ENG-1989 — Page 24

A VISION OF THE FUTURE

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ably, these contacts were temporarily suspended in June. The group has recently resumed its activities and will now meet again in December. I hope that it will then, as previously, produce a steady stream of solid work. Much still remains to be done before 1997.

The confidentiality of proceedings in the JLG has often led to misunderstandings in Hong Kong about its role and activities. From time to time it has been suggested that the British and Chinese Governments take decisions in the JLG in which Hong Kong plays no part. I can assure you that this is not the case. Two members of the Hong Kong administration sit as members of the British side of the JLG and many more attend its meetings. All subjects on the agenda of JLG meetings are thoroughly discussed beforehand between the British and Hong Kong Governments. And the Executive Council is kept fully informed of all proceedings and is consulted on all major issues of policy. Hong Kong makes a full contribution to the work of the JLG. We will continue to do so.

Building for the Future: Social

In the final analysis, the future of Hong Kong rests with its people. Your government attaches a great deal of importance to ensuring that Hong Kong remains an attractive place to live in, with social services that meet the needs of our society. We do not intend to provide a western-style welfare state. To do so risks encouraging a mentality of dependency that is alien to the Hong Kong way of life. Instead, we concentrate much of our efforts, and of our available resources, on the young people of Hong Kong, who represent our future, and on those who cannot fend for themselves.

Education

During the past 20 years, as Hong Kong has prospered, the demand and need for better education has grown with enormous speed. In our community, the first goal that parents set themselves, as their living standards improve, is to give their children the best possible educational opportunities. In the 1960s, most parents were keen simply to provide some sort of schooling for their children. In 1971, the government was able to provide free primary education for all. In the 1970s expectations increased; and in 1979 free, compulsory education was extended to include secondary forms one to three.

The ambition of ordinary families today is that their children should do well enough in examinations to be able to go on to some kind of post-secondary education. At the same time, the development of our economy means that we need an increasing number of young people trained beyond secondary school level. It is clear that we are not at present able to meet the full extent of this demand. As many Hong Kong students now go abroad for tertiary education as stay in Hong Kong. Another factor is emigration. We must now plan on the assumption that we will lose a proportion of our future graduates abroad.

The government therefore proposes to upgrade substantially the targets that we set ourselves only last year. These would have meant that in the year 1995, for example, there would be first-year, first-degree places for nearly 13 per cent of the relevant age group, compared with about seven per cent now. This was an ambitious target. But it is now clear that we must be even more ambitious. I have asked the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee (UPGC) to increase the planned provision of first-year, first-degree places from about 7 000 next year to about 15 000 in 1995. That means places for over 18 per cent of the relevant age group. This will not be at the expense of sub-degree places. These will be maintained at the previous planning level of 5 000.

This increase would give a total of 67 000 tertiary places in 1995. That would provide places for nearly 25 per cent of the relevant age group, compared with under 14 per cent