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great revolution would follow such changes, nor would there be a terrible rocking of the boat. A regime as deeply entrenched as the commercial elite in Hong Kong does not pass away over- night as a result of constitutional altera- tions. But some necessary steps toward reform will have been taken within the peculiar constraints of the Hong Kong situation.
An essential feature in redressing the in- ternal structure of power must be a widening of the franchise. At present only about 20 per cent of the population who are of voting age qualify to vote. An en- larged electorate would naturally also elect the Urban Councillors.
Three further steps seem necessary. One is that the Colony should acquire an Ombudsman: "a man of eminence, ap- pointed by the Governor but removable only with the consent of the Secretary of State, paid a very high salary to devote himself full time, with a small staff, to the investigation of complaints and with the necessary powers to enable him to do so; a man who can call for any depart- mental file, summon witnesses, make re- commendations as a result of his find- ings; a man whose findings are pub- lished" (Rear, op cit). Another is that all four trade union places on the Labour Advisory Board should be filled by elec- tion, and that the trade unions should be informally consulted, as are the employ- ers, about proposed labour legislation. Thirdly, there must be a review of the present system of appointments to ad- visory boards and committees with a view to drawing members from a much wider circle.
If any British reader doubts whether such constitutional adjustments are required, he should note the current tone of state- ments coming from the Colony on the subject of social welfare. It might be thought that the case for urgent social reforms is obvious to all; but this is not the way the local power elite sees mat- ters. It is true that in his first Opening Address at the beginning of the 1972-3 session of the Legislative Council, the new Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose,
announced that priority should be given to housing, education, and social welfare. Subsequently, wide ranging plans were proposed which, while in no sense meet- ing the needs of the situation, certainly sought to redress years of neglect. But soon after these plans were presented the world economy went into recession. Effectively there was no economic growth at all in Hong Kong in 1974, and public spending plans were cut by 18 per cent in the 1975 budget. Development plans for medical services have been cut back, part of the housing programme is subject to a five year delay, the White Paper on Edu- cation is being "modified."
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The economic climate has presented an opportunity for those who resent the Governor's reforming approach to ad- vance three arguments: (a) that Hong Kong's trade difficulties considerably re- duce the prospect of finding more money for social reforms; (b) that anyway there have already been major changes since 1971; and (c) that too rapid a rate of change will damage business confid- ence. In other words, leave things alone. In the 1960s it was argued that the eco- nomy was doing so well there was no need for reform, now it is argued that the economy is doing so badly it cannot afford reform. Catch 22. The whole argu- ment reflects the belief of the power- holders that their narrow sectional inter- ests are the same as the general interests of society. The distribution of wealth and power in Hong Kong gives one leave to doubt that proposition. The British Gov- ernment should doubt it too.
legislation is not enough
It would be comparatively easy to draw up a list of proposals for social change which went beyond those currently con- templated by the Hong Kong Govern- ment, and yet represented no more than the now almost universal recognition that neither the individual, nor his family, should assume the major responsibilities for the hazards involved in being a per- manent member of an industrial labour force. A minimum wage; the application of ILO Convention No 138 on the Mini-
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