ENG-1960 — Page 378

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HISTORY

been introduced in face of enlarged public transport services and the increase in number, and in size, of private cars in daily use. The railway has changed from steam to diesel-electric traction. A new airport capable of meeting the needs of modern aircraft has been very largely completed and is in full operation. Airline passengers, many of them tourists from overseas, have in turn created a demand for more and better hotel accommodation, and for sightseeing and shopping facilities, and night-time entertainment.

Postal and telecommunication services have set new records in the traffic handled. Broadcasting, wired and wireless, has developed as a principal part of the Colony's entertainment, and wired television is for the wealthier a supplement to the many modern cinemas patronized by the majority. Parks, playgrounds and well-supervised bathing beaches are only a few of the outdoor amenities which the public at large enjoy.

Despite this response to the challenge of over-population and the refugee influx, the Colony's ordinary life could not have run so smoothly had it not been for the constant vigilance and efficiency of the security forces. The Kowloon riots of 1956, which constituted the most serious of the few outbreaks of violence in the post-war years, were quickly ended; and the lessons learnt on that occasion put to good use in plans for the further expansion and modernization of the Police Force and the other agencies concerned with the preservation of law and order.

An increased, and ever increasing, tempo is apparent in every aspect of Hong Kong's daily life, but it is the growth of local industry which came into being to replace the traditional entrepôt trade of the Colony, which has been the most significant feature, after population growth, in the Colony's history in the post-war years.