ENG-1973 — Page 27

5.

THE COMMUNITY

Traditional Links

5

The Home Affairs Department has inherited responsibilities which date back to 1845, when the fledgling Hong Kong Government established its first formal links with the Chinese flooding into the newly founded colony. Since then there have been numerous changes of form and title, during which this section of the administration has grown steadily in stature and importance.

Until 1913, when the post of Secretary for Chinese Affairs was created, the officer entrusted with these responsibilities was known as the Registrar General. The title of Secretary for Chinese Affairs remained in use until 1969 when it was changed to Secretary for Home Affairs.

Following the recent reorganisation of the central government machinery, the Secretary for Home Affairs took on new responsibilities and moved to the Colonial Secretariat. A post of Director of Home Affairs was created to head the Home Affairs Department, which administers the City District Officer scheme and maintains other traditional links with the people.

Despite these formal changes, the basic reason for the existence of the office is substantially the same as it was in 1845-that there should be a senior officer whose primary job is the maintenance of two-way communication between the government and the people of Hong Kong.

Before 1941 the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs maintained its links with the people mainly through long established charitable organisations. These included— and still include the Tung Wah Hospitals and the Po Leung Kuk, both of which date from the early years of Hong Kong, as well as clan and district associations formed by people who either shared the same surname or the same provincial back- ground in China.

The Secretary for Chinese Affairs also kept in close touch with the Chinese unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils in their capacity as leaders of the Chinese community.

The early post-war years saw the development of the 'kaifong' movement, a revival of an ancient Chinese form of social organisation, adapted to the requirements of a Western urban society. The word 'kaifong' literally means 'neighbour', and the kaifong welfare associations had as their aim the continuation of the ancient tradition of neighbourly co-operation and mutual help among residents of a particular area. The first association of this type was formed in 1949 by a group of businessmen in Sham Shui Po. The movement spread rapidly and there are now more than 60 kaifong associations in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

The government soon saw that, in addition to providing welfare services for the people of their districts, the kaifongs could provide a useful new point of contact with the people. It therefore fostered and encouraged the kaifong movement from

the start.

In the late 1960s, it became apparent to the government that there was a need for additional channels of communication. The centralised nature of the administrative