ENG-1978 — Page 312

HISTORY

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woollens and, in the late 1960s, man-made fibres and made-up garments. The fact that textiles and clothing have consistently taken up 47 to 53 per cent of Hong Kong's total domestic exports each year since 1959 clearly shows the economy's dependence on these items.

But while textiles remain the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy, major contribu- tions are made by plastic goods, electronic products and other industries.

As the volume of trade has increased so has the level of product design and sophistication. Quality standards and production methods have greatly improved with mechanisation being increasingly adopted as growth leads to higher labour costs. Economic expansion has enabled the government to increase its social and other services to match overall growth. The first public housing estate was built in 1954 after 50,000 squatters lost their homes in a Christmas Day fire at Shek Kip Mei in Kowloon. These housing blocks had only basic facilities and were intended to provide quickly a large number of homes at low rents. Standards have greatly improved since then.

A new, unified Housing Authority was formed in April, 1973, with the respon- sibility of planning, building and managing all public housing estates in Hong Kong. It is served by the Housing Department. Today more than two million people - 46 per cent of the population - live in government-subsidised accommodation. During the 1977-8 financial year, 91,957 people moved into Housing Authority accommodation, making a total of almost two million in the authority's estates with a further 126,653 in subsidised housing provided by the Hong Kong Housing Society a voluntary government-aided organisation.

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The design and layout of public housing estates, particularly in the provision of social and commercial facilities, has been greatly improved. Older estates are being upgraded and the Housing Authority has started on the government's plan to build homes for sale within the public housing sector.

Expenditure on education has increased enormously over recent years - forming 19 per cent of total government expenditure in the 1978-9 financial year. There are now 2,600 schools, four technical institutes, three colleges of education, a technical teachers' college, three approved post-secondary colleges registered under the Post Secondary College Ordinance, a polytechnic and two universities.

Starting from September, 1978, sufficient places were made available for every primary school-leaver to complete three years of secondary education. At the same time, junior secondary education was made free with the abolition of the standard $400-a-year fee.

During 1978, proposals were outlined for developing senior secondary and tertiary education over the next 10 years.

University education has expanded greatly since World War II. The University of Hong Kong re-opened in 1946 with 109 students. In 1978-9, there were 4,066 under- graduate places and 670 post-graduate places. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which opened in 1963, had an enrolment of 4,375 undergraduates in 1978–9, with a further 416 students enrolled in the graduate programme.

Enormous strides have continued to be made in social welfare in Hong Kong during 1978 particularly in the review of services for the elderly, the development of social security and personal social work among young people.