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But they were in the minority. Most spinners entertained what appeared to me to be an impossible dream: government support without concomitant control. They criticised the Hong Kong Government on three policy areas which threatened their operations, namely the rise in land value, the 'hurried' introduction of labour legislation, and the administration's refusal to impose import control on foreign textile products. The Korean and Taiwanese governments were often mentioned as examples of political systems supportive of industry. But simultaneously, the spinners were aware of the twin evils of red-tape and corruption which often accompanied government subsidies. Their real desire appeared to be for the government to provide the ‘infra-structure' and leave them a free hand to run their business. As A12 said:
'The more government assistance the better. But this is difficult to realize. When I say help, it is not necessarily with money. To control inflation is a form of assistance. To regulate finance and prices... Now the government does not know what changes will be introduced tomorrow. If there was a definite policy, then we would know what to expect.'
The tone and omissions were as important as the actual contents of their answers. Their opinions were strongly seasoned with resignation and cynicism. For example, B32 said to me:
'Mr. Wong, all these [statements] are against the government. No comment. You see, there is no use participating. It is only superficial democracy. All are yes men. The more "yes" you say, the more honours you get. So all these are theoretical, cannot be done in practice. For example, the setting up of the Cotton Commodity Exchange. We are all in opposition, but the government wants to have it. Just another gambling house!'
Of course, the flavour of powerlessness was not quite real. The spinners had strong political muscles as they provided employment on a large scale. When conflicts of interests did occur, they could force the government to yield. In the early 1970s, for instance, there was a dispute over the re-evaluation of the value of industrial land on 'Crown lease'. Immediately after the Second World War,
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But they were in the minority. Most spinners entertained what appeared to me to be an impossible dream: government support without concomitant control. They criticised the Hong Kong Government on three policy areas which threatened their operations, namely the rise in land value, the 'hurried' introduction of labour legislation, and the administration's refusal to impose import control on foreign textile products. The Korean and Taiwanese governments were often mentioned as examples of political systems supportive of industry. But simultaneously, the spinners were aware of the twin evils of red-tape and corruption which often accompanied government subsidies. Their real desire appeared to be for the government to provide the ‘infra-structure' and leave them a free hand to run their business. As A12 said:
The more government assistance the better. But this is difficult to realize When I say help, it is not necessarily with money. To control inflation is a form of assistance. To regulate finance and prices. . . Now the government does not know what changes will be introduced tomorrow. If there was a definite policy, then we would know what to expect.'
The tone and omissions were as important as the actual contents of their answers. Their opinions were strongly seasoned with resignation and cynicism. For example, B32 said to me:
'Mr. Wong, all these [statements] are against the government. No comment. You see, there is no use participating. It is only superficial democracy. All are yes men. The more "yes" you say, the more honours you get. So all these are theoretical, cannot be done in practice. For example, the setting up of the Cotton Commodity Exchange. We are all in opposition, but the government wants to have it. Just another gambling house!'
Of course, the flavour of powerlessness was not quite real. The spinners had strong political muscles as they provided employment on a large scale. When conflicts of interests did occur, they could force the government to yield. In the early 1970s, for instance, there was a dispute over the re-evaluation of the value of industrial land on 'Crown lease'. Immediately after the Second World War,
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