ENG-1981 — Page 24

REVIEW

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might damage of free market mechanisms which, though they do from time to time create social problems, are the real ingredient in the Hong Kong stew that makes it increasingly tasty for all. Few critics ever go so far as to raise that great human dilemma: Should Hong Kong continue to boil and enrich its stew and only eat the gravy or, should it serve the whole stew and let everyone eat an equal share?

An extremely significant spin-off from the overriding drive for self-betterment is the stability that drive creates in the Hong Kong community. There is a strong sub-surface demand for law and order so that the people can get on with their basic aim. That came clearly to the surface in support for the British when the Cultural Revolution spilled over into Hong Kong in 1967. It surfaced again in support for the British administration when some police threatened mutiny in 1977. And yet again last year in the demand for an inquiry into the MacLennan case. The people of Hong Kong, bent upon their struggle for the development of their own human resources, are, as a result, remarkably law abiding. This is not to say crime doesn't exist. On the contrary, like everywhere else it is increasing. But, our criminals are the small percentage of immoral people in Hong Kong's midst who use crime for material self-betterment. Demand for more moral instruction in Hong Kong schools is the way many people have reacted to this.

The Census

In the year just behind us Hong Kong has had an opportunity to take stock of what it has achieved and who the people are who have accomplished its achievements. The 1981 Census is also a good pointer to its future direction.

One fact that the 1981 Census clearly establishes is that in age structure Hong Kong is not getting any younger. There has been a continuous decline in the proportion of young people aged 0-14, while old people aged 65 years and over have slowly risen since the 1971 Census from 4.5 per cent of the population to 6.6 per cent. The proportion of the working age population, from 15 to 64, has increased from 59.7 per cent to 68.6 per cent over the past 10 years. This makes for a more productive community and better economic per- formance with more gravy for everybody.

As a result of these trends, the dependency ratio – defined as the ratio per 1 000 of the population below 15 and aged 65 and over to the working age population – has decreased in the last decade from 674 to 457 per thousand. The decreasing dependency ratio is an indica- tion of the growing strength of those who bear the responsibilities of support in society in relation to those who depend on them, for upbringing, education and so on. Our figure at 457 is better than Japan's 484, Singapore's 517, India's 788 and the Philippines' 844.

But the dependency ratio does not tell the whole story since it does not account for the degree of labour force participation. Our 1981 Census found that, of our total population aged 15-64, 70.9 per cent were economically active, up from 67.2 in 1971. Some say this could be because more wives and daughters have gone out to work in the last few years when real wages have tended to be static and global and local inflation have eaten into their purchasing power - a phenomenon that in the past occurred when Hong Kong was hit by recession and employment reduced to part-time, manifest in an explosion of hawking, for instance. Whatever the reason may be it is a great strength in our population in their struggle for self-betterment.

Though the economically inactive young are declining in number, the 1981 Census shows there has been a continuous drop in the median age of our labour force from 35 to 31 years in the past decade. Our economically active population is becoming younger as more young people enter the labour force and join the struggle for self-betterment. Only Singapore's