XN000022-1995-11-29 — Page 54

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Hong Kong is a free market economy. It is a natural phenomenon that structural transformation will bring different economic impacts on different sectors. Through adjustments in demand and supply in the market, naturally there will be different effects on earnings in different sectors. Sectors, in particular, the financial, trade and various service sectors, which have greater development potential and expanded continuously in response to the increase in demand, will correspondingly require more workers. And workers who have the professional knowledge required by these newly emerging sectors will enjoy better employment opportunities as well as faster and higher increases in earnings. Such development precisely reflects the high degree of flexibility of the labour market and of the market adjustment mechanism of the Hong Kong economy.

The Government has a package of consistent policies, such as subsidised education, vocational training and retraining, and job matching scheme, to ensure that everyone has ample opportunity to improve his/her economic conditions. By meeting the needs of economic transformation on the one hand, and helping workers to change employment on the other, the Government ensures that the competent ones will attain higher positions and improve their income and living conditions while society can make the best possible use of its people's talents.

The Government has been providing nine years of free and compulsory education since 1978. The Government's basic principle is to ensure that no one will years be denied access to education because of a lack of means. Apart from the nine of free education, fee remission schemes are also available to ensure that students from low income families may also be provided with education at kindergarten and senior secondary levels. As far as tertiary education is concerned, needy students are eligible for a range of loans and grants. Those from the middle to low income families should benefit from these schemes. The Government, in recent years, has also increased heavily the resources for improvement in education. The present level of investments in education accounts for over one-fifth of the recurrent expenditure, clearly reflecting the Government's emphasis on both quality and quantity of education.

In addition, the Government, through the implementation of the long established public housing policies, provides housing for needy families. The basic principle is to ensure that no one will be homeless. Presently, 51% of the total population are living in public housing. An additional 316 000 units will be available in the coming 6 years.