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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL — 2nd October 1969.
[MRS LI] Motion
for a system of social security or insurance in the form of a public provident fund on a contributory basis. This system has already been widely adopted by big industries, commercial firms, schools and voluntary agencies in place of pension schemes. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect the working population in Hong Kong to start contributing to their own future security.
Many people have wondered how much influence, if at all, this Council or its Members have on Government policies. We have been called many names-rubber stamps, yes men and what have you just because we do not usually employ militant tactics. I am an optimist by nature and I also am a great believer in positive thinking. I believe that although we might not have any constitutional power to initiate new bills or new expenditure, we can always persuade our Official Colleagues to do so. Every human being is subject to reasonable and persistent persuasion, depending on the strength of our conviction and the techniques of salesmanship. Often-times the sales talk is initiated from the other end. I believe that everytime we speak our minds we are one step closer to what can happen, and many, many events have happened this way to make Hong Kong what it is today.
With these remarks, Sir, I have much pleasure in supporting the motion before Council.
MR WILSON T. S. WANG:-Your Excellency, it is extremely en- couraging to see that we are so close to our target to provide primary school places for all children of school age. This has been our target for so long that to reach it, not to mention even to go beyond it, is an achievement worthy of celebration.
However, the fact that there is likely to be an overall surplus of aided primary school places before 1971 should not make us com- placent because it should be borne in mind that this surplus will not be evenly distributed. In some areas, a surplus of places is foreseeable, partly as a result of the drop of birthrate in recent years, and partly because of the movement of population, occasioned by resettlement and the development of satellite towns and communities of varying sizes. But the latter will continue to create the need for new schools in their areas, and it is important to bear in mind all the time that schools be distributed in such a way that they are within walking distance of all children of primary school age.
There should be no need to be alarmed by any possible surplus of places. When the time comes, it will always be possible to utilize any spare classrooms that become available. For instance, they can
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