TNAG-0969-FCO40-1188-Human-rights-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 50

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to "listen" to the people after the 1967 riots. One of these

establishments are the city district offices. Young district officers are employed to deal with the discontented elements, and to set up people's organisations called the Mutual Aid Committees. However these people's committees do not have an independent legal status. They are established under the district offices and their functions are limited to fighting crimes, cleaning the area and entertainment. Moreover, the district officers have the power to dissolve the committee when they think fit.

Other than the city district offices, the government departments have also set up public relations offices, at the same the government spends great sum of human and financial resources to collect information about the public. However

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the main function of these offices are to "brief" the uncensored press and to control the people in a more effective way. They are responsible solely to the government, not the people. Xo legal, social and political power is guaranteed to the people.

5. CONCLUSION

The people

As we have conceded earlier, the political structure of Hong Kong allows no representation of the people. cannot participate directly or indirectly in the administration and planning of the government. For example, in the housing scheme the policy which affect nearly half of the population, most of them from the lower middle class, the people cannot demand what they want or refuse any decision which affect them. The ones who decide are the government oureaucrats, big busines sme z and professionals whose interests are the profit they can get out of the scheme. Thus we find the government spending great sum of money on the Home Ownership Scheme waich only families with a total monthly income of E.X. $5000 can afford, yet a family from a lower income group earns only $1000 to $3500 monthly. While both the government and the real estates developers benefit from such a scheme, we find the boat people being refused to be rehoused on land. They were to remain in the filthy water one generation after another.

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