A seaport that has seen a threefold increase in the annual amount of cargo and con- tainers handled in the last 10 years; and an airport with a threefold increase in passengers and cargo in the same period. In 1988 the container port handled more than four million containers, making it the busiest container port in the world. In 1988 15.2 million passengers and nearly 700,000 tonnes of freight used Kai Tak Airport. Thirty-six scheduled airlines serve Hong Kong, linking it to 95 international destinations.
The key element in all these achievements is Hong Kong's links with the rest of the world. Our sources of raw materials and the markets for our exports and re-exports rely on the network of contacts between Hong Kong companies and companies in other countries. Our importance to the rest of the world as an entrepot for China relies on continued overseas confidence in the efficiency of our port, the expertise and experience of our businessmen, and the quality of our service industries. Our importance to China as an economic bridge to the rest of the world must be one of the strongest reasons for preserving Hong Kong's present economic and social systems and its international character well beyond 1997.
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
Finance
Tourism
The position of being one of the world's most important financial centres. The presence of 165 licensed banks, of which 134 are incorporated in 2′′ overseas countries, together with 161 representative offices of foreign banks. A geographical location which makes Hong Kong an es- sential part of the global 24-hour foreign exchange market.
A tourism industry that brought 5.6 million visitors to Hong Kong in 1988 and earned HK$33 billion (US$4.23 billion). Hong Kong now has 69 hotels with nearly 27,000 hotel rooms. In 1988 Hong Kong's hotels enjoyed an occupancy level of 92%.
A Thriving International City
Economic achievements are easily measured by statistics, but there are less quantifiable ways in which Hong Kong is firmly and inescapably an international city. Our legal system originates from England and draws precedents and examples from Common Law jurisdictions throughout the world, but it is adapted to suit Hong Kong's circumstances and experience and is now making progress in producing a bilingual statute law. Hong Kong's judiciary enjoys inter- national respect because of its independence and standing. The territory also enjoys freedoms of speech, of the press, of association, of travel, of choice of occupation and of religious belief; it is a model of racial and intercultural harmony and
tolerance.
The community in Hong Kong is 98% Chinese but in education and outlook Hong Kong people are very much internationally oriented: over 390 out of Hong Kong's 434 secondary day schools use English as a principal medium of instruction; the examination system meets international standards; more than 100,000 Hong Kong people have received tertiary education overseas. The non-Chinese part of the population numbers some 200,000 and is one of the most important and visible elements of Hong Kong's international character. The use of both Cantonese and English in the daily life of the city is well established; other dialects and languages Putonghua, Japanese, the European languages-are increasingly heard among Hong Kong people keen to increase their opportunities for cultural and
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