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SUGGESTED DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG AFTER 1980
Education
1. I would suggest that the most important single step, now that free and compulsory education up to the age of 15 has been agreed, is to improve the quality of that education. To that end we could perhaps offer the services of one of Her Majesty's Inspectors to establish the efficacy of the education currently on offer and also the value of current teacher training.
2=
Our aim so far as senior secondary education is concerned should be to make available places for all those who are suit- able and want to carry on beyond the age of 15. At first, such places could be subsidised only but we should aim eventually for them to be free.
3. Tertiary education: we could propose the eventual objective of the same ratio between places and population as exists in the UK.
Labour
4. Any detailed comments on trade unions and industrial relations must await the Turner Report. On more general topics I have the following suggestions:-
(a)
d)
a continuing process of implementing ILO Conventions; a further improvement in statutory holidays;
a statutory minimum wage (this, you will recall, is in the Plan but little or no progress has been made); a widening of safety regulations;
improved sickness and redundancy payments;
a limitation on maximum hours of work.
Social
5.
a) (b)
free medical consultations and in-patient treatment; a non-contributory unemployment and retirement benefit scheme (this will have to wait for some time because of the part played by Mr Heppell in the current proposals);
a considerable improvement in housing standards; an extension of the home ownership scheme;
further improvements in the public assistance scheme.
Economic and Fiscal
6. Our overall aim must be to have introduced an equitable tax system which will fund all the agreed developments.
Until some
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CONFIDENTIAL
:
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