a ferry for Hong Kong or Kowloon for secondary school- ing.
To develope N.T. requires land, capital, scientific know how and labour, to contribute to this development. The N.T. people play an important part by contributing their land. People from 10 odd villages have to leave their villages farms and homes. But the Government has been consistently applying this high-land-price policy, controlling the land resources and monopolising the land market. The usual Government practice is to raise the premium of "Letter B" land exchange so as to match the market price of crown land. On the other hand, they delay the repayment of this land debt, giving the "Letter B" holder difficulties in the exchange of land. Under this circumstance, private land owners are reluctant to sell land; even when there is some agricul- tural land feeds into the market, the Government pre- mium is so high that the resulting price is just as high as the crown land sold in Public Auction, indirect this supports the Government's high-land-price policy.
Under this high-land-price policy, the industries suffers most, not only cause the industries heavy com- mitment in capital, it also cause the losing of the incentive to attract some foreign special industries that require larger area of land. The adverse effects to those who own land in the N.T., we can rightly use the phrase of the economist John Maynard Keynes "poverty among the riches". From 1960 to June 1976, the Govern- ment has acquire in N.T. from the people 14,109,963 sq. ft. of agricultural land and 244, 198 sq. ft. of housing lots, up to now, there is still no firm date for the
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exchange. The N.T. people, seeing that their land re- sources cannot be use, it is a real situation of “Poverty among riches". This kind of land policy is seriously against the traditional lassie faire economic spirit. As far as the Heung Yee Kuk is concerned, we have the responsibility to see that outside investors are being treated on a fair basis in their course of earning their profit. This also mean that the N.T. people will also get their fair share of profit brought along by the develop- ment.
The Government has just announce that for the development of Tsuen Wan, Shatin & Tuen Mun, the cost would be exceeding $10,000,000,000. This is really an exciting news. However, if we observe the whole picture of the Government's process in developing N.T., one may find that it is on a quick to earn profit basis, it is lack of ideal in development. One would have to question the Government's advocated "balanced deve- lopment and the "taking care those affected by development". I just want to set out 3 obvious points here:-
1. The natural water sources in Lan Tao Island, mostly has been channeled to the Shek Pik Reservoir by the Government, but the people in Land Tao Island have no water supply. At the same time, they lack of the necessary water for irrigation in agriculture, Shek Pik Reservior has been completed for 16 years now, yet the Government has no plan for water supply system. When we drink water, think of the source, what comes to our mind?
2.
The Finance Committee of Legislative Council has
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