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landlords of business premises to raise their rents to become the highest in the world. Small business is the only buffer the poor can find against sickness and unemployment; but small business has been persecuted out of existence wherever possible. Just how shortsighted this Government is can be seen in the obliteration of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association Exhibition in 1974. Once a year this exhibition used to boost up business and trade; once a year there was a little fun and enjoyment for the workers.
But no site was allocated to encourage this worthwhile effort of local industry, and its closure meant just another step downward in business in a very difficult year. The implications are depressing. (c) The Government's total disregard for all but big business has also been shown clearly in the way it killed the stockmarket as soon as the savings of the workers and lower middle class people, driven by devaluation in their banking accounts, had been transferred to the pockets of those manipulating the stockmarkets, who appear to have learned their looting methods from Mr. Bernie CORNFELD.
(d) The economic crisis has caught the Government totally unprepared. As Mr. BERNACCHI pointed out, Social Welfare benefits had been improving, but no preparation was made for unemployment benefits. Consequently the unemployed are being turned away by the Social Welfare Department with curt instructions to "go and find a job." Those who are entitled to public assistance have increased to a point that Social Welfare personnel are inadequate, and the public is being stuffed with lies that it takes three weeks (and even three weeks is too long for a family to starve) to get public assistance. I insist that it takes two to three months to get assistance to needy families today.
(e) But while the poor are suffering from unemployment, under-employment, rising prices and housing problems, the Government has shown all sympathy with big business, especially its friends the most-favoured monopolies. They are permitted not only to maintain profits at their former levels, but even to increase them at will. The Telephone Company, the Power Companies, the Transport Companies will never be satisfied, will never feel the economic pinch, will always offer the minimum service for the maximum profit, because they have the blessing of their Government friends; some of them indeed are the Government. At the same time, tax liability for these profit-making concerns is controlled at a low minimum, while taxing of the salaried and lower middle class who can least afford the economic pinch has been raised to an alarming degree in the most unfair system of taxation ever conceived by any Government since the abolition of feudalism. This brilliant scheme on the Government's part to collect more money without hurting their business friends has shifted an intolerable burden on to the shoulders of those who work hard to make an honest salary. On the other hand, those who make their money corruptly or by dishonesty are draining the colony of millions of dollars of untaxed money, and getting away with early retirement.
(f) As a teacher, I cannot refrain from mentioning the Government's education policy as expressed in the White Paper. Educationalists are unanimous in their criticism, yet this policy is going to be foisted on us at the command of handful of people who know little about education. If the Government goes ahead with the proposal to introduce an examination at Form 3, this could serve no other purpose than to turn younger students into mindless bookworms, and save money by driving them to drop out before reaching Form 5, no doubt increasing the danger of delinquency.
(g) The economic crisis may be affecting many countries in the world, but in Hong Kong it is hurting only the less privileged: the workers are suffering, the homeless are suffering, the under-privileged and handicapped are suffering, small contractors and small businessmen are suffering; but big business and senior bureaucrats never had it so good, and they appear to be oblivious to the social unrest they are creating. The Government made no plans in the bumper years to meet the need of the lean years, and now that the lean years have come, we find ourselves with nothing to offer the unemployed. Those who rule us should sit down and consider what a man is to do if he loses his job, has no unemployment benefit, cannot get public assistance because he is able-bodied, cannot pay his rent or cannot set up a small hut, a small business or a hawker stall. The only alternatives left to that man are death, suicide, begging, or crime. If the man chooses to live, he has only begging and crime to turn to.
I would like to conclude by quoting paragraphs 503 and 504 of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the 1966 Disturbances:
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landlords of business premises to raise their rents to become the highest in the world. Small business is the only buffer the poor can find against sickness and unemployment; but small business has been persecuted out of existence wherever possible. Just how shortsighted this Government is can be seen in the obliteration of the Chinese Manufacturers' Associa tion Exhibition in 1974. Once a year this exhibition used to boost up business and trade; once a year there was a little fun and enjoyment for the workers.
But no site was allocated to encourage this worthwhile effort of local industry, and its closure meant just another step downward in business in a very difficult year. The implications are depressing. (c) The Government's total disregard for all but big business has also been shown clearly in the way it killed the stockmarket as soon as the savings of the workers and lower middle class people, driven by devaluation in their banking accounts, had been transferred to the pockets of those manipulating the stockmarkets, who appear to have learned their looting methods from Mr. Bernie CORNFELD.
(d) The economic crisis has caught the Government totally un- prepared. As Mr. BERNACCHI pointed out, Social Welfare benefits had been improving, but no preparation was made for unemployment benefits. Consequently the unemployed are being turned away by the Social Welfare Department with curt instructions to "go and find a job." Those who are entitled to public assistance have increased to a point that Social Welfare personnel are inadequate, and the public is being stuffed with lies that it takes three weeks (and even three weeks is too long for a family to starve) to get public assistance. I insist that it takes two to three months to get assistance to needy families today.
(e) But while the poor are suffering from unemployment, under- employment, rising prices and housing problems, the Govern- ment has shown all sympathy with big business, especially its friends the most-favoured monopolies. They are per- mitted not only to maintain profits at their former levels, but even to increase them at will. The Telephone Company, the Power Companies, the Transport Companies will never be satisfied, will never feel the economic pinch, will always offer the minimum service for the maximum profit, because they have the blessing of their Government friends; some of them indeed are the Government. At the same time, tax
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 129 of 187
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liability for these profit-making concerns is controlled at a low minimum, while taxing of the salaried and lower middle class who can least afford the economic pinch has been raised to an alarming degree in the most unfair system of taxation ever conceived by any Government since the abolition of feudalism. This brilliant scheme on the Government's part to collect more money without hurting their business friends has shifted an intolerable burden on to the shoulders of those who work hard to make an honest salary. On the other hand, those who make their money corruptly or by dishonesty are draining the colony of millions of dollars of untaxed money, and getting away with early retirement.
(f) As a teacher, I cannot refrain from mentioning the Govern- ment's education policy as expressed in the White Paper. Educationalists are unanimous in their criticism, yet this policy is going to be foisted on us at the command of handful of people who know little about education. If the Government goes ahead with the proposal to introduce an examination at Form 3, this could serve no other purpose than to turn younger students into mindless bookworms, and save money by driving them to drop out before reaching Form 5, no doubt increasing the danger of delinquency.
(g) The economic crisis may be affecting many countries in the
world, but in Hong Kong it is hurting only the less privileged: the workers are suffering, the homeless are suffering, the under- privileged and handicapped are suffering, small contractors and small businessmen are suffering; but big business and senior bureaucrats never had it so good, and they appear to be oblivious to the social unrest they are creating. The Govern- ment made no plans in the bumper years to meet the need of the lean years, and now that the lean years have come, we find ourselves with nothing to offer the unemployed. Those who rule us should sit down and consider what a man is to do if he loses his job, has no unemployment benefit, cannot get public assistance because he is able-bodied, cannot pay his rent or cannot set up a small hut, a small business or a hawker stall. The only alternatives left to that man are death, suicide, begging, or crime. If the man chooses to live, he has only begging and crime to turn to.
I would like to conclude by quoting paragraphs 503 and 504 of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the 1966 Disturbances:
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