARE ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR HONG KONG'S SUCCESS, AS WELL AS FOR HONG KONG'S IMPROVED HEALTH AND FOR HONG KONG'S SOCIAL HARMONY.

YES, WE ARE SPENDING MORE ON EDUCATION. AND SO WE SHOULD IF WE WANT TO SAY AHEAD OF THE GAME. TEN YEARS AGO, THREE PER CENT OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WERE GOING TO UNIVERSITY TO STUDY FOR DEGREES. NOW WE'RE UP

TO 18 PER CENT FOR DEGREES AND ANOTHER SIX PER CENT FOR DIPLOMAS. OH,

AND YES WE'RE SPENDING 67 PER CENT MORE ON RESEARCH THIS YEAR. IS THAT A WASTE OF OUR MONEY?

-

YES, WE ARE SPENDING MORE ON WELFARE. ON THE ELDERLY FOR EXAMPLE. AND SO WE SHOULD BE. THE MONEY THAT THE ELDERLY COULD HAVE PUT BY FOR THEIR OLD AGE, WAS IN MANY CASES SPENT ON EDUCATING THEIR CHILDREN AND INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG. THEY DESERVE MODEST SHARE IN TODAY'S SUCCESS.

A

LET ME SAY THREE OTHER THINGS ABOUT SPENDING, ABOUT ALLEGED WELFARISM, ABOUT LEARNING TRUTH FROM FACTS.

TO

/FIRST, YES

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