TNAG-0573-FCO40-706-Monitoring-of-progress-made-on-planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 122

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popular.

WAH KIU YAT PO (October 9) said it was confident that the scheme would be

"But we hope that the authorities will screen potential buyers very carefully and at the same time introduce strict regulations to ensure that the buyers will live in the flats they have bought," the paper said.

THE EXPRESS (October 10) said owning a flat was the common wish of everyone.

"Housing for all, if realised, will be the greatest contribution ever made by the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, for the people of Hong Kong," the paper said.

WAH KIU MAN PO (October 7) described the scheme as "a great leap forward" in the history of housing in Hong Kong.

The paper suggested that the Government should encourage private developers by providing them land at lower prices to build cheaper housing for people in the middle income bracket who were not eligible for public housing and who could not afford to buy flats in the private sector.

The Communist HONG KONG EVENING NEWS (October 10) described the scheme as a "landmark.”

The fact that more and more tenants will

become flat owners would show that

the number of poor people in Hong Kong was on the decline, it said.

"But on the other hand, we feel very sad about this development because social welfare services will be a thing of the past from now on," the paper added.

Another Communist paper, NEW EVENING POST (October 11), criticised the authorities for putting the cart before the horse, noting that instead of meeting the housing needs of more than 270,000 people living in squatter areas, the Government had rushed into the "flats for sale" scheme.

Estate Rent Increases

Sir Murray in his speech said it was in line with the general aim of providing housing within the means of all and to slowly raise the exceptionally low rents in the old estates which had been static for so long, and which were still only between a quarter and a seventh of comparable private rents. As for the new estates, the Governor said, it seemed sensible to fix rents at a level which "avoids excessive subsidy for the majority of eligible families, since they can afford these levels." He added this meant that special arrangements would be made for the minority who could not afford them.