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HISTORY

Hong Kong's public housing programme started with an emergency measure to rehouse some 53 000 people made homeless overnight in a squatter fire in 1953. It has developed into a comprehensive programme which encompasses a wide range of rental and home ownership scheme flats with self-contained facilities. More than half of Hong Kong's families live in accommodation which they own.

The programme is in line with a long-term strategy to produce new housing and to meet outstanding demand, and to encourage home ownership in the community. The Hong Kong Housing Authority, with primary responsibility for this programme, plans to build some 198 345 flats in the next three years 1998/1999–2000/2001.

Expenditure on education facilities and improvements has always been a major budget consideration. There are now free and compulsory primary and junior secondary school places for every student up to the age of 15 years. In 1997, the government subsidised Secondary 4 places for about 81 per cent of the 15-year-olds in a continuing programme.

Major social welfare advances have been made by the government and non- governmental organisations in the past decade, with expenditure increasing from $2.82 billion in 1987/88 to $19.04 billion during 1997/98.

Medical and health services are also undergoing vigorous development programmes which will provide four more major public hospitals (i.e. North District Hospital, Kowloon Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Tseung Kwan O Hospital and Lai King Hospital) and some five additional clinics and polyclinics over the next five years.

A comprehensive system of labour legislation has been developed to provide for employees' benefits and protection, work injury compensation, work safety and occupational health. Free employment services are provided to help job-seekers find jobs and employers recruit staff. The Employees Retraining Board equips workers displaced in the economic restructuring with new skills for alternative employment.