Hong Kong Annual Report
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1957
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HONG KONG AND THE NEW TERRITORIES
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Rivers & Streams, Reservoirs Ferry Services
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The dust cover is reproduced
from one of a set of twelve
•
*
.original prints now in the collec- tion of the Government of Hong Kong. The view is of Causeway Bay from the North West with Kellet Island in the right back- ground and is dated 28th September, 1846. The original was drawn by M. Bruce and lithographed by A. Maclure in two colours, water-colours
being added at a later date.
Price:
HK$ 7.50
HONG KONG
ANNUAL REPORT 1957
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
are obtainable at
THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS BUREAU,
General Post Office, Hong Kong,
and from
THE CROWN AGENTS FOR OVERSEA GOVERNMENTS
AND ADMINISTRATIONS
4, Millbank, London, S.W. 1
A list of current publications will be found at Appendix XXI of this Report
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORTS may also be obtained
from
HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, LONDON
CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED
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HON
DIEU
Hong Kong
Annual Report 1957
HONG KONG
AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS
MARCH, 1958
市政局公共圖書館UCPL
3 3288 02638965 2
Note: HK$ 16.00-£1 sterling
HK$ 6.00=U.S.$ 1.00
URBAN COMPREN
Acc. No.
DPRARIESTM
86155
Class
HR951-25
•
Author
HON HKCr
CONTENTS
ற் ம்ம்
Chapter
I. REVIEW THE CHANGING Face of Hong Kong .
2.
POPULATION
3. OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
Page
I
35
41
4.
PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION .
70
5. CURRENCY AND BANKING .
6. INDUSTRY AND TRADE .
77
80
7.
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
102
8.
EDUCATION
131
9.
PUBLIC HEALTH.
144
10.
LAND AND HOUSING
179
II.
SOCIAL WELFARE
204
12.
LEGISLATION.
220
13.
LAW AND ORDER
225
· 14.
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
244
15.
COMMUNICATIONS
261
16. PRESS, BROADCASTING, TELEVISION, FILMS AND
TOURISM
280
17.
LOCAL FORCES AND CIVIL DEFENCE SERVICES
·
297
18.
RESEARCH
301
19.
RELIGION.
304
20.
THE ARTS
309
21.
SPORT AND RECREATION
314
22.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATÉ
321
23.
FAUNA AND Flora .
330
24.
HISTORY
•
336 ·
25.
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
354
26. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
366
27.
READING LIST
367
Appendices
I. Colonial Development and Welfare
IIA. Industrial Undertakings and Persons Em-
ployed in Main Industrial Groups .
IIB. Industrial Undertakings and Persons Em- ployed in selected Industries in certain of the Main Industrial Groups .
Page
371
372
373
III. Statement of Assets and Liabilities
IV. Statement of Revenue
374
376
V. Statement of Expenditure
VI. Authorized Foreign Exchange Banks
377
379
VII. Direction of Trade-Imports
380
VIII. Direction of Trade-Exports
380
IX. Principal Commodities Imported.
381
X. Principal Commodities Exported.
382
XI. Value of Exports of Hong Kong Products .
384
XII. Co-operative Societies
385
XIII. Hong Kong Students pursuing Higher
Studies in the United Kingdom
386
XIV. Infectious Diseases Notified
387
XV. Hospital Beds .
388
XVI. Registered Medical Personnel .
389
XVII. Government
Medical
Personnel under
Training
389
XVIII. Crime Statistics
390
XIX. Newspapers and Magazines
393
XX. Members of the Executive and Legislative
Councils
394
XXI. List of Hong Kong Government Publications 398
Index
401
The Government of Hong Kong wishes to thank all those organizations and private individuals who have contributed to this Report, whether by way of textual matter or of photographs. In the case of photographs acknowledgement is also made individually except when the photograph was taken officially.
Chapter 1: Review
THE CHANGING FACE OF HONG KONG
TODAY'S traveller, approaching Hong Kong by air, has an incomparable view. He sees a cluster of islands, scattered like pieces from a jig-saw puzzle, round the indented Kowloon peninsula. In the distance, broken ranges of hills rise from a green mosaic of fields, the farms of the New Territories. Further away still, stretching to the curved rim of the horizon, is the vast land mass of China. As the plane sweeps down to Kai Tak Airport, the twin cities of Hong Kong come into view. One is the island city of Victoria- a long fringe of crowded buildings backed by steep green hills, from whose flanks sprout groups of tall white apart- ment blocks which, from the cabin window of the plane, look like sugar cubes. On the other side of the harbour, where the traveller will land, is Kowloon, a city laid out for the most part in neat rectangles, its skyline broken by many high buildings. Just before the plane touches down the traveller catches sight of a strip of soil, granite and tar- macadam projecting from Kai Tak Airfield into the sea. He has had a first view of one of Hong Kong's great modern constructions-a new runway, 8,000 feet long, which has been reclaimed from Kowloon Bay.
On the short taxi-ride from the airport to central Kow- loon, the traveller sees more evidence that he is moving into a whirlwind of construction, demolition and reconstruction. Round the perimeter of the airfield itself workmen are busy razing small hills and carving them into granite blocks for use in the seawalls of the new runway or in the airport's terminal buildings. Kowloon's main artery, Nathan Road, is a vista of bamboo scaffolding, slung round new buildings
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
which are thrusting 14 and 15 storeys into the sky. Other tall buildings, faced with the local grey granite, with here and there a veneer of marble or aluminium, are still un- marked by the weather.
The seven-minute ferry trip across Victoria Harbour brings the traveller to more scenes of building activity. In Victoria, where British merchants established their first settlement less than 120 years ago, the skyline is fretted with scaffolding as builders add yet another storey to one or other of the city's skyscrapers. Heaps of sand, stone, granite chips, cement and other impedimenta of the builders' trade spill from the narrow confines of building lots across the pavement into the roadway; contractors' trucks are every- where, carrying loads of that same impedimenta, or bamboo poles, or gangs of cheerful labourers, or perhaps taking spoil to a dumping ground.
The reason for establishing a colony in Hong Kong was explained to a Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1847 by an officer on the staff of the first Governor, Sir Henry Pottinger. He said: 'In the first instance, it was chosen by Captain Elliot from the fineness of the harbour.' The choice was indeed well made with 17 square miles of land-locked water of a depth sufficient for the largest ships, Victoria Harbour is one of the finest natural ports in the world, and its surrounding hills give shelter from the pre- vailing monsoon. From the harbour developed Hong Kong's entrepôt trade; and from that trade grew, first, the city of Victoria and, rather later, the city of Kowloon. But although nature had designed the perfect harbour, she had not provided anything like a perfect site for a city. The Island (which comprised the Colony's whole territory for 20 years) had scarcely any flat land. The 'Times' on 17th December, 1844, had complained roundly: 'The place has nothing to recommend it, if we except the excellent harbour. The site of the new town of Victoria . . is most objectionable, there being scarcely level ground enough for the requisite
•
REVIEW
buildings, and the high hills, which overhang the locality, shut out the southerly winds and render the place exceeding- ly hot, close and uncomfortable.'
Certainly, from the very first, the infant Colony, narrowly confined between the precipitous face of Victoria Peak and the harbour that had caused its being, felt pangs of over- crowding. Builders perforce had to seek sites on the hills; and, at the same time, residents began to look enviously at the sea. Reclamation was started within ten years of the Colony's foundation, and, with it, the quarrying and cutting back into hills which is an essential preparation for much of Hong Kong's building. Spoil removed from the hills is dumped into a convenient bay, extending the building space in two directions at once. These twin processes which catch the traveller's attention today-the processes of reclamation and site formation-have a continuous history of more than a hundred years.
Although the Kowloon peninsula was ceded to Britain in 1860 and the Colony thereby gained three and a half square miles, the new land lay on the mainland and the problem of congestion on the Island continued. The prosperity and security of the Colony attracted immigrants from China by the thousand, and, whenever China passed through one of its periodic convulsions, the stream became a torrent. Refugees from the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions started a tradition of 'squatting' in Hong Kong which has been repeated at frequent intervals in the Colony's history.
By the 1890's Victoria was expanding rapidly and many of its solidly built districts endure to the present day. Europeans tended to congregate in some districts, leaving others exclusively to the Chinese. The homes of well-to-do Chinese and Europeans were made for 'gracious living'; thick-walled, and with broad verandahs, they were usually surrounded by large gardens. In search of open sites and coolness, the European population had already begun to scale the Peak; in 1888 the wire-rope tramway, a spectacular
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
engineering feat, hoisted its first passengers to Victoria Gap, 1,305 feet above sea level.
In sharp contrast were the densely crowded quarters of the less well-to-do Chinese. Many of these tenement areas-made up of row after row of four-storey buildings-are still to be seen in central Victoria and Kowloon. Their width as build- ings was limited by the average length of the China fir joist, which is 15 feet. As a result, the common unit of land- holding became a 15-foot strip, about 50 feet deep; and these dimensions still impose themselves upon many of the multi-storey concrete buildings which are replacing the old
tenements.
The space problems of Kowloon were not as acute as those of Victoria. Although it contains nearly a square mile of barren hills, the peninsula is flatter than the island. Its level coastal margins have always offered space for building; and reclamation has provided more. In addition, since its main development took place in the twentieth century, Kowloon was a better planned city from the start. The Public Health and Building Ordinance of 1903 provided minutely for im- proved methods in town building in the Colony, a prime objective being to provide adequate space between buildings for scavenging and ventilation. Its main effect, however, was to limit the height of buildings to five storeys, except in special cases. The provisions of this Ordinance, re-enacted and brought up to date in later years, exerted a strong influence on building development in Hong Kong until 1955.
At the turn of the century the Colony, which had up till then measured 35 square miles, gained about 355 square miles by leasing the 'New Territories' from China for 99 years. The New Territories comprise the northern hinter- land, 20 miles deep, of the Kowloon peninsula, and some 200 islands ranging from rocky, desolate islets to Lantao, which is bigger than Hong Kong Island itself. Yet the teeming populations of Kowloon and Victoria have not
REVIEW
5
to any large extent moved into the New Territories. The moulds already set for the two cities made it inevitable that, in subsequent years, all major developments, in commerce, administration and industry, would converge upon them. The main occupations of the New Territories, today as in past centuries, are farming and fishing. Its towns are mainly markets, serving an agricultural community, but, as a result of decisions made very recently, this picture is now likely to change industry, already established in the south, will be allowed under control to spread to other centres. The aim is to reclaim the sea, the swamps and the sterile land for industrial sites and new towns and not to encroach on the agricultural acreage.
Hong Kong's first industrial centres (as distinct from domestic industries which are widely scattered) were the great dockyards established in the nineteenth century. On the Island, the Taikoo Dockyard and Sugar Refinery formed an old and important industrial complex; on the mainland, the nucleus of the factory zones was the Kowloon Docks, established in the 1870's. In 1903 an electric power station gave a further stimulus to industry. More encouragement was given by the construction of a railway line from Kowloon to Canton. Quite certainly, however, the decisive factor that made Kowloon predominantly industrial was the space avail- able for factory building.
New systems of communication helped to link the cities together and enabled both of them to extend their frontiers. Regular steam ferry services between Kowloon and Victoria developed from about 1890. Victoria city expanded length- wise along the coast. A tramway to East Point and Shau Kei Wan was constructed in 1904 and had the desired effect of creating 'working class suburbs' at the extremity of the city. At the same time the urban coastline was extended seaward by the central and eastern reclamations which gained a total of 150 acres for the heart of the city.
In Kowloon many new roads were formed and old ones
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
widened. Sir Matthew Nathan, Governor of the Colony from 1904 to 1907, had the foresight to build the unusually wide highway which now bears his name, running through the Kowloon peninsula from its southern tip at Tsim Sha Tsui to the base of the Kowloon hills. More or less simul- taneously, the spacious 'garden lots' of the previous century were being built over and low-lying areas being filled in by the spoil from road and railway construction. An important reclamation at Sham Shui Po, constructed between 1911 and 1928, provided the site for an entire new suburb of Kowloon.
Suburban development was helped by the arrival of motor cars which, from about 1915, began to appear in the Colony in significant numbers. Cars and buses made it possible for town dwellers to live a little further from their work and brought outlying districts, both on the Island and the main- land, into the city orbits. Motor roads on Victoria Peak opened up higher levels for development.
The late 1920's and early 1930's were characterized by a great and wide-spread building boom. On the Island the Praya east reclamation was built over, while at Kowloon Tong a garden city, was laid out. Small factories producing rubber footwear, textiles, torches and metalware were built in the industrial areas of Kowloon, largely stimulated by the introduction of the Imperial Preference scheme of 1932. Industry began to thrust westwards into the New Territories.
Domestic buildings in this period were taller than before. One of the first steel-framed buildings, the Gloucester Build- ing, erected in 1931, was the forerunner of the skyscrapers to come. Five years later, the concrete mass of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank hoisted its twelve storeys above the business centre of Victoria where it remained unrivalled in height until the 1950's. In Kowloon, with the exception of the Peninsula Hotel, the general level of building before the war remained at three storeys.
Between 1933 and 1937 property-owners experienced a
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7
severe slump. For a short time, the Colony reached what was described as 'an over-built position', and many tene- ments were left vacant. Unwittingly, Hong Kong had to some extent prepared for the tremendous influx of some 600,000 people which began in 1937. Earlier experience of immigration had provided no formula for handling such numbers, and the Colony now had its first experience of giving asylum to refugees en masse-this time to fugitives from the Japanese invasion of China. By 1941 Hong Kong was somehow or other sheltering 1,600,000 people. On 8th December Japan entered the World War as the ally of Germany; Hong Kong, attacked by greatly superior forces across the land frontier, ceased to be a passive looker-on at warring armies and, after a brief but severe struggle, the Colony fell to the Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941.
The regime of General Rensuke Isogai was marked by destruction and decay. With the Japanese occupation Hong Kong died. Her free port and entrepôt trade, sole reason for her existence, had ceased, and, accordingly, everything else ceased. Possessed of no natural resources, Hong Kong could only feed, clothe and employ her population through imports from overseas. These imports were no more. Unable to feed and maintain the swollen population, the Japanese conquerors encouraged a return of people to China. By the end of the war the Colony's population had dropped back to less than 600,000-perhaps a third of whom were the farmers and fishermen of the New Territories who alone had been able to win for themselves the means of subsistence. It is not surprising therefore that Japan had neither the intention nor the wherewithal to keep Hong Kong in repair, let alone develop it. The only practical construction done was at the Airport, which was extended in area and where two paved runways were laid. A less conspicuous survival of the Japanese occupation is the massive foundation work on the top of Mount Cameron which now supports several apartment blocks. These foundations originally carried a
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
huge unfinished monolith built prematurely by the occupy- ing Japanese forces in anticipation of victory. The monu- ment was demolished in 1947, and only the foundations remain.
British forces re-entered Hong Kong in August 1945. One of the first actions of the Military Administration was to take physical stock of the Colony. Destruction of property, although not on the same scale as in the blitzed cities else- where, was nevertheless sufficiently serious. Worst of all was the damage to dwellings. About 20% of Chinese tene- ments were either destroyed or seriously damaged, 10% of this number being totally destroyed. It was estimated that tenement-type housing for 160,000 people and European- type housing for some 7,000 people (about 70% of all European-style housing) had been lost. Most of the housing deficiency could only be made up by new construction or major repairs and these were initially slow to start since property owners were discouraged by the high cost of build- ing materials and labour. (It was calculated, for example, that a looted European-type house might cost twice as much to repair as it had cost to build ten years before.)
In other types of building, the pattern of destruction was haphazard. The University was badly damaged-mainly by looting and so too were many of the Colony's schools. Industry, on the other hand, except for the shipbuilding and repair yards and the Taikoo Sugar Refinery which had been rendered derelict, escaped comparatively lightly.
The first obvious duty of the Colony was to repair the scars of war. The harbour, strewn with sunken vessels and its shore facilities impaired either as a direct result of hostilities or through neglect, was quickly restored to use. By the end of 1945 the first commercial ship had discharged cargo. A flow of labour from China followed the return of life to the port. The revival of Hong Kong, based as always on its entrepôt trade, was under way. A resident of the time observed: 'Gradually the lights came on in houses further
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and further up the Peak, and this . . . . was a sort of nightly graph that was watched with considerable interest.'
Until 1947 little more than essential repairs could be made to the fabric of the Colony, for the raw materials for build- ing were scarce and expensive. Yet the houses, damaged as they were, were pressed into service. People were throng- ing into Hong Kong at a rate of as many as 100,000 a month-old-time residents and those who, having sought refuge between 1937 and 1941, had fled back to China during the lean and hungry days of the occupation, together with many complete newcomers drawn irresistably by the promise of the 'rice bowl' which Hong Kong afforded. For if conditions in Hong Kong after the war were difficult, they were better than those existing in war-ravaged China. By the end of 1946 it was estimated that the population had grown once again to approximately 1,600,000, or the level it had attained before the Japanese invasion. The Colony's Annual Report for the year spoke of 'serious overcrowding' and recorded: 'Many of the newcomers
had no knowledge of urban life and were ignorant of the rudiments of sanitation. Thousands sought shelter in damaged prem- ises with no sanitary fittings and drew their water from polluted wells. It was necessary to give the Health Officers powers to compel owners to make their damaged premises as far as possible proof against such squatters.'
•
The tremendous pressures from too many people trying to squeeze into far too few houses created special problems for the Administration. If these forces were to be contained successfully within the small area of the Colony, it was clear that plans would have to be made and controls applied. The problem now was not merely to revive a bombed and looted Colony, but to accommodate the tens of thousands seeking sanctuary and a livelihood within its frontiers.
Not merely the bricks and mortar had to be restored but also the complex economies of housing, including, in par- ticular, the relationship between landlord and tenant.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Existing legislation was inadequate. A form of rent control had, in fact, been first introduced in Hong Kong as early as July 1921 because of the shortage of housing and the presence of refugees. The legislation was intended merely as a tem- porary measure to continue in force for one year only, with provision for renewal for periods of not more than one year at a time. In the event the Ordinance was extended annually with various amendments until 30th June, 1926, when there were so many vacant floors throughout the Colony that further renewal of rent control was no longer necessary.
The great influx of people during the Sino-Japanese War led to the passing in 1938 of a Prevention of Eviction Ordinance; this conferred on tenants a certain measure of protection against excessive rents and eviction. As before the Ordinance was intended as a temporary measure, but it was extended by annual legislation and was still in force in December 1941 when the Colony was invaded.
Tenancy matters generally were in a confused state at the end of the war. Normal tenancy agreements had frequently gone by the board during the occupation years, and rent was often an indefinite sum because of the uncertain value of the occupation currency. Although the Japanese had established civil courts in 1943, there had been little resort to them for the adjudication of disputes.
The commonest form of tenancy in Hong Kong was, and still is, a monthly tenancy. Thus, with the resumption of the British administration, landlords were frequently in a position to give their tenants a month's notice to quit and, if this was not accepted, thereafter to seek an eviction order. It was also apparent that with the return of former residents there would be great demand for the very reduced accom- modation available. One of the first acts of the British Military Administration was therefore to issue a Landlord and Tenant Proclamation. This Proclamation (amended in some details by a subsequent Proclamation of March 1946) restricted rents to the levels obtaining before December 1941
REVIEW
I I
and also restricted recovery of possession; tenancy tribunals were set up, with specially simplified rules of procedure to assist applicants appearing in person.
Upon the restoration of the Civil Administration in May 1946 a Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Leo D'Almada, Q.C., was appointed to report on the practical workings of the Landlord and Tenant Proclamation and- of particular interest when considering post-war building in Hong Kong-the Committee's terms of reference also in- cluded 'whether, and if so how far and how, the rent of new premises should be controlled.'
The D'Almada Committee grasped this nettle firmly. Their report to Government said: "The acute housing shortage prevailing in the Colony can only be remedied by large-scale new building. In view of the high cost of materials and wages, we are of the opinion that to place any restriction upon the rents of new premises would be to discourage such enterprises and inevitably to prolong the serious situation.' The Committee accordingly recommended that there should be no control of rents in the case of new premises and that premises continuously untenanted since. the Liberation by reason of not being habitable and which
rendered tenantable by
by reason of extensive repairs at the landlord's expense should likewise not be the subject of rent control. 'It is felt,' said the Committee parenthetically, 'that only by such a freedom from rent control can landlords be induced to incur the heavy expendi- ture necessary to rehabilitate the large number of buildings which have been the victims of extensive looting or of war damage.'
are
The Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, which was enacted as a result of the Committee's recommendations, became law on 23rd May, 1947. As by the earlier Proclamation, tenants were protected against exploitation and eviction. Although some increase in the rents charged for pre-war premises was permitted, such rents still remained controlled. By shielding
12
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
old-established tenancies from the zeal of the speculative builder, the Ordinance in effect encouraged full development of the fewer available sites. At the same time it directly stimulated new building. It placed no restriction on the rents of new buildings or on those buildings which had been left completely derelict and were now restored to use by the landlord. Another provision, framed to encourage building, did not at once have the effect intended. This important provision was the power given to the Governor in Council to exclude at discretion any premises or class of premises from the Ordinance. The exclusion of premises from the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance was designed to enable valuable sites, covered by old or inadequate structures, to be cleared for fuller and, it was hoped, more intensive development. Until 1955, however, the exclusion procedure was comparatively rarely used; but in that year an amend- ment of the law sanctioned the payment of compensation to tenants of property which the owner proposed to re- develop. This made it easier for property-owners to assess the cost of development, thus giving further impetus to investment in new buildings.
Rent control of pre-war buildings still exists in Hong Kong. In 1952 a committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. John McNeill, Q.C., found that the cost of repairing old buildings had risen on an average to six times the pre- war level and that few landlords could attempt repairs. beyond those forced upon them by official action, because the controlled rents were insufficient to allow of adequate maintenance. The committee recommended very considerable increases (by a series of annual instalments) in the permitted rents of both domestic and business premises and the com- plete decontrol of business premises within three years. So great, however, was the opposition to these proposals on the part of the public that a Bill, introduced in 1953 to give effect to the McNeill Committee's recommendations, was amended before its enactment to allow increases above the pre-war
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13
figure totalling only 55% in the case of domestic premises and 150% in the case of business premises. There the level of controlled rents has remained ever since-proposals in 1956 for further changes in rent controls having been even more violently opposed.
:
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:
The post-war mood of Europe, which favoured the planned rebuilding of blitzed cities, had its repercussions in Hong Kong. In 1948, the Government collected material for the visit of Sir Patrick Abercrombie, who had drawn up plans for the rebuilding of London. Sir Patrick noted: 'In com- paring Hong Kong with many other places, two special characteristics of its problems at once emerge Firstly, the shortage of land for any sort of urban expan- sion . . . . Secondly, an unlimited reservoir of possible immigration.' Sir Patrick recommended the building of new towns on the outskirts of Kowloon and in the New Terri- tories; the zoning of the Colony into industrial and resi- dential areas; the removal of military bases from urban centres; and the construction of a cross-harbour tunnel, linking Victoria with Kowloon. These were drastic and expensive measures, which still might have been feasible if Hong Kong had been able to snatch two or three years of tranquillity in the hazardous post-war world. But this was not to be. As events and people crowded upon the Colony, the planners found themselves more and more absorbed in immediate problems. Yet the signposts erected by the Abercrombie Report have not been forgotten nor their broad directions obscured.
Sir Patrick had observed: 'The population (of Hong Kong) has become used to densities which over large areas- not in small black spots-must be some of the highest in the world.' At that time (in 1948) the population was about 1,800,000. Within two years it was to increase by another half million. Hong Kong, already packed to the limits of its tattered fabric, achieved a new urban density of over 50,000 to the square mile--one of the highest, if not the highest, in the world.
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The human tide flowing into the Colony from China grew stronger as the Communist armies advanced southwards. When Canton fell, people fled in their tens of thousands to Hong Kong. Of the many immigrant incursions which Hong Kong had experienced, this was the greatest. It was also different in one vital respect. After former commotions and civil wars in China, it had always been possible for Hong Kong's temporary population to flow back to the mainland; this reverse flow was now all but stopped. Former immi- grant waves had receded, leaving only part of the burden on the shores of Hong Kong. This latest and biggest wave remained within the Colony, making it a human reservoir.
Every aspect of life was affected. The very face of Hong Kong underwent a rapid and ugly change. Squatter town- ships spread in an unsightly rash round the permanent buildings of Victoria and Kowloon, filling the valley floors and mounting the steep hillsides. By 1951 large areas on the Island and the mainland were covered by shanty towns. The most extensive of these flimsy settlements were on the north-west outskirts of Kowloon; large communities, how- ever, disfigured almost every hillside and vacant lot on both sides of the harbour.
This again was a time for taking stock, and those charged with the task found the situation both confused and con- fusing, so rapid had been the march of events during the preceding five years. In the first half of this period, as the population was returning from the mainland, the accent had largely been on reconstruction. Housing was refurbished in the best way possible, existing industries rehabilitated and trade connexions re-established. In 1947 Hong Kong was in process of reverting rapidly to its pre-war role of a great entrepôt centre. Then, just as it seemed that conditions were returning to normal, political upheaval in China brought into the Colony not only tens of thousands more people but also fresh capital, fresh labour forces and fresh skills. For not by any means all the refugees conformed to
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the popular imagination of footsore and tattered fugitives fleeing before advancing armies; as early as 1947 Chinese industrialists and capitalists, particularly from Shanghai, had started to move themselves and their money into Hong Kong. With the money came skilled work people, and so began a period of rapid industralization during which the newcomers established factories and set about renewing in Hong Kong their commercial ties. Investment in private building during 1950 reached the record figure of over $114,000,000.
Scarcely had the Central People's Government of China assumed control when the Korean War broke out in June 1950 and further confused the Hong Kong scene. One im- mediate effect of the Korean War was a speculative trade boom which absorbed a large portion of the capital which would otherwise have gone to industrial development; there was also, for a time, an outward flow of 'panic' capital. All this led to a decline in building activity. China's entry into the war, followed by the introduction in 1951 of an embargo on trade with China in accordance with a resolution of the United Nations, caused a temporary depression; one effect of this was to cause a falling off in private building for about three years. Meanwhile the refugees showed no signs what- soever of leaving.
Never had Hong Kong's scanty land resources been more seriously strained than at this period. The Colony's land hunger, always acute, was now approaching famine propor- tions. If the pressing requirements of both industry and housing were to be met, more land would have to be found and existing land developed to the maximum. Land prices, already high, began to rise still further. All the indications were that land and property investment were about to become Hong Kong's 'Klondyke'.
Introducing the Colony's Budget debate in Legislative Council in March 1951, the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham, reviewed recent events in a vein of
URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
•
cautious optimism. He spoke of the 'gloom of declining trade and the vast overcrowding' and of the Colony's unfortunate dependence on outside events which it could do nothing to control. 'Are we then to give up all thought and schemes of development or even to cut down on what we are already doing?' he asked. To this, his answer was a firm and definite 'No.' The Colony might not be able to go as fast as it would like, but it would be Government's policy to go ahead. He outlined a list of public works totalling in value more than $100,000,000, to be undertaken within a five year period. Specifically not included in this programme was housing for the less well-to-do members of the com- munity, which he described as a matter of prime importance calling for early attention. He said that Government pro- posed to earmark the sum of $15,000,000 from the Develop- ment Fund for housing 2,500 families, or, say, 12,500 persons, and to ask the Secretary of State for a Colonial Development and Welfare grant to defray the cost of site formation. He envisaged the setting up of an Improvement Trust to administer working class housing; in the meantime the Hong Kong Housing Society, a non-profit-making body, would proceed with two pilot low-cost housing schemes. In light of later developments and the huge sums that were to be spent within the next seven years, the proposed expendi- ture was modest. But a start had been made and a new principle established--direct intervention by the Government in the housing of the people.
The ugly squatter fringes excepted, the Hong Kong of 1951 presented on the surface a pleasing picture of thriving growth. Although the general level of building had not yet reached the heights it was to assume within the next six years, miniature skyscrapers were already rising steeply from the mass of three and four-storey tenements in the two cities. The slim towers of concrete pointed to the end of the age of flat colonial architecture-an end which had been foreshadowed by the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank
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building in 1937. Soon the old porticoed, heavily-pillared, building with its high ceilings, fans, and broad verandahs would be as out of date as the pith helmet. The new trend, in both commercial and domestic architecture, was for func- tional blocks, many air-conditioned, six to ten storeys high, making the maximum use of the site available. In the cities, the older office blocks were being systematically demolished to be replaced by loftier buildings to accommodate many more people on the same ground area. In the suburbs and on the Peak, apartment blocks were rising where villas had once stood, and former lawns and gardens were being turned into sites for garages and car parks.
Some of the forces which were influencing the new archi- tecture of Hong Kong into higher, narrower forms have already been mentioned. First was the scarcity of available land-only about eleven square miles of the Colony's total land area being suitable for residential, commercial or in- dustrial development without disproportionately heavy ex- penditure on site formation or services. Of possible building sites, many were rendered sterile by squatter camps or by buildings whose sitting tenants were protected by the Land- lord and Tenant Ordinance. The available sites, therefore, became more and more expensive, and so multi-storey build- ings were not only architecturally smart but economically necessary-whether the builder was Government itself or the private builder seeking the maximum return for his invest- ment. Since it was difficult for the cities to expand outwards they were, like Manhattan, growing upwards.
Yet another claim on land came from the new develop- ments in the Colony's industry. The capital and labour which poured into Hong Kong had produced what was vir- tually an industrial revolution, but the essential factor, land, was in short supply. The first phase of this industralization was concentrated in Kowloon, particularly in the Mong Kok and Ma Tau Kok districts. More factories, particularly textile mills, spread westwards and Tsuen Wan, in the New
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Territories, developed and became, in part, a factory town. The textile industry was the quickest to expand, followed by enamelware, rubber footwear and plastics. Steel rolling mills supplied the raw material of the building boom.
The big merchant houses and banks began to raise multi- storey office blocks and to build apartment houses for their staffs. Conspicuous among these was the Bank of China building, a monolith in grey granite, which rose alongside the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. In the same year Edinburgh House, a ten-storey office block, replaced one of the oldest buildings in central Victoria. A local journal re- marked 'To the Hong Kong businessman moving from the old-fashioned buildings, with their 16 to 18 feet ceiling heights, these lower ceilings (ten feet) might feel a bit de- pressing. On the other hand, the clean, plain finish of the walls gives an illusion of greater spaciousness.
•
Some of the new apartment blocks compared in luxury and finish with any in Europe or America; some, regrettably, were not so good. The apparently insatiable demand for housing and the quick profits to be realized from investment in property encouraged the speculative builder, concerned only with the maximum profit in the shortest possible time, and heedless of either the durability or appearance of his building or the comfort of his tenants. Demand for accom- modation far out-stripping the supply, rents in the new buildings were high . . . . in good and bad alike.
Nevertheless, there was much good, solid building being done. There was more building on Victoria Peak. Outlying districts, such as Stanley Village and the environs of Repulse Bay on the Island and the Tai Po Road on the mainland, which before the war had been sparsely developed, started to become fashionable dormitory areas. More inaccessible sites were brought into use, often at heavy cost in cutting back the hillside and in levelling the ground. One block of flats was in a cutting so deep that the top of the structure was barely above the level of the nearest road, and the
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architect therefore made the main entrance at roof-level. Hong Kong architecture was well abreast of world trends. The speed of construction also made new records for Asia. In 1951 the Grantham Training College was planned and nearly finished within the same year. Completion of a multi- storey ferro-concrete building within twelve months of start- ing operations on the site became, and still is, a commonplace.
Government architects broke away early from traditional styles. The bold design of buildings erected by the Govern- ment from 1948 onwards put the official seal on the archi- tectural 'New Look'. Official quarters at Leighton Hill, Queen's Gardens and King's Park were of reinforced con- crete, carrying six or seven storeys on sites which had held only two storeys before. The plans of these buildings, re- peated in later constructions, followed the same basic pattern, thus achieving the economy of series-production. Quarters built for the Police Force showed that official architecture was now as elegant and clean-edged as the most advanced private building anywhere. The Services, too, abandoned the depressing barracks-style housing which hitherto had varied little from Aden to Hong Kong. An estate for service families in Kowloon, begun in 1950, provided three-storey blocks of flats grouped in pleasant terraces and set back from the street line on small lawns.
One official landmark which was shortly to vanish was the Colonial Secretariat, built during the governorship of Sir John Davis in 1847 at the precise cost of £14,300. 3s. 10d. A start was made in 1951 upon the erection of the first section of a much larger building, matching the needs of an ex- panded Civil Service and designed to house, in addition to the Secretariat itself, many Government departments. On the principle of the sectional bookcase, the site plan of these Central Government Offices allowed for two more blocks to be added at a later date. The crumbling Victorian porticos of the old Secretariat itself disappeared in 1954, to be re- placed with a severely practical central section, with little
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external decoration save a facing of black slate. The third and final section is expected to be completed by the end of 1958.
But offices and quarters took only a small part of the funds now allocated to public works. As the Governor had in- dicated in addressing the Legislative Council, Hong Kong's growing importance as an industrial centre, coupled with the increasing pressure of population, necessitated the spend- ing of more and more money on roads, drains, ferry piers, harbour development, schools, hospitals, clinics, markets and other community needs. Two special responsibilities of the Government of Hong Kong have always been to provide new land by reclamation and to build reservoirs. The pre-war reservoirs, which provided barely sufficient water storage for a population of just under a million, had become totally inadequate. A pre-war project for a great reservoir in the Tai Lam valley, in the New Territories, was therefore revived.
Another utility strained to its limits was the airport at Kai Tak where the runways, built by the Japanese, although since resurfaced, were still not equal to the heavier aircraft and increased traffic of the post-war air age. Unhappily, those very features which make a good natural harbour for shipping-broken spurs of sheltering hills-are aviation hazards, and one of Hong Kong's biggest problems was to find sufficient level ground and flight funnels to meet not only current but also future aviation requirements. Many schemes were examined before it was agreed that the only practical answer lay in the typical Hong Kong solution to so many problems-reclaiming new land from the sea; and it was decided that the airport should remain at Kai Tak but that an entirely new runway, of sufficient length to meet the requirements of large modern jet airliners, should project out into Kowloon Bay.
More conventional reclamation schemes, for a variety of purposes, were also being pushed forward. Projects started
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before the war were now resumed and extended, and new ones were put in hand. On Hong Kong Island, reclamations at North Point and Causeway Bay provided land and open spaces for two rapidly growing districts. A reclamation in central Victoria broadened the waterfront, the first completed section being reserved for a new City Hall, ferry concourse and tiered car parks. On the mainland, the coastline was pushed outward into the sea at Hung Hom, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong; the entire Kwun Tong reclamation and part of the Tsuen Wan reclamation being made available to industry.
As noted earlier, the temporary recession of trade that followed the embargo on strategic commodities had caused some falling off in investment in private building, but the Hong Kong businessman, quick to adjust himself to the shifts of fortune, now turned increasingly to industry and found compensation for the loss of China trade by investment in Hong Kong manufactures. There followed a steady in- crease in the number of new factories. And since, in a society as concentrated as Hong Kong's, any one development is likely to set off a series of shifts and adjustments, the expan- sion of industry meant an increased demand for low-cost housing for artisans and white collar workers, particularly in the neighbourhood of the factories. Although money was tighter than it had been, there were still many people with the means to pay high rentals and, therefore, to provide a market for the commercial builder. There was no incentive for the latter to build houses at a rent which the great majority of the community could afford. Only the voluntary housing societies were endeavouring to meet the need for low-cost housing. Pioneers in the field were the Hong Kong Housing Society and the Hong Kong Model Housing Society, which were assisted with grants of land at about one-third of its market value, by low-interest loans from the Government and, in the case of the Hong Kong Housing Society, by Colonial Development and Welfare grants for
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
site formation. The first block of low-cost, non-profit- making flats was completed in 1951.
What, of course, aggravated the problem of housing the great mass of those with smaller incomes was the presence of so many squatters. This is dealt with exhaustively in the First Chapter of the Annual Report for 1956, which has been reprinted as the pamphlet 'A Problem of People'.
The squatter communities presented many problems. They were health hazards, they prevented normal development by their occupation of permanent building sites and, above all, they were fire hazards. From 1950 onwards a series of dis- astrous fires in these flimsily-built shanty towns had strained the resources of the Colony's social welfare services and had involved the Colony in vast sums in relief. The early at- tempts to improve squatter conditions had been directed to resettling as many squatters as possible in cottage-type com- munities, and, by the end of 1953, some 45,000 had been so resettled. But progress was slow and hampered to no small degree by the squatter's inability to finance his own resettle- ment. The squatter was still a house-owner, and his new home, whether he bought it outright or on easy terms through non-profit-making organizations such as the Settlers Housing Corporation, or whether he built it from such materials as he could lay hand to, still cost more than the majority could afford. Only the few were lucky enough to secure one of the cottages built by one of the voluntary relief agencies which generously assisted with the work. However, while this resettlement programme was doing something to put an end to the appalling fires and to eradicate the risks to health and good order which the illegal squatter colonies presented, it was doing nothing to free land for the large- scale organized low-cost housing schemes which were the only way to relieve overcrowding in the tenements. It had become abundantly clear very early in the programme that the building of cheap bungalows in resettlement areas did not provide the complete answer to Hong Kong's housing
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problem; one-storeyed development in resettlement areas could be regarded at best as a temporary palliative to reduce the menace of fire and disease. The planners now saw the main housing problem as the provision of multi-storey per- manent housing at low rental for probably not less than 100,000 families living in unhygienic and overcrowded con- ditions. They had not, however, arrived at the stage of in- cluding the squatter as such in this programme.
By the end of 1953 the various pilot schemes of the volun- tary housing societies had yielded much valuable infor- mation on the financial, administrative and management problems associated with low-cost housing. The fact had emerged early that, even with assistance in the provision of land and Government loans, building costs made it difficult to provide permanent housing at rentals which the poorer members of the community could afford to pay. The Govern- ment was engaged in drafting the legislation necessary to set up a Housing Authority, responsible for the provision and management of adequate housing for the poorer mem- bers of the community at minimum economic rentals, and it had been decided that this body should be financed by loans from the Colony's Development Fund and assisted by the grant of land on easy terms. It had also been decided that the Authority should not be the exclusive organization to deal with low-cost housing; Government welcomed all the help it could obtain, and it was hoped that the schemes of other organizations would be continued simultaneously, with the assistance of public funds, provided they were sound.
The disastrous fire which destroyed the squatter village of Shek Kip Mei on Christmas night, 1953, devastating 45 acres and rendering more than 50,000 people homeless, forced on the Government the necessity of bringing squatter resettle- ment policy and orthodox low-cost housing policy into align- ment. The numbers involved were so large, their need so urgent and the cost of temporary relief measures so great,
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that only bold action could hope to provide a remedy. The Government accepted the task of rehousing the homeless as a charge upon public funds and itself assumed the role of direct landlord to a potential 20% of the population.
It was now clear that the future of resettlement lay in one direction and one direction only-intensive vertical de- velopment in place of extensive horizontal development. In the weeks immediately following the Shek Kip Mei fire, the Government built temporary two-storey resettlement blocks to meet the immediate need of putting a roof over the heads of the homeless while the architects prepared plans for ver- tical development. By the summer the first six-storey blocks were under construction and by the autumn the standard height was increased to seven storeys. By then a standard pattern for the resettlement blocks had been evolved, and this basic prototype has stood the test of experience sur- prisingly well. The huge H-shaped blocks have become a familiar feature of the Kowloon landscape and by the end of 1957 there were 60 completed blocks in six different estates, accommodating between them some 137,000 people.
In 1954 the proposed Housing Authority was set up; it was composed of the members of the Urban Council together with three members to be nominated by the Governor. By the end of the year three building sites had been allocated to the Authority, two of them, at North Point and Cadogan Street, being on the Island, and the third at So Uk, in north-west Kowloon. The plans for North Point and So Uk were on a scale never before attempted in Hong Kong in conventional low-cost housing. Those for the North Point estate provided some 2,000 flats with potential accom- modation for about 12,000 people. The So Uk project, twice as big, has been designed to house about 31,000 people in blocks of flats ranging from 12 to 15 storeys. By the end of 1957 the North Point estate was complete and part already occupied, whilst work on the Cadogan Street and So Uk projects continued.
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To help its own employees, the Government launched a project to encourage local civil servants on the pensionable establishment to form co-operative housing societies to which land would be offered at half the upset price and loans made on easy terms. The scheme evoked a brisk response and the building of the first block of civil servants' flats began at Belcher Gardens in 1954. The bigger and more enlightened firms in the Colony also built blocks of flats for their em- ployees, and some of the factories, particularly the new textile mills, erected dormitories on their premises.
By 1955 the economic depression which had followed the trade embargo appeared to have come to an end and the graph of trade figures was showing a healthy upward movement. Between 1953 and 1955 the Colony's economy had adjusted itself remarkably well to a lower level of entrepôt trade and had largely compensated the deficit by a switch to manufacturing industries. Now, with trade revived and with industralization progressing, there was a new build- ing boom. Investment in private building, which had been just over $95,000,000 in 1954, climbed to a new record of $148,000,000 in 1955-a record which was consecutively broken with totals of nearly $163,000,000 in 1956 and $175,000,000 in 1957.
A contributory influence in the spate of new building was undoubtedly the new Buildings Ordinance of 1955. Apart from regulating comprehensively every aspect of the building industry, one important provision of this Ordinance permits the erection of buildings as high as twice the width of the street instead of to the former general limit of from one to 1 times the width. The new buildings, with lower ceilings and more storeys to a given height, yield higher returns and are therefore a more attractive proposition to the investor.
Also in 1955, the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, to which reference has already been made, was amended to permit compensation to opponents (the tenants) in proceedings for
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the exclusion of controlled premises. In the years immediate- ly following the enactment of the Ordinance in 1947, there were comparatively few applications for exclusion. This was undoubtedly largely because the landlord had to bear the entire costs of any application to a Tenancy Tribunal. Tenants, for their part, faced with the difficulty of finding scarce and possibly more expensive alternative accommoda- tion, had little alternative but to oppose the applications as strongly as they could, because, in law, they could not be compensated in the ordinary sense, and were indeed liable to a heavy fine if they accepted any consideration for giving up possession of premises. The new amendment clarified this unsatisfactory state of affairs; since its enactment, com- pensation has been determined at hearings by the Tenancy Tribunals and the amounts awarded are in due course gazetted after the exclusion order has been granted by the Governor in Council.
As indicated, the provisions for the exclusion of premises from the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance have been a very big factor in recent building development in Hong Kong and have frequently resulted in valuable sites, which were insufficiently developed, being cleared for more intensive development. Payment of compensation to tenants about to be dispossessed for rebuilding schemes has led to an increas- ing number of exclusion cases being brought before the Tenancy Tribunals. Prior to the 1955 amendment, exclusion orders had averaged only about half a dozen a year. When tenant compensation was legalized, the number of orders made increased in 1955 to 25 (involving approximately 132. separate buildings), in 1956 to 69 (involving some 195 build- ings) and in 1957 to 120 (involving more than 300 buildings). In this one year more than $8,000,000 was awarded by way of compensation to tenants.
As a result, then, of improved trading conditions, greater confidence, more money available for investment and the enactment of laws freeing the building industry from irksome,
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out-of-date restrictions, both the rate and height of new build- ing have soared. Office blocks, apartment houses, blocks of small flats and hotels, up to 20 storeys high, have materialized with amazing speed on both sides of the harbour. The eastern suburbs of Victoria, in particular, have undergone intense development, often with imported capital. A deep coastal fringe, roughly from Quarry Bay to Causeway Bay, centred around North Point, is the scene of apparently never-ending construction. Here the big housing estates, private apart- ment blocks, hotels, cinemas and shops form what is virtually a new satellite town. A 'lung' is provided by the reclamation at Causeway Bay, now covered by a park, a swimming pool and playing fields.
Significantly, a greater share of private building capital is now invested in Kowloon than in Victoria. The easier sites, from Sham Shui Po to Lai Chi Kok and the flat central area of Kowloon along Boundary Street and Waterloo Road, were the first to be developed. Now urban Kowloon is climbing-as Victoria did in the previous century-up the foothills.
Factories are moving outwards from the dockyard centres, both east and west along the coast of the New Territories, where great reclamations act like lodestones to Kowloon's cramped industries. Re-deployment of industry on the main- land is now a well-established trend. For new or expanding industries, sheer lack of space in urban centres compels them to break new ground. For other manufacturers, the enhanced values of their present factory sites when sold for housing provide a strong incentive to move away. Perhaps the strongest inducement of all is that there is land already available at Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong which is well suited for factory building. At Kwun Tong the first 50 acres recovered from the sea (out of a projected reclamation of some 140 acres) are entirely earmarked for factories and have already been largely purchased by industrialists. Be- hind the Kwun Tong factory zone, hills are being cut down
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
to make sites for houses, shops, schools, cinemas and playing fields. As the factories rise, so too will the accompanying low-cost housing and the multi-storey resettlement blocks. A new self-sufficient township should soon appear situated across the bay from the older cities of Kowloon and Victoria.
Draft layout development plans of districts on both sides of the harbour are now being prepared by the Planning Division of the Crown Lands and Surveys Office of the Public Works Department. These plans are exhibited publicly so that anyone affected may send to the Town Planning Board a statement of objections and suggested amendments. The aim of the planners is to determine the use of land in each district to the best advantage, zoning certain sections mainly for residential building and others mainly for industrial purposes, and, at the same time, making provision for reserves for public purposes, such as parks, recreation grounds and open spaces.
Everywhere, the maximum use is being made of land. Many new and difficult sites are being exploited and much ingenuity displayed in adaptation of the old. For instance, blocks of quarters for employees of the Jockey Club have been built into a steep hillside so that the architect has been able to give access to the first four storeys from paths cut into the hill; again, one office block which straddles two streets at different levels in central Victoria has linked these levels by escalators, thus drawing pedestrians through a two- floor shopping arcade. The inherited fir-pole dimensions of building lots pose special problems because, even when two or three of the old 15-foot tenement lots are combined, the result is still a narrow facade. This is disguised in the new multi-storey buildings by bold use of colour, mosaic tiles and projecting fins and by emphasis on sills and lintels. Another difficulty is the unpredictable quality of old reclaimed sites. The man-moved soil, on which some of Victoria's heaviest buildings stand, is under constant pressure from the sea. At high tide the water rises to within seven feet of street level.
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To build multi-storey office blocks, such as the new Alexandra House, piles may have to be sunk to a depth of 40 feet or more in order to reach a water-tight stratum. The actual composition of old reclamations, of which no data now exist, may also hamper the builder. Pile-driving on the Alexandra House site was impeded by the presence of enor- mous boulders weighing up to five tons each.
Nowhere is the picture of change more striking than in the area around Statue Square, the city centre of Victoria. From upper windows of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building, which still dominates the southern side of the square, the pattern of changes present and changes yet to come may conveniently be seen. Parallel with the Bank and to its right stands the tall pile of the Bank of China, com- pleted in 1951. To the left, the steel framework of another great bank building the Chartered Bank-is being bolted together and will eventually rise even higher than either of its neighbours. Below are the gardens of the square-now ex- tending over only half the area they occupied as late as 1950, for most of the northern portion of the square has become a great car park. North again, the available land area has been pushed out another 400 feet with the completion of the first phase of the new central reclamation. On the seaward limit. of this land are the new piers of the Star Ferry, serving the 100,000 or so commuters who cross the harbour daily. Between the piers and the former limits of the square stands a modern-style three-level car park accommodating some 420 cars. Another, smaller tiered car park, to take 200 or so vehicles, is now being built on the eastern corner of the reclamation. To east and west of the square lie the great office blocks of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Upon many of these sentence of demolition and reconstruction has already been passed. The eastern side of the square is likely to maintain its 'old-fashioned' character a little longer. For here are the Courts of Justice, built in an Italian style, and the Hong Kong Club, built in a solid 'colonial' style. The
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
latter's nearest neighbour, the nine-storey Mercury House, headquarters of Cable and Wireless, Ltd., which when com- pleted in 1951 dominated the seafront, will shortly be dwarfed by a 33-storey skyscraper hotel.
Money in abundance is still the mainspring of Hong Kong's current building boom; it is naturally attracted to projects which offer the quickest and most profitable returns. But there is no longer the sense of desperation which, a few years ago, caused those wanting premises, whether for homes or for offices, to pay almost any price demanded and, in consequence, to bring a rich harvest to the speculative contractor and sub-standard builder. Premia in the shape of 'key money' or 'construction money' are becoming rarer, and rents for new buildings generally are lower than they were. Builders are now offering apartments for sale as well as for rent, in many cases on a hire-purchase basis as an inducement to overcome increasing buyer resistance. The competition for well-to-do tenants for the new apartment blocks, many of which reach a height of 15 storeys, has become keener, forcing up standards of design and finish.
The story of Hong Kong's enterprise in building would not be complete if it did not acknowledge the work done and the large sums devoted, both by individuals and societies, to building for the community. Among the most dis- tinguished buildings raised in Hong Kong during the last few years have been the Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital and the Grantham Hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis, the former assisted by generous donations from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, itself a non-profit-making organization whose stewards donate surpluses derived from parimutuel and sweepstake ticket sales to those public institutions which need help most.
The majority of Hong Kong's schools and colleges are also managed by private institutions and, in the years since the war, these have erected many new buildings efficiently planned both for their site and purpose and pleasant to look
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at. Several additions have been made to the University of Hong Kong, partly through Government subsidy and partly through the munificence of benefactors. A new six-storey Technical College, with outlying laboratories and work- shops, in which the Colony's industrial and commercial houses shared with the Government the cost of building and equipment, was opened in 1957. Work will shortly start on the site for a new 1,300-bed General Hospital in Kowloon which will be one of the biggest of its kind in the British. Commonwealth.
The plan of assault launched in 1954 against Hong Kong's problem of housing for the masses is an endless campaign; no easy victory is possible, for as soon as one difficulty has been surmounted, another reveals itself. Al- ready the Government has spent, or is committed to spending, more than $200,000,000 on low-cost housing and resettlement estates, and it is estimated that an annual expenditure of $100,000,000 on all forms of domestic build- ing may be necessary to keep pace with Hong Kong's relentlessly increasing population. Meanwhile the building of multi-storey resettlement blocks and low-cost housing estates continues apace. By the end of 1957 some 137,000 people were living in the H-blocks already described, and the construction of yet another great resettlement estate, which when completed will house more than 60,000 people, had commenced. (Incidentally, the experiment of building a five-storey H-block to be rented exclusively to former squatter workshops and factories has proved a success.)
Although the northern perimeter of Kowloon is becoming an almost solid phalanx of H-block resettlement estates, and although the mass of the North Point low-cost housing estate now looms on the shore of the Island, there are still thousands living in shanty towns and on rooftops. There is, however, a clear difference between the situation today and that of 1953; the effect of the decisions taken in 1954 has been to reduce the areas of brown, shapeless, insanitary huts
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
and to translate them into organized blocks of concrete; the pressure of human beings in the ancient tenements of Hong Kong has been eased. Through building, form has been given to what was previously an inchoate and alarming problem.
With this problem a Special Committee on housing, appointed by the Government in 1956, continues to grapple. At the Committee's suggestion, a Commissioner for Housing has been appointed, to act as the principal executive officer of the Housing Authority and, in addition, to survey all the different factors affecting housing and to co-ordinate action. Also at the Committee's instigation a sample survey of the population has been undertaken by the Department of Economics and Political Science of the University; the results of that survey are now awaited. More dramatic in impact, however, was the Committee's recommendation that land development schemes to make new towns possible should be undertaken with all possible speed. This recom- mendation also has been accepted in principle by the Government and a firm of consulting engineers has been appointed to survey a number of areas in the New Territories and to report on the possibility of providing new land through reclamation. The engineers will also investigate the feasibility of building a new road linking Tsuen Wan, on the south coast, with Tai Po, at the head of Tolo Harbour- itself the possible site of one of the new towns. These new township schemes, if proceeded with, may change not only the appearance of Hong Kong but also the social structure of the community. There has already been much develop- ment in the New Territories during the post-war years through the construction of new main roads, as well as by the building of feeder roads connecting the remoter villages with the market towns. If the initial surveys are favourable, however, and the new towns come into being, there may follow a difficult period of adjustment and transition while. the former urban dwellers accustom themselves to their new
REVIEW
33
surroundings, and the less sophisticated country people come to know their new neighbours. To cushion the impact of town on country, the Government is determined to avoid, wherever possible, a policy of urban development at the expense of agriculture. The principle underlying the current surveys is the provision of new land rather than the re- development of what is already being utilized, and the engineers are briefed to report on what can be done through the reclamation of shallow water and mangrove swamp and the opening up of unproductive hill areas.
The sites chosen for current new town surveys are all on the mainland, but the planners' eyes are already on Lantao, with 58 square miles the largest of the islands in the Colony's waters. Lack of communications has hitherto deterred any large-scale development of this island. With an engineering investigation for another great reservoir in progress in the south-western tip of the island, however, and with its first five miles of surfaced highway already com- pleted, the possibilities of Lantao appear more attractive and industrialists are examining development prospects there.
For the present, in terms of size and social importance, the North Point Housing Estate is undoubtedly the most significant building completed in Hong Kong in 1957. Its three great blocks of flats, each eleven storeys high, built at a cost of $33,000,000, rise sheer above the waters of Kowloon Bay. The mass of concrete, 100 feet high and extending for more than a quarter of a mile, could be dull, even forbidding; but the architect has skilfully avoided the obvious by dividing the whole project into three deeply- indented blocks, and by tinting the facades of each block with coloured balconies. One of the chief aims of the designer has been to ensure light and air for the 1,955 flats at North Point.
Vast as the statistics of North Point are, the main purpose of the scheme has not been lost among estimates and blue- prints. That purpose, simply, is to put a roof over the head
34
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of a man and his family, and then to ensure that they keep good health. North Point symbolizes a problem which the founders of Hong Kong could not have foreseen, and, if they had, would not have solved in this way. But, in a wide sense, the earliest tradition of Hong Kong is being continued and extended. Hong Kong began as a harbour and has been built around it. Now it has become a safe refuge not only for ships but also for people. That feeling underlies the great constructions which are now changing the face of the Colony, more surely even than the hard Hong Kong granite.
Chapter 2: Population
THE total civilian population at the end of 1957 was estimated to be 2,677,000 of whom less than 1% was non-Chinese. About 12% of the population lived in the New Territories; about 5% was made up of boat dwellers; and of the remaining 83% living in the 36 square miles of the urban area (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon) some 9% were in Resettlement Estates, while some 13% fell into such cate- gories as squatters and roof-top dwellers. Until a census is held, these estimates must be regarded as tentative and approximate. A Housing Survey was conducted by the University of Hong Kong during the latter part of 1957, and the Report of this Survey which will appear in 1958 should throw further light upon the estimates.
The last population census was held in 1931 when the civilian population was found to be 840,473 of whom 50% lived on Hong Kong Island, 30.4% in Kowloon and New Kowloon, 11.6% in the New Territories and 8% lived afloat. Another census should have been held in 1941, but the un- settled conditions following the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, the fluctuations in population following the attack on Canton in 1938, and later the Japanese invasion of the Colony, caused the plan to be abandoned. The influx of immigrants to which the Colony has been subjected since the end of the war has been one of the main considerations which have so far made the holding of a census impracticable.
An unofficial count by air-raid wardens in 1941 before the Japanese attack put the population at about 1,600,000. This number was greatly reduced during the occupation and it is estimated that the total amounted to less than 600,000 when the Colony was liberated in August 1945.
The population grew rapidly after the liberation, and by
36
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
the end of 1946 it was believed that the immediately pre-war level of 1,600,000 had been reached. An assessment of the population in September 1949 by the then Department of Statistics put the total at 1,857,000.
Estimates for subsequent years have been based mainly on the birth and death registration figures and on the arrival and departure figures modified, where necessary, by addi- tional information available at the time of making the estimate.
The population problem is complicated by illegal immi- gration, and by the fact that in any one year the number of journeys made and recorded both ways across the frontiers is equal to or greater than the estimated total number of the population.
The population increased during 1957 by some 142,000 to reach an estimated total of 2,677,000. Of this increase 78,469 was due to the excess of registered births over registered deaths, and 63,813 to recorded immigration. The actual number of registered births was 97,834 in 1957 compared with 96,746 in 1956, and of registered deaths was 19,365 compared with 19,295 in 1956. These figures yield for 1957 a birth rate of 37.9 per mille and a death rate of 7.5 per mille.
URBAN POPULATION
The majority of urban residents originally came from Kwangtung. As a result of economic and political changes in China during the past several years, a large number of people from Shanghai and the neighbouring area have established themselves in the Colony.
At the end of 1957 the number of British subjects from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, excluding Service personnel and their dependents, numbered about 15,000. The total of non-Chinese residents, excluding British nationals, was about 8,450; of these the most numerous national communities were: American, 2, 190; Portuguese, 1,680;
低
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A corner of the facade-more than a quarter of a mile long-of the North Point Housing Estate, opened in 1957 to provide flats at moderate rentals for families of small means. This estate has nearly 2,000 flats and will house more than 12,000 people.
POPULATION
37
Filipino, 630; French, 390; Dutch, 340; Japanese, 300; and Italian, 280.
The districts of Kwangtung which have supplied the largest elements of Hong Kong's urban Chinese population are neighbouring Po On and Tungkwun, Waiyeung and Muiyuen (principally Hakka), Chiuchow, the so-called Four Districts (Sunning, Sunwui, Hoiping and Yanping), Nam- hoi, Punyü, Shuntak and Chungshan. Other elements in the urban population include a Fukien community and numbers of overseas Chinese whose families originally came from Kwangtung or Fukien.
The chief linguistic characteristic of the urban area is that, although a wide variety of Chinese languages and dialects are used in daily life, Cantonese is the lingua franca. Apart from Cantonese, the languages or dialects most widely heard are Hakka, Chiuchow, Kuoyü (the national language), the Shanghai dialect and, of course, English, the popularity of which has increased considerably in the last ten years. Before the war the Colony was not much affected by the movement in China to popularize Kuoyü. The war, however, took many local residents into China, and many came back afterwards with some knowledge of Kuoyü. Though this language is not normally spoken by Cantonese people in Hong Kong, a far greater number understand it now than before the war.
NEW TERRITORIES
The indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories consist of four principal groups: Cantonese, Hakka, Hoklo and Tanka. Although these groups show differences in physical appearance, dress, organization and custom, which suggest that they are racially distinct, it is safer to treat them as linguistic rather than racial groups.
The Cantonese occupy the best part of the two principal plains in the north-western sector of the New Territories, and own a good deal of the best valley land in various other areas. The oldest villages, those of the Tang clan in Yuen
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Long District, have a history of continuous settlement since the late eleventh century, in the Southern Sung dynasty, with whose imperial family the clan was connected by marriage. Villages in the Tung Chung and Shek Pik valleys, on Lantao Island, date back to the early Yuan dynasty, in the late thirteenth century. Subsequent migrations have brought Cantonese from many districts of Kwangtung, and throughout the principal islands they are the majority com- munity. The earliest families in Yuen Long District speak a form of the Namtau dialect, an offshoot of Tungkwun, not very easy for city Cantonese to follow, but city Cantonese (Punyü dialect) is the lingua franca of all the New Territories market towns, regardless of whether the particular area is predominantly Cantonese or Hakka.
The Hakka (this is their own word for themselves, and is explained as meaning strangers) began to enter this region at about the same time as the first Cantonese, or even before. The Cantonese were the more successful settlers, however, and in the areas where both groups live side by side the Hakka are always found upstream, along foothills, and in general on the worse land. At an early stage they seem to have become dependants or serfs of the powerful Cantonese families. The balance was restored later by heavy immigra- tion from the East River districts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the Hakka are now almost exclusive possessors of the Sha Tau Kok, Sai Kung and Hang Hau peninsulas, and of the foothills of Tai Mo Shan. They are the majority community in Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan, and on the islands of Tsing Yi and Ma Wan.
The origin of the Hakka is unknown. They have contradic- tory traditions pointing to both a northern and a southern origin, and, while the greatest numbers of them are found in eastern Kwangtung, there are many in Kiangsi and some in Szechuan and Taiwan. In the New Territories there are certain villages which show indications of being of non- Chinese origin; such villages are invariably Hakka-speaking.
POPULATION
39
Both Cantonese and Hakka are languages of the Yueh group, presenting features characteristic of the standard speech of the early T'ang dynasty (seventh century); and Hakka, while closely resembling Cantonese in most respects, pre- serves a few even earlier characteristics.
In Kwangtung for many centuries there was strife between Cantonese and Hakka, culminating in a war in the early nineteenth century which required the intervention of the Manchu Government. They are now at peace. Formerly there was no intermarriage between them, but now Cantonese villa- gers have Hakka wives (seldom the reverse) and some villages are peacefully shared between the two groups. Except in the remotest areas, most Hakka can speak Cantonese.
The Hoklo have frequented the area since time unknown. They are traditionally boat dwellers, but in some places they have been settled ashore for several generations. There are influential land communities of them on Cheung Chau and Peng Chau. Their name suggests that they originated from Fukien Province (Hokkien), but this is probably a misnomer, Fukien being only one of their places of origin. Their lan- guage belongs to the Min group, found all along the South China coast from Fukien to Hainan Island. The more primi- tive types of Hoklo dwelling are distinguishable by the use of thatch and mud bricks, instead of tiles and stone.
The Tanka (egg families) are boat dwellers who very seldom settle ashore. They themselves will not use this name, which they consider derogatory, but call themselves 'Nam Hoi yan' or 'Shui sheung yan'. They are the principal seafaring people of South China, owning large sea-going junks and engaging in deep-sea fishing. Their entire families live afloat. Until the Chinese Revolution of 1911 they were outcasts, not permitted to live ashore, engage in trade, or send their children to school. Like the Hoklo, whom they resemble in many respects, they have been in the area since time un- known. Chinese records suggest that they originally spoke a non-Chinese language. At present they speak their own
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
distinctive dialect of Cantonese, which they appear to have adopted early in the fourteenth century, during the Yuan dynasty. At Tai O, on Lantao Island, there is the rare instance of a fairly large group of Tanka living ashore, or rather half-ashore, in huts built on stakes over a muddy inlet.
Certain parts of the New Territories mainland have been affected by the great numbers of refugees who, since 1937, have come to the Colony from all parts of China. In general where they have settled in the country, it has been in assimil- able numbers; but certain groups of Tungkwun and Chiu- chow cultivators, and of miners from North China, have resisted assimilation and preserved a refugee mentality. These, however, form only a very small minority of the total rural population.
An increasing number of city dwellers of all nationalities have in recent years been building bungalows and small week-end residences in the New Territories. Most of these are along the main roads, particularly at Sha Tin, Tai Po, near the Fan Ling golf courses, and along the road to Castle Peak and Clearwater Bay, On the islands the principal areas affected are Cheung Chau and Silver Mine Bay.
Chapter 3: Occupations, Wages and
Labour Organization
OCCUPATIONS
THE principal sources of employment in the Colony are industry, commercial houses connected with the entrepôt trade, agriculture, fishing and the internal distributive trades.
No general employment figures are available, nor has it been feasible since the war, due to rapidly changing condi- tions, for the Government to undertake the compilation of such figures. Employment figures are, however, held for all industrial concerns registered with the Labour Depart- ment, and these cover the bulk of the Colony's industrial life.
There is no evidence of any substantial change in the number of people engaged in agriculture and fishing, usually estimated at about 250,000, many of whom work as family units.
The total number of people employed by the Hong Kong Government and by the Armed Services in a civilian capacity was over 40,000, while an additional 25,000 were engaged in public transport services. During the year the United Kingdom Government decided to reduce establish- ments operated by the Armed Forces in the Colony. Certain reductions were made in 1957 and others will follow in 1958. The decision to close down H. M. Dockyard in a phased operation extending over two years, which was announced at the end of November, is dealt with later in the Chapter. The main factor affecting employment during the year was once again industrial expansion, and again an impor- tant limitation on expansion, particularly of small-scale
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
industry, was a shortage of suitable industrial sites and premises in relation to growing demand. Although the Government continued its efforts to provide suitable land for industry in general, and some sites were redeveloped by private enterprise, the demand is still only partially satisfied. In spite of shortage of land suitable for industrial develop- ment, industry continued to expand. The number of regis- tered factories and factories in the course of registration increased to 3,188 during the year. Although 339 factories were closed down or ceased to operate, there was a net increase over 1956 of 54 industrial undertakings registered, in the course of registration, or *recorded, and a net increase of 6,156 industrial workers, of whom 3,020 were women. The total number of industrial undertakings rose to 3,373, and the number of workers employed in them to 153,033. There was a corresponding increase in the number of out- workers and in those employed in the industrial fringe consisting of undertakings, including cottage industries, too small to be liable to registration.
Work on the reclamation at Kwun Tong to provide sites for industry progressed during the year, and a further 55 sites were sold by public auction. Of the 80 sites sold so far, five are in course of development and plans for the development of 20 more are under consideration.
The manufacture of textiles, with 43,538 workers, re- mained the principal source of industrial employment. The textile industry together with the manufacture of metalware (24,367 workers), the manufacture and repair of transport equipment, including shipbuilding and repairing (14,999 workers), and the manufacture of footwear, wearing apparel and made-up textile goods (14,054 workers), provided em- ployment for 64% of all registered industrial workers as
* A 'recorded' undertaking is one that is not registrable under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, but is kept under observation because 15 to 19 workers are employed or because of industrial health and safety reasons.
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
43
against 62% for 1956. The expansion of industry and industrial employment over the past three years has been as follows:
Industrial
Year
Undertakings
Male Workers
Female Total Workers Workers
1955
2,925
81,573
47,892
129,465
1956
3,319
91,443
55,434
146,877
1957
3,373
94,579
58,454 153,033
A similar table showing the development of industry over the same period by main industrial groups, and by selected industries within certain of these groups, is at Appendix II.
Unemployment. The absence of general employment statistics precludes anything but estimates on the broadest basis concerning unemployment and under-employment. Although the growth of industry and the sustained high level of building activity kept large numbers employed, and skilled workers found their services in demand, there was a large surplus of unskilled labour, most of it in the under- employed category.
There were fluctuations in employment in various indus- tries, but reduced employment in any particular field was offset by increased employment in another. Changes of this kind do not necessarily imply any lengthy period of un- employment for individual workers, since the majority of semi-skilled and unskilled workers are adaptable and are capable of turning their hands, for example, from weaving or garment-making to assembly work in a metalware factory or gumming in a rubber shoe factory.
Migration to other territories for employment continued to take place, but only on a small scale, owing to immigra- tion restrictions based on unwillingness to accept Chinese as permanent settlers. During the year a small number of workers left permanently to join relatives in the United States, Canada, South America, France and India. Employ- ment contracts dropped slightly to 2,051 compared with 2,201 in the previous year.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The opening of a new shipyard in Dutch New Guinea provided employment for 72 workers. Skilled workmen from the Colony, as before, were much in demand in the Brunei oilfields and in development projects in Brunei and else- where. Local textile and enamelware factories sent skilled to develop connected enterprises in Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore and Burma.
WAGES AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Wages. No significant changes in wage rates were observed during the year. Manufacturers were concerned to keep labour costs down because of growing international competition in overseas markets. The building boom con- tinued, and although minimum and maximum wages re- mained unchanged in construction projects, there was a tendency for more workers to be paid nearer the maximum than in the previous year. In the textile industry and in other large, modern industrial concerns, wages remained stable, but individual increases depending upon skill and length of service were granted. The average wage range for daily- rated workers was:
skilled workmen
semi-skilled workmen
unskilled workmen
$7 to $12 a day
$5 to $ 8
""
""
$3 to $ 6
""
""
Some highly skilled workers in the engineering and other trades received from $15 to $18 a day. In cases where wage increases were obtained, the main reason was that with the introduction of modern machinery, operators carried greater responsibility and achieved higher output. In large sections of industry piece-rates are common, both men and women receiving the same rates. Pay for learners in trades where. a period of in-plant training is necessary is frequently below the unskilled rates quoted above, but wages rise with increases in skill.
Overtime rates for manual workers vary between time-and- a-quarter and double-time, but time-and-a-half is the most
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The Hong Kong Technical College has moved from outgrown premises in Victoria to new functionally designed buildings, on a reclaimed site at Hung Hom, Kowloon. Upper photograph shows the main classroom and office block. With its adjacent workshops and heavy laboratories, the College is equipped to teach electrical and mechanical engineering, telecommunications, industrial chemistry. navigation. commerce, and building con- struction. Below: machine shop training on lathes donated by a big industrial firm.
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An applied mechanics laboratory in the new Technical College. The college works in close contact with the Chinese Manufacturers' Association and other big employers who contributed generously with both cash and equipment for the new buildings. Training is geared to the actual technical needs of Hong Kong industry. Students know that they will find jobs, or promotion. when they qualify. Below: first lessons in fitting.
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Training in building construction. Above: how to build a wall. Below: how to make a staircase. Students spend at least half their time on practical work to ensure that they have a sound working knowledge of their trade and are not merely theorists. In a Colony which is building upwards and outwards at a feverish pace there is constant demand for these well-trained young building technicians.
C
IBRA
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Boatwork at the Technical College. These young men are training to be cadets or apprentices on merchant ships. Other subjects in their 'Pre-sea training course are navigation, engineering, signals, mathematics and physics. The course was started at the request of local shipowners. The Technical College is an example of effective co-operation between commerce. industry and Government. Below: 'QRK... QRK- Morse Code practice for radio operators.
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OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
45
usual. A bonus of one month's wages is paid at Chinese New Year in many concerns.
Some firms provide free food and accommodation for their regular employees. Others provide canteens, from which food and other necessities are supplied at subsidized rates, thus giving their workers partial protection against rises in the cost of living. The Government, most European con- cerns, and some Chinese concerns run on Western lines pay a basic wage, together with a variable cost of living allow- ance to compensate for price fluctuations. The allowances paid are based on the Retail Price Index, compiled and published monthly by the Commerce and Industry Depart-
ment.
Working Hours. Some Chinese firms have a 7-day work- ing week, and this is sometimes coupled with a 9-hour day. These long hours are favoured by the workers concerned, since their earnings are correspondingly greater. Some of the more enlightened employers give a day off in every seven and although the holiday is not paid, a day's wage as bonus is given if there has been no absence during the week. Hours of work for women and young persons are regulated by law in conformity with International Labour conventions. The 48-hour week is standard in European undertakings and in Chinese concerns run on Western lines. In public utilities and some of the cotton spinning and weaving mills a system of three 8-hour shifts is used. The rest day is usually Sunday, except in concerns where con- tinuous production must be maintained and rest days are accordingly arranged in rotation.
Cost of Living. The cost of living showed little variation in the first ten months of the year, apart from changes caused by seasonal fluctuations in foodstuff prices. In November, however, the Retail Price Index dropped sharply to 115 from the figure of 123 for October, and in December it declined further to 112. The sudden drop of eight points in the Index in November was attributed to the fact that
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
prices for fresh vegetables in the period September to October were unusually high, as typhoon damage had coincided with the closing weeks of a seasonal shortage, and thereafter large quantities of vegetables arrived at the markets, causing prices to fall sharply. In addition, during November lower prices were recorded for most of the principal foodstuffs, including fresh and salted fish, pork and beef. The further decline in the Index figure for December was due to con- tinuing low prices for fresh vegetables, salted fish, pork, beef and fresh fruits. The average of the Retail Price Index in 1957 was the same as in 1956.
The price of rice remained relatively stable throughout the year, save in the months of July and August when lack of rain in Thailand caused temporary transportation difficul- ties resulting in short supply, and an announcement was made by the Thai Government that export quotas would be imposed. By September, however, supplies were once more coming forward, and when it was made known by the Thai Government that Hong Kong's requirements of rice would be met in full, prices took a downward trend and remained steady until the end of the year.
The following table shows the fluctuations which occurred in the two officially published indices--the Food and Fuel Index and the Retail Price Index :
Food and Fuel Index
Retail Price
Index
$
January
12.5068
120
February
12.7585
122
March
12.7737
120
April
12.8134
118
May
12.5532
117
June
13.0780
118
July
12.7758
119
August
118
September
121
October
123
November
115
December
112
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
47
The Food and Fuel Index is based on the prices of specific quantities of ten items of common consumption. Its publica- tion was discontinued at the end of July after appropriate notice had been given in the Government Gazette and it had been ascertained that employers paying cost of living allow- ance in addition to a basic wage were all using the Retail Price Index for calculation of the allowance. The Retail Price Index covers a wider range of commodities and services, and is weighted according to a budgetary survey carried out in 1948. The base of 100 is for March 1947, and although the expenditure pattern used for weighting is that of the artisan and white-collar worker, the Index gives a fair reflection of general changes in the cost of living.
LABOUR ADMINISTRATION
The Government's responsibilities in labour matters are dealt with by the Labour Department and the Registry of Trade Unions.
Labour Department. The Commissioner of Labour is the principal adviser to the Government on all matters con- nected with labour and industrial relations. He is ex-officio Chairman of the Labour Advisory Board, on which both employers and employed are represented, and which is consulted on all legislative matters affecting labour. The Commissioner is also Chairman of the Standing Committee on Technical Education and Vocational Training, an ex- officio member of the Port Committee and a member of the Kwun Tong Advisory Committee concerned with the provi- sion of industrial sites. Concurrently he is Commissioner of Mines. The registration of trade unions, formerly a function of the Labour Department, has been undertaken by the Registrar of Trade Unions since December 1954, when a separate department was set up for this purpose.
The Labour Department is responsible for the initial preparation of all labour legislation, and keeps under review the legislative and administrative arrangements for giving
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
effect to the Colony's obligations under International Labour conventions. It carries out the registration and inspection of industrial undertakings to ensure, in particular, safe and healthy conditions of work. It acts as a channel of concilia- tion in disputes between trade unions and employers, and individual workmen and employers. It provides advice and assistance to trade unions in the management of their affairs, including the organization of classes on various aspects of trade unionism; seeks to encourage joint consultation in industry; and advises on the establishment of appropriate machinery for this purpose. It is responsible for the protec- tion of women and young persons employed in industry in compliance, in particular, with internationally accepted restrictions on their working hours. It protects emigrant workers; and administers the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance, primarily by investigations conducted by a staff of trained labour inspectors. It carries out surveys of wage rates and levels, and conditions of employment; and is responsible for ensuring that publicity is given to the major provisions of the legislation with which the department is concerned.
Besides the committees already mentioned, the depart- ment is represented on numerous other committees (mainly interdepartmental) in such fields as industry, welfare and
health.
During the year the distribution of a large number of industrial safety posters to local factories was undertaken. In addition to the publication of various pamphlets by the department, 72 different articles dealing with aspects of safety, health, welfare, trade unionism, etc., were prepared by officers of the department and distributed through the Public Relations Office for use by the local vernacular press. The Commissioner of Labour visited 59 factories and 27 trade union premises during the year. Through the courtesy of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, the Labour Department was provided with a stall in which to mount a
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
49
display at the 15th Annual Exhibition of Hong Kong Products held in December. The display aroused interest and the opportunity was taken to spread more knowledge of the department's activities among local employers and workers by means of numerous hand-outs, by organizing film shows and displays at the Exhibition, and by radio broadcasts.
The Registry of Trade Unions, which was established as a separate department in December 1954, is now responsible for the registration work formerly carried out by the Labour Department under the Trade Unions and Trade Disputes Ordinance. It deals with applications for registration by new trade unions, with applications by registered unions for registration of alterations of rules, of change of name or of amalgamation, and with dissolutions.
Registered trade unions are required by the Ordinance to transmit to the Registrar annual returns before 1st June, and their audited accounts within one month of presentation to members. During the year 15 unions were prosecuted for transmitting their annual returns late, while the registration of two workers' unions was cancelled for failure to transmit
accounts.
The year ended with 307 unions on the register as against 304 in December 1956. Twelve new organizations (all of workers) were registered but nine (seven of workers and two of employers) were removed from the register. Of the workers' unions five had ceased to exist, while one em- ployers' association was dissolved and one became a limited company. The 307 unions consisted of 230 workers' unions, 67 organizations of merchants and employers, and 10 mixed organizations of employers and workers.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Labour Organization. The number of workers' unions on the register at the end of the year was still far in excess of practical needs. Most of the trade unions in the Colony
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continue to be affected by political considerations. With the exception of a small number of independent unions, the majority of workers' unions are affiliated to one of the two trade union federations.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, which supports the Chinese People's Republic, has 57 affiliated unions, the majority of whose members are employed in the leading shipyards and utility companies. During the year the F.T.U. continued its policy of providing welfare bene- fits not only to members of affiliated unions, but also to all workers willing to accept them.
The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, which supports the Nationalist regime in Taiwan, has slightly over 100 affiliated unions, the majority of whose members are employed in building construction, Chinese restaurants, tea houses, and in catering and miscellaneous services. The T.U.C. remains affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, but does not play an active part within that body. During the year the T.U.C. developed its Labour House project and started erection of a building to house the organization and to provide premises for some of its affiliated unions.
While the T.U.C. has a far greater number of affiliated unions than the F.T.U., the aggregate declared membership and estimated paid-up membership of affiliated unions of the F.T.U. is nearly twice that of the unions under the T.U.C.
Independent unions are few and mostly small in member- ship, and several of them are undecided as to where their interests should lie. Some of them, however, have shown signs of genuine trade union activity in the interests of their members. One of the larger independent unions, the Hong Kong Teachers' Association, which is affiliated to the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession, has made substantial progress not only in membership, which has more than doubled, but also in service to its members.
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
51
During the year the Labour Department under its trade union education programme arranged, in co-operation with the Technical College, three series of lectures on simple accounting for the benefit of local trade unionists. Each series consisted of eight talks of hours each, and about
80 persons from 21 trade unions attended the lectures. The trade union section, as well as other sections of the Labour Department, gave lectures to pupils of a number of Anglo- Chinese secondary schools and middle schools.
Joint Consultation. The use of joint consultation machin- ery in industrial concerns is uncommon, a notable exception being Hongkong Tramways Ltd. The Joint Consultative Committee established in this company in 1955 continued to hold meetings during the year and useful results were accomplished. Many employers are reluctant to experiment in this field, and in most industrial undertakings workers lack the experience and organization to press effectively for the establishment of Joint Consultative Committees. It is hoped, however, that with further training of workers and trade union officials a better understanding of the advantages and responsibilities of joint consultation may be obtained.
Labour Disputes. There were two strikes during the year, both of which led to lockouts. Man-days lost totalled 60,540. This figure is double that of 1956, but below the post-war average of 88,520. The cause of each of these disputes was an endeavour by the management to rectify poor production in a key section of the factory. When the workers concerned went on strike, other sections of the factories had to be closed owing to lack of materials. One of the strikes was unsuccessful, and the workers accepted the management's new scheme of operation. The other had not been settled at the end of the year.
Details of some of the more important disputes follow :
Fung Keong Rubber Manufactory Ltd. In January a dispute arose in this factory over the introduction of a
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
three-shift system in the milling section, in place of the former system of two 8-hour shifts, under which the workers concerned had augmented their wages by working overtime. The object of the change was to increase the production of sheet rubber in the milling section to meet the needs of other sections in the factory. Following the adoption of 'go slow' tactics by workers in the milling section, production fell so much that the management closed the factory on 10th January, and about 1,600 workers were laid off.
Negotiations for resumption of work were complicated by the fact that no less than three trade unions were involved, two of which were factions of a former single trade union which had split up not long before. The third union (left- wing) was opposed to the other two. The main obstacle to the settlement of the dispute was the insistence of the management that workers should sign a 'volition bond' before resuming work. In its original form this bond was considered by the workers to be unduly harsh. Towards the end of February, however, the Labour Department persuad- ed the management to revise the bond so that it became a simple undertaking to abide by factory regulations 'or be dealt with as deemed fit.' Meetings between the management and representatives of the three unions were held early in March, when questions of wages and production were dis- cussed, and these paved the way for the resumption of work on 10th March.
The management's objective of introducing a three-shift system in the milling section was achieved, but although production improved gradually, it had not come up to expectations by the end of the year. The new scheme provided piece-rates so adjusted as to ensure that if a set standard of output was achieved, workers could earn more for an 8 or 9-hour shift than for a longer shift under previous conditions. Some workers who accepted the scheme earned more wages than previously. Others, mainly those who had adopted 'go slow' tactics, preferred to remain on daily rates
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
53
of pay, but their pay was increased on a sliding scale, as was that of all other daily-paid workers in the factory. The majority of workers in other sections of the factory were on piece-rates before the dispute occurred and their pay was not affected. The number of man-days lost in this dispute was approximately 49,500.
The Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd. This company experienced trouble on several occasions with the night shift in the water gas plant, which failed to carry out its work properly. After repeated warnings over a lengthy period, the management dismissed seven workers in February, in the interests of discipline. There was some opposition to this action from the left-wing Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd. Chinese Employees' Association, but the management declined to discuss the matter and there were no further repercussions.
Hongkong Tramways Ltd. Early in
Early in the year this company published a comprehensive booklet entitled 'Con- ditions of Service 1957' for hourly-rated staff engaged on daily or weekly contracts. The booklet did not record any material changes in existing conditions of service. The object in publishing it was to enable a copy of the conditions to be in the hands of every employee governed by them. The left-wing Hong Kong Tramways Workers' Union attempted to stir up opposition to the management of the company on the grounds that it had imposed new conditions of service without the consent of the workers. Representa- tives of the union sought an interview with the Manager of the company, but without success, after which they approached the Labour Department twice and left letters to be forwarded to the Manager. The Manager refused to receive the letters and the union was informed accordingly.
Kowloon-Canton Railway. A decision to change from the use of steam locomotives to diesel-electric locomotives on the British section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway resulted in a number of boilermakers and other artisans becoming
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
redundant in the locomotive shops. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Workers' Union took up the matter, under pressure from workers in the Kowloon-Canton Railway, but after a number of meetings in which the position was explained to them by the General Manager of the Kowloon-Canton Railway and the Labour Department, the inevitability of retrenchment was accepted. Forty-nine workers were affect- ed. Of this number, four were transferred to other posts in the Railway and eight to posts in other Government depart- ments; 25 left Government service with normal retirement benefits and three months' pay in lieu of notice, and the remainder resigned or left the service for other reasons.
The Taikoo Sugar Refining Company Ltd. In June three representatives of the Taikoo Sugar Refining Company Ltd. Chinese Workers' Union visited the Labour Department to inquire about certain demands made to the company by the union. The first demand concerned medical treatment at the Taikoo Dockyard clinic, about 20 minutes walking distance from the Refinery. Arrangements for treatment of Refinery workers in the Dockyard clinic had proved unsatisfactory to both workers and the management of the Refinery. The management agreed to provide a new clinic at the Refinery and this was nearing completion at the end of the year. Other demands made by the workers' representatives con- cerned medical treatment for workers' families, the ability of a worker to carry out his job satisfactorily, and the provision of details on pay packets to show workers how much money they should receive. These complaints were without foundation and were quickly disposed of.
The union appeared to be trying to expand its influence by manufacturing grievances. It continued to raise a number of issues with the management, including those mentioned above, and it also attempted to obtain the re-instatement of two members of its committee, of whom one had been dis- missed for neglect of duty and the other had been discharged with one month's wages in lieu of notice. The management
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
55
refused to discuss the matters raised by the union or to re-instate the two committee members. It put into effect a number of pay increases and took steps to assist certain workers who were in the hands of money-lenders.
The Hong Kong Coal Workers' General Union. In July a letter was addressed to the Labour Department by the union stating that the wages of coal workers had not changed since 1946. An increase of 50% was requested to take effect from 1st August. The issue was complicated by the fact that the other parties to the matter were a number of merchant firms with no representative association. How- ever, as a result of meetings held in the Labour Department and by the exercise of good sense and goodwill by all concerned, a satisfactory compromise of 20%, based on the actual rise of the Retail Price Index since 1947, was arrived at and wages were increased by this amount.
The New China Enamelware Company (H.K.) Ltd. Established manufacturers in the Colony's enamelware industry have for some time found business difficult, partly because of conditions in export markets, but mainly because of cut-throat competition within the Colony by certain small producers of inferior enamelware offered at the cheapest possible prices. The manufacturers' association in this indus- try has not been effective in protecting its members. In the case of the New China Enamelware Company the trouble centred in the enamelling section where the workers, most of whom came from Shanghai about ten years ago, were said to work more slowly than Cantonese workers in the enamelling sections in other factories. The management claimed that this bottle-neck had caused production to decline to an uneconomic level. On 9th December it intro- duced a
new system of employment with the object of increasing production and lowering earnings slightly. The Shanghai workers concerned refused to accept the change, although the Cantonese workers in the enamelling section were apparently prepared to accept it. A stoppage of work
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
in the enamelling section occurred and the factory had to suspend operations. The management kept other workers in the factory (about equal in number to those in the enamel- ling section) on half pay for two weeks.
Numerous meetings were held in the Labour Department in an endeavour to reach a settlement between the manage- ment and the workers, but both sides refused to compromise and no success had been achieved by the end of the year, by which time man-days lost had amounted to 11,040.
H.M. Dockyard. Reference has been made above to retrenchments which affected civilian employees of the Armed Forces in the Colony, particularly of H.M. Dock- yard. Certain reductions in staff were carried out by the Dockyard Authorities at various times during the year and frequent representations about them were made by repre- sentatives of trade unions concerned, principally to the Dockyard Authorities, but also to the Labour Department. In addition, representations were made concerning a new scheme for the award of retiring gratuities which was introduced in the Dockyard in the early part of the year, and which applied as well to civilian employees in Army and R.A.F. establishments.
On 28th November, 1957, it was announced that H.M. Dockyard would be closed down gradually over the next two years. At the same time it was stated that the Dockyard Authorities and the Hong Kong Government would en- deavour to assist in finding other work for the employees concerned, the number of which was slightly under 5,000. An Employment Advisory Committee representative of the Hong Kong Government, the Dockyard and local employers was set up by the Commissioner of Labour and held its first meeting on 2nd December. An Employment Liaison Office was also established, with branches in the Labour Department and H.M. Dockyard, and with staff supplied both by the Government and the Dockyard. The initial work of registration of Dockyard staff for other employment
was
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
57
rapidly put in hand, and by the end of the year prepa- rations had been nearly completed for providing potential employers with the information required to facilitate the selection of suitable workers. It was decided that all Dock- yard employees laid off during 1957 should be allowed to make use of the services of the Employment Liaison Office. The first retrenchments under the closure scheme were due to take place on 4th January, 1958.
Following the announcement regarding the closure of the Dockyard, considerable trade union activity occurred, par- ticularly left-wing, and union representatives had numerous interviews with the Dockyard Authorities and with staff of the Labour Department. Several short, token 'sit down' strikes took place in the Dockyard during December, but not all the workers participated in these demonstrations.
Minor Disputes. The number of minor disputes dealt with by the Labour Department during the year was 1,079, an increase of 31 cases over the number in the previous year.
Model Agreement. The preparation of a form of 'Model Agreement' for conditions of service was completed during the year. This comprehensive document, which was intended as a guide to employers prepared to draw up written terms of service for their workers, provided details under a number of main headings such as Wages, Hours of Work, Over- time, Holidays, Bonuses, Notice, Retiring Benefits, Dis- cipline, etc., together with explanatory notes. It was made available in both English and Chinese and 150 copies had been distributed by the end of the year.
LEGISLATION
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Radiation) Special Regulations, 1957, made by the Commissioner of Labour, were approved by the Legislative Council on 8th May. They were designed to exercise control over the grow- ing use of processes involving radiation in industrial under- takings in the Colony, which give rise to considerable risk
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of bodily injury to persons employed in connexion with them. Control was sought by prohibiting the use of such processes without the permission of the Commissioner of Labour, and by specifying the steps to be taken by employers for the protection of their employees.
The Radiation Ordinance, 1957, which is also described at page 223 of Chapter 12, came into force on 6th September. Apart from providing for general control over the increasing use of radioactive substances and irradiating apparatus in industrial and medical processes, the Ordinance established a Radiation Board with powers of granting and cancelling licences and of imposing conditions on licences. The Com- missioner of Labour is an ex-officio member of the Board.
The Trade Unions (Registration) (Amendment) Rules, 1957, were made by the Governor in Council on 26th March to make it an offence to make false statements or entries upon forms prescribed under the Trade Union (Registration) Rules. Previously a person could submit untrue particulars to the Registrar of Trade Unions with impunity.
During the year progress was made with the following legislation: Trade Unions Registration Bill; Trade Dis- putes Bill; Apprenticeship Bill; Air Pollution Restriction Bill; Boilers and Pressure Receivers Bill; Mining (Amend- ment) Bill; Workmen's Compensation (Amendment) Bill; Employment Bill.
SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE
Factory Registration and Inspection. Factory registration and inspection is undertaken by the Labour Department to ensure proper standards of industrial health and safety. During the year 534 applications for registration were received and 331 registration certificates were issued; 9 were refused, the premises being closed down; and 61 applications for registration were withdrawn. 134 factories found operat- ing in unsuitable buildings were closed down, and 196 registration certificates were surrendered for cancellation, the
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
59
premises for which they were issued having ceased to be used as factories. At the end of 1957 there were 2,410 places of employment registered under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, and 778 in course of registration. These figures do not include 185 recorded establishments, which are premises not registrable under the Ordinance but kept under observation by the inspectorate; nor do they include the numerous small industrial premises which are subject to inspection to ensure compliance with provisions relating to the employment of women and young persons. The total number of industrial undertakings registered, in the course of registration, or recorded was 3,373 at the end of the year.
Visits made by the labour inspectorate during the year totalled 19,053. Of these, 809 were concerned with industrial or occupational accidents and workmen's compensation; 665 were night visits to industrial premises in connexion with the employment of women and young persons during pro- hibited hours; 100 were wage inquiries; 429 were connected with the employment of young persons; and 17,050 were routine inspections for the enforcement of safety, health and welfare provisions.
Industrial Health. The activities of the Industrial Health Section increased considerably during the year. Development was along two main lines: first, the prevention of occupa- tional diseases, and second, the improvement of medical services in industry. In addition, technical advice was given on a wide range of subjects, from ventilation to the rehabili- tation of injured workers. The appointment of an Assistant Industrial Health Officer in October helped greatly in de- veloping the section's work.
The prevention of occupational diseases was undertaken by investigation of cases which came to light, by surveys of industries known to be hazardous, and by regular medical supervision of workers in certain dangerous trades. Early in 1957 Government doctors were asked to inform the
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Industrial Health Officer of all cases of industrial disease coming to their knowledge, and the help of private practi- tioners was also sought through the local medical associa- tions. The number of cases thus notified was not large, but the information obtained was of great value. Cases of silicosis, lead poisoning and dermatitis were the most im- portant of those brought to notice.
Silicosis is known to be a risk of workers in the stone crushing and quarry industry, where cases occur from time to time, but a more serious incidence of the disease was found in small factories where quartz is crushed for in- dustrial purposes. Lead poisoning occurred in foundries where scrap metal is melted to recover the lead; these factories are small and the control of poisoning is difficult. Dermatitis appeared in a wide range of industries, the most important being the dyeing trade. Preventive measures are being introduced into all these trades, but rapid reform is not easy to bring about in old established processes.
The following table shows the number of industrial diseases notified in 1957:
Silicosis (a) due to work in quarries
5
(b) due to work in quartz crushing factories 3
Lead poisoning
Paranitroaniline poisoning
Dermatitis
Erysipeloid
Paraesthesia due to vibrating tools
Fatigue fracture of ribs
Total
8
1
3
42
1
1
4
60
Surveys of trades known from past experience to present risks to workers were carried out, and by this means the first cases of lead poisoning and of silicosis were detected. In the luminizing industry and other trades involving the handling of radioactive substances, no cases of disease were discovered. Precautions were taken to prevent the develop- ment of any cases of radiation poisoning. Other industries
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
61
surveyed during the year included those concerned with the manufacture of dry batteries and of artificial pearls. All new factories are inspected by the Industrial Health Section, so that possible hazards can be found at the earliest opportunity.
The betterment of medical facilities in industrial concerns has been chiefly the responsibility of the Assistant Industrial Health Officer since his appointment. During the year work in this field was concentrated mainly on the organization of first-aid classes for workers with the co-operation of the St. John Ambulance Association. Six classes were completed during the year, and 111 workers from 47 factories obtained certificates of proficiency. Revised scales of first-aid equip- ment required to be maintained in factories were drawn up and were brought into effect early in December. The survey and supervision of medical facilities in factories were con- tinued, with particular attention to concerns where women supervisors are employed on night work. The Medical Department's scheme for the mass X-ray of workers for early detection of tuberculosis was explained to a number of factories. Those managements which agreed to have a survey of their workers undertaken, and to grant sick-leave with full pay to workers in appropriate cases, were put in touch with the Medical Department which arranged for the surveys to be carried out.
Industrial Accidents. 4,797 industrial and occupational accidents (86 fatal) involving 4,866 persons were reported and investigated. This is 269 accidents more than in 1956, but with II less fatalities. Of the total, 2,165 (19 fatal) were in registrable workplaces, a decrease of 175 accidents (14 fatal), in spite of the increase in the number of industrial workers. Compared with 1956 there was a decrease in accidents per thousand industrial workers from 15.9 to 14.1 for all accidents, and from 0.224 to 0.124 for fatalities. This was due in part to the active industrial safety campaign conducted by the Labour Department in 1957 ·
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Welfare. Every registrable workplace must supply first- aid equipment and drinking water, and all plans for new factory buildings must include provision for dining or rest rooms. An increasing number of industrial managements appreciate the importance of welfare facilities for their workers, and many have progressed beyond the minimum standards required by the Labour Department. Besides din- ing and rest rooms, clinics are provided by many industrial and business firms, and at these doctors attend periodically each week to treat occupational and general diseases of the workers concerned and sometimes their families, in some cases free of charge. In some industrial undertakings can- teens, non-profit-making co-operative stores, subsidized meals, free cooking facilities, barber shops, laundries, read- ing rooms and school rooms are provided. Free quarters, or more commonly dormitory accommodation, are not un- common. In addition to the housing projects set up for workers and their families by various utility companies during the year, an increasing number of establishments offered free dormitory accommodation. Those concerns which cannot afford to erect their own accommodation either rent or buy tenement buildings for this purpose. Smaller concerns cannot afford all these amenities mentioned, but it is worth. noting that even in the smallest factory a constant supply of tea or boiled water is normally available.
Some undertakings organize picnic excursions for their workers in the summer and walks in the country in the winter. Welfare facilities frequently include cinema shows, Cantonese opera, table tennis, libraries, sports grounds for football and basketball games, and in a few instances even swimming pools. In some cases free or subsidized schooling for workers' children, and free classes for adults are ar- ranged. During the year several firms took advantage of the Workers' Playtime Programme organized by Radio Hong Kong. Several firms have a Welfare Officer and Welfare Department, and in others a member of the staff is in charge
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION 63
of personnel matters. Some voluntary organizations also cater for the welfare of industrial workers by providing hostels and playgrounds. The Salvation Army's Thomson Memorial Boys' Hostel houses 56 apprentices, and the Y.W.C.A. runs two hostels for factory girls.
Under the housing scheme which was started some years ago, Hongkong Tramways Ltd. erected 110 new flats for its employees in 1957 and brought the scheme to completion. The total number of flats provided amounts to 265, which house a total of about 1,800 persons. Space has been provided for recreation and in addition there are swings, a covered playground for children, a basketball court, an assembly room for meetings, a room for meetings of the tenants' Management Committee, and a shop. The housing scheme of The 'Star' Ferry Co., Ltd. provided quarters for 250 of the Company's employees and the Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd. acquired a plot of land on which to erect quarters for its workers. Early in the year the housing scheme of the China Motor Bus Co., Ltd. was completed, consisting of 132 flats and a large welfare centre.
The Hong Kong Telephone Co., Ltd. provided its employees with a canteen and medical clinic in the Com- pany's new 10-storey building near the Western Market. In the same building, 54 flats for married workers and accommodation for 20 single men in dormitories were pro- vided. The welfare centre of The Kowloon Motor Bus Co., (1933) Ltd. was completed but had not been opened by the end of the year. This will provide a dining-room, recreation rooms, and a clinic and dispensary with a doctor and nurses in attendance.
During the year copies of a questionnaire prepared by the Labour Department, seeking information on welfare facili- ties, were sent to member firms of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, as well as to a number of other companies. Returns received
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
by the end of the year showed that out of 44 firms on which information was provided, seven have welfare centres with full-time officers and assistants and 30 have provided or are providing quarters for their workers. In eleven cases accom- modation is supplied free of charge. 31 clinics were listed in the returns and in every case medical attention is given either at subsidized rates or free of charge. 18 of the clinics were for use by workers only; 13 were open to workers' families
as well.
Workmen's Compensation. The Workmen's Compensa- tion Ordinance, 1953, which lays down minimum rates of compensation payable to workmen for injuries received in the course of their work, is now operating reasonably satisfactorily. Both employers and workers are becoming increasingly familiar with its provisions. Experience sug- gests, however, that new amendments to the Ordinance may be desirable, and the matter is being studied.
During the year 4,776 non-fatal and fatal accident cases were dealt with, and a total of $1,177,747 was paid as compensation.
Industrial Training. Craft apprenticeship within the Government service is provided by the Kowloon-Canton Railway, the Public Works Department in its electrical, mechanical and waterworks branches, the Stores Department in its workshops, and by the Printing Department. Voca- tional training classes for coxswains and engineers are operated by the Marine Department for Government employees, and by the Fisheries Division of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department for fishermen.
A new group of apprentices started work in September in the Public Works Department and the Kowloon-Canton Railway under the new scheme of recruitment and training which was introduced in 1955. Apprentices are selected by means of examination and interviews; they are required to sign indentures, and attendance at supplementary technical classes is compulsory; the boys are released from the
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
65
workshop one whole day a week to attend classes at the Hong Kong Technical College and, in their own time, attend classes two evenings a week.
Apprenticeship training schemes are operated by H.M. Dockyard, the Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co. of Hong Kong Ltd., the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co. Ltd., by the public utilities, and by a number of other European and Chinese firms. Encouragement is given by these concerns to apprentices to attend technical classes, and financial help towards fees is often provided. Some large spinning and weaving mills have apprenticeship schemes for mechanics or junior engineers; in certain cases recruitment is by competitive examination and the mills provide classes on their own premises in both technical and general educa- tional subjects.
The Standing Committee on Technical Education and Vocational Training, set up in 1954, met five times during the year.
The work of the Technical College and the two govern- ment technical schools is described in Chapter 8.
NEW TERRITORIES
Although farming and fishing are the two principal occupations in the New Territories, the pattern of country life has been modified by factors common to other maritime areas of South China. Even before the New Territories became part of the Colony, Hong Kong's influence as a growing commercial city had begun to attract young men away from their villages in search of work either in town or overseas. Lamma Island, close to Hong Kong, was the first place to be affected, many of its young men becoming sea- men in British ships. In the first decade of this century many Hakka youngsters migrated to the West Indies, principally from the Sai Kung, Hang Hau and Sha Tau Kok areas. The Tung Chung valley, on Lantao Island, is another area from which large numbers have gone abroad as seamen or
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to settle in other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The villages adjoining the northern border, notably San Tin and Lo Wu, provide the cooks and waiters for many Chinese restaurants in European ports.
Remittances from family members abroad or working in the urban area of the Colony thus came by the 'thirties to form a significant item in the economy of most New Terri- tories villages. In one or two instances they were even the largest single item in the economy of a village. One obvious result of the reduction in the farming population, following this movement abroad, was that hilly land formerly under cultivation was neglected, sea-walls and dykes protecting fields near the sea were not properly repaired, and agriculture became confined in some parts to the more easily accessible and well-watered areas. Agriculture furthermore became largely an occupation for women, the younger and able- bodied men going abroad to earn their living.
A sharp change occurred after the war. While the natural rate of rural population increase rose steeply, China coast shipping, due to international restrictions on trade with China, declined sharply, throwing many former seamen out of work. Less favourable conditions in the West Indies cut off emigration opportunities. Younger men, who would nor- mally be reaching the age to follow in their fathers' footsteps and go to sea or to settle abroad, had to stay in their villages. At the same time there was a reflux of former emigrants from the West Indies, and even from urban Hong Kong. Quite suddenly, the land was insufficient to maintain its own population. The long-neglected higher terraces and coastal fields had by this time been lost the former by erosion, the latter by invasion of the sea-and, in general, to repair the damage was beyond village resources.
During 1957 opportunities for emigration improved, and the introduction of postal order facilities in New Territories post offices resulted in an increase in the volume of remit- tances received.
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
67
Gradual progress is now being made, with Government assistance and encouragement, in repairing these several decades of neglect, and agriculture, which had formerly been sinking into a subsidiary to other more exciting and profitable jobs, is gradually regaining its proper importance.
The main crop is rice, grown in all the valleys and, wherever possible, on irrigated hill terraces. New Territories rice includes some varieties of a very high standard, and it is the general practice of villagers to take their own rice to town and barter it for a larger quantity of cheap imported rice, of lower quality, for their own use. Where sufficient water is available, the fields are made to produce two rice crops a year, but in salty land, and where no water can be stored in winter, only one crop (the second) can be grown. The principal winter crop is sweet potatoes, but wherever there is quick transport to town and a sufficient supply of fertilizer, there is an increasing tendency for green vege- tables to be grown. These include most of the best-known European summer vegetables, the season for which in Hong Kong is the winter.
A recent development has been the planting of certain hilly areas with ginger, financed by Hong Kong food pre- serving firms who wish to reduce their dependence on supplies from mainland China. Some fair crops have been harvested and the quality is improving with experience.
Pig-breeding is an important source of livelihood in most villages, and, particularly in hilly areas, there are good herds of the local humped cattle, for beef and draught, but not for milk. Cut grass also has commercial value, principally for breaming (applying fire to ships' hulls to cleanse them from slime, weeds, etc., a process which, in the case of fishing junks, is undertaken about ten times a year), and in villages which are within easy range of fishing-towns grass is col- lected, chiefly by women, and transported to town on foot or in small family-owned boats. Almost all coastal villages
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
own small boats or sampans, used for transport and inshore fishing, the latter being exclusively a man's job.
During 1957 some interest was shown in the revival of tea cultivation. Tea was once extensively grown on the northern slopes of Tai Mo Shan, Tai To Yan and other mountains, but since 1899 this has not been profitable except at one place in the Sha Tau Kok peninsula where a small quantity of a first rate tea continued to be produced, selling in Sha Tau Kok market for $1 a tael. Proposals for a 100-acre experimental plantation are being considered.
Certain occupations are traditionally followed by different sections of the rural community. The Deep Bay oyster fish- ing, for example, is a Cantonese occupation, while beancurd manufacture and stone quarrying are Hakka occupations.
The Tanka, and those Hoklo who have not settled per- manently ashore (see Chapter 2), live entirely by fishing. The largest boats, suitable for deep-sea fishing, are Tanka, the boats being generally owned by women. Hakka boats are used principally for transport on the eastern side of the New Territories; they are stoutly built, single-masted, with hulls high out of the water along their whole length. Hoklo boats lie lower in the water, high in the stern; whether sailed or rowed they conform to the same basic design, and are the fastest of the inshore boats used.
The Tsuen Wan area has been affected more than any other part of the New Territories by the growth of industries in the Colony during the past ten years; Tsuen Wan having developed during this time from a group of old-fashioned villages into a rapidly enlarging industrial and market town. New Territories people have not, however, been much attracted by factory work (or sought after by employers), and most of the labour engaged is from Hong Kong and Kowloon, together with an element of Shanghai refugee labour. A welcome exception is at Sham Tseng, where a large number of local village girls have been employed. The large iron mine situated in the hills beneath the peak of Ma On
OCCUPATIONS, WAGES AND LABOUR ORGANIZATION
69
Shan employs almost entirely immigrant labour from North China. Other smaller mines employ local labour.
The industries more truly typical of the New Territories are the operation of salt pans, the preparation of salt-fish, fish-paste, beancurd, soya sauce and preserved fruits, the burning of coral and sea-shells for lime, brick manufacture, shipbuilding and repairing, stone quarrying and leather manufacture. On Peng Chau, in the Southern District, there is a match factory for which, as a sideline occupation, villagers on neighbouring islands make hand-prepared match-boxes. In all the fishing towns a substantial section of the land population earns a livelihood by providing restaurants and shops, chiefly used by the floating popula- tion.
Chapter 4: Public Finance and Taxation
Revenue and Expenditure figures since 1st April, 1954, are
as follows:
1954-5
1955-6
1956-7
Revenue
Expenditure
$
434,452,321
Surplus $
373,343,609 61,108,712
454,720,189 402,463,642 52,256,547 509,682,511 469,544,298 40,138,213
Deficit
1957-8 (Estimated) 507,489,000 561,157,280 53,668,280 On 31st March, 1957, the General Revenue Balance and the Revenue Equalization Fund stood at $358,162,240 and $137,714,761 respectively. A statement showing the assets and liabilities of the Colony at that date is at Appendix III.
Revenue for 1956-7 was remarkably buoyant, exceeding the estimate by $59,745,431. The largest excess was that of $15,924,637 under Revenue Head 3, Internal Revenue, and was mainly due to the token figure under subhead 6, Estate Duty, being exceeded by $19,398,690. The next largest excess was under Head 1, Duties, with a surplus of $13,799,299, of which Import Duty on Tobacco ($4,774,038), Import Duty on Hydrocarbon Oils ($4,477,764) and Import Duty on Liquor ($1,793,573) provided the major share. Head 2, Rates, showed an overall increase of $6,156,452 on the estimate, with excesses of $4,534,068 and $1,628,516 for Kowloon and Hong Kong respectively. An excess of $5,266,253 was registered under Head 9, Revenue from Lands, Rents, etc.; there was a surplus of $4,474,201 under the sub-head Interest, derived from sterling investments, fixed deposits and current accounts. Under Head 11, Land Sales, there was an increase of $5,972,948 for Hong Kong Island, offset by decreases under other sub-heads, resulting in a net increase
PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION
71
of $4,932,000 over the estimate. Details of the main heads of Revenue are given in Appendix IV.
Expenditure for 1956-7 fell short of the estimate by $23,718,792. The total saving effected under various heads was $41,368,253, this being offset by excesses of $17,649,461 under others. Details of the main heads of Expenditure are given in Appendix V.
The largest excess over the estimate, amounting to $8,198,198, came under Head 19, Miscellaneous Services. This was mainly accounted for by a contribution of $10,000,000 to the Local Loans Fund, established during the 1956-7 financial year, and the expenditure of $1,141,880 occasioned by the Kowloon Disturbances in October 1956, offset by savings under other sub-heads. An excess of $6,052,144 was incurred under Head 39, Stores Department, due to heavy expenditure on purchases of construction materials, medical stores and general stores.
Development Fund expenditure incurred during the 1956-7 financial year was $29,853,071, and on 31st March, 1957, totalled $48,628,492 from the inception of the Fund.
A Local Loans Fund was established in the 1956-7 financial year, and interest-free loans amounting to $5,008,333 were made to nine educational and medical organizations during the year.
The Public Debt of the Colony on 31st March, 1957, was as follows:
31% Dollar Loan (raised in 1934)
3% Dollar Loan (raised in 1940)
3% Rehabilitation Loan (raised in 1947-8)
$ 1,480,000
4,243,000
46,666,000
$52,389,000
The two Dollar Loans are each redeemable by twenty-five annual drawings, and the Rehabilitation Loan is covered by a Sinking Fund which on 31st March, 1957, stood at $14,172,778, this being the market value of the sterling investments held on behalf of the Fund.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Loans from Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom amounted to $20,574,720. Of this sum, $19,925, 120 is the amount received up to 31st March, 1957, against the $48,000,000 loan which has been promised by Her Majesty's Government in connexion with the development of Kai Tak Airport. The other loan, amounting to $649,600, is made under Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme D. 1967- Loans to Fishermen for Mechanization of Craft. Of this, $630,166 has already been issued to fishermen. Details of Colonial Development and Welfare grants and loans are given in Appendix I.
TAXATION
Tax on Earnings and Profits: There was no direct taxation on incomes in Hong Kong until 1940 when the War Revenue Ordinance, 1940, was enacted 'for the purpose of raising funds by way of a tax on incomes to assist His Majesty's Government in the prosecution of the War.' When the Colony was liberated in August 1945, the objective of the war-time legislation had been removed and no attempt was made to re-establish the administration of that temporary
measure.
In 1947, when the Colony was in urgent need of revenue, it was decided to introduce some measure of taxation on incomes in a more permanent form and the Inland Revenue Ordinance was then enacted. The aim of this legislation has been simplicity in operation, the principle of taxation at source rather than that of obligatory individual assessment being adopted.
The scope of charge under the Inland Revenue Ordinance is limited to incomes and profits arising in or derived from the Colony. The Ordinance imposes four separate taxes which cover the various types of chargeable incomes and profits. They are Property Tax, Salaries Tax, Profits Tax and Interest Tax. The overseas income of a Hong Kong resident, whether remitted to the Colony or not, is not liable to tax.
PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION
73
The standard rate of tax has been unchanged since 1950-1 and for the year of assessment 1957-8 it remains at 123%. Profits of businesses and most interest payments and an- nuities are charged in full at the standard rate. Small un- incorporated businesses whose profits do not exceed $7,000 are, however, exempt from Profits Tax. Property Tax is charged at half the standard rate on the net rateable value of all land and buildings in the Colony (other than in the New Territories). In charging Salaries Tax on income from employment and pensions, certain allowances are first deduct- ed from the assessable income. They include Personal Allow- ance at $7,000, allowance for wife at $7,000, and allowances for children ranging from $2,000 for the first child to $200 for the ninth child. The balance is then charged at graduated rates rising from 21% on the first $5,000 to 25% on net chargeable income exceeding $45,000. The maximum charge, however, is limited to tax at the standard rate on the total assessable income without deduction of any allowances.
Although the Ordinance imposes four separate taxes, every resident may elect to be personally assessed on his total Hong Kong income. He is then given similar allowances and charged at graduated rates as for Salaries Tax, and a set-off is allowed for any of the four taxes already paid.
Taxes collected under the Inland Revenue Ordinance con- stitute the second largest single item of the public revenue of the Colony. The estimated revenue from this source for 1957-8 is $95,000,000, and is exceeded only by the estimate of $96,200,000 for duties under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance.
Estate Duty is levied on conventional lines at rates vary- ing from 2% to 52% on estates valued at $5,000 to over $30,000,000 respectively. The estimated revenue from this duty for 1957-8 is $12,000,000.
Stamp Duty legislation in the Colony is based on the United Kingdom Stamp Acts. Fixed duty varies from 10 cents on proxy forms to $20 on deeds. Ad valorem duty
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
varies from 10 cents per $500 to $2 per centum. In addition an excess duty of 3% on conveyances of land is payable in respect of the first sale after September 1948. The estimate for this item of revenue for 1957-8 is $23,500,000.
Entertainment, Public Dance Halls, Bets and Sweeps Taxes also provide substantial amounts of revenue, the total estimate for 1957-8 amounting to $22,500,000.
Entertainment tax at approximately 22% is normally charged on all admission prices to public places of enter- tainment (for tax reductions on live performances of special cultural or artistic value, see pages 311, 312 of Chapter 20). Public Dance Halls Tax is levied at 10% of public dance hall charges, while a 5% duty is imposed on all totalizator receipts and a 25% duty on cash sweep receipts.
Business Registration was introduced in 1952 to provide for the compulsory registration of all business names. An annual registration fee of $200 per business is payable. Depending on the nature and extent of a business, a remis- sion on the ground of hardship may be allowed.
Rates have been levied in the Colony since 1845 when an Ordinance was passed to raise an assessed rate on lands, houses and premises 'for the upholding of the requisite Police Force'. Today rates are one of the largest revenue-producing items, the revised estimate for 1957-8 being over $64,000,000.
The basis of rateable value is the annual letting value of a tenement, by which is meant any land or any building or part thereof held or occupied as a distinct or separate tenancy or under licence from the Crown.
Rates are levied in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Kowloon and also in that part of the New Territories adjacent to the main road from Lai Chi Kok to Castle Peak.
In Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon rates are, with a few exceptions, charged at 17% per annum of rateable value, and are payable quarterly in advance in respect of the New Territories the corresponding charge is
PUBLIC FINANCE AND TAXATION
75
11%. The valuations are prepared by the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation, and demand notes are issued by the Accountant General for payment at the Treasury. There is provision for a surcharge on any rates in arrears, but the yield from this has been comparatively small.
IMPORT AND EXCISE DUTIES
There is no general tariff, and for most goods Hong Kong remains a free port so far as duties levied upon goods for protection or revenue purposes are concerned. There are, however, six groups of commodities, either imported into or manufactured in the Colony for local consumption, upon which duties are levied under the authority of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance. These are liquor, tobacco, hydro- carbon oils, toilet preparations and proprietary medicines, table waters and methyl alcohol.
In the Autumn of 1956 a number of persons died or were blinded as a result of drinking liquor adulterated with methyl alcohol. In order to control the movement and use of this toxic substance, methyl alcohol was added to the list of dutiable commodities in March 1957 (see also at page 220 of Chapter 12). The duty payable on methyl alcohol is $7.00 per gallon plus 28 cents per gallon for every 1% by which the alcoholic strength by volume exceeds 25%.
A preferential rate of duty for liquor of Empire origin is levied at between 80% and 87% of the rate for non-Empire liquor. Locally-produced beer is allowed a further preferen- tial margin over Empire beer. Rates of duty on different types of liquor range from $1.30 per Imperial gallon on locally-brewed beer to $61 per Imperial gallon for liqueurs and spirits not of Empire origin. On Chinese wine and liquor the rate is $6 or $7 depending on origin.
The scale of duties on imported tobacco ranges between $3 per lb. on Chinese prepared tobacco and $7 per lb. on cigars of non-Empire origin. Preferential rates are granted to tobacco of Empire origin and manufacture.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Duty on light oils is 80 cents per gallon. For heavy oils the rates are $104 per ton for diesel oil for road vehicles, $26 per ton for other diesel oil, $24 per ton for furnace oil, and 10 cents per gallon for other kinds of heavy oils.
Duty is payable on toilet preparations and proprietary medicines at the rate of 25% of the f.o.b. price ex shipping port for imported goods, and 25% of the selling price ex factory for locally produced goods. Table waters attract duty at 48 cents per Imperial gallon.
No dues are levied on exports. Drawback is paid, upon certain conditions, on duty-paid commodities used in process of manufacture or preparation locally, if exported from the Colony.
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Hong Kong Tiger Standard
On the afternoon of Saturday, 28th December, 1957, a crowd of nearly 25,000 people thronged into the Colony Stadium at So Kon Po to bid farewell to the Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham, and his wife, on the eve of their leaving Hong Kong after 101⁄2 years unstinted service to the community. At the ceremony cheques totalling nearly $300,000 in value were received by Sir Alexander for presentation to the Grantham Scholarships Fund, founded to commemorate his governorship. Below: Representatives of the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association present a cheque to his Excellency.
South China Morning Post. Ltd.
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People from every walk of life in Hong Kong attended the unique Public Farewell ceremony organized by a committee of the Unofficial Members of Executive and Legislative Councils in honour of Sir Alexander and Lady Grantham. Sir T. N. Chau, Senior Unofficial Member of Executive Council, spoke for the whole community when, presenting an illuminated address, he said: 'It is no exaggeration to say that.. your departure will mark the end of a decade which, in terms of material progress and the development of a community spirit, is
Hong Kong Tiger Standard
unprecedented in the annals of the Colony. Indeed, in comparable circumstances, it is perhaps unique in the history of any land. Programmes of music werc provided by the Colony's bands and orchestras and 8,000 school-children joined in the massed choral singing of songs in both English and Chinese. When the time came for Sir Alexander and Lady Grantham to leave and they drove round the entire circuit of the arena in their open car, the vast crowd rose to its feet waving and shouting in a spontaneous gesture of affection.
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The announcement on 1st August that Sir Robert Black, K.C.M.G., O.B.E., pictured here with Lady Black and their two daughters, would succeed Sir Alexander Grantham as Governor was received in Hong Kong with general approbation. No stranger to the Colony, Sir Robert served in Hong Kong as Colonial Secretary from 1952 to 1955 prior to assuming the Governorship of Singapore.
Chapter 5: Currency and Banking
IN 1841, when Hong Kong was founded, China's currency was based on uncoined silver. The normal unit for foreign trade throughout the Far East was the Spanish or Mexican silver dollar, and by a proclamation of 1842 Mexican or 'other Republican dollars' were declared to be the Colony's legal tender. Until 1862, however, the Government kept its accounts in sterling, and there were several unsuccessful attempts to change the basis of the Colony's money from silver to gold.
A mint producing a Hong Kong equivalent of the Mexican dollar was set up in 1866, but the new coin was not popular and the mint was closed down two years later, the machinery being sold to establish the first modern mint in Japan.
By an Order of the Queen in Council dated 2nd February, 1895, a British trade dollar, équivalent to the Mexican dollar, was authorized to be minted in India, and in Hong Kong this gradually replaced the Mexican dollar, although the latter still remained legal tender and the standard by which other dollars were judged. The sterling or gold value of the dollar varied with the price of silver. This gave Hong Kong a variable exchange relationship with London and the world at large, but a reasonably stable one with China.
In 1845 the Oriental Bank issued the first banknotes in the Colony, and was followed by the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Cor- poration. Although not legal tender, these notes became more and more the customary means of payment, because of the inconvenience of dealing with large amounts of silver, and from 1890 onwards they were established by convention
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
as practically the sole medium of exchange, apart from sub- sidiary coinage. An Ordinance of 1895 restricted the issue of banknotes to specifically authorized banks-the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, the Oriental Bank having closed its doors and the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India having reorganized. In 1911 the reorganized Mercantile Bank of India was added to the list of authorized note-issuing
banks.
The rising price of silver from 1931 onwards forced China to abandon the silver standard in 1935. Hong Kong followed. By the Currency Ordinance of that year, later renamed the Exchange Fund Ordinance, an exchange fund was set up to which note-issuing banks were obliged to surrender, in exchange for certificates of indebtedness, all silver previously held by them against their note issues. These certificates, which are non-interest-bearing and are issued or redeemed at the discretion of the Financial Secretary, became the legal backing for the notes issued by the note-issuing banks, apart from their fiduciary issues. The silver surrendered by the banks was used to set up an exchange fund, which in practice keeps its assets in the form of sterling and operates in a similar manner to the normal Colonial Currency Board. The Ordinance also made the banknotes legal tender. At the same time the Government undertook to issue one-dollar currency notes to replace the silver dollars in circulation; these are backed by a Note Security Fund, which maintains its assets partly in sterling and partly in Hong Kong dollar bank accounts. The Government also issues subsidiary coins to the value of 5 cents, 10 cents and 50 cents.
Since 1935 the value of the Hong Kong dollar has been maintained at approximately 1/3d. sterling, although the banks may deal with the public at a few points on either side of this rate, both to allow for a profit margin and, to a slight extent, to meet fluctuations in demand and supply.
CURRENCY AND BANKING
79
The total currency in nominal circulation at 31st December, 1957, was:
Bank note issue
Government $1 note issue
Subsidiary notes and coin
$
755,345,905
37,491,500
19,855,573
The Colony has been a part of the sterling area since August 1941. Exchange Control is administered under powers conferred by the Defence (Finance) Regulations, 1940. The system of control is based on that in force in the United Kingdom, with some modifications necessitated by the posi- tion of Hong Kong as an entrepôt.
BANKING
The Banking Ordinance provides that no institution may engage in banking without obtaining a licence from the Governor in Council and that each bank must publish an annual balance sheet. At the end of 1957 there were 83 licensed banks, of which 33 were authorized wholly or partially to deal in foreign exchange. A list of these latter is given in Appendix VI. Some of these banks have branches or correspondents throughout the world and are thus able to offer comprehensive banking facilities to the public. Interbank transactions are facilitated by a clearing house association with 52 members. Monthly clearings in 1957 averaged $1,411,636,456.
No licensed banks operate in the New Territories, although there are several towns of a size which in England would have one or more banks. Safe custody for cash is provided by the larger shops; for other banking business it is necessary to travel into Kowloon or Hong Kong.
Chapter 6: Industry and Trade
INDUSTRY
In the last decade the pattern of Hong Kong's economy has changed, and industry which, prior to the Second World War, was of minor importance, has now assumed an important role.
The Colony's first industries were in the nature of services allied to the development of the port. The earliest was, of course, shipbuilding and repairing. The first locally built vessel, the 'Celestial' of 80 tons, was launched in 1843. Two sugar refineries were established, the first in 1878, the second in 1882, not so much to satisfy the needs of the then small local population, as the requirements of ships' vict- ualling officers. In 1885 a rope factory was started, again primarily to cater for the seafaring trade. A cement factory was transferred to Hong Kong from Macau in 1899.
From time to time there were tentative efforts to set up new industries; a spinning mill was started in 1899 and closed down a few years later. Some industries, however, obtained a firm foothold; in 1902 the manufacture of rattan- ware began and in 1910 the knitting of cotton singlets and vests became established. These, although flourishing, went more or less unnoticed amid the Colony's growing entrepôt activities.
The first real stirrings in industry occurred during the First World War and the following years saw some expan- sion. A weaving factory, operating 30 hand looms, was established in 1922 and in 1927 the first flashlight manufac- tory came into being.
The Ottawa Agreements of 1932, under which Hong Kong products became entitled to Imperial Preference,
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
81
were the first real encouragement to local industry, enabling manufacturers to seek wider markets for their goods and attracting new investment. The first years of the Second World War provided additional stimulus, when locally made military and civilian supplies aided the Allied cause. It is estimated that in 1940 there were some 800 factories in the Colony.
Factory rehabilitation, after almost four years of enemy occupation, was rapid, impelled by an acute shortage of consumer goods throughout war-scarred South-East Asia. 1948, when the influx of refugees from China reached its peak, was a vital year for local industry. Most of the refu- gees arrived destitute, but many brought capital and technical skills, both of which found ready employment in Hong Kong.
When the Korean War and resultant embargo on trade in strategic commodities with China drastically reduced the volume of Hong Kong's commerce, only industrial expan- sion could offset the dangers threatening economic stability and provide employment for the greatly swollen and still growing population. Local industrialists reacted quickly to the new situation, and, despite difficulties in obtaining cer- tain raw material supplies, an increasing volume and range of Hong Kong products from many new and reinvigorated industries began to flow out to world markets.
Today, there are 3,373 registered and recorded factories, employing 153,033 persons in Hong Kong. A detailed breakdown of these figures will be found in Appendix II. The vast majority of these concerns are owned and operated by the Colony's Chinese residents. In addition a large number of smaller concerns, mostly pursuing traditional Chinese handicraft activities, in many cases set up by refugees, employ an estimated 200,000 people.
No special benefits are available to industry by way of income tax or import duty concessions. Apart from a few
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
revenue-producing duties, the Colony is a free port and Government regulation of trade is kept to a minimum.
The variety of goods produced by local industry is con- siderable, but in general, while the heavier industries such as shipbuilding continue to be important, the Colony has become best noted for the price, quality, and range of the products of its light industries. Of importance are cotton piece-goods, cotton yarns, towelling, ready-made garments of all kinds, cotton and woollen gloves, enamelware, aluminiumware, torches, torch batteries and bulbs, vacuum flasks, plasticware, paints and varnishes, rubber and leather footwear, and rattanware. Among traditional Chinese goods produced, brocade piece-goods, embroideries and drawn- work, crocheted gloves and paper novelties are the best known.
Industrial development in the Colony is hampered by scarcity of water and lack of land suitable for industrial purposes. To offset the shortage of flat land, Government is assisting by levelling hilly ground and using the spoil to reclaim land from the sea. The largest of several such schemes is at Kwun Tong, referred to in Chapter 14, where some 140 acres of industrial land will eventually be provid- ed. By the end of the year industrial sites totalling 1,483,700 square feet had been sold in this area, and sales of sites for the housing of employees, who will desire to live near the new factories, had commenced.
Water conservancy schemes, such as the large project at Tai Lam Chung, are already helping to alleviate the shortage of water.
HEAVY INDUSTRIES
Shipbuilding and Repairing. This section of industry is mainly centred on two large establishments which together have an annual new building capacity of 80,000 gross tons and can accommodate vessels up to 500 feet in length on their building berths. Major repair work, including the
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
83
complete rewinding of large motors, and all types of engineering, electrical, sanitary, refrigerating and under- water work can be carried out. General civil engineering and construction work is also undertaken. During 1957 repairs were carried out on 1,630 vessels aggregating 8,770,000 gross tons.
Other yards are concerned with the smaller types of wooden and steel craft such as ferries, lighters, yachts, launches and native-type vessels.
There are six granite dry docks in the Colony, the largest being 787 feet overall and 93 feet 4 inches wide. Two stationary hammerhead cranes each with a lifting capacity of 150 tons, and a crane barge with sheer legs of 40 tons lifting capacity, are available. Other facilities include foundries which can handle castings up to 30 tons, ocean- going towage and salvage vessels, and a fleet of harbour repair launches.
Throughout 1957 shipyards in the Colony were kept constantly busy. The Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co. of Hong Kong Ltd. handed over a cargo vessel of 5,790 gross tons to China Navigation Co. Ltd. and launched a sister ship for the same owners. Cheoy Lee Shipyard launched a number of small commercial craft and further enhanced its reputation as a yacht builder of the first rank.
Iron Foundries and Rolling Mills. Other heavy industries represented in Hong Kong are iron foundries and mills rolling iron and steel reinforcing bars and rounds, and brass and aluminium strips and sheets. Production is mostly absorbed locally by extensive building projects and the metal products industries, although sizeable quantities of bars and rounds are shipped abroad, principally to Asian territories.
LIGHT INDUSTRIES
Textiles. Since 1948 the textile industry has expanded rapidly to become the Colony's major industry. Spinning
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of cotton, rayon, silk and woollen yarns, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing, and the manufacture of all types of garments and textile goods are carried on. The spinning mills, operating over 300,000 spindles, are amongst the most up-to-date in the world and first class amenities are generally provided for workers. Cotton yarn counts range from IOS to 60s carded and combed in single or multiple threads. Production of all counts in 1957 was over 100,000,000 lbs., of which approximately 70% was consumed by local weaving establishments.
In the weaving section, cotton grey drill, canvas, shirting, striped poplins, ginghams, and other bleached and dyed white cloth and prints are the main items. Production in 1957 was estimated to be in excess of 220,000,000 square yards. Over 50% of the production is exported but there is a tendency for this to decrease. As the quality of locally woven and finished cloth improves, the Colony's garment manufacturers turn the more readily to utilizing local materials. Other products of the Colony's weaving industry are silk and rayon brocade of traditional Chinese design, tapes, webbing and lace, carpets and rugs.
Dyeing, printing and finishing of textiles in the Colony has shown a marked advance during the past few years, although this section has rather lagged behind other sections in speed of development. Multi-colour printing in up to six colours can be undertaken, and in 1957 a sanforizing plant was installed in one mill which now produces, under licence, approximately one million yards of sanforized pre-shrunk cotton cloth a month for use in the local garment industry and for export. Further refinements and improvements in the finishing of textiles, particularly in cottons, are planned for the near future.
An almost unlimited range and variety of garments is manufactured in Hong Kong, the most important being shirts. Silk and brocade house and evening coats, tea gowns
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
85
and embroidered blouses, underwear and nightwear have a world-wide popularity in quality markets.
Custom and mail-order tailoring, principally of men's suits, has, in recent years, developed into a considerable industry. Suits of excellent cut and quality, in whatever material is required, are exported all over the world.
The Colony's knitting mills produce towels, tee-shirts, singlets, underwear and nightwear, swimsuits, gloves, socks and stockings in cotton, silk, wool and rayon, and other fabrics.
Felt Hats. The felt hat industry is mainly concerned with manufacture from imported hoods or imported discarded hats; one factory carries out the entire process of manu- facturing from wool. Hong Kong is one of the largest exporters of cheap-quality felt hats.
Enamelware. Production is principally of brightly colour- ed household utensils suited to the requirements of South- East Asian and African markets. More sophisticated designs, however, are also manufactured.
Aluminiumware. Good quality household ware in a wide range of articles is produced. Aluminium ingots, which are imported mainly from Commonwealth countries, are melted and rolled in the Colony.
Vacuum Flasks and Jugs. The manufacture of vacuum bottles, flasks and other containers is an old established industry in Hong Kong and exports are substantial. All components are locally made and the finished products are of excellent quality and design.
Electric Torches, Batteries, Bulbs and other electrical products. The high standard of workmanship in the electric torch industry is now well known and Hong Kong made torches have found their way into almost every country in the world. In addition to the many local brands, 'Ray-O- Vac' and 'Ever-Ready' torches are manufactured under licence in the Colony on a substantial scale.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Other sections of the industry deal with the assembly and manufacture of electrical appliances of all kinds, the assembly of neon lights, radio assembly and repair, and the manufacture of Christmas tree lighting sets and other novelties. Electric and battery-driven clocks are also produced.
Other Metal Products. The range and variety of light metal products is too wide to enumerate. Examples are hurricane lanterns, kerosene pressure stoves and lamps, nails, screws, tin cans, metal windows, umbrella ribs, zip fasteners, steel furniture, safes and office equipment. Recent innovations in this field are domestic refrigerators and kerosene radiators and water heaters.
Paints. High quality paints, varnishes and lacquers are produced for local sale and for export. Hong Kong paints are steadily gaining a reputation for quality and durability. The Public Works Department of the Hong Kong Govern- ment is the principal single user.
Foodstuffs and Beverages. Although Hong Kong's preserved ginger is perhaps the best known overseas, the Colony's foodstuff and beverage industry has many varia- tions, including flour and rice milling, bakeries, canning and preserving of fruits, fish products and vegetables, the manufacture of soy sauce, gourmet powder, confections, bean curd, fruit juices, soft drinks, Chinese wine, beer and malt.
Products are largely for local consumption, but consider- able quantities are exported to South-East Asia.
Sugar Refining. The Colony's largest sugar refinery was established in 1884. High grade refined crystals, and granulated and soft sugars are produced from imported raw sugar. Specialities are the making of half cubes, icing, castor and soft brown sugar, and golden syrup in colourful retail packings for domestic use.
Tobacco Manufactures. The cigarette industry uses modern machinery, much of it being automatic, and Hong
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
87
Kong made cigarettes are comparable in quality with any in the world. Packaging material of a high standard is also made locally. The export of cigarettes to China has virtually ceased since 1949, and the bulk of the industry's output is now consumed locally, but some exports are made to Macau and the Pacific Islands.
Footwear. The Hong Kong rubber boot and shoe industry has been established since 1932, the range of products including Wellington boots, plimsolls, beach, sports and house shoes and slippers, mainly for export to traditional markets in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Good quality leather footwear is also manufactured for local demand and export, principally to Malaya.
Leather and Travel Goods. Suitcases, travelling bags, trunks and handbags, and all varieties of leatherware are manufactured in the Colony. Both imported and locally tanned hides and skins are used in production.
Cement. The cement needs of the Colony's constantly expanding building industry are met in large measure by the products of one large establishment. All raw materials, apart from some clay and iron ore, are imported.
Cordage, Rope and Twine. The requirements of shipping using the port gave rise early to the rope industry, which is among the oldest established in Hong Kong. All types of ropes and hawsers are manufactured from imported Manila hemp.
Plasticware. A very wide variety of small articles is produced and locally made dies and moulds are generally used. Several of the larger establishments have installed fully up-to-date equipment. Tooth brushes, mugs, beakers, combs, coat hangers, chopsticks, cigarette cases, mahjong sets and toys and novelties, many of which are of consider- able ingenuity, are made. The well known 'Walt Disney' and 'Tom & Jerry' characters are produced under licence. An ancillary industry is the plastic coating of rattan by
88
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
extrusion for use by local rattan weavers. Plastic insulation of wire is also carried out.
Wood and Rattan. The manufacture of good quality wooden furniture and toys is a sizeable industry in the Colony, and Hong Kong bamboo and rattan household articles have achieved a world-wide popularity.
Wood carving in camphorwood and teak is a traditional
skill.
Aircraft Engineering. One large establishment in the Colony provides transit and technical rectification facilities for the 18 airlines using Kai Tak Airport. Facilities exist for complete airframe and engine overhaul, and work is received from 21 countries as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Miscellaneous. Traditional handicrafts such as carving in ivory, jade and other precious stones, embroidery, lace and fine needlework, the manufacture of brass, pewter and other metal ornaments, flourish in the Colony side by side with the more modern types of industries.
TRADE
The value of the Colony's external trade in 1957 was maintained at a high level; the combined value of imports and exports of merchandise trade reached $8,165.7 million which was 5% higher than that for 1956. This was, how- ever, due to a substantial rise in imports; but, although exports fell compared with 1956, they were still higher than in any other year since 1951. Cargo tonnage by all means of transport rose from 6,653,088 tons in 1956 to 6,880,885 tons in 1957 ·
The value of exports in 1957 was $3,016.3 million, a fall of 6% compared with 1956. Although the United States and the United Kingdom increased their purchases during 1957, this did not offset the heavy reduction in exports to Indonesia, Thailand, and Japan. Over 54% of the value of
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
89
exports was taken by only six countries-Malaya, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan, the United States and Thailand; while manufactured goods, especially textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles, and miscellaneous manu- factured articles, especially clothing, together accounted for 57%.
The value of imports was $5,149.5 million, a rise of 12.8% compared with 1956. China remained the principal source of the Colony's imports, and China, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States together provided 60% of the value of total imports, of which 57% consisted of food and manufactured goods. Although imports rose from nearly all countries, Japan, Malaya and Brazil record- ed decreases.
The value of imports from and of exports to the United Kingdom both rose in 1957. Exports increased by $38.4 million and accounted for 11% of total exports. Over one half of this increase was made up of exports of local products, mainly of textiles and footwear. Imports rose by $153.9 million and represented 13% of total imports; heavier purchases of base metals, non-electrical machinery and transport equipment were mainly responsible for this increase.
Although Japan was the second most important source of imports, the value of Japanese goods imported into Hong Kong fell by $47.2 million compared with 1956, due mainly to reductions in textile yarn and piece-goods, base metals and non-metallic mineral manufactures. Exports to Japan fell heavily by $89.7 million; textile fibres, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, cereals and cereal prepara- tions all recorded decreased values. Japan was, nevertheless, the Colony's fourth most important customer and took 8% of total exports.
Malaya (including Singapore) proved to be the Colony's most valuable customer in 1957, taking exports to the value of $372.7 million, consisting mainly of fruits and vegetables,
90
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
clothing, manufactured articles and sugar. Imports from Malaya fell by $50.6 million compared with 1956, recording reductions in the value of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials.
Indonesia took exports to the value of $312.5 million, or 10% of total exports, and was the third most important customer. Compared, however, with 1956 this represented a fall of $188.9 million which the very heavy exports in 1956 rendered more pronounced. Exports of textile yarn and piece-goods fell by $92 million, while decreases were also recorded for clothing, non-electrical machinery and non- metallic mineral manufactures. Heavier purchases of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials caused a rise of $67.4 million in imports from Indonesia.
Exports to the United States rose by $81.6 million to a total of $198.2 million; over 50% of this increase was accounted for by clothing alone, while miscellaneous manu- factured articles and piece-goods also rose. Imports from the U.S.A. rose by $115.2 million; ores and metal scrap, textile fibres and tobacco were the principal items involved.
Imports from Switzerland increased by $61.4 million to $193 million in 1957; scientific instruments (including photographic and optical goods, watches and clocks) ac- counted for $49.5 million of this increase.
Exports to Thailand fell in value by $131.5 million com- pared with 1956; 1956 was a year of heavy exports of textile yarn and piece-goods to Thailand and these accounted for a fall of $53.3 million; base metals fell by $30.3 million.
China supplied imports valued at $1,131.1 million which represented 22% of total imports and was $92.8 million higher than in 1956. China normally supplies 45% - 50% of the Colony's imports of foodstuffs, and the increase over 1956 was partly accounted for by larger imports of fruits and vegetables, dairy products, eggs and honey, cereals and cereal preparations; imports of non-metallic mineral manu- factures and textile yarn and piece-goods also increased.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
91
Exports to China have fallen steadily since 1951 and at $123.4 million have reached the lowest level yet. Exports of manufactured fertilizers fell from $36 million in 1956 to $9.8 million in 1957.
The division of the Colony's exports into re-exports and exports of domestic products is not complete, but details of a wide range of Hong Kong products are recorded separately in the Trade Statistics. The value of these products exported in 1957 was $793.9 million compared with $782.6 million in 1956, and represented 26.3% of the Colony's total exports. The map between pages 92 and 93 illustrates who were the customers for these local products. The United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaya and the United States were the most important customers, taking together nearly 50% of the total. The most important items of export were cotton piece- goods, cotton yarns, shirts, enamelled household utensils, and footwear.
Compared with 1956 the most significant increases in exports in respect of countries were 19.1% to the United States, 13.2% to the Philippines, and 12.3% to the United Kingdom; and in respect of commodities-cotton piece- goods, 57.3%; shirts, 11.7%; cotton yarn, 11.1%. Decreases were recorded in respect of cotton singlets, 38.5%; and foot- wear, 12.4%.
The trend of the Colony's trade by value and volume for the years 1948 to 1957 is illustrated by the graphs facing pages 92 and 93. Tables showing the value of imports from and exports to the principal countries trading with the Colony and the main commodities concerned, with com- parative figures for 1955, 1956 and 1957, are at Appendices VII, VIII, IX, and X. Appendix XI shows the values of exports of Hong Kong's principal products.
Hong Kong sent a delegation to the ninth session of the Committee on Industry and Trade of the Economic Com- mission for Asia and the Far East held in Bangkok in March 1957. This session was followed immediately by the
92
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
thirteenth session of the full Commission at which Hong Kong was also represented.
TRADE PROMOTION
The path of Hong Kong's thriving industry with its absolute dependence on exports as a market for many products is not always smooth; success in particular overseas markets is apt to invite tariff or other restrictions on imports in the face of which the Colony with its own liberal trade policy is usually in a poor bargaining position. 1957 can hardly be classified as a year of positive achievement in combatting restrictions, but it has been possible to record some small gains and to limit further erosion of the Colony's trading position.
Early in the year the signature of the Treaty of Rome and activity in connexion with the proposed European Free Trade Area had its repercussions in Hong Kong, where the relationships of dependent territories of both the Treaty countries and the prospective members of the Free Trade Area gave rise to much anxious thought. In April Hong Kong was represented at a conference in London of Colonial representatives. There are still too many uncertainties in the structure of the Free Trade Area to discern with any clarity the Colony's future in relation to the European Common Market or the Area. Being unique among Colonial terri- tories in its development of light industry and in its extensive export trade in manufactured products, the Colony could be in a very vulnerable position.
Efforts in 1956 to devise a satisfactory procedure which would encourage an expansion of trade with South Vietnam and Cambodia were frustrated. Again in 1957 attempts to inaugurate procedures designed for certification of origin of goods purchased in or through the Colony with United States International Co-operation Administration funds foundered for no obvious reasons.
Some success was, however, achieved with Indonesian
6,000
VALUE OF HONG KONG'S IMPORTS
AND EXPORTS (IN MILLION H.K. DOLLARS)
5,500
Total Imports Total Exports
Imports from China Exports to China
5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
香港.
HONG
共圖書
KONG PUBLIC LIBRARIE
1,500
1,000
500
1948 49 50 5 1
5 2
53
5 4
55
56
57
ہے
উ
CANADA $10,900,000
UNITED KINGDOM
$174,500,000
GERMANY (W) $6,400,000
U. S. A.
$39,600,000
1.
0
Ооо
JAPAN $4,700,000
CHINA $2,500,000
HONG KONG
FRENCH EQUATORIAL
AND WEST AFRICA
$31,500,000
NIGERIA
$22,600,000
SOUTH AFRICA $28,200,000
CEYLON $5,200,000
INDONESIA $81,400,000
MALAYA
$77,200,000
THAILAND
$34,700,000
LAOS $22,100,000
PHILIPPINES $38,000,000
BRITISH BORNEO $10,400,000
AUSTRALIA $21,700,000
CUSTOMERS FOR
HONG KONG PRODUCTS
IN 1957
Groups or aggregates of countries whose individual purchases are not separately expressed statistically are indicated in this legend by the abbre- viation (n.e.s.) and are shown on the map, whenever possible, by a hatching of the appropriate colour shade. Tables giving more exhaustive details of the direction of trade and showing both total import and export figures are contained in Appendices VII & VIII to this Report.
Over HK$ 100 million
United Kingdom
HK$ 50 - 100 million
Indonesia, Malaya HK$ 20 - 50 million
U. S. A., Philippines, The end, French Equatorial & West Africa, South Africa, Laos, Australia, Nigeria
HK$ 5 - 20 million
British East Africa, Africa n.e.5., Central America n.e.s., Burma,
British West Indies, British West Africa n.e.s., Canada, British Borneo, Middle and Near East Countries, Venezuela, Western Germany, Belgian Congo, New Zealand, Macao, South America n.e.s., Central African Federation, Cambodia, Ceylon, Japan
HK$ 1 - 5 million
Oceania n.e.s.,
British Mediterranean Territories, Aden, U. S. Oceania, Mauritius, Madagascar, China, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Cuba, Denmark, South Vietnam, Mexico, Belgium, French North Africa, India, Fiji, Italy, Pakistan
Less than HK$ 1 million
Taiwan, Asian Countries n.e.s., Haiti, British Oceania n.e.s., European Countries n.e.s., France, Brazil, Switzerland, Korea South, Argentina, British Commonwealth n.e.s.
NEW ZEALAND $6,200,000
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
4,000
VOLUME OF HONG KONG'S IMPORTS AND EXPORTS (IN THOUSAND LONG TONS)
Total Imports Total Exports
Imports from China
Exports to China
共圖
3,500
2,500
2,000
1,500
NG KONG RUBLIC LIBRARI
1,000
500
1948 49 50
51 52 53
54 55 56
57
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
93
trade when a re-allocation of I.C.A. funds was arranged to finance the purchase by Indonesia of textiles and yarn manufactured locally from American raw cotton made avail- able under United States Public Law 480. This programme contributed usefully to the short-term stability of the cotton textile industry and to its prosperity during the first half of the year.
Since 1955 there has been organized pressure from a sector of the Lancashire cotton textile industry to limit cotton textile imports into the United Kingdom from abroad, especially from India, Pakistan and Hong Kong. Towards the end of 1956 the United Kingdom Cotton Board spon- sored the visit of a mission to India and Hong Kong under the leadership of Sir Cuthbert Clegg, with the object of securing a voluntary limitation of exports of cotton textiles to the United Kingdom. The mission arrived in the Colony in January 1957 after discussions in India, but no definite understanding or agreement was reached between the parties concerned. Later, in May, when the Cotton Board was endeavouring to negotiate a similar agreement with the Pakistan industry, the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Asso- ciation, with whom the Clegg Mission had principally negotiated, issued a positive statement to the effect that they could not agree to any form of voluntary limitation.
Later in the year it became necessary for the Government to take a more direct interest in the problem. In October Mr. F. J. Erroll, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the United Kingdom Board of Trade, arrived in the Colony en route to Peking, and the opportunity was taken to discuss with him Hong Kong's problems in relation to those of the Lancashire textile industry. Before his departure, Mr. Erroll was able to state that he hoped that a solution to Lancashire's difficulties might be evolved which would not conflict with the United Kingdom Government's policy of not imposing quota restrictions on Hong Kong's
manufactures.
94
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The success which Hong Kong manufactured rubber footwear has enjoyed in Western Germany engendered a discriminatory quota on imports from the Colony, but in response to representations the quota was fixed at a fairly high level in 1956. Further representations were made in 1957, as a result of which a more liberal quota was agreed
upon.
Since the end of 1956 the Canadian Tariff Board had been studying whether the volume of waterproof and rubber footwear imported into Canada was liable to cause or threaten serious injury to Canadian producers. As its findings might have an important bearing on the local industry, Hong Kong exporters were encouraged to make representations through their Canadian agents at the public sittings of the Board in Ottawa. In March 1957 the Tariff Board produced a factual report not unfavourable to Hong Kong exports. A further hearing is scheduled early in 1958.
For two years in succession, France has imposed an extremely small quota on the import of Hong Kong manu- factured flashlights and bulbs. Negotiations to have the quota increased have not so far been successful.
In February the National Association of Shirt, Pajama and Sportswear Manufacturers of the United States showed concern over the increased volume of imports of shirts from Hong Kong, and expressed the fear that Japan was violat- ing her self-imposed export quotas to the United States by using Hong Kong as a diversionary port. It was pointed out that Japanese shirts and blouses were not being exported to the United States through Hong Kong, that the Colony's garment industry was sufficiently developed and competitive in price not to have to rely on re-exports from Japan, and that exports from Hong Kong were unlikely to constitute a threat to manufacturers in the United States.
The foregoing paragraphs outline activities in the field
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
95
of trade promotion traditionally associated with govern- ments, but which are not widely known to the public. Governmental participation in the promotion of Hong Kong's trade is more evident in the arranging of Colony exhibits at trade fairs and the production of trade publicity material. In the conduct of all these matters the Director of Commerce and Industry is ably assisted by the Trade and Industry Advisory Committee, a committee representative of the Colony's merchant and industrial community.
Hong Kong participated in the United States World Trade Fair in New York in April. The Hong Kong stand, with nearly 1,000 items displayed, had a most businesslike appear- ance and attracted a vast number of visitors. Special pam- phlets were prepared for hand-out to buyers and the public. The official Hong Kong delegation to the Fair was led by Mr. U Tat Chee, O.B.E., J.P. and the Chinese Manu- facturers' Association of Hong Kong also sent a large delegation. As usual it was difficult to make any definite estimate of the contribution which the exhibit might have made to the value of the Colony's export trade, but there was a noticeable increase in the level of exports to the United States towards the end of the year.
•
In September Hong Kong displayed its products for the second time at the Frankfurt International Autumn Trade Fair. The Colony's exhibit, housed in a large pavilion shared with Ceylon, was almost three times as large as that for the previous year. A successful innovation was the allocation of half the area solely for sample display purposes, both Government and commercial, leaving the remaining area for a prestige display of selected high quality products. The layout of the exhibit was generally conceded to be a considerable technical advance on anything hitherto attempted. In addition to direct orders placed with repre- sentatives of individual firms which rented alcoves in the pavilion for display of their own products, approximately
96
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
300 inquiries were recorded by official delegates headed by Col. J. D. Clague, C.B.E., M.C., T.D.,
J.P.
The Chinese Manufacturers' Association, on its own initiative, also arranged an exhibition of Hong Kong products in Singapore during August. This was the fourth such exhibition and it was opened by the Chief Minister, Mr. Lim Yew Hock. Part of the exhibit was later sent to Kuala Lumpur for display in a specially erected pavilion at the Merdeka Fair held to mark the Federation of Malaya's independence. It is believed that the results of the Associa- tion's enterprise were highly satisfactory.
In February the Hong Kong and Kowloon Clock and Watch Trade Merchants Association staged an international exhibition of watches and clocks on the Central Reclama- tion. Many leading watch manufacturers took part and the exhibition attracted numerous visitors both local and over-
seas.
Once again the Chinese Manufacturers' Association (formerly Union) of Hong Kong held an exhibition in December-the fifteenth in a series which began before the war-designed to show the people of the Colony and overseas buyers the great variety of manufactures in Hong Kong and the progress made in the previous twelve months. Despite the somewhat cramped site in Kowloon-occasioned by construction on the former exhibition site on the Island- the fair presented its usual glittering spectacle and attracted vast crowds of visitors.
In a farewell speech at the opening of this exhibition Sir Alexander Grantham suggested that the time had probably come to organize a Federation of Hong Kong Industries. This proposal met with general approval, and the Govern- ment announced shortly afterwards that it intended to appoint a representative committee to advise what appro- priate action should be taken.
The Trade Promotion Branch of the Commerce and Industry Department, which is responsible for organizing
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
97
Colony participation in overseas trade fairs, also publishes and distributes overseas a monthly illustrated 'Trade Bulle- tin' mainly financed by local advertisers. At the end of the year local circulation was 1,300 copies a month, while 6,000 copies were being distributed free to readers overseas. The 1957 edition of the department's 'Commerce, Industry and Finance Directory' was published in March. This Directory is a comprehensive guide to Hong Kong business in its economic and administrative setting.
The Trade Promotion Branch also opened during the year a trade reference library and a display room where samples of local products are on show for the benefit of both overseas visitors and members of the public.
Less conspicuous but no less important trade promotion activities in the sphere of international trade are the docu- mentation of origin and statistical services of the Commerce and Industry Department.
Hong Kong is traditionally an entrepôt so that certifica- tion of origin of the products which it sells has always been a matter of importance. The Government recognizes as qualified to issue certificates of origin the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers' Asso- ciation and the Indian Chamber of Commerce. Certificates of origin issued by all these authorities are acceptable in varying degree by overseas authorities, but the majority of certificates are issued by the Commerce and Industry Depart- ment which is concerned only with certification of Hong Kong origin. Possessing almost no raw materials, Hong Kong's claim to originate its manufactures rests on the work done in processing imported materials, or their trans- formation into entirely new products. During 1957 the Commerce and Industry Department continued its efforts to ensure that goods which it certifies as of Hong Kong origin warrant that designation.
98
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Certificates of Commonwealth content, permitting export- ed goods so certified to claim entry at preferential tariff rates, are prepared by accountants approved for the prepara- tion of cost statements designed to show the percentage of Commonwealth content. The certificates are issued by the Commerce and Industry Department for those countries which grant a preferential tariff for certain Hong Kong goods, but Imperial Preference certificates for goods claim- ing preference in the United Kingdom are issued by the accountants themselves, cost statements in support being scrutinized by H.M. Customs and Excise in the United Kingdom rather than by the Department.
Additional supervisory and clerical staff were recruited in 1957 to check applications for certificates and to give closer attention to the scrutiny of cost statements. The principles relating to the issue of certificates of origin and Imperial Preference certificates were under constant review through- out the year and departmental procedures to expedite the issue of certificates simplified. Co-operation and liaison with overseas customs authorities proved beneficial in both the promotion and control of certified exports. Exports of goods certified by the Commerce and Industry Department as of Hong Kong origin were valued at $638 million during 1957; and Imperial Preference certificates covering goods to the value of $141 million were also issued.
An additional complexity arises from the need to preserve Hong Kong's trade with the United States in the face of the United States Foreign Assets Control Regulations, which prohibit the import of a range of products, presumed to originate in mainland China unless evidence is advanced to the contrary. Procedures operated by the Department and designed to produce such evidence were somewhat expanded in 1957; exports of 'presumptive' commodities amounted to over $126 million; there was an 11.7% increase in the number of comprehensive certificates issued as com- pared with 1956.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
99
The Statistical Office of the Commerce and Industry Department continued to publish monthly statistics of the quantity and value of goods imported or exported. Figures for trade statistics are collected from the declarations which importers and exporters are required by law to file with the Statistical Office.
As from January, a more detailed breakdown of exports by countries was brought into effect, and a still more detailed, but unpublished, breakdown can be obtained on request. Towards the end of the year, an experimental method of acquiring figures of the quantity and value of goods received or despatched by post was tried out; there is no statutory requirement to supply these figures.
TRADE CONTROL
Import controls were eased considerably during the year. In April Argentine, Iran and Japan were placed on the open general import licence and non-strategic goods may now be freely imported from these territories without special licences. Import controls over items of low strategic sig- nificance were also relaxed, and quantitative and end-use controls are now maintained only in respect of highly strategic commodities.
Export controls were relaxed in June to permit a number of previously embargoed items of low strategic value to be exported to Mainland China and North Vietnam.
The rescission in August of the Exportation (Prohibition) (North Korea) Order, 1950, brought control over the export of goods to North Korea into line with the control exercised on exports to Mainland China.
THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE
The enforcement of trade controls, and the inspection of factories and goods in connexion with the export of Hong Kong products under certificates of origin and Imperial Preference certificates are among the duties of the Preventive
100
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Service. This is the uniformed and disciplined enforcement branch of the Commerce and Industry Department. Its tasks are many and varied, but in the main the Service is concerned with the protection of revenue accruing from goods which are dutiable. Other responsibilities include the prevention, in co-operation with the Police Force, of illicit traffic in nar- cotics. The presence of over 20,000 small craft in the waters of the Colony and the long rugged coast line impose their own peculiar problems and difficulties, in addition to those normally encountered in a major seaport.
The Service is organized into two major sections, the Investigation Branch and the Operations Branch; the former deals with anti-smuggling research, legal proceedings and anti-narcotics measures, while the latter is responsible for maintaining excise control and, where necessary, a round-the- clock system of patrols on land and sea. Control over the sea lanes is carried out by a fleet of seven patrol launches and one fast pursuit launch. The Service has a total establishment of 341, consisting of the Chief Preventive Officer, the Deputy Chief Preventive Officer, two Assistant Chief Preventive Officers, 57 inspectors and 281 rank and file, but has been considerably under strength in the lower ranks throughout the year.
OVERSEAS REPRESENTATION
There is a Hong Kong Government Office in London, administered by a Director and situated in Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, W.C.2. There is also a Hong Kong Section, under a Representative with the rank of First Secretary, attached to the British Embassy, Tokyo: the Representative's official address is Naka 8th Building, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo.
Among Commonwealth countries, India is represented in Hong Kong by a Commissioner, and the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Pakistan by Trade Commissioners. Consulates-General are maintained by Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
ΙΟΙ
Netherlands, Panama, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. Consulates are maintained by Argentina, Korea, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Switzerland and Vietnam. The consular representatives of Czechoslovakia, Mexico, Poland, Spain and Turkey, resident in London, and the Israel Trade Commissioner, resident in Bombay, have jurisdiction extending to Hong Kong. Austria, Burma, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Spain have Honorary Consuls resident in Hong Kong. In addition, France, Italy and Thailand have Trade Commis- sioners, while Austria has an Honorary Trade Representa- tive, all resident in the Colony.
Chapter 7: Primary Production and Marketing
LAND TENURE IN THE NEW TERRITORIES
SHORTLY after the New Territories were incorporated into the Colony a Land Court was set up to hear the inhabitants' claims to tenure of land, and all existing tenures thereby established were confirmed by the Hong Kong Government and recorded in a single Block Crown Lease. Such holdings are known as Old Schedule Lots. The Land Court completed its work in 1905. All land not recorded in the Block Crown Lease was deemed to be unleased Crown Land, leases of which can be sold at public auction, as in Hong Kong and Kowloon. New Territories lands thus acquired are known as New Grant Lots. Certain prescriptive rights over 'Crown Land' have, however, always been recognized either tacitly or by official acknowledgment; most villages have rights of this kind over a greater or smaller area adjoining them, where they graze their cattle, cut grass, and bury their dead; and no Crown land in the New Territories is put up for auction without giving the nearest village or villages a chance to object. Such objections, whether on economic or geomantic grounds, are usually accepted if reasonable.
Most of the land in the New Territories is separately classified as either agricultural land or building land, and permission has to be obtained from the New Territories Administration for permission to convert land from one status to the other. Minor buildings, such as watchmen's sheds, pigsties, etc., i.e. buildings definitely concerned with farm- ing, are usually allowed to be erected on agricultural land. In cases where the owner of an Old Schedule Lot in agricultural status wishes to erect a house of traditional Chinese construction, this is usually permitted without
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
103
payment of a premium, provided the building will not interfere with any rural development or country town plan.
New Territories land policy follows the same general lines as that for the urban area, particularly in the towns and in areas required for industrial development. In the more rural parts the New Territories Administration is primarily con- cerned with preserving a balance between the sometimes conflicting needs of agricultural production on the one side, and of urban development on the other.
Some account has to be taken of the fact that much of the best land is owned by clans established in the area for hundreds of years. By tradition a proportion of the rent raised from clan land is set aside by the clans themselves for the upkeep of ancestral halls and observances, for purposes of clan welfare, and the maintenance of schools. Such land may not be disposed of without the written consent of all the clan members, sometimes numbering many hundreds, and the permission of the District Officer, who will not allow the clan holding to be reduced unless he is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the clan, and of the neighbourhood.
Rents and values of agricultural land in the New Territories are customarily reckoned in paddy, convertible into money, in case a crop other than rice is grown, at the market rate of a specified variety. Crown Rents, however, are collected in cash at a rate fixed when the lease was granted. Most Crown Rents have thus progressively declined in relation to the customary value of agricultural land, and in some cases are now hardly worth the trouble of collection.
An average rent for rice land would be about 1,600 lbs. of paddy per acre per annum, or about 40% of the total annual yield from two crops. Though much of the land is owned by clans, individual holdings are uniformly small, averaging under two acres. There are very few farmers who cultivate more than five acres. Where land is rented it is usually on annual tenancy, and often the arrangement between landlord and tenant is verbal.
104
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
For a description of Land Policy in general see pages 179 to 184 of Chapter 10.
LAND UTILIZATION
A survey made by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department in 1954 showed that 13% (about 30,000 acres) of the total land area of the Colony was being used for agriculture and animal industries. The nature of the terrain precludes any extensive development of agriculture in new areas, but there is a certain amount of land formerly cul- tivated which, due to circumstances described in the New Territories section of Chapter 3, has been allowed to become waste. If these lands, and other small marginal tracts, could be re-opened for cultivation, it is estimated that the amount of agricultural land would be enlarged by 10,000 acres-from 13% to 16% of the Colony's total area. The most practical form which planned land utilization can take in the very much larger parts of the rural zone which, due to steep hills, poor soil and absence of water, are unsuitable for agriculture, is afforestation. It is estimated that over 70,000 acres can, with time and persistence, be planted with trees. The area under afforestation was extended by 1,300 acres this year.
Against this must be set the demands of a predominantly urban colony with a rapidly rising population and a basis of economy that is becoming increasingly industrial. Urban industry is now Hong Kong's largest employer, and in- dustries need land. Wherever possible factories and urban extensions in country zones are concentrated on land re- claimed from the sea-as at Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan- but towns such as Yuen Long, Tai Po and Sha Tin are all expanding, and it is unavoidable that in the process fields in the close vicinity of towns will be lost to agriculture. The land policy of the New Territories Administration restricts the process as far as is reasonably possible, but each year's figures of agricultural acreage emphasize the struggle between the demands of town and country.
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
105
It is estimated that during 1957 the total area under cultiva- tion remained unchanged, but this was achieved only because the decreases in cultivated land near towns were statistically compensated for by the re-opening of neglected land on hills and in less accessible areas. It cannot be expected that this balance will be maintained indefinitely.
In view of the pressure of rapid industrial expansion on land requirements, more hillside land is being opened for agricultural purposes. Large areas are also required for settling people who have been assisted by various welfare organizations to take up farming. In order to have some idea of the potential agricultural value of the available land, most of which is marginal, the Government is making use of the services of experts from the Colonial Pool of Soil Sur- veyors, and an examination of the soils of the Colony is now under way.
Indispensable adjuncts to the agricultural development of neglected land are improved communications and irrigation. Here the Government has received considerable assistance from Colonial Development and Welfare funds (see Appendix I), and from the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association. The parts of the New Territories to which particular attention is being given are the Sha Tau Kok and Sai Kung regions, and Lantao Island.
There is a Rural Development Committee, appointed by the Governor in June 1954, with official and unofficial mem- bers, under the Chairmanship of the District Commissioner, New Territories. Its duties are to advise the Government on all matters relating to New Territories development, in particular to the extension of agricultural credit and the preparation of Colonial Development and Welfare schemes.
AGRICULTURE
The annual production of milled rice is estimated at 18,188.44 metric tons, which is only sufficient to support the Colony's population for a little less than a month. The
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next largest crop is vegetables, some production figures of which are given below, under Marketing. The production of vegetables has increased by 4,663.2 metric tons. Sweet potatoes are the most important winter crop, and small quantities of sugar-cane, ground-nuts and millet are also grown in season. There is a certain amount of fruit-growing, the principal fruit trees being listed in Chapter 23.
As a result of restrictions on the import into the United States of all products from China, New Territories farmers have developed a few export crops, such as water-chestnuts and prepared vegetable and fruit products; but the increasing local demand for home-grown food limits the area that can be brought under export crops. This new development has, however, brought ready cash in certain zones, and broadened the economy of subsistence farming.
Ploughs, harrows, and hand-tools are of local origin and give good service. There is nothing to be gained by adopting costly western tractors and implements.
Where possible, two crops of rice are grown on irrigated land. The yield ranges from 30 times the seed on the best land to 4 times on thin hill soils. In places with access to towns vegetables are often grown on a portion of the fallow, following the second rice crop. In other areas, after the second crop, the land is spelled by adopting a form of land rotation for the area under catch-crops. The greater use of fallow land for catch-cropping depends on water supply and maintaining the soil's fertility by artificial means. Chemical fertilizers are used when they can be afforded, but on the whole reliance is placed on traditional fertilizers such as nightsoil, bone meal, ashes, duck feathers, meal cakes and dried pulverized animal manure. Vegetable farmers (many of them immigrants who do not own paddy land) usually cultivate very small areas, seldom more than one acre, and depend entirely on fertilizers in order to make intensive use of their plots.
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The absence of typhoons and frost, and a rainfall of 1,710 mm., although rather unevenly distributed, made growing conditions for most crops as favourable as during the year 1955-6. Improved cultural methods, including a better understanding of balanced fertilizer application, as well as a reduction of losses from insect pests by correct and systematic application of insecticides, increased production. The area under paddy during the season was estimated to be 23,352.79 acres from which 26,748 metric tons of paddy were produced, a decrease of 1,323 metric tons on the amount produced in 1955-6.
166 acres were under water-chestnuts, a crop which is grown principally for export to the United States. This is a decrease of 18.6% on the previous year. The average yield is 50 piculs per dau chung (18 tons per acre) and the cash return $40 $45 per picul (30 cents to 33.7 cents per lb.). The crop is grown under the same conditions as rice and supplants a part of the second rice crop.
-
ANIMAL INDUSTRIES
Pigs and poultry are the principal food animals reared in the Colony; cattle are mainly used for draught purposes. A census of the livestock population made at the end of 1956 gave a much higher figure than previous estimates, the increase being in a great part due to improved methods of husbandry and disease control.
Total Census:
Dairy cattle
Brown cattle
Buffaloes
2,535 14,237
1,912
Pigs
117,212
340
Goats
33
Sheep
Fowls
754,900
Ducks
238,650
Geese
20,400
1,385
Turkeys
50,210
Pigeons
17,020
Quails
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Pigs. The pigs of the Colony are mostly Chinese types of the Fa Yuen, Wai Chau and Lung Kong breeds. The Government maintains herds of pure exotic strain pigs, such as Berkshires, Mid Whites and Large Whites, for experi- mental purposes and distribution for the eventual upgrading of the Colony pig stock. In the villages pigs are often kept under primitive conditions, but due to the influence of the Department and the issue of loans by the Kadoorie Agricul- tural Aid Association there has been an improvement in the type of piggery being built.
Full use is made of local food crops and their by-products, but a high percentage of the concentrate feed has to be imported.
Cattle. The local cattle are well suited for the work of ploughing the small terraced fields-typical of a large part of the Colony's cultivated area. They are only slaughtered for food when surplus to requirements or unfit for work.
There is one large Dairy Farm on Hong Kong Island and several smaller ones in Kowloon and the New Territories. The dairy cattle are mainly Friesians, Ayrshires and Jerseys with a few Shorthorns. Australia is the main source of re- placements; and local breeding is being improved by the importation of frozen semen for artificial insemination.
The animals are stall-fed on imported fodder and con- centrates, supplemented by locally-grown guinea grass. All dairy cattle are regularly tested for freedom from tuber- culosis, and additions to herds must be tested and found free from tuberculosis prior to their acceptance.
Poultry. The poultry industry is dependent on the supply of hatching eggs from China, but local production of exotic strains, mostly White Leghorns, continues to increase. China also supplies much of the poultry meat and eating eggs, although local supplies are steadily improving.
Production. Of a total of 77,939 head of cattle slaughtered in the Colony in 1956-7 only 4,568 were of local origin, but
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香港
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Chow Chung Lim. A.R.P.S.
Puzzle picture: What is the workman doing? The correct answer defeats many a visitor to Hong Kong who. beyond hazarding that 'obviously something is being hung out to dry, usually guesses wildly at what that 'something is--cotton or woollen yarn being the favourite choice. The correct answer is 'Noodles'. The noodle--of either rice flour or wheaten flour base-is a favourite food of the Chinese, and small noodle factories, on the outskirts of Kowloon and in the New Territories, frequently dry their products like this in the open air.
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Hong Kong's New Territories abound in scenes of natural beauty. Monochrome reproduction cannot do justice to this view, looking northwards from the road which runs from Sha Tin to Tai Po, across the sheltered Tolo Harbour to the hills of the romantically-named Pat Sin (or Eight Fairies) Range. The New Territories cover, between mainland and some 200 islands, approximately 355 square miles out of the Colony's total land area of 391 square miles. They are important not only
for the agricultural produce which they yield but also because the Colony's main water reservoirs have been built in their valleys. Of recent years there has also been considerable industrial development, particularly in the area of Tsuen Wan. Now plans are in hand to develop still further the potential of the New Territories and to ease the population pressures on urban Kowloon and Victoria by building new towns. self-sufficient as to both residential and industrial resources.
ES
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A favourite sweetment of Chinese children and adults too-is the salted dried plum or 'Wah Mui', which also has a great reputation for its thirst-quenching properties. The treated plums are sun-dried on bamboo trays as shown in the picture. Hong Kong does considerable export trade in this delicacy-mainly to overseas Chinese communities.
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109
local pork production totalled 226,940 carcases which repre- sented 31% of the pork consumption of the Colony. Imports of cattle and pigs were mainly from China with smaller numbers arriving from Thailand, Taiwan and Cambodia. The average monthly total of animals slaughtered rose from 130 cattle and 3,358 pigs in 1955-6 to 305 cattle and 5,281 pigs. Among inedible livestock products, hides, pig bristles and bone-meal formed the largest items and were imported from South-East Asia for re-export to Europe and the Middle East.
Field Work. The Animal Industries Division of the Department continued to improve its organization, and peasant farmers are increasingly availing themselves of its advisory service. The Colony remained free during 1956-7 from Rabies and Rinderpest, but Foot and Mouth disease continued to occur in Quarantine Stations in cattle imported for slaughter. There were also twelve outbreaks of a mild type of this disease in cattle and pigs in the New Territories. Swine Fever was controlled by the use of vaccine, a total of 14,000 pigs having been inoculated.
The acceptance of preventative inoculation is best shown by the increase of vaccine used against Newcastle Disease in poultry, where 2,262,500 doses of Ranikhet vaccine were imported compared with 732,550 doses during 1955-6. The Diagnostic Laboratory is well established and, in addition to its diagnostic service, is producing lapinized Rinderpest vaccine for use in the Colony. Extensive cross-breeding and feeding trials are in progress using exotic and local pigs, and herds of exotic pigs are maintained to produce stock for distribution to selected farmers. During 1956-7 the Quarantine Service handled 77,939 cattle, 730,567 pigs, 11,266 goats and 792 sheep.
FISHERIES
Marine fish is the main primary product of Hong Kong, and the fishing fleet is the largest of any port in the Colonies.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
It consists of over 6,000 junks, of various sizes and designs, and 31 Japanese-type trawlers, eleven of which are of British registry. They are manned by a sea fishing population of approximately 57,000, chiefly Tanka, operating from various ports and fishing centres, the most important of which are Aberdeen and Shau Kei Wan (on Hong Kong Island), Cheung Chau, Tai O, Tai Po and Sai Kung.
Junks are built locally from imported timber, of which China fir is the most popular. Due to continued shortages of fir, however, more teak and yacal have been used. About 95% of the fleet is owner-operated, the rest being owner- directed by fish dealers and fishing companies.
The inshore fishing grounds for purse seiners, gill netters, shrimp trawlers and small liners are confined to the waters south of the Colony up to 20 fathoms. The bigger junk trawlers and long liners have gradually extended their area of operation and now work in waters from 30 - 70 fathoms along the coast of Kwangtung, from 111° 30′ to 116° E. and 20° to 22° 30′ N. A large number of these deep-sea vessels are sailing craft, and during the typhoon season, from July to October, their crews occupy themselves with repairing junks, nets, rigging, sails and equipment.
The mechanized fleet increased from 1,342 to 2,173 vessels in 1957, the major increases being among small long liners, purse seine net boats and shrimp trawlers. The total quantity of fish landed was 46,609 tons (valued at about $51,000,000), as compared with 40,451 tons in 1956. The increase in pro- duction was due to the greater number of mechanized vessels and to the good catches obtained by the large junk trawlers and long liners.
Further statistical data on the fishing industry are given below, under Marketing.
Oyster-beds and fish ponds. Oyster culture in this region has a tradition of 700 years behind it. The principal area concerned is Deep Bay where, from the 4,575 acres on the New Territories side of the Bay, a total of 1,286.8 tons of
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
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fresh oyster meat (valued at about $1,500,000) was produced in 1957. The bulk of this was processed into dried meat and into oyster juice which, following certification of local origin by the Fisheries Division staff, was exported.
Experiments conducted by the Division have demonstrated that oysters can be brought into marketable size in 2 to 2 years by adopting the Japanese 'hanging-drop' method of culture; whereas by the primitive method commonly prac- tised at Deep Bay a period of 4 years is required. These experiments have not, however, been followed by the local oyster farmers as the cost and labour involved have proved prohibitive. Further experiments, designed to reduce the cost of production, were under way at the end of the year.
Attempts to transfer the local edible oyster from Deep Bay (on the western side of the New Territories) and establish it in Tolo Harbour (on the east coast) did not prove success- ful. It now appears certain, however, that Tolo Harbour will in the near future become the centre of a new pearl culture industry, and legislation designed to safeguard the existing stocks of wild pearl oysters in that area was being drafted in 1957.
An additional 18 acres of land was converted into fish ponds in 1957, thus bringing the total area devoted to fish culture in the New Territories up to 515 acres. The estimated production of carp and mullet was 506 tons (valued at $1,250,000) as against only 410 tons in 1956. This increase was largely due to a higher local demand brought about by a decrease in the volume of fresh-water fish imported from China.
Fish fry exporters despatched some 14 million fry, as against only 6 million in the previous year. The main destinations were Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.
FORESTRY
It is only in recent years that any serious attempt has been made to carry out afforestation on a considerable scale in the
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
New Territories, and the landscape has not yet been appreci- ably changed. The hills are predominantly grass covered, but a thicker cover of shrubs is found in some areas and there is some scrub forest in remote and inaccessible places. Where the vegetation has been protected against cutting and fire, as for example on Hong Kong Island, there are also thickly wooded areas. The villagers cut grass for fuel and this practice, combined with the prevalence of hill fires in the dry season, has brought about the complete destruction of the vegetation with consequent soil erosion in many parts of the Colony. On the lower hill slopes the villagers have forestry lots, but in most of them the pine trees are so scat- tered and badly lopped that they scarcely alter the barren aspect of the land.
The Forestry Division of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department is the prime mover in forestry and is directly concerned with afforestation of the water catchment areas, assistance to village forestry and amenity planting. A thick forest cover is essential in the catchment areas to prevent erosion and silting of reservoirs and to promote regular stream-flow by inducing maximum retention of water in the soil. In other areas forestry can provide timber and fuel for local consumption and improve the economy of the rural population. In fact, forestry is the only form of exten- sive land development possible in the New Territories where three-quarters of the land could not be developed profitably in any other way. The expansion and reorganization of the Forestry Division, begun in 1954 in order to carry out afforestation on a much bigger scale, had been completed by 1957. The new headquarters office at Tai Lung, near Fan Ling, was opened early in the year and in four out of the five forest districts semi-independent district organizations were functioning smoothly with offices, nurseries and staff of their own. In the fifth district, which mainly consists of the island of Lantao, work has only recently been started and such facilities have not yet been established. A suitable site for a district office, nursery and model plantation for Lantao
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has, however, been found near Pai O on the Mui Wo- Cheung Sha Road.
Depending on the weather, planting is usually started in the cool, wet spring and is continued until June or July. Although planting has been done successfully in the late summer, it has usually been found that trees planted after July have too short a period in which to settle down before the onset of the dry weather in October.
1957 was not a very favourable year for planting. April was abnormally dry, and although it was possible to plant through the torrential rains of May, landslides blocked most of the roads and interfered with the transport of planting material. In some cases newly planted seedlings were washed out of the ground and in others water-logging of the ground caused the plants to rot. Dry periods followed in June and caused heavy losses in some of the new plantations. Typhoon rains in September, however, enabled planting to continue later than usual so that the losses were largely made good.
A total of approximately 1,300 acres of new plantations was formed in the forest reserves, the latter usually being co-extensive with the water catchment areas. In the Tai Lam Forest Reserve afforestation of the seriously eroded hills near the newly formed reservoir was completed after six years of persistent effort to establish trees on the most unfavourable sites, and attention was turned to the grass covered areas. In the Shing Mun Forest Reserve afforesta- tion continued on the southern slopes of Tai Mo Shan where pine plantations have now been established from the catch- water up to a path and fire barrier at about the 1,800 foot contour. Afforestation of the Tai Po Kau Forest Reserve was practically completed and a proposal was made to extend this reserve to include a further 1,500 acres to the south. In the Pat Heung Forest Reserve, where the soils are better than average, progress has been rapid and since 1955 more than half of the total area has been planted. Near Castle Peak two new irrigation dams at Lo Fu Hang and Hung Shui
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Hang were opened early in the year and a new reserve, known as the Fu Shui Forest Reserve, was formed, plans being drawn up to afforest the whole area in three years. The forest reserves just mentioned extend unbroken across the mountains of the Colony from Castle Peak in the west to Tai Po in the east and comprise altogether about 13,000
acres.
Planting was also done in Kowloon Hills Forest Reserve (catchment of the Kowloon reservoirs) and, at Shap Long, afforestation of the small catchment area for the reservoir for Cheung Chau Island, started in 1956, was completed. Prisoners from the Chi Ma Wan Prison were employed on this last project. In the Tai Tam catchment area planting of eroded hills above the reservoir commenced and a nursery was formed to supply plants for this area in future years.
The forest reserves are divided into compartments of 200-300 acres and records and maps are prepared giving details of the areas of various species planted in each com- partment. In this way track is kept of each plantation, and replanting and tending prescribed annually, so that, in addi- tion to the new planting, there is great deal of other work to be done in the plantations. The main species planted is pine (Pinus Massoniana), but experimental plots of a wide variety of other species have been made and some of these are now being planted more extensively. Among the most promising are species of Casuarina and Eucalyptus.
In order to provide tree seedlings for afforestation the Forestry Division maintains a series of tree nurseries in the New Territories-a main nursery of 23 acres at Tai Lung, smaller permanent nurseries in each forest district and tem- porary nurseries in many of the areas currently being planted. Altogether there are some 20 nurseries with a total area of approximately 40 acres and capable of producing two to three million tree seedlings annually. Most of the seed- lings are grown direct in nursery beds and lifted for planting with bare roots, care being taken to see that the roots are not
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injured or allowed to dry out before planting, which must be done without delay. Using this type of plant results are likely to be very variable, depending on the weather, and, if a long spell of dry weather follows planting, the result may be a total loss. In recent years a larger proportion of plants has been raised in containers-tubes made of metal, roofing felt or plastic film-since, although this method is initially more expensive, the results are far more reliable and not so much influenced by the weather. In this way it is possible to continue planting right through the spring and summer, using bare-rooted plants in the wet weather and tubed plants in the drier periods. In addition to plants for afforestation, trees are raised for amenity planting and for sale to the public at very low prices.
A scheme of assistance to village forestry has been evolved, the final object of which is to teach the villagers how to plant and manage their forestry lots profitably. Model Plantations have been formed which show quite clearly the results which can be achieved, and these planta- tions have been useful in arousing the interest of the villagers and as demonstration areas. The Forestry Division also offers financial and technical assistance to form trial planta- tions in the village lots. Trees take a long time to grow and it is not always easy to convince the villagers that forestry will be profitable. Interest in the scheme is spreading steadily, if somewhat slowly, and it will be a number of years before the work now being done will begin to produce results. In 1957 approximately 380 acres of trial plantations were planted with assistance in 40 different village lots, mostly in the Sai Kung and Castle Peak areas. Closely connected with the Forestry Lot Scheme is the Tree Planting Day campaign. This is held annually in April to encour- age more tree planting by schools, public bodies and private individuals, and to make the general public 'forestry con- scious' since protection of the plantations would be almost impossible without public understanding and co-operation.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
During the dry season from October to March there is a constant threat of fire in the plantations and elaborate fire precautions are put into effect. Fire-lookouts which have been established on strategic hill-tops in the plantation areas are connected by field telephone to fire control points where men, equipment and transport stand by during particularly dangerous periods. A system of roads, paths and fire-barriers is also maintained to facilitate fire fighting. A number of fires which did break out in plantations during the year were promptly dealt with and there was little serious damage. Illegal woodcutting, once a major source of injury, has greatly declined over the past five years and is now of very little importance compared with fire. All the forest reserves are regularly patrolled to check illegal cutting.
Apart from Government work in afforestation, the only large forestry project in the Colony is a scheme started in 1953 by the Lantao Development Company in an upland area of about 600 acres in the hinterland of Tai Pak, a small village on the east coast of Lantao. This is the Colony's first commercial venture in forestry; the company has con- centrated on planting Australian Hoop Pine and had high hopes of an early return from this fast growing and valuable species. Most of the area has now been planted, but doubts have arisen as to whether hoop pine is suited to local condi- tions and the work has therefore been discontinued.
The re-export of graded timber to the high-class markets of the United States, Australia, Europe and South Africa continues to expand. There is no locally grown timber avail- able, all timber for local consumption or export being im- ported, mostly from Borneo.
ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department was founded in 1950 and now consists of four divisions: Agricul- ture, Animal Industries, Fisheries (marine and fresh-water) and Forestry. It has expanded rapidly since 1953, and its
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117
overall policy is to protect and develop plant and animal resources. The Department gives technical advice and assistance to farmers, fishermen, administrators and others, and, by afforestation and the teaching and demonstration of approved farming and forestry practices, encourages the con- servation of vital water supplies, soil and soil fertility. The Director of the Department is a member of the Rural Development Committee, referred to earlier under Land Utilization. Each Division is under a fully-qualified technical officer, and the staff includes 26 assistants and supervisors holding degrees from various Chinese universities.
A broad policy for the development of agriculture and animal industries was submitted to the Government by the Director and accepted in principle towards the close of 1955. This policy envisages the improvement of irrigation and communications throughout the New Territories, planned settlement of undeveloped land, the diversification of farm- ing to include the extension of animal industries, a soil survey of the Colony, and planned experimental work directed to the introduction of new crops, the improvement of existing crop varieties, soil fertility, and the control of pests and diseases of crops and animals.
The headquarters of the department is at Lai Chi Kok, and there are eight agricultural stations, at Castle Peak, Tsuen Wan, Sheung Shui, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Sai Kung, on Tai Mo Shan, and at Silver Mine Bay on Lantao Island. Forestry district headquarters and nurseries are strategically placed for afforestation and protection; and fisheries centres are located at Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan, Tai Po and Kam Tin.
The Agriculture Division carries out investigation work on crops, including variety trials, seed selection, soil fertility studies, manurial trials, and pest and disease control, at Castle Peak Main Station and Sheung Shui Vegetable Station. Extension, advisory, educational and observation work on crops and animal husbandry are the functions of
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
district agricultural officers operating from the district stations. The extension staff is aided by two teams concerned with pest control and survey duties. 1957 saw the opening of the first training course for young farmers in practical crop and animal husbandry. There were 17 students on the course, which was held at Castle Peak Agricultural Station.
The Animal Industries Division is concerned primarily with the control of animal diseases. Animal husbandry is also a function of this Division which is endeavouring to improve the pigs and poultry raised in the Colony by crossing the local stock with exotic breeds.
The Fisheries Division. Two motorized inshore fishing boats, 'Olenka' and 'Yuen Ling', were used for experimental fishing by the Division. 'Ölenka' was engaged mainly in otter and beam trawling while the 'Yuen Ling', a new and much improved type of boat, did not become fully opera- tional until towards the end of the year. The local fisherfolk and native junk builders showed great interest in the design, construction and performance of this new boat. Of particular interest has been the manner in which the new idea of a wheel-house has been accepted, and how a modified version of this has already become common practice in the case of new boats built by the more progressive of the local fisher- men. The advances being made with a prototype winch, constructed from a second-hand motor-car's back-axle and gear-box, were also being watched closely.
Following the appointment of a Craft Technician the Division has been able to assist in the education of native junk builders and the development of better boat types. The response and progress made by the industry in these fields has been most satisfying. Native junk builders and fishing boat owners have shown an ever increasing interest in line plans and the construction of hulls strictly in accord- ance with previously prepared plans. For the first time new boats have been subjected to properly conducted trials. The traditional method of bending timber in all the primitive
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119
native yards has been first to burn it over a naked fire: this is a most wasteful and inefficient practice. A modern steam chest was accordingly built by the Division and this has been lent to a leading junk builder who, although somewhat sceptical in the first instance, is now most enthusiastic about the new method.
Fish farming by the age-old traditional Chinese culture methods constitutes an important part of both the social and economic structure of the New Territories. With a view to assisting this industry, two new fish ponds were built for the Division early in the year. These were used for the holding of grey mullet fry, captured in January, February and March, which it had been intended should be made available to fish farmers for restocking purposes in Sep- tember or October-when this particular species is not ordinarily available. In addition to serving as a valuable demonstration, this action would have permitted the ponds to be usefully employed while settling down. It was there- fore most unfortunate that nearly all the fry should have been lost when these ponds were flooded during the abnor- mally heavy rains in May, when the entire area was com- pletely submerged.
Other activities of the Fisheries Division include the operation of a scheme for loans to fishermen for mechaniza- tion of their junks, financed by Colonial Development and Welfare funds. Eighteen loans, varying from $5,000 to $10,000 each, were made. Training facilities for fishermen continued to be provided. 171 coxswains, 31 engineers, and seven skippers of British-registered trawlers passed examina- tions set by the Marine Department and were granted certificates of competency.
There was no Fisheries Exhibition in 1957 but, instead, a 'Sports Day' was held at the Aberdeen Fisheries Office during the period of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This was organized by the old boys of the coxswain and engineer classes, with the help of the Division. Teams of
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
fishermen from eight districts competed in sampan races, tug-of-war and wrestling matches for prizes donated by leading fishermen, merchants and other friends.
The Forestry Division's activities are described above, under Forestry.
The Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association,* working closely with the Department, continued in 1957 to give invaluable practical assistance in agricultural development. Village requirements for the construction or repair of wells, dams, irrigation channels, paths and bridges were investi- gated by the District Officers of the three districts into which the New Territories are divided, and in all cases where assistance seemed warranted, but which were beyond the capacity of the local public works vote operated by the New Territories Administration, the requirements were referred to the Association, which since 1955 has generously provided over 16,000 bags of cement for small but important works of this kind. Free gifts of pigs and pigsties were made, and during the drought pumps were supplied, as in previous years, to assist irrigation. A total of 60 orchards, 400 sprayers and 200 threshers were also given. A new scheme to settle 2,000 people as pig-raisers commenced towards the end of the year.
MARKETING
Fish Marketing Organization. With the object of promot- ing the general development of the local fishing industry,
* In 1955 the sponsors of the Association, Messrs. Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie, made a gift of $250,000 to the Government to start a loan fund for farmers, and the Government, in accepting the gift, made a dollar-for-dollar contribution and introduced the necessary legislation to enable the fund to be established. Known as the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, it is operated by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department, with the Director as trustee. In 1957 Government donated a further $750,000 to the fund to bring it up to $1,250,000. During the year a further 4,434 loans totalling $520,317 were issued. Up to 31st December 1957, loans totalling $1,145,819 had been granted of which $565,448 had been repaid.
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121
the Government has imposed certain controls on the landing and wholesale marketing of marine fish. These controls are exercised through an agency known as the Fish Marketing Organization, which in one aspect of its operations provides many services which would otherwise be undertaken by middlemen. The Organization is a non-profit-making con- cern deriving its revenues, and so covering its expenses, from a 6% commission charged on all the sales of fish at its markets. Its operations ensure that the fishermen obtain fair prices and a stable market for their catches; consumers also benefit through the cheap and efficient services which are provided. The Fish Marketing Organization is a non- Government body, although one or two of its more senior officials, including the head of the Organization (the Director of Marketing), are civil servants. The Organiza- tion at present operates under emergency legislation, in replacement of which the Marketing (Marine Fish) Ordin- ance, 1956, was enacted in May 1956. The introduction of this Ordinance, has, however, been deferred pending the preparation of the necessary subsidiary legislation.
The Fish Marketing Organization was established shortly after the reoccupation of Hong Kong in October 1945 and now operates five wholesale fish markets. These are established at Aberdeen and Shau Kei Wan on the Island, at Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon, and at Tai Po and Sha Tau Kok in the New Territories. A total of six fish-collecting depots and posts have also been set up in the main fishing villages, and from these the Organization provides sea and land transport to the wholesale markets.
At the markets the Organization's staff sorts the fish into species and sizes, weighs it and prepares it in lots for sale by public auction. Fishermen may collect the proceeds of their sales directly after the sale has taken place; alter- natively, if they so prefer, the Organization will send the money back to the depot or post which serves their area. As an additional marketing service, the Organization
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provides the free transportation of fish to buyers' establish- ments in the urban areas.
The following species of fresh marine fish were marketed in greatest quantity during 1957 :
Average Whole-
Piculs
Tons
sale price in ¢
per catty
Golden Thread
106,751
6,354
88
Conger Pike
38,381 2,285
59
Red Sea Bream
36,181
2,154
82
Lizard Fish
32,779
1,951
39
Red Snapper
31,421
1,870
49
31,043 1,848
54
Melon Seed
Local production during the last five years and average wholesale prices in cents per catty during the same period
were as follows:
Quantities & Values
1953
Piculs
528,184
Tons
Value ($)
31,439.5
41,676,354
1954
663,769 39,510.1
42,977,489
1955
677,599 40,333.3 36,800,531
1956
679,187 40,427.8
43,267,461
1957
783,033 46,609.0
51,041,714
Average Wholesale Prices
Fresh Fish
Salt Fish
1953
80
74
1954
67
55
-
1955
56
43
1956
66
49
1957
68
47
1957 was a good year financially for local fishermen. Both landings and overall values registered a satisfactory increase, the former by approximately 15%, and the latter by ap- proximately 18%.
The embargo on the importation of salt/dried fish from the Colony, imposed by the Chinese authorities in June 1950, remained in force throughout the year. Salt fish exporters, however, continued to explore other outlets, and
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
123
as a result approximately 1,270 tons of locally caught and processed salt/dried fish were exported in the twelve months period, the main importing countries being Indonesia, Singapore, Malaya, Canada and the United States.
During 1957 the Fish Marketing Organization for the first time became concerned with the marketing of prawns. This development was introduced specifically in order to meet the requirements of the American market, and involved the construction of what is virtually a separate market at Aberdeen. The facilities provided include landing platforms, auction premises and certain ancillary features such as cold
storage space.
Between 7th June, the date on which the new system was put into operation, and 31st December 1,148 tons of prawns were handled, their approximate value being $3,263,130.
The provision of cheap credit is one of the most important of the related services which the Fish Marketing Organiza- tion offers to local fishermen. The Organization's revolving loan fund, which was first established in 1946, had made 782 loans, totalling $1,191,612.85 by the end of 1957, and of this sum $774,406.28 had been repaid. In August 1957 CARE Incorporated, the American relief agency, donated $31,000 to serve as the nucleus of a loan fund for shrimp fishermen. This new fund is administered by the Organiza- tion and in the period August to December provided seven loans totalling $9,500.
The education of fisher children is another principal object of the Organization, it being intended generally to provide free education up to Primary IV standard: in certain major fishing centres this will be extended to include Primary VI. Schools have been established in eight fishing centres and considerable progress was made during the year in constructing new premises. At the end of 1957 a total 2,250 fisher children were obtaining their education through the Organization. Of this number over 500 were students at the Organization's schools, while the remainder
of
124
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
were in receipt of scholarships and other awards with which to finance their education at other institutions.
Vegetable Marketing Organization. Following the success of the Fish Marketing Organization, Government decided to introduce a similar system for the selling wholesale of locally produced vegetables, in which the problems were not dissimilar. The scheme, which was first established in September 1946, now operates under the Agricultural Products (Marketing) Ordinance, 1952, which provides for the appointment of a Director of Marketing who is made a corporation sole with power to acquire and dispose of property, and for the appointment of a Marketing Advisory Board, consisting of the Director as Chairman and four other persons, nominated by the Governor, who have wide and practical experience of the difficulties and needs of farmers.
The Organization undertakes two main functions. First, it collects vegetables from depots and posts conveniently located throughout the New Territories and transports them to the wholesale vegetable market in Yau Ma Tei. Second, it arranges the sale of this produce and manages all the attendant financial transactions.
In these respects the Organization is very similar to its Fish Marketing counterpart. Important differences, however, lie in the methods of sale which in the case of the Vegetable Marketing Organization is by negotiation and not by auction, and in the degree of practical assistance provided by Co-operative Marketing Societies which are responsible for handling approximately 65% of the total local production of vegetables. The reasons for negotiated sales, as opposed to an auction system, are not difficult to find: on an average, approximately 12,000 separate lots are sold daily to some 2,500 buyers. The number of lots rises to over 20,000 a day in the main season, making sales by auction impracticable.
The Organization is self-supporting and the costs of the various services are met from a 10% commission charged
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
125
on sales. 30% of this commission is refunded to co-operative marketing societies in respect of the vegetables for which they are responsible.
The weights and values of vegetables marketed through the Organization over the last five years are as follows:
Locally-produced
1953
1954
1955
Piculs
Tons
Value ($)
846,739
50,401
15,565,307
1,019,692
60,696
18,259,193
1,117,629 66,526
19,939,762
1956
1,293,354 76,985 21,589,103
1957
Imported
1,193,662 71,051
21,719,517
1953
247,359
14,724
4,297,299
1954
193,479
11,517
4,266,494
1955
105,656 6,289
2,164,460
1956
122,363
7,284
1,685,920
1957
134,098
7,982
1,925,268
As is the case with the Fish Marketing Organization, it is intended that any financial surpluses should be ploughed back into the industry in the form of improved services and other benefits. An instance of this policy is the aid which the Organization has given to local farmers in overcoming their main problem of recent years the lack of cheap fertilizer. The Organization is now operating a scheme for the maturation and distribution of nightsoil to farmers at a very low price.
Cheap credit facilities for the improvement and encourage- ment of agriculture under the control of the Director of Marketing are available from two sources: the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund and the Vegetable Marketing Organization Loan Fund. Since the establishment of the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund in July 1954, farmers have received 4,573 loans total- ling $3,274,192.22, whilst 404 further loans totalling $1,374,672.00 have similarly been made from the Vegetable Marketing Organization's fund.
126
HONG KONG · ANNUAL REPORT
+
The main types of vegetables grown locally and imported are shown below together with average wholesale prices:
Locally-produced
Piculs Tons
Average Whole-
sale price in
per catty
White Cabbage
273,903 16,304
12
Flowering Cabbage
90,996
5,416
21
Leaf Mustard Cabbage.
57,771
3,439
14
Turnips
50,218
2,989
09
Chinese Lettuce
49,352
2,938
11
Imported
Chinese Melon
15,831
942
12
Taros
15,355
914
15
Tientsin Cabbage
12,532
746
16
Hairy Squash
9,575
570
14
Turnips
7,701
458
08
CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES
The first appointment of a Registrar of Co-operatives was made in May 1950, and the combined Co-operative and Marketing Department came into being in August of the same year. Since that date the Co-operative movement in Hong Kong has made rapid progress and is being accepted by an increasing number of persons, including peasant farmers and fishermen, as a sound and democratic method of improving their lot.
Inevitably, particularly among farmers and fishermen, the main weight of effort has been directed towards the physical formation of societies and towards ensuring that these are organizationally and economically sound. The next step, which can only be achieved over a period of years, will be the development of the existing societies into a fully effective co-operative movement.
An interesting development during the past two years has been the growth in the number of Co-operative Building Societies; these societies are at present formed exclusively
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
127
of local pensionable officers of the Civil Service and operate with funds provided by the Government.
Only three Co-operative Societies were registered in 1951; by the end of 1956 this number had increased to 118. During 1957 61 additional registrations took place, making a total at the end of December of 179 societies. The societies registered in 1957 comprised two Vegetable Marketing, five Fishermen's Thrift & Loan, two Pig-Raising and 52 Co- operative Building Societies. At present there are twelve types of society whose functions and scale of operations are briefly described below:
Vegetable Marketing Societies. The 19 societies collect and market the vegetables grown by their members, and handle loans obtained by their members from the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund and from the Vegetable Marketing Organization Loan Fund. In 1957 over 64% of the locally produced vegetables were marketed through these co-operative societies. Federation of Vegetable Marketing Societies. The Federa- tion was established in March 1953. Its object is to im- prove liaison between member-societies and to undertake a number of activities on their behalf.
Pig-Raising Societies. The first society of this type was registered in March 1952, since when the number has risen to 36. Their aim is to assist their members in increasing their production, and in particular to provide credit facilities for the purchase of stock and feed. Federation of Pig-Raising Societies. The Federation was registered in November 1954 with the purpose of im- proving liaison among pig-raising societies and to assist member-societies in their contacts with Government departments.
Fishermen's Thrift Societies. The main object of these seven societies is to inculcate the habit of making small personal savings and they may be regarded as being the
128
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
foundation of co-operative effort among the fishing com- munity. After a period of successful operation as Thrift Societies, individual societies may qualify for 'promo- tion' to the status of Thrift and Loan Societies.
Fishermen's Thrift & Loan Societies. The first of these societies was registered in September 1952. They have proved very successful, and at the end of 1957 22 societies were registered. Their main functions are to encourage thrift, and to provide security for and arrange the disbursal of loans granted to members from the Fish Marketing Organization. Fishermen's Credit & Marketing Society. The functions of this society are parallel to those of the Thrift & Loan societies, but in addition it owns and operates a mechanized collecting vessel which brings its members' catches to the market for sale.
Salaried Workers Thrift & Loan Societies. There are now two Thrift & Loan Societies. Their aims are to encourage members to save a portion of their income and to utilize their savings for small individual loans. Irrigation Societies. The two existing societies own and operate pumps, irrigation channels, etc. through which their members are able to obtain water for their fields. Co-operative Building Societies. 85 of these societies had been registered by the end of 1957. These societies were formed to comply with the conditions prescribed by the Government as part of its programme to assist in the solution of the housing problems of local pensionable officers. Their work is described further at page 188 of Chapter 10.
Fish Pond Society. The only society of this kind, the Luk Keng Fish Pond Society, owns a fish pond at Luk Keng near Sha Tau Kok with the purpose of improving and developing fish culture in the Colony.
Credit & Consumers' Society. Formed by the Forestry
Division of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING
129
Department in 1955, its aims are to encourage members to save and to utilize savings for small individual loans. The other function of this society is the purchase of consumer goods in bulk for resale to members. Figures of the membership and finances of Societies will be found at Appendix XII.
MINING
There is mining of iron, lead, wolfram and graphite by underground methods, whilst kaolin clay, quartz and feldspar are worked by opencast methods. Iron ore and kaolin are exported to Japan, lead ore to Europe, and wolfram and graphite to the United Kingdom and United States. Kaolin clay is also used locally by manufacturers of synthetic rubber, whilst quartz and feldspar are solely produced for local con- sumption, principally by the enamelware, ceramic and glass- making industries.
All mining leases and licences and prospecting licences are for the New Territories, i.e., the mainland and the islands of Lantao, Chek Lap Kok, West Brother, Ma Wan and Tsing Yi, and operations are mainly controlled by in- dividuals or by small Chinese mining companies.
At the Ma On Shan iron mine the transition from opencast to underground operation was completed early in the year. The 700-ton-a-day crude ore capacity dressing plant at this mine, the construction of which was completed in 1954, is the only processing plant in the Colony involving the use of heavy machinery.
Mining operations generally were adversely affected by unusually heavy rains in May, and by a severe typhoon in September. The continued low market price for wolfram dis- couraged interest in the mining of this mineral.
During the year prospecting took place for wolfram, graphite and beryl, but there were no discoveries of economic importance.
130
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The Colony's production of minerals for the year was as
follows:
Mineral
Feldspar
Graphite
Iron Ore
Kaolin
Lead Ore
Production in Tons
Value in $
1,156.17
44,330
3,305.45
485,900
94,181.63
3,636,350
6,960.63
617,700
129.61
58,800
4,192.02
83,840
36.19
181,240
Quartz
Wolframite
The Mines Department is under the control of the Com- missioner of Labour in his capacity as Commissioner of Mines, and is under the immediate direction of a Super- intendent of Mines, who is assisted by two locally recruited Assistant Inspectors of Mines.
The ownership and control of all minerals is vested in the Crown under the Mining Ordinance, 1954. This ordinance also provides for the issue by the Commissioner of Mines of prospecting licences for periods of six months, renewable up to a maximum of two years, and of mining licences for periods of six months, renewable up to a maximum of five years. It also provides for the Land Officer to issue mining leases for periods of up to 21 years. Details of the leases issued each quarter are published in the Government Gazette. The Superintendent of Mines issues Authorized Buyers' Licences for the sale and purchase of ores, grants Mine Blasting Certificates, and approves Certificates of Origin and Export Licences for minerals mined in the Colony. He is also responsible for arranging for the collec- tion of rents, premia and fees in connexion with licences granted, and for the computation and collection of royalties on mineral sales at the rate of 5% of the value of minerals won. Inspection of mining areas and survey work in con- nexion with applications for, or the grant of, mining and prospecting licences is carried out by the Mines Department.
Chapter 8: Education
Progress in education in Hong Kong may be measured in the following figures. In 1845 there were 110 pupils receiving organized education; in 1858 the number had increased to 800; while in 1879 the number had risen to 4,000. By 1918 the enrolment was 118,000. In 1945 after the Japanese occupation there were just over 4,000; in 1957 there were 331,168 pupils of all kinds in schools in Hong Kong.
The number of schools (including kindergarten and post- secondary) and total enrolment on 30th June, 1957, were as follows:
No. of Schools
Enrolment
% of No. of Enrolment Teachers
Government Schools
54
33,505
10.74
1,026
Grant-aided Schools
20
16,863
5.40
744
Subsidized Schools
357
77,867
24.97
2,786
Private Schools
788
183,505
58.86
7,572
Special Afternoon
Classes
19,428
Totals
1,219
331,168
100
12,128
From these tables it will be seen that at present over 50% of all pupils are being educated in private schools, and that these schools in turn represent some 60% of all schools in the Colony. Since private schools, i.e. schools which do not receive Government subvention under either the Grant or Subsidy Code, also tend to charge higher fees than govern-
or government-aided schools, their numerical pre- dominance in the educational system clearly illustrates the very great continuing public demand in the Colony for education, even at a high cost.
The Government seven-year plan to provide by the end of 1961 places for all children of primary school age has
132
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
progressed satisfactorily. The present target figure is 33,000 new places each year. Four new government schools were completed during the year providing 78 classrooms with accommodation for 7,020 pupils. In addition, as part of this plan subsidies were given to 21 out of a total of 28 schools with new buildings providing accommodation for 17,700 pupils, mostly primary. The Government has also approved easier terms for interest-free loans granted to non-profit- making private schools, and is giving financial assistance toward site-formation in cases where costs are very high.
The Government directly maintains 36 primary schools, 10 secondary schools, 2 technical secondary schools, a technical college, 2 teacher training colleges, and 3 evening institutions. The average age of entering and leaving govern- ment primary schools is a little over six and 13 respectively, and for secondary schools just over 13 and 19.
Grant schools function under the terms of the Grant Code, under which Government pays the difference between the approved expenditure of a school and its income from fees and other sources. This approved expenditure includes salaries, leave pay, incidentals, and passages for teachers who are so entitled. Alternatively, a block grant may be made, providing teachers' salaries less a sum of not more than $400 a month per teacher, the actual deduction being dependent upon the fees charged, which are retained by the school. Grants may also be made up to 50% of the cost of new buildings and major repairs. Of the 20 secondary schools functioning under the Grant Code, many have large primary departments. The usual medium of instruction in the senior classes is English.
To ensure the selection of the best candidates for second- ary education, the grant-aided schools, which previously made their own selection, have now agreed either to partici- pate in the Joint Primary 6 Examination and admit up to 67% of their Form I entrants on the results, or to reserve
1300
NUMBER OF SCHOOLS SINCE 1946
1200
T
1100
INCREASE IN NUMBER OF SCHOOLS SINCE 1946
Government
1000
Grant-in-Aid
Subsidized
900
Private
共
圖
800
700
Ku
VALL
HONG KONG-PUBLIC LIBR
500
400
300
200
100
0
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
Note: The above figures include the Evening Institute but not the University of Hong Kong.
1946 |
INCREASE IN PUPILS IN SCHOOLS SINCE 1946
1947 |
1948 |
|
1949 |
....
●共圖
}
1950 |
1951|●●●●●●-00
1952年
1953 |
1954 |
1955
19561
1957 |
PRIMARY AGES 4-14
SECONDARY AGES 12-20
POST-SECONDARY AGES 18 AND OVER
IBRARIES
In thousands
20 40
60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260
280
300
320
340
Note:
The above figures include Evening Institute students but not students at the University. nor 19.262 students attending special afternoon classes.
EDUCATION
133
at least 30% of their places for pupils who have qualified for Form I in that examination.
Subsidized schools are operated under a Subsidy Code, the object of which is to encourage the establishment of reliable committees of management and provide the means by which satisfactory primary education can be given to children in rural as well as urban areas; by its aid school managers can keep fees reasonably low and pay teachers the same salaries as are paid in government primary schools. There are now 357 subsidized schools, an increase of 11 over last year, brought about partly by the erection of new buildings and partly by the admission to the Subsidy Code of some existing private schools. The subsidized schools have benefited both by the employment of an increasing number of trained teachers and by greater opportunities for their pupils to receive a secondary education.
The part played by private schools-primary, secondary, vocational and adult-is one which, though prominent, has always posed a number of problems, varying in intensity and kind, but particularly concentrated in the rapid develop- ment and changing aspects of the post-war period.
Considerable indirect Government assistance is given to private schools through special courses for improving the professional qualifications of teachers; more regular inspec- tion and advice from specialists; and permission for approved schools to participate in public examinations at both primary and secondary levels.
Private colleges are now playing a more important part in post-secondary education and show increased enrolment. One new college has been founded and one formed as a result of amalgamation. Two colleges have been assisted in acquiring new permanent accommodation. A Chinese Colleges Joint Council representing three post-secondary institutions has been set up to consider raising the standard of admission requirements, and of staff, premises and equip- ment. The growing importance of these institutions is
134
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
reflected in the grant this year of a number of Government scholarships and bursaries (the latter for intending teachers) tenable for a four-year course at the day colleges. The holders of bursaries will take an arts or science course, and then receive a year's training at a government teacher train- ing college.
The special afternoon classes were formed in 1950 for the benefit of children who were unable to obtain admission to primary schools. They are of two hours' duration, cover general subjects, and are run through the co-operation of a large number of schools, mostly private. Enrolment in 1957 was 19,428.
Training of Teachers. In 1956 19 graduates were awarded Diplomas in Education by the University of Hong Kong, 233 students from the teacher training colleges became certificated teachers on probation, and 277 members of the urban and rural courses of training for teachers qualified as primary school teachers for the purpose of the Subsidy Code. By the end of 1956 385 students were receiving full-time teacher training and 336 in-service teachers were attending the urban and rural courses of training. To meet the demands of expansion, Northcote Training College has now opened a new one-year primary teachers' course for 200, and has also increased the enrolment in its two-year certificated teachers' course. Extra accommodation is being borrowed, pending the construction of a new college. The total enrol- ment in the training colleges for 1957-8 was 677, and in the courses of training for unqualified teachers 409. In all, 12,128 teachers were in service.
A Professional Teachers' Training Board is responsible for dealing with general matters regarding teacher training and for integrating the teacher training of the Government and the University.
A great deal of voluntary education and welfare work is carried out by various bodies in Hong Kong. The Kaifong or Neighbourhood Welfare Associations provide free
EDUCATION
135
schooling for poor children, and the British Red Cross Society organizes hospital schools for crippled children. There are schools for the deaf, for the blind and for lepers; orphanages; homes for maladjusted children; while the Po Leung Kuk provides free schooling for the homeless young women and children in its care. (See also Chapter 11).
Other agencies which form part of the educational pattern include the Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, the Children's Playground Association, the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides Association, and the Rotary Clubs of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
In co-operation with the Social Welfare Office, the Educa- tion Department works closely with voluntary agencies of this kind and is represented on the recently established Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, which has aroused public interest. It is also closely associated with the Medical Department in the sphere of health education, and in the professional sphere with the Hong Kong Teachers' Association.
Libraries are maintained by the British Council, the United States Information Service, the local Chambers of Commerce, the Education Department and the University of Hong Kong, membership of the last two being restricted. Books, pamphlets, journals and visual-aid material are dis- tributed by the Public Relations Office, the British Council, various consular authorities and commercial agencies. The British Council, whose activities are also described at page 311 of Chapter 20, administers post-graduate scholarship awards and gives advice and assistance to students intending to take courses in Britain.
In the educational scene, as described above, three main problems confront all interested bodies, public or private; a swollen population, due to the influx of refugees, a higher birth-rate and a lower infant mortality rate; the scarcity of new school sites in a small and highly developed Colony;
136
HONG KONG, ANNUAL REPORT
and ultimately the problem of finding the means to finance
new projects.
Actual Expenditure on education by the Education and other departments from August 1956 to July 1957 may be briefly summarized as:
Total $
Recurrent Expenditure:
Personal emoluments
$15,727,647
Other Charges
3,236,880
Maintenance
and Repairs of
School buildings (Public Works
Department)
352,120
19,316,647
Grants and Subsidies:
33,733,786
(recurrent and capital, and
including the University)
Capital Expenditure:
Furniture & equipment for new
government schools
462,268
New school buildings (Public
Works Department)
4,886,452 5,348,720
$58,399,153
Expenditure by other Departments:
Medical Department
1,018,691
Kowloon-Canton Railway
92,849
Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Depart-
ment
155,783
$ 1,267,323
Legislation. All colleges, schools and other institutions of learning, with the exception of a small number of schools for the children of members of Her Majesty's Forces, are subject to the provisions of the Education Ordinance, 1952. The Director of Education, who, under the Ordinance, has general control over education in the Colony, is chairman of the Board of Education, which has advisory functions, its members being appointed by the Governor. The Director is required to keep registers of schools, teachers, and man- agers of schools, and to ensure that satisfactory standards
EDUCATION
137
are maintained in respect of school buildings, methods of enforcing discipline, the keeping of registers and accounts, the payment of fees, and the proper conduct and efficiency of schools and teachers. The University of Hong Kong, which is an independent body, is exempt from the provisions of the Education Ordinance. A Bill to amend the Education Ordinance was under consideration by the Legislative Council at the end of the year.
Higher Education. Beginning its life largely with financial assistance from generous friends and benefactors, the University of Hong Kong since 1920 has been largely sup- ported by recurrent and non-recurrent grants made annually by the Government. Grants of Crown land have also been made from time to time, and the University estate now covers an area of 36 acres.
The minimum qualification for entry to undergraduate courses is gained through the Matriculation Examination, which is similar in type and standard to the General Certificate of Education Examinations conducted by the Universities of the United Kingdom. Most of the under- graduates are Chinese but many other races are represented, particularly from South-East Asia. The total number (in- cluding graduate and external students) in October 1957 was 1,074 of whom about 30% were women. 239 university students are receiving financial aid in the form of scholar- ships or bursaries.
The number of full-time teaching staff, from demonstrators upward, is 173. Of these over half are locally recruited.
A Department of Extra-Mural Studies has been established with its own Board to advise on questions relating to higher adult education. Twenty extra-mural courses (both in English and in Chinese) were arranged this year and those in the medium of Chinese proved especially popular.
The University Health Service has been expanded. In April an observation ward for women students was opened in Lady Ho Tung Hall, and in August the Health Clinic
138
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
was moved from the Lugard Hall Annexe to the newly converted East Gate House which contains a similar observa- tion ward for men. These two wards will fulfil an important function in the medical amenities offered by the Health Service both to students and to members of the staff.
The appointment in 1956 of a Physical Education Officer bore fruit during 1957 in improved and extended Physical Education facilities and in the formulation of preliminary plans for a new gymnasium and swimming-pool.
The University Press is now firmly established and the scope of its activities continued to expand during 1957.
Preparatory work was continued on a scheme, to be financed largely from a Colonial Development and Welfare grant, for the development of a building site immediately south of the Main Building. The first stage of this work, involving the site preparation, access road and the com- mencement of a new Library building, will start in 1958.
For an account of research work in the University during 1957, see Chapter 18.
Scholarships. 22 scholarships, amounting to $43,700 per annum and tenable at the University of Hong Kong, were awarded by the Government on the results of the University Matriculation Examination. The holders include 9 students in Arts, 3 in Science, 3 in Engineering and 5 in Medicine.
From available funds of $139,300 per annum, Government bursaries were also awarded on the results of this examin- ation to prospective secondary-school teachers. 43 new awards, all tenable at the University of Hong Kong, were made: 2 to graduates taking the Diploma course in Educa- tion, 32 to undergraduates in the Faculty of Arts and 9 to undergraduates in the Faculty of Science.
A new development this year is the award to suitable applicants who passed the Chinese School Certificate Examination of 14 four-year scholarships tenable for any
EDUCATION
139
course, at a total cost of $18,500 per annum, and 29 four- year bursaries, at a total cost of $48,700 per annum, tenable for an Arts or Science course at Chinese post-secondary day colleges. Holders of bursaries will also receive a year's pro- fessional training in a Government teacher training college on completion of their four-year Arts or Science course.
114 needy pupils in Anglo-Chinese Secondary Schools and 44 needy pupils from Chinese Secondary Schools who did well in the English and Chinese School Certificate Examinations respectively, and who are likely to profit by further education, were awarded maintenance grants amount- ing to $12,435 a month. These grants, which are limited in each case to a maximum of $200 a month, enable the pupils to pursue a two-year matriculation course, tenable, in the case of the second group, at the Special Classes Centre. This Centre exists to give to students who have received their secondary education in Chinese the opportunity to reach the entrance standards of the University, whose courses and examinations are conducted in English.
The Government also awarded 150 scholarships and II free places in secondary schools on the results of the Joint Primary 6 Examination.
Higher Studies Overseas. A special committee advises and recommends students wishing to go to the United Kingdom for higher studies. The Head of the Students' Branch of the Colonial Office arranges their placing, and the Director of Hong Kong Students is responsible for their general welfare, including the arrangement of suitable contacts and hospitality. A table showing a distribution of these 1,061 students by the course which they follow is at Appendix XIII. Most of them are pursuing courses not available in Hong Kong.
In addition, 305 students went to the United States for further study, 171 to Canada, 293 to Australia, and 25 to the Republic of Ireland. Figures for Hong Kong students
140
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
in other countries are not available. Apart from the students listed in Appendix XIII, there were 264 students in the United Kingdom taking preliminary courses and other
courses.
The Government has acquired the Lancaster Gate Hotel in London as a centre and hostel for Hong Kong students in the United Kingdom. The hostel will be known as Hong Kong House. The building, which will be ready for occupation early in 1958, will accommodate upwards of 70 students and will also provide recreational facilities both for them and for other Hong Kong students in the United Kingdom.
The Government has also contributed £2,000 towards a scheme to build an international hall of residence for men students at London University, in which places will be reserved for students from contributing countries.
Examinations. The Education Department conducts a considerable number of external examinations on behalf of examining bodies and Universities in the United Kingdom. The most popular of these is the General Certificate of Education of London University, for which there were over 1,300 candidates in the current year. Other examinations include the External Degree Examinations of the University of London, the technological examinations of the City and Guilds of London Institute, and commercial examinations of various British organizations. The London Chamber of Commerce Examinations, held three times a year, this year attracted 668 entries.
The Department also conducts two School Certificate Examinations and a Joint Primary 6 Examination, for all of which the number of candidates grows steadily from year to year. In 1957 there were 2,984 entries for the English School Certificate Examination, an increase of 529 over last year; 1,866 entries for the Chinese School Certificate Examination, an increase of 248; and 6,274 for the Joint Primary 6 Examination, an increase of 2,107.
EDUCATION
141
Technical Education. The opening of the new Technical College in Kowloon which replaces the twenty-year old building on the Island was an important development in technical education in the Colony. The new building, which is illustrated elsewhere in the Report, will cost more than $5,000,000. Rather more than half this sum has been sub- scribed in the form of donations in cash or in equipment by local commercial and industrial interests. An Advisory Com- mittee for the new department of textiles has been formed and the mechanical engineering curriculum now includes more production engineering subjects. At the beginning of the session there were 345 full-time and 5,432 part-time students. Courses, some full-time, some part-time, at the Technical College include mechanical and electrical engineer- ing, building construction, naval architecture, telecommu- nications engineering, field surveying, mathematics and commerical subjects. The courses range from part-time day release courses for Health Inspectors and engineering apprentices to courses for Ministry of Transport Certificates of Competency and the equivalents of the Ordinary and Higher National Certificates offered by technical colleges in the United Kingdom.
Two other government schools, the Victoria Technical School with an enrolment of 389 boys, and the Ho Tung Technical School for Girls with an enrolment of 275, provide five-year secondary technical courses together with such specialized courses as woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing for boys and domestic science, embroidery and needlework, pottery and woodwork for girls.
The Salesian Society operates two schools offering techni- cal and trade courses, and is adding a secondary technical school to the artisan section. In addition, a number of private colleges and schools offer technical courses at various levels. Adult Education is provided through the classes of the Evening Institute, the Technical College Evening Depart- ment, the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies and by
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private night schools. Enrolment in government institutions
was as follows:
Technical College Evening Classes
Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies
Evening Institute
Evening Institute Rural Groups
4,075
229
2,336
733
Four Adult Education and Recreation Centres provide elementary background education, classes in English, wood- work, housecraft, sewing, knitting, as well as literacy classes. These Centres also provide for such activities as table tennis, basketball, physical training, Chinese chess, film shows, shadow-boxing and the more sophisticated recreations of musical appreciation, drama and photography. Nominal fees are charged for specific instructional courses but not for recreational and group activities. These adult education centres now have their own Bulletin. The total number of members at the four centres was 3,524 at the end of 1957, and the average nightly attendance for recreational activities was 120-150 at each centre.
Music, Drama and the Arts occupy an important place in the school curriculum and in extra-curricular activities. The 1957 Schools' Music Festival attracted 1,592 entries, which included 172 choir entries. There was an increase of over 21% in the number of candidates entering for the examina- tions of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, bringing the total this year to 1,369 for the practical and 529 for the theoretical examinations. The adjudicators in the Inter-School Dramatic Competition reported an improvement in the quality of school performances, which reflected credit on teachers of the spoken word in English and Cantonese. Art exhibitions in schools were very popular and reflect the fact that the Colony is a meeting place of the cultural ideas of the East and the West. The schools contributed in various ways to the Hong Kong Festival of the Arts where the school art exhibition was an encouraging feature. (See also Chapter 20).
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143
In the field of physical education, and of sports and games, the training and refresher courses for teachers have resulted in improved standards of performance and organiza- tion. 581 teachers from all types of schools attended summer courses in physical education, with the emphasis continuing to be placed on the training of in-service teachers.
Chapter 9: Public Health
PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
RESPONSIBILITY for the administration of the Public Health Services is divided between the Department of Medical and Health Services, the Urban Council acting through the Urban Services Department, and the New Territories Administration. The Department of Medical and Health Services deals with such matters as epidemiology, vital and morbidity statistics, maternal and child health, school hygiene and the health of school children, malaria control, tuberculosis control, measures to combat social diseases, port health control and international health matters, and health education. It also supplies medical services both out-patient and hospital. The Urban Services Department is concerned with environmental sanitation, domestic cleanliness, and control of the import, preparation, handling and sale of food in the city areas. The District Commissioner, New Territories, is statutorily responsible for public health in the New Territories and is advised by officers of the Medical Department.
The work of the Medical Department is under the direction of the Director of Medical and Health Services, and that of the Urban Services Department under the Director of Urban Services, who is concurrently the Chairman of the Urban Council. Close liaison is maintained between these two departments through the Assistant Director of Health Services, who is in administrative charge of all the health activities in the Colony and is concurrently Vice-Chairman of the Urban Council and public health adviser. He has certain executive functions both in regard to the Council and the inspectorate of the Urban Services. The inspectorate are
PUBLIC HEALTH
145
further guided by Health Officers of the Medical Depart- ment, who exercise statutory powers under the public health legislation. The work of the District Health Officers is directly controlled by the Senior Health Officer, who also exercises supervisory control over Medical Officers in charge of other health activities such as Maternal and Child Health Services, the School Health Service, etc.
The estimated expenditure for the financial year 1957-8 was $37,243,950. To this should be added subventions total- ling $8,041,500 to the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the Anti-Tuberculosis Association, the Mission to Lepers, Hong Kong Auxiliary, and other similar bodies. The combined estimated expenditure of the Medical Department and the. medical subventions represented approximately 8% of the Colony's total estimated expenditure. Estimated capital ex- penditure for the Medical Department was $4,544,500.
The Medical Registration Ordinance, 1957, an Ordinance to repeal, and to re-enact with amendment, the Medical Registration Ordinance (Chapter 161), was passed into law on 22nd May, 1957. Under the old Ordinance unregistered doctors were prohibited from practising western medicine or surgery only if they did so for gain. Clause 27 of the new Bill, however, provided for general prohibition. The sole aim of this clause was to safeguard the public by ensuring that treatment by western methods was given only by doctors with a recognized qualification. The recognized, registrable qualifications in Hong Kong are the same as those regis- trable in the United Kingdom.
Clause 27 aroused considerable opposition, principally on the grounds that the many clinics using the services of un- registered doctors were providing a much needed service; that their patients could not afford the fees charged by regis- tered practitioners; and that the doctors concerned were com- petent enough and merely lacked a recognized qualification.
The services rendered by some of these doctors cannot be denied, but there are already many clinics, staffed by
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registered doctors, where the charges are no higher than in the clinics with unregistered doctors, and the aim must be to see that in due course all such clinics are staffed by doctors with a recognized qualification.
In order to allow time for the clinics to obtain the services of registered doctors the Bill was amended on the second reading to provide that clause 27 should come into operation at a later date, at the Governor's discretion, while negotia- tions were opened with an examining body in the United Kingdom, in the hope that it may be possible to arrange for an examination for a registrable qualification to be held in the Colony. This would give the unregistered doctors the chance to prove their worth. Over 500 of these doctors have already registered as being interested in taking this examin- ation, and it is hoped that the negotiations may soon be brought to a successful conclusion.
In September 1957 Hong Kong acted as host for the first time to delegates from 14 countries belonging to the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization who attended the 8th Session of the Regional Committee. The meeting, held at the Grantham Training College from 5th to 12th September, was opened by the Governor, and Dr. G. Graham-Cumming, Acting Director of Medical and Health Services and the leader of the United Kingdom delegation, was elected Chairman. Observers from other United Nations agencies and a number of other affiliated organizations also attended.
GENERAL HEALTH
The population of the Colony continues to increase and gross overcrowding persists in spite of several large scale housing developments which were completed during the year. Industrial expansion is also proceeding at a rapid rate. There was no case of any of the six quarantinable diseases recorded during the year; this is the fifth successive year in which Hong Kong has been free from these diseases.
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147
The Colony experienced a large scale outbreak of a type of influenza, popularly christened 'Asian flu', in the late spring. The source of the attack was uncertain, but the disease had been prevalent in Japan during the preceding winter months and had later spread to China. In Hong Kong the incidence showed a sudden rise in the second week in April and reached epidemic proportions by the end of the month; the total number affected was not accurately ascer- tainable since the disease was not notifiable, but a reason- able estimate indicates that about 10% of the population suffered from the condition; this figure corresponds to approximately 270,000 persons. There was some curtailment of public transport services and of industrial output, but schools were not closed.
Specific preventive measures of any effective value are not possible in this type of outbreak and no vaccine was available at the time.
A number of extra Government Medical out-patient clinics were opened, and night sessions from 6 p.m. to midnight were held in existing clinics in order to deal with the abnormal numbers needing treatment. These clinics were maintained for two weeks, including the Easter Holiday week-end, during the height of the epidemic.
The clinical course of the disease was mild and very few complications were noted. A total of 40 deaths was ascribed to influenza during the three months period March to May, over half these deaths occurring in persons over 60 years of age. The outbreak rapidly declined at the beginning of May and no secondary wave of cases has so far occurred.
The virus responsible was identified in several Far East areas as a new type, now known as type A/Asian/57, which has since spread to most other parts of the world and caused appreciable epidemics.
Information of a recurrence of cases in Japan was received in October and caused some concern lest the Colony be
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
again attacked. As a precautionary measure, in order to gain early warning, all medical practitioners were requested to notify voluntarily at twice weekly intervals influenza cases seen in their practices; so far there has been no evidence of a renewed invasion on any scale.
A considerable and sudden increase of diphtheria cases was recorded in the early autumn. Though there is always an increase in occurrence during the colder months, the incidence rose earlier than usual and cases numbered 1,239 by the end of the year, with 129 deaths. As is to be expected, non-immunized pre-school-age children accounted for the majority of cases. The annual anti-diphtheria immunization campaign, which began in August, has been intensified and will be extended until mid-January 1958. Over 300,000 im- munizations had been carried out by the end of 1957.
The general incidence of notifiable disease was little higher than in previous years, with a total of 18,170 cases and 2,965 deaths; but, in addition to the increased number of cases of diphtheria, more cases of tuberculosis and measles were notified. To obtain a fairer comparison, any increase in absolute numbers of infectious disease cases should be related to the considerable annual increase in the population at risk.
BIRTHS AND DEATHS
Births continued to show a rise in numbers though the birth rate was lower than in the previous year. The crude death rate remained low. The following table gives the statistics of births and deaths for the last five years:
Year
Births
Birth Rate per 1,000 of
Deaths
estimated
population
Death Rate per 1,000 of estimated population
1953
75,544
33.6
18,300
8.1
1954
83,317
36.6
19,283
8.5
1955
90,511
38.7
19,080
8.2
1956
96,746
39.7
19,295
7.9
1957
97,834
37.9
19,365
7.5
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149
The maternal mortality rate in 1957 was 1.06 per 1,000 births compared with 0.90 in 1956 and 1.16 in 1955.
The infant mortality rate was 55.6 per 1,000 live births compared with 60.9 in 1956. The steady decline in this rate since the war has been most satisfactory. The neo-natal mortality rate was 23.8 per 1,000 live births.
The peri-natal mortality (i.e. the number of still-births plus the number of infants dying in the first week of life) was 2,568 and the peri-natal mortality rate was 25.9 per 1,000 births (live and still). This rate is now considered a more useful indication of infant loss than the neo-natal mortality rate since the causes contributing to both still- births and deaths in the first few days of life are the same, i.e. prematurity, birth injury, and congenital malformations. Deaths after the first week are likely to be due to those causes of infant deaths operating for the rest of the first year of life.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
The table at Appendix XIV gives the numbers of cases and deaths from notifiable diseases reported in the Colony in 1957 with the figures for 1956 for comparison. Some of these diseases require detailed comment :
Bacillary Dysentery. A total of 560 notifications was re- corded during the year as compared with 650 in the previous year. The disease shows a seasonal rise in the hotter weather, being highest in the second and third quarters of the year. The number of deaths, though higher than last year, was lower than any of the other years on record.
The incidence returns of children in the o remained high, being about 40% of the total.
-
4 age group
During the course of routine investigation, 100 carriers were discovered amongst contacts of cases and rendered free from infection.
Enteric Fever. The sharp incidence peak which normally occurs during the summer months was again absent this
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
year. The seasonal rise in 1957 was also later than usual, there being no appreciable increase in enteric cases until July instead of in April or May as in previous years. The decline in incidence that usually takes place at the onset of winter was also delayed. This change in the seasonal pattern may have been due to the exceptionally heavy rain- fall early in the summer.
A total of 728 cases was notified during the year, with 33 deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 4.5% as compared with 789 cases, 48 deaths and a case fatality rate of 6.1% in 1956.
Anti-typhoid inoculation was offered to members of the public throughout the year and intensified from May to July, when 69,693 first doses, 51,144 second doses and 83,487 booster doses were given during the annual anti-typhoid in- oculation campaign.
Control measures included general sanitary hygiene, free immunization with T.A.B., search for and supervision of carriers, and education of the public in general and personal hygiene. During the year 13 chronic carriers were detected in the course of investigation of contacts and were dealt with by Health Officers.
Diphtheria. Notifications of this infection showed an in- crease of 525 over that of the previous year, being 1,239 as against 714. The rise was most marked in the last quarter of the year, when 770 cases were reported as compared with 258 in the first, 94 in the second and 117 in the third quarter.
The total number of deaths due to diphtheria was 129, giving a case fatality rate of 10.4% as against 10.5% in 1956. As is to be expected, most of the cases were in the o- 4 age group.
A point of interest was the comparatively high incidence in the New Territories, with, e.g., a total of 121 cases in the last quarter of the year as against 770 for the whole Colony in the same period.
PUBLIC HEALTH
151
Prophylactic vaccination against diphtheria is carried out throughout the year and is intensified before the onset of winter when the infection is most active. This measure has caused a decline in diphtheria cases and deaths since the disease reached a peak in 1953, but the number of infants and children immunized each year is not sufficient to bring the disease under satisfactory control. With over 90,000 babies being born each year and a variable proportion of the infant and child population not immunized, a build-up of sufficient non-immunes can take place to support a large scale outbreak of diphtheria when conditions are favourable. In view of the unusual activity of the infection during the last quarter of the year, the anti-diphtheria campaign which started in August and was scheduled to terminate in November has been extended to the middle of January 1958. At the same time anti-diphtheria propaganda has been in- tensified and is producing a satisfactory response from the public, as shown in the A.P.T. inoculation returns.
Seventeen carriers were discovered during the year as against twelve in 1956, including a girl with chronic cutane- ous diphtheria, who was traced as the source of infection for four cases of diphtheria in the same house.
Measles. There was a considerable outbreak of this in- fection among school children early in the year. 643 cases were reported in the first quarter as against 875 for the whole year. The number of deaths was 93, with a case fatality rate of 10.6% as compared with 86 deaths and a case fatality rate of 12.1% in the previous year. This mortality rate appears unduly high, but is due to the fact that the certifica- tion and registration of causes of death are more complete than notifications of actual cases of the disease.
Poliomyelitis. 45 cases, including eight non-Chinese, with seven deaths were notified during the year as compared with 31 (eight non-Chinese) with three deaths in 1956. The highest monthly return was 16 for June followed by eight for July.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
No change has occurred in the epidemiology of this disease in the Colony from that outlined in last year's Report. The disease among the local population remains essentially 'infantile paralysis' in contrast to the 'young adult' cases in the less immune non-Chinese population. A voluntary scheme for the free vaccination against poliomyelitis of certain categories of Government officers and their families was started in October. Vaccination was offered to children of all Government officers between one and ten years of age, and to all officers and families who had resided in the Colony less than six months. However, overall response to this offer was poor and just over 1,000 persons had requested vaccina- tion by the end of the year, although the number eligible was reckoned to be over 15,000. The vaccine used was from United Kingdom sources. No untoward reactions to the injections were noted and no case of paralytic disease has yet occurred in anyone who has received the vaccine.
Puerperal Fever. Only two notifications with no death were registered during the year as against seven with two deaths in 1956. Deliveries in connexion with these cases were done at home without the help of either a doctor or a midwife. The sick mothers were later removed for treatment to hospital where diagnosis of puerperal fever was made.
Malaria. The incidence of this disease remained low and fresh infections were reported almost entirely from unpro- tected areas in the New Territories.
447 notifications were received during the year, of which nearly 93% were from the outlying parts of the New Territories. Of cases reported from the urban areas (mostly recurrent cases) the majority gave a history of having visited or worked in the New Territories. No death from malaria was recorded. Control still relies mainly on antilarval measures since methods of malaria eradication would be unsuitable for the Colony's existing circumstances. Areas protected by the present control methods are being extended
PUBLIC HEALTH
153
as far as possible and include all well-populated parts of the Colony.
In order to delay as long as possible the development of resistance on the part of the malaria vectors, Anti-malaria Mixture (oil) has, since the early part of 1957, been more widely used as the general purpose larvicide, and Gammexane Dispersible Powder (P520), the larvicide previously em- ployed, has been reserved for areas where the application of oil is contra-indicated, e.g. agricultural lands. Another fea- ture which has been encountered is that Gammexane Disper- sible Powder at the usual dosage is in many instances no longer effective against the breeding of the non-malarial culicine mosquito, particularly Culex fatigans, which fre- quently occurs in, or adjacent to, potential anopheline breed- ing places.
Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remained the principal health problem during the year. X-ray surveys indicate that approximately 2% of the adult population are suffering from active pulmonary tuberculosis, while the death rate still exceeds 100 per 100,000 population. The total number of deaths ascribed to tuberculosis during the year was greater than last year due to abnormal figures recorded during the influenza epidemic in April and May. It appears that some headway is being made in reducing the number of deaths from tuberculosis in infants.
Control measures are based upon the protection of infants and young children by B.C.G. vaccination and reducing the number of infectious cases in the community by large scale ambulatory chemotherapy backed by minimal hospital provi- sion, and, more recently, by treating tuberculin positive children with isonicotinic acid hydrazide even in the absence of overt disease.
The principal efforts in the B.C.G. campaign are con- centrated upon new-born babies, over one-third of whom are now vaccinated within a few days of birth. Vaccination
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
is also available through the School Health Services, the Maternal and Child Health Service, the Tuberculosis Clinics and through the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association.
The principal diagnostic agency in the Colony is the Government Tuberculosis Service which now operates three large full-time clinics with branch clinics in every large population centre. Treatment throughout the Colony is based mainly on ambulatory chemotherapy which in suitable cases gives surprisingly good results, but which must be continued for a minimum of one year, and often twice as long. In this sphere the government clinics are operating to maximum capacity, with a total of more than 12,000 cases under treat- ment during the year and a total attendance of half a million. Every notified case is visited in the home by Tuberculosis Visitors and contact examination offered. The home visitor is the principal channel of health education in tuberculosis. The total number of hospital beds available for the treat- ment of tuberculosis is in the region of 1,500, 40% being operated directly or indirectly by Government, 33% sub- sidized by Government, and the remainder being operated privately and principally on payment. The Hong Kong Anti- Tuberculosis Association completed the 540-bed Grantham Hospital which was formally opened by the Governor on 6th June, 1957. A proportion of general ward beds in this private hospital was later made available for patients ad- mitted through the Government Tuberculosis Service, the charges being met from public funds. Full facilities for surgical treatment are available.
No general population tuberculosis surveys have been carried out, activities in this direction being devoted mainly to industrial undertakings and school teachers.
Limited funds are available through the Tuberculosis Service for the assistance of patients undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. Assistance, mainly in kind, is also available to tuberculosis sufferers through the Social Welfare Office.
PUBLIC HEALTH
155
Future government plans include extension of the clinic services which at present are overloaded beyond the limits of safe and efficient operation.
Venereal Diseases. Compared with 1956 there was a fall of some 2% in the total number of new patients reporting to all social hygiene clinics.
The incidence of infectious syphilis has continued to fall, as figures for the last few years show:
Total for all Clinics
1954
1955
1956
1957
Primary syphilis
393
153
93
17
Secondary syphilis
54
34
20
7
Early latent syphilis
2,209
1,044
733
450
Late latent syphilis
3,983
2,853
2,616
2,532
Early congenital syphilis
24
19
19
3
A very slight rise in the number of cases of cardiovascular syphilis (late) is now noted, and, with industrialization pro- ceeding fast in Hong Kong, this rise may become more noticeable in the next ten years.
As regards gonorrhoea the trend is also downwards, with a fall of approximately 6% compared to the previous year, almost entirely due to a fall in the number of male patients.
There has been a satisfactory reduction in the incidence of chancroid.
Totals for all cases of Venereal Disease (other than syphilis) examined at Clinics
1955
1956
1957
Gonorrhoea
11,309
10,609
9,881
Chancroid
2,468
1,614
685
Lymphogranuloma Venereum
249
140
178
Non-Gonococcal-Urethritis
869
776
800
Ante-natal Blood Tests from patients under the care of private midwives showed that the percentage positive rate was less than 2.6%-a new low figure for this section of the population.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Established principles of treatment have been maintained. Considering the amount of penicillin given, this sub- department has been most fortunate in not recording to date any fatal reaction to penicillin; this is not, unfortunately, true of the general medical clinics.
The trivalent penicillin (Triplopen) is replacing the much favoured P.A.M. (procain penicillin with 2% aluminum monostearate) as it is water soluble and the volume of the injection is less.
As a result of a rise in the incidence of untoward reactions to penicillin injections noted in private practice in Hong Kong (and elsewhere), and a slight rise in the incidence of penicillin resistant gonococci, the policy of giving prophy- lactic injections of penicillin to prostitutes has been greatly curtailed in the Social Hygiene Clinics. The results of this action are being closely watched, but to date there has not been any appreciable rise in the incidence of new male infections.
A small series of 26 cases of chancroid in men has been treated with aureomycin triple sulfas and apparently cured after the oral administration of an average of 15 tablets.
Leprosy. Increased work in this field was undertaken, and additional staff for two new out-patient clinics and field work was provided during 1957. The appointment of an Almoner to the Social Hygiene Sub-department for duty mainly in the leprosy clinics constituted a great advance. She provides advice and assistance to patients before their transfer to, and on their return from, Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium. She assists many patients to find suitable work or to obtain hawkers' licences. There are now 37 cured leper patients working in Government departments though it remains difficult to place cured lepers in commercial organizations.
A total of 31,204 attendances at Government leprosy out- patient clinics was recorded in the year. 981 new cases of
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共圖
Hong Kong's mounting population puts a severe strain on the Colony's medical services and there is a continuous drive to provide the hospitals, clinics and out-patient departments necessary to meet the need. The pictures on this page were taken at a new public clinic at Tai Po in the New Territories completed in 1957 with funds donated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The dignified old Hakka lady (above) hears the result of her X-ray examination. Below: 'You can laugh.... a young patient at the clinic takes an injection stoically-almost!
ON
ART
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•
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HON
BI
ARIE
The Grantham Hospital for tuberculosis patients, opened in 1957, is carefully designed for its task. The main hospital block, providing 540 beds, is a thin. eight-storey block. sited to catch the summer breezes but escape the cold winds of winter. A crescent-shaped administration block, four storeys high, projects from the main block, to leave the maximum ventilation for the wards. The hospital was built by the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association at a cost of $5,250.000, obtained partly by an outright grant and partly by a loan from the Government which also gave the excellent site, high above the road between Deep Water Bay and Aberdeen on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island.
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The nursing staff of the Grantham (Anti-Tuberculosis) Hospital receives continuous training, in classrooms integrated with the hospital. The surgical and X-ray equipment is the best that can be obtained. The pictures below show (left) staff preparing an operating theatre and (right) a patient being examined in the up-to-date X-ray suite. The operating theatres are completely air-conditioned. and are floored with special tiles, which conduct away static electricity.
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F
Photo Salon
Hong Kong played host to two successful international meetings in the field of social services during the year. The photograph above was taken at a reception given at Government House by Sir Alexander and Lady Grantham to members of the Seminar on Social Group Work among Youth in the Commonwealth Countries of Asia who held a 10-day meeting in Hong Kong in November. Below: A plenary meeting of the Eighth Session of the W.H.O. Regional Committee for the Western Pacific held in the Grantham Training College in September.
South China Morning Post, Lid.
UBLIC LI
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PUBLIC HEALTH
157
the disease were reported. 132 infectious cases were admitted to the Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium which is administered by the Mission to Lepers with the aid of Government grants.
Dapsone tablets (0.1 gm.) are used as the routine oral treatment. Dapsone suspension has now been replaced entirely by Aviosulfon Soluble (Dapsone acetaldehyde bisul- phite) for injection. The content of dapsone in the blood is checked in a proportion of cases.
One of the most satisfactory developments this year was the establishment of an arrangement for the admission to Queen Mary Hospital of male patients requiring nerve trans- plant to prevent or remedy deformities of the hands.
HOSPITALS
Apart from nursing homes, and excluding institutions maintained by the Armed Forces, there are 31 hospitals in the Colony. Twelve of these are the responsibility of the Medical Department and the other 19 are run by various private organizations. Ten of the institutions in this latter category receive substantial assistance from Government in respect of the charitable services which they offer.
The twelve Government hospitals provide a total of 2,184 beds, the Government assisted hospitals 3,063 beds, and private hospitals 1,051 beds. In addition, various Govern- ment dispensaries provide a further 123 beds, mainly in the New Territories and practically all for maternity cases, and there are 549 beds in private maternity and nursing homes. There is therefore in the Colony a total of 6,970 beds for all purposes, including the mentally ill and those suffering from infectious diseases. Excluding the 1,730 beds set aside for tuberculosis, the 261 beds for the mentally ill, and the 540 beds for the treatment of leprosy, there are 4,439 beds available for all general purposes, including maternity. Assuming the population to be about 2,700,000 this gives a figure of 1.65 beds per thousand of the population, a
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
number which is far from adequate. It must be noted, how- ever, that the figures quoted are for the normal bed-capacity of the various hospitals. In many cases the actual bed- occupancy is much higher as extra camp beds are used extensively.
The twelve Government hospitals comprise two large general hospitals, two mental hospitals, two maternity hospitals, one large hospital for both long-term cases and in- fectious diseases, one infectious diseases hospital, two prison hospitals, one small hospital for the treatment of venereal diseases, and the St. John Hospital (general, maternity and tuberculosis cases) on Cheung Chau Island.
The two major hospitals are the Queen Mary Hospital (599 beds) on the Island and the Kowloon Hospital (recently enlarged to 313 beds) on the mainland.
The Queen Mary Hospital is a modern institution built shortly before the last war. Situated in a fine position over- looking the sea, it is by far the best equipped medical institu- tion in the Colony and has from the beginning been the main site for the clinical training of medical students from the University of Hong Kong. Responsibility for clinical charge of the wards is shared between the teaching staff of the University and specialists and medical officers in Government Service, while ancillary services such as nursing, radiology, and physiotherapy are entirely the responsibility of the Medical Department, which also pro- vides the Medical Superintendent. On the whole the arrange- ment works well. Full medical, surgical and gynaecological services are provided and there is also a limited number of beds for the treatment (mainly surgical) of pulmonary tuberculosis and for midwifery, radiotherapy, dermatology, ophthalmology, neuro-surgery and orthopaedics and oto- rhinolaryngology. A considerable amount of research work is carried out in the various specialities.
This hospital provides the only casualty centre for the island of Hong Kong, and the new and spacious Casualty
PUBLIC HEALTH
159
Department, which is fully staffed night and day, is seldom working at less than full pressure. There is no out-patient department as such, the hospital being fed from the various clinics and dispensaries on the Island, but a large number of specialized out-patient clinics are held, mainly for pre- operative surgical cases, ante-natal cases and patients need- ing follow-up after discharge from hospital. There is adequate provision for physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The School of Nursing is the largest in the Colony and has a very high standard of teaching.
The Kowloon Hospital, on the mainland, is a much smaller and considerably older institution which dates back to the time when Kowloon was merely a suburb of Hong Kong and when only limited medical facilities were con- sidered necessary. The buildings stand on a hill-top, one of the few open spaces in Kowloon, and are arranged in cottage- hospital style two-storied structures linked together by covered ways. As time has passed, more and more of these ward blocks have been erected (the latest only this year) until there is now a bed capacity of 313. Being the chief hospital on the mainland (where the population now exceeds that on the Island) the word 'busy' scarcely suffices to describe its condition. Both operating theatres and beds are grossly in- adequate for the work which needs to be done; and, were it not for the fact that it has been possible to use part of Lai Chi Kok Hospital to house convalescents as soon as they are fit to be moved, the parent hospital would not even be able to accept all the emergency cases (accidents and acutely ill) who present themselves. Planning is now far advanced for the new Kowloon Hospital of 1,300 beds which it is hoped will be completed in 1961.
A very large Out-patient Department is attached to the hospital and there is a Casualty Department which serves the whole of Kowloon. Busy as the similar department at Queen Mary Hospital is, this one easily out-rivals it. A
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large and successful training school for nurses is also attached to the Kowloon Hospital.
It has been stated that there are two Mental Hospitals. While this is a fact, it is also somewhat misleading as the position is that the old Mental Hospital, housed in out-of- date and most inadequate accommodation, is due to be given up and a new modern institution is being constructed in stages in the New Territories to replace it. At the moment the old hospital is still in use-and as busy as ever-while the first stage of the new hospital (the wards for chronic cases) has been completed and is now occupied. As a result, 120 new beds have been provided but the need for the com- pletion of the new project remains pressing. At the end of the year construction work on the second stage (380 beds) was just beginning.
The two Maternity Hospitals, both on the Island, differ dramatically. One, the Eastern Maternity Hospital, is a small but very popular and busy institution of 24 beds located in premises which are a relic of former times. The other, the Tsan Yuk Hospital, has 200 beds and is most modern in both planning and equipment. It is the main training centre for medical students in obstetrics and is also a leading school for midwives.
The other large Government hospital is at Lai Chi Kok, on the outskirts of Kowloon. This is an institution of 476 beds, accommodated in premises that have had to be adapted for the purpose. Of the beds, 176 are for cases of tuberculosis, 120 for infectious diseases, and the remainder for convales- cent and long-term cases. This arrangement is possible only through the fact that the various buildings are well separated from one another. Since the hospital is comparatively near to Kowloon Hospital the availability of its convalescent beds allows many patients to be removed from the latter institu- tion at an early stage in convalescence and thus facilitates a much quicker turnover. The long-term cases are largely
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161
orthopaedic and come from both Queen Mary and Kowloon Hospitals.
The Sai Ying Pun Infectious Diseases Hospital, situated in one of the busiest areas in the city of Victoria and accom- modated in premises which are probably the oldest possessed by the department, contains a total of 88 beds, and is responsible for the reception of cases of infectious disease arising on the Island and needing hospitalization. In the absence of any severe epidemic the number of beds is adequate, but the hospital is badly out of date and needs to be rebuilt.
The two prison hospitals, both comparatively small, are located in the male and female prisons. Particularly in the male prison, a large proportion of the beds is occupied by sufferers from tuberculosis.
The Venereal Diseases Hospital contains only 30 beds, but it is gratifying to note that even this small number is now excessive and many of the cases admitted are suffering from non-venereal skin diseases.
The St. John Hospital on Cheung Chau Island is a comparatively modern institution of just over 100 beds. Belonging to the St. John Ambulance Association it was, before the war, operated by that body, but since the war has been lent to Government. A little over half of the beds are for the general use of the inhabitants of Cheung Chau and neighbouring islands, while the remainder are used for convalescent cases of tuberculosis.
It is not possible in a short account of this kind to give more than a brief sketch of some salient features of the non- Government Hospitals, but they may be divided into several
groups:
(i) The Tung Wah Group of four hospitals-Tung Wah, Kwong Wah, Tung Wah Eastern Hospitals and Sandy Bay Convalescent Home. These hospitals which
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together provide a total of about 1,150 beds are operated by the Tung Wah Hospital Board of Directors, an entirely Chinese charitable organization which, besides hospitals, is also responsible for various other facilities for the poor and needy of the Colony. A large subsidy is now granted by the Government and the Medical Superintendents of the three main hospitals are Government Medical Officers. These hospitals provide a most useful service and are gradually being modernized.
Run on somewhat similar lines is the Pok Oi Hospital of 60 beds at Yuen Long in the New Territories. Administered by a local group of Directors, this institution also receives a subsidy from Government. (ii) Mission Hospitals, which provide over 1,500 beds, range from the Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium of 580 beds to small institutions with about 60 inmates. They also vary from completely charitable institutions supported by mission funds and local voluntary dona- tions to others which are more or less self-supporting from income received from patients in private wards. Several of the purely charitable institutions receive substantial subsidies from Government. In addition to hospitals, this group is also responsible for the maintenance of a number of 'homes' for the blind, the deaf and the aged, and for a large number of orphanages.
(iii) Hospitals maintained by the Hongkong Anti- Tuberculosis Association. These comprise the Rut- tonjee Sanatorium, the Freni Memorial Convalescent Home, and the Grantham Hospital, erected in 1957. These hospitals provide a total of approximately 880 beds for the treatment of sufferers from tuberculosis. Treatment in the two first-named is free and a subsidy is provided to the Association, while the
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163
Grantham Hospital of 540 beds was originally in- tended to be self-supporting. Government has, how- ever, recently assumed responsibility for 264 of these beds, to which patients are admitted from the Govern- ment Tuberculosis Service.
(iv) There are a few private non-charitable hospitals, mainly of the nursing home type. While catering mainly for the well-to-do, some of them do include a number of 'charity' beds.
(v) There are also a number of smaller institutions, such as the Sandy Bay Convalescent Home for Children, a modern institution catering for orthopaedic cases, which do not belong to any of these groups.
Dispensaries. The Government maintains a large number of out-patient clinics varying from large institutions housing many types of specialities to small single-doctor dispensaries or even (in the New Territories) some dispensaries staffed by nurses and visited once or twice a week by a doctor. Again, there are special clinics for tuberculosis, for maternal and child health, for dentistry, for eyes, for leprosy, etc. In such circumstances figures for the number of individual institutions mean little as there is no means of distinguish- ing between the large and the small, but, for what they are worth, the numbers of separate institutions are:
Hong Kong Island
Kowloon
New Territories
14
14
12
No less than six of these were opened during the current year, and several others are at present either being built or are approved and in course of planning. Among the latter is the new Sai Ying Pun Polyclinic, a very large institution which will house a variety of clinics, both general and specialized, as well as a completely new Pathological Institute. The funds for the construction of this polyclinic are being provided by a generous gift from the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to whose munificence the department is also
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indebted for the construction of a number of smaller institutions.
The total numbers of out-patients seen at Government clinics and dispensaries during the past five years is of in- terest as showing the very considerable expansion which is occurring :
1953
1954
1955
1956
2,340,682
2,517,815
2,869,045
3,165,109
1957
3,397,074
In most cases these out-patient facilities are provided on a 'dollar-a-time' basis: that is, the patient, if he is capable of doing so, is expected to pay one dollar for each visit to the dispensary, this fee including whatever treatment, drugs or injections may be considered necessary. Provision is made for free treatment if circumstances so demand and certain clinics (for example those for tuberculosis, maternal and child health, venereal diseases, leprosy, eye diseases in children, etc.) are completely free. In addition to 'fixed' dis- pensaries, the department has two mobile dispensaries which pay regular visits to outlying villages in the New Terri- tories, and visits are also made by launch to certain areas which cannot otherwise be reached. The scope of this latter service is expected to be widened considerably in the near future when a new departmental 'Floating Clinic' will be put into service the vessel is a new 70 foot launch, a gift from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The Medical Department is, however, not the only agency providing out-patient treatment. Apart from the ordinary consulting rooms of private practitioners, there are very many, probably well over 250, clinics of various types operating. Some of these are attached to non-Government hospitals, others are run by missionary bodies, large firms,. the Kaifong Welfare Associations, and trade unions, and there is a large group which are run purely as business
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165
propositions. No figures are available as to the numbers of patients treated at these clinics, the standards of which vary very considerably.
In general, therefore, as regards the curative services available to the population of the Colony it may be stated that a high standard of treatment is provided at low cost in certain institutions but that, at present, such treatment is still not available nearly as widely as, ideally, it should be. Like most other problems in Hong Kong this position arises from the fact that the population has grown at a rate far beyond the resources available. Having said this, it should also be emphasized that the Medical Department is in the midst of a very wide scheme of expansion, unpre- cedented in the medical history of the Colony. The new Kowloon Hospital of 1,300 beds is expected to be completed in 1961, the new Mental Hospital is in course of construc- tion, other hospitals are planned, and out-patient facilities are expanding at a very rapid rate.
HEALTH SERVICES
Port Health. The Port Health Administration is re- sponsible for the prevention of the importation of infectious diseases into the Colony by sea, land and air, for the sanitary control of the port area and airport, for the carry- ing out of the provisions of the International Sanitary Regulations and the Quarantine and Prevention of Diseases Ordinance, for the compilation of epidemiological statistics and reports and for the planning and supervision of anti- smallpox, anti-diphtheria, anti-typhoid and other immuniza- tion campaigns. The staff consists of health officers and inspectors, public vaccinators and a fumigation bureau.
The recently amended International Certificate of Vaccina- tion or Revaccination against Smallpox was adopted for official use in the Colony from 1st October, 1957.
For the fifth year in succession the port remained free from any of the quarantinable diseases.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
A careful check was kept on arrivals by sea and air from infected areas and on persons entering the Colony by the land frontier station at Lo Wu.
In the absence of epidemiological information from the Chinese Mainland it was considered advisable to continue to regard all Chinese ports east of Canton as being possibly infected with smallpox.
Ships were inspected and fumigated as necessary with sulphur or cyanide and issued with International Deratting or Deratting Exemption Certificates.
Mosquito control measures were continued throughout the year, and the port and airport were kept free from Aedes aegypti in its larval and adult stages, as required by Article 20 of the International Sanitary Regulations.
The dock area and airport are included in the rodent control scheme for the Colony, and returns of rodents destroyed and spleen smears examined for P.pestis were submitted weekly to the W.H.O. Epidemiological Intelli- gence Station, Singapore.
A constant check was maintained on the purity of drink- ing water supplies to ships by bacteriological examination of weekly samples from water boats and dock hydrants, and immediate remedial action was taken when necessary by the Water Authority or Port Health Office.
Maternal and Child Health Services. The Maternal and Child Health Services continued to expand their activities throughout the year. Six full-time centres and twenty sub- sidiary part-time centres are now in operation. There has been an increase to 21 in the number of Health Visitors available for this Service which has made possible wider and better health education by means of home visits.
In September 1957 a large scale trial of treatment with isonicotinic acid hydrazide given to tuberculin positive children was commenced in the main Maternal and Child
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167
Health Centres. The results of this prophylactic treatment will be carefully observed for one year.
Midwifery services both for domiciliary and maternity home cases are provided by 43 Government midwives. They delivered 11,779 cases during the year and of these approximately one-third were home deliveries.
During the year 32 additional maternity beds were provided in newly-built New Territories clinics at Tai Po and on Lamma Island. Registered midwives in private practice who do little domiciliary maternity work delivered 35,608 cases during 1957, mainly in private maternity homes; these premises are regularly supervised as to records and sanitary standards.
Free smallpox and B.C.G. vaccination is offered as a routine for new-born infants delivered by all midwives.
School Health Services. The School Health Service continued to be limited to participants who had been in this service since October 1955 as it was not possible to cater for the ever-increasing numbers of new entrants to schools. The school population is somewhat over 300,000, and a full medical and health service for such a number would require staff and facilities beyond the present resources of the Medical Department. During the year a working party considered plans for a reorganized service which might make use of a subsidized private practitioner School Health Service scheme.
Industrial Health. The health of workers in factories and other industrial undertakings is cared for by the Industrial Health Section of the Labour Department, which is staffed by an Industrial Health Officer on loan from the Medical Department, an Assistant Industrial Health Officer, and a Technical Assistant.
The work of the section falls into two main divisions: the prevention of occupational diseases and the improvement of medical facilities in factories. The most serious diseases met
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
with in Industry have been silicosis and lead poisoning, but fortunately cases have been few. Dermatitis occurs in a large number of local industries. Strict precautions are taken against injury from radiation in trades where X-rays or radioactive substances are used, and so far no signs of ill health due to this cause have been detected.
First aid classes were organized for factory workers, and advice given on first aid and medical equipment in factories.
Mental Health. The Child Guidance Centre maintained by the University of Hong Kong's Department of Educa- tion increased both the scope and volume of its work in October 1957.
Health Education. This work continued to form an increasingly important part of all sections of the Health Divisions of the Medical Department.
The Maternal and Child Health Centres have continued. to conduct particularly active Health Education programmes with the help of the 21 Health Visitors on their staff. Attendances at talks, demonstrations, group discussions, etc., held at centres during the year numbered 274,087 and a total of 38,638 individual home visits were made by Health Visitors and Health Nurses. The School Health Service, the Tuberculosis Service and the Social Hygiene Service also carried out considerable health propaganda campaigns in their own fields of interest.
Immunization campaigns against smallpox, typhoid fever and diphtheria were carried out in the year at appropriate seasons. Good results followed propaganda given out by loudspeaker motor vans attached to mobile vaccinating teams and the distribution of handbills by Health Inspectors of the Urban Services Department during their routine house inspections.
A series of broadcast talks on general health topics by a 'radio doctor' was commenced in October over the Chinese
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169
network of Radio Hong Kong at a favourable listening time.
OPHTHALMIC SERVICE
The Government Ophthalmic Service is based upon two major ophthalmic clinics in the urban area, equipped with operating theatres and investigation and treatment rooms, from which radiates out a specialist service of eight regular out-patient centres which hold 28 sessions monthly in the outlying dispensaries of the New Territories. The Service's policy is based on the realization that 75% of the blindness in Hong Kong is preventable. There has therefore to be brought to all parts of the Colony an effective specialist service fully integrated with the public health programmes.
The personnel of the Government Ophthalmic Service consist of one Ophthalmic Specialist, four medical officers in ophthalmology, two almoners, one sister, five ophthalmic nurses and two ophthalmic male nurses, one dispenser, and four sight-testing or dispensing opticians.
The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals employs three part- time ophthalmologists who hold out-patient clinics once weekly with fortnightly operating sessions. The University employs one part-time ophthalmologist for two sessions weekly. There are some 14 other doctors in the Colony practising ophthalmology, mainly as refractionists in private practice. The Armed Forces Specialists in ophthalmology practise in their spare time as refractionists.
The two major Government Ophthalmic Clinics hold daily out-patient clinics, with attendances sometimes of nearly 400 persons at one clinic. There are daily operating sessions in each clinic, and the total of major and inter- mediate ophthalmic operation procedures each year is about 3,000. There are ten ophthalmic beds available in the Government Hospitals. Three sight-saving refraction centres treat ophthalmic defect or disease amongst the Colony's school-children. There is one central optical workshop which,
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
in the main, makes the spectacles prescribed under the School Health Scheme; in addition, spectacles can be issued free or at greatly reduced cost to totally destitute ophthalmic patients who need them.
DENTAL SERVICE
The Government operates a General Dental Service and a School Dental Service. The former is responsible for the treatment of Government officers and their dependants, in-patients of Government hospitals, prisoners, and certain other categories of the poorer members of the population. The School Dental Service provides routine examination and treatment of participant children in Government sub- sidized, private and grant schools. The professional staff for these clinics varied between 16 and 19 full-time Dental Surgeons through the year.
Visits by patients to dental clinics totalled 73,287 and were divided between the various classes as follows:
Government Officers
Government Officers' Dependants
General Public
School Children
15,318
14,017
17,603
26,349
In all, 22,494 permanent and 24,019 deciduous teeth were extracted, 17,732 permanent and 2,217 deciduous teeth were filled or crowned, and 969 dentures, bridges, and special prosthetic appliances were fitted in the General and School Dental Clinics.
One Dental Nurse returned in November from Penang where she had had 28 months training. Her duties within the School Dental Service consist of examinations, dental pro- phylaxis, routine conservative treatment, extractions where necessary, and dental health education.
Registration of dentists is compulsory in Hong Kong and since 1949 only academically qualified dentists have been accepted. At the end of the year there were 362 dentists
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171
on the Register, of whom only 75 were academically quali- fied. With a population in excess of 2,600,000 this is one dentist to approximately 7,000 people.
The Government Dental Scholarship scheme was institut- ed in 1954 to ensure a steady source of supply of well qualified dental surgeons for the Colony. The first student to be assisted under the scheme returned in 1957. During the year five students were sent to the University of Mel- bourne, Australia, to begin a five-year course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery, making a total of 19 dental scholars overseas, of whom 14 were studying in the University of Malaya.
Several dental clinics are operated by welfare organiza- tions for the poor, and many dentists give their services free of charge. The Hong Kong Dental Society organizes evening clinics at the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society's Centres in Hong Kong and Kowloon and at the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Society's Ruttonjee Sanatorium. Dentists are also included in the St. John Ambulance Brigade Penetration Parties which visit remote areas in the New Territories.
URBAN SERVICES
The Urban Council, the constitution of which is described in Chapter 25, has statutory responsibility in a number of matters normally falling within the scope of municipal administration, including bathing beaches, swimming pools, cemeteries, crematoria, mortuaries, the collection and dis- posal of refuse and nightsoil, the inspection and health control of domestic premises and food establishments, food hygiene and sampling, markets, hawkers, parks and play- grounds, pest control, public latrines and bathhouses, and slaughterhouses. The Council is empowered by the Public Health (Sanitation) and Public Health (Food) Ordinances, and other enactments to make by-laws for the regulation and control of these matters, such subsidiary legislation being subject to the approval of the Legislative Council.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
During the year considerable progress was made in the revision both of the substantive law under which the Council operates and of the supporting by-laws. The third draft of a new Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance was under consideration by the Law Revision Select Committee of the Council at the end of the year, and the revision of some of the subsidiary legislation had been completed.
The Urban Services Department has two main sub- divisions, one dealing with sanitation and certain aspects of public health, the other dealing with parks, playgrounds and gardens. The establishment of the Sanitary Division includes 219 administrative, professional and technical officers and 5,969 other workers, including a health inspec- torate of 213 officers, 165 of whom have passed the Royal Society of Health examination for public health inspectors, and 48 probationer inspectors under training. The work of the Gardens Division is described in Chapter 21.
The continued expansion of the Colony in 1957, both in terms of population and of building development, neces- sitated a corresponding increase in buildings and staff and in the range of their activities. Building works in progress for the department during the year were estimated to cost in the region of $12,000,000, whilst proposals costing a further $5,800,000 had received approval but could not for various reasons be proceeded with immediately. Projects in hand or completed during the year included the New Yau Ma Tei Market, various buildings in the Victoria Park, including the Colony's first public swimming pool, develop- ment of the Wo Hop Shek Cemetery, new departmental buildings at the site known as Whitfield in Causeway Bay and at Sai Yee Street in Kowloon, and the new Colonial Cemetery and Crematorium. In addition, progress was made on minor works such as public latrines and bathhouses.
The increase in establishment approved in April 1957 amounted to some 560 posts. In the main these were fore- men (68), gangers (35) and sanitary coolies (297). The
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173
administration had to be strengthened by fourteen clerks. Posts for 33 additional drivers were approved. Pest Control activities were expanded by the creation of 18 new anti- mosquito units, each consisting of a foreman and a coolie. District Health Work. Intense overcrowding continued to present many serious health problems, and measures design- ed to achieve the best possible standard of domestic and environmental sanitation continued to be exceptionally im- portant. A great proportion of the district health inspectors' time is allotted to the regular inspection of the 120,000 domestic floors in the urban area, an average of 2,000 floors per inspector; this is well in excess of the 1,200 floors which is regarded as the desirable maximum for one inspector, although even 1,200 floors for one district inspector is a very high figure. The limiting factor is the capacity to recruit, train and absorb new officers. 48 probationer inspectors were engaged for training during the year, and 19 newly trained inspectors from the previous training course became quali- fied and were posted to duties in August 1957. Against this must be set three retirements, so that the net increase of officers available for duty was 16.
Most people in Hong Kong are not conscious of the importance of health measures, and the Council decided during the year that more resources should be devoted to health education. Two successful anti-mosquito drives were held during March and September, and at the end of the year plans were well advanced for a series of general publicity campaigns.
The other major part of the district inspector's work is concerned with supervision of the 9,000 premises licensed by the Urban Council, most of which are premises dealing with raw or unprotected foods. Again, those concerned with food handling and the catering trades are far from being fully aware of the basic principles of food hygiene; once again the fundamental need is health education. Nearly four thousand copies of a Chinese-language pamphlet called
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
'Hand to Mouth' were issued, and a film strip about the rela- tion between food handling and public health was shown and explained to over 8,000 workers in the trade.
Food Inspection. Locally-recruited inspectors continued to be sent to the United Kingdom for training in Meat and Food Inspection, and it became possible to form a small food unit from the returned qualified personnel, the depend- ence of the Colony on imported foodstuffs, together with an important export trade in Chinese delicacies, necessitat- ing this step. Most of the work has been preparatory, e.g. investigations of local food practices and surveys of imported items, but, with the expansion of this branch, a greater measure of protection will be afforded to the food supply of the Colony.
Slaughterhouses. The slaughter of animals for human consumption is, in urban areas, restricted to the Government slaughterhouses in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong and Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon. During the year 700,000 pigs, 80,000 cattle and 10,000 sheep and goats were slaughtered in these two urban slaughterhouses.
The premises are old and cramped and their inadequacies mean that it is extremely difficult to maintain an acceptable standard either of hygiene or of inspection. As many inspectors as can work in the space available are employed, but lack of space prevents full inspection. Since the war planning for new abattoirs has been going on. Earlier proposals for a single abattoir on the Island to serve the whole urban area were, during the year, changed to provide for an abattoir on each side of the harbour.
As a preparation for the new abattoirs a pilot by-products plant is operating at Kennedy Town. About 1,000 tons of materials, not including blood, were processed during the year, the yield being 111 tons of meat and bone meal, 148 tons of inedible fat and one ton of hoof and horn meal. Meat and bone meal is still insufficient to meet the demand from poultry raisers and is sold by quota at a fixed price
PUBLIC HEALTH
175
by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department. Fat is sold by contract and reached a record price during the year. Hoof and horn meal is sold at a fixed price to any buyer. At times there is more material than can be processed by the plant. To preserve excess materials at such times a chill store was installed during the year.
Markets and Hawkers. In the interests of public health, legislation for the control of the sale of meat, fish, poultry, fruit and vegetables has been in force for many years. In the early days it was considered that the hygiene of premises retailing these commodities could only be satisfactorily controlled if the premises were built in market buildings and stalls let by Government, and there are 45 retail markets from which stallholders sell these commodities. Present policy is not to confine the sale of these commodities to markets but to allow freely the sale of fruit and vegetables by hawkers and to allow by licence the sale of all market commodities in shops, so long as these shops meet the conditions laid down by the law. Since health considerations no longer mean, as they used to, that market stallholders have a monopoly of trade in meat, fish and poultry, Govern- ment does not have to anticipate the need or supply all the premises for the trade. At present, in fact, the trade is itself opening up new shops in areas where they are needed. The building of markets in newly developing areas is now considered much less important than the reconstruction of some of the older and more congested market buildings.
In November one new market building was opened in Yau Ma Tei to reprovision the two old markets of the area- one of which had grown so old that it had collapsed.
There are 15,000 - 20,000 hawkers operating within the urban area. These retail many commodities, offer the services of certain trades and operate stalls for the sale of cooked food. The majority of hawkers are licensed, but a great many unlicensed hawkers operate in the more crowded areas. For the most part, unlicensed hawkers are not harried
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
if they keep clear of the main thoroughfares. It is clear too that many licensed hawkers do not trade continuously.
During the year a Police Force and Urban Services Department liaison team was set up to examine the problems relating to hawker control. Their recommendations were under consideration at the end of the year, but experiments in new methods of hawker control were already being carried out in several areas. In these areas it was found possible after an intensive propaganda campaign to bring all fixed pitch hawkers and pedlar hawkers into line with the law without putting them out of business. The regulation of the crowds and of the scale of business of each hawker, and the institution of special night scavenging arrangements brought about a great improvement. Although these opera- tions affected 1,600 hawkers, it is gratifying to record that hawkers co-operated well and that only eight prosecutions had to be undertaken.
Public Latrines & Bathhouses. The provision of addi- tional public bathhouses and latrines proceeded in accord- ance with a long-term programme. Two new public latrine and bathhouse buildings were erected, making a total of 17 in the urban districts. In addition, seven new public latrines were erected. The 17 bathhouses were used by 1,713,335 persons during the year, giving a total average of 4,694 persons each day.
Pest Control. The Pest Control Section of the Urban Services Department is responsible for the control of rats, mice, fleas, cockroaches, bed-bugs, lice, biting midges, and other pests. As from August the Section also assumed responsibility for carrying out mosquito breeding surveys and control measures, both by systematic 'block control' and in connexion with complaints from the public. During 1957 eighteen special Mosquito Control Units, each com- prising one Pest Control Foreman and one Pest Control Coolie, were recruited, trained and put into service for this
purpose.
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177
An important part of the Section's duties is rodent control and about 250,000 dead rats are collected each year. A pest control problem found to be of increasing importance was that of Cat Flea infestation of cats and dogs, and during 1957 the Section carried out over 100 disinfestations- considerably more than in any previous year.
Special attention was given to the elimination and sub- sequent prevention of heavy culicine mosquito breeding which occurred in a reclamation area at Chai Wan; diazinon (an organophosphorus compound) was sprayed on breeding places and enabled the infestation to be effectively brought under control.
Scavenging and Conservancy. About 3,000 persons were employed on the collection and disposal of refuse and on street cleansing, using 54 specialized refuse-collecting vehicles, four street-washing vehicles, two combined cesspit emptiers and washing vehicles, and 18 dumb barges specially constructed for the transportation of bulk refuse. A day and night street-washing service was also maintained for the cleansing of roads, lanes and footpaths, and the flushing of street gully traps.
The average amount of refuse collected rose from about 1,750 cubic yards a day to about 2,000 cubic yards a day. The method of disposal is by marine dumping on an area of foreshore which is being reclaimed at Gin Drinkers Bay in the New Territories, some five miles west of the urban area of Kowloon. Since the dump first opened in September 1955, some 274,119 square feet of land have already been reclaimed.
Only about one-half of the buildings in the urban area have water-borne sewage disposal, and the conservancy section provides for the collection and disposal of nightsoil from nearly 50,000 floors. This section employs a staff of about 1,700 male and female workers, using nine specially- designed dumb barges and eight specialized motor vehicles. The amount of nightsoil collected exceeded 62,000 cubic
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
yards, most of which was delivered by barges towed to the Tsuen Wan Maturation Station from where it is delivered to the New Territories for use as fertilizer after processing. Eight new tanker-type conservancy vehicles were obtained during the year and these, in conjunction with a converted tanker barge, underwent extensive and satisfactory trials.
NEW TERRITORIES
Scavenging. In October 1956 the District Commissioner, New Territories, took over from the Director of Medical and Health Services the responsibility for scavenging services in the New Territories. It is intended to raise the standard of these services in the country towns to a level more nearly comparable with that in the urban areas, and eventually to build up an organization covering the whole of the New Territories. A staff of 204, under a Senior Health Inspector, is currently engaged on this work.
In the towns of the New Territories hand carts and litter-bins are now in use. The refuse thus collected is re- moved by vehicles to refuse dumps. There is, in addition, a house-to-house collection service in certain areas. Five vehicles were in service at the end of the year, and the amount of refuse collected was about 4,200 cubic yards a month. Plans are in hand to construct compost tanks in place of the dumps, and pilot tanks installed during the year had already proved successful and popular with the farmers.
In the villages not served by roads a different system is used because of the difficulty of communications, and refuse is usually burned or buried on the spot. On all these New Territories scavenging duties about 170 men were employed at the end of the year. Many remote villages are necessarily excluded from these arrangements, and efforts are being made to educate and encourage the people who live there to make satisfactory arrangements on their own.
Chapter 10: Land and Housing
LAND
Land Tenure. The form of land tenure in use in the Colony is leasehold from the Crown. In the early days of the Colony Crown leases were granted for 75, 99, or 999 years, and the present practice is for leases to be granted for 75 years, renewable for a further 75 years at a re-assessed Crown rent. In the New Territories, in order to coincide with the period of the lease from China, which will expire on 30th June, 1997, Crown leases are conventionally expressed as being for the residue of a term of 75 years from 1st July, 1898, renewable for a further 24 years, less the last three days.
Land administration in Hong Kong and Kowloon is the responsibility of the Director of Public Works, who is concurrently the Building Authority and Chairman of the Town Planning Board. The Director also deals with New Kowloon, which is that part of the New Territories situated immediately north of Boundary Street, Kowloon, and south of the Kowloon hills. The District Commissioner, New Territories, is responsible for land administration through- out the rest of the New Territories. Records of land grants by the Crown and of all private land transactions are kept in the Registrar General's Department (see Chapter 13) for Hong Kong and Kowloon, and in the three District Offices, situated in Kowloon, Tai Po and Ping Shan, for the New Territories, with the exception of certain lots which are administered by the Director of Public Works and are usually known as Inland Lots. These cover the majority of the built-up parts of New Kowloon and deeds relating to them are recorded in the Registrar General's Department.
The principal laws relating to the development and use of land are the Buildings Ordinance, 1955, the Town
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131), and the New Territories Ordinance (Cap. 97).
In recent years certain groups of 75-year Crown leases granted in the Colony's early years, and chiefly affecting land in Kowloon, have reached their expiry dates. Public statements of Government policy in regard to the terms and conditions under which new Crown leases would be granted were made in 1946 and 1949. Terms and conditions for new leases have already been agreed in a large number of cases, and other leases will become due for renewal in rapidly increasing numbers. Renewal premia may be paid either in a lump sum or by instalments over an agreed number of years and the majority of lessees avail themselves of the latter method of payment. For this reason the revenue in any one year is relatively small, but since such payments will continue to be made for upwards of 80 years, the total revenue involved is considerable. During the financial year 1956-7 revenue from renewals of this type of lease was $1,299,382.
On renewal the boundaries of lots are adjusted to conform with street improvement lines, etc., and where land is re- quired for major replanning schemes the leases will not be regranted. In these latter cases the Government has announc- ed its intention to pay ex gratia compensation for buildings.
Land Policy. The Government's basic policy is to sell leases to the highest bidder at public auction; all land disposed of for commercial and industrial purposes and residential sites sold to the general public are dealt with in this way. Land required for various types of housing projects described later in this Chapter, for public utilities, and for schools, clinics, and certain other charitable purposes is usually granted by private treaty. The premium charged in such cases varies from nothing for non-profit-making schools, etc., up to the full market value for public utilities.
Policy concerning the sale or grant of Crown land is governed by the scarcity of all types of land. In order to
LAND AND HOUSING
181 ensure that available Crown land is put to the best possible use, all sales or grants are subject to a covenant wherein the lessee undertakes to develop the lot up to a certain rate- able value within a specified period, the amount of expendi- ture depending on the location and type of development allowed. In addition to this covenant, leases contain clauses controlling the use to which land may be put, in accordance with town planning. They also provide for the annual payment of Crown rent, which is very much less than the annual economic value of the land.
The policy of sale by public auction ensures, by and large, that the person best able to develop the land within. the limitation laid down in the lease obtains the right to do so, and that the community receives the maximum return in cash for such leases. Due to the low Crown rent reserved, this policy does not, generally speaking, enable the Govern- ment to derive direct financial gain from any subsequent increase in the value of the land after sale. For this reason the very large increases in land values in recent years have resulted in relatively little increase in revenue from land, since the bulk of the Colony's more valuable land is held. on long lease.
In the earlier part of this century the leases of lots lying in the better residential districts frequently included restric- tions limiting the type and height of buildings. These restrictions have served their purpose well, but the demands of an increasing population now require more intensive development of these areas. Such lease conditions are now modified in accordance with standard zoning schedules which, while preserving the amenities of the district, are designed to allow more intensive development subject to the payment of a premium. Considerable interest has been shown in these zoning schedules and developers have availed themselves of this opportunity to redevelop existing property by higher buildings.
Revenue obtained during the financial year 1956-7 from
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the sale of land by auction amounted to $4,428,858, while that arising from sale by private treaty, extensions of area, modifications of leases, and grants in exchange was $9,248,211.
Government Land Transactions. Demand for industrial sites was intense at the beginning of 1957 but had been partly satisfied towards the end of the year by the sale of some 80 lots, varying from 10,000 to 100,000 square feet in extent, at the new Kwun Tong Reclamation on the north- east side of Kowloon Bay. (See also page 255 of Chapter 14). The upset price in all cases was $5 a square foot. At the earlier sales purchase prices exceeded $20 a square foot, but later prices dropped to $10 or $12 a square foot, and in a few cases as low as the upset price. However, since December prices have risen once again above $20 a square foot. In all, between September 1956 and the end of 1957, about 34 acres of factory sites at Kwun Tong were sold for $19,765,000. Purchasers are allowed to pay by instalments spread over 18 years and the total payments by the end of the year amounted to $2,263,133. Considerable efforts were made during 1957 to find suitable sites for certain categories of industries which are excluded from Kwun Tong. Demand for small industrial sites in Central Kowloon was main- tained, realized prices going as high as $50 a square foot.
Little land was sold by auction for housing due to scarcity of sites and the higher priority accorded to approved low- cost, non-profit-making housing schemes, land for which may be granted by private treaty at roughly one-third of market value. This concession has greatly helped the Housing Authority, the Housing Society, employers and civil servants' housing co-operatives to implement such
schemes.
Where it is not possible to dispose of land immediately, usually because public services are not yet available or because a site is reserved for some future purposes, the land is not left empty or unused, but is granted on a
LAND AND HOUSING
183
temporary annual licence. This policy particularly facilitates the development of small industries. The 1956-7 revenue from such licences was $3,130,372.
Land Value and Development Trends. Although it is no doubt dangerous to generalize about land values since each site has its own peculiarities, there is adequate evidence to support the view that the value of land used for residential purposes has risen by some 12 to 15 times in the ten years from 1947 to 1957. The rise in value of land used mainly for tenement house development appears to have been some- what greater than that used for apartment blocks. The value of industrial land has not increased so markedly, but here again an increase of 8 times the 1947 values is indicated. A restriction to industrial user reduces the value of land by between one-third and one-half its value unrestricted, depend- ant on location. Commercial sites, particularly in the central districts, have not increased in value to anything like the same extent-rises of only 3 or 4 times being normal.
Although the rate of increase in value has varied greatly from district to district and has taken place at different periods depending on local circumstances, the general trend in land values has been ever upwards. The only significant general variation was a pause in this rise, and even a slight drop in certain categories, in early 1950 as a result of the Korean War.
An increasing demand for small sites, particularly for industry, was apparent during 1957 and many of the older industrial areas are being sub-divided. Where the lots are not restricted to industrial user, the lessees frequently sell out for residential development and re-establish their fac- tories on cheaper land elsewhere.
In housing, the tendency has been towards very much. higher buildings (some buildings of eight storeys being erected without lifts) and the construction of much smaller living units. A significant development is the sale of indi- vidual flats within a multi-storeyed structure, and it is now
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
not unusual to find a particular lot owned by upwards of one. hundred individuals as tenants in common, the individual shares varying greatly. Development companies have found this a convenient and profitable way of obtaining a quick return on their investments, but the complications which will result from the multi-ownership of a single structure are already becoming apparent. There has been a rapid upsurge in the re-development of existing premises and many. applications for the exemption of properties from the provi- sions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance are now being heard by Tenancy Tribunals. (See also at pages 227, 228 of Chapter 13). The rate of compensation for statutory tenants has increased considerably, owners now being willing to pay up to $15 to $20 a square foot to obtain vacant possession.
The first interim report of the Special Committee on Housing, which was accepted by the Government in July 1956, had included a recommendation that a Development Division of the Public Works Department should be set up in order to plan and carry out large-scale engineering works designed to open up new land for housing and industry. Difficulties of recruitment prevented the implementation of this recommendation, but in December 1957 the Govern- ment announced that, with the same end in view, Messrs. Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners, a firm of con- sulting engineers, had been commissioned to report on the potentialities of some areas in the New Territories as sites for new towns and large-scale development. The areas select- ed for the investigation are Tai Po, Sha Tin, Gin Drinkers Bay, Castle Peak Bay and Junk Bay; and joined with the Tai Po scheme is a proposal for the construction of a road to link Tsuen Wan to Tai Po, passing the Shing Mun Reservoir and over Lead Mine Pass to the east of Tai Mo Shan.
HOUSING
The general background of Hong Kong's housing prob- lem, which has been so gravely accentuated by the influx
LAND AND HOUSING
185
of refugees from China, may be briefly described as follows. The majority of the population lives in the tenements of the urban area which are densely overcrowded. Of 80,000 tene- ment floors existing before the war, 16,000 were damaged or destroyed during the occupation. By 1946 it was estimated that the population had already returned to its pre-war figure of 1,600,000; it has continued to grow, by immigration and natural increase, until it is now estimated to be 2,677,000. The housing situation before the war was already giving cause for serious concern; it is by all appearances far more serious today. From the records, it appears that the domestic accommodation damaged or destroyed during the war was not fully replaced until 1950; but by that year the Colony was already receiving large numbers of refugees from main- land China. New buildings were being constructed at a rate of over 1,000 a year. Much of this new building, however, was accomplished at the expense of the demolition of old property; and it is estimated that the average rate of total increase over the last five years has been only about 700 buildings a year, of which 630 buildings a year represents additional domestic accommodation.
By the end of 1957 it was estimated that about 83% of the population, or 2,222,000 persons, were living in the 36 square miles of the urban area (Hong Kong Island, Kow- loon and New Kowloon), the great majority being resident in the ten square miles of the built-up city and tenement areas on the harbour shores and the Kowloon peninsula. 229,000 persons were housed in resettlement accommoda- tion. It was estimated that 325,000 persons were without regular housing, and that the balance of over 1,660,000 were occupying regular housing of some kind.
The domestic accommodation available consisted of 1,244 houses, 8,947 large flats, 12,284 small flats, 82,245 tenement floors, and 5,713 low-cost housing units. About 44% of this accommodation was of post-war construction. The tene- ment house predominated in both pre-war and post-war
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
construction, and 75% of all the domestic accommodation in the urban area was tenement house construction, 51% having been built since the war.
These statistics show that there is apparently one unit of domestic accommodation for every 15 persons in the urban area, excluding persons living in resettlement accommoda- tion or without regular housing. The extent of the housing shortage will be even more apparent when it is realized that the average tenement floor cannot accommodate more than ten persons without exceeding the public health standard of overcrowding. In succeeding paragraphs are described some of the ways in which the Government, in many cases in association with private enterprise, is seeking to remedy the housing shortage.
Since the war land has been made available by Govern- ment at about one-third of the usual market value in order to encourage non-profit-making housing projects by a number of voluntary societies catering for the general public, or by larger employèrs for their own employees.
Amongst the voluntary societies the principal role so far has been played by the Hong Kong Housing Society, the pioneer locally in the field of low-cost housing. The Society, formed in 1948 as an offshoot of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and incorporated by Ordinance in 1951 as a separate body, now manages a total of 1,455 flats, cottages and shops, housing some 8,800 people. It is aided by loans both from the Colony's Development Fund and grants from Colonial Development and Welfare funds. Its estates (existing and planned) include:
(a) Hung Hom, the largest estate, where 'there will eventually be 1,254 flats for white-collar workers. So far 684 flats with 25 shops have been occupied by 4,428 people, and 570 flats are still under construc- tion. Present rents, including rates, are $63 and $82 a month for five and seven person flats respectively.
-
LAND AND HOUSING
187
(b) Sheung Li Uk, with 270 flats for 1,400 people: 90 more flats are under construction. Inclusive monthly rents range from $61 to $80.
(c) Ma Tau Chung, with 184 cottages housing 1,032
people. The inclusive rent is $30 a month.
(d) Healthy Village, North Point, with 598 flats for 3,833 people, in five blocks of ten and eleven storeys. The first part has been completed, and work on the second section is in hand.
(e) Kwun Tong, where site formation is in progress for 1,000 flats, to house nearly 7,000 people in six-storey
blocks.
(f) Tsuen Wan, in the New Territories (the first scheme of its sort in that area). Site formation has started for an estate of 469 flats, each to hold five or seven persons, with a total population of about 3,000 people. Other voluntary societies interested in low-cost housing include the Hong Kong Model Housing Society, which in 1952 completed 100 flats in an estate at North Point and in subsequent years has added a further 200 flats; and the Hong Kong Economic Housing Society, which in 1956 completed its estate housing 280 families at Lady Grantham Villas in Kowloon.
Amongst employers, there have been two tendencies, the first of which is exemplified by the textile and other modern factories which have included in their premises dormitory- type accommodation for their workers (but not families). The second method, that of constructing flats for employees and their families, has been followed, for example, by the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which has erected 200 flats for its local staff; Hongkong Tramways Ltd., which during 1957 built 110 flats at North Point (making a total of 265 housing 1,800 people); the China Motor Bus Co., Ltd., which houses 200 workers and their families; the Hongkong Electric Co., Ltd., which has provided accommodation for 259 of its Chinese employees and their
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
families, and during 1957 constructed a further 30 flats for its Indian and Portuguese staff; and The 'Star' Ferry Co., Ltd., which in 1957 built 50 flats in Kowloon for its local staff.
In its own field as an employer, Government has fostered the formation of co-operative building societies by offering loans to groups of local civil servants on the pensionable establishment to enable them to purchase land and construct blocks of flats. By the end of 1957 85 building co-operatives, with a total of 1,575 members, had been formed, and projects involving the loan of over $46,000,000 had been completed or approved. More schemes are under considera- tion.
The Housing Authority, which was set up three years ago under the provisions of the Housing Ordinance, No. 18 of 1954, and charged with the duty of providing accommoda- tion for people living in overcrowded and unsatisfactory con- ditions, made some headway during 1957. The Authority consists of all members of the Urban Council, ex-officio, and not more than three members appointed by the Governor (two such appointments have so far been made). The Authority functions as a commercial enterprise and, although rents are kept as low as possible, they must be sufficient to cover expenditure. Crown land is allocated at one-third of the market price. Government loans are granted at a low rate of interest; for the Authority's first two schemes the rate was 31%, but in 1955 it was raised to 5% per annum. The Government maintains a general control over the Authority's activities, and all its projects must receive the Government's prior approval.
The routine administration and execution of the decisions of the Authority are carried out by the Housing Division of the Urban Services Department, under the control of the Commissioner for Housing, functioning as its principal executive officer. The staff was considerably expanded during the year and now numbers 56. The salaries of all staff are
:
ANNUAL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ON NEW BUILDINGS IN URBAN AREAS, 1953-57
T
MILLION DOLLARS
200
GOVERNMENT
PRIVATE
•
150
100
50
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957
YEAR BY YEAR THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF NEW BUILDINGS ALSO RISES
1946 1951 1952 1953/54
1955 1956 1957
! STOREYS 1.78
3.15
3.58
4.27
4.75
i 5.67
ONG PUB
5
YS
6
1
2
3
This diagram illustrates merely the general upward trend in heights of new buildings, and the positions of the climbers on the stairway do not bear any precise relationship to the annual figures for number of storeys.
7
POST-WAR RE-DEVELOPMENT
OF PARTS OF
WAN CHAI & CAUSEWAY BAY
Completed Private Buildings
KEY
Completed Government Buildings.
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•
·
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POST-WAR RE-DEVELOPMENT
OF PART OF TSIM SHA TSUI
(KOWLOON POINT)
KEY
Completed Private Buildings
Proposed Buildings (no work started)
Proposed Buildings (work in hand)
LAND AND HOUSING
189 reimbursed to the Government by the Authority, plus a 30% surcharge to cover the cost of pensions, quarters, passages, office accommodation, printing, etc. All the building schemes so far put in hand are being carried out through private architects, but it is hoped in the near future to recruit staff for an architectural section which will initially operate in liaison with the architects undertaking development work, and eventually assume that responsibility.
The Authority's first estate, constructed on reclaimed land on the sea front at Java Road, North Point, was completed and opened by the Governor in November and is now being occupied. There, on a fine site of about 6 acres, 1,955 self-contained flats, in eleven-storey blocks, to accommodate about 12,000 persons, have been erected. Although the den- sity is undoubtedly high, each flat has through draught and uninterrupted access to light and air; in addition, ample provision has been made for open spaces and playgrounds within the estate. The estate also includes an 18-classroom primary school for 800 pupils, two health clinics, a post office, assembly hall to seat 500 people, and 71 shops. A bus terminus is to be incorporated within the boundaries, and a vehicular-ferry terminal, connecting with Hung Hom on the mainland, will be constructed nearby within the next two years. The flats, which are all self-contained, are of different sizes, to accommodate from five to ten persons. Rents vary from $60 to $138 a month, exclusive of rates and water charges. The minimum accommodation provided consists of a living/dining room and, in addition, each flat has its own kitchen, lavatory, shower, balcony and facilities for drying clothes. An adequate lift service is provided, and there are refuse chutes at central points in each block. The school, clinics and post office were built at Government expense and are run by Government departments. This scheme, which cost over $33,000,000, was designed by Mr. Eric Cumine, F.R.I.B.A.
Site formation work on the Authority's second estate,
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
overlooking the harbour near Green Island, at Cadogan Street, Kennedy Town, was completed in July. The site, covering 3 acres, is on a steep hillside and entailed fairly extensive cutting; the cost of formation was almost entirely met by a grant from Colonial Development and Welfare funds. The general contract for construction of the buildings, which are planned on cross-contour development, was also let in July, and by the end of the year good progress had been made. On this site, the highest point of which is 285 feet above street level, 636 flats will be constructed, in five blocks, averaging ten storeys in height, and designed to accommodate nearly 4,200 persons. There will also be a three-storey community centre, and a number of warehouses; provision has been made for playgrounds and open spaces within the development. The flats on this estate are generally of a simpler type than at North Point, but are likewise self- contained and provided with shower, balcony, kitchen and lavatory. The type of plan adopted is the gallery approach system, with blocks only one-flat deep; this ensures that all flats are airy and well-ventilated. An interesting feature of the arrangements is that with very little structural altera- tion two adjoining single-room flats can be converted into a flat with a living-room and two bedrooms, should this prove practicable at some future date. Lifts and refuse chutes will be installed. Rents are likely to vary from about $82 to about $127 a month, exclusive of rates and water charges. The total cost of this scheme, which is designed by Mr. T. S. C. Feltham, A.R.I.B.A., is estimated at $7,500,000, and the various blocks are scheduled for completion between July and November 1958.
The Authority's third project, its most ambitious so far, is at So Uk, Kowloon. This is probably the largest domestic housing development ever carried out as an integrated scheme in the Far East. Site formation commenced in February 1957 and should be completed in about May 1958; the major part of the cost will be met from Colonial
LAND AND HOUSING
191
Development and Welfare funds. Four private architects, working as a consortium under the chairmanship of Mr. Eric Cumine, have been appointed to design the estate, and sketch plans are now well advanced. The intention is to house over 34,000 persons in about 5,200 flats (the rents of which will be substantially lower than in other schemes) contained in blocks varying from twelve to sixteen storeys in height. Two 24-classroom schools and a community centre. are also included within the estate, and the total capital cost of the scheme will be in the neighbourhood of $50,000,000. This 19-acre site slopes from north to south, and the blocks, most of which face south over the harbour, will mostly be on different levels, and so enjoy adequate light and air. There will be plenty of covered play areas and open recreation space. The first section of the estate is likely to be completed by March 1959, and the remaining sections between September and December 1959.
Planning of a fourth estate, to be built on a 26-acre site to the north-east of Kai Tak Airport, is now in hand, and a topographical survey is being carried out. A fifth site, of about 10 acres, at Ma Tau Chung, Kowloon, has also been reserved for the Authority's use.
Concurrently with planning and building, work has pro- ceeded on the selection of tenants for the Authority's flats, on the basis of a points scheme in which the most important factor is the applicant's housing need. At present applica- tions are only considered from persons over 21 years of age who have lived in Hong Kong continuously since July 1948 and who have a total family income of between $300 and $900 a month. By the end of 1957 27,348 application forms had been issued, and 13,759 completed forms had been received from applicants who apparently satisfied the basic conditions. The rate at which completed forms were being returned fell somewhat during the year, but they are still being received at the rate of about 60 a week. A considerable volume of work is involved in visiting applicants in their
192
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
homes (undertaken by specially trained staff) in order to check the particulars given and collect further relevant in- formation, and by the end of the year 6,497 of these visits had been made, in addition to 3,191 personal interviews given at the head office on points of difficulty.
By the middle of 1957 Government had spent, or was committed to the expenditure of, some $200,000,000 in schemes undertaken by the Resettlement Department, the Housing Authority and the Housing Society. The total capacity of such schemes, when completed, will be 380,000 persons. Nevertheless, the outlook for the future is far from cheerful. The population is increasing at a rate of over 100,000 persons a year and, in the not very distant future, may be increasing at this rate by natural increase alone. The problem of the provision of housing at a rate to match this increase is going to be a very difficult one. At the most conservative estimate, building costs may well have to amount to $100 million a year, if such persons are to be provided with the desirable minimum amount of accommoda- tion. Some grounds for optimism exist in the fact that this necessary rate of building expenditure is well within the present capacity of private and public investment. In the financial year 1956-7 private capital alone provided almost $103,000,000 worth of domestic accommodation; and just over $36,000,000 worth of domestic accommodation was pro- vided from public funds. The main difficulty is going to be the provision of sufficient land on which to build the houses. Even with as high a density as 1,000 persons to an acre, new land for housing will be required at the rate of 100 acres a year. It is still too early to see how exactly this can be done, but a start has been made with the appointment of consulting engineers, as described in the preceding sec- tion on Land Value and Development Trends, to investigate the possibilities of five sites in the New Territories for new
towns.
It was in order to obtain a clearer appreciation of the whole
LAND AND HOUSING
193
housing problem that the Government in February 1956 appointed a Special Committee, under the chairmanship of the Director of Urban Services, to investigate and report on the Colony's housing situation, including resettlement of squatters, in relation both to the needs of the population, now and in the foreseeable future, and to the resources likely to be available for the purpose. The Committee was to make specific recommendations as to the measures, both direct and indirect, which Government might take to ensure that those needs are met so far as is practicable.
In its first interim report, which was accepted by the Government in July 1956, the Committee recommended that the resettlement programme should be expedited, and that a Development Division of the Public Works Department should be set up in order to plan and carry out large-scale engineering works designed to open up new land for housing and industry. The second recommendation, the acceptance of which represented a new departure in the Government's land development policy, reflected the committee's belief that the most important and urgent task was to relieve that basic land shortage and that such a programme, though expensive, would bring in, as it proceeded, substantial revenue from land sales as well as the benefits for which it was primarily designed. The action taken to implement this recommenda- tion of the Committee is described earlier in this Chapter.
A second interim report was submitted in February 1957 in which the main recommendations were that a Commis- sioner for Housing should be appointed who should be responsible for surveying all the different factors affecting the housing situation and for co-ordinating action upon them, and that a housing survey should be held as soon as possible. Both recommendations were accepted, and a Com- missioner for Housing was appointed in March 1957, who became Chairman of the Special Committee on Housing and principal executive officer of the Housing Authority in place of the Director of Urban Services. The latter still remains
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
as Chairman of the Housing Authority. The sample survey of the population was undertaken at the Government's re- quest by the Department of Economics and Political Science of the University of Hong Kong. The field-work for this survey was carried out by graduates and undergraduates of the University during the summer vacation, and at the end of the year the report on its results was nearing completion.
RESETTLEMENT
The squatter problem in Hong Kong first became serious in 1947 as a result of the continuing stream of immigrants from China, most of whom could not find normal accom- modation and therefore built squatter shacks on the hillsides. This stream of immigrants increased to a flood in 1949 as the Chinese Civil War spread southwards, and resulted in the formation of large squatter areas, some of which had populations of over 50,000 persons. By 1951 the need to clear these squatter areas had become urgent for several main reasons: the public health risk, the frequency of large squat- ter fires, and the fact that the squatters were occupying almost all the sites urgently needed for the Colony's rapidly expanding needs, in particular for more houses, more schools and more factories. It was therefore decided to establish re- settlement areas in which sites for one-storey cottages or huts could be offered to squatters cleared from sites required for permanent development or who, being victims of natural disasters such as fires or typhoons, could not be allowed to return to the site of their previous home. The living con- ditions in the cottage resettlement areas were a great im- provement on those in the squatter areas, but progress in their development was slow partly because most squatters could not afford to build cottages on the sites offered, and partly because the only sites available for such development were steep, relatively remote, and on heavily-eroded hillsides.
By December 1953 a total of about 37,000 persons had been resettled in the cottage areas when the disastrous Shek
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Kip Mei fire occurred, in which over 50,000 persons were made homeless in a few hours. The decision was then taken to embark on a vast programme for the construction from public funds of multi-storey resettlement estates. No limit was set to the size of this programme, the policy being to continue to build as fast as sites and funds could be made available. In the 3 years since this decision was taken, multi-storey buildings with accommodation
for nearly 140,000 persons have been completed at a cost of $54,000,000 out of a total capital outlay by the Government of some $70,000,000 since the beginning of 1952.
These seven-storey buildings are divided into rooms of different sizes from 86 square feet to 240 square feet, the majority being of 120 square feet for a family of five persons. Communal latrines, washing spaces and bathing cubicles are provided on each floor and there is electricity and a piped water supply. Rents have been calculated so that revenue from this source should not only cover all annually recurrent costs but should also provide for the recovery of the original capital cost, including all engineering works and a nominal figure of $10 a square foot for the land, in 40 years with interest at 3%. On this basis the rent for a 120 square foot room works out at $14 a month. A higher rent is charged for ground floor rooms used for business purposes, such as shops of many kinds, restaurants and workshops. An aver- age size seven-storey resettlement building will house about 2,500 persons, while a large estate will have a population of between 40,000 and 65,000 persons. Three estates have already been completed, three more are under construction, and preliminary plans for another five have been approved in principle.
The administration of large multi-storey estates presents special problems, partly because of their size and partly because of the poor circumstances of their inhabitants, few of whom are in regular employment. Resettlement has, how- ever, solved the housing problem for these people and there
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
is no doubt that the majority realize that they are better housed than most of the families in normal tenement build. ings in Hong Kong, and appreciate what is being done for them. One indication of this is the fact that, out of a total of $4,600,000 due in 1957 as rent for rooms in the multi- storey estates, only $2,300 had to be written off as irrecover- able arrears.
All matters connected with the clearance and resettlement of squatters in the urban areas are the responsibility of the Resettlement Department which came into existence early in 1954, and has four main functions: the clearance of sites required for various forms of permanent development and the resettlement of the squatters living on these sites; the resettlement of squatter fire victims; the administration of the Resettlement Areas and Estates; and the prevention of new squatting, either on vacant land or on the rooftops of tenement buildings. The department operates under the general direction of the Urban Council.
All the large squatter areas with populations of over 15,000 have now been cleared with the result that squatter fires, although not infrequent, are much less serious. It has thus been possible for the past two years to give priority to the resettlement of persons living on sites required for various forms of permanent development, such as housing, schools, welfare centres, parks and playgrounds, roads, drains, water- works and factories. Nearly 36 acres of land were cleared for this purpose in 1957, all the former inhabitants, numbering 19,000 persons, being offered resettlement. It also proved possible to resettle nearly 4,000 squatter fire victims.
While the general pattern of clearance and resettlement operations remained unchanged in 1957, there were two notable developments. The first of these was the completion of a block of 70 self-contained flats at Lo Fu Ngam, Kowloon, to rehouse certain families formerly living in accommodation of a similar standard on the site of the Wong
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The Colony's programme for re-settling squatter communities went steadily ahead in 1957 and by the end of the year some 137,000 people had been re-housed in the 7-storey H-block buildings which are now so familiar a part of the Kowloon landscape. Work was started in July on the 29-acre Wong Tai Sin estate, of which a model is shown above; when completed it will house more than 60,000 people. Both the model and the photograph below (of new blocks at the Shek Kip Mei estate) illustrate clearly how, despite land scarcity, wide streets and open spaces are provided in the resettlement
estates.
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These photographs illustrate merely two of the many facets of the work done by Hong Kong's welfare agencies-both official and voluntary-in caring for the underprivileged and needy of the Colony's swollen population. Above: A case worker of the Social Welfare Office receives a baby found by the police abandoned on a doorstep. The Office will care for it and try to arrange for its adoption. Below:
a group of blind toddlers in a kindergarten class at the Ebenezer Home and School for the Blind.
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VBLIC LI
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Tai Sin Resettlement Estate. Each of these flats has its own bathroom, kitchen, and small private balcony, the total floor space being 240 square feet and the rent, inclusive of rates and water charges, being $45 a month. Another similar block of self-contained flats is under construction at Wong Tai Sin. These blocks are essentially the same in their basic construction as the other multi-storey blocks, and they dem- onstrate the adaptability of this form of accommodation, since all blocks now occupied in separate rooms can ulti- mately be converted to a similar standard of self-contained flats.
The second new development was the completion at Cheung Sha Wan towards the end of the year of a large five-storey factory and workshop building, with 94,000 square feet of floor space, for the resettlement of a great variety of squatter workshops and small factories using power-driven machinery. The rents vary from floor to floor, the average being $55 a month (inclusive of rates) for a unit of about 200 square feet. Receipts from rents will, it is estimated, be adequate not only to cover all recurrent costs but to provide for the recovery of the initial capital expendi- ture in 21 years with interest at 5%. The completion of this workshop and factory building is part of the policy to assist squatters to continue, with a minimum of interruption during resettlement, in their former occupations, thus helping them to go on earning a living and to maintain their self- sufficiency so far as possible. For the same reason a large number of the ground floor rooms in resettlement estates are now used for many types of shops and businesses, includ- ing restaurants, cafes, meat shops and simple workshops.
During 1957 the development of four of the 14 Cottage Resettlement Areas of the old type, consisting of terraces of single-storey buildings, was continued and 752 new cottages were built, mostly by charitable organizations. Their popula- tion increased from 72,843 to 76,420 and they are now almost fully developed.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The 23,000 squatters resettled were considerably fewer than those resettled in 1956 because of site formation difficul- ties encountered in the construction of two estates at Hung Hom and Lo Fu Ngam. Since the policy is not to clear land until alternative accommodation is available for the occu- pants, this delay in the completion of multi-storey blocks led in turn to a delay in starting the clearance of a 29-acre site for a very large new estate at Wong Tai Sin (north of Kai Tak Airport). The outlook for next year is, however, hopeful; by the end of 1957 rapid progress had been made in the development of the Wong Tai Sin site, which will house 63,000 persons, and work was about to start on a seventh estate in the Jordan Valley, near Ngau Tau Kok.
More welfare centres were built in the cottage areas where it was still possible to allocate sites for such purposes. In the multi-storey estates, where no sites can be made available, the practice is to allocate large rooftops with penthouses at either end, together with a certain number of standard rooms on other floors, to charitable organizations willing to conduct Boys' and Girls' Clubs under the supervision of the Social Welfare Office, or Primary Schools under the supervision of the Education Department. Most valuable work of this type is now being done by numerous charitable organizations in the estates and areas.
Particulars of the population and of the different types of premises in the cottage areas and the multi-storey estates at the beginning and end of 1957 are as follows:
A. Population
1 Jan. 57.
31 Dec. 57.
Cottage Areas
(one-storey buildings)
72,843
76,420
Multi-Storey Estates
(a) 2-storey temporary buildings ..
30,147
15,207
(b) 6- and 7-storey permanent
buildings
102,901
137,137
205,891
228,764
LAND AND HOUSING
B. Premises of various types on 31.12.57
(Numbers on 31.12.56 are shown in brackets)
Cottage
Areas
Multi-Storey
Estates
Domestic cottages and huts. 14,304 (14,001)
Nil
(Nil)
Self-contained flats
Nil
(Nil)
70
(Nil)
Domestic rooms
Nil (Nil)
26,138 (23,066)
Shops of various kinds
379
....
(388)
643
(379)
Restaurants and cafes
16
(10)
108
(51)
Workshops
49
(47)
253
(147)
Factories
25
(22)
54
(Nil)
Schools, Clinics and Welfare
Centres
37
(29)
53
(21)
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URBAN BUILDINGS
The new Building Regulations made under the Buildings Ordinance, 1955, have now been in force for 18 months and it is possible to assess to a certain extent their effect upon the building industry in the Colony. The most noteworthy change has been in the form of redevelopment of large areas of land. These areas are now being redeveloped in a manner completely different from that adopted prior to the coming into force of the 1955 Ordinance, the tendency being to erect very large blocks of small self-contained flats on the lines of those built by the Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society. There is much to commend this form of development, since it is thus possible to arrange for the open space resulting from the construction of such buildings to be available for communal use by the residents. In the formerly well-established Chinese-tenement-type planning there was a series of small yards at ground floor level (in- variably used only by the ground floor tenant and normally in connexion with a shop or other non-domestic use) and scavenging lanes.
The erection of buildings containing 20 or more storeys is rapidly becoming more common, and it seems clear that skyscrapers, at any rate in the business centres, will be the future form of development.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Good progress is being made by private developers in providing living accommodation for the Colony, and a new type of industry appears to have grown up in the form of 'mail order' real estate business, in which fully illustrated and descriptive brochures of a proposed development are posted to various parts of the world. Many overseas Chinese are now purchasing a flat for their dependents in the Colony as a substitute for a regular remittance.
Plans for 1,922 new buildings were submitted in 1957 to the Building Authority for approval, and of these 1,625 were for living accommodation in one form or another-houses, flats and apartments, tenements and low-cost one-room flats. The remainder of the plans covered buildings such as factories, godowns, schools, churches, offices, etc. In addi- tion there were several thousand plans for building works other than new buildings-e.g. rehabilitation of, and altera- tions and additions to, existing buildings, site formation schemes, drainage works and amendments to previously approved plans.
During the same period 1,113 permits were issued for the occupation of completed buildings. Of these permits 679 were for buildings to be used for residential purposes.
NEW TERRITORIES HOUSING
In the New Territories (apart from New Kowloon) the Buildings Ordinance does not apply, but control of buildings is exercised by the New Territories Administration, along the lines of the Buildings Ordinance where town buildings are concerned, but with wide latitude in respect of village housing. No structure may be erected without the approval of the District Officer concerned.
In villages of traditional South Chinese construction the houses are built in rows one behind another, usually all facing the same way, the exact position of the village being determined according to principles of geomancy. A typical example of geomantic siting is for a village to be built on the
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201
lower slopes of a hill, facing rice-fields and sea, with hills extending like two arms on the right and left, and with a grove of trees, which by tradition must not be cut down, immediately behind the village. Often there is a pond, and more trees, across the front of the village.
Many villages (but not so many as in the adjoining part of China) have walls, gates, watch-towers, and even a moat. In front of the first row of houses there is usually an open cement-paved space which may be used for drying vegetables and medicinal plants, as well as being a convenient meeting- place. The spaces between each of the back rows of houses are narrow, with paved access and open drains. Houses are constructed of locally-made blue brick or rough-cut granite blocks, a heavy tiled roof, and, in recent years, cement floors. Such houses stand for hundreds of years. In the poorer villages houses are built of sun-dried mud brick, faced with plaster. These houses deteriorate after a few years, the owner usually rebuilding in similar style. If left unoccupied, they soon disintegrate into heaps of rubble: in which case super- stition will often forbid rebuilding on the same site. A well- built stone village house usually consists of a single ground floor room, with only one entrance, often separated from the outer court by a covered porch. One side of the room (usually near the door), or one side of the porch, may be used for cooking, while the other side is used for storing grass, the principal fuel. The rear portion of the room may be screened off with wooden partitions, for use as a bedroom, and over this portion, raised some eight feet above floor- level, there may be a wooden platform or gallery used for storage or for extra sleeping accommodation. There is no ceiling, fire-place or chimney, and few windows. The altar and shelf for ancestral tablets is at the back of the room, facing the main entrance. In the hilly Hakka areas, on account of the scarcity of level ground, many houses have their sleeping accommodation in an upper storey reached by ladder.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
New Territories housing is at the present time being sub- stantially influenced by more modern ideas, particularly in imitation of new buildings (such as school-houses) designed by urban architects. These, however, mainly affect the choice of materials. The essential form of the traditional Chinese house is maintained, except that newer houses have more windows. Architects are seldom, if ever, employed for village houses.
In certain areas city-dwellers have built modern bungalows and small week-end houses. These particular areas are men- tioned in Chapter 2. In the market towns, where two- or three- storey buildings have existed for many years, modern shop and tenement buildings differ little from those in Kowloon. For any building in reinforced concrete, or of other than traditional design, it is obligatory to employ an architect.
TOWN PLANNING
In 1946 the Colony possessed a Town Planning Ordinance, a Town Planning Officer without any staff and a few road layouts for undeveloped portions of the urban area. The planning staff was increased during 1948-9 to carry out pre- liminary surveys, draw layout plans and generally start the application of town planning methods to the development of urban and rural areas. Sir Patrick Abercrombie visited the Colony in 1948 and prepared a preliminary planning report; this outlined various physical planning principles and indicated how they might be applied to the local con- ditions. On the procedural side the report recommended the master-planning technique and the establishment of a large office to draw up the plan and administer it. Hong Kong did not, however, adopt the master-planning technique and in 1951 the Town Planning Sub-department was dissolved.
In 1953 a small branch of the Crown Lands and Surveys Office of the Public Works Department was formed to carry out a limited planning programme following the main lines of the Abercrombie Report, and to co-ordinate the work of
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203
the Public Works Department and other Government depart- ments in planning matters.
This organization was not designed to plan on a com- prehensive scale, and planning activity since 1953 has been confined to preparing outline development plans for 22 of the less developed of the 36 planning districts into which the urban area is divided, and of the Tsuen Wan - Kwai Chung district. In addition, layout plans of villages and of small areas in the towns have been prepared as required. These have been used as a guide in the sale of Crown land and the development of private land, where this can be done without incurring unreasonable expenditure from the public
purse.
In the case of five planning districts, i.e. North Point, Yau Ma Tei, Hung Hom, Ma Tau Kok and Chai Wan, which include a large percentage of private property, the outline development plans have been exhibited publicly, and the resulting criticisms or suggestions considered before final submission to the Governor in Council for approval.
The general work of this Town Planning Unit, and in particular the preparation of outline development plans, takes place under the auspices of the Town Planning Board established under the Town Planning Ordinance.
Planning during recent years has been mainly concerned with the provision of land for resettlement and every other form of housing; provision of land to cope with the enormous expansion in local industry; the improvement of communica- tions; and the effects of the Building Ordinance, 1955, which permits higher buildings than hitherto. These subjects are also dealt with more fully in other parts of this Report.
Chapter 11: Social Welfare
IN Hong Kong, where densities of over 2,000 persons to the acre have been found in some areas, welfare problems are seriously aggravated by the swollen population. Enforce- ment of stricter immigration regulations as from September 1956 has not entirely stopped the flow of refugees from China, some of whom still manage to smuggle themselves into the Colony illegally.
Surplus man-power has brought about under-employment and low standards of living which have not been much alleviated by the easing this year of United Kingdom restrictions on trade with China. The diversion of a large proportion of the Colony's funds to the rehousing of thousands of squatters-many of whom are refugees-has only been possible at the expense of many other hard- pressed local requirements in the fields of health, education and welfare. On 12th November, 1957, the General Assem- bly of the United Nations passed a Resolution which, after acknowledging the heavy burden placed on the Hong Kong Government by the influx of refugees, recognizing that the problem was of international concern, and taking into account the need for emergency and long-term assistance, urged States and non-governmental organizations to give all possible assistance to alleviate the distress of the refugees and authorized the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to use his good offices to encourage arrangements for contributions. There had been no positive results from this Resolution by the end of the year.
In the fight against the social evils of poverty, ignorance, ill-health and squalor, the Social Welfare Office is joined by well over 100 voluntary welfare organizations and many small groups of welfare workers sponsored by different
SOCIAL WELFARE
205
missionary bodies. The Social Welfare Office, which was set up in 1948, now comprises seven separate sections dealing with Relief, Child Welfare, Youth Welfare, Women's and Girls' Welfare, Probation, Special Welfare Services (which includes such handicapped groups as the blind and crippled) and Community Development. The last named section is to be transferred to the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs when the Social Welfare Office becomes the Department of Social Welfare in January 1958 and severs its former ties with the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. In addition to the Social Welfare Office, governmental action within the broader framework of the social services includes the rehousing of squatters, the extension and improvement of medical and educational facilities, and industrial welfare. These matters are the concern of the Resettlement, Medical, Education and Labour Departments respectively, and are dealt with in other chapters of this Report.
The large number of flourishing and efficient voluntary societies has made it possible for inter-related services to be built up in all fields of work which are the concern of the seven sections of the Social Welfare Office. Co-ordinating the activities of some forty of the larger voluntary agencies is the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, which was set up as an 'Emergency Relief Council' in 1938 to deal with the sudden influx of refugees from China. The Council has since been instrumental in setting up the Family Welfare Society and the Hong Kong Housing Society, and has initiated many other valuable projects. One of its more recent ventures, 'Welfare Handicrafts', is a non-profit- making shop, established in June 1956, which provides an outlet for the wide range of goods produced by private and Government welfare agencies in the Colony.
It is, however, in the artificially created communities of the Resettlement Estates that the function of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service as a co-ordinating body is becoming increasingly important. In order to ascertain the
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
main welfare needs of the population there, a social survey was recently undertaken at Government expense by the University of Hong Kong, in co-operation with the staff of the Social Welfare Office and at the express request of the Council. The findings of the survey have provided valuable information on which plans for future welfare programmes in these areas can be based.
Concerned with social welfare matters at a policy-making. level is the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, of which the Social Welfare Officer is the Chairman and only official member. This committee makes recommendations to the Government for the further development of welfare work, including the grant of financial subventions, the estimate for which in 1956-7 amounted to $3,850,000. Co-ordination of group activities particularly related to the welfare of young people is effectively carried out by the Standing Conference of Youth Organizations. In the sphere of public assistance the Central Relief Records Office, which is a social service exchange for many of the main relief agencies, ensures against overlapping of relief efforts.
The main handicap to the more rapid development of welfare work in Hong Kong, apart from the purely economic aspect, is the chronic shortage of trained and well-qualified professional staff. A number of students graduate from the Social Science Course of the University of Hong Kong every year, but this is in no way sufficient to meet the demand. On the other hand the high quality of the voluntary effort in Hong Kong is something of which the Colony can justly be proud.
Infant and Child Welfare. The main purpose of the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance, which is administered by the Social Welfare Officer on behalf of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, is to safeguard the interests of all girls in need of care and protection under the age of 21, and of all adopted daughters. At the end of the
SOCIAL WELFARE
207
year there were 7,494 children under the care and constant supervision of the Child Welfare Section of the Social Welfare Office. Of these, 1,835 were adopted daughters (registration compulsory), 151 were wards of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, 1,470 were voluntarily registered adopt- ed sons, whilst the remainder were children in need of care and protection, such as abandoned children or children run- ning wild and beyond control. With the coming into force of the Adoption Ordinance, 1956, legal adoption is now available in the Colony, in addition to Chinese customary adoption. During 1957 30 Adoption Orders were granted, in connexion with which the Social Welfare Officer, repre- sented by senior officers of the Child Welfare Section, carried out the duties of guardian ad litem.
Most children who have been orphaned, deserted or otherwise deprived of a normal home life are cared for in 36 children's institutions maintained by voluntary organiza- tions, some of which receive annual Government subven- tions. The largest of these organizations, the Christian Children's Fund Incorporated, has recently opened a cottage-type home in the Colony which is certainly the most ambitious of its kind in the whole of the Far East. 'Children's Garden', as it is called, covers 51 acres of land, and is a self-contained model community with its own primary, secondary, vocational, and technical schools, and an agricultural project. There are at present 800 children in residence, but the 95 cottages will, when completed, accom- modate 1,200 children. The Government participated in the cost of construction to the extent of $1,600,000, and will also provide a monthly subsidy for 300 children, transferred in July from the King's Park Orphanage which had been operated on the Government's behalf by the Salvation Army since the immediate post-war period.
In order to improve present standards of child care in Hong Kong, three officers of the Child Welfare Section were sent to the United Kingdom during 1957. One has since
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
returned after completing visits of observation arranged by the Home Office, which included the work of Dr. Barnardo's Homes, whilst the other two are taking respectively the Mental Health Course and Child Care Course at the London School of Economics. In June two Chinese Sisters of the Precious Blood Order received a Government contribution towards their passages, which made it possible for them to go to England for special training in child care.
There are now seven infant welfare centres run by volun- tary agencies, as distinct from those, run directly under the Medical Department. The Society for the Protection of Children, which has established five of these centres, con- tinues its important work of safeguarding the health of babies from the poorest families in the Colony, and of enlightening their mothers on the domestic side of child welfare.
Women and Girls' Section. There are many factors lead- ing to prostitution which are common to most countries, large and small, rich and poor, developed and under- developed. This position is, however, likely to be aggravated where, as in the case of Hong Kong, a crowded centre of urban population, already an international seaport, is further overcrowded by an influx of hundreds of thousands of refu- gees who have been uprooted from their homes in main- land China with a loss of possessions and a consequent disruption of their careers, family ties and traditional moral values. A proportion of the male population cannot afford to marry; a proportion of the female population is induced by chronic under-employment and keen competition for the less skilled jobs to seek a livelihood by any means at its disposal. Shortage of housing, high rents and high cost of living are other factors contributing to the existence of prostitution.
The Women and Girls' Section of the Social Welfare Office carries out statutory provisions for the welfare of girls in moral danger under the Protection of Women and
SOCIAL WELFARE
209
Juveniles Ordinance, 1951. The main responsibility of the Section is the reformation of these young girls, for many of whom prostitution is only transitory, and help is readily accepted.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd Order, who specialize in this type of welfare work, co-operate closely with the Govern- ment by providing residential care and effective training. However, a certain amount of difficulty is encountered in finding employment because of the stigma attached to any girl who has been a prostitute or dance hostess.
The Women and Girls' Section is also closely concerned in giving whatever help it can to adult prostitutes, to un- married mothers and to adolescent girls in need of care and protection. A certain number of marital disputes have also been settled successfully by the officers of the Section.
Probation. In Hong Kong juvenile deliquency does not on the surface present a problem comparable in magnitude to that faced by large towns and sea-ports in the United Kingdom. The majority of children appearing before the juvenile courts are charged with technical breaches of the law such as illegal hawking, committed not from anti- social motives but in attempts to supplement the family income on account of poverty. Of actual offences committed by juveniles and young persons, charges of simple larceny predominate. However, a constant need exists to maintain adequate facilities for social treatment such as institutions, clubs and centres where children and youths can be removed from the harmful environment of undesirable homes and the bad associations of secret societies in order that they can be re-educated to take a responsible place in society.
The Probation Section of the Social Welfare Office has ten probation officers, two of whom are seconded to take charge of residential institutions for the training of delin- quents. The other eight officers, one of whom is a woman, are directly engaged in probation work, serving collectively
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
the Magistracies of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and the courts of Tai Po and Ping Shan in the New Territories; all are liaison officers to the District Courts and the Supreme Court.
The total number of persons at present on probation is 149 males and 21 females. Voluntary supervision is exercised by the probation officers over 17 male cases referred by either the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, Magistrates, Police or welfare agencies. These cases receive the same standard of supervision as that given to probationers, so that the sum total of cases under supervision is 187 (166 males and 21 females). During the year there were 65 completed cases, of which 55 were satisfactory, 8 were charged with new offences, and 2 were untraced. These figures indicate 85% successful probation cases.
As liaison officers, the probation staff make available to the courts evidence on the family and environmental back- ground of offenders, and of beggars, who in Hong Kong present an almost insoluble problem. In the past year probation officers carried out social investigations concern- ing 2,112 males and 199 females, of whom 698 males and 92 females were referred to various institutions-such as camps, hospitals, and welfare centres-for assistance. In- quiries are also made into the suitability of certain young offenders for reformative training at one or other of the two Training Centres under the administration of the Prisons Department.
An important step forward was taken in December 1956 with the enactment of the Probation of Offenders Ordinance, whereby comprehensive legislation was introduced extend- ing probation to adults and making provision for the establishment of Probation Homes and Hostels, and Proba- tion Case Committees.
Considerable use is made by the Juvenile Courts of the Remand Home for short-term residential training as well
SOCIAL WELFARE
211
as for remand. The Home has accommodation for 54, and during the year 3,286 cases, of whom 356 were girls, were admitted and discharged.
Castle Peak Boys' Home is administered by the Salvation Army under an agreement with Government which expires in March 1958, after which it is to be taken over by the Government and run by the Probation Section as an Approved School. This institution caters for 100 boys undergoing vocational training for a period of between two years and five years. The curriculum includes carpentry, shoemaking and leatherwork, rattan work and gardening. Also administered by the Salvation Army is a Girls' Home at Kwai Chung which provides training in needlework, rattanwork and housework.
Three institutions of particular value to the Probation Section are the Hong Kong Sea School, Stanley, which specializes in sea-training for 300 poor boys who, after completing their course of two to three years, are offered immediate employment by shipping companies; the Chil- dren's Centre, Kowloon, which offers primary education and vocational training for over 100 poor children; and the Juvenile Care Centre on the Island which was established with the express aim of preventing juvenile delinquency. The Juvenile Care Centre provides primary education and vocational training for over 800 boys and girls who are admitted upon the recommendation of probation officers and welfare agencies.
Youth Organizations. There are many thousands of children in the Colony who have no real home life and for whom no formal education is available. Youth organizations strive to provide a stable background for these children, mainly by establishing clubs where children can engage in a variety of activities such as games, inter-club competitions, visits to places of educational value, physical training, simple reading and writing, and handicrafts. These clubs operate full-time. They are not the spare-time institutions
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
normally associated with this title in the United Kingdom. Particular emphasis is laid on those activities which are directed towards character formation, so that club members. can face the difficulties, trials and temptations of city life and overcome them with reasonable success. Home visits to members' families are a very important part of the club leader's job. This contact with parents helps the leader to have a better understanding of his club members, and often throws light on some of the members' needs and interests.
The voluntary organization which is the recognized body for co-ordinating club work for young people is the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, with a membership of 6,500 boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 18 years in 139 clubs, which are either run directly by the Association or are affiliated to it, as in the case of 23 clubs sponsored by the Youth Welfare Section of the Social Welfare Office. During 1957 the Association arranged a series of inter-club competitions in singing, dancing, music and drama, whilst a Prizewinners' Concert took place in January. Scouting and Guiding for club children continue to expand, and there are now several scout troops, cub packs, guide com- panies and brownie packs attached to clubs.
The Hong Kong Scouts and Guides were represented respectively at the Jubilee Jamboree and the Centenary World Camp held in England during the summer in com- memoration of the centenary of the birth of Lord Baden- Powell. The Boy Scouts also held a very successful local Jamborette, and the Girl Guides sent a contingent to the Regional Centenary World Camp in Manila.
The provision of recreational facilities for young people is another important feature of the work of youth organiza- tions. The Mobile Library, a gift from the Hong Kong Junior Chamber of Commerce to the Social Welfare Office, continues to serve non-school children in the New Territories and in the Resettlement Estates. During the year over 3,200 children from poor families spent a week's holiday at
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The completion of the Tai Lam Valley reservoir, with a storage capacity of over 4,500 million gallons, has greatly eased Hong Kong's perpetual water supply problem. In March water from the new reservoir was set flowing in the Colony's mains at an opening ceremony performed by Lady Patricia Lennox-Boyd, wife of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, seen (above) inspecting the water filtration plant at Tsuen Wan. An engineering survey is now in progress to assess the feasibility of building yet another great reservoir at Shek Pik on Lantao Island.
Meanwhile, there is a regular programme for the construction of irrigation dams and reservoirs to aid the New Territories farmers. Typical is the 25 million gallon reservoir (shown below) at Hung Shui Hang, completed in the spring of 1957 largely through Colonial Development and Welfare grants.
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Ironically enough, after three of the dryest summers in the Colony's recorded weather history. the month of May 1957 proved the wettest in 80 years. More than 35 inches of rain were registered at the Royal Observatory in May-with totals of over 60 inches at Beacon Hill, Kowloon, and nearly 50 inches at Cape Collinson on the Island-and the rains continued until well into June. Drainage systems could not cope with the abnormal strain imposed upon them and there were many landslides and much flooding and damage to road systems. The photographs show a mid-morning 'May shower' in Queen's Road Central and (below) the aftermath-mud and silt brought down from the hills lying deep in a suburban street.
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Silvermine Bay Holiday Camp, the Management Committee of which is appointed by the Standing Conference of Youth Organizations. The open-air football and basketball pitches in the various playgrounds administered by the Children's Playgrounds Association are in constant use.
The number of youth hostels has increased to six with the erection at Yau Yat Chuen, Kowloon, of the Y.W.C.A. Maurine Grantham Centre.
In order to have sufficient trained staff available for the expansion of youth welfare programmes, the Social Wel- fare Office continues to run a Youth Leadership Train- ing Course, in co-operation with the Grantham, Training College. Two short but intensive courses in club work were also run, one by the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association for ten, and the other by the Social Welfare Office for 31, leaders of roof-top clubs in Resettlement Estates. Towards the end of the year the Girl Guides Association sent two Guiders to Australia for a concentrated five-weeks course of training.
In November the Standing Conference of Youth Organi- zations, with the practical support and encouragement of the Government, organized a very successful ten-day Seminar on 'Social Group Work Among Youth', in which seven Asian Commonwealth territories (including Hong Kong) participated.
Care of the Disabled. Events during the latter half of 1957 augured well for the development of services for the physically and mentally handicapped. The Special Welfare Services Section, which concerns itself with the problem of disabled groups and co-operates with the voluntary welfare societies which specialize in these services, is closely asso- ciated with this trend. The Assistant Social Welfare Officer (Special Welfare Services) represented the Colony at the Seventh World Congress of the International Society for the Welfare of Cripples held in London from 22nd-26th July. In October a Committee on the Rehabilitation of the
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Physically Handicapped was set up by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, its immediate objective being to establish a Rehabilitation centre for 100 crippled persons. This will be a pilot project which should reveal the extent of the need for such centres and for sheltered workshops, and should indicate the direction in which further expansion should take place. Meanwhile, the Society for the Relief of Disabled Children is planning to build another wing con- taining 50 to 60 beds, which will increase the accommoda- tion at its Sandy Bay Children's Convalescent Home to just
over 100.
In November a Sub-committee on the Welfare of the Deaf was formed by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee. This Sub-committee is about to carry out a survey on the condition of the deaf in order to make recommendations to the Government for their training and assistance. At present primary school education for approximately 200 deaf chil- dren is provided at the Hong Kong School for the Deaf and the Overseas Chinese School for Deaf and Dumb.
The total number of blind persons registered with the blind welfare unit of the Special Welfare Services Section was approximately 1,300 at the end of 1957. In addition to casework, four clubs have been started--two for children, one for adults and one for the aged blind. The inauguration of the Music Training Centre for 20 blind persons, sponsor- ed by the Hong Kong Ophthalmological Society, took place on 18th September; during this month the Hong Kong Junior Chamber of Commerce also presented 600 walking sticks painted red and white for the use of the blind in Hong Kong. The Ebenezer Home and School for the Blind, which has a total of 100 boarders and 19 day-pupils, started vocational training classes in typewriting, music and handi- crafts. The Honeyville Home for Blind Girls will make further progress in its work when the sister at present being trained in the United Kingdom returns shortly to Hong Kong.
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In the field of care of the aged, the Little Sisters of the Poor have prepared plans for the erection at Aberdeen of another Home for 400 old people, which will bring the total number receiving institutional care to approximately 1,500.
The Mental Health Association had a stimulating year. Many interesting lectures and discussions were arranged, whilst three members of the Association attended the 10th Annual Meeting of the World Federation for Mental Health, held in August at Copenhagen.
With a view to putting into action some of the recom- mendations of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service's sub-committee on the care of Mental Defectives, the Pro- vincial of the St. John of God Brothers in Ireland has been invited to visit Hong Kong and advise on the possibility of establishing a home for mental defectives. Meanwhile, facilities in the North Point Relief Camp, which shelters 24 mentally defective children, were greatly improved by the recruitment of two additional workers. A teacher organizes occupational activities for these children.
Community Development. The Kaifong, or neighbour- hood associations, of Hong Kong and Kowloon have come a long way since they were revived and modernized in 1949 with the setting up of the Sham Shui Po Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association. With the advice and close co- operation of the Community Development Section of the Social Welfare Office, these voluntary associations have entered the fields of education, health and emergency relief. The extent of their achievements can be measured by the following figures for 1957:
(i) Total membership of the 26 recognized Kaifong Wel- fare Associations reached 50,461 family units, the equivalent of some 370,000 persons.
(ii) 326,033 persons received medical care at 17 free
clinics.
(iii) 7,715 poor children received primary education at 23
free schools.
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The Kaifong Associations strive to promote wholesome leisure-time activities in their respective districts. Their 55 basketball, miniature football and table tennis teams played 544 games, providing free entertainment for thousands of spectators. Two public libraries run by the North Point and Hung Hom Kaifong Associations, with a collection of over 10,000 Chinese classics and periodicals, were used by more than 10,000 readers each month. Two exhibitions, one on educational toys and the other on needlecraft, held by the Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok Kaifong Associations respectively, attracted over 60,000 visitors.
Other ways in which the Kaifong Associations have shown their genuine concern over the welfare of their districts are by co-operating closely with the medical authorities in health measures such as vaccinations, inocula- tions and propaganda on blood donation, and the repre- sentations they have made to government on such matters as street lighting, road repairs, public latrines, market facilities, hawkers, etc. Mention is made elsewhere in this report of the part they have played in emergency relief.
Similar to the Kaifong Welfare Associations in the nature of their grouping are the Clan and District Associations, whose sudden expansion is mainly due to the influx of refugees from China. These refugees have come from various provinces, speaking different dialects; they feel like strangers in their new home, and long to belong to a group which shares with local residents a common origin, whether it be a clan or district. During 1957 the staff of the Com- munity Development Section made contact with and visited 60 different Clan and District Associations in order to encourage co-operation between these associations and the Government. Although comparatively little is known as yet about their activities, it is hoped that, while retaining their individual characteristics, these associations will in future prove a strong and beneficial force in the field of local community development.
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The success of the three Women's Welfare Clubs, formed in 1955, is marked not only by some very solid achieve- ments within a short time, but also by the enthusiasm of their members, who aim at setting an example by personal participation in welfare activities. The work of these Women's Welfare Clubs includes not only the running of classes in sewing, knitting, embroidery, rattanwork, and cooking but also the establishment of reading classes, free evening schools, clinics and nurseries. One woman officer of the Community Development Section and three leaders of Women's Welfare Clubs attended the United Nations Seminar on Civic Responsibility and Increased Participa- tion of Asian Women in Public Life, which was held recently in Bangkok.
Public Assistance. Despite its steady expansion, local industry has been only partially successful in absorbing the abundant manpower which has flowed into the Colony from China in recent years. Under-employment, particularly amongst the unskilled, has reduced a proportion of the population to poverty and want. The major problem with which public assistance agencies, both official and non- official, have to contend is the inadequate earnings of those who strive to maintain themselves by precarious and part- time work. As a result of the refugee problem, many of the under-employed are ill-housed, ill-fed and unable to obtain medical attention for themselves and their families.
Although much progress, described elsewhere in the Report, has already been made with the expansion of the social services to cope with these problems, the magnitude of the task precludes any easy or immediate remedy. There is therefore a very real need for the present extensive pro- gramme of distribution of relief goods in which voluntary organizations figure prominently. Since 1955 over 50,000,000 lbs. of food valued at US$4,500,000 have been brought into Hong Kong by the Catholic Welfare Committee of China for distribution to over 90,000 poor people, and over 1,000
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tons of used clothing have been distributed. During 1957 C.A.R.E. (Co-operative for American Remittances to Everywhere) gave out a total of over 240,000 food parcels, whilst the Lutheran World Federation helped a total of 80,000 persons with foodstuffs and 1,200 persons with emergency cash grants.
In 1957 the Government Social Welfare Office through its six Welfare Centres issued a daily average of 2,550 cooked meals and 2,020 portions of dry rations to the needy who were either aged, physically handicapped, widows with dependent children, or suffering from tuberculosis. Indoor relief was provided in North Point Relief Camp for a variety of persons in distress, including the disabled and their dependents who had been transferred after the closing down of Morrison Hill Camp, bringing the total number of inmates at North Point to nearly 500.
Public assistance in Hong Kong embraces all aspects of the other social services. The Lutheran World Service provides medical relief, which not only covers free medical treatment but also emergency cash assistance during sick- ness. In its medical programme, which also reaches thousands of sick people in the poorer districts of Hong Kong, the Catholic Welfare Committee of China, besides supplying clinics with part of their medical supplies, also runs a mobile dispensary which treats a total of over 2,000 cases per month.
Primary education for some 10,000 children is given in free schools run by charitable organizations such as the Tung Wah Hospital and Kaifong Welfare Associations.
Individual casework service is provided by the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society through its five centres which, during 1957, helped approximately 3,000 families a month by cash grants, loans, finding jobs or accommoda- tion, and obtaining hawkers' licences. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul also gave assistance in cash or in kind on a casework basis.
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Large sums of money as capital grants have been given by the Church World Service to aid such relief projects as the Haven of Hope T.B. Sanatorium, Faith-Hope Nursery, St. James' Settlement Feeding Project, and the Holy Carpenter Youth Centre.
In the field of emergency relief, 1957 was a busy year. Fires, a flood and a typhoon affected over 30,000 persons. In May a total of 14,539 flood victims were registered following the heaviest rainfall since 1889, which inundated over forty acres in the urban districts and the New Territories. The next major disaster was caused by typhoon Gloria which swept over the Colony in September, damaging the homes of 10,689 persons. Two fires, at Canton Road in February and at Ship Yard Street, Sham Shui Po, in August, must also be mentioned, as the former resulted in a heavy loss of 58 lives, whilst the latter rendered 2,914 victims homeless. Immediately after registration, the Social Welfare Office either served hot meals or issued dry rations to the victims of these disasters as their circumstances required, whilst food parcels, used clothing, monetary grants and temporary shelter were given by voluntary welfare organizations such as C.A.R.E., the British Red Cross Society, the Kaifongs, the Catholic Welfare Committee of China, and the Church World Service.
Chapter 12: Legislation
1957 saw the enactment of thirty-nine Ordinances which were mainly of an amending character. Of the thirty-nine Ordin- ances enacted twenty-three were Amendment Ordinances, whereas other Ordinances such as the Medical Registration Ordinance, 1957, and the Road Traffic Ordinance, 1957, repealed and replaced other Ordinances of the same or similar
names.
Dutiable Commodities. Ethyl alcohol, as distinct from methyl alcohol or methanol, is the basis of all proof spirit used in the manufacture of intoxicating liquors. However, although methyl alcohol is in appearance and taste indis- tinguishable from ethyl alcohol, it is, unlike ethyl alcohol, a very dangerous poison. In order to safeguard the public against the danger of obtaining liquor containing the poison- ous methyl alcohol the Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, No. 5, was enacted. This Ordinance makes cer- tain amendments to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Chapter 109) to ensure that the two substances ethyl and methyl alcohol are kept separate, and that any container used in connexion with these substances is carefully marked.
Crown Proceedings. With the passing of the Crown Proceedings Ordinance, No. 18, the private citizen now has a right of action against the Crown for wrongs committed by servants of the Crown, if such wrongs would be actionable had they been committed by the servant of an ordinary citizen. On the whole this new Ordinance, which is modelled on the United Kingdom Crown Proceedings Act of 1947, assimilates, so far as is possible, legal proceedings by and against the Crown to legal proceedings between private individuals, and it extends the liability of the Crown to torts committed by its servants, that is the acts or omissions of
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the Crown's servants which give rise to a civil remedy which is not an action of contract. It should be emphasized, how- ever, that this Ordinance only enables the Crown to be sued in respect of the Government of Hong Kong, and in relation to acts and omissions for which the Government of Hong Kong is responsible. It does not, for example, enable Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to be sued, nor the Government of any Dominion or other Colonial territory.
Merchant Shipping. The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Ordinance, No. 17, empowers the Governor to exempt any vessel from specified requirements of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1953, and of its subsidiary legislation. The Governor is also empowered to exempt certain ships from complying with the requirements as to the numbers of certified officers to be carried in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. Before the enactment of this Amend- ment Ordinance the exempting authority was the Governor in Council; whereas now that the Governor alone is the exempting authority, it will be possible to deal with urgent applications for exemption more expeditiously, thereby avoiding the risk of financial loss to ship-owners, etc., in those cases where it is proper to allow a ship to proceed to sea without a properly certified master, mate or engineer.
Medical Registration. The Medical Registration Ordinance, No. 25, has repealed the Medical Registration Ordinance (Chapter 161), replacing it with a comprehensive Ordinance re-enacting in amended form the substantive provisions of the old Ordinance. This new Ordinance regulates the medical profession of the Colony, and its main object is to ensure that the people of Hong Kong are given the best possible medical service and one in which they can place complete confidence. To safeguard the public by ensuring that medical treatment by western methods is given only by those doctors whose professional knowledge is without question sufficient to enable them to practise without endangering the health
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of their patients, section 27 of the Ordinance completely prohibits an unregistered medical practitioner, other than one exempted from registration by section 28, from practising western medicine whether for gain or not. Although this Ordinance came into operation on 1st June, 1957, the Ordin- ance provides that section 27 shall not come into operation until a day to be appointed by the Governor by Proclamation in the Gazette. This has not yet been done. This legislation is also dealt with at pages 145, 146 of Chapter 9.
Aviation. The extension of Hong Kong Airport and the prospect of using the Airport by night necessitated the enact- ment of the Hong Kong Airport (Control of Obstructions) Ordinance, No. 27. This Ordinance is primarily concerned with the safety of aircraft using the Airport and it provides for the elimination of hazards which might imperil them. The Ordinance empowers the Governor in Council by order to prescribe areas within which all buildings are prohibited, or within which no building shall exceed a specified height, and also to require the demolition or reduction in height of buildings to comply with such orders. Power is also given in the Ordinance to require marking and lights on buildings, and the provision of warning and guiding lights and beacons; power is also given for the extinguishing in emer- gencies of lights which might be misleading to aircraft. As the implementation of certain provisions of this Ordinance will interfere with private rights, provision has been made for compensation where there results any diminution of the value of an interest in land, loss of rent or disturbance in the enjoyment of any right in or over land, or any expense incurred in carrying out necessary building works.
Tourism. In recent years it has become more and more apparent that tourism is an industry of prime importance to the Colony. This year the need was felt for the creation of a co-operative and representative body to work for the general promotion and development of the industry. The Hong Kong Tourist Association Ordinance, No. 29, was
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accordingly enacted, which, as its name implies, provides for the establishment of a Tourist Association, and further provides for its constitution and management. As explained in the Ordinance, the objects of this Association will be, inter alia, to endeavour to increase the number of visitors to the Colony, to promote the improvement of facilities for them, to secure overseas publicity for the tourist attractions of the Colony and to further the development of the Colony as a holiday resort.
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Radio-activity. Recent years have shown the grave dangers exposure to radio-activity. The Radiation Ordinance, No. 35, was therefore enacted to ensure, so far as is possible, that the public may be protected against the harmful effects of undue exposure to dangerous radiation, and that the health and safety of persons who may be brought into contact with dangerous radio-activity shall also be protected. The Ordinance provides as a basis for control a system of licensing for the production, dealing in, possession, importa- tion and exportation of radio-active substances and irradiating apparatus. It also provides for the establishment of a Radia- tion Board, which will be the licensing authority and which will be empowered to grant, refuse, cancel, suspend and renew licences. The Board, subject to the approval of the Legislative Council, has the power to make regulations which will cover a very wide field to ensure that all possible pre- cautions will be taken concerning any dealings with radio- active substances.
Road Traffic. The last Ordinance to be enacted this year was the Road Traffic Ordinance, No. 39, which repeals and replaces the Vehicle and Road Traffic Ordinance, (Chapter 220), by a comprehensive Ordinance in substantially modified form, based partly on the old Ordinance and partly on the corresponding legislation in the United Kingdom. Generally speaking there have been increases of penalties as compared with the old Ordinance, these having, in most cases, been brought into line with the corresponding penalties in the
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United Kingdom. In view of the increasing magnitude of the traffic problem in the Colony, the trend has been to increase penalties for second or subsequent offences, and to enhance the Courts' powers and duties of disqualification for driving offences. This Ordinance, which was enacted in December 1957, will come generally into operation on 1st February, 1958, with the exception of section 13. This section introduces a general speed limit of thirty miles per hour on all roads covered by a prescribed system of street lighting, and also provides for other speed limits on roads designated as restricted by the Commissioner of Police. In order that the necessary signs may first be erected, section 13 will not come into operation on 1st February, 1958, but on a day to be appointed by the Governor by Proclamation in the Gazette.
Chapter 13: Law and Order
THE COURTS
THE Courts of the Colony include the Supreme Court, the District Courts, the Magistrates' Courts, the Tenancy Tribunals and the Marine Court.
The Supreme Court consisted throughout the year of the Chief Justice, one Senior Puisne Judge and two Puisne Judges. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction similar to that of Her Majesty's Courts of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer in England, the judges having the power to hear and determine criminal and civil cases with a jury, and to deliver convicts to gaol. The judges also have jurisdiction in Probate, Divorce, Admiralty and Bankruptcy. It is also a Court of Equity, with jurisdiction similar to that of the Court of Chancery in England, and has the same authority as the Lord High Chancellor of England to appoint and control guardians of infants and their estates, and keepers of persons of unsound mind who are unable to govern themselves and their estates.
The practice of the English Courts is in force in the Colony, except where, being inapplicable to local circum- stances, it has been modified by Hong Kong legislation. The civil procedure of the courts was codified by the Code of Civil Procedure, which modified, and in some instances excluded, provisions made in the English Rules of Practice. A statement on the laws of Hong Kong will be found in Chapter 25.
All civil claims above $5,000 are heard in the Court's original jurisdiction, as well as all miscellaneous proceedings concerning questions arising on estates, appointments of trustees, and company matters.
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Magistrates hold preliminary inquiries into indictable offences and, if a prima facie case is made out, the accused are committed for trial at the criminal sessions, which are held once a month.
There is an appeal from the Supreme Court to a Full Court, consisting of two or more judges as directed by the Chief Justice.
Under the Magistrates Ordinance, any person aggrieved may appeal to a judge from the decision of a magistrate. This form of appeal is heard by a single judge, who may direct that the appeal, or any point in it, be considered by the Full Court.
Once more, the appellate jurisdiction had a heavy calendar dealing with 257 criminal appeals and 22 civil appeals. The level of work in the original jurisdiction was not maintained during the year, 495 actions being instituted as against 657 in 1956.
The District Courts, of which two normally sit on Hong Kong Island and two in Kowloon, were again kept extremely busy. The total number of actions instituted, namely 3,157, was the second highest since the inception of these Courts in 1953, the record total being 3,201 for 1955. The District Court has jurisdiction to hear claims up to a value of $5,000 and a special jurisdiction in Workmen's Compensation. The District Court Judges also have a criminal jurisdiction greater than that of Magistrates, which enables them to try certain cases which would otherwise have to be committed to the Supreme Court Sessions. In their criminal jurisdic- tion the District Courts tried 348 persons of whom 294 were convicted, representing an increase of approximately 30% over the previous year.
There are Magistrates' Courts on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon, and in the New Territories. The courts in Kowloon hear cases from the whole mainland area south of the Kowloon hills. In the New Territories there are courts
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in Tai Po and Ping Shan, with one magistrate dividing his time between both places. On Hong Kong Island, apart from the regular Magistrates' Courts, there is a Justices of the Peace Court, composed of two Justices of the Peace sitting together five afternoons a week. One of the Justices is usually a solicitor. During the year 13 solicitors and 45 lay Justices rendered valuable service in this Court.
The Magistrates' Courts continued to have a busy year with five courts functioning on Hong Kong Island, four in Kowloon and one in the New Territories. It will be seen from the table of figures below that in Kowloon the courts dealt with substantially more cases than the Hong Kong courts; this must be attributed in part to the growth of population and expansion of industry on the mainland.
Statistics of work in the Magistracies are as follows:
Total number of charges
Total number of defendants
(adult and juvenile)
Total number of defendants
convicted (adult and juvenile)
New Territories
Total
Hong Kong Kowloon
56,051 62,341 7,285 125,677
61,753
115,802 8,748 186,303
57,702 111,422 7,987 177,111
Total number of adult
defendants
58,617 102,546 8,713 169,876
Total number of adult
defendants convicted
54,633
98,218 7,956 160,807
Total number of juvenile
defendants
3,136
13,256
35 16,427
Total number of juvenile
defendants convicted
3,069
13,204
31 16,304
Total number of summonses
issued
28,634
47,007
4,394 80,035
While there was a slight decrease, as compared with 1956, in the number of applications made to the Tenancy Tribunals for determination of rent payable, or for approval of agreed rental in excess of the permitted rent, the number of exemption cases again greatly increased. The figures for the past three years are revealing: 639 for 1955, 1,004 for
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1956 and 1,410 for 1957. These applications are brought under the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, under which an applicant, wishing to obtain exemption from the Ordinance in respect of certain buildings, brings proceed- ings before a tribunal for that purpose. These tribunals con- sist of a president (who has legal qualifications) and two lay members chosen from a panel appointed by the Chief Justice. During the year no less than 171 of these lay members rendered valuable service on the tribunals.
A new sphere of work was introduced when the Adoption Ordinance was passed in 1956. During 1957 93 adoption applications were filed.
In the Probate Department a continued increase in work is reflected in the following figures of grants made: 386 in 1955, 452 in 1956 and 478 in 1957.
POLICE
The many and varied tasks of the Hong Kong Police Force are multiplied by the rapid development of the Colony and increasing density of population. The problems of the Force encompass those usually associated with a major sea- port and city. Continuous vigilance, redeployment of duties and reassessment of ideas and methods are demanded by the ever extending network of business houses and com- mercial undertakings supplying the needs of the Colony, by the expansion of modern and progressive industrialization and by the resettlement of a large section of the community.
Despite the swift-moving changes that occur and which necessitate constantly revised methods to deal with specific problems, in Hong Kong as elsewhere the beat Constable is a familiar part of the daily scene. A great part of his training is devoted to stressing the necessity for co-operation with the public, and this, together with the growth of civic- mindedness, has resulted in the Force obtaining increased help from the public in combatting crime and maintaining law and order.
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Other methods of Police watch and ward, such as radio car patrols, support the man on the beat and are readily available to assist members of the public. In each of the three Districts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories, there are Emergency Units which provide a tactical reserve ready at all times for special operations or to deal speedily with any localized disorder or disaster.
The Colony's importance as an international cross-roads accentuates the need for close liaison between the Hong Kong Police and the Police forces of other countries in almost all parts of the world. As part of this close interna- tional police relationship, the Hong Kong Police frequently entertain Police Officers from other countries who have come to study methods employed here.
The New Territories with its long coastline and common land frontier with China presents problems which require the utmost tact and resourcefulness. Police in these areas work closely with the inhabitants and excellent relations are maintained. In addition to their watch and ward duties, the Police foster these relations in many ways such as the trans- portation to remote areas of St. John Ambulance Brigade personnel, cinema shows, and performances by the Police Band. Much of the supervision in the remoter parts depends upon the Village Penetration Patrols which operate away from base for periods of three or four days. The heavily indented coastline and the easy sea approaches to the Colony present many problems, particularly that of illegal immigra- tion. However, the co-ordination of land and sea patrols is meeting with some measure of success.
The Force is also responsible, through its Marine Division, for patrolling 600 square miles of territorial waters in which scores of islands, large and small, are situated. In the Port of Victoria, one of the world's greatest harbours, the task of maintaining order and enforcing shipping regulations is complicated by thousands of native craft which ply to and from the Colony and anchor within its waters.
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Chain of Command. The Force is organized under a Colony Headquarters and its main components are three territorial Police Districts, the Criminal Investigation Depart- ment, the Special Branch, and the Anti-Corruption and Narcotic Branch. The Police Training School, Traffic Division, Communications and Transport Branch, and the Police Band come directly under Headquarters. The three territorial districts, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, are divided into divisions, sub-divisions, stations and posts. Included in the New Territories district is the Marine Division which has a fleet of 24 craft. Vessels are fitted with radiotelephone or wireless telegraph, and equipment for air-to-launch communication; eight of them are fitted with radar.
The Criminal Investigation Department is generally responsible for the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime, with specialized units at Headquarters and detective units decentralized throughout the three territorial districts. The Special Branch is responsible for the prevention and detection of subversive activities. The Anti-Corruption and Narcotics Branch is designed as a centralized unit for the better collection and dissemination of information, and the investigation and prosecution of offences, relating to corrupt practices and narcotics.
On 31st December, 1957, the Force had a total strength of 6,169, an increase of 396 since 1956, consisting of 68 Gazetted Officers, 515 Inspectors and 5,586 Rank and File. On the same date the Force had a civilian staff of 1,001 for the performance of clerical duties and other non-police tasks.
In times of emergency the regular Police Force is rein- forced by an Auxiliary Force which, prior to September 1957, comprised two units known as the Police Reserve and the Special Constabulary. To integrate these two units more effectively with the Regular Force it was decided to amalga- mate them, and this was done on an administrative basis pending new legislation. The effect of the amalgamation
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231
is that the combined Auxiliary Forces now have one chain of command and are therefore administratively more con- venient to operate both for training and emergency duties.
To test the efficiency of the integration of the Auxiliary with the Regular Force, both Forces were fully mobilized for 24 hours on three occasions during the year. The role played by the Auxiliaries during mobilization included the manning of administrative groups in Commands, the man- ning of radio and telephone networks at Colony, District and Divisional Headquarters, the forming of two Riot and two Escort Companies, and policing in Divisions.
Basic training in law and general police duties is provided for all auxiliaries. During the year a total of 1,404 men attended Annual Training Camps held at the Police Training School, each for a period of eleven days.
The total strength of the Auxiliary Force on 31st December, 1957, stood at 1,817 for all ranks, an increase of 37 over the previous year.
A very valuable adjunct to the Police Force in the rural areas are village guards. They are selected and appointed by their own village councils, operate in and around their own villages, and serve as a very useful link between village communities and the Police.
Training. All male police recruits undergo a period of six months initial training at the Police Training School before entering upon their duties. This period is reduced to four months in the case of women police. The syllabus covers a wide variety of subjects, including law, Court procedure, Police regulations and duties, unarmed combat, weapon training, foot drill, physical training and first aid. Organized sport as part of the curriculum assists in instilling the team spirit so essential in police work. In addition, all Marine Police recruits are taught seamanship, signalling and port regulations. All non-English-speaking recruits are taught basic English and those who already have a knowledge of
232
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
English are given advanced training at the school. During the year 528 recruits completed their training.
Cadet Courses are held for rank and file, and are designed to give selected personnel a six months intensive training course with a view to promotion to the rank of Sub-Inspector. Advanced Training Courses designed to broaden the mind. and improve the professional ability of those attending are held for rank and file whenever accommodation is available. Special courses are held for officers of the Criminal Investiga- tion Department. Officers on overseas vacation leave fre- quently attend courses of instruction in the United Kingdom and during 1957 five local inspectors were sent to the United Kingdom to attend courses held at police training centres.
Communications and Transport. Police communications and transport are controlled from a branch at Police Head- quarters which is responsible for all vehicular transport and all forms of communication, including radiotelephony, wire- less telegraphy, teleprinters and radar equipment used by Police launches.
The Force has a network of 274 radio stations arranged to link the Colony Headquarters with police districts, dis- tricts with divisions, and divisions with stations and posts. There are also direct links with mobile units such as patrol cars, Marine craft and foot patrols equipped with pack sets. Two police automatic telephone exchanges carrying a total of 310 lines are in operation.
During 1957 a total of 13,339 telephone calls necessitating police action were received at the Control Room, Police Headquarters. Of this number 8,413 were received through the 999 telephone system which links the public direct with police. Police action taken as a result of all calls resulted in the arrest of 1,515 persons.
The Force has a fleet of 272 vehicles of all types ranging from 3 ton vehicles designed to carry 30 passengers to Land Rovers, saloon cars, operational command vehicles and motor cycles. The total mileage for all police vehicles for the
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233
year was 3,219,063 and the fleet had an accident rate of one vehicle to every 21,178 miles covered.
Crime. There was a reduction in serious crime in 1957, with 18,992 cases reported as compared with a total of 22,587 cases in 1956. A very important factor contributing to this reduction was the preventative action being taken against the criminal secret societies, coupled with the effect of Police Supervision, under new and more comprehensive legislation on this subject introduced in 1956, on a large proportion of the criminal population.
The number of reports made to the police was 396,414, a decrease of 14,013 from the previous year; of this total 152,377 disclosed no criminal offence. The balance was made. up of 18,992 serious offences, 11,007 or 58% of which resulted in arrest and prosecution, and 225,045 other offences not classified as serious which resulted in the conviction of 171,602 persons. The statistics of serious criminal offences are shown at Appendix XVIII.
Many of the offences investigated were committed by mem- bers of criminal secret societies, commonly known as Triads. Such persons are usually to be found amongst the baser criminal elements engaged in gambling, prostitution activi- ties, dealings in narcotic drugs, extortion and other forms of vice. It will be recalled that it was the Triads which were largely responsible for fomenting the serious public disorders in Kowloon and Tsuen Wan in 1956. Action against mem- bers of these societies continued through the year and was intensified during September and early October with the object of preventing any activity by these societies on the two national celebrations held on 1st and 10th October respectively. During this particular period positive action was taken against 1,040 known members of these societies. By directing action against officials confusion was created within the societies, and many active members left the Colony in order to avoid arrest. In all, 1,887 persons were apprehended for membership of unlawful societies.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Police Supervision became firmly established during the year and, without doubt, contributed to the reduction of crime. In all, 5,280 persons were ordered by the Courts to be under Police Supervision.
Ceremonies were held at Police Headquarters at which 74 letters of appreciation and monetary awards were presented to members of the public for outstanding services to the community. At one of these ceremonies a Belilios Star, a local award, was presented to a private citizen who at great personal risk saved five persons from drowning during torrential rain storms in June 1957. During the year members of the public assisted in the apprehension of 848 persons responsible for the commission of serious crimes.
Traffic. The continued increase in the number of vehicles on roads of inadequate width has further aggravated the problem of maintaining free traffic circulation, and has in- creased congestion in central areas. The most pressing problem is that of parking, and intensified building develop- ment is now producing parking problems in areas where they did not hitherto exist. The construction of Hong Kong's first three-tiered car parks on the central reclamation in Victoria, one of which is described at page 271 of Chapter 15, will do much to alleviate congestion and improve traffic flow.
During 1957 the provision of vehicle-actuated traffic lights at six selected junctions, the provision of pedestrian refuges and guard rails, and the introduction of one-way street systems in certain main thoroughfares in densely populated areas of Kowloon provided major improvements for the better control and safety of vehicles and pedestrians generally. Revision of the Vehicles and Road Traffic legislation, also described at pages 223, 224 of Chapter 12, included provision for the establishment of pedestrian crossings (Belisha-Beacon type), and the adequate lighting and guarding of roadworks.
Education of the public in road safety was continued during the year through the medium of posters, pamphlets, films and the Road Traffic Exhibition. A series of lectures
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235
on road safety, followed by instructional films, which was given to school children produced encouraging results.
The total number of traffic accidents increased from 12,001 in 1956 to 12,014 in 1957, whilst accidents involving injury showed an increase of 184. Comparative figures for the last
four years are :
1953
1954 1955
1956
1957
Fatal
72
101
139
131
125
Serious Injury
448
621
735
672
748
...
Slight Injury
3,124 3,397
3,745
3,618
3,726
4,892
5,119 7,156 7,580
7,415
Damage Only
Total
8,536 9,238 11,775 12,001 12,014
The number of drivers increased by 12,954, bringing the total of licensed drivers up to 76,053. During the year 27,100 provisional (learner) driving licences were issued. 16,473 driving tests were conducted.
Immigration. The Commissioner of Police is concurrently the Immigration Officer for the Colony. All persons entering the Colony, other than Cantonese entering from the province of Kwangtung, must be in possession of valid travel docu- ments. In addition, aliens, with the exception of those passing through on ships or aircraft, are required to have visas. It has long been the policy to permit the maximum freedom of movement between the Colony and the province of Kwangtung, but in recent years the increasing numbers of Cantonese wishing to take up residence in the Colony forced the Government to impose a quota system whereby the numbers permitted to enter the Colony are governed by the numbers who go out. Local residents who wish to visit China may ensure that they can return outside the quota by obtain- ing a re-entry permit before they leave. The number of re- entry permits issued to local residents for the purpose of travelling to China and Macau during 1957 was 409,677.
The total recorded movement during 1957 was 3,104,393 representing an increase of 194,712 over 1956. The number
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of callers at the Immigration Office in connexion with im- migration matters was approximately 400,000. Altogether 34,466 visas and 3,609 new British passports were issued.
KOWLOON AND TSUEN WAN RIOTS
On 19th August, 1957, the Report of the Riot Compensa- tion Advisory Board was published. This Board had been appointed by the Government to examine claims for com- pensation arising out of the 1956 Riots in Kowloon and Tsuen Wan. The Board reported that:
(i) in 610 cases (representing 676 individual applications) it recommended that ex gratia payments of various amounts should be made;
(ii) in 70 further cases it recommended that no payments
should be made;
(iii) in 184 further cases, mainly from the Tsuen Wan area, it was unable to make any recommendation because the applicants had either neglected or refused to disclose the financial assistance received from other
sources and the Board had felt bound to assume that in a large number at least of these cases material financial assistance had in fact been received from other sources.
The Board also provided the Government with a schedule of amounts which it would have recommended for payment in these cases if disclosure had been made and if the amount
of financial assistance received from other sources had been negligible in relation to the degree of hardship which the Board felt it necessary to establish before it could make firm recommendation for payment.
Simultaneously with the publication of the Board's Report, the Government issued a printed statement announcing that it had accepted the Board's first two recommendations and that as regards the third recommendation it had decided that for a number of reasons, explained in the statement, there
100,000
BIRTHS AND DEATHS
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
BIRTHS DEATHS
---
1946
47 48 49 50 51 52
53
54
55
56
ΟΙ
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
INFANTILE
MORTALITY RATE (Per 1,000 live births)
160
140
PUBI
120
100
0
80
60
40
20
TUBERCULOSIS MORTALITY RATE (Per 100,000 population)
0
1952
53 54 55 56 57
1952 53 54 55 56 57
MOTOR TRUCKS
(Vehicles registered)
1947 - 1,821
1957-4,711
GAS
(Cubic feet consumed)
1947-348 MILLIONS
750-900 PEOPLE
IN 194
TELEPHONES (Instruments in service)
1947-20,300
1957-74,800
A
TRAMWAYS (Passengers carried)
1947-67 MILLIONS
1957-675 MILLIONS
REFUSE DISPOSAL
(Cubic yards collected)
1947 - 250,000
1957-167 MILLIONS
BROADCASTING
(Wireless receiving licenses)
1957-703,177
1947 - 24,000
1957 - 115,000
("Including Rediffusion Subscribers)
A DECADE OF DEVELOPMENT
FERRIES (Passengers carried)
1947 - 57 MILLIONS
1957
123 MILLIONS
MOTOR CARS
(Vehicles registered)
1947 - 3,986
1957 - 22,474
BUSES (Passengers carried)
1947-51 MILLIONS
1957-349 MILLIONS
MOTOR DRIVERS
(Licenses issued)
1947 - 15,290
1957-77,757
P
寒溪
ELECTRICITY
套套
(Units generated)
1947 - 128 MILLIONS 1957-834 MILLIONS
POSTAL SERVICES
(Letters Franked)
NG
1947 - 40 MILLIONS
1957 - 130 MILLIONS
300,000
NUMBER OF PERSONS RESETTLED 1953-57
250.000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
A
Dec. 53
June 54
Dec. 54
June 55 Dec. 55
June 56
Dec. 56
June 5
Dec. 57
30,000
25,000
20,000
CHANGING TRENDS IN RESETTLEMENT BUILDING BETWEEN 1953 AND 1957
Number of Cottages in Resettlement Areas
Number of Rooms
in Resettlement Estates
BLA
MB
15,000
10.000
5,000
L.
0
Dec. 53
June 54
Dec. 54 June 55
Dec. 55
June 56
Dec. 56
June 57
Dec. 57
LAW AND ORDER
237
were no grounds for justifying any payments to the 16 associations included in this group, but that for the remain- ing 168 cases involving individuals the hypothetical assess- ments made by the Board should be reduced by 50% and that the resultant amount should be paid from public funds on purely compassionate grounds.
All applicants were immediately informed of the final deci- sion upon their individual applications, and payment of com- pensation by cheque or money order was made to applicants with reasonably certain addresses. For the remainder of the successful applicants payment was made either through the Treasury and its Kowloon Sub-Treasury or through the Social Welfare Office and Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, the latter departments dealing with cases involving juveniles or dependants resident in China.
In all, compensation amounting to $1,478,965 was approved to be paid, and by the end of the year all but $50,000 had already been collected.
PRISONS
There are now six establishments administered by the Commissioner of Prisons, with Headquarters in the Central District of Victoria.
Stanley Prison is situated on the Stanley Peninsula on the south of Hong Kong Island. It was built to accommodate 1,746 prisoners but has been overcrowded throughout 1957. The main buildings consist of six three-storeyed separate cell blocks, each with 286 cells. There are separate wards for European prisoners, for prisoners under punishment, and for previous offenders serving periods of five years and over. There is an excellent hospital and well-equipped work- shops, kitchen and laundry. 10,473 prisoners were received, the daily average number in custody being 2,420 (the daily average in 1956 was 2,461).
Victoria Prison is next to the Central Magistracy and within a few minutes of the Supreme Court, a situation well
238
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
suited to its functions as a Classification Centre and prison for male prisoners on remand and awaiting trial. 8,207 prisoners were received, the daily average population being 479 (530 in 1956).
Chi Ma Wan Prison is near the village of Shap Long on the south-east corner of Lantao Island and 13 miles from the centre of Victoria. It is a minimum security establishment with accommodation for up to 650 short-term prisoners. The main occupation is the afforestation of the area surrounding the prison. So far, with the advice of the Forestry Officer, 250 acres have been planted and a further 250 acres are scheduled for development in the next planting season. 4,134 prisoners were received, the daily average population being
501.
Lai Chi Kok Prison for women is on the mainland, on what were once the outskirts of Kowloon; the prison has gradually been hemmed in by growing industrial and resettle- ment areas. The women sleep in dormitories with the excep- tion of long-term first offenders who have pleasant rooms which were formerly cells but are now never locked. The Matron and all her staff are locally recruited. 1,470 women were received, the daily average number of occupants being 119 (92 in 1956).
Training Centres. Stanley Training Centre and Tung Tau Wan Training Centre both take boys between the ages of 14 and 21 sentenced to detention in a Training Centre. The provisions of the Training Centres Ordinance are based on the Borstal section of the Criminal Justice Act, 1948. The Centres can together take 200 boys, all of whom would probably have gone to prison before the inception of the scheme. Of 237 boys released over a period of five years only 35 have been reconvicted. 175 boys were accepted during the year, the daily average population being: Stanley Train- ing Centre, 126; Tung Tau Wan Training Centre, 86.
The staff of the Prisons Department consists of 11 gazetted
हूँ
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239
officers, 530 other ranks, and 128 schoolmasters, trade in- structors, clerks, storekeepers, mechanics and others.
After Care. The Salvation Army and Family Welfare Society continued their work among adult prisoners. A Dis- charged Prisoners' Aid Society was registered, and it is hoped that the Society will co-ordinate and extend the work done by such voluntary agencies.
After-Care of boys discharged from the Training Centres is in the hands of the After-Care Officer who in difficult conditions carried a heavy case load with much success.
RECORDS
The Registrar General's Department, situated in the Supreme Court Building, comprises the Land Office, the Registries of Births and Deaths, Marriages, Companies, Trade Marks and Patents, and the Offices of the Official Receiver in Bankruptcy and Companies Winding Up, the Official Trustee, the Judicial Trustee, and the Official Solicitor in Lunacy.
Land Office. The principal function of the Land Office is the registration of all instruments affecting land in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Kowloon; instruments affecting land in the New Territories (other than New Kowloon) being registered in one or other of the three District Offices. Although the system of registration under the Land Regis- tration Ordinance is basically one of registration of deeds and not of title, the Land Office Registers do in fact show in clear and accurate manner the devolution of title to each lot, or section of a lot, and details of all incumbrances affecting it. The result is that, in practice, the system is regarded as virtually equivalent to registration of title. Land tenure is described in Chapters 7 and 10.
Among the other functions of the Land Office are the issue, renewal, variation and termination of title to all Crown land in the Colony other than in the New Territories,
240
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
the granting of mining leases, and advising the Government generally on matters relating to land.
Spurred on by the keen demand for housing and office accommodation, and nourished by a continued inflow of capital from outside the Colony, the building industry was actively engaged throughout the year erecting new build- ings of every description, large and small. This building activity was naturally reflected in the number of land transactions registered in the Land Office, and the total number of instruments so registered during the year was 14,330, or some 14% more than last year's record total. The amount involved in these transactions rose by 16% over the previous year's figure to the prodigious total of $809,984,000. Selling flats outright instead of leasing them has developed into a standard practice with many builders, who with the capital so realized repeat the process of building and selling. The amount advanced on mortgages of land registered in 1957 rose by nearly $40,000,000 over the previous year's total to $244,967,000. The trend towards lower interest rates noted in the previous two years was reversed, and the average rate rose from about 11% per annum to about 12% per annum.
Companies. The Companies Registry maintains records of all companies incorporated in the Colony, and of all foreign corporations carrying on business in the Colony. At the end of the year there were 2,980 local companies and 366 foreign corporations registered compared with 2,740 and 365 respectively in 1956.
The Companies Ordinance is based on the United King- dom Companies Act, 1929 (now repealed). On incorporation in Hong Kong a company pays a fixed fee of $100 plus $2 per $1,000 of nominal share capital. Foreign corpora- tions establishing a place of business in the Colony do not have to pay this fee: they merely pay $5 fees on filing the documents required by Section 318 of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32).
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241
Trade Marks and Patents. The Trade Marks Ordinance, 1954, is based on the Trade Marks Act, 1938, but there are some variations.
During the year 1,073 new trade marks were placed on the Register, as against 978 in 1956. Registrations are valid for seven years (14 years if registered prior to Ist January, 1955), but may be renewed indefinitely for further periods of 14 years. There were 13,862 trade marks on the Register on 31st December, 1957.
Hong Kong law does not provide for the original grant of patents, but patents registered in the United Kingdom are registrable under the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance (Cap. 42). This provides that the grantee of a patent in the United Kingdom may, within five years from the date of issue of the patent, apply to have it registered in Hong Kong. During the year 67 registrations were effected.
Bankruptcies and Liquidations. Ten bankruptcy petitions were filed, of which two were withdrawn and two set down for hearing after the close of the year. Receiving Orders were made in the other six cases, but in two of these the Orders were subsequently rescinded. The Official Receiver was appointed Trustee in all four remaining cases, in which the estimated liabilities totalled about $232,000. There were four petitions for the compulsory winding-up of companies, two of which were adjourned sine die and one withdrawn. In the remaining case, that of an import-export company with estimated liabilities of about $164,000, a Winding-Up Order was made, and the Official Receiver appointed Liquidator. The welcome decline in the number of new cases has enabled good progress to be made on arrears of work relating to bankruptcies and liquidations which originated in previous years.
Marriages. All marriages, except non-Christian customary marriages, are governed by the provisions of the Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181). Under this, it is necessary for a notice
242
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of intended marriage to be exhibited at the Registry for 15 clear days, after which the Registrar issues a certificate which enables the marriage to be solemnized at a licensed place of worship, or to take place as a civil marriage before the Registrar. The Governor has the power in special cir- cumstances to grant a licence authorizing a marriage to take place before the expiry of the 15-day period, or dispensing with notice altogether.
Notices of intended marriage are accepted, and civil marriages are performed, both at the main Marriage Regis- try in the Supreme Court Building in Hong Kong and at the Kowloon Sub-Registry situated on the third floor of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Building, Mong Kok.
The validity of Chinese customary marriages is not affected by the Marriage Ordinance, and such marriages do not require to be registered. Marriages under the Ordinance are, however, becoming more and more popular with all classes of the Chinese population as the advantages of having an official certificate of marriage are now more widely appreciated. For many years there has been a steady increase in the yearly total of registered marriages, and in continuance of this trend 1957 saw the number jump to 7,062, 1,455 more than in 1956. The increase can be attributed mainly to arrangements made in March 1957 whereby for the first time civil marriages could be performed at the Kowloon Sub-Registry. In all, 1,426 such marriages were performed there, and 4,794 at the main Registry.
Births and Deaths. This Registry was transferred from the Medical Department to the Registrar General's Depart- ment on 1st April, 1957.
The registration of births and deaths is compulsory under the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap. 174). The General Register Office is situated in the centre of Victoria, and a number of district registries are dispersed throughout the Colony for the convenience of the public. In the outlying rural and island areas, births are registered
LAW AND ORDER
243
by district registrars calling regularly at the District Rural Committee Offices, and deaths are reported to the local police stations.
During 1957 97,834 births and 19,365 deaths were registered as compared with 96,746 births and 19,295 deaths in 1956. 134,954 birth certificates were issued as against 96,378 in 1956.
Adoptions. An Adopted Children Register is maintained. at the General Register Office under the Adoption Ordin- ance, 1956. The first entry was made in the Register on 22nd July, 1957, and at the end of the year the number of adoptions registered totalled 29.
Chapter 14: Public Utilities and
Public Works
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Waterworks. The supply of water to the Colony is the responsibility of the Public Works Department of the Government.
In the absence of large rivers, or other regular sources of supply, the Colony is entirely dependent for its water on rain, most of which falls during the summer when the south- west monsoon blows and occasional typhoons are experi- enced. The seven months October to April inclusive are regarded as the dry season, with an average rainfall of 18.27 inches, but, because the ground is so dry, very little of the rain finds its way into the reservoirs. As the dry season may sometimes extend to the end of June, the average daily consumption during the winter months has to be carefully husbanded in order that there may be a reasonable quantity of water in the reservoirs at the end of April as a reserve against late rains. The inadequacy of existing resources also involves a certain amount of restrictions even during the wet
season.
The new reservoir at Tai Lam Chung in the New Territories was completed in 1957, and the Colony now has 14 storage reservoirs which have a total capacity of 10,500,000,000 gallons. The new reservoir is the largest, having a capacity of 4,507,000,000 gallons. The older reser- voirs, which are situated both on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories, normally fill up completely during the wet season, and the new one should also do so after all its catchwaters have been constructed. Despite this sub- stantial and very welcome improvement in water supplies,
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
245
and the proposed construction of a new reservoir at Shek Pik, described later in this Chapter, the fact must be faced that the storage, together with the dry-weather yield from streams, may still be inadequate for the demands of a rapidly growing population and increasing development, and that restrictions on the hours of supply may ultimately have to go on being imposed every dry season. Of the maximum possible storage only 2,362,000,000 gallons can be held on the Island, and with the completion of the new reservoir approximately one half of the Island's consumption is met from the New Territories. The water is conveyed across the harbour in two 21-inch diameter concrete-lined steel sub- marine pipes. On account of the hilly nature of the Island a large proportion of the water has to be pumped, and in some areas repumped, necessitating numerous pumping stations and service reservoirs.
In addition to these works, Hong Kong possesses a system of catchwaters 35 miles long, and when the Tai Lam Chung scheme is complete the total length will be about 50 miles. These channels run along the mid-levels of various hillsides, intercepting streams and water courses and conveying their water into storage reservoirs. The water supply to the Island and the urban areas of Kowloon is filtered and sterilized by chemical treatment, and a high standard of purity is main- tained. Practically all the water is supplied to consumers through meters, at an average cost of 80 cents (1/-d) per 1,000 gallons. Some of the poorer districts are at present provided with water through stand-pipes, free of charge.
Throughout the winter months of 1956-57 there was a five-hour supply each day. Rain fell early in May, and the hours of supply were increased to nine on 10th May. On 21st May there was exceptionally heavy rainfall, 28.21 inches being recorded in 24 hours at the Beacon Hill Waterworks Recording Station, which received the exceptional total of 62.46 inches during the month. This almost constituted a Colony record, and all reservoirs, with the exception of the
246
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
new one at Tai Lam Chung, were overflowing by 25th May. As a result of the torrential downpour on 21st May the hours of supply were increased from nine to 16 a day on 22nd May, and continued at this level until mid-October, when the hours were again reduced to ten. The average daily consumption for the year was 48.02 million gallons, the peak consumption being 73.08 million gallons on 28th July, the highest ever recorded. It is also interesting to note that the last time regular hours of supply were so generous was in 1950, when daily consumption was 40.5 million gallons for a 17 hour supply.
As part of the development of urban water supplies, the construction of a 5,000,000 gallons service reservoir to receive water from the new filters near Kowloon Reservoir was com- pleted. A 4,000,000 gallons service reservoir situated above Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island was also completed.
The year's work included a large programme to replace existing mains and extend the distribution system. One factor which is causing an increase in the demand for water supplies is the rapid expansion of the Colony's Resettlement Estates. In these estates mains water is provided through standpipes. The number of regular water consumers in- creases as more estates are constructed because the squatter areas, which the resettlement projects replace, have only very limited regular means of obtaining water. The new reclamation at Kwun Tong, which is more than two miles away from the nearest supply pipe, has involved the creation of a new distribution district. A new trunk main was laid to the reclamation.
Satisfactory progress was made on the Tai Lam Chung scheme. The main dam and the three subsidiary ones were completed. Contracts were let for the construction of about eight miles of catchwater channels. The pumping station and the filters at Tsuen Wan were almost finished. Much needed water began to be drawn from the new reservoir on 7th March, 1957.
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
247
Work has also started on a proposed new dam to flood the Shek Pik Valley on the south coast of Lantao. The construction of the foundations will present considerable difficulties, but it is hoped that they can be overcome. The Consulting Engineers were accordingly instructed to proceed with the design of the dam and other essential works, and by the end of the year a team of engineers was engaged in *grouting an experimental section of the foundations of the dam, the results of which will determine the practicability of the whole scheme.
In the New Territories all the principal market towns have water supplied either from main sources or provided independently from local stream intakes. Supply hours are subject to restriction as in the urban areas, but the system of piped water supplies is gradually being extended year by year. A 5,000,000 gallons service reservoir was constructed near the rapid gravity filters of the Tai Lam Chung Scheme at Tsuen Wan, and a trunk main laid from it to the town. A 15-inch diameter pipeline, 22,000 feet long, to replace two 6-inch pipelines, was laid to improve the supply position in the town of Yuen Long. Work began on laying an 8-inch pipeline from the new reservoir at Tai Lam Chung to the village of Castle Peak, which at present has no public supply. To assist the town of Tai O on Lantao, which obtains its water from wells which run dry during the winter months, work was commenced on a small reservoir and a 6-inch pipeline to the town.
In addition to the shortage of water for domestic purposes, there is also not enough for agriculture in the New Territories. The position is being complicated by the con- struction of new catchwaters, which intercept water that would otherwise flow onto agricultural land. A large number of small schemes consisting of diversion dams and channels
* Grouting the injection under pressure of a cement mixture into the gravel sub-soil to make it watertight.
248
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
for irrigation purposes were completed. Two dams, each approximately 75 feet high and impounding between them 50,000,000 gallons of water, were constructed, part of the cost being met from Colonial Development and Welfare funds. A Malayan firm experienced in deep-well drilling was commissioned to undertake a test programme of seven wells. By the end of the year four wells had been completed, with one at a depth of 187 feet yielding a satisfactory supply; further wells are being sunk.
Electricity. Electricity on the Island is supplied by The Hongkong Electric Co., Ltd., distributing an alternating current at 22 kilovolts and 6.6 kilovolts, 3 phase, 50 cycles. Bulk consumers are supplied at 6.6 kilovolts and domestic consumers at 346/200 volts. The amount of electricity generated during 1957 was 349,435,900 kilowatt hours, an increase of 13.3% over the previous year's figure.
The number of consumers at the end of the year was 77,061, an increase of 2,719 over the 1956 figure.
Total sales (in units) were as follows:
Lighting
88,688,517
Public Lighting
Bulk Power
Domestic and Commercial Power
2,341,287
60,316,102
150,453,636
301,799,542
This is an increase of 14.6% on the previous year.
During the year the peak-load reached a maximum of 72,500 kilowatts, an increase of 12.1% over 1956. The steam raising capacity is 1,100,000 lbs./hr. The generator capacity remains at 92,500 kilowatts.
As a result of the ever-increasing use of air-conditioning together with the construction of multi-storied buildings, it was necessary to increase the supply to the central areas of Victoria by laying four 22 kilovolts Feeders. Two 22 kilovolts Feeders were also laid to the site of the proposed major substation near Taikoo Dockyard.
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
249
Twenty new local substations were established and many extensions were carried out on the existing 6.6 kilovolts and Low Voltage Systems.
Development also continued at a high rate in the North Point area; the load on the south side of the Island, however, showed little change.
Charges for current range from 28 cents a unit to 15.4 cents a unit for lighting, and 12 cents a unit to 11.4 cents a unit for power. Special rates are quoted for bulk consumers of industrial power. All rates are subject to a fuel surcharge due to the fluctuating cost of fuel. The rate of 9% in opera- tion at the beginning of the year was increased to 18% on 1st March and reduced to 15% on 1st August.
In Kowloon electricity is supplied by China Light and Power Co., Ltd., whose services extend to the principal market towns in the New Territories and to such villages as are situated within reasonable distance of main roads. During the year overhead lines were considerably extended on the islands of Tsing Yi and Lantao, supply being made available on Lantao as from December. The load continues to grow steadily each year, and during 1957 there were more demands than ever from both industrial and domestic con- sumers. The increase in demand continues to be principally caused by new urban and industrial development, and the demolition of old buildings and their replacement by larger modern structures. 388 factories were connected to the Company's mains.
This expansion has required the construction of a new power station, the building and equipping of which is being carried out in stages. One turbine and one boiler were com- missioned during the year and work has begun on the erec- tion of the next boiler and turbine. Two further turbines and one boiler are scheduled for commissioning within the next 18 months.
The present capacity of the station is 97,500 kilowatts.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Approximately 484,306,934 units of electricity were generated during the financial year 1956-7, of which 422,517,543 units were sold. Total sales (in units) were as
follows:
Lighting
Public Lighting
Power
Bulk Supply
85,454,677
2,936,349
134,990,094
199,136,423
422,517,543
In September 1956 the Company had 80,474 consumers. By October 1957 the number had risen to 95,028, an increase of 18%.
Charges for electricity (per unit) are:
Lighting
Power
Domestic Power
Kowloon
New Territories
29 cents
37 cents
14 cents
14 cents
13 cents
13 cents
་
These rates are subject to a variable fuel surcharge. The rate of 9% in operation at the beginning of the year was
• increased to 18% on 1st March and reduced to 15% on 1st August. Special rates are available for large industrial
consumers.
The only part of the New Territories to have its independ- ent source of electric light is Cheung Chau, where there has been an electric power station in existence since 1913. Originally started as a community project, it later sold out to commercial interests and has since changed hands several times. The present owners, the Cheung Chau Electric Co., Ltd., have their offices in Victoria. The basic rate as from 1st March, 1956, is 95 cents a unit for lighting and 45 cents a unit for domestic and commercial power, with special reductions for larger consumers.
Gas. Gas is supplied on both sides of the harbour by The Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd. which was first
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
251
established in 1861. A completely modern plant has been erected at Ma Tau Kok and is already in operation.
Work has commenced on the laying of an underwater main across the harbour to connect the Kowloon and Island areas of supply. Plans are also in hand for expansion of the plant at Ma Tau Kok to take over the load of the West Point Works which will ultimately be shut down.
Total quantity of gas sold in 1957 was 675,964,900 cu. ft. compared with 608,067,700 cu. ft. in 1956. The number of consumers rose from 9,380 to 10,311.
Tramways. An electric tramway service is operated by Hongkong Tramways Ltd. on the Island of Hong Kong. The track, the gauge of which is 3 feet, is about 19 miles in length when calculated on a single track basis. It extends from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan with a branch line encircling the Race Course in Happy Valley. All routes pass through the City of Victoria. The tramcars are of the double-deck, single-staircase type and are intended for single-ended working, the termini having turning circles. The operating voltage is 500 volts direct current.
The average daily service of cars run in 1957 was 138. This provided a car every two minutes in each direction on all routes. Through the city area, which is in the centre of the system, the minimum service frequency was a car every 35 seconds in each direction. The number of passengers carried during the year was over 167,000,000, while the total mileage run was slightly under 7,500,000.
Fares are charged at a flat rate for any distance over any route (the maximum route length is 6 miles) of 20 cents (3d.) 1st class, and 10 cents (1d.) 3rd class. The Company also issues monthly tickets, and concession fares are given to children, students and Service personnel.
During 1957 the Company's housing scheme at North Point, comprising 265 flats, was completed. The scheme houses approximately 22% of the employees.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The Peak Tramway, operated by the Peak Tramways Co., Ltd., was opened for traffic in May 1888, and was then known as the Hong Kong High Level Tramway. With a lower terminus situated at the lower portion of Garden Road and a Peak terminus at Victoria Gap, this means of transport has provided, almost without interruption for over sixty years, a reliable funicular service. Until motor roads were opened in 1924, it was the only means of transport to the Peak. The cars are operated by a modern electric haulage plant and incorporate safety features which make it possible for a car to come to a halt within eight feet on the steepest part of the track.
During 1957 the Company introduced into service a new type of car constructed throughout of aluminium alloy with an increased carrying capacity of ten passengers, bringing the total number carried in this type of car to 72 passengers. This enables the Company to carry passengers to and from the Peak at the rate of approximately 1,000 an hour.
During 1957 the Company carried 1,900,000 passengers. Bus Services. The China Motor Bus Co., Ltd., which maintains the bus services on the Island, increased its scale of operations during the year, covering more miles (8,400,000) and carrying more passengers (71,000,000) than in any similar period. Forty-four new buses were licensed, whilst a number of vehicles due for replacement were with- drawn from service. At the end of the year the Company's fleet comprised 219 diesel-engined buses and two coaches. Some 40 new vehicles were on order or in the course of delivery.
The construction of the Company's new headquarters and maintenance depot at North Point had been almost com- pleted by December at a cost of over $1,800,000, excluding equipment. In view of the difficulty of finding sufficient land for the garaging of vehicles at night, the stores department, machine shops, and component overhaul sections have been
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HONG IN
Chow Kwong Ming
Through plate glass a young citizen of Hong Kong sees the shape of buildings to come. These architects' models, displayed at the 1957 Exhibition of Hong Kong Products organized by the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, indicate current trends of building design in Hong Kong. Models are swiftly translated into steel and concrete reality by the Colony's fast-working builders.
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1.
Hong Kong & Far East Builder Epitomizing the changing face of Hong Kong, this photograph shows how the new ferro-concrete Western Telephone Exchange, completed in 1957, towers above a neighbouring 'old-fashioned' building in traditional Chinese style. The new Exchange will cater initially for 12,000 lines, but the layout provides for future extensions to 19,000 lines. There is a branch Post Office and a Cable and Wireless office on the ground floor.
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Hong Kong & Far East Builder
The photographs on this page illustrate a variety of new buildings completed in 1957. Top left to bottom right they are: Estoril Court, an apartment block on Garden Road, Hong Kong Island; Peninsula Court, a new hotel on Nathan Road, Kowloon; the Man Yee Building, an office block with shopping arcades on the lower floors, fronting on both Des Voeux Road and Queen's Road, Victoria; police married quarters at Arsenal Street, Victoria: and the main wing of the Central Government Offices.
Roy Tsang
ONG
U
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艹
This eleven-storey office block nearing completion on Nathan Road, Kowloon, is typical of the Hong Kong scene and in marked contrast to the two-storey, deep-balconied 'colonial-style' building next door-relic of a less crowded past. Like most new buildings it is of ferro-concrete the bars and rounds required to reinforce the concrete being produced locally from scrap. Even in the most modern construction work the scaffolding framework is almost invariably 'traditional'-made of bamboo poles lashed together-but 100% effective in use.
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
253
located on the upper storeys of the new building, leaving the ground floor free for parking.
The Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. now has a total fleet of 526 vehicles. During the year 90 out of the 100 new single-deck buses on order were delivered.
Thirty-seven routes are now operating in Kowloon and the New Territories, one new route being introduced during the year. The passengers carried by the Company's services numbered 277,000,000,
and the
the distance covered was 21,500,000 miles.
The new headquarters and depot of the Company at To Kwa Wan Road, Kowloon, have been completed; con- struction of another depot at Lai Chi Kok was commenced in July and is expected to be ready for occupation by the middle of 1958.
Ferries. The 'Star' Ferry Co., Ltd. operates a passenger ferry service across the narrowest part of the harbour, a distance of approximately one mile, from a point in the centre of Victoria to Tsim Sha Tsui at the southern extremity of the Kowloon peninsula. Eight vessels are in service and operate daily for 19 hours. A three-minute service, taking eight minutes to cross, is maintained during the day, and a regular service until well past midnight. Over 37,000,000 passengers were carried in 145,000 crossings during the year, the average daily load being 100,000 persons.
The Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Co., Ltd. began opera- tions on 1st January, 1924, with eleven small wooden steam- vessels servicing three cross-harbour routes. Today the Company operates a fleet of 47 diesel-engined vessels which maintain six cross-harbour ferry services as well as ferry services to outlying districts in the New Territories.
The routes inside the Harbour are between Wilmer Street, Jubilee Street, Stewart Road and Tonnochy Road on the Island, and Sham Shui Po, Mong Kok, Jordan Road and Kowloon City on Kowloon peninsula. The Company also
254
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
operates the sole vehicular-ferry service between Jubilee Street and Jordan Road.
During 1957 a record number of passengers and vehicles were carried, being 85,530,000 and 1,387,000 respectively, an increase of 3,780,000 passengers and 136,000 vehicles over the previous year's figures. The Kowloon City/Wan Chai Ferry Service, which commenced operation on 3rd July, 1956, carried 4,610,000 passengers in 1957.
Throughout the year the ferry service to Cheung Chau was well patronized. The summer months saw large numbers of holidaymakers attracted to Silvermine Bay and Peng Chau. During cooler weather, the Hongkong/Tai O service via Kap Sui Mun, Castle Peak and Tung Chung carried many pilgrims and hikers for the monasteries of Lantao Island. The Tolo Harbour Ferry Service, begun in 1955, carried 68,000 passengers during 1957, providing a link with the outside world for isolated villages along the shores of Tolo Harbour.
New construction during the year consisted of two single- ended steel ferry vessels the 'Man Ching' and the 'Man King'. The dimensions of these ferries are: length, 103 feet 6 inches; breadth, 24 feet; and draught, 9 feet. They are powered by Crossley HRN5 marine diesel-engines. These two ferries were launched from the newly completed building berth at the Company's Tai Kok Tsui Depot where continuous maintenance and repair work was also carried out on the fleet. The Company's three slipways at the depot were continually in use.
PUBLIC WORKS
Port Works. The construction of the new piers for the Star Ferry service was almost completed and one arm on each side of the harbour had come into operation by the end of the year. The piers, which are scheduled for completion by April 1958 and are each capable of berthing four ferries simultaneously, will relieve the present rush-hour congestion.
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
255
At Hung Hom the initial reclamation of 80 acres was completed, and a further 31 acres is to be reclaimed when the sea wall, now under construction, is finished. This recla- mation will be developed mainly as a residential area with sites for schools and community use. On its frontage will also be sited a second vehicular-ferry pier for a service to North Point. Over one million cubic yards of earth and rock have already been dumped. A further one million cubic yards of filling will be required to complete the reclamation, the majority of which will be obtained by dumping soil from various public and private building sites in Kowloon.
Fifty-four acres of reclaimed land at Kwun Tong New Town on the east side of Kowloon Bay is being developed as an industrial area, and over 90% of the factory sites have already been sold. The levelling of the adjacent foothills was commenced during the year. On completion of this work an additional 70 acres will become available for housing, commercial and community use. The levelling of these foothills will also produce over a million cubic yards of spoil as filling for a further 25 acres of reclamation for industrial sites.
The progressive reclamation of land from the sea along the central section of the City of Victoria's waterfront recom- menced with the construction of the foundations to a sea wall which, when completed, will enclose a strip of land 250 feet wide and 1,000 feet long. The sea wall will provide berths for the Macau ferries; the reclaimed land will provide sites for commercial and Government offices, as well as for the widening of Connaught Road Central to a width in keeping with present-day traffic needs.
In the New Territories, the construction of piers at Kat O and Tap Mun islands, the cost of which is being met partly from Colonial Development and Welfare funds, was nearing completion, and approval was obtained for the con- struction of a new pier at Chi Ma Wan Prison on Lantao. Yet a fourth pier, incorporated in the new sea-wall bounding
256
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
a large reclamation scheme at Tsuen Wan, was constructed for use as a ferry terminal by the Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry Company. The natural typhoon shelter which has been absorbed by this reclamation is being replaced by a new one to be sited between Tsing Yi Island and Nga Ying Chau. Dredging for the foundations of the breakwaters was begun with departmental plant.
Buildings. The construction of buildings by the Public Works Department progressed steadily throughout the year, despite difficulties and set-backs caused by the exceptionally heavy rains that fell during May. New buildings were com- pleted or put in hand for a large number of Government departments.
Work at the central reclamation in Victoria included the completion by the end of the year of a three-tiered car park for 418 cars and of the covered pedestrian way and concourse for the recently completed ferry piers. Construction work was also started at the reclamation on the second three-tiered car park which will accommodate 190 cars. Working drawings for the new City Hall group of buildings were nearing completion.
A new ward block was constructed for the old Kowloon Hospital at Argyle Street. The new Polyclinic at Shek Kip Mei Resettlement Estate, the cost of which was partly borne by the balance of funds subscribed to the 1953 Shek Kip Mei Fire Relief Fund, was finished in November. Working drawings were completed for the large number of buildings constituting the second stage of the Castle Peak Mental Hospital, which, with phase I, will provide accommodation for 500 patients, together with administration and service buildings, and staff quarters. Working drawings for the sisters' and nurses' quarters for the 1,300-bed new Kowloon General Hospital were nearing completion, while progress was maintained on the drawings for the hospital itself.
Work for the Police Force included the construction at the Arsenal Yard Headquarters site of an eleven-storey building
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
257
containing a school at ground-floor level and 300 rank and file married quarters on the upper floors. Working drawings were well advanced for a larger scheme for 800 rank and file married quarters at Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, and drawings were completed for a new divisional police station at Tsuen Wan with rank and file barrack quarters, single officers' quarters and four flats for married officers and their families. By the end of the year the site level for this station had been raised by some 30 feet and a large box culvert for storm water constructed. Extensions to Yau Ma Tei Police Station were also completed, as were 112 rank and file married quarters and a block containing 16 flats for married officers and their families at Western Police Station. Barrack huts were erected at two other stations.
For the Education Department, the workshops and class- room blocks for the new Technical College at Hung Hom, illustrated elsewhere in the Report, were finished, and the construction of the assembly hall is due to follow shortly. Plans exist for standard 24-classroom primary schools, each to accommodate 1,080 children; owing to shortage of land these schools incorporate playgrounds on the flat roofs, and a covered play and assembly area under each building at ground level. One school of this type was completed at Fuk Wing Street; a second was well under way at Li Cheng Uk, and on Hong Kong Island site formation had started for a third at Cheung Hong Street.
Based on drawings prepared during the year for standard three-bay fire stations, with firemen's quarters on the three upper floors, one station was completed at North Point, whilst, on the mainland, work on three others was started at Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan and Ma Tau Chung.
Work for the Urban Services Department included the completion of a new market at Kansu Street, Kowloon, with 126 stalls on the ground and first floors for meat, fish, poultry and fruit, and staff quarters on the second floor; a new open-air swimming pool at Victoria Park, which
258
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
includes an Olympic-size pool, a children's pool and a toddlers' paddling pool, with changing rooms, cafeteria and a stand for 2,000 spectators; work on the enclosure of the ancient tomb discovered at Li Cheng Uk, together with a small museum and surrounding rest garden. Work also proceeded on the formation of a number of parks and play- grounds and the construction of public latrines and bath- houses.
During the year 7,500 rooms were constructed in multi- storey buildings for the Resettlement Department, which provided accommodation for a further 37,500 settlers in estates at Li Cheng Uk, Shek Kip Mei, Lo Fu Ngam and Wong Tai Sin. In addition, a contract was let for a further five blocks at Wong Tai Sin, and sketch plans were prepared for new Resettlement Estates at Tung Tau, Jordan Valley, Kwun Tong, Chai Wan and Lo Fu Ngam. A contract was also let for a large-scale drainage system and roadworks in connexion with the Wong Tai Sin Estate. An experimental multi-storey Resettlement Factory comprising 470 working units was completed at Cheung Sha Wan, providing accom- modation for the numerous small industries which are displaced when squatter areas are cleared.
For the Prisons Department, staff quarters were completed at Stanley Training Centre, comprising two two-storey houses for senior officers and two blocks of flats containing married and single quarters for other staff. In addition, drawings were in course of preparation for the reprovision- ing of the Victoria Prison staff quarters at Arbuthnot Road. This scheme will provide 16 flats for prison officers in an eight-storey block with garages underneath, an eleven- storey block containing 42 married quarters for warders, and a third block with barrack accommodation for 40 single warders.
Other major works carried out during the year included : drawings and piling for the reprovisioning of a portion of
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND PUBLIC WORKS
259
the Government stores at North Point, with a nine-storey building and additional workshops; the construction at Farm Road, Kowloon, of a seven-storey block of offices for the Public Works Department and other departments, including a post office and adjacent depots for the Roads Office and Drainage Office; designs for the second stage of the develop- ment of the Public Works Department Electrical and Mechanical Workshops site at Caroline Hill; a start on the construction of the final stage of the Central Government Offices; completion of 40 flats for civil servants at Nairn House, Argyle Street; and a market at San Hui for the District Administration, New Territories.
Work on the new Airport is described at pages 273, 274 of Chapter 15.
Drainage. Water-borne sewage systems are provided in nearly all built-up areas, including the larger towns in the New Territories. As reconstruction of old buildings and the erection of large new blocks of flats continue, the number of new connexions made is steadily increasing. Many of the older sewers are thus becoming loaded beyond their designed capacity, and the work of re-laying and enlarging them is going steadily forward. Major schemes have also been approved for the provision of intercepting sewers, which will abolish the numerous outfalls into the harbour and bring the sewage to selected sites, where it will be chemically treated and discharged through submarine out- falls. The first project covering the Yau Ma Tei area of the Kowloon peninsula has been virtually completed, while a start has been made on both the intercepting sewers required for the eastern side of the Kowloon peninsula and the Wan Chai area.
Surface water, draining from the hills through built-up areas, was originally led to the sea through large open- trained channels, known locally as nullahs, which passed down the centre of roads, with bridges at road intersections. These nullahs were frequently 10 feet or more wide and
260
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
almost square in section. With the tremendous increase in both vehicular and pedestrian traffic it became essential for such obstructions to be removed. During the last five years work on this has proceeded steadily, and many nullahs have been either decked or culverted, greatly relieving congestion on a number of main traffic routes.
Chapter 15: Communications
THE Colony of Hong Kong owes its existence to its position as a major communications centre on the China Coast. Although in the course of the years the emphasis has to some extent shifted from purely entrepôt and other commerial activities to the development of local industries, described in Chapter 6, the Colony still depends as much as ever upon the efficient organization and control of facilities for ship- ping, aircraft, rail and road transport, postal services and telecommunications.
MARINE
The Port of Victoria is renowned not only for the beauty of its natural features, which are described in Chapter 22, but also for its excellent port facilities and handling rate, which are comparable with those of any other first-class port.
The administration of the Port is vested in the Director of Marine who, in close co-operation with local commercial interests represented on advisory Port Committees, seeks continuously to stimulate the development of ever higher standards of service, opportunity and safety in its use.
The Port is well equipped with modern aids to navigation, both in the approaches and within the Harbour area, and all lights have been fully re-established and modernized since the war. At Waglan Island there is a light with a visibility of 21 miles together with a diaphone fog signal; at Tathong Point a powerful electric oscillator fog signal is now in use; and the light installed on Green Island at the western end of the Harbour has a visibility of 16 miles.
The main approach to Hong Kong is marked by a radio beacon and appropriately spaced radar reflectors so that
262
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
entrance may be effected at all times. The Harbour itself is well lighted and singularly free from submerged dangers. The eastern entrance can be used by ocean-going vessels with a draught not exceeding 36 feet, whilst the western entrance was dredged during the year to give a channel for vessels not exceeding 30 feet, the previous limit having been 24 feet. Pilotage is not compulsory but is advisable due to large-scale reclamations and harbour-works which are now in progress.
Each entrance is covered by a Quarantine Examination Anchorage with Port Health Officer's launches on duty from 7 a.m. to sunset in summer and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in winter. This arrangement expedites the granting of pratique and prevents unnecessary movements within the crowded Harbour. Immigration formalities and such customs inspec- tions as may be necessary are also completed at these an- chorages so that passengers are free to go ashore as soon as vessels have reached their final berth.
Ship/shore communications are provided by three Signal Stations, each manned continuously and fitted with modern daylight signal lamps, which provide coverage for all an- chorages within the Harbour and its approaches. In addition, Waglan Lighthouse operates a Signal Station equipped with a radiotelephone which enables the first information of all vessels sighted in the eastern approaches to be passed im- mediately to the Port Authorities, owners and agents. Radio- telephones are also installed in Marine, Port Health, Police, Preventive Service and Fire Fighting launches. Sets may also be hired commercially with a direct connexion to the land telephone system.
The internal security of the Harbour and the waters of the Colony is maintained by the Marine Division of the Hong Kong Police, who man and operate a fleet of 24 Police Launches. All these launches are in radiotelephone com- munication with the Control Room at Police Headquarters.
COMMUNICATIONS
263
A modern ocean-going fire float is kept in constant readi- ness, together with other fire fighting craft suitable for work in the shallower waters of the Colony.
Regular services are maintained by 17 shipping lines to Europe and the United Kingdom; 20 to the North American continent; nine to Australia and New Zealand; as well as lines to Africa and South America, and innumerable lines to Asian ports from Yokohama to Karachi. Moreover the at- tractive and efficient facilities available for the handling of cargo and passengers in the Port have convinced traders. that it is economical and generally beneficial to their interests to use Hong Kong as a warehousing, transhipping and bunkering point.
Safe berths are available to all vessels with draughts up to 36 feet, at all states of the tide. Commercial wharves can accommodate vessels up to 750 feet in length and a maximum 32 feet in draught, and the Government maintains for hire 50 moorings, 18 of which are specially designed to with- stand typhoon conditions.
of
Cargo-handling compares favourably with the most advanced ports. Efficient, modern methods, a plentiful supply of labour, lighterage, road-transport and experienced staffs, capable of undertaking any operation from the stow- age of special cargoes to the handling of heavy-lifts and bulk oils, make the Port popular with all connected with shipping. 750,000 measurement tons (mainland) and 230,000 measurement tons (island) of godown space is equipped for ordinary, refrigerated and dangerous goods storage.
Ships' bunkers are supplied by three of the major oil com- panies, whilst coal and fresh water can be supplied along- side at any berth in the Port or at the oil-installation wharves. The supply of fresh water is generally only restricted in the dry winter months.
There are eleven cross-harbour ferry services, including one passenger/vehicular service, which, operating frequent
264
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
schedules, transported more than 127,000,000 people and 1,300,000 vehicles in 1957. There is also a number of ferry services operating outside the Harbour area to Aberdeen and coastal towns or villages of the New Territories. The more important ferry services are described in greater detail in Chapter 14. At night the illuminated ferries in conjunc- tion with other shipping form part of the galaxy of lights which constitutes the typical Hong Kong night-scene.
Colony development is also assisted by native-type craft, of which more than 20,000 operate in Hong Kong waters, engaged in various occupations from fishing to the transport of cargo. During the year, in the internal trades these craft transported more than 600,000 tons of cargo inward and 100,000 tons outward, whilst in trade with China they im- ported large quantities of foodstuffs, their total external trade for 1957 amounting to about 1,100,000 tons inward and 119,083 tons of cargo outward. About 1,500 junks operate inside Hong Kong Harbour itself, transporting thousands of tons of cargo to and from ocean-going shipping.
Hong Kong, as a result of its efficiently run shipyards and engineering establishments, continued over the year to obtain from local and overseas owners its fair share of both new and repair work which the world-wide demand for tonnage of all types has occasioned. Placed geographically nearly midway between Singapore and Japan, the only two other competitors in this type of work in the Far East, Hong Kong is able to give the ships of the many nationalities which pass through the port the best possible attention with a speed and efficiency which is rapidly becoming known throughout the world. Details of the year's work are given at pages 82, 83 of Chapter 6.
Facilities are provided for the examination of candidates for Certificates of Competency as Extra Masters, Masters, Mates and Engineers, and in Radar Maintenance, whilst seamen are examined for Certificates of Efficiency as Life- boatmen. As befits an international port, the supervision
COMMUNICATIONS
265
given by Resident Surveyors of all the major Classification Societies and by Government Surveyors working under the Director of Marine covers every aspect of the International Maritime Conventions, including that for the Safety of Life at Sea.
A Port Welfare Committee attends to the welfare of the crews of visiting ships and allocates the monies provided by private donation and Government grant, amounting in all this year to over $180,000, to organizations devoted to that end. Several well-equipped clubs, one of which is managed by the Port Welfare Committee itself, serve the recreational needs of the visiting seamen.
During the financial year ending 31st March, 1957, (figures for 1955-6 are shown in brackets) 7,650 (7,870) ocean-going vessels of 21,981,848 (21,807,590) net tons, 2,289 (2,272) river 'steamers of 2,291,376 (2,585,760) net tons, and 31,1OI (28,557) junks and launches of 2,565,654 (2,281,021) net tons, entered and cleared the Port.
A total of 1,301,227 (1,306,918) passengers were embarked and disembarked; of these, 59,688 (53,017) were carried by ocean-going vessels, and 1,241,539 (1,253,901) by river
steamers.
Weight tons of cargo discharged and loaded were as follows:
Ocean-going vessels
...
River Steamers
Discharged
Loaded
3,571,332 (3,426,583) 1,751,092 (1,628,181)
14,383 (12,379)
19,942 (18,291)
118,283 (74,403)
Junks and Launches 1,103,679 (782,675)
...
KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY
Kowloon is the southern terminal of a railway system extending to Hankow, with connexions to North, East and South-West China. The British Section of the line, which is 22 miles long, is owned by the Hong Kong Government and is operated between Kowloon and Lo Wu on the southern bank of the Sham Chun River, which forms part
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
of the Colony's frontier with China. Through services were formerly operated to Canton and to the North, but since. October 1949, when the Central People's Government was established, through passenger services have been suspended. Passengers proceeding to and from China change trains. at the frontier. Goods traffic in wagon-loads has been passing to and from China without off-loading at the frontier since
1950.
The total revenue for 1957 was $8,427,347. Operating expenditure was $4,309,314, leaving a net operating revenue of $4,118,033. The corresponding figures for the previous year were $7,575,528, $3,766,301, and $3,809,227 respec- tively. The net operating revenue for 1957 is, therefore, $308,806 more than last year. Capital expenditure was $3,071,693.
Passenger traffic increased by 750,893 compared with 1956, and goods traffic decreased by 11,772 tons.
Passengers carried within the territory of Hong Kong were 4,385,320 or 77.88% of the total. Passengers to and from the frontier station of Lc Wu numbered 1,245,199 and the majority of these travelled between Hong Kong and China. At present, passengers passing from British to Chinese territory or vice versa walk the 300 yards separating the two termini.
Negotiations with the Chinese Railway authorities on the resumption of a through train service have not been reopened since their suspension in August 1956. No agreement could be reached at that time on the immigration control into Hong Kong, and no fresh proposals have been made by the Chinese authorities for resolving the deadlock.
The last of the three diesel-electric locomotives ordered from Australia in June 1956 arrived in August 1957. All trains are now operated by a fleet of five diesel-electric locomotives. Steam engines are not likely to be used unless an engine breakdown occurs.
COMMUNICATIONS
267
Statistics for 1957 (with figures for 1956 in brackets) are
as follows:
Length of line
Main points of call Passengers carried
:
:
: Main line-22 miles
Total length of line-35 miles
New Territories (Hong Kong) 5,630,519 (4,879,626)
Freight carried
:
203,954.41 tons (215,726)
Passenger miles
:
73,299,030 (65,435,406)
ROADS
With the construction during the year of 13 miles of new road, the total length of roads now exceeds 463 miles. The Colony has many hilly roads which are both tortuous and steep; gradients of 1 in 7 are common; and there is more than half a mile of stepped streets, mostly in Western District on the Island, closed to vehicular traffic. Most roads are paved and compare favourably with those of any English city.
Details of the lengths of different types of paving are as follows:
Island Kowloon
New Total Territories Miles
Concrete:
(a) Unsurfaced
2
3
1
6
(b) With bitumen surface
64.5
32
17
113.5
Bitumen Macadam
74
24
70
168
Water-bound Macadam
36
61
53
150
Earth
9.5
12
25.5
Steps
.5
.5
Total miles
186.5
124
153
463.5
Traffic has increased over the past few years until today there are some 33,000 vehicles. If these were spaced equally round all the roads of the Colony, there would be only 20 yards of space between each vehicle. Since, however, only a small proportion of the roads carries most of the daily traffic, the increase in traffic, and in particular the extension of bus routes, has made road maintenance a serious problem, the carrying capacity of many roads being unequal to the
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loadings imposed on them and so necessitating reconstruc- tion.
The problem was aggravated this year by the exceptional rainstorms in May which caused considerable damage, wash- ing away complete sections of some roads and destroying the surfaces of others. At the height of the rains on 22nd May many main roads were closed by flooding or landslides, King's Road on the Island and the Tai Po Road being particularly severely damaged. It is estimated that $6,000,000 has so far been spent in repairs, restoration of road surfaces and rebuilding of bridges in the New Territories, the oppor- tunity being taken at the same time to effect some improve-
ments.
A typhoon in June caused further damage to repair work still in progress after the previous damage, but eventually the work was completed and as a result there was even some slight improvement to the alignment of Tai Po Road in one or two places.
Under the scheme for feeder roads in the New Territories, the cost of which is being partly met from Colonial De- velopment and Welfare funds, a number of minor roads have been constructed to villages and rural areas previously accessi- ble only by foot-paths. Some villages can now bring produce to market by vehicle in a few minutes, where previously it had involved porterage of several hours by foot or bicycle.
One of these roads, which is five miles in length, has been built on Lantao Island between Silver Mine Bay and Cheung Sha. Plans are already in hand to extend the road for another five miles to Shek Pik, where investigations are proceeding on the site for a new reservoir described at page 247 of Chapter 14.
Development is also proceeding apace in the urban areas. On the Island, Tin Hau Temple Road is being extended a distance of 1 miles to open up new ground for building above North Point, while at Kwun Tong in Kowloon a
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A never-failing thrill for visitors to Hong Kong is a ride on the Peak Tramway (a cable-car railway of the funicular type) which carries passengers from its Lower Terminus (only a few feet above sea-level) up the precipitous face of Victoria Peak to a height of 1,305 feet in an exciting and spectacular 10-minute journey. The cars stop at little stations at various levels on the journey and the Tramway is therefore much used by residents as well as by sightseers. From the level of the Upper Terminus magnificent views of the Colony and its harbour are obtained.
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PUB
The main photograph on this page shows the new Star Ferry Piers in Victoria, opened in December 1957. Both the piers and the ferry building can cope with a volume of passengers vastly in excess of the 100,000 or so who now use the ferries daily. A covered way extends from the piers to Connaught Road. To the right is the first of a series of three-tiered public carparks being built to ease traffic problems. By way of contrast, the insert (taken from a 50-year old snapshot_album) shows the more leisured scene on the Victoria waterfront near the then recently-built, and still matting-roofed. Blake Pier in 1905. Blake Pier (more permanently roofed in 1908) still stands. but will eventually disappear in a further extension of the Central Reclamation.
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Des Voeux Road Central, main artery of Victoria, has the crenellated appearance which typifies so many Hong Kong streets during the current period of re-building and development. Three- and four-storey buildings, and the vacant sites on which such buildings recently stood, alternate with the modern concrete towers which are taking their place in the new Hong Kong. At the very end of the street, merging into the grey background of the Peak, can just be distinguished the outlines of the steel girder frame of the new Chartered Bank building which is so far-the tallest structure in the Colony.
:
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satellite town for 250,000 people is being laid out, with roads and drainage being constructed on excavated foot-hills and reclaimed land. Several miles of road will eventually have been constructed under the scheme.
The opening of trenches in roads is a constant cause of delay, inconvenience and irritation to road users and, being almost directly related to the development of building and industry, only serves to emphasize Hong Kong's remark- able post-war expansion. Over 8,000 road openings were made during the year, and the control of these trenches and their reinstatement required unrelenting attention from the special organization which has been built up for this purpose. A strict control must be exercised, and high and expensive standards laid down, to ensure satisfactory rein- statement. The ready and willing co-operation of the utility companies with this policy has been greatly appreciated.
All this widespread work has necessitated an increase in the staff of the Roads Office of the Public Works Depart- ment, which now approaches 1,500 men, including labourers and artisans employed in the quarries and on minor road maintenance. Larger work is undertaken by contract, and about thirty contracts were in progress during the year. Shortage of professional and technical staff prevented more work of high priority being undertaken.
The new quarry at Mount Butler was completed and brought into full operation during 1957, although the face has yet to be fully developed. Crushers, compressors and mixers for producing coated roadstone were transferred from Tsat Tze Mui Quarry and some new items of plant installed. All the installation and structural work for the plant, includ- ing elevators and conveyor belts, was carried out by the quarry staff. Electrical work was carried out by the Electrical and Mechanical Office. Following the heavy rains in May it was necessary to construct barriers in the valley below the quarry to prevent spoil being washed down and inter- fering with the drainage of the Tai Hang Village area below.
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At the Kowloon Quarry special dust-extraction plant was fitted to prevent nuisance to surrounding property and to protect the health of the quarry employees. If this proves satisfactory, similar plant will be installed at Mount Butler. These two quarries produced a total of 180,000 tons of crushed stone and 65,000 tons of bituminous macadam.
Also at Mount Butler, quarters were built for 200 of the quarry employees and their families; the first large-scale provision of quarters for any Public Works Department staff. The Medical Department also provided a clinic for the quarry staff and their dependants, and two shops were let on permit to make the development as self-contained as possible.
The quantity of day-to-day work during 1957 made advance planning difficult, but a tentative traffic plan was produced for the congested area of the City of Victoria and plans made for future road and junction improvements. An example of this type of work is the traffic roundabout com- pleted at the busy intersection of Garden Road/Magazine Gap Road/Robinson Road, a junction passed by more than 2,000 vehicles an hour at rush periods and complicated by being on a steep gradient.
The appointment of a Road Traffic Engineer to deal exclusively with road development has been approved and the advice of a specialist traffic consultant is being sought.
The increasing tempo of building development following the enactment of the new Building Ordinance in 1955 has stressed the necessity for setting back building lines for street-widening purposes. During the year $5,000,000 was voted for compensation to the owners of property affected.
Further progress was made with the provision and improvement of street lighting throughout the Colony. The greater part of the roads are now lit, with only country roads being entirely without lighting.
Several types of lighting are in use. The few remaining
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gas lamps and low-powered electric lights are being rapidly replaced with high wattage Mercury Vapour and Sodium Gaseous Discharge lamps, the Sodium lamps being used at the upper levels of the Island where mist is prevalent.
460 new lamps were installed, and a total of 6,117 lamps were in operation at the end of the year.
VEHICLES
The number of vehicles registered in the Colony was 32,924, excluding trailers, hand-carts, public chairs and bicycles. This is an overall increase of 3,920 over 1956. There is now a density of 71 vehicles for every mile of roadway.
Private cars
Motor Cycles
Taxis
Buses
Goods Vehicles
Crown Vehicles
Rickshaws
Pedal Tricycles
Total
22,474
1,948
693
724
4,336
1,077
874
798
32,924
MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK
Hong Kong's first multi-storey car park was opened in December at the Star Ferry Concourse on the central reclamation in Victoria. The three-storey building which has parking space for 400 cars is open day and night. At the end of the year fees at the rate of $1.00 for five hours were tending to discourage long-term parking, since there was still sufficient alternative free parking space available in the central area; but the 50 cent rate for two hours or less made the car park fairly popular with shoppers and other motorists paying only a short visit to town. The building is being operated by the Urban Services Depart- ment, under the general control of the Urban Council.
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A start was also made in 1957 on the erection of a second car park, housing 190 cars, on the central reclamation.
CROSS-HARBOUR TUNNEL AND BRIDGE
After considering the conclusions of an Inter-departmental Working Party appointed to examine the question of a Cross-Harbour Tunnel between Hong Kong and Kowloon on the basis of a report by Messrs. Mott, Hay and Ander- son, Consulting Engineers, published in 1955, the Govern- ment announced in July 1956 that it had decided in present circumstances not to undertake the construction of such a tunnel, and that this decision also applied to a cross-harbour bridge. This subject continued to occupy much public interest and discussion during the year, as did the Govern- ment's announcement in September that in case a workable scheme for a cross-harbour bridge should be devised, sufficient space at Morrison Hill for a bridge terminal would be kept undeveloped until May 1959. It was subsequently announced that, regardless of whether or not a tunnel or bridge is ever built, the Government had decided to provide a second cross-harbour vehicular-ferry service as quickly as possible and that a private engineer had been engaged to design and supervise the construction of ferry piers at Hung Hom and North Point.
CIVIL AVIATION
Hong Kong Airport (Kai Tak), situated at the base of the Kowloon peninsula, is suitable for both land and sea aircraft. Its two existing runways lie NW/SE and ENE/WSW, being 5,418 feet and 4,756 feet in length respectively. The airport at present operates on a dawn to dusk basis, night operations being restricted to emergency only, due to topographical hazards and limited visual and radio navigational aids. The administrative and operational facilities provided are under the control of the Director of Civil Aviation, who has a small staff of specialist officers
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experienced in all facets of civil aviation. Approximately 93% of the total staff of the department is locally recruited, training facilities being available for all officers to enable them to keep abreast with modern developments in aviation.
Civil aviation services provided at Hong Kong Airport include: Air Traffic Control; Air Sea Rescue; Fire and Crash Services; Aeronautical Information; Air Registration Board Surveys; Aeronautical Meteorological Information; Aeronautical Engineering, Repairs, Overhauls and Main- tenance (by the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd.), which is described in more detail in Chapter 6; and Primary Flying Training and Aeronautical Engineering and Elec- tronics Training (by the Far East Flying Training School).
Plans and work are well advanced on the development of a new airport which will permit 24-hour operation and use by the new jet and prop-jet aircraft expected to be flying on the world's major air routes by 1959. The main develop- ment entails the reclamation of land in Kowloon Bay to provide a promontory some 8,000 feet long and 800 feet wide, upon which a new runway will be built. This runway will eventually be 8,340 feet long and 200 feet wide, and will be of sufficient bearing strength to cater for aircraft weighing 400,000 lbs. Over-run distances of 300 feet and 660 feet respectively will be provided at the S.E. and N.W. ends of the runway, and the total fill necessary for the reclamation will be of the order of 13 million cubic yards. The first stage of the development plan is expected to be completed by August 1958, when 7,700 feet of the new runway will be made available for use on a 24-hour basis. The second stage, which will provide the remaining 640 feet of runway, is expected to be completed at the end of 1958; whilst the third stage, which includes new aircraft parking aprons, terminal area, terminal buildings and associated facilities, is expected to be completed at a later date.
The construction of the new airport, which is being financed from local funds with an interest-free loan of
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£3,000,000 from the United Kingdom Government, is estimated to cost at least $110,000,000 (£6,500,000). The work is supervised by a firm of Consulting Engineers.
It is hoped to complete the installation of the airport and approach lighting system, based largely on International Civil Aviation standards, to coincide with the opening of the new runway in August 1958, and to provide modern air radio navigation aids, including Long Range Surveil- lance Radar, Precision Approach Radar, Approach Surveil- lance Radar, Instrument Landing System, and Very High Frequency Omni-Directional Range and Distance Measur- ing Equipment, by the end of 1959.
All air services to Hong Kong Airport are of an inter- national character, and 17 airlines, including two local airlines, operate air services connecting Hong Kong with principal world air routes, at a frequency of 162 flights to and from Hong Kong each week. A notable feature of the year's operations has been the introduction, on regional and international routes respectively, of turbo-prop Viscount and Britannia aircraft.
Details of traffic for the year are:
Passenger Aircraft
Passengers
Freight
In
Out
4,234
4,236
111,364
117,203
934,696 kilos.
2,610,798 kilos.
330,023 kilos.
338,676 kilos.
POST OFFICE
Postal Services: Traffic continues to increase at a steady rate and the question of finding more accommodation in the main despatching and receiving centres of the General Post Office, Hong Kong, and the Central Post Office, Kowloon, becomes correspondingly more acute.
Some alleviation of the local congestion was achieved in the latter part of the year by the opening of two new offices on the Island, at Shau Kei Wan and North Point, and one
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on the mainland, at Ma Tau Wei. Relief at Headquarters came at Christmas time with the transfer of the Airmail Section to the first floor of the main Post Office.
External services continued at the same level of 12 sea and 18 air mails daily, whilst the frequency of air despatches also remained unchanged.
The number of destinations served by direct air and surface letter mails remained unchanged at 74 and 77 re- spectively; but direct parcel despatches have risen to 31 destinations by air and 85 by sea, compared with 28 destina- tions by air and 75 by sea in 1956. The number of incoming letter mails also remains unchanged; but parcel mails are now received from 24 places by air and 29 by sea, compared with 22 places by air and 42 by sea in 1956, the decrease in the latter being due to the making-up of more closed mails.
Registration and parcel services showed further increases to 2,988,871 and 956,179 items respectively, as against 2,941,485 and 844,810 in 1956.
1957 Christmas postings again beat all records with a total in the ten-day peak period of over 4,000,000, with a record recorded total of 681,000 in one day on 23rd Decem- ber. During this period additional temporary mail-handling labour was again engaged for the two weeks of heaviest traffic.
The popularity of the remittance service, as a result of its extension to Branch Post Offices, continues. The total of $7,058,074 for Money Orders and Postal Orders was over 41% above the previous record figure in 1956.
Revenue receipts at $32,483,784 were over 6% up on the previous highest.
Licensing. The Radio Licensing and Inspection Office, under the control of the Postmaster General, issues all types of radio licences, ranging from domestic broadcast receiving licences to amateur wireless stations' and radio dealers'
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licences. The number of broadcasting licences in force on 31st December was 64,486 with 721 other licences, compared with 58,737 with 532 other licences in 1956.
The Office conducts examinations for the Postmaster General's Certificate for Proficiency in Wireless Telegraphy, and undertakes the survey and inspection of ships' and aircraft wireless stations. Another function is the enforce- ment of the regulations made under the International Tele- communication Convention (Atlantic City, 1947) and the Hong Kong Telecommunications Ordinance.
A close liaison is maintained between the Hong Kong Communications Board, the Hong Kong Frequency Assign- ment Committee, and the Radio Licensing and Inspection Office on all matters affecting the Colony's internal and external telecommunications.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Cable and Wireless Ltd. operate 16 high-speed wireless telegraph circuits working with all the major centres of the Far East and with Europe, and three modern-type duplex submarine cables connected to the Company's world-wide network of 142,500 miles of submarine cable.
The Company is responsible for all telegraph services between Hong Kong and overseas, for telegraph and radio- telephone services with ships at sea, and for VHF Harbor- phone service with ships anchored in the Port of Victoria. It also provides a service for internal telegrams throughout the Colony, and is responsible for the technical maintenance of the Colony's broadcasting and aeradio services, mete- orological radio services and most of the VHF communica- tions of various Government departments.
During the year a new commercial wireless telegraph service was opened with Okinawa, and there was an increase in the number of circuits leased to commercial firms.
Local firms continue to appreciate the advantage of having
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a Teleprinter installed in their office and during the year additional installations were carried out.
The overseas Radiotelephone services, worked in conjunc- tion with the Hong Kong Telephone Company, expanded, the hours of the schedules to some countries being extended and new services opened to the U.S.S.R. and the Yukon. New radiotelephone relay circuits were opened between Indonesia/Macau, Okinawa/Bangkok, and Okinawa/Seoul.
Traffic figures for 1957 were :
Telegrams transmitted
Telegrams delivered
Telegrams in transit
920,300
1,098,700
433,800
543,600
Radiotelephone, inward calls, minutes Radiotelephone, outward calls, minutes Radio pictures transmitted (98 pictures) Radio pictures received (10 pictures) Press broadcasts, words handled Meteorological broadcasts, words handled. Harborphone calls with ships in harbour
TELEPHONES
•
429,400
29,397 sq. cms. 1,915 sq. cms.
41,924,000
564,000
...
45,439
The Colony's internal telephone service is provided by the Hong Kong Telephone Company Ltd., a public company operating under statutory control. Radiotelephone service is available to most parts of the world in co-operation with Cable and Wireless Ltd.
The system is fully automatic and service is provided from five major exchanges and a number of satellite exchanges. Construction of two more major exchanges in Kowloon, with a combined ultimate capacity of 32,000 lines, will commence in 1958 and is scheduled for completion in 1959.
During the year two new exchanges, one in the Western District of Victoria and one in Aberdeen, were brought into service, in addition to extensions to existing major exchanges. The Company's system now comprises some 53,000 direct exchange lines and 21,000 extensions, making
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an approximate total of 74,800 stations. Demand for service continues to grow, and planning for additional exchanges to meet this demand continues.
.
Despite increasing costs, telephone rentals remain un- altered and are possibly the lowest in the world. Rentals are charged on a 'flat rate' basis at $300 per annum for a business line and $225 per annum for a residential line. For this fee the subscriber may make as many local calls as he wishes.
METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES
The Royal Observatory, which is the sole source of weather information in Hong Kong, provides forecasts for the general public, shipping, aviation and the Armed Forces. A central forecast office and a meteorological com- munications centre were opened at the Observatory in May 1957. Since then the central office has been supplying analyzed weather charts by facsimile to the Kai Tak Airport forecast office, which serves only the needs of aviation. In addition to its meteorological duties, the Observatory operates a seismological and a time service.
A general increase in the number of weather reports received from other centres and from ships contributed greatly to forecasting during 1957.
The Royal Observatory's most important function is to give warning of storms. Whenever a tropical depression, storm or typhoon moves into the China Sea, 6-hourly and often 3-hourly statements of position, intensity and direction of movement of the centre are issued. Frequent, reliable ship reports and storm reconnaissances by aircraft help to locate storms accurately. When the Colony itself is threatened, the local storm warning system is brought into use, and warnings are widely distributed by means of visual signals, telephone, radio and Rediffusion.
Five tropical storms or typhoons affected Hong Kong during the year, and gale signals were displayed on three
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occasions. No.10 typhoon warning signal was hoisted in Sep- tember when the centre of typhoon Gloria was approaching.
Storm warning signals were displayed for a total of 293 hours and the strong monsoon signal for 380 hours.
For details of the year's weather, see pages 325, 326 of Chapter 22.
METEOROLOGICAL RESEARCH
Less time was devoted during 1957 to research than in previous years owing to the extra commitments associated with the opening of the central forecast office and with the International Geophysical Year. New seismological equip- ment was installed, but Hong Kong's main contribution to the Geophysical Year was in the field of meteorology. Radiosonde ascents were increased to two a day, and both radiosonde and radarwind observations were carried out to higher levels than formerly.
Work continued on a long-term project to determine whether afforestation would affect the run-off of surface water in Tai Po Kau Forestry Reserve by increasing con- densation in foggy conditions. The re-analysis of tracks of typhoons and tropical depressions for the period 1884 - 1953 was completed and publication commenced. In addition, monthly rainfall maps were prepared for Hong Kong and the New Territories. Papers entitled 'A Climatological Study of Tropical Cyclones over the China Seas' and 'The Horizontal Distribution of Rainfall over a Small Area in the Tropics' were presented by the Director at the Ninth Pacific Science Congress at Bangkok, when he also convened a Symposium on Intertropical Convergence Zone, Thunder Storms and Tropical Clouds.
Chapter 16: Press, Broadcasting, Television,
Films and Tourism
PRESS
HONG KONG has a large and active press. At the end of December 1957 some 150 periodicals and publications of all kinds were listed by the Registrar of Newspapers. Not all of these are daily newspapers. Indeed, newspapers proper, including weekly and bi-weekly papers, account for only 42 of the total registered. The remainder are mainly magazines of all kinds.
The vast majority of these newspapers and periodicals are published in the Chinese language. There are only a round dozen English-language publications in both categories.
The extent of readership is unknown. Unofficial estimates put the total circulation of Chinese-language newspapers (morning and afternoon) at somewhere in the region of half a million copies a day. But since audited circulations and certified net sale figures are unknown, this estimate must be taken with reserve.
Seventeen of the Colony's newspapers are members of the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong and may be regarded as the principal newspapers of the Colony. Among Chinese morning newspapers, recognized leaders are the Wah Kiu Yat Po (Overseas Chinese Daily News), Sing Tao Jih Pao and Kung Sheung Yat Po (Industrial & Commercial Daily News), all of which give good coverage of both foreign and local news and are, generally speaking, non-partisan politi- cally. All three also publish afternoon editions. A popular non-political daily which has no afternoon edition is the Sing Pao. Orthodox Chinese communist policies are voiced in the
PRESS, BROADCASTING, TELEVISION, FILMS AND TOURISM 281
Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Pao and New Evening Post, whilst the Hong Kong Times speaks for the Nationalist regime in Taiwan. Other Chinese newspapers which are members of the Newspaper Society are the New Life Evening Post and Hung Look Daily News, as well as the bi-lingual Daily Commodity Quotations.
Only two morning newspapers are published in the English language-the South China Morning Post and the Hong Kong Tiger Standard (the latter owned by Sing Poh Amalgamated Limited, publishers of Sing Tao Jih Pao and Sing Tao Man Pao). The South China Morning Post Ltd. also publishes the afternoon newspaper China Mail (the oldest daily newspaper in the Colony) and the weekly Sun- day Post-Herald.
During recent years the Hong Kong press world has displayed considerable stability and there have been few failures but, equally, few new ventures started.
As with daily newspapers, the leading publications in the magazine field are all in the Chinese language. Despite educational developments and a steady increase in the number of Chinese who are completely literate in both English and Chinese, it would seem that the majority of the people of Hong Kong prefer to read in their native language. Since 1946 there have been several attempts to start new English-language magazines but the majority of these failed to secure a circulation sufficient to warrant continued publica- tion. Of major magazines in the English language, only the weekly Far Eastern Economic Review and bi-monthly Hong Kong & Far East Builder-both of which are specialist in their appeal and command circulations outside the Colony -have survived for any number of years.
Four international news agencies maintain full-scale bureaux in Hong Kong, and it is indicative of the attention paid to world news by the local press that the majority of leading newspapers subscribe to at least three, if not all four, of the services provided. The agencies in question are the
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Associated Press of America, Agence France-Presse, Reuter (in association with the Australian Associated Press) and United Press. Offices are also maintained in Hong Kong by the independent Pan-Asia Newspaper Alliance, the New China News Agency (official agency of the Chinese Government), the Central News Agency of the Taiwan administration and the Japanese agencies, Jiji Press and Kyodo News Service. There are also a number of small local agencies serving the vernacular newspapers and two or three correspondents (either staff or part-time) for other overseas agencies.
Staff foreign correspondents regularly resident in the Colony number about 40. The majority represent the United States press, followed numerically by Japanese and British. Most leading newspapers and a number of news magazines in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan have either staff or part-time representatives in the Colony. Broadcasting and television systems-particularly those of the North American continent-are also well represented. The Time and Life magazine organization and the New York Times both maintain bureaux in Hong Kong.
The number of editors, correspondents, broadcasters and television units visiting the Colony continues to increase year by year. In 1956 there were about 200 such visitors.
GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICE
The main work of the Government Public Relations Office is the provision of news about Government activities and interpretation of official policy for dissemination through press and broadcasting channels, both domestic and foreign. Apart from its published output and regular daily contact with local newspapers and the foreign press corps, the department's staff are active in assisting and providing local contacts for visiting correspondents, broadcasters, film units and the like.
During the year the Government's policy on information services was under review. As an interim measure, four
PRESS, BROADCASTING, TELEVISION, FILMS AND TOURISM 283
additional senior posts were created and filled, including a Deputy Public Relations Officer, and specialists in the fields of films, features writing and visual publicity.
RADIO HONG KONG
Radio Hong Kong is a Government broadcasting station with two mediumwave transmissions and one shortwave. The Chinese service, broadcasting on 640 Kc/s, uses Cantonese, Kuoyü and Chiuchow as its principal languages; the English service, which also broadcasts occasionally in French and Portuguese, is transmitted on 860 Kc/s. The shortwave transmitter on 3.94 megacycles in the 76 metre band broadcasts the Chinese programme to those parts of the Colony where mediumwave reception is poor.
The studio centre occupies the sixth, seventh and part of the eighth floors of Mercury House, the headquarters of Cable and Wireless Ltd. in Victoria, fronting the central reclamation. The accommodation is rented from Cable and Wireless, who are responsible for all technical operations of Radio Hong Kong. The 2 kw. medium wave and 2 kw. shortwave transmitters are situated at Hung Hom in Kowloon. Programmes originate from Mercury House and from outside broadcasting points, in stadia, theatres, churches, etc., connected to the studios by lines rented from the Hong Kong Telephone Company Ltd. The two pro- gramme services operate from separate continuity suites, the studios being well-equipped and including a concert hall with seating for 100, extending to two floors and used by both services as required.
The station is directed by the Controller of Broadcasting, with a senior programme assistant in charge of each service. The English senior programme assistant, who is on second- ment from the B.B.C., supervises the work of five pro- gramme assistants and a record librarian. All English announcing and newsreading, and some programme produc- tion work is done by part-time contributors. The Chinese
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service has eight programme assistants, seven announcers and a record librarian. Clerical staff, drivers and messengers bring the total programme staff to 49; technical staff are provided by. Cable and Wireless.
The most important single event of the year was the expansion of the Chinese service. On 26th May daily hours of broadcasting in Chinese were increased to 17, implement- ing the policy laid down in 1956. The increase in hours meant not only a continuous daily service but also a much wider variety of programmes.
The English service benefited from an increase in pro- gramme staff, being able to present an increased number of live programmes and to increase broadcasting hours to an average of eleven a day.
All recruitment for the expansion programme, described in last year's Report, was completed in 1957.
Together with the new staff came new studios and new equipment. The recording suite, consisting of one recording channel and one studio, was reconstructed to form three recording channels and one studio. The entire back wall of the concert hall was moved back four feet to provide a much larger control room for the studio, and a new narrators studio. Additional accommodation on the eighth floor was being constructed at the end of the year to relieve the pres- sure in offices and maintenance workshops.
Technical facilities were considerably improved, the most modern tape recorders and playback units being installed in the new recording channels and increasing the speed with which programmes can be handled.
Two outside broadcast/recording vans were delivered in 1957 enabling outside programmes to be arranged with a minimum of notice. The value of these vans will be further enhanced in 1958, when two V.H.F. link transmitters and receivers will arrive and be installed for use where telephone lines and power supplies are not available.
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Permanent equipment was being installed in the distin- guished visitors' suite at Kai Tak at the end of the year to improve the handling of press conferences and interviews at the Airport.
Reports and observations during the year indicated that both mediumwave transmissions were increasingly affected by interference from overseas stations. The problem of im- proving Radio Hong Kong's reception had still not been finally solved at the end of the year, and tests were con- tinuing.
Radio licences continued to rise and at the end of December stood at 64,486, an increase of 5,749 over the figures for 31st December, 1956.
Chinese Service. The expansion of the Chinese service was celebrated by a mammoth variety show broadcast on the evening of 26th May. Those who took part in the programme included well known film-stars, popular singers, Cantonese, Peking and Swatow opera stars and instrumentalists.
After this beginning, the service settled down to providing as wide a variety of programmes as possible. New live pro- grammes were introduced in the week following the expan- sion, including drama, music, programmes for women and children, recitals, dance music, talks, sports and film pro- grammes and documentaries.
Although the four story-tellers held their audience with ten talks a week, their popularity, for long unchallenged, was in danger of being rivalled by the dramatized story and the play. Nearly 50 English radio plays were broadcast in Cantonese during the year, 100 plays were broadcast in Kuoyü, 50 in Chiuchow, and there were 25 major produc- tions in Cantonese. These included nine plays adapted from ancient Chinese novels, five from modern novels and play scripts, and eleven translations of Shakespeare's plays. These included 'Macbeth', 'Hamlet' and 'The Merchant of Venice'. The Chinese service contributed a classical play in Cantonese,
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'The Autumn in the Han Palace' by Ma Chi Yuen, to the 1957 Festival of the Arts.
Late evening listening included detective stories three nights a week, and for morning listeners there was a thrice weekly 'Family Diary' which reflected the day-to-day life of a typical family in Hong Kong. An entertaining experiment was made with 'Family Chit-chat', a weekly dialogue between a husband and wife, which was useful in explaining various aspects of Government work. The weekly 'Workers Play- time', which has now been broadcast from 30 factories and industrial establishments, introduced a quiz in which con- testants answered questions posed by the Labour Department on such topics as industrial safety. In November a weekly series of broadcasts in Cantonese by a Government medical officer was opened, the talks dealing mainly with hygiene. In December a series of adult quiz programmes was started, with the help of the Education Department, in the Adult Education and Recreation Centres.
There was a further decrease in the number of Cantonese operas broadcast from theatres, from 50 in 1956 to 27 in 1957. Studio music productions increased considerably. To the well established studio concerts of Cantonese, Peking and Chiuchow music were added programmes of Soochow music, and music from the local cabarets. Request pro- grammes maintained their popularity, with letters being received from listeners both in Hong Kong and overseas.
Chinese sports programmes, previously limited to com- mentaries on games, included information on most sports in the Colony from soccer to weight-lifting.
Subjects covered in talks and documentary programmes included calligraphy, the Imperial examination system, poetry, the history of the late Ching Dynasty, the Tai Ping Rebellion, characters from history, life in Britain and life in Hong Kong.
The extension of broadcasting hours to cover the pre- viously silent periods in the morning and afternoon has
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resulted in much more being done for children and women listeners. For women there was a regular domestic forum, a women's letterbox, request programmes, etc., and for children special plays, general knowledge, stories and singing.
One of the most successful programme series of the year was the B.B.C. English by Radio lessons. There are 150 lessons in all, prepared and recorded in London in both. Cantonese and Kuoyü and broadcast four times a week in Radio Hong Kong's Chinese service. The texts of the lessons have been translated and published locally in booklet- form the first edition, containing the first 50 lessons, sold over 18,000 copies; the second booklet of 50 lessons sold 7,300 copies; and the third booklet is due for publication during 1958. In addition, an initial order of 500 copies was placed with the publisher by the Government Public Rela- tions Department in Thailand.
English Service. The English service of Radio Hong Kong concentrated on improving the quality and quantity of live programmes.
To improve and increase the number of live drama pro- ductions a general drama audition was held in May so that all available talent could be used. The group of actors which resulted from this audition works under the title of 'Radio Hong Kong Actors Studio', and among the plays produced during the year 'Brotherhood of Fear', a thriller serial written and set in Hong Kong, was the most ambitious. Both the Stage Club and the Garrison Players contributed plays regularly, the Stage Club producing, among others, a series of six plays under the general title 'Ministering Angels' written by Miss Janet Tomblin of the British Council. Christopher Fry's 'A Sleep of Prisoners' was pro- duced for the Festival of the Arts.
The British Council again gave considerable assistance in obtaining books from publishers in the United Kingdom for review.
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Among the documentary programmes written and pro- duced were '1331', on the building of the new runway at Kai Tak, a feature on the Tai Lam Chung Water Supply Scheme and a biography of the missionary Robert Morrison.
The University also made an important contribution to English-language broadcasting when it organized a sym- posium in five parts on the general theme of The Mind of Man, on which papers were read and discussed by four scientists.
Many prominent visitors to Hong Kong took part in broadcasts including the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Nehru; Field-Marshal Sir Gerald Templer; Mr. Christian Herter, United States Under-Secretary of State; the Rt. Hon. John McEwan, Australian Minister of Trade; and Mr. F. J. Errol, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the United Kingdom Board of Trade. Other celebrities included Fred Astaire, Mr. Gerard D'Erlanger, Chairman of B.O.A.C., Jack Kramer, Nicholas Monsarrat, Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Todd.
Visiting artists who broadcast included Maurice Clare and Marta Zalan, Yvette Giraud, Luigi Infantino, Julius Katchen, Ruggiero Ricci, Eleanor Steber, and Pamela Woolmore and Andrew Gold.
Children's programmes were expanded and improved; whilst the well established magazine programmes such as 'Motoring Magazine' and 'Sports Cavalcade' were joined by 'The Critics', designed to combine the functions of the weekly book and film review programmes and to enlarge the scope of critical review by bringing in radio programmes, art exhibitions, etc.
Outside Broadcasts. Both Chinese and English services devoted a great deal of time to broadcasts originating wholly or partly from outside the studios. The trend is towards more live broadcasts of the type of event previously broadcast in the recorded form. For the first time the opening in December of the annual Exhibition of Hong Kong Products was
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broadcast live; both English and Chinese interviewers at various places in the exhibition talked to stallholders and visitors, giving a much more dynamic sound picture than was possible with recordings.
Similar techniques were used twice on 31st December, when Sir Alexander Grantham's departure was broadcast live by both services simultaneously. Immediately the broad- cast was over, equipment and technicians moved rapidly to four other sites to arrange for the broadcasting of a roundup of New Year's Eve celebrations from 11.15 p.m. to 12.30 a.m. on 1st January.
Six weekly Cantonese magazine programmes depend on material recorded outside the studios, one of the most inter- esting being the 'Farmers Magazine'. This programme, started on 26th May, is produced for farmers in the New Territories. It includes talks and discussions among farmers about farming methods, market intelligence and entertain- ment by farming people, and it answers farmers' queries on subjects ranging from planting fruit trees to raising quail.
The 1957 Macau Grand Prix was fully covered by teams of Chinese and English commentators, and the combined effort of Radio Hong Kong and Radio Vila Verde, which provided all facilities in Macau, brought listeners a con- tinuous sound picture from all round the Guia circuit.
The bad floods of May provided much broadcasting material, quite apart from the constant flow of broadcast announcements warning the public of landslides, flooding and road collapses. Commentators and interviewers toured as much of the Island and Kowloon as possible, recording interviews and eyewitness accounts.
Audience Research. A general Listeners Letterbox pro- gramme was broadcast in the early part of the year by both services. Listeners were invited to send in their comments on programmes, and their letters were read out on the air. Many letters were received by both services and the pro- grammes were a useful prelude to the full-scale listener
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survey carried out jointly by the B.B.C. and Radio Hong Kong in December, the work of the survey being done by the University of Hong Kong. A sample of 1,000 listeners was taken and 50 students of the University spent two weeks in visiting these listeners and filling out questionnaires. The survey should provide an assessment of the popularity of both English and Chinese programmes of Radio Hong Kong, and of the B.B.C.'s Chinese and English programmes for listeners in the Far East and the General Overseas Service. It should also provide useful information on audiences listening to stations other than Radio Hong Kong and the B.B.C., and on general listening habits and con- ditions in the Colony.
Training. Staff training during the year included a series of lectures and demonstrations to both programme and tech- nical staff. Programme producers were introduced to the elements of sound engineering, and technical staff gained an insight into some of the problems of the programme assistants. In addition to the training of staff, week-end train- ing in drama production was given by the English senior programme assistant to members of the Stage Club and Garrison Players.
Overseas Relations. Relations with the B.B.C. and other overseas broadcasting organizations remained excellent. Transcription programmes maintained a high standard, and the corporation also met several special requests for material not in the usual transcription service output. In addition, a large number of scripts were provided on request, the majority being for the weekly Chinese programme 'Life in Britain'. In April the B.B.C.'s New York office provided a programme on the Hong Kong stand at the New York Trade Fair. Two members of the staff attended B.B.C. training courses in London during the year.
The Controller of Broadcasting made several contributions to Radio Newsreel. Programme material was also provided for the B.B.C. Christmas Day Commonwealth programme,
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for a Christmas.programme for the Armed Forces and for a feature on leprosy. Assistance was given to a visiting B.B.C. television team.
Radio Hong Kong continued to supply Radio Sarawak with recorded Kuoyü plays and with Kuoyü by Radio les- sons designed for Cantonese-speaking listeners. The Director of Broadcasting of Radio Sabah in North Borneo visited. Radio Hong Kong and preliminary discussions were held on the supply of Radio Hong Kong Chinese programmes to North Borneo. Radio Malaya was supplied throughout the year with recordings of two weekly Chinese magazine pro- grammes.
Cordial relations were maintained with the Australian Broadcasting Commission and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, both of which supplied programmes; from New York came regular United Nations programmes.
REDIFFUSION
Sound Relay. Rediffusion (H.K.) Ltd. provides a popular wired broadcast service throughout the Colony, extending to practically all urban areas and most of the outlying villages of the Island and the mainland. At present the system em- braces more than 1,000,000 yards of main trunk network cable and approximately 2,500,000 yards of subscribers' in- stallation cabling. Distribution is from three sub-stations, feeding 20 kiosks from which 108 feeders radiate to approximately 65,000 Rediffusion loudspeakers.
Programmes are originated in Rediffusion House from modern air-conditioned studios and provide three simultane- ous programmes between 7.00 a.m. and midnight daily, two Networks (Gold and Silver) in Chinese and one (Blue) in English.
Approximately 14% of Rediffusion programmes are com- mercially sponsored. The Chinese programme service offers music, news, drama, talks, sports, commentaries, women's features, children's shows, comedy, story-telling and theatre
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relays in Cantonese, Mandarin, Swatow, Hakka, Shanghai and other dialects. The English service features continuous daily broadcasts of musical entertainment, plays, studio presentations, news, B.B.C. and other relays, sports events, stock-market news, features for women and children, and many other variety presentations.
Rediffusion employs 474 local people of whom 98% are Chinese, in addition to hundreds of musicians, soloists, story-tellers and dramatic artists.
Rediffusion rental for a loudspeaker is $10 per month, and subscribers have a constant choice of the three programmes provided, which involves the origination of 51 hours of programmes each day.
Rediffusion, which commenced 30 years ago in the United Kingdom, operates in many parts of the Commonwealth, and the Hong Kong company, locally controlled, is part of this world-wide organization.
Television. On 29th May, 1957, His Excellency the Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham, G.C.M.G., officially opened the first Television service in any British Colony, operated by Rediffusion (H.K.) Ltd.; and the service has been growing in popularity and quality of service since that date. At the end of 1957 a total of almost 2,000 subscribers had been reached.
Equipment includes the latest Pye telecine-camera chains with double channels for both 16mm and 35mm films and a full complement of studio and control equipment. Because of the language problem in Hong Kong all Chinese films carry English captions and vice versa.
Programmes are originated from air-conditioned studios, and these include many 'live' presentations such as Can- tonese operas, dance orchestras, night-club acts, children's features, and interviews. The most popular filmed television shows have been imported from the United Kingdom and America for local transmission, and a full-length feature film
This image is unavailable for access via the Network due to copyright restrictions. To view the image, please contact library staff for a printed copy of the copyright work.
ONG.
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Francis Wu, F.R.P.S.
Chinese Opera, although not now so popular with Hong Kong audiences as it used to be, is regularly performed by both professional and amateur companies. The photograph shows a scene from a charity performance given by a local Women's Welfare Club.
PRESS, BROADCASTING, TELEVISION, FILMS AND TOURISM 293 is televised each evening. Rediffusion television programmes provide approximately 40 hours of wired television each week, and some of the television periods are commercially sponsored. Outside broadcasts include many sports and special events, and a local and international newsreel is provided each evening.
More than 97% of the television staff are locally trained Chinese.
The rental fee for this service is $55 per month, with receiving unit and all maintenance supplied. For those sub- scribers who own their own television sets, adapted to receive Rediffusion programmes, the monthly rental is $35.
WIRELESS TELEVISION
On 25th May, 1957, the Government announced that it had decided not to call for tenders for Wireless Television for the time being, and at least until ways could be found of overcoming certain technical difficulties inherent in such a project. There had been no further developments on this matter by the end of the year.
COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING
On 20th December, 1957, the Government announced acceptance of a tender for the operation of a new commercial broadcasting station. It will be recalled that, following a debate on a Sessional Paper 'The Future of Broadcasting in Hong Kong' in the Legislative Council in 1956, the Govern- ment had decided to establish a commercial broadcasting station, since its activities might reasonably be expected to lead to an enhanced revenue from licence fees which would help to bridge the gap between Government expenditure and revenue on Radio Hong Kong.
FILM INDUSTRY
The Hong Kong film industry continued during 1957 to maintain its high rate of output of films in the Chinese
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language. Well over 200 feature films were produced (217 being submitted for local exhibition to the Panel of Film Censors). Of this output some 20% were made with Mandarin sound tracks; the remainder were mainly in Cantonese, with a few films in other dialects. About a dozen Hong Kong- financed films were partly produced in other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Japan. There are eight major producing studios as well as a large number of small produc- tion companies which rent studio space as required.
Hong Kong's film industry is bedevilled by financial problems which spring largely from both the nature and size of the available market. China does not import Hong Kong films and so, apart from local audiences, Hong Kong pro- ductions are shown mainly to the Overseas Chinese of South-East Asia and in Taiwan. A few are exported for Chinese audiences in the United States.
The demand of Overseas Chinese cinema audiences for films of Chinese theme told in their own language is insati- able, but the total possible market is not numerically large enough to guarantee an economic return unless production costs are kept at a minimum. This results in the majority of Hong Kong films being produced on what is by Western standards a 'shoe-string budget', and quantity rather than quality is the general trend of Hong Kong production.
The popularity of film-going as a social recreation among the local population may be gauged by the number of cinemas in Hong Kong. There are now 68 theatres in the Colony-27 on the Island, 28 in Kowloon and 13 in the New Territories-the majority of them being modern, air- conditioned buildings. Nearly all are equipped to show wide-screen productions.
Other than Chinese films of local manufacture, the pro- ductions of the United States industry predominate. Records of the Panel of Film Censors--which must approve all films prior to public exhibition-show that 283 American feature films were submitted to the Panel during 1957. British films
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numbered 60, with French, Indian, Italian, Japanese and German products totalling 59.
TOURIST DEVELOPMENT
In July 1957 the Hong Kong Tourist Association, set up to co-ordinate, organize and promote the Colony's tourist industry, came into being. Incorporated by Ordinance No. 29 of 1957, which is described at pages 222, 223 of Chapter 12, the Association has the full support of the Government which has agreed to provide substantial financial assistance, since it is recognized that the Association cannot be expected to be financially self-supporting at the outset of its work. A nine-member Board of Management, broadly representa- tive of the main sections of the industry, the Government and business generally, was appointed in July. At the end of the year an Executive Director had been selected and was due to take up his duties in February 1958. Premises had been acquired for the headquarters of the Association in the Peninsula Hotel Arcade in Kowloon. On the Island, prepa- rations were being made for opening an information office at the entrance to the Star Ferry piers on the central reclamation.
The Board of the Association began its work by giving close study to two subjects which are fundamental to travel development and promotion, namely, the improvement of facilities and attractions which Hong Kong has to offer to its visitors and the elimination of any hindrances or mal- practices which might exist to the detriment of the traveller.
During 1957 tourists continued to flow into the Colony by sea and air. With the fewest possible entrance formalities, with good transport services (which will be still further improved when the new Airport, now under construction, has been opened), with shopping facilities unrivalled in the Far East, and with the natural beauty of the local scenery, the new Tourist Association appears to have plenty of
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material with which to build a tourist industry which will appeal to travellers from all parts of the world.
Hotel accommodation still remains as one of the Colony's chief deficiencies. There was, however, a steady improve- ment during the year. The largest of the major hotels opened an annexe providing some 80 additional units of accommoda- tion (mainly self-contained luxury suites), whilst another leading hotel was rebuilding and enlarging extensively. A number of new hotels which, although small (less than 100 rooms), are equipped to handle first-class tourist traffic, were completed or under construction. Plans were also being made to provide at least one, and probably two new major hotels.
Chapter 17: Local Forces and
Civil Defence Services
THE Colony's Auxiliary Services comprise the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force, the Police Auxiliaries and the Essential Services Corps. The Police Auxiliaries, which were recon- stituted during 1957 by a merger of the Hong Kong Police Reserve and the Special Constabulary, are dealt with in Chapter 13 (see pages 230, 231). The Essential Services Corps, although legally an entity, is split for administrative and practical purposes into four autonomous Services: the Units of the Essential Services Corps proper, the Civil Aid Services, the Auxiliary Fire Service and the Auxiliary Medical Service.
All these services, which consist partly of volunteers and partly of persons enrolled since the introduction in 1951 of compulsory service for locally resident citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, are financed from funds voted annually by the Legislative Council. Service in the auxiliary defence units is in many cases a considerable commitment not only to the individual concerned but also to his employer, and it is fortunate indeed that on the whole employers are most co-operative in releasing members of their staff for these duties, even at considerable inconvenience.
Except for small administrative and training staffs, the Auxiliary Services are manned entirely by citizens of the Colony who lead or attend training classes and exercises in the evenings or at the week-ends, and in the case of certain services attend more extended training at annual camps last- ing up to fifteen days.
Training obligations vary from service to service. The greatest commitment is in those units where members must attend every year at least sixty instructional parades of one
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hour's duration, six full days training and fifteen days train- ing at camp. The commitment is scaled down elsewhere to the particular requirement of the unit in question. An allowance designed to cover out-of-pocket expenses is granted for attendance at instructional parades, while for a full day's training and for attending camp, officers and members are paid at the daily rate at which they would be paid on mobilization.
The Royal Hong Kong Defence Force. The main units. of the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force are the Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, which mans and operates two motor minesweepers; the Hong Kong Regiment, with the strength and equipment of an infantry battalion at lower establishment; Force Headquarters Units, comprising a Light Troop (4.2 inch Mortars) and other specialized forma- tions; the Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force equipped with Harvard and Auster aircraft; the Home Guard; the Hong Kong Women's Naval Volunteer Reserve; the Hong Kong Women's Auxiliary Army Corps; and the Hong Kong Women's Auxiliary Air Force. The officers of the Force are found amongst its members, but there is in addition a small permanent staff of regular officers and non-commissioned officers attached for training purposes.
Volunteer Service in Hong Kong began with the formation on 30th May, 1854, of the Hong Kong Volunteers. In 1878 they were renamed the Hong Kong Volunteer Corps and in 1917 the Hong Kong Defence Corps. In 1920 the title was again changed to the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps.
The Corps was mobilized, about 1,400 strong, to meet the Japanese attack on the Colony on 8th December, 1941, and fought with the Regular Forces against overwhelming odds until ordered to surrender on 25th December, 1941. In 1956 their action was vividly recalled when part of the old Colours of the Corps, which had been buried in December 1941 to avoid capture by the Japanese, was discovered by workmen excavating a building site on Garden Road. The officers who
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had buried the Colours had subsequently died in captivity, leaving no record of where the Colours could be found.
For their gallantry in battle and subsequent escapes from Japanese prison-camps in Hong Kong, fifteen decorations were conferred upon members of the Corps; eighteen mem- bers were mentioned in despatches.
After the war the Corps was reconstituted on 1st March, 1949, as the Hong Kong Defence Force. Two years later, the title 'Royal' was awarded to the Force by His late Majesty King George VI in recognition of the part played by its forerunner in the defence of Hong Kong.
In March 1957 the award of the Battle Honour 'Hong Kong' by Her Majesty the Queen to the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force was announced. The Honour, which was awarded in recognition of the part played by the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps in the defence of Hong Kong in 1941, is now emblazoned on the Regimental Colour.
The Essential Services Corps proper consists of a number of units, each responsible for maintaining an essential service such as the supply of electricity, water, communications, etc. Each unit is staffed primarily by those already employed in such service augmented as necessary by others. Since in an emergency most members would continue to perform duties in which they are already expert, the Corps requires less training than the Defence Force. The Corps is now several thousands strong. Training during the year has been devoted mainly to driving instruction.
The Auxiliary Fire Service, an autonomous unit of the Essential Services Corps, is designed to augment the Fire Brigade when necessary. It is a well trained, keen and efficient body some hundreds strong, which is regularly called upon to assist the Fire Brigade in fighting serious fires. The new A.F.S. Centre at North Point, which started functioning in November 1956, has greatly extended training facilities.
The Auxiliary Medical Service is organized to provide first- aid and hospital treatment for the population of the Colony
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in an emergency. It is built up around the Department of Medical and Health Services, the St. John Ambulance Brigade and other members of the medical and nursing pro- fessions. In addition, many people with no previous training in nursing and first-aid have been enrolled and trained to act as auxiliary nurses in hospitals or as first-aid workers in the field. The Unit is now several thousands strong and, whilst during 1957 there has been no marked increase in recruitment, training classes have been attended with keenness and the all-round efficiency of the Service has improved.
The Civil Aid Services are responsible for all civil defence functions not covered by the other emergency services, and comprise a Wardens' Service, a Rescue Service, a Com- munications Unit, and other command and administrative units. During 1957 the strength has steadily increased and is now several thousands strong. Members, of whom the vast majority are volunteers, are markedly keen.
In addition to the regular training programmes of the various Services which comprise the Essential Services Corps, a Colony Civil Defence Exercise lasting for a day is held annually and provides an opportunity for testing command and communications and for co-ordinating the functions of these Services in the field.
Chapter 18: Research
THE research programme at the University of Hong Kong has been continued during 1957.
Current research projects in the Department of History include work on aspects of the political and social history of South-East Asia since 1870, on the history of Hong Kong with special reference to constitutional development, on the history of problems of language communication between the English East India Company and Chinese officials at Canton in the early nineteenth century, and on the beginnings of modern Chinese industry in Shanghai. A new History of Hong Kong has been completed and is in the press.
The Department of Geography and Geology is continuing with research on land-use in the colony and on the extent and characteristics of local clays, sands and tungsten minerals, and a printed memoir on land-use in Hong Kong will be published early in 1958. A major project has been started with the re-mapping of the geology of the New Territories on a scale of 1:20,000.
In the Department of Education fields of research which have resulted in publications during 1957 include comparative education, mental health problems in education, and the educational implications of the processes of cultural and ethnic fusion in communities in the tropics. Progress has also been made in the study of comparative mental health problems and in juvenile delinquency, as well as in certain teaching techniques and the construction of teaching aids from local materials.
In the Department of Economics and Political Science research projects have been carried out with the support of the Government of Hong Kong, the Asia Foundation, the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the United
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Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, and the results have mostly been published as monographs or articles. Local surveys carried out include those on the resettlement estates, the Colony's national income, trade with the United States, the fishing industry, housing in Hong Kong, and radio audiences. Research into current economic problems in China has included a study of China's light industry, its structure of economic planning, its foreign trade and its capital formation. The Department has also made a study, in collaboration with the Universities of Bombay and Malaya, of the elasticity of the demand for rice, and the functions of the middle-men and the co-operative societies in the production and marketing of fish.
Research in the Department of Modern Languages has included the study of vernaculars arising from contact between the West and Asian countries. An analysis of three Spanish Creole dialects of the Philippines has already been published and a survey of the Macanese sub-dialect of Hong Kong is now in progress.
Results of research work in the Department of Chinese and the Institute of Oriental Studies are published from time to time in journals, including the University's Journal of Oriental Studies. Larger works both in English and Chinese, already published, in the press, or in preparation, include The Classical Theatre in China; A Complete History of the Tai-p'ing T'ien-Kuo in three volumes; Chronological Tables of Chinese History; a dictionary: Common Chinese Characters Explained, and a much larger Compilation of Chinese Characters; Characteristics of Chinese Civilization; Chinese Costumes; and a Biography of Mei Lan-fang.
In the Department of Biology research has been pursued in the fields of neurology, entomology, algology, and fisheries. The Fisheries Research Unit has continued to work along the lines already laid down, the main fields of activity being related to the oyster industry, pond-fish culture, ichthy- ology, and oceanography. The research vessel 'Alister Hardy'
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has continued survey work designed to assess the various factors, of which the Pearl River is the most significant, affecting the fishing grounds within the range of the Hong Kong fishing fleet.
New discoveries made in the Department of Chemistry in the fields of synthetic organic compounds, products from Hong Kong plants, and the mechanisms of chemical reactions are continuing to attract attention in many parts of the world. In the Department of Physics research work is being carried out on the properties of super-cooled liquids.
In the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology results of the radiological investigation of the morphology of the Chinese female pelvis await publication and work is continu- ing on problems relating to toxaemias of pregnancy and accidental haemorrhage.
Research in the Department of Physiology has been carried out along three lines: a study of complexes between plasma proteins and haemoglobins of various animals, metabolic effects produced by alphatocopheryl (vitamin E), and meta- bolic responses to cold.
In the Department of Civil Engineering the research pro- gramme is being continued on the solution of field problems by electrical analogy and using the electrolytic tank designed and built by the staff in 1956. Results of research on fields near bundle conductors, seepage of water in soils and torsion of rectangular beams have been published. Experimental research is being conducted on the behaviour of encased steel frames in the plastic range of stress and on the load-carrying capacity of pre-stressed concrete frames. Large scale frames are being manufactured in the Department and tested to destruction. During testing operations accurate strain and deflexion measurements are being recorded, and it is hoped that the results of these tests can be applied to the economic design of multi-storey building frames in Hong Kong.
For Meteorological research, see under Royal Observatory, page 279.
Chapter 19: Religion
THE Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong, which includes Macau, covers nine recognized parish churches and eight mission chapels. In three of these worship is conducted in English, and in the remainder in Chinese. St. John's Cathedral, opened in 1849, was established as a Cathedral Church by Letters Patent from Queen Victoria in 1850.
During 1957 the Anglican Church was occupied with the Silver Jubilee of the Bishop. The central activity was a two months mission to the Diocese by the Franciscan Evangelist, the Rev. Michael Fisher, Warden of St. Francis House in Cambridge University. A Jubilee Fund for church, school and hospital extension with a target of $1,000,000 had passed $800,000 by the end of the year. Two Chinese parishes each passed $100,000 in their contributions to this Fund. In addition, the Diocesan Girls' School and St. Paul's Co- Educational College raised a total of more than $250,000 towards their plans for rebuilding and extension.
The 150th Anniversary of the landing at Macau of Dr. Robert Morrison, the date which marks the start of Protest- ant missionary activity in China, was commemorated early in September, when special services were held, one in the old graveyard by the Memorial Church, Macau, and one in the new Kowloon Hop Yat Church. An Exhibition of documents, pictures, etc. illustrating Morrison's life and work, particular- ly as a Biblical translator, was staged at the Fung Ping Shan Library and, together with the Lecture delivered by the Vice- Chancellor of the University, Dr. L. T. Ride, aroused wide- spread interest.
The English-speaking Free Churches are represented by the Methodists, whose Church is on the Island; by other denominations grouped together in the two Union Churches;
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and by the non-denominational congregations of Emmanuel Church and the Alliance Church in Kowloon. The Baptists also have an English-language Chapel in Kowloon. The London Missionary Society, whose chief representative arrived in Hong Kong within a year of the Colony's cession to Great Britain, plays a prominent part in education and medicine, and runs the Nethersole Hospital, one of the Colony's foremost medical institutions.
A statistical survey of the Chinese-speaking Churches of the urban areas, published in 1956, showed that there were 59 Churches of 150 members and over in Hong Kong and Kowloon. No fewer than 13 of these (11 non-Anglican) had a membership of more than 1,000, and some of them a not inconsiderable history of work in the Colony. There is such rapid growth in the size of congregations, together with continued Church-building projects, that these figures must be regarded as already out-of-date. Progress also continues in the rural areas. In educational and medical work the Protestant Churches are striving to make a really effective contribution.
The co-operation which is evinced in the Chinese Churches' Union and the Hong Kong Christian Council continues. This latter group has just been accepted as a constituent member of the International Christian Council, at its Ghana. Assembly; its wide representation includes both Chinese and English-speaking Churches, the Salvation Army and the Adventists. This co-operative spirit shows itself in Chung Chi College, in the Council on Christian Literature for Overseas Chinese, in the Study Centre on Chinese Reli- gions, in the Standing Committee on Christian Citizenship, and in many other ways. It is particularly evident in relation to the refugee relief problem.
Outside observers sometimes comment on the very diverse projects that are being undertaken by the Protestant Churches in the field of refugee relief and rehabilitation, but, in fact, there is continuous consultation (through the
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Protestant Central Relief Council), and no overlapping. Church World Service, Lutheran World Relief, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A. and the Salvation Army, together with many denominational Committees, are at work in relief; and the World Council of Churches' office enables many destitute non-Chinese refugees from China to be passed through Hong Kong on the way to new life in countries all over the world. The Roman Catholic Church, established in 1841, was until 1874 administered by a Prefect Apostolic. In that year the Rt. Rev. T. Raimondi (P.I.M.E.) was appointed with the title of Vicar Apostolic. In 1946 the status of the Church was raised to that of a Diocese, extending into the Hoifung, Po On, and Wai Yeung Districts of China, and the Rt. Rev. H. Valtorta became the first Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong. The Diocese, since 1858, has been staffed mainly by the priests of the Pontifical Foreign Mission Institute (P.I.M.E.), to which it has been entrusted by the Holy See; they are about to celebrate the Centenary of their first Missionaries' arrival in the Colony.
There are over 20 Roman Catholic Churches in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, most of which are parochial churches, all the Centres in Resettlement Areas having been raised this year into Parishes. Many other churches and chapels are scattered all over the New Territories.
The Church is conducting 141 schools (situated in 71 buildings), either with an English or a Chinese programme of studies, giving instruction to a total of 71,394 pupils.
The most recent official estimate of the Catholic population of the Diocese (30th June, 1956) was 108,587. The Church's activities (parish work, schools, social and charitable work) are carried on by 381 priests and brothers and 565 Catholic Sisters. Many of them are Chinese; the others come from many different countries and belong to a variety of Religious Communities.
Welfare work is widely carried out under the auspices of the Church. There are five hospitals run by Sisters and a
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number of dispensaries. Six orphanages and homes for blind girls, for the aged poor, and for wayward girls shelter a total of about 1,150 inmates. Welfare Centres, with resident staffs, are operating in the squatter areas, churches and schools being maintained in connexion with each. A mobile clinic, run by the Catholic Welfare Committee, visits different places each week and treats a large number of patients.
Many of the principal Missions have their Far Eastern administrative headquarters in the Colony.
There is a small Russian Orthodox congregation, divided into adherents who recognize the present Patriarch of Moscow and others who do not. The former have their own Church, founded in 1934. The latter, who have inter-communion with the Anglican Church, hold their services in the Church Hall of St. Andrew's Kowloon, and are known as the Orthodox Church.
Buddhist activities have expanded in recent years and the Buddhist community organizes free schools and medical centres. The school of Buddhism chiefly followed is the Mahayana. There are large Buddhist monasteries in the hills behind Tsuen Wan, at Castle Peak, Sha Tin, and in the western part of Lantao Island. Most of them depend for their upkeep on charitable gifts and income earned from tourists and visitors using their rest houses.
There are about 5,000 Chinese Muslims and about 1,500 non-Chinese Muslims, mostly Pakistanis and Indians. The first mosque was built in 1850 on the present mosque site in Shelley Street; the existing construction dates from 1915. A second mosque was built in 1896 in Nathan Road, Kowloon, but in 1902 was transferred to the care of the military authorities for use by Indian troops.
The Parsees were among the foreign communities which arrived with the British in 1841. In 1829 they had established a prayer-house and cemetery in Macau, and in 1852 they established their first cemetery in Hong Kong, in Happy
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Valley. In 1874 they established a prayer-hall in Elgin Street, which was moved in 1931 to a new site on Leighton Hill Road. There is no Fire Temple or Tower of Silence.
The Jews, whose community numbers about 250, were also established in Macau prior to the foundation of Hong Kong, where they were among the earliest residents. Their cemetery, on the slopes of Happy Valley, was founded in 1855, and their religious services were originally held in premises rented in the Peel Street - Staunton Street area of the central district of Victoria. The present synagogue, built in 1901, is the gift of the late Sir Jacob Sassoon.
The first Hindu temple in Hong Kong was built in 1953 and is situated in Happy Valley. There has been since 1870 a Sikh temple in Queen's Road East which has served the needs not only of the Sikh community, but of many of those Hindus from Sind and the Punjab who have been to some extent influenced by Guru Nanek's teachings.
Chapter 20: The Arts
THE 1957 Festival of the Arts central committee and the participating societies within the fields of drama, music, literature and the visual arts are to be congratulated on the achievement of their main purpose, that of showing what Hong Kong is doing continuously and successfully in the arts. There were fewer events this year, but the Festival was over a longer period of time and had some innovations-an open-air production by the Stage Club of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', a floodlit fashion show and a window-dressing competition for local shops-the two latter in evident recognition of the importance of the com- mercial arts. Western and Chinese drama, music, painting and other cultural activities all played their part in making the Festival a success. The Visual Arts Centre was the new Star Ferry Building on the Central Reclamation where the Hong Kong Art Club, the Chinese Artists' Group, the Society of Architects, the Photographic Society, the School Art Groups, the Sino-British Club Chinese Culture Group and the Society of Chinese Calligraphists staged their exhibi- tions.
The literary side of the Festival consisted of competitions for the best short story in English and the best essay in Chinese, and also translations into Chinese prose and English
verse.
The Music Society of Hong Kong, which already has succeeded during the brief period of its existence in linking together the interests of many music lovers in the Colony, acted during the Festival as co-ordinator of musical events and offered prizes for the best original compositions in certain fields. Musical interests were represented by the Hong Kong Concert Orchestra, the South China Philharmonic
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Orchestra, the Hong Kong Singers, the Crescendo Chorus, the Bernard Ho Organization for Concerts of Youth and the Oratorio Society.
A notable event in 1957 was the formation of a new society, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, formerly the Sino- British Orchestra, which among its other activities combined with the Oratorio Society and a festival choir to perform Haydn's 'The Seasons'.
Musical events during the year included visits by the San Francisco Ballet Company, the Korean Symphony Orchestra, and Benny Goodman and his Orchestra; by the instrumentalists Yi-an Chang, Maurice Clare and Marta Zalan, Julius Katchen, Arthur Lora, Ruggerio Ricci, John Sebastian, Geoffrey Tankard, and Edward Vito; and the singers Marian Anderson, Luigi Infantino, Eleanor Steber, Yi-Kwei Sze, Richard Tucker, Pamela Woolmore and Andrew Gold.
Music in the schools continued to flourish with the Schools Music Association encouraging and stimulating interest among young people. The visiting adjudicator at the Schools' Music Festival, Dr. Sydney Northcote, noted the healthy state of school music in the Colony and stated that it compared favourably with leading centres in the United Kingdom. Entries for the examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music so increased that this year two examiners were sent from London.
In the field of the visual arts local photographers main- tained their high standards. In addition to the Photographic Society of Hong Kong, which has an international reputa- tion, and the Amateur Cine Club, smaller groups are flourishing in schools and elsewhere-a remarkable post-war development in the Colony.
Drama activities continued to be in evidence with interest- ing programmes being offered by the Stage Club and the Garrison Players. Radio Hong Kong 'Actors' Studio' and Rediffusion Theatre presented special features in the Festival
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of the Arts, the former in English and the latter televised and in Cantonese; both organizations also continued to stimulate and encourage interest in the arts as part of their normal programmes in English and in Chinese. Two Chinese groups, the Chung Yee Players and the Chinese Drama Group of the Sino-British Club, participated in the Festival of the Arts. The Chinese Drama Group also showed an interest in Peking and Cantonese opera. More experienced producers and enthusiasts for drama in the medium of English and Cantonese helped to further the interests of the young in dramatic art, particularly in the schools' drama competitions, where they acted as advisers or judges.
No review of the arts in Hong Kong would be complete without a reference to the many activities of the British Council, which participates in so many cultural events. The library now offers some ten thousand books and over a hundred periodicals for public use at its library and reading room. Issues from the lending library total over 45,000 a year. The Council mounted the biggest exhibition it has yet shown in the Colony--'Shakespeare in the British Theatre'-which was assembled in London and is now travelling throughout the Far East. This was shown in both Hong Kong and Kowloon. The libraries of visual aids and gramophone records were more popular than ever. The Council continued to offer facilities for exhibitions of paintings and other forms of graphic art by local residents and others.
St. John's Cathedral Hall has been frequently used for exhibitions by local art societies and individual artists, whilst the University's Loke Yew Hall with its improved acoustics and air-conditioning is providing a popular setting for musical and dramatic events.
By a resolution passed by the Legislative Council in December 1957 it will now be possible for a reduced rate of Entertainment Tax to be levied on admission charges for live performances of special cultural or artistic value. Per- formances eligible for the concession will be decided by the
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Colonial Secretary on the advice of a small committee. Com- mercial organizations which have hitherto promoted, at no little financial risk to themselves, concerts and recitals by visiting celebrities will now be placed in a position only slightly less favourable than that of non-profit-making societies which may, under certain conditions, be completely exempted from Entertainment Tax when they promote similar
ventures.
GOVERNMENT COLLECTIONS
The collection of paintings bequeathed to the Colony pre-war by Sir Paul Chater was sadly reduced during the Japanese occupation by damage or theft. By 1950, however, the surviving remnants had been brought together again, and, using this nucleus, the Government began to assemble a fresh collection as an artistic and historical record of Hong Kong, Macau and the China Coast during the nineteenth century. Beginning with the purchase of the Law and Sayer pictures in 1951, the Government has steadily added new paintings and photographs to the collection, including during 1957 several original water-colours of Hong Kong Island, one dating to 1816, and the others to the 1860's. Another acquisition was an attractive coloured elevation drawing of the old Hong Kong Mint, presented by Mr. H. F. A. Kinder, a relative of the original Master of the Mint during its brief existence from 1866 to 1868.
A substantial number of pictures were reglazed during the year, whilst twelve oil-paintings by unidentified Chinese artists were sent to England for cleaning and minor repairs. The Picture Collection, which has been exhibited on number of occasions in recent years, is now principally displayed on the walls of corridors and offices in the new Central Government Offices, pending the completion of the Art Gallery in the new City Hall. The photographs in the Collection are now being recatalogued.
The Government has accepted from the Executors of the estate of the late Sir Robert Ho Tung a collection of
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84 oil-paintings illustrating the China scene in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This valuable gift, which was made in accordance with Sir Robert's wishes expressed shortly before his death in 1956, includes a number of paintings attributed to Chinnery and Castiglione. It is hoped that the Collection will be available for exhibition in Hong Kong in the middle of 1958.
The Government also received during 1957 the gift from Mr. Lam Yung Fai of the 'copy' for the first post-war issue of the South China Morning Post, announcing the liberation of the Colony by British Forces in August 1945. This interesting document is now displayed at the entrance to the Council suite in the Central Government Offices.
Another donation announced during the year concerned the Library of the late Sir Robert Kotewall. This collection, which consists of some 4,000 English-language works and another 14,000 in Chinese, was presented by members of the Kotewall family in memory of their father. The books will eventually be housed in the City Hall Library, where the room containing the English section will be known as the Sir Robert Kotewall Room.
A small Chinese cannon, bearing an inscription of the Ming Dynasty dated 1649, was extracted from Kowloon Bay in the course of dredging operations for the new Airport. Set on a granite carriage, the cannon has been mounted permanently in the grounds of the Central Government Offices, appropriately overlooking Battery Path.
Chapter 21: Sport and Recreation
BECAUSE of its very hot and wet summers it is usual in Hong Kong for the major sports such as soccer, rugby, hockey, and cricket to be concentrated in the winter months when comparatively cool and dry weather can be expected. Since the racing calendar covers the same period, the winter season is, for the Colony's sports enthusiasts, a very busy time. Despite this variety of attractions every form of sport continued to be well attended in 1957, with soccer still attract- ing the largest number of spectators. During the last season the Jockey Club also recorded a record attendance, both in the members' stand and in the public enclosure.
It is impossible in the brief compass of this Chapter to mention all the sports which now have a place in Hong Kong's sporting calendar. From table tennis to rifle- shooting, from soft-ball to boxing, each game has its own enthusiastic group of players and supporters.
There was the usual number of visiting teams in several sports. The Hong Kong Football Association kept up its reputation for supplying first-class entertainment from over- seas by arranging visits from the All-India team after the Melbourne Olympics and a team from Israel.
During the year Hong Kong was represented at the Malayan Merdeka Games by football and basketball teams; preparations are now under way for the forthcoming Asian Games in Tokyo where, it is hoped, the Colony will be well and successfully represented in soccer, basketball, swim- ming and athletics. Funds are also being raised to send a team representative of a number of sports to the 1958 Empire Games in Cardiff.
Miniature football is without question the really popular game in the Colony. It is difficult to estimate the actual
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number of players since, apart from the official associations, there were several hundred small teams from shops, business firms and similar organizations. One large industrial organization alone was able to organize a league with some 60 teams from its own workers.
Lawn bowls has been played in Hong Kong for over 50 years and there are 15 clubs which compete in league matches during the summer. In recent years increasing numbers of lady players have become interested in the
game.
Cycling, which was reported last year as a comparatively new sport, developed considerably and, in addition to nor- mal road racing, cyclists began to take part in track events.
In yachting, 1957 saw an interesting development in the increasing number of residents who were building Chinese craft of the small junk type. Indeed, sufficient had already been built for junk races to be held. More and more Western-style yachts were also being built, and the efficiency and competitive pricing of the Hong Kong ship- yards led to a promising export trade, mainly to the United States. Yachting as a sport continued to flourish and there was keen racing every week-end amongst the smaller classes, the cruisers also taking part in off-shore races during the winter season.
Cricket as usual attracted a large and regular following. A Hong Kong Inter-port team enjoyed a successful tour of Singapore and Malaya in the Spring.
In badminton, Hong Kong lost to Pakistan in the Asian Zone of the Thomas Cup and, later in the season, played against the Japanese Thomas Cup team as it was passing through the Colony.
Hong Kong has three golf courses, with the main links at Fan Ling. During 1957 two inter-port matches were played with Singapore. A visit was also paid to the Colony by Dai Rees, the British Ryder Cup Captain, with some of
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the members of his successful 1957 team, and a number of very popular exhibition games were played.
Tennis enthusiasts were able to watch Jack Kramer and his fellow professionals during two days of exhibition games, whilst rugby football was enlivened by the visit of a team from Japan.
A comparatively new sport in Hong Kong, which is now attracting much interest, is fencing. Apart from a strenuous programme of local contests, visits were paid during 1957 by a Japanese University team on its way to and from the World University Games in Paris. Although defeated, Hong Kong put up a sufficiently good display to augur well for the future of this sport in the Colony.
In recent years motor racing, and time and reliability trials have gained a large following. The organizers of the Macau Grand Prix always receive a great deal of assistance from Hong Kong devotees of the sport, who in 1957 carried off the majority of prizes as well as supplying most of the competitors. In the Colony itself the Motor Sports Club continued to organize a number of rallies and trials, and combined with the Hong Kong Automobile Association to stage the annual rally and concours d'élégance.
Hong Kong's own particular sporting events, the cross- harbour swim and the 'round-the-Island' walk, continued to attract a very large and varied number of competitors. In the first event much-prized certificates were, as usual, awarded to all competitors who completed the course. The 'round-the-Island' walk, which is sponsored by one of the leading newspapers, took place for the second time, and, judging by the number of spectators who turned out to see the competitors, it had definitely won the public's interest.
During the year the completion of the first Government swimming pool at Victoria Park opened up a prospect of much higher standards both in swimming and diving. This pool, which is up to Olympic standards, is the first public
The Colony's Photographers Look at Hong Kong Children
+
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PUBLI
LIBRA
RING RACING
Manly Chin. A.R.P.S.
Hong Kong's photographers have gained a proud name in international photographic circles. The Journal of the Photographic Society of America, listing photographers with 40 or more acceptances at salons of international standing during 1956, places the Colony's photographers second only to those of the U.S.A., 33 being so listed with many of the top awards falling to them. The photographs on this and the following three pages were among those exhibited in December 1957 at the 12th International Salon organized by the Photographic Society of Hong Kong.
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BRA
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ONG
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pool in Hong Kong and it was built at the Jockey Club's expense, especially for the benefit of under-privileged children. Although the pool opened too late in the season to be really popular, the number of winter-bathers made it plain that the pool will be one of Hong Kong's major attractions for its local residents. The pool is designed to cater for everyone from the expert swimmer to the family party with small children, since it provides three pools: one main swimming-pool, a smaller pool for children, and a paddling-pool for infants, as well as a public stand and cafeteria. There were also seven licensed club swimming pools in the Colony in 1957.
Water-skiing continued to attract more and more enthusiasts who, in addition to straight-forward skiing, were going in for ski-jumping. Inevitably, one of the keenest water-skiers skied round the Island. A second branch of water-sports is skin-diving; more and more swimmers were donning face-masks and under-water breath- ing equipment during the year, whilst small groups were also venturing into deeper water after big fish. Deep-water angling also had its local following.
PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS AND OTHER AMENITIES
The development of parks, playgrounds and other ameni- ties is one of the responsibilities of the Urban Council, working through the Urban Services Department. These amenities include the fine beaches on the south side of the Island, as well as the walks and look-outs on the hills above the Harbour. Apart from developing these natural attrac- tions, the Urban Council devotes much attention to the development of playgrounds, gardens and other small proj- ects designed to beautify the city itself.
The beaches are patronized by thousands who come from the city, walking or riding in cars and buses. From April to November, during the main bathing season, the more popular beaches are manned by life-guards, including
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volunteers from the Life-Guard Club and the 53 professional life-guards of the Urban Services Department. The beaches are also cleaned and regulated by Urban Services staff. At two of the principal beaches a contractor provides changing tents for hire, whilst elsewhere sites for beach huts may be rented for five years or huts themselves rented annually as a result of a ballot. Refreshments are also put out to tender at the large beaches, at some of which cafés or hotels of various standards are also available.
There are also a number of popular beaches in the New Territories which are controlled by the District Administra- tion as regards hire of beach-huts and tents, scavenging, life saving and other duties. In 1957 for the first time a group of nine qualified life-guards, who had undergone training in both life-saving and elementary first-aid, were on duty at New Territories beaches.
The shortage of land in the built-up areas has meant that the development of parks and playgrounds can only take place in keen competition with other forms of development offering a more direct economic return. Before the war, playgrounds were few; after the war, these were at best dusty and uneven pieces of land or at worst soon covered by the ubiquitous squatters. Despite these difficulties, the old playgrounds have been rehabilitated and new ones laid out. These playgrounds vary in size from the Victoria Park, occupying 53 acres on land reclaimed from a former typhoon shelter, to small children's playgrounds which were being developed at the end of the year on scraps of land left over at road-junctions.
There are 130 acres of parks, public playgrounds and rest gardens, including the Botanic Gardens and Victoria Park, which provide nine association football, five miniature foot- ball, two hockey, one rugby football and three cricket grounds, all grass covered, together with 16 basketball and eleven miniature football grounds on hard surfacing. Of the
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24 parks, public playgrounds and rest gardens, twelve have provision for ball games.
Playgrounds are being developed continuously. In Decem- ber work was in progress on three new major playgrounds, and planning was well advanced on further schemes. Apart from the large parks and formal playgrounds, a great deal can be done to improve the appearance of the city by the tidying up and laying out of small derelict roadside areas. For the first time a special vote of $900,000 was created for this purpose in the financial year 1956-7.
The Gardens Division of the Urban Services Department carries out or supervises all gardening development and maintenance in public recreation areas, most grounds of Government schools, hospitals, offices and quarters, and the grassed areas at the Airport, which cover a total area of approximately 428 acres. Ornamental trees, shrubs, and other plants are grown in five nurseries which can produce several thousand potted plants for decoration on official occasions.
The division also contains a botanical section responsible for the care and growth of the collection of over 27,000 specimens in the Colonial Herbarium. As well as maintain- ing this collection, started by Richard Brinsley Hinds in 1841, the section maintains contact with institutions abroad and deals with the phyto-sanitary control of plants leaving the Colony.
The Li Cheng Uk Tomb. In the middle of the year the Li Cheng Uk Tomb and rest garden were opened daily to the public for a nominal entrance fee. This tomb, which is dated provisionally to the Later Han or the Six Dynasties period, was discovered in 1955 in the course of the levelling of a low mound on a building site in Kowloon. The contents of the tomb, which were described in more detail in Chapter 19 of the 1955 Annual Report, are displayed in a small museum, whilst the tomb itself, which is entered from the museum, has been given permanent protection against
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the weather by means of a concrete shell covered by earth to preserve the tomb's original appearance. Over 70,000 visitors to the tomb had been recorded by 31st December, indicating the considerable interest which its opening had aroused amongst local residents and visitors alike. An illustrated booklet in English and Chinese about the tomb was nearly ready for publication at the end of the year.
Chapter 22: Geography and Climate
THE Colony of Hong Kong, which consists of a number of islands and a portion of mainland on the S.E. coast of China, adjoining Kwangtung Province and situated immediately E. of the Pearl River estuary, lies between 22° 9′ and 22° 37′ N. and 113° 52′ and 114° 30′ E. The capital city, Victoria, situated on Hong Kong Island, is 91 miles S.E. of Canton and 40 miles E. of the Portuguese Colony of Macau.
The total land area of the Colony is 391 square miles, made up as follows:
4
(a) Hong Kong Island (32 sq. miles), including Green Island, Ap Lei Chau, and other immediately adjacent islets. Victoria, on the north side of the island, has a population of approximately 1,000,000. Also situated on the Island are two important fishing towns, Shau Kei Wan and Aberdeen, and a number of villages, such as Stanley and Shek O, which have developed into popular residential areas. (b) Kowloon (31 sq. miles) and Stonecutters Island (
sq. mile). The northern limit of the ceded territory of Kowloon is Boundary Street. Kowloon and New Kowloon (the urban zone north of Boundary Street) have an estimated population of more than 1,000,000. (c) The New Territories (land area 355 sq. miles), leased from China for 99 years from 1st July, 1898. The leased area consists of a substantial mainland section north of Kowloon, and 198 islands adjacent to it and in the vicinity of Hong Kong Island. It also includes the waters of Deep Bay and Mirs Bay. The principal centres of population in the New Territories are Tsuen Wan, with a population of 80,000; Cheung Chau, with
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24,500 land-based inhabitants and approximately 7,000 people anchored there for the greater part of the year; Yuen Long, 16,800; Tai O with 12,600 land-based inhabitants and about 2,000 boat dwellers; Shek Wu Hui, 4,800; Tai Po, with 9,000 land-based inhabitants and about 4,000 boat dwellers; Luen Wo Market, 2,900; Peng Chau (Southern District), 4,500; Castle Peak (including Old Town, New Town and Sam Shing Hui), 4,400 with approximately 2,000 floating popula- tion; and Sai Kung, 3,000, excluding floating popula- tion. The total population of the New Territories, excluding New Kowloon, is probably in the region of 360,000.
The population figures for Victoria and Kowloon are entirely approximate: see Chapter 2. The figures for New Territories towns are based on the figures produced by an unofficial census carried out in 1955, to which have been added the natural increase of births over deaths and the estimated increase in population by immigration.
Hong Kong Island is 11 miles long from east to west and varies in width from 2 to 5 miles. It rises steeply from the northern shore to a range of treeless hills of volcanic rock, of which the highest point is Victoria Peak (1,805 ft.) near the western end. Between these hills and the harbour lies the city of Victoria. The old part of the urban areas runs up steep hillside for hundreds of yards, in narrow stepped streets and terraces; but more modern parts of the town stand chiefly on a strip of reclaimed land, averaging 200-400 yards in width, which extends 9 miles along the north shore of the Island.
Between the Island and the mainland lies the Port of Victoria, often described, with San Francisco and Rio de Janeiro, as one of the three most perfect natural harbours in the world. Its area is 17 sq. miles, varying in width from I to 3 miles. Ocean-going ships generally use the eastern deep- water entrance, known as Lei Yue Mun, which is between
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500 and 900 yards wide. On the western side the natural entrances to the harbour are wider but shallower. On this side a group of islands, which include Tsing Yi, Lantao and Lamma, provide effective shelter. The importance of Hong Kong has hitherto depended on this harbour, and on its favourable position at the mouth of the most important river system in South China, within easy reach of Canton, South China's largest city.
The ceded territory of Kowloon originally consisted of a number of low, dry foothills running southward from the Kowloon hills in a V-shaped peninsula 2 miles long and nowhere more than 2 miles wide. Here and there on the peninsula were a few small Chinese villages. Most of the foothills have now been levelled, and the rock and soil thus cut away have been used to extend the land by reclamation from the sea. The town of Kowloon now covers the entire peninsula and stretches without interruption northward into the New Territories, the boundary of which is noticeable only from the name of Boundary Street, which marks it. Further on, the Kowloon hills set a final limit to this northward urban expansion, but around the sides of the harbour, westward toward Lai Chi Kok and eastward to Ngau Tau Kok, Kowloon is extending its urban arms to embrace several rural areas with villages established there for hundreds of years. Kowloon contains the Colony's main industrial area, one of the two principal commercial dock- yards, the largest wharves for ocean-going ships and, in the area known as Kowloon Tong, a large residential suburb. At the extreme southern tip of the peninsula, known as Tsim Sha Tsui, is the terminus of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, which passes from Kowloon under the Kowloon hills and through the New Territories to Canton.
A large part of the New Territories, both islands and mainland, is mountainous and barren. The highest point, situated approximately in the centre of the mainland, is Tai Mo Shan (3,140 ft.). The second and third highest points are
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both on Lantao Island: Lantao Peak, or Fung Wong Shan (3,061 ft.), which is the western of the two, and Sunset Peak (2,857 ft.). The fourth highest point is Ma On Shan on the mainland (2,300 ft.). The north-western slopes of Tai Mo Shan descend to the Colony's largest area of cultivable land, in the centre of which is the important market town of Yuen Long. Further out the land extends to marshes and oyster- beds on the verge of Deep Bay.
The eastern half of the New Territories mainland consists of irregular mountain masses deeply indented by arms of the sea and narrow valleys. Villages are in general only found where there is flat watered land, in valleys or on small plateaux. Much of the upper land in the areas nearest to Kowloon has been eroded, one of the unfortunate results of the Japanese occupation, when tremendous numbers of trees were cut for firewood. At the end of the war virtually the only woods that still remained were those preserved in the neigbourhood of villages for geomantic reasons. For details of forestry, see Chapter 7.
The 198 islands of the New Territories include many that are waterless and uninhabited. Productive land is even scarcer than on the mainland. The principal cultivated areas are on Lantao, Lamma and Ma Wan, where water supplies are good. Apart from Lantao, which is nearly double the size of Hong Kong Island, most of the islands are small. They range in character from the thickly-populated Cheung Chau, with its large fishing community, soya and preserved fruit factories, and junk-building yards, to places like the Ninepins, which are no more than granite rock, used seasonally, and by day only, by fishermen drying fish or repairing nets.
CLIMATE
Although the Colony lies just within the tropics, it enjoys a variety of weather from season to season which is unusual in tropical regions. The climate is governed by monsoons. The north-east monsoon sets in during October and persists
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with occasional breaks until April, bringing cool air from high latitudes. Early winter is the most pleasant time of year, when the weather is generally dry and sunny. After the New Year the sky is more often clouded, though rainfall remains slight; dull overcast days with a chilly wind are frequent. Coastal fogs occur from time to time in early spring during breaks in the monsoon, when warm south-easterly winds may temporarily displace the cool north-easterlies.
The summer is the rainy season, three-quarters of the average annual rainfall of 84.76 inches occurring during the period May to September. The south-west monsoon lasts from June to August, but is not so persistent as the north- east monsoon of winter. The weather during the summer is continuously hot and humid, and often cloudy and showery with occasional thunderstorms.
The mean monthly temperature ranges from 59°F in February to 82°F in July, the average for the year being 72°F. The temperature very rarely rises above 95°F in summer, or falls below 40°F in winter. The mean relative humidity exceeds 80% from March until August, but in early winter it may occasionally fall as low as 20%. The average daily duration of sunshine ranges from 3 hours in March to 7 hours in October.
Hong Kong is liable to be affected by typhoons during the period July to October, and typhoon gales have occa- sionally been experienced as early as June and as late as November. Spells of bad weather, with strong winds and heavy rain, normally occur several times each year owing to the passage of these storms at varying distances from the Colony. Gales due to typhoons occur on the average about once a year, but it is only rarely that the centre of a fully developed typhoon passes sufficiently close to Hong Kong to produce winds of hurricane force.
THE YEAR'S WEATHER
The weather in 1957 was notable for its excessive rainfall.
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The total of 2,950.3 mm. (116.15 inches) of rain was 797.5 mm. (31.40 inches) above normal and was exceeded on only two previous occasions (1889 and 1891) since observa- tions began at the Observatory in 1884.
At the beginning of the year the weather was dry and relatively warm, but on 11th February a new record for the minimum temperature for the month was set when an intense cold surge from the north caused the temperature to fall from 50.1°F to 36.3°F. The mean temperature for the month was also the lowest on record since 1897. During March and April warm humid air reached the Colony from the Pacific giving rise to several short spells of fog and low cloud. A total of 894.2 mm. (35.20 inches) of rain was recorded in May, which was more than three times the normal amount for the month. During this month there were only eight days com- pletely free from rain, and the heavy downpours which occurred on the 17th, 21st and 22nd caused several landslides and serious flooding in the Colony. However, the dis- tribution of rainfall was very irregular. Beacon Hill, which is only four miles to the north-west of the Observatory, received 716.5 mm. (28.21 inches) of rain on the 21st, and this was five times the amount recorded at the Observatory on the same day. From June onwards the south-west mon- soon became established and weather was generally hot and showery. The hottest day of the year occurred on 14th August when a maximum temperature of 93.5°F was record- ed. By early October the winter monsoon began to set in and fine dry weather prevailed until the end of the year.
On 22nd September typhoon Gloria passed about 30 miles to the south-west of the Colony causing heavy rainfall and high winds. The Observatory recorded gales for fourteen hours, winds of hurricane force for nearly one hour, and a peak gust of 101 knots. The gales lasted longer in other parts of the Colony and there was widespread damage.
GEOLOGY
Hong Kong Island and the New Territories consist of
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numerous rugged and irregular islands with deeply dissected peninsulas. A general picture of the area is that of an upland terrain which has been invaded by the sea.
The uplands and mountains are eroded remnants of rock formations, in which relative resistance of rock and structure through differential erosion are clearly recorded. As the region lies within the northern limits of the tropics, frosts even on Tai Mo Shan are of the rarest occurrence, and hence weathering depends almost completely upon the chemical action of the atmosphere aided by the alternation of wet and dry seasons. Erosion is likewise due to water action which is at a maximum during the torrential rains of the summer monsoon. Again denudation is aided by the excessive wind velocities of the typhoons and to a much lesser extent by the gentler breezes of the dry winter monsoon from Central China. Because of the destruction of forest growth and vegetation wrought by the agricultural population by sickle and grass fires, the soil and rock mantle are left unprotected except by their own cohesion. Intensive efforts have been made to limit and control these nuisances by rigid regulations and systematic reafforestation. In consequence of this, bare rock surfaces and loose boulders occur commonly on the higher surfaces and steeper slopes.
The laterite-type product of decay is locally such, however, as to provide an impervious mantle for the underlying rock. In colour and composition the products of weathering ac- curately reflect their rock origin. Although frost action is absent, mechanical disintegration due to hydration, carbona- tion and temperature changes, has resulted in the formations of gravel and boulders over the surfaces of some rock types. The net result of the erosion cycle is that of an upland system with rocky mountain peaks and well-defined ridges giving an impression of partly matured topography. In some areas the topography shows that adjustment to rock structure and resistance to weathering and erosion are very complete. This is evidenced particularly in the general anticlinal
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structure of the valleys. The Tolo Channel is a notable example. The relative resistance of the different rock forma- tions to weathering is illustrated as follows. The highest peaks and the most prominent mountain ranges are all composed of Tai Mo Shan prophyry and the Repulse Bay volcanics. They tend to form smoother peaks than the Hong Kong granite which generally occurs at lower elevations with well-etched peaks and sharp ridge lines. The Tolo Channel sediments generally weather into lowlands and valleys except for the Pat Sin conglomerate which forms peaks and ridges along the crests of the Pat Sin mountain chain.
Unlike the hills the plains are all alluvial and formed by deposition. Benches marking old sea beaches up to 400 feet or more above sea level indicate the deep submergence of the whole region within recent geological times. Progressive uplift has brought about marked changes on the shore-line. Submerged weathered rock surfaces overlain by peat and bog deposits drilled through in the harbour of Hong Kong indicate that the former shore-line was at least 100 feet (16) fathoms) lower than now.
During the period of submergence valley heads were gradually filled with sediment and this has been redistributed from higher to lower levels as elevation continued. The paddy fields along the lower reaches of the rivers, and the large semi-submerged plain around Yuen Long are alluvial deposits brought down by the local streams. At the brickyards on the Sheung Shui plain marine shells have been dug up fifteen feet below the alluvial deposits.
The alluvial origin of the plains is thus clear, and it is also evident that these plains are yearly growing seaward due to the deposition of the sediment brought down by the streams. It is interesting to note that an elevation of the land by 100 feet would restore the strand line approximately to the 16 fathom line and make all Hong Kong and the New Territories an integral part of the mainland. Thus across wide alluvial
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plains the Pearl River would develop several distributaries to the sea. There would possibly be a small channel flowing between Hong Kong and Lantao Island eastwards and a larger one passing close to the western end of Lantao Island in a south-easterly direction.
Note: The Geology section of this Chapter is reproduced from The Geology of Hong Kong by S. G. Davis.
Chapter 23: Fauna and Flora
FAUNA
Mammals. Wild mammals are seldom seen, although the species on record are both varied and interesting. Due largely to an immense expansion of the human population in recent times, some of these mammalian species have unfortunately become scarce, rare, or even non-existent in the Colony. The fact that several of them (e.g. civets, wild cats, porcupines, and deer) are of considerable value locally as food is also not conducive to an increase in their numbers.
Of the cat family, both the South China Tiger and the Leopard have occasionally entered the Colony from Chinese territory. Such visits are now extremely rare and no tigers have been reported in recent years. On 22nd October, 1957, a European resident saw a Leopard at Sha Tin in the New Territories; during the next few weeks this animal was sighted on several occasions and killed a number of domestic animals. It is now believed to have been the Leopard which was shot in Chinese territory about eight miles from Sha Tau Kok on 4th December. The one other member of the cat family on record is the Chinese Leopard Cat, spotted and about the size of a Domestic Cat, which is still resident in restricted numbers in certain less populated areas on the mainland.
The Dhole or Indian Wild Dog and the South China Red Fox are both included in the Colony's fauna, though the present status of each is unknown. Monkeys still occur in small numbers, but have very localized distribution, both on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories. Although all of these may be the descendants of released or escaped specimens, it is possible that those on Hong Kong Island are
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the remainder of the indigenous Rhesus Monkeys which less than a hundred years ago were found on most of the small islands near Hong Kong. Another interesting mammal, seldom seen due to its secretive and largely nocturnal habits, is the primitive Chinese Pangolin or Scaly Ant-eater. Other indigenous mammals are the Chinese Ferret-Badger and the Eastern Chinese Otter. Civets are represented in the Colony by three species, the Large Chinese Civet, the Rasse or Small Indian Civet, and the Masked Palm Civet. A close relative of the civets is the Crab-eating Mongoose, of which there is at least one record but which is not known to have occurred in recent years.
Reeves' Muntjac (Barking Deer) inhabits various hilly wooded localities both on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories, where it is hunted and is becoming scarce. On Hong Kong Island on account of its shyness and nocturnal habits this attractive little deer may seem to be much less numerous than is actually the case. It is, in fact, troublesome at times, as it destroys garden produce in The Peak district. The Wild Boar, which is hunted both for sport and because of its destructive habits to agriculture, is now extremely scarce and the present status of this animal in several parts of its former range is unknown.
The Chinese Porcupine, our largest rodent, is found in parts of Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. Small mammals include an insectivore, the House Shrew, various rodents, and several species of bats. Among the rodents there is the Smaller Bandicoot Rat which, in spite of its name, is the largest rat found in the Colony; it is entirely 'wild' (non- domestic) in habits and sometimes causes considerable dam- age to crops. Very little is known of the bats, which are represented by both insectivorous and frugivorous species.
Cetaceans occurring within or near Hong Kong territorial waters include the Common Rorqual or Finback Whale (a single record-during 1955), the Black Finless Porpoise and the Common Dolphin.
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Birds. There is much to interest ornithologists and bird- watchers in Hong Kong. Including published and unpub- lished records, well over three hundred species of birds are known to have occurred in the Colony. During 1957 birds reported for the first time included the Eastern Steppe Eagle, Spoon-bill Sandpiper, Orange-headed Ground Thrush and Red-winged Crested Cuckoo. A great deal more work is necessary, however, particularly with regard to breeding and feeding habits, various other aspects of ecology, and migra- tion. The avifauna of Hong Kong includes both palaearctic and oriental species, some of the families represented being those containing the crows, babblers, bulbuls, thrushes, redstarts, flycatchers, minivets, drongos, warblers, starlings, weavers, finches, buntings, swallows, wagtails, cuckoos, kingfishers, owls, eagles, pigeons, rails, gulls, terns, plovers, sandpipers, herons, ducks and grebes, to mention only those represented by several species.
Reptiles and Amphibians. These are also well represented in the Colony, especially by snakes, lizards and frogs. Others include various terrapins and turtles, the Common Indian Toad and the Chinese Newt. Among the Colony's snakes those most commonly encountered are harmless and death from snake-bite is extremely rare. During 1957 only one such fatality was reported, this being a villager on Lantao Island who died four hours after being bitten by a King Cobra which he had captured. Excluding certain rear-fanged species harmless to man, the venomous land snakes which occur are the Banded Krait, the Many-banded Krait, Macclelland's Coral Snake, the Indian Cobra, the Hamadryad (King Cobra) and the White-lipped Pit Viper (Bamboo Snake). All of the several sea snakes known to occur within or near the Colony's territorial waters are venomous, but none attacks bathers.
Butterflies and Moths. One hundred and seventy-nine species of butterflies, belonging to nine families, have been recorded for the Colony. The number of moths is far greater
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but no comprehensive list of local species has ever been published. The attractive and predominantly tropical butter- flies known popularly as 'swallow-tails' are conspicuous by a number of species. The magnificent Atlas Moth, with a wing- span from about seven to nine inches, is fairly common. Another very fine insect, also fairly common here, is the Moon Moth; this has a wing-span of about four to six inches, has swallow-tailed wings, and is mostly soft silvery green in
colour.
FLORA
It is not possible to make any true distinction between the trees of Hong Kong and those of the adjacent southern part of Kwangtung Province. Among the principal trees found in the Colony are pine, Chinese banyan and camphor, to which, since the area came under British administration, have been added a large number of others, of which the most commonly seen are casuarina, eucalyptus and flamboyant.
The principal locally-grown fruits include laichee, lung- ngan, wong pei, loquat, pomelo, tangerine, banana, papaya, pineapple, custard apple, guava and Chinese varieties of plum and pear. Of these papaya, pineapple, custard apple and guava were originally introduced from South America by the Portuguese some time after the foundation of Macau. The tangerine, native to South China, was introduced to the West in the seventeenth century by the Portuguese, who transplanted it to Tangier, then under their control.
Illustrated descriptions of some of the Colony's trees will be found in the Hong Kong Annual Reports for the years
1950-53.
The flora of Hong Kong Island has been fully, though not completely, described in Flora Hongkongensis, by G. B. Bentham, published in 1861, and in the descriptive Flora of Kwangtung and Hong Kong by S. T. Dunn and W. J. Tutcher, published in 1912. Less comprehensive works in- clude a small book, remarkable for its excellent drawings, by L. Gibbs, entitled Common Hong Kong Ferns; an illustrated
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but unfinished series, The Flowering Plants of Hong Kong by A. H. Crook; Plants of Lan Tau Island by F. A. McClure, which appeared in the Lingnan University Science Bulletin series for 1931; and numerous papers published in The Hong Kong Naturalist. Since the war three official publications, in the series Food and Flowers, have appeared, giving, amongst other information, articles on some of the more conspicuous wild plants of the Colony.
The flora of the Colony is tropical, but this is about the northern limit of tropical flora. The alternation between hot humid summers and cool dry winters results in a dormant period for tropical plants during winter. These conditions promote the development of large flowers borne at definite seasons of the year. The consequence is that a genus repre- sented in Hong Kong and also in equatorial countries produces here a greater wealth of flowers of larger size.
There is considerable diversity of flowering shrubs and trees, including magnolia, Michelia, Rhodoleia, Illicium and Tutcheria. Six species of rhododendron grow wild; there are also a wild Gordonia and wild roses. The heather family is represented by a pink-belled Enkianthus, flowering at the time of the Chinese New Year. A Litsea also blooms at this time.
Bauhinia blakeana, named after a former Governor, Sir Henry Blake, and discovered by the fathers of the Missions Etrangères at Pok Fu Lam, is among the finest of the Bauhinia genus anywhere in the world. Its origin is un- known; it is a sterile hybrid, never producing seed. A new and distinct species of camellia, Camellia granthamiana, was discovered at Shing Mun in 1955.
Fruit-bearing herbs include several wild hollies, Melodinus, Strychnos, wild kamquat, Gardenia, Maesa, Mussaenda ('the Buddha's Lamp'), Dichroa, several species of Callicarpa, Dianella in the lily family, Raphiolepis (the so-called Hong Kong hawthorn), wild jasmine and wild persimmon.
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Among fruits that are either poisonous or useful for medicine are Strophanthus, Strychnos, Gelsemium and Cerbera, abundant near the sea. Edible fruit includes a wild jackfruit, Artocarpus, rose-myrtle fruits and wild bananas. Several species of persimmon are wild, but their fruits are too astringent to be eaten raw.
There are numerous plants which closely resemble their European relatives. Old Man's Beard, the common clematis of the English hedgerow, has five close relatives here. There are four wild violets, but, like the English dog violet, they are scentless. English honeysuckle has five relatives; their Cantonese name is 'kam ngan fa' (gold and silver flower), given because of their change in colour with age from white to yellow.
There is a fine wild iris, further south than any other true iris, and a wild lily growing on some hillsides, with in- dividual flowers sometimes seven inches long. By the sea a wild Crinum is found, and Belamcanda, in the iris family.
In damp ravines may be found Chirita, several begonias, a fragrant-leaved rush, stag's horn mosses, numerous orchids, giant aroids, tree ferns and countless kinds of smaller ferns, including maidenhair and the local Royal ferns. On hillsides English bracken, a cosmopolitan plant, may be seen growing together with the so-called Hong Kong bracken, Gleichenia, and a fragrant-leaved myrtle called Baeckea.
The Colonial Herbarium, which provided the foundation for the work of Dunn and Tutcher's Flora of Kwangtung and Hong Kong, has been added to considerably since their time. At present over 27,000 specimens are preserved.
Chapter 24: History
ANTECEDENTS
THE earliest traces of human settlement in the region are at Shek Pik, on the south coast of Lantao Island, and on the beach known as Hung Shing Yeh, on the west coast of Lamma Island. From the rock carvings, pottery and imple- ments discovered there, it is clear that in prehistoric times the islands were occupied, at least seasonally, by people whose trade connexions stretched from the Yangtse basin as far south as Indonesia. Little is known of the region before it adopted Chinese culture. Chinese histories refer to the early inhabitants as Maan, implying barbarian, and provide few details about them.
Kwangtung was first brought under the suzerainty of China between 221 and 214 B.C., but it was many hundreds of years before there was any degree of Chinese migration into the province.* Remote and dangerous, its islands provid- ing ideal hiding places for sea-robbers and bandits, this particular region was no place for civilized settlement.
Southward Chinese migration on a large scale began to affect Kwangtung during the Sung dynasty (960-1279). Little is known of the early relations between Chinese and Maan which must have resulted from this movement, but it is clear that by this time the Maan had already adopted Chinese culture and names. Chinese settlement in the New Territories is continuous from the beginning of the thirteenth century.
For a few months during 1278 the last emperor of the
*The tomb at Li Cheng Uk, whose discovery is described in the 1955 Annual Report, is the most striking surviving example of early Chinese settlement in the area.
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337
Southern Sung, Ti Ping, in flight from the invading Mongols, made his capital at Kowloon, and a small hill crowned with prominent boulders was held sacred to his memory, until 1943, when the Japanese demolished it as a safety measure for the airport.* The last battle between the Sung and the Mongols was probably fought in the New Territories in 1279, not far from Tsuen Wan; and, after the Sung defeat, large numbers of the Court and nobility are said to have escaped across to Lantao Island, where some of them settled, their descendants surviving to this day.
In the earliest maritime connexions between China and the West the shipping was principally Arab, the traders including Indians, Persians and Jews, all of whom, from the seventh century onwards, formed a considerable foreign community in Canton. When, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese discovered the sea route from Europe to India, they quickly put an end to Arab trade with the Far East. In 1513 Jorge Alvares, the first European ever to com- mand a sea voyage to China, reached the Pearl River in a chartered Burmese junk; and in 1517 the first Portuguese ships arrived, with the aim of opening regular trade with China.
Their first attempts were unsuccessful, and it was not until 1557, partly in recognition of the help they had given the Chinese in the local suppression of piracy, that the Portuguese gained the settlement which was their aim, and established themselves at Macau.
From then onwards, through many vicissitudes, and against the main current of authoritative Chinese opinion, which was not interested in foreign trade, Macau provided the only reliable point of contact between China and the West. English contacts with Macau date from about 1600, the first English ship actually calling there in 1635 under
* A memorial stone bearing the characters Sung Wong Toi, which formerly surmounted the hill, has now been erected in a small public park adjoining its original site.
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charter to the Portuguese. Between 1601 and 1627 the Dutch made repeated attempts to capture Macau, but without
success.
Regular seasonal British trade with China dates from 1700, and, although Amoy and other ports farther up the coast were visited from time to time, the bulk of the trade was with Canton, the ships weighing for dues and clearing at Taipa, just south of Macau, but being allowed up-river as far as Whampoa, 13 miles from the city of Canton, for discharging and loading. A strictly limited number of Europeans connected with the trade were, under security paid by their Chinese business associates, allowed to reside in Canton during the trade season only, being obliged by the Chinese authorities to leave the country as soon as they had completed the year's business. Only certain Chinese merchants were permitted to trade with the Europeans, and they conducted their affairs as a monopoly guild, fixing prices arbitrarily and without regard for real market values.
As, throughout the eighteenth century, the volume of trade between China and the West continued to grow, until it reached large proportions, the various restrictions imposed on it by the Chinese Government became, in European eyes, steadily less realistic and less endurable. Although the French, Dutch, Spaniards, Danes and Swedes also traded with Canton, the volume of British trade by 1763 was more than double that of all the others together. It was the British who, having the largest stake in the trade, were the most critical of the Chinese restrictions.
In 1793 Lord Macartney was sent as Ambassador to Peking in an attempt either to improve trading conditions at Canton and Macau, or else to acquire from the Chinese Government some small island or minor port where Europeans would be able to reside permanently, trade with whatever Chinese merchants wished to deal with them, and be subject to their own laws while residing at the port.
These requests were unconditionally refused. A second
HISTORY
339
embassy, sent in 1816, was even more of a failure, the Ambassador, Lord Amherst, being ordered to leave Peking without being presented to the Emperor.
Hitherto British merchants operating privately in the China trade had been under restraints imposed on them by the East India Company, which, from Calcutta, licensed private British shipping on the China route and, at Canton, saw to it that all British subjects obeyed the Chinese regula- tions. In 1813, however, the Company's monopoly of trade with India was abolished. Although the Company still in theory licensed traders to China, this lessening of its power made it easier for unauthorized private traders to find a foot- hold at Canton and Macau. The number of British traders increased, with little or no restraint on their activities. Finally, in 1833 the Company's China monopoly was abolished.
To replace the Company, the British Government in 1834 appointed Lord Napier as Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China. His instructions were to negotiate with the Viceroy at Canton to obtain permission for Europeans to reside there permanently and to remove restrictions on trade. Napier having entered Canton without the required permit from the Chinese authorities, the Viceroy refused to have anything to do with him. After a few weeks of impasse, during which Napier became seriously ill, he retreated to Macau, under Chinese escort, and died there ten days later.
Meanwhile, informed Chinese opinion was becoming seriously concerned about the activities of British and American traders, in particular about their trade in opium, the popularity of which as a narcotic was rising rapidly amongst smokers in China. In response to a number of petitions from senior members of the Chinese civil service, the Emperor Tao Kuang in 1838 appointed Lin Tse-hsü as Imperial High Commissioner, with orders to stamp out the opium trade.
Having surrounded the European buildings at Canton with
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
troops and armed junks, and cut off supplies of food and water, Lin demanded the surrender, for destruction, of all the opium in the European warehouses, after which every trader must sign a bond promising on pain of death never to bring any more to China. Americans and others surrendered their opium and signed the bonds.
By this time Captain Charles Elliot, R.N., was the Super- intendent of British Trade. In response to Lin's demand, Elliot ordered his countrymen to surrender their opium, and received their grudging obedience; but he refused to allow anyone to sign a bond. He finally won his point with Lin, and at the end of a siege lasting more than six weeks the British were allowed to leave unmolested for Macau.
Interest in the China trade had been steadily growing in Great Britain, and news of the siege at Canton, when it even- tually reached London, aroused public opinion to demand that the Government take measures to safeguard British lives and property in China. Relations between Elliot and Lin deteriorated, the Commissioner reiterating his demand for the signature of bonds. After the Portuguese Governor of Macau had warned Elliot that he could no longer be respon- sible for the safety of any British family remaining there, the entire British community led by Elliot removed to Hong Kong. The Chinese, who were erecting fortifications on Kow- loon peninsula, attempted to prevent local supplies of food reaching the shipping assembled in the harbour. Finally, after several incidents in and around Hong Kong waters and the breakdown of all negotiations between Elliot and Lin, hostilities broke out in November 1839.
The arrival, in June 1840, of a powerful British expedi- tionary force, without engaging in any operations of military significance, re-opened the door to discussion. Elliot, as plenipotentiary, demanded, according to his instructions, either the cession of an island to the British Crown or a treaty allowing British traders the rights normally enjoyed by foreigners in civilized countries. To the anger and shame
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The Victoria Park Swimming Pool, a first class pool up to Olympic standards, also provides a healthy recreational centre for Hong Kong's underprivileged children, who are admitted free. It was constructed entirely out of funds donated by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Picture shows youngsters from the Boys' and Girls' Clubs in the paddling pool.
RIE
HISTORY
341
of his own countrymen, Kishen, the Manchu negotiator, offered the island of Hong Kong; and, to the ridicule and contempt of his own countrymen, Elliot accepted it. On 20th January, 1841, the preliminaries of a Sino-British Treaty were announced, and, without more ado, on the 26th, the island was formally occupied without any resistance on the part of the few Chinese inhabitants, who were in any case by now familiar with British ships anchoring in their waters.
THE ISLAND COLONY, 1841-60
The acquisition by the Crown of a barren island rock was ridiculed, not only by British merchants in China, but also in London. Elliot was dismissed for his ineptitude in dealing with the Chinese, and was replaced by Sir Henry Pottinger, who reached the coast in August 1841.
In the face of public hostility, particularly in Canton, to Kishen's proposal to cede Hong Kong to the British, the Emperor declined further negotiation, and war was resumed. But Pottinger had not been on the China coast for more than a few months before he realized that, whatever the London view might be, Elliot's decision to accept the cession of Hong Kong was a wise one. And when, in August 1842, British troops were on the point of assaulting Nanking, and the Emperor at last sued for peace, Pottinger made it an article of the Treaty, that was promptly concluded, that Hong Kong should be ceded to the British Crown 'to be governed by such laws as Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain etc. may see fit to direct'. In June 1843 the new Colony was officially named Hong Kong, and the name 'Victoria' was conferred upon the settlement growing up on the northern side of the island.
Like Singapore before it, Hong Kong from the start was declared a free port; and its subsequent growth and great- ness as a commercial city have been due to this fundamental policy, which welcomes anyone who comes in peace, obeys the laws, and pays a few very moderate taxes.
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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
The history of Hong Kong is in some ways no more than a chronicle of rising and falling trends of trade and popula- tion, fluctuating due chiefly to events taking place outside Hong Kong itself, particularly in China. Internally, the history is one of gradual material and social improvement, the expansion of the city by cutting into rock and by reclama- tion of land from the sea, the building of more reservoirs to provide for a mainly expanding population, and the provision of schools, hospitals and other forms of public service.
Hong Kong's first years as a Colony were almost chaotic. In 1841 alone the new Chinese market quarter was burnt down twice, and nearly every roof on the island came off twice in typhoons. A mysterious disease, known as the Hong Kong fever, now believed to be malaria, decimated the population; and in 1843 the health situation was so bad that the Governor and everyone who could afford to do so took temporary refuge in Macau.
Confidence did not begin to grow until 1844, from which year the real development of the Colony as we know it to-day began. At the first census the population of the island did not exceed 3,650 villagers and fishermen, living in some 20 villages and hamlets, with about 2,000 fishermen living afloat. Chinese labourers, encouraged by prospects of work, began to come to the Colony, and by April 1844 the popula- tion reached 19,000.
From 1845 the first monthly mail service between Hong Kong and Europe was started. The increased security obtained for traders of all nationalities by the Treaty of Nanking, and, in particular, the comparative ease of acquir- ing land for offices, warehouses and homes in Hong Kong and the treaty ports, attracted to the Far East a greater number of European traders than ever before, leading to a tremendous increase in commerce. This expansion was felt principally in Shanghai, which was commercially better situated than Hong Kong. Compared with Shanghai's astonishing development as a western city, Hong Kong's early growth was unspectacular.
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343
Shortly after its foundation, a great wave of emigration of Chinese labourers took place, mainly to the Straits Settle- ments, Thailand and Java, the bulk of the emigrants travel- ling in European and American ships. Hong Kong was the chief port of emigration. Later, when news went round of the opening up of goldfields in California, there was a rush of Chinese to 'Kam Shan' (the Golden Mountains), which has ever since remained the vernacular name of San Francisco. When gold was discovered in Australia, not long afterwards, thousands more rushed to 'Sun Kam Shan' (New Golden Mountains), which has become the vernacular name for Sydney. In the year 1852 alone over 30,000 Chinese emigrants passed through Hong Kong. The problems of housing such vast numbers, and preventing abuses arising in connexion with migration, presented severe problems to the government of the day.
In 1850 the series of revolts known generally as the Taiping Rebellion broke out in Kwangsi Province, and gradually spread throughout Southern China. This was the first instance where unsettled conditions on the mainland have brought to Hong Kong thousands of Chinese refugees of every social class and occupation. By 1855 the population was estimated at 72,000 and by 1861, with the Taipings still not defeated, it had risen to 120,000. The constantly recurring situation in which the Colony, almost without warning, has had to provide accommodation, food, water and other facilities for thousands of new arrivals-people with no local attachments and whose period of stay may be no more than a few years, perhaps even months-has presented successive governors of Hong Kong with problems that are unique and of exceptional difficulty. The word 'squatter' can be found in Government correspondence from the first year of the Colony's existence.
EXTENSIONS TO THE COLONY, 1860-99
By the Convention of Peking, 1860, which concluded the Second Anglo-Chinese War, Kowloon peninsula up to
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present-day Boundary Street was ceded to the Crown and became part of the Colony, together with Stonecutters Island.
Permanent quarters were established in Kowloon for part of the garrison. This development was followed by the construction of new docks, more extensive than could be attempted on the Victoria waterfront, and which were the beginning of Kowloon's development as the Colony's second city. The pioneers in residential development in Kowloon were the Portuguese, followed by the Parsees, from about 1870 onwards.
By the Convention of Peking, 1898, at the conclusion of the third period of hostilities between China and the Western Powers, the Colony was again extended, acquiring under a 99-year lease a substantial stretch of mainland north of Kowloon, and a group of islands in the immediate vicinity of Hong Kong. The leased area became known as the New Territories.
The initial British occupation, which took place in 1899, met with some ill-organized armed opposition in the Tai Po and Yuen Long areas, but the confidence of the people was quickly established. Sir Henry Blake (Governor 1898-1904) personally identified himself with every aspect of the life of the Colony's new rural population, obtaining improved seed and types of livestock for them; and the relations between Government and the people of the New Territories have ever since been distinguished by the closest confidence and good- will. Malaria was widespread, and plague of frequent occur- rence. Extensive health measures were introduced to combat these diseases, the success of the measures being reflected in a subsequent steady rise in population.
In the first decade of this century rail connexion between Kowloon and Canton was established, involving the con- struction of a long tunnel under the Kowloon hills, and providing Tai Po and other New Territories villages with easy access to Hong Kong. A circular road was constructed
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345
linking the chief population areas in the mainland part of the New Territories. Since 1949 the district road system has been considerably improved.
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONY
Until Chinese in large numbers started taking western education, there was little Chinese participation in govern- ment, western firms or banks, or in any western institutions. European and Chinese commerce pursued their own courses, largely independent of each other, occasionally linked by the precarious medium of pidgin English.
The special needs of the Chinese population received early consideration. In 1845 a Board of Education was established, and the Registrar General was made responsible to the Colonial Secretary for all questions relating to the Chinese. Throughout the century this aspect of his duties grew in importance, until in 1913 a separate department had to be created the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs.
Missionary schools, Catholic and Protestant, were the earliest educational foundations, soon followed by govern- ment schools. Most of them were conducted, as far as was practicable, on western lines. As soon as Chinese students started graduating from these schools, their rise to influence, in what had hitherto been a European-dominated community, was assured.
Western education led to the adoption of a considerable amount of western business method. The scale of Chinese business enlarged, until by the end of the century there were Chinese shipping lines, banks, insurance companies, depart- ment stores, theatres, wharves, warehouses and factories. As the trend continued, Chinese citizens were drawn more and more into consultation with the Government on a wide range of matters. There have been Chinese members of the Legislative Council since 1880, and of the Executive Council since 1926.
A demand for higher education naturally developed, and
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in 1887 the Hong Kong College of Medicine was founded, the prime movers in this enterprise being Dr. Patrick Manson and Dr. James Cantlie. One of the first students to graduate from the College, in 1892, was Sun Yat-sen, later to become the founder of the Chinese Republic.
In 1908 the College expanded into the University of Hong Kong. This development was made possible by the munificence of a Parsee citizen, Sir Hormusjee Mody, who presented the entire cost of the new University's main build- ings. With Government support, and the aid of subsequent benefactors, the University steadily developed traditions suited to its unique position as an English-speaking Univer- sity in surroundings overwhelmingly Chinese. Its academic standards were high, particularly in medicine, and it quickly attracted students of many nationalities, from South and South-East Asia as well as from Hong Kong.
The area available on Hong Kong Island for urban building was originally no more than a narrow strip of comparatively level ground along the foreshore. The original waterfront of Victoria ran, with a moderate foreshore, approximately along the line of Queen's Road. Hillside construction began in Stanley Street and Wellington Street, once a fashionable neighbourhood. As the nineteenth century proceeded, the tiers of houses rose gradually up the sides of the rock, fashion rising as well.
Reclamation of land from the sea began in the Colony's earliest days. By 1851 the waterfront had reached what is today Des Voeux Road Central, and was thereafter extended, in the face of much opposition from the principal commercial houses with foreshore sites, till it reached Connaught Road Central in 1904. This expansion, however, failed to keep pace with the increasing population. By 1870 the central part of Victoria, chiefly occupied by Chinese, was seriously overcrowded and insanitary. This was one of the factors that led the European community to climb even higher and develop the summits of the Peak as a residential area, a
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movement hastened from 1888 onwards, when Peak and city were linked by funicular railway.
A sanitary commissioner, Osbert Chadwick, was finally appointed in 1882 to advise the Government; and, as a result of his report, a Sanitary Board was set up. Its measures to improve the noisome state of the city were, however, at first ineffective. The administration was labouring on one side with financial difficulties, and on the other with the negative attitude adopted by the leaders of the Chinese community and the deep-seated distrust shown by members of the public in any measures which might be taken as interfering with their homes and ways of living. Almost every year at the end of the century there were outbreaks of plague, which, thanks to a Japanese research worker in Hong Kong, were finally identified as being carried by rats. After this discovery, against considerable public opposition, regular house-cleansing was carried out by sanitary squads, and measures were effectively taken to restrict the spread of plague. Outbreaks, however, continued on a diminishing scale until about 1927, when, for reasons unknown, occur- rences of this particular disease lessened significantly in all parts of the world.
The Sanitary Board continued in existence until 1936, when its functions were broadened and entrusted to an Urban Council, with official, appointed and elected members. In 1953 the number of elected members was increased from two to four, and the franchise was widened. In 1956 the number of elected members was again increased to eight.
Reclamation meanwhile continued steadily. Between 1921-9 ninety acres were reclaimed north of Johnston Road, allow- ing for a large planned extension of the Chinese quarter of Wan Chai, now one of the most densely populated urban districts in the world. Since the Second World War there has been extensive reclamation in the central district, Cause- way Bay, and at various points on the northern shores of the harbour.
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The principle that, in a place with such totally inadequate natural water supply as Hong Kong, it was a Government responsibility to provide reservoirs was first laid down by Sir Hercules Robinson (Governor 1859-65). What followed may be described as a century-long race between water capacity and population. The Pok Fu Lam Reservoir was no sooner completed (1863) than it had to be extended, and the same occurred after the completion of Tai Tam Reservoir in 1883. Extensions continued in these two areas, the largest work, Tai Tam Tuk Dam, being completed in 1917.
The lease of the New Territories provided a much needed opportunity to increase the water supply of Kowloon, which had hitherto been dependent on two wells situated near Yau Ma Tei. A new reservoir system high up in the Kowloon hills was started in 1902 and completed in 1910, extensions to it being made between 1922-5.
From 1930 water was conveyed to Hong Kong from the slopes of Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in the New Territories, but even with this, supplies remained inadequate, and in 1935-6 the same area was further developed by the construction of the Jubilee Reservoir, the largest yet built in the Colony. At the present time another reservoir, still larger, is nearing completion at Tai Lam Chung, and investi- gations are being carried out for the building of yet another at Shek Pik in Lantao.
The Colony's earliest hospitals were run by missionary bodies, as indeed are a number at the present time. The first Government hospital was the Civil Hospital, founded in 1859. Part of its large old-fashioned buildings is still in use, and on the remainder of the original site today stands the spacious and modern Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital, opened in 1955. The Kowloon Hospital was opened in 1925, and the Queen Mary Hospital, one of the largest and most up-to-date in Asia, in 1937. Construction will shortly start upon a new 1,300-bed hospital in Kowloon. The provision of adequate medical facilities at times of refugee influx has been one of
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Hong Kong's major problems, only surpassed by the prob- lem of water, and surmounted only by the combined efforts of the Government and unofficial organizations.
The need to safeguard fishing junks and other small craft from destruction by typhoons was met by the construction of large typhoon shelters on both sides of the harbour. One of the main functions of the Royal Observatory, founded in Kowloon in 1883, was to give reliable forecasts of the approach of typhoons, a function which increased in impor- tance with the development of air transport, which in Hong Kong may be said to date from the laying-out of Kai Tak Airport in 1932.
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION AND WORLD WAR
In 1911 the Manchu dynasty fell, and was replaced by a Republic, guided by Sun Yat-sen, whose political thinking had been deeply influenced by his contacts with British institutions and ways of thought while a student in Hong Kong. During the events leading to the overthrow of the dynasty many refugees sought sanctuary in Hong Kong, using the Colony's Chinese newspapers as a vehicle for conveying their ideas into China.
Following the establishment of the Republic came a long period of unrest in China. Once again large numbers of refugees, mainly from the southern provinces, made their way to the Colony. Their arrival coinciding with a commer- cial boom which occurred during the First World War, many of them made their permanent home in Hong Kong, and identified themselves with local affairs. Among the refugees were a number of Buddhists who, from this time onwards, began to develop the lonely upper hills of Lantao Island with their monastic retreats.
The anti-foreign movement which marked the rise of the Kuomintang to power in China in 1922 was reflected in Hong Kong by marked social unrest. A seamen's strike occurred in that year, and in 1925-6 there was a serious
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general strike, plainly engineered from Canton. Sir Cecil Clementi (Governor 1925-30), by negotiation with the Canton authorities, not only settled the dispute, but laid the founda- tions of a good neighbour policy with Canton, which from then on brought considerable benefit on both sides of the frontier. At the same time, the leaders of all communities resident in Hong Kong became increasingly aware of their social responsibilities towards less privileged sections of the population. From this awareness developed the strong interest in social welfare which has become one of the most marked features of the Colony's life.
Japanese plans for political aggrandizement in the Far East became apparent when Japan presented her Twenty-One Demands to China in 1917. These were followed by intense economic expansion. In 1931 Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 began a general invasion of China. As the Japanese armies pressed southwards towards Canton, which was taken in 1938, Hong Kong experienced the greatest influx of refugees it had yet seen. It is estimated that about 100,000 entered in 1937, 500,000 in 1938, and 150,000 in 1939, bringing the total population to about 1,600,000. At the height of the influx there were thought to be over half-a-million people sleeping in the streets.
In the earliest days of the Sino-Japanese War it was possible for valuable supplies to reach China through the Colony, but, after the fall of Canton, movement of such supplies was severely restricted. When war broke out in Europe, in September 1939, the position of the Colony became precarious, and on 8th December, 1941, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbour, powerful units of the Japanese Army, supported by the Japanese Air Force based on Canton, invaded the Colony from the mainland. The first attempt to land on Hong Kong Island was repulsed on the night of 15th-16th December, but a second attempt, on the 18th-19th night, could not be held. After several days of severe fighting, in which many thousands of Commonwealth
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troops lost their lives, the Colony was surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day.
All members of the fighting services, which included the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, were interned as prisoners-of-war, many being subsequently sent to Japan to work in mines and docks. The majority of British-born civil- ians were interned in a civilian camp at Stanley. Those who remained free experienced throughout the Japanese occupation a steady deterioriation of conditions. Trade was at a standstill, currency steadily losing value, and in neigh- bouring Kwangtung a food shortage culminated in 1944-5 in famine conditions. Large numbers of civilians moved over to Macau, the Portuguese Colony hospitably opening its doors to them. Toward the latter part of the occupation the Japanese, unable to obtain food for the existing popula- tion, organized mass deportations from Hong Kong.
In the face of increasing oppression the fundamental loyalty of the population to the Allied cause was not in doubt. Parts of the New Territories remained in the hands of Chinese guerrillas throughout the war, in spite of vigorous punitive measures taken against them. Allied personnel escaping or evading capture were assured of assistance from the rural population.
As soon as news of the Japanese surrender was received, a provisional government was established under the Colonial Secretary, Mr., now Sir, Franklin Gimson, assisted by civil servants released from prison camps and by leading citizens of all races, maintaining the essential form of Government until 30th August, 1945, when powerful units of the British Pacific Fleet reached the Colony.
SINCE THE WAR
A brief period of military administration was followed by the formal re-establishment of civil government in May 1946. From the moment of liberation Hong Kong made an astonishing recovery. In August 1945 it was estimated that
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the population had been reduced to about 600,000. Eighteen months later at least 1,000,000 people had returned, and the population was still rising. At the close of 1947, so far as it is possible to estimate, Hong Kong held about 1,800,000 people, with once again an acute housing problem and water shortage.
As, during 1948-9, the forces of the National Government of China began to retreat and disintegrate, a refugee influx surpassing all others took place, the refugees being in many cases well-to-do merchants and their families from Shanghai and other commercial centres. The highest point was reached in April 1950, when it was estimated that the Colony held about 2,360,000.
The Central People's Government was installed on October, 1949, and during the latter part of 1950, with the promise of more settled conditions in China, and with the departure of many of the wealthier refugees to Taiwan, South America and other distant places of refuge, the Colony's population fell for the first time since the war until by the end of 1950 it was thought to be around 2,060,000. Since then, however, due partly to the arrival of more refugees from China, but principally to a high rate of natural increase, there has been another steady rise, bringing the population to the estimated figure of 2,677,000 at the end of 1957.
Intense and unprecedented development has accompanied these increases of population. Throughout the urban area and the New Territories there has been tremendous building activity. In Kowloon, and at Tsuen Wan in the New Terri- tories, industrialists have opened large factories, producing textiles, enamelware, rubber goods, vacuum flasks, torches,
etc.
As a result of the outbreak of war in Korea in June 1950, controls were progressively introduced over the export of strategic materials, beginning with petroleum and its deriva- tives in July of that year. As far as North Korea itself was concerned, a complete embargo on trade of any kind with
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that country was introduced on 8th July. In December the United States Government placed an embargo on goods destined for Hong Kong. This seriously affected supplies of raw materials essential for much of local industry, and led, for a time, to a serious disruption of the Colony's manufac- tures, with the threat of widespread unemployment. For- tunately, this embargo was modified by the introduction of a system of controls, which ensured supplies of these materials for legitimate use in the Colony.
In June 1951, as a result of the United Nations Resolution of 18th May, 1951, a complete embargo on the export of strategic materials to China was imposed by the Hong Kong Government. This was a crippling blow to local commerce and the volume of trade in that year fell by over one million tons compared with the figure for the preceding year. During 1952 the United States Government introduced controls over imports of Chinese-type merchandise from Hong Kong, and even now commodities of this kind are admitted into the United States only under strict procedures designed to ensure that they are of non-Communist origin. The entrepôt trade with China, once the Colony's mainstay, has been reduced to a trickle, although the greater use of 'exceptions pro- cedures' in 1956 and the reduction in early 1957 of the scope of restrictions on exports to China, designed to bring them into line with restrictions on exports to the Soviet Bloc, have brought a slight improvement. Entrepôt trade not involving China also improved, particularly re-exports of Japanese goods to South-East Asian destinations. The Colony has, however, been saved from economic disaster in recent years only by its enterprise in the industrial field.
Chapter 25: Constitution and Administration
CONSTITUTION
THE principal features of the constitution are prescribed in Letters Patent, which provide for a Governor, an Executive Council, and a Legislative Council. Royal Instructions to the Governor, supplemented by further Instructions from the Sovereign conveyed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, prescribe the membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils.
The Executive Council, which is presided over by the Governor, consists of five ex-officio and seven nominated members. The ex-officio members are the Commander, British Forces, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and the Financial Secre- tary. There is one nominated official member. The six un- officials include three Chinese members and one Portuguese member.
The main function of the Executive Council is to advise the Governor, who must consult its members on all import- ant matters. The responsibility for deciding questions which come before the Council, and for taking action, rests with the Governor, who is required to report his reasons fully to the Secretary of State if he acts in opposition to the advice given by members. The Governor in Council (i.e. Executive Council) is also given power, under numerous. ordinances, to make subsidiary legislation by way of rules, regulations and orders. A further function of the Council is to consider appeals and petitions under certain ordinances.
The same five ex-officio members of the Executive Council serve also on the Legislative Council, of which the Governor is the President. In addition, there are four other official
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members and eight unofficial members nominated by the Governor. These include four Chinese members and one Portuguese member.
The laws of the Colony are enacted by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, which controls finance and expenditure through its Standing Finance Committee, on which all the unofficial members sit. Procedure in the Legislative Council is based on that of the House of Commons.
The membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils is given in Appendix XX.
JUDICIARY
The Common Law and Statutes of England as they existed in that country on 5th April, 1843, except where inapplicable to local circumstances, form the basis of the legal system of Hong Kong. They have been extended and modified by the application to the Colony of certain sub- sequent enactments and by Hong Kong Ordinances, of which a new edition, revised in 1950, was published in 1951. The courts of the Colony are described in Chapter 13.
ADMINISTRATION
Under the general direction of the Colonial Secretary, the administrative functions of the Government are discharged by some thirty departments, all the officers of which are members of the Civil Service. A list of these departments is given in Appendix V.
The Colonial Secretariat, under the general administrative control of the Deputy Colonial Secretary, co-ordinates the work of departments, and makes, or transmits from the Governor or Colonial Secretary, all general policy decisions. The Secretariat consists of four divisions dealing with general administration, finance, defence and government personnel. The Financial Secretary is responsible for finan- cial and economic policy; the Defence Secretary advises on
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defence, co-ordinates the work of the local forces, described in Chapter 17, and acts as the main channel of communica- tion between the Government and Her Majesty's Armed Forces stationed in the Colony. The Secretariat includes a Political Adviser, seconded from the Foreign Office.
The Government's principal legal adviser is the Attorney General, who is the head of the Legal Department and is also responsible for drafting legislation and for instituting and conducting public prosecutions. Members of the Depart- ment include the Solicitor General, three Senior Crown Counsel and eleven Crown Counsel.
The Secretary for Chinese Affairs is the Governor's principal adviser on all matters connected with the Chinese population. His department, the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, provides facilities for the settlement of disputes and family cases, maintains the District Watch Force, registers all newspapers and books, runs Tenancy Inquiry Bureaux in Hong Kong and Kowloon, and advises on deportations. The Secretary for Chinese Affairs is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, President of the Permanent Board of Direction of the Po Leung Kuk, and supervises the administration of certain other large public charities. To assist in this work the holder of the post has since 1928 been a corporation sole. He is also Chairman of committees dealing with Chinese Per- manent Cemeteries, Temples and Recreation Grounds. He is the statutory guardian of all adopted daughters in Hong Kong, other than those adopted under the Adoption Ordin- ance, 1956. The Social Welfare Office, which is separately described in Chapter 11, is part of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, and, in addition to many other activities, carries out important functions in connexion with the protection of women and children on behalf of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. From 1st January, 1958, the Social Welfare Officer, renamed Director of Social Welfare, will become head of an independent Social Welfare Department, taking with him
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all the responsibilities which he has hitherto discharged on behalf of the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, except for com- munity development work.
Under the Financial Secretary, the accounting operations of the Government are managed and supervised by the Accountant General, who is in charge of the Treasury. All public accounts of the Government, including accounts of special funds and departmental accounts, are subject to audit and inspection by the Audit Department under a Director. The Director of Audit reports annually on the accounts to the Director General of the Overseas Audit Service and to the Colonial Secretary, and a copy of his report, together with the Governor's comments, is laid before the Legisla- ture and transmitted to the Secretary of State. The Rating and Valuation Department is concerned with assessments for rates and other matters connected with the rent and value of real property. The Inland Revenue Department assesses estate duty, stamp duties and various direct taxes levied under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, in addition to administering the Business Registration Ordinance, the Entertainment Tax, and Bets and Sweeps Taxes. Each Department is headed by a Commissioner. The Commerce and Industry Department, under a Director, is responsible for industrial and trade development, the collection of revenue from import and excise duties, the activities of the Preventive Service, certificates of origin, trade licensing, Government bulk purchases of firewood and certain food- stuffs, control over stocks of reserve commodities, and the production of trade statistics and any other statistics required by other departments of the Government. The department also administers the London and Tokyo offices of the Hong Kong Government. (The work of these departments is described in Chapters 4 and 6.)
The Public Works Department, under a Director, consists of eight sub-departments, dealing with waterworks, Crown lands and surveys, the administration of the Buildings
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Ordinance, electrical and mechancial works (including government motor transport), architecture (government buildings), port works, drainage and roads. The Director of Public Works is also responsible for town planning. (See also Chapters 10, 14 and 15.)
The Urban Council, constituted under the Urban Council Ordinance, consists of five ex-officio members, namely the Chairman (who is at the same time the Director of the Urban Services Department), the Assistant Director of Health Services (Vice-Chairman), the Director of Public Works, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, and the Social Welfare Officer; and sixteen ordinary members, of whom eight are elected and eight appointed by the Governor. The Commissioner for Resettlement sits as a temporary additional ex-officio member. The term of office of ordinary members will ultimately be four years, but certain transitional provi- sions are now in force as to the length of the terms of office of various groups of members. The Council meets monthly to transact formal business, but most of its business is dealt with by 39 select committees, which meet at frequent intervals.
The Council carries out its responsibilities through the Urban Services and Resettlement Departments. The Urban Services Department, whose work is separately described in Chapters 9 and 21, operates the basic sanitary services in the urban area and has a variety of duties in the field of public health, such as the supervision of food premises and hawkers, the operation of the city's slaughter-houses, and pest control measures. In addition, the department controls and staffs the parks, playgrounds and bathing beaches. Towards the end of 1957 the management of the new multi- storey car park was entrusted to the Council and added to the department's responsibilities. The Resettlement Depart- ment is responsible for the clearance and resettlement of squatters, the administration of the resettlement estates and
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areas, and the prevention of new squatting either on vacant land or on the roof-tops of buildings. (See also Chapter 10.)
The composition of the Housing Authority and the work of the Housing Division of the Urban Services Department which is responsible, under the immediate charge of a Commissioner, for routine administration and execution of the Authority's decisions, are described in Chapter 10.
The Commissioner of Police, who is concurrently the Immigration Officer, is responsible for the internal security of the Colony. The Police Force and the Prisons Depart- ment, also under a Commissioner, are described in Chapter 13. The Department of Medical and Health Services is described in Chapter 9; the Education Department in Chapter 8; and the Labour Department, under a Commis- sioner who is concurrently Commissioner of Mines, in Chapter 3.
Reference to the Registrar General's Department will be found in Chapter 13, and to the Marine, Railway and Civil Aviation Departments, the Post Office and the Royal Obser- vatory in Chapter 15. The Public Relations Office and the Broadcasting Department are described in Chapter 16. Chapter 7 describes the work of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department, and the Co-operative and Market- ing Department.
The Fire Brigade, which is under the control of a Chief Officer, provides fire protection throughout the urban areas, for the main districts of the New Territories, and for ship- ping in the harbour. Additional fire stations are now under construction to increase fire cover for the Colony. The Brigade comprises 766 officers and other ranks, with 47 mobile fire appliances, 3 fire boats and 18 ambulances.
The Stores Department, under a Controller, buys and distributes Government stores, manufactures and repairs all furniture for offices and quarters, and administers the Gov- ernment monopoly of sand. The Printing Department, under the Government Printer, is responsible for all Government
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publications, most of which are produced entirely in the Department itself. The Quartering Authority deals with accommodation for civil servants and for Government departments.
New Territories Administration. The New Territories are divided into three administrative districts; Yuen Long in the north-west, Tai Po in the north-east, and the Southern District which, besides the southern and south-east part of the mainland, includes Lantao, Cheung Chau, Lamma and the other islands around Hong Kong. The Yuen Long and Tai Po Districts are administered by District Officers stationed at Ping Shan and Tai Po respectively. The Southern District since November 1957 has been placed under the charge of two District Officers, with the special needs of Lantao Island provided for by a small sub-district office at Mui Wo. Another District Officer, stationed at the headquarters of the Administration, is responsible for liaison with central government departments and the co-ordination of all routine work. The District Commissioner, with an office in Kowloon and official residence near Tai Po, co- ordinates the overall administration of the New Territories. There is also a Resident Magistrate, who is a legal officer, for the New Territories. District Officers hold land and small-debt courts, and arbitrate in all kinds of disputes, including family and matrimonial cases; they control Crown land and buildings, register documents and deeds relating to private land, assess and collect stamp duty, and ad- minister a vote for small public works undertaken by villagers to improve irrigation, water supplies and com- munications. Close co-operation is maintained between the Administration and all other departments with interests in the New Territories.
District Officers have the assistance of Rural Committees, elected by and from village representatives, and exercising various functions by delegation. Although these committees have no statutory existence or powers, they have already
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proved their usefulness as mouthpieces of public opinion, in the arbitration of clan and family disputes, and generally as a bridge between the Administration and the people. The New Territories is covered by a network of rural committees, 28 sub-districts being recognized for this purpose as rural committee areas. 24 have formally established committees, two have provisional organizations of a similar kind and one has its interests looked after by the committee for an adjoining area.
THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Appointments and promotions to most posts in the Public Service are made on the advice of the Public Services Commission, a statutory non-Government body established in 1950 with the object of improving the standard of efficiency of officers and of putting into effect Government's policy of giving preference in appointment, wherever possible, to well qualified local candidates whose roots are in the Colony.
Monthly paid offices in the Public Service are divided into five classes. Classes I and II include those offices normally held by administrative or professional officers, or officers of similar status. Class III offices are held by more junior officers (including the Clerical Service) with an initial basic salary of more than $260 p.m. Class IV is for disciplined staff below the rank of Police Sub-Inspector (or equivalent rank in other departments). Class V includes non-pension- able officers with initial basic salaries of $260 p.m. or less. There are also a number of daily paid officers, who may qualify after varying periods of service for transfer to monthly pay.
The Public Service has more than doubled during the last ten years and now has an establishment of about 36,000 monthly paid posts and a strength of 31,865 officers. The annual expenditure on salaries is about $186,000,000, which represents about one-third of the total Government annual expenditure.
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One of the most noteworthy developments in the Public Service since the war has been the large increase in the number of local officers in the more senior posts (Classes I and II), mainly as a result of greater local recruitment to senior administrative and professional appointments in the Education, Medical and Public Works Departments. In 1951 there were 54 local officers and 448 overseas officers in these Classes; in 1957 there were 391 local officers and 662 overseas officers in the same grades. The proportion of local officers has thus risen from 10.75% to 37% in six years. The increase in the number of overseas officers has been due principally to the need to keep pace with the ever- increasing development of the Colony, which cannot be delayed until local training schemes in the University and elsewhere are able to produce enough graduates to meet all the demands of the Public Service as well as those of private enterprise. There are also 676 overseas and 10,956 locally appointed officers in Class III, making a grand total of 1,338 overseas officers and 11,347 local officers in the three classes.
Salary Structure. Broadly speaking, the post-war structure of the Public Service, including its salary scales and general conditions of service, has been based upon the Report of the 1947 Salaries Commission. One of the Commission's recommendations led to the formation of a Conditions of Service Committee which met during 1948-50 to resolve anomalies arising out of the Commission's Report and which in turn was replaced by the Public Services Commis- sion itself. The Lo Committee on cost of living allowances also supplemented the 1947 Commission's Report by devis- ing a system of variable cost of living allowances to replace the temporary system proposed by the Commission. In 1951 the Government consolidated a proportion of cost of living allowance into basic salary. In 1952 a new system for the calculation of basic monthly salaries over $200 was intro- duced, which, by substantially increasing those allowances, to some extent restored the situation existing before the 1951
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consolidation. In 1953 the second post-war Salaries Com- mission was appointed, and presented its Report in 1954. Since the Government was unable for a variety of reasons to accept the Commission's recommendations as they stood, Mr. P. C. M. Sedgwick was then appointed to devise a modified scheme of salaries revision into which those of the Commission's recommendations which were otherwise ac- ceptable could be fitted. The Revised Salaries Scheme, as it is known, came into effect in 1955. The Sedgwick Report had purposely left substantially unaltered the salaries for professional, administrative and superscale posts, and in 1956 Mr. W. D. Godsall, C.M.G. conducted a review of these salaries, his conclusions forming the keystone for the new salaries structure derived from the 1953 Salaries Com- mission's Report.
Training. Most departments undertake organized training programmes in order to assist officers to improve their efficiency and to enable them to obtain qualifications which will fit them for promotion to more senior posts. A large part of this instruction is undertaken within the department, either by training on the job or by the establishment of courses of instruction leading to the acquisition of pro- fessional or technical qualifications. Other officers attend courses at institutions in Hong Kong or overseas.
In the Police Force, for example, over 500 Police recruits passed through the Police Training School and assumed full duties as members of the Force. The Medical Depart- ment carries out training courses for nine separate grades, three of which lead to professional qualifications recognized in the United Kingdom. (See Appendix XVII.) For clerical officers there is an annual course of lectures, which was attended in 1957 by 390 officers. Other courses are held in most other departments.
As part of this training programme, 42 locally recruited officers were sent abroad during 1957 on courses of instruc- tion and 30 overseas officers attended courses while on
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leave. Three local officers, who had been studying law with the aid of Colonial Development and Welfare scholarships, were called to the Bar in 1957 and have returned to the Colony. A sum of about $500,000 is spent annually on these
overseas courses.
The Government also takes the fullest possible advantage of the seminars, study tours and other forms of training provided by the United Nations and the specialized agencies under both the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and the regular technical assistance programmes of individual agencies. During 1957 local par- ticipants, including both Government servants and non- officials, attended. seminars concerning Rehabilitation (Indonesia), the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (Japan), Civic Responsibilities and Increased Participation of Asian Women in Public Life (Thailand), Training for Community Development and Social Work (Pakistan), all under the auspices of the United Nations Technical Assistance Administration; a Unesco Seminar on the International Standardization of Educational Statistics (Thailand), and Symposium on the Phytochemistry of Tropical Plants in South-East Asia (Malaya); an Interna- tional Labour Office Seminar on the Training of Supervisors for Industry (Singapore); a Food and Agricultural Organiza- tion Study Tour on Agricutural Extension Work (Japan, India and the Philippines), and a Fisheries Training Centre (Australia). The World Health Organization supplied fellowships in Public Health (Singapore) and Mental Health (United Kingdom and U.S.A.), and accepted local par- ticipants for a Study Group on Social and Preventive Medicine (Philippines) and a Public Health Conference and Study Tour (Japan). The Colony was also represented at a Seminar on Engineering and Traffic Aspects of Highway Safety (Japan) organized by the Economic Commission for Asia and the
the Far East. The World Meteorological Organization, under the Expanded Programme, provided a
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365
fellowship in Tropical Weather-forecasting (U.S.A.). Also under the Expanded Programme, the I.L.O. continued to provide the services of an expert in Production Engineering, who completed his year's mission in November. Frequent visits were paid during the year by officials of the various United Nations organizations to discuss training needs, and to observe the Colony's social and economic development.
etc.,
Chapter 26: Weights and Measures
THE weights and measures used in the Colony consist of the standards in use in the United Kingdom, and the following Chinese weights and measures, given with their equivalents in avoirdupois :
I fan (candareen)
I ts'in (mace)
I leung (tael)
I kan (catty = 16 taels)
I tam (picul = 100 catties)
.0133 ounces
.133 ounces
1.33
ounces
1.33
pounds
133.33
pounds
=
1.19 cwts.
-
0.0595 tons
I ch'ek (foot)
=*
Statutory equivalent 149
inches. The ch'ek is
divided into 10 ts'un
(inches), and each
ts'un into ten fan, or
tenths.
In practice the equivalent length of a ch'ek varies, accord- ing to the trade in which it is used, from 14 inches to 11 inches, the commonest equivalent being 14.14 inches.
Chapter 27: Reading List
FOR an extensive bibliography on Hong Kong the reader is directed to the 1954 edition of the Hong Kong Annual Report.
Although there is a considerable amount of published material dealing with Hong Kong, not much of it is obtain- able other than in research libraries. The following are the more recent publications likely to be available to the general reader :
CARRINGTON, C. E.: The British Overseas, Cambridge,
1950.
COLLINS, Sir Charles: Public Administration in Hong Kong, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, 1952.
DAVIS, S. G.: Hong Kong in its Geographical Setting,
Collins, London, 1949.
DONNISON, F. S. V.: British Military Administration in the Far East, History of the Second World War Series, H. M. Stationery Office, London, 1956. GREENBERG, Michael: British Trade and the Opening of
China, 1800-1842, Cambridge, 1951.
INGRAMS, Harold: Hong Kong, Corona Library, H. M.
Stationery Office, London, 1952.
MILLS, Lennox A.: British Rule in Eastern Asia, Oxford,
1942.
SAYER, G. R.: Hong Kong, Birth, Adolescence and
Coming of Age, Oxford, 1937 ·
A list of the more important Government publications issued during 1957 is at Appendix XXI.
URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Appendices
371
Research
Appendix I
(Chapter 4: Public Finance and Taxation)
Colonial Development and Welfare
Details of locally-administered Grants and Loans made by the United Kingdom Government towards schemes in progress during
1957.
Schemes
No.
Title of Scheme
Estimated expenditure
up to 31.12.57. £
Grant Loan
£
£
R. 480A
Fisheries Research
Unit,
Hong Kong University:
Capital expenditure
33,975
Recurrent expenditure
9,077
33,927
8,664
Development
D. 994
Village Agricultural Depots,
Capital expenditure
9,000
9,000
D. 1967
Loans to fishermen for
mechanization
50,000
46,250
(Interest-free
Repay-
ment of capital by annual
instalments of £5,000 to start in 1958).
D. 2061
Site development for low- cost housing, Hung Hom..
62,500
62,500
D. 2341
Site development for low-
cost housing, Healthy
Village
25,000
18,349
D. 2487
Construction of Pathology
Institute, Hong Kong
University
80,781
69,650
(Administered by Univer-
sity).
D. 2539
Development
schemes in
New Territories
263,500
177,767 (1)
D. 2594
Aeronautical telecommunica-
tion
16,800
3,789 (2)
D. 2663 & A
Site development for low-
cost
housing, Kennedy
Town
52,500
51,562
D. 2990
Site development for low-
cost housing, So Uk
88,875
46,648(3)
(Grant of £100,000
approved in October 1956, and reduced in March
1957).
£642,008 £50,000 £528,106
Notes:
(1)
Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme share of estimated expendi- ture varies with the items comprising this scheme as follows:
Item 1.
Road on South Lantao
2.
Six feeder roads
3.
Piers in the New Territories
4.
Irrigation schemes
5.
Survey party
42%
50%
85%
85%
85%
(80%) of estimated
(2) Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme share
~~
expenditure.
(3) Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme share (75%) of estimated
expenditure.
372
Appendix II A
(Chapter 3: Occupations, Wages and Labour Organization) Industrial Undertakings and Persons Employed in Main Industrial Groups
U.N. Standard Industrial
Classification
Number
Industry
Industrial Undertakings
Persons Employed
1955 1956 1957
1955
1956 1957
12 & 14
Mining & Quarrying
24 64 55
1,268
2,226 2,109
20
Food Manufacture
294
323 322
6,358
6,708 6,521
21
Beverages
29
29
30
22
Tobacco Manufacture
6
6
8
991
1,007 907
1,143 1,291 1,229
23
Manufacture of Textiles *
604
639
651
37,064 42,254 43,538
24
Footwear & Wearing Apparel *
216
255 277
8,603 10,342 14,054
25
Manufacture of Wood & Cork.
112
131
126
1,729 2,214 2,306
26
Manufacture of Furniture
21
29
33
686 1,050 960
27
Paper & paper products
23
30 34
483
593
740
28
Printing & publishing
356
380 375
6,752
6,966
7,298
29
Leather & leather products
12 15
16
322
363
360
30
Rubber products
58
72
122
73
7,944
7,386
7,215
31
Chemicals & chemical
products *
88
96
93
3,038
2,769 2,719
33
Non-metallic products
66
73 70
2,315 2,379 1,902
34
Basic metal industries
20
30
31
1,285
1,403 1,417
35
Metal products *
433
476 470
23,397 26,062 24,367
36
Manufacture of Machinery
183
206 213
2,711 3,371 3,712
37
Electrical apparatus *
47
50 54
1,987 2,134 2,417
38
Transport & Transport
Equipment *
41
45 47
11,052
12,859 14,999
39
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
Industries *
158
221
239
4,950
6,955
8,304
51
Electricity & Gas
7
00
8
8
1,311
1,808 1,517
61
Petroleum Installations
5
5
5
527
667
588
71
Transport (cargo packing)
6
6
Co
5
67
84
74
72
Storage & Warehousing
3
3
3
537
944
464
73
Cable & Wireless, &
Telephones
2
2
2
974
861 1,064
83
Motion Picture industry
5
5
7
392
423
479
84
Laundry & dry cleaning
102
120 126
1,518 1,728 1,773
Total
2,921 3,319 3,373
129,404 146,877 153,033
* Similar figures for selected industries in these groups are given in Appendix IIB.
373
Appendix IIB
Industrial Undertakings and Persons Employed in selected Industries in certain of the Main Industrial Groups
U.N. Standard
Industrial
Classification
Number
Industry.
Industrial Undertakings
Persons Employed
1955 1956 1957
1955
1956
1957
23
Manufacture of Textiles
Cotton Spinning
19 19
19
13,274
14,271
15,646
Wool Spinning
4
3
3
620
847
386
Weaving
149
146
158
8,577
9,838
11,045
Finishing
58
51
63
1,355
1,627 1,738
Knitting Mills
347
325
349
11,715
14,046
13,202
Cordage, rope and twine
41
42
41
935
938
911
24
Footwear, wearing apparel &
made up textile goods
Footwear except rubber
footwear
13
29
31
699
1,042
1,110
Wearing apparel except
footwear
180
195
218
7,164
8,418
12,084
Made up textile goods
except wearing apparel
23 31 28
740
882
860
31
Chemicals & Chemical
Products
Medicines
Cosmetics
Paint & Lacquer
299*
7994
17
21
22
492
568
563
10
8
204
257
261
10
9
465
471
500
3
2
684
568
473
35
Matches
Metal Products (except
Machinery)
Tin cans
Enamelware
32
Vacuum flasks
227
29
34 35
1,111
1,292
1,219
39 33
5,334
6,156
5,595
5
5
683
751
767
Electro-plating
43
52
50
1,034
1,147
1,014
Needles
5
4
6
671
712
559
Iron & Steel works
11
11
12
679
738
675
Hurricane lamps
5
4
4
508
368
190
Hand Torch cases
34
29 30
5,612
5,540
5,163
37
Electrical Apparatus
Hand Torch bulbs
30
28
29
800
751
868
Torch Batteries
∞
8
8
8
857
873
1,089
38
Transport & Transport
Equipment
Shipbuilding & repairing Tramways
Motor buses
Aircraft repair
39
Miscellaneous
2122
...
21 23
2122
3121
7,541
8,245
10,733
1,438
1,536
1,517
921
973
1,057
585
1,437
889
Artificial pearls
Buttons
1
7
7
119
364
313
24 28 29
1,094
1,155
1,162
Ice & Cold Storage
20 18 18
935
1,039
1,218
Bakelite ware
12
15 14
250
301
363
Plasticware
Fountain Pens
65
113 131
1,491
2,987
4,184
4
5
6
133
192
164
374
LIABILITIES:
Appendix
(Chapter 4: Public
Statement of Assets and
III
Finance and Taxation)
Liabilities as at 31st March, 1957
ASSETS:
375
$31,751,313.17
132,507.49 57,822.82
31,941,643.48
1,024,418.08
9,761.90 60,387.70
57,664.71
1,152,232.39
33,093,875.87
2,524.87 24,160,000.00
57,256,400.74
87,567,000.00
DEPOSITS:-
Colonial Development & Welfare Schemes
576,899.75
Contribution towards reinforcing Garrison
8,000,000.00
Control of Publications
700,000.00
Custodian of Property-Abandoned Property
11,811,788.24
Custodian of Property-Interest on Trust Bank
Account
1,242,932.04
CASH:-
At Bank (Treasury)
(H.K. and Kowloon Magistracies) (P.M.G.)
In Hand (Treasury)
(H.K. and Kowloon Magistracies) (K.C.R.)
Custodian of Property-Surplus Fund
Government Servants
Miscellaneous
Motor Vehicles Insurance Third Party
200,000.00
1,239,493.48
408,223.96
17,136,729.99
(P.M.G.)
Sub Total
With Crown Agents (£157.16.1)
Joint Consolidated Fund (£1,510,000.0.0)
Other Administrations
112,794.29
FIXED DEPOSIT
Public Works Department-Private Works Account
1,737,868.24
REMITTANCES IN TRANSIT:-
Settlement with H.M.G.
14,703,723.22
Water Deposits
6,091,273.83
63,961,727.04
SUSPENSE
LOCAL LOANS FUND
DEVELOPMENT FUND
REVENUE EQUALIZATION FUND
Marine Department
Medical Department
Police Force
Urban Services Department
81,261.62
IMPRESTS
SUSPENSE
874.41
1,138.55
4,952.00
21.00
6,985.96
4,800.00
56.13
4,991,667.00
ADVANCES:-
Colonial Development and Welfare Schemes
133,761,540.07
236,916.33
Personal
2,674,629.09
Other Administrations
1,220,128.02
187,714,760.94
Miscellaneous
813,213.98
DEVELOPMENT FUND
4,944,887.42
138,761,540.07
SURPLUS BALANCES :-
Investments :--
Federation of Malaya 41% Registered Stock
1964/74 (M$4,712,500)
8,796,666.67
Federation of Malaya 4% Stock 1965/75
(M$5,907,500)
11,027,333.33
6,587,882.38
358,162,239.63
Hong Kong Government 31% Dollar Loan 1940. Sterling Investments (£24,588,870.7.5)
1,835,600.00
393,421,925.98
415,081,525.98
$698,623,196.30
Total
$698,623,196.30
GENERAL REVENUE BALANCE ACCOUNT :-
Balance as at 1st April, 1956
311,436,144.57
Add Surplus from 1st April, 1956 to 31st March,
1957
40,138,212.68
Add Appreciation on investments
Total
NOTES:-Government holds 16,290 shares at a nominal Amounts due from Colonial Development and Scheme D. 994 Village Agricultural Scheme D. 2990 Site development for Amount due from United Kingdom Government There is a contingent liability of $1,198,375.74
value of $100 per share in Associated Properties Limited. Welfare Funds for
Depots
low-cost housing, So Uk
for Kai Tak Airport Development Scheme in respect of the $1 Note Security Fund.
0.51 8,478.09
296,905.17
376
Appendix IV
(Chapter 4: Public Finance and Taxation)
Revenue
Actual
Actual
Actual
Revenue
Revenue
Revenue
Estimate
HEAD OF REVENUE
for
1954-5
for
1955-6
for
1956-7
for
1957-8
$ *
1
Duties
78,895,157
85,260,790 97,299,299
96,200,000
2
Rates
39,651,662 49,769,817 56,706,453 63,400,000
3 Internal Revenue
167,918,224 154,045,234 164,424,637 154,250,000
4 Licences, Fines and Forfeitures.
14,886,642 18,389,068 19,869,718 18,389,000
5
Fees of Court or Office
37,382,810 33,041,660 37,371,630 40,776,600
6 Water Revenue
7 Post Office
8 Kowloon-Canton Railway
9 Revenue from Interest, Lands,
Rents, etc.
10 Miscellaneous Receipts
7,820,552 9,376,970 9,091,303 12,609,000
22,654,032 24,470,773 29,260,077 27,551,000
4,675,784 5,592,150 7,803,754 5,978,000
25,288,125 31,445,353 37,304,753 40,590,700
20,659,313 20,936,550 21,562,630 18,634,800
419,832,301 432,328,365 480,694,254 478,379,100
11 Land Sales
11,919,723 13,673,932 14,937,000 13,505,000
12
Colonial Development and
Welfare Grants
1,403,080
681,990 3,459,257 2,804,900
13 Loan from United Kingdom
Government
1,297,217 8,035,902 10,592,000 12,800,000
Total Revenue
434,452,321 454,720,189 509,682,511 507,489,000
Appendix V
(Chapter 4: Public Finance and Taxation)
HEAD OF EXPENDITURE
Expenditure
Actual
377
Actual
Actual Approved Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure Estimate
1956-7
1957-8
1954-5
1955-6
$
1
H. E. the Governor's
Establishment
373,643
343,159
376,320
394,830
41
2 Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Department
2,673,886
2,816,435
3,516,078 3,933,290
3 Audit Department
4 Broadcasting Department
541,780
567,644
762,380
1,536,292
608,538
1,522,891
778,680
2,010,230
5
Civil Aviation Department
2,014,476
3,137,671
3,602,043 3,866,780
6 Colonial Secretariat and
Legislature
2,550,166
2,576,707
2,768,718 3,160,100
7
Commerce and Industry
Department
4,021,303
4,465,336
5,050,349 5,568,250
8 Co-operatives and Marketing
Department
428,554
439,641
494,927
539,690
9
Defence:
A-R.H.K.D.F. Headquarters
and H.K. Regiment
2,332,085
1,840,491
2,141,423 2,289,360
B-Hong Kong Royal Naval
Volunteer Reserve
692,596
764,481
774,680
893,300
C-Hong Kong Auxiliary Air
Force
659,475
513,975
518,039
672,910
D-Essential Services Corps ..
146,511
83,454
82,157
92,050
E-Auxiliary Fire Service
153,924
145,826
194,086
197,430
F-Auxiliary Medical Service.
467,625
539,689
620,663
740,690
G-Civil Aid Services
747,014
976,382
1,304,465
1,996,090
H-Registration of Persons
339,078
376,607
392,994
484,900
I-Directorate of Manpower.
57,082
63,535
80,243
63,100
J-Miscellaneous Measures
24,671,894
18,521,114
18,731,080
19,852,200
10 Education Department
12,955,710
15,668,807 18,281,409 24,613,020
11
Fire Brigade
12
Inland Revenue Department
13 Judiciary
14
Kowloon-Canton Railway
7,832,025
2,624,586 3,201,566 3,382,876
2,376,851 2,545,106 3,036,060
2,063,912 2,232,407 2,538,937
7,499,109 6,706,716 5,332,250
4,558,630
3,541,200
2,909,700
15 Labour Department:
A-Labour Division
748,429
775,088
846,402
1,035,860
B-Mines Division
90,018
120,190
850,304
885,900
8,148,696 14,005,540
Miscellaneous Services
16 Legal Department
17
Marine Department
18
Medical Department
19
20
2222223
21
New Territories, District
Administration
Pensions
Police Force:
A-Hong Kong Police B-Hong Kong Police
(Auxiliaries)
684,294 784,207
7,967,210 8,766,747
25,105,401 27,002,383 30,048,868 37,243,950
45,069,336 22,167,343 19,128,548 7,064,800
614,915
11,619,893
695,952 1,058,870 1,747,820
13,705,262 13,683,975 14,596,000
34,632,221 35,024,254 38,255,664 44,179,200
1,084,378 1,222,473 1,211,591 1,895,920
378
Appendix V-Contd. Expenditure
HEAD OF EXPENDITURE
Actual
Actual
Actual Approved Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure Estimate
1954-5
1955-6
1956-7
1957-8
$
23
Post Office
24 Printing Department
25 Prisons Department
26 Public Debt
12,252,302 13,832,245 15,789,747 17,014,610
1,257,406
5,107,071
5,266,299 6,193,447
1,704,458 1,509,900 2,384,000
7,604,390
3,361,845
3,333,080
3,306,588 3,281,310
27
Public Relations Office
531,567
460,955
508,196
691,200
28 Public Services Commission
32,635
34,012
34,510
37,800
29 Public Works Department
17,876,137 19,909,432
22,032,712
27,450,350
30 Public Works Recurrent
31 Public Works Non-Recurrent
32
Quartering
17,479,925 18,628,799 21,112,864 26,133,000
45,099,178 81,433,819 112,836,529 152,063,280
2,428,319 2,755,448 2,612,366 2,562,500
33 Rating and Valuation
Department
354,439
442,280
489,327
677,700
34 Registrar General's Department.
602,519
659,169
712,620
1,174,500
35 Registry of Trade Unions
16,792
125,123
156,667
183,940
86
Resettlement Department
8,574,550
5,499,235
5,408,936
6,804,760
37 Royal Observatory
1,043,820
1,255,514
1,415,220
2,237,940
38 Secretariat for Chinese Affairs:
A-Secretariat for Chinese
Affairs
395,620
447,274
439,029
494,660
B-Social Welfare Office
2,077,036
2,444,241
2,435,091
3,019,130
C-District Watch Force
271,947
39
Stores Department
7,874,459
40
Subventions
306,452
9,095,193 15,283,144
34,645,531 34,727,237 42,772,652
302,429
317,120
8,454,710
57,955,050
41 Treasury:
A-Treasury
1,825,706
B-Custodian of Property
51,319
2,031,339 48,331
1,971,290 36,246
2,062,950
34,160
42 Urban Services and Urban
Council:
A-Head Office and Sanitary
Division
13,481,981
15,149,850 17,019,467
20,568,340
B-Resettlement Division
388,794
C-Gardens Division
D-Housing Division
35,962
164,497
519,200
43 Colonial Development and
Welfare Schemes
860,360 1,065,775 1,160,162 2,356,050
63,917
371,967,308 401,690,665 465,752,264 557,346,510
1,376,301
772,977 3,792,034 3,810,770
Total
373,343,609 402,463,642 469,544,298 561,157,280
379
Appendix VI
(Chapter 5: Currency and Banking)
Authorized Foreign Exchange Banks
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
Chartered Bank
Mercantile Bank Ltd.
Thos. Cook & Son Ltd.
First National City Bank of New York
American Express Co. Inc.
Banque de l'Indo-Chine
Banque Belge Pour l'Etranger (Extreme-Orient) Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij N. V. (Netherlands
Trading Society)
Nationale Handelsbank N. V.
Bank of East Asia Ltd.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd.
Bank of Communications
Bank of China Ltd.
Bank of Canton Ltd.
Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd.
China and South Sea Bank Ltd.
Farmers Bank of China
Kincheng Banking Corporation
Bank of Tokyo Ltd.
United Commercial Bank Ltd.
Bank of Korea
Indian Overseas Bank Ltd.
Sze Hai Tong Bank Ltd.
China State Bank Ltd.
Hongkong & Swatow Commercial Bank Ltd.
Sin Hua Trust, Savings & Commercial Bank Ltd.
National Commercial Bank Ltd.
Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd.
Bangkok Bank Ltd.
Wing On Bank Ltd. (partially authorized)
Kwangtung Provincial Bank Ltd. (partially authorized)
380
Appendix VII
(Chapter 6: Industry and Trade) Direction of Trade-Imports
The principal countries from which goods were imported into Hong Kong are shown below, with total values for the past three
years:
1955 H.K.$
1956 H.K.$
1957 H.K.$
China
897,646,396 1,038,314,454
1,131,102,451
Japan
525,994,315
810,602,788
763,372,977
United Kingdom
441,036,467
513,333,600
667,279,421
U. S. A.
324,855,713
423,806,512
539,043,092
Switzerland
99,984,164
131,650,766 193,038,501
Thailand
185,878,109
185,362,677
191,787,225
Germany (Western)
128,351,816
118,982,636 159,266,421
Indonesia
28,922,533
58,875,228
126,248,493
Belgium
97,744,721
109,298,679
117,627,719
Australia
81,530,636
100,274,169 112,959,941
Malaya
151,429,690
152,260,931
101,687,490
Pakistan
53,945,164 98,049,901
92,003,220
India
83,764,840 51,029,928
89,054,459
Netherlands
64,240,036
77,866,515
86,189,924
Indo China
28,910,761
69,512,631
81,149,161
Taiwan
40,315,696
50,516,946
71,728,898
East Africa, British
44,825,848
55,620,548
67,352,924
Italy
36,609,624
40,479,653 63,478,719
South Africa
26,279,252
32,008,004 55,609,132
Canada
46,237,353
Other Countries
330,414,450
46,335,227 51,362,478 402,013,338 388,112,271
Total
3,718,917,584
4,566,195,131
5,149,454,917
Appendix VIII
(Chapter 6: Industry and Trade) Direction of Trade-Exports
The principal markets for the Colony's exports during the past three years were as follows:
Malaya
United Kingdom
Indonesia
1955
H.K.$
1956 H.K.$
1957
H.K.$
375,365,533 372,774,225
372,683,321
251,109,796 298,371,070
336,749,032
193,388,155 501,428,419
312,495,759
Japan
U. S. A.
146,255,523 317,964,070 228,261,201 87,869,362 116,570,563 198,181,851
Thailand
179,108,555
319,639,045
188,159,486
Indo China
125,610,742 138,665,918
178,542,760
China
181,560,144
135,971,366
123,351,977
Philippines
53,098,802
47,034,157
72,813,345
South Korea
192,203,333
125,182,160
71,366,430
Macau
57,370,030
57,706,599
66,380,683
Australia
53,429,959
55,018,664
65,520,739
Taiwan
Other Countries
Total
2,533,993,946
37,402,084 47,482,890 60,603,212
600,221,928 675,805,282 741,162,430
3,209,614,428 3,016,272,226
381
Appendix IX
(Chapter 6: Industry and Trade)
Principal Commodities Imported
Principal commodities imported, with quantities and values, during 1957, and comparative figures for the two preceding years:
1955
1956
1957
Value
Value
Quantity H.K.$
Quantity
Quantity H.K.$
Value H.K.$
Raw cotton (cwt.).
785,672 164,602,069
Cotton piece-goods
(bleached) (sq. yd.)
Rice (cwt.)
Watches and watch
movements (nos.).
Artificial textiles
(sq. yd.)
Woollen piece-goods
(sq. yd.)
Cotton piece-goods
(unbleached) (sq. yd.)
Furnace fuel oil
(ton)
Cotton yarn and
thread (lb.)
Diamonds, cut and
polished
Swine (nos.)
Plants, seeds,
flowers, for medi-
1,305,086 254,266,681 1,385,706 257,435,957
67,886,749 98,781,721 159,732,482 205,097,287 162,652,603 214,970,756
5,181,792 177,290,484 5,557,880 191,685,546 6,162,008 214,047,979
2,067,655 76,498,165 3,014,099 118,695,177 4,021,629 174,946,571
90,645,197 125,185,355 134,823,576 165,591,401 112,831,147 143,758,152
9,140,393 95,093,898 8,980,237 82,628,045 11,008,102 102,849,207
69,602,318 55,084,146 114,221,462 98,429,327 118,182,462 100,100,368
541,177 54,432,292 699,823 81,989,905 725,464 100,065,004
12,972,440 38,627,883 36,542,411 103,607,275 39,360,993 97,068,344
60,741,781
623,520 108,380,529
85,012,658
93,619,811
548,537 88,556,608 543,127 92,370,005
cines, perfumery, etc. (cwt.)
Sugar (cwt.)
Iron and steel bars
and rounds (cwt.).
Yarn and thread
of synthetic fibres and spun glass (lb.)
Bed linen, table
linen and kitchen linen
Cigarettes (lb.)
Plates and sheets,
zinc-coated
(galvanized) (ewt.)
510,267 63,658,024
602,047 77,492,629
1,974,345 58,248,352 2,398,000 72,624,921
467,192 84,972,762
2,138,481 81,326,755
465,266 13,655,355 895,768 32,864,108
1,911,870 79,082,546
24,229,027 62,545,188 24,007,957 67,721,392 15,448,013 57,387,472
26,086,354
39,047,723
52,690,693
4,046,569 36,457,546 3,925,699 36,615,009 4,642,353 47,070,440
84,129 5,037,681 865,410 59,449,719 595,671 45,653,717
Poultry, live (lb.). 18,259,430 34,983,079 20,477,878 38,426,660 27,455,071 44,906,818
Fresh vegetables
(cwt.)
2,033,207 33,942,248 2,471,835 32,654,742 3,398,343 44,859,946
382
Appendix IX-Contd.
Principal Commodities Imported
Passenger road
motor vehicles, complete, other than buses or motor cycles (nos.)
1955
1956
1957
Value
Quantity H.K.$
Quantity
Value H.K.$
Quantity
Value H.K.$
3,594 30,795,935
3,381 80,959,655
4,529 42,973,575
Mild steel plates
and sheets, uncoated (cwt.)
314,949 10,411,102
730,861 29,443,680
860,501 42,545,899
Bovine cattle,
including buffaloes
(nos.)
79,413 40,170,625
79,802 34,568,797
83,411 39,385,276
Textile machinery
and accessories
13,615,090
20,482,312
37,354,260
Gas oil, diesel fuel,
distillate stove oil (ton)
Cement (cwt.)
Tea (lb.)
Iron and steel black
plates (cwt.)
118,973 20,734,475
160,929 29,895,504
178,254 36,243,649
5,711,884 32,928,023
3,630,563 21,792,825 4,982,266 29,536,371
16,470,763 34,848,141 14,397,354 26,321,506 15,340,835 29,792,532
660,374 20,303,940 1,007,155 38,063,584 702,204 29,237,034
Appendix X
(Chapter 6: Industry and Trade)
Principal Commodities Exported
Principal commodities exported, with quantities and values, during 1957, and comparative figures for the two preceding years:
Cotton piece-goods
1955
1956
1957
Quantity
Value H.K.$
Quantity
Value H.K.$
Value
Quantity
H.K.$
(bleached) (sq. yd.) 155,875,107 172,083,563 242,651,612 277,906,443 229,235,269 256,876,030
Outerwear, exclud-
ing rubberized
clothing
Cotton yarn and
thread (lb.)
Cotton piece-goods
(unbleached) (sq. yd.)
82,508,021
-
104,485,436
―
143,537,081
36,010,964 113,588,915 45,587,119 143,443,791 42,320,340 135,704,480
68,055,286 74,095,901 79,667,690 89,140,814 115,193,298 125,410,743
Shirts (doz.)
1,642,191 67,247,016 1,676,932 71,887,726 1,948,067 83,562,448
Enamelware
56,562,339
77,224,346
66,746,632
Gloves and mittens
of all materials
(except rubber
gloves) (doz. pair). 2,295,477 38,400,791 2,775,959 46,781,772 3,242,960 58,045,244
Appendix X-Contd.
Principal Commodities Exported
Toys and games
Plants, seeds,
flowers, for medi- cines, perfumery, etc. (cwt.)
383
1955
1956
1957
Quantity
Value H.K.$
Quantity
Value H.K.$
Value
Quantity
H.K.$
18,285,126
28,527,111
52,424,591
Sugar (cwt.)
Underwear and
cotton singlets
nightwear (except
and shirts)
Artificial textiles
(sq. yd.)
Plates and sheets,
zinc-coated (galvanized) (cwt.)
Electric torches
(doz.)
Raw cotton (cwt.).
Yarn and thread of
synthetic fibres and spun glass (lb.)
Bed linen, table
464,066 53,503,562 536,260 58,004,103
995,232 33,599,463 1,199,838 41,619,204
362,421 51,879,438
1,111,898 51,832,064
30,349,466
35,446,729
50,833,099
27,895,175 45,873,998 75,782,112 92,061,678 38,896,769 44,657,403
36,220 2,491,578 813,004 56,866,884 544,194 42,428,658
3,538,217 49,514,099 3,640,187 49,712,619 3,042,073 41,959,634
78,976 18,137,949 312,513 60,104,333 201,077 41,271,820
24,120,923 69,019,473 24,437,360 66,379,770 12,418,149 39,737,145
linen and kitchen
linen
18,907,457
28,148,836
38,426,488
Cotton singlets
(doz.)
3,933,788 60,110,100 4,872,261 76,980,160
2,835,740 36,968,781
Footwear, wholly or
chiefly of textile
materials with
rubber soles
(doz. pair)
Iron and steel scrap (cwt.)
Antibiotics
Copper scrap (cwt.)
1,230,486 38,977,797 1,237,096 39,451,658
1,206,290 36,069,088
1,319,383 16,507,330 1,980,110 40,210,513 1,462,664 32,421,404
5,820,017
27,832 6,160,544
7,853,776
29,667,029
28,688 7,595,742 127,261 28,384,266
Medicinal and
pharmaceutical
products (Chinese
type)
22,448,620
Tung oil (cwt.)
77,463 10,979,232
24,368,083
129,874 19,260,468
25,894,615
207,855 25,687,230
Furniture of
vegetable plaiting materials (bamboo, straw, willow, etc.).
20,496,091
22,360,128
25,120,671
Brass and bronze
scrap (cwt.)
27,682 4,485,409
75,310 13,372,860
182,941 24,425,105
Iron and steel bars
and rounds (cwt.).
331,344 10,594,445
684,445 30,224,043
488,622 21,550,818
384
4,699,249 7,414,565 5,390,337 9,355,394
15,175,397 10,722,843,
Appendix XI
(Chapter 6: Industry and Trade)
Value of Exports of Hong Kong Products
Value of Exports of Hong Kong Products as classified separately in Trade Statistics, 1953 to 1957:
Commodity
Cotton piece-goods
Cotton yarns
Shirts
Enamelled household
utensils
Footwear
Electric torches
Cotton singlets
Lacquers, varnishes and
prepared paints
Bed linen, table linen and toilet linen (including towels), embroidered
Metal lanterns
Fruits and fruit peels,
preserved, glaced or crystallized
1954 H.K.$
1955
H.K.$
1956 H.K.$
1957 H.K.$
1953 H.K.$ 157,546,165 181,488,369 182,145,715 173,307,143 230,639,596 100,158,080 96,780,395 100,327,802 97,587,880 108,663,871 64,031,438 65,708,141 71,550,966 83,252,272
54,266,636
44,194,916 61,296,161 56,442,570 76,176,404 66,024,457 52,657,487 57,636,135 76,188,609 76,742,270 64,307,001 35,933,549 45,222,705 49,412,156 49,394,345 41,261,343 72,218,687 66,655,667 58,943,861 75,453,657 36,927,432
10,875,414
12,231,069 12,377,377
14,867,818 16,002,505
8,536,322 10,736,233 15,643,542 13,141,467 17,191,297 14,151,242
Towels, not embroidered.
17,026,636
8,840,994
13,468,399 13,171,650
15,578,001 13,970,370
14,350,794
12,361,718
Plastic articles
Torch batteries
13,680,353
4,846,381 7,666,349
8,591,765 10,618,917
7,880,851
9,693,554
11,019,242
8,744,393
11,005,205
Iron and steel bars and
rounds
2,531,665
1,442,632
8,406,557 14,643,115 10,837,345
Household utensils of
aluminium
3,949,226
Embroidered outerwear
5,782,306
4,581,857 9,763,995 6,683,671 7,027,801
8,240,844 8,961,863
7,146,449
8,741,279
Vacuum flasks and jugs,
complete
6,354,456
6,325,190
7,778,666
7,487,213
7,819,553
Articles of clothing (e.g.,
handkerchiefs, shawls,
etc.) embroidered, not
elsewhere stated
Cement
Torch bulbs
2,093,663 2,784,777 3,798,779 2,544,871 4,562,014 6,349,141 3,396,748 4,329,487 5,850,537
6,182,865
7,741,136
7,924,713 5,811,116 5,968,109
4,254,816
Underwear and night-
wear, embroidered
Iron ore
Fish, fish products,
crustacea and molluscs in airtight containers Cigarettes
Non-alcoholic beverages
and waters (not
2,507,743 2,718,547 2,636,002 3,180,839 3,997,911 6,841,931 3,574,961 4,449,423 4,694,943 3,982,887
··
1,612,639 1,306,969 2,649,931
1,603,329
759,210
683,256
2,248,013 2,178,122 1,039,517 1,991,142
including fruit or
vegetable juices)
2,373,342 1,706,074
742,803
869,662
991,298
Matches
1,153,293
2,613,696
2,304,526
856,986
914,898
Jams, marmalades, fruit
jellies and unfermented
fruit juices
114,581
150,028
204,503
477,372
318,698
Seagrass
169,239
191,104
145,637
85,866
105,051
Tungsten ore (wolframite)
2,383,663
166,909
198,175
133,463
31,500
Beer (including ale,
stout, porter) and
other fermented cereal
beverages
159,320
48,006
11,592
38,150
16,609
Total
Average per month
635,287,904 681,878,981 730,318,559 782,592,874 793,925,020
52,940,659 56,823,248 60,859,880 65,216,073 66,160,418
Type of Society
Appendix XII
(Chapter 7: Primary Production and Marketing)
Co-operative Societies
(Year ended 31.12.1957)
Federations...
Vegetable
385
Member-
No.
ship
Paid-up share capital
Loan
Loan*
Reserve
granted repaid
Deposit
Fund
~
32
3,170
Marketing... 19 4,733 54,365 1,004,701 465,549
12,552
19,595
144,635
Fishermen's
Credit and
Housing
1
26
130 26,650 27,282 6,866
309
Fishermen's
Credit and Marketing...
1
10
10,000
19,716 15,328
2,975
Fishermen's
Thrift and Loan
29
534 4,245 517,890 346,674 247,623
13,734
Pig Raising... 36
1,394 38,160 615,289 375,971
8,709
Salaried
Workers'
Thrift.....
N
363
1,945 124,819 113,115
47,829
5,127
Building..
85
1,575
157,500
6,927
Irrigation
2
92
1,040
1,075
Fish Pond....
117
585 1,500
Credit and
Consumers..
246
1,895
5,622 9,642
Total...... 179 9,122
273,035 2,290,849 1,349,382 342,863 204,610
* Including repayments of loans issued during previous years.
386
Appendix XIII
(Chapter 8: Education)
Hong Kong Students pursuing Higher Studies in the United Kingdom in 1957
Courses
Students
Source of Payment *
Commercial subjects
32
Education
32
1 British Council Scholarship. 2 Government Scholarships.
Fine Arts, Applied Arts,
Architecture
78
Law
61
Medical Sciences
130
Philosophy, Humanities
and the Arts
17
Public Administration ..
25
2 British Council Scholarships. 1 Government Scholarship. 1 Colonial Development and
Welfare Scheme.
4 British Council Scholarships. 4 Sino-British Fellowships.
9 Government Scholarships. 2 World Health Organization
Fellowships.
1 Sino-British Fellowship. 1 Government Scholarship.
1 Rotary Fellowship.
2 British Council Scholarships.
7 Colonial Development and
Welfare Scheme.
14 Government Scholarships.
Science (General)
45
Secretarial
10
Social Sciences
5
1 Government Scholarship.
Technology and Engi-
neering Sciences
273
Meteorology
Nursing
Total
1 British Council Scholarship. 1 Federation of British Industries
Scholarship.
2 Taikoo Dockyard Scholarships.
1 Colonial Development and
Welfare Scheme.
1
352
1 British Council Scholarship.
1,061
* All students are privately financed except where otherwise stated.
Appendix XIV
(Chapter 9: Public Health) Infectious Diseases Notified
Cases and Deaths 1956 and 1957
387
Cases
Deaths
Diseases
Chinese
Non-Chinese
Yearly Total
1956 1957 1956 1957
1956 1957
1956
1957
Amoebic dysentery ..
151 211
31
6
182
217
6
8
Bacillary dysentery..
521
507
39
43
560
550
Chickenpox....
157 186 116
94
273
280
2
2
Diphtheria...
710 1,230
714 1,239
75
129
Enteric fever
(Typhoid and
paratyphoid)
780
723
5
789
728
48
33
Malaria
492
441
+
6
496
447
Measles
655
622
54 253 709
875
86
18
93
Cerebro-spinal
Meningitis
21
21
|
|
Poliomyelitis.
23
37
Co
co
7
2
21
21
8
31
45
7
a
9
ស
N
2
Puerperal fever
Rabies (human)
(animal)
·
I
Scarlet fever...................
8
1
14
5
Tuberculosis.....
12,097 13,611
58
54 12,155 13,665 | 2,629 | 2,675
Typhus (Urban)......
1
1
(Scrub).
Whooping Cough..... 117
93
2
3 119
96
2
Total..
15,739 17,688 332
482 16,071 18,170| 2,870 | 2,965
The above table omits the six quarantinable diseases-i.e. cholera, smallpox, plague, epidemic louse-borne typhus, yellow fever and relapsing fever-no case of any of which was reported during the year.
388
Appendix XV
(Chapter 9: Public Health)
Number of Hospital Beds in Hong Kong-1957
(The 1956 totals are shown in brackets)
Institutions
GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS & DISPENSARIES
Number of Hospital Beds
A.
Hospitals
Queen Mary
Kowloon
Mental
Castle Peak
Sai Ying Pun
Tsan Yuk
Lai Chi Kok
Eastern Maternity
Wan Chai Social Hygiene
St. John
Stanley Prison
Lai Chi Kok Female Prison
B.
Dispensaries
Stanley
Hong Kong Jockey Club Clinic, Tai Po
Yuen Long
Sha Tau Kok
Ho Tung
Sai Kung
Tai O
San Hui
Sha Tin Maternity Home
Silver Mine Bay Maternity Home
North Lamma Clinic
GRANT-IN-AID HOSPITALS
Tung Wah
Maurine Grantham Health Centre Tai Lam Chung Hospital
599
313
140
120
88
200
476
24
30
102
82
10
Total:
2,184 (1,985)
6
27
7
3
13
7
9
3
26
6
6
Total:
123
(98)
373
Tung Wah Eastern
320
Kwong Wah
404
Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole
276
Hong Kong Anti-T.B. Association Ruttonjee Sanatorium Hong Kong Anti-T.B. Association Grantham
336
540
Pok Oi
60
Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium
580
Haven of Hope Tuberculosis Sanatorium
Sandy Bay Convalescent Home
PRIVATE HOSPITALS
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital Precious Blood
St. Teresa's
120
54
Total:
3,063 (2,477)
302
90
90
St. Francis
St. Paul's
70
172
Hong Kong Central
90
Ling Yuet Sin Infants'
Matilda & War Memorial
Canaan Convalescent Home
125
52
60
Total:
1,051 (1,017)
PRIVATE MATERNITY HOMES
PRIVATE NURSING HOMES
503 (489)
46 (31)
Grand Total:
6,970 (6,097)
Appendix XVI
(Chapter 9: Public Health)
Registered Medical Personnel
389
Registered Medical
Practitioners (excluding Government
Personnel)
570
Provisionally registered Medical Practitioners
66
Government Medical Officers
253
Registered Dentists (excluding Government Dental Surgeons &
Service Dentists)
349
Government Dental Surgeons
19
Service Dentists
9
Registered Pharmacists (excluding Government Pharmacists) Government Pharmacists
60
··
7
Registered Nurses (excluding Government Nurses) Government Nurses
Registered Dressers (excluding Government Dressers) Government Dressers
Registered Midwives (excluding Government Midwives) Government Midwives
Appendix XVII
(Chapter 9: Public Health)
Government Medical Personnel under Training
31st December, 1957.
141
879
842
8
125
898
No. who
Number of Persons under Training
Length of course in years
1st year
2nd year 3rd year
4th year
success-
fully completed training during 1957
Radiographic
Assistants *
4
12
3
දය
1
1
4
Assistant Physio-
therapists
4
2
Student
Dispensers
4
-
7
1
3
4
Laboratory
Assistants
4
18
9
Student Dressers
4
16
11
Student Nurses
4
41
92
18
4
6
7
4
4
38
15
21
Student Nurses
(Mental
Hospital)
3
Student Male
Nurses (Mental
Hospital)
14
I
1
Student Midwives
(Registered
Nurses)
1
31
Student Midwives.
2
20
24
Health Visitors *
1
10
2**
21
43
*The course of training for Radiographic Assistants is designed to prepare them for the examinations for membership of the Society of Radiographers, and that of Health Visitors to enable them to obtain the certificate of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health,
390
Appendix XVIII
(Chapter 13: Law and Order)
Return of Serious Crime for the Year 1957
Offence
No. of No. of
cases
cases
No. of Persons Charged
or Summonsed
16 yrs.
17 yrs.
reported
detected
& under
& over
Class 1: Offences Against the Person
1. Murder
2. Murder - Attempted
3.
Infanticide
སཝ།
14
12
1
13
15
14
13
4. Manslaughter
3
3
5. Serious Assaults
338
261
20
295
6. Throwing Corrosive Fluids
3
2
2
7.
Abortion
3
3
4
8.
Abominable Offences
1
1
2
9.
Gross Indecency
5
4.
10.
Indecent Assault on a Male
|
11. Rape.........
3
12. Indecent Assault on a Female
86
2-
Į
1
67
11
53
13.
Other Serious Offences on Women
and Girls
14
14.
N
14. Kidnapping
ས།
12
|
15. Criminal Intimidation
8
8
16. Bigamy
17. Incest
18. All other serious offences against
the person
7
7
14
Total Serious Offences against
the Person
500
397
34
423
Class 2: Breaking Offences
19. Sacrilege
I
20. Burglary
142
21. Housebreaking
277
22. Housebreaking with Intent
20
1929
50
56
72
2
77
16
17
23. Shop & Store Breaking
51
23
27
24.
Office Breaking
6
3
2
25.
Other Breakings
17
7
1
7
26. Breakings--all Attempted
18
10
11
Total Breaking Offences
531
181
3
197
391
Appendix XVIII-Contd.
Return of Serious Crime for the Year 1957
Offence
No. of No. of
cases
No. of Persons Charged
or Summonsed
17 yrs.
16 yrs.
& over
reported
cases detected
& under
Class 3: Larceny Offences
27. Robbery with Firearms
3
28. Robbery with Other Offensive
Weapons
35
16
31
29. Robbery with Aggravation
67
31
47
30. Robbery
7
3
3
31.
Assault with intent to Rob
10
32. Demanding Money, etc. with
Menaces
41
31
41
33. Larceny from Person (Snatching)
672
234
34
200
34. Larceny from Person (Pickpocket)|
647
410
48
365
35. Larceny from Dwelling
1,016
242
29
207
36. Larceny from Ship & Wharf ................
125
43
46
37. Larceny from Vehicle..
705
195
29
148
38. Larceny of Bicycle
421
85
I
78
39. Misc. Simple Larcenies
8,661
3,986
371
3,623
40. Receiving..
96
95
5
81
Total Larcenies
12,506
5,378
520
4,879
Class 4: Offences Involving Fraud
41.
Embezzlement...
341
297
40
42. Larceny by Servant
340
298
12
222
43. Larceny by Bailee
69
36
3
26
44. Larceny by Trick
198
50
56
45. Obtaining by False Pretences
214
152
1
97
46. Fraudulent Conversion .....
43
32
17
47. Obtaining Credit by Fraud
40
39
15
48. Forgery
14
12
10
49. Obtaining by means of Forgery...
11
7
7
50. Possession of Forged Documents,
Notes, Dies, etc.
เค
5
5
5
51. Uttering Forged Documents
18
18
1
15
52. Counterfeiting Offences
1
1
1
53.
Other Frauds and Cheats
191
188
ස
108
Total Frauds
1,485
1,135
21
619
392
Appendix XVIII-Contd.
Return of Serious Crime for the Year 1957
Offence
No. of No. of
cases
cases
reported
detected
No. of Persons Charged
or Summonsed
17 yrs.
16 yrs.
& under
& over
Class 5: Other Serious Offences
54. Arson
55. Malicious Damage
3
102
68
12
1883
12
72
12
56. Threatening Letters other than
Demanding
13
6
57. Conspiracies........
13
12
58. Offering Bribes to Police
14
13
| | |
023
4
32
13
59. Offering Bribes to Others
60. Soliciting or Receiving Bribes by
Police
61. Soliciting or Receiving Bribes by
Others
|
1
62.
All other Serious Offences not
classified....
52
43
1
40
Total Other Offences
197
143
14
162
Total of Classes 1 to 5...
15,219
7,234
592
6,280
Percentage of Crime Detected in Classes 1 to 5=47.5%.
Class 6: Offences discovered
following Arrest
63. Membership of an Unlawful
Society
1,887
1,887
34
1,853
64. Possession of Arms and/or
Ammunition
33
33
39
65.
Unlawful Possession
1,150
1,150
31
1,134
66. Possession of House-Breaking
Implements
39
39
I
39
67. Possession of Instrument fit for
Unlawful Purpose
200
200
68. Found on Enclosed Premises......
96
96
9 4
191
92
69. Loitering with Intent to Commit
a Felony
366
366
366
70. Other Serious Offences
2
2
1
Total Class 6 Offences
3,773
3,773
78
3,715
Grand Total of all Serious Crime .... 18,992
11,007
670
9,995
Percentage of Crime Detected in all Classes=58%.
Appendix XIX
(Chapter 16: Press, Broadcasting, Television, Films and Tourism)
Daily
Newspapers and Magazines
English Language
South China Morning Post Hong Kong Tiger Standard China Mail
Daily Commodity Quotations
(bilingual)
Weekly
Sunday Post-Herald
393
Far Eastern Economic Review Sunday. Examiner
Every 2 Months
Hong Kong and Far East
Builder
Chinese
Language
Daily (Morning Papers)
Wah Kiu Yat Po
Sing Tao Jih Pao Kung Sheung Yat Po Hong Kong Shih Pao
(Hong Kong Times)
Sing Pao
Ta Kung Pao
Wen Wei Pao
Chi Yin Yat Pao
Chiu Yin Po
Sin Sang Yat Po
Hong Kong Sheung Po
(Hong Kong Commercial Daily)
Hung Look Yat Po
Twice Weekly
Freeman
Lo Kung Po (Labour News)
Weekly
Tung Fung (East Pictorial) Chau Mut Pao (Week-end
News)
Sing Tao Chau Pao
Tse Yau Chun Hsin (Freedom
Front)
Sinwen Tienti (Newsdom)
Every 10 Days
Kar Ting Sang Wood (Home
Life Journal)
Chung Ying Man Po
Wan Kou Po (Universal
Daily)
Ching Po
Daily (Evening Papers)
Fortnightly
Tung Sai (East & West)
Wah Kiu Man Po
Sing Tao Man Po
Kung Sheung Man Po Hsin Wan Pao (New
Evening Post) Chun Pao (Truth Daily) Chung Sing Man Po
New Life Evening Post
Alternate Days
Tien Wen Tai (Observatory
Review)
Kum Yat Sai Kai (World
Today)
Democratic Review
Monthly
Yah Chow (Asia Pictorial) Sin Chung Hwa Pictorial Hang Fook (Happiness
Pictorial)
Tsing Nin Wen Yu (Literary
Youth)
Hsin Kar Ting (New Home)
394
Appendix XX
(Chapter 25: Constitution and Administration)
Executive and Legislative Councils Executive Council
Type of appointment
Names of members on 1.1.57
Changes in composition during the year
Ex-officio
""
""
99
Nominated
(Presided over by the Governor)
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
His Excellency the
Commander, British Forces,
Lieutenant-General
Sir William Henry Stratton, K.C.B., C.V.O., C.B.E., D.S.O. The Honourable the
Colonial Secretary, Mr. Edgeworth Beresford
David, C.M.G.
The Honourable the Attorney General, Mr. Arthur Ridehalgh,
Q.C.
The Honourable the
Secretary for Chinese Affairs,
Mr. Brian Charles Keith
Hawkins, C.M.G., O.B.E.
The Honourable the
Financial Secretary, Mr. Arthur Grenfell
Clarke, C.M.G.
The Honourable Douglas
James Smyth Crozier, C.M.G.
(Director of Education)
Succeeded by Lieutenant- General Sir Edric Montague Bastyan, K.B.E., C.B. on 5.6.57.
Mr. C. B. Burgess, C.M.G., O.B.E., acted as Colonial Secretary during the absence of Mr. David from 29.4.57 to 19.7.57 and from 28.7.57 to 4.10.57; Mr. D. W. B. Baron acted as Colonial Secretary when Mr. Burgess assumed the office of O.A.G. from 20.7.57 to 27.7.57. Mr. Burgess also acted as Colonial Secretary on 31.12.57 when Mr. David assumed office of O.A.G.
the
Succeeded by Mr. J. C. McDouall on 12.5.57.
Mr. J. J. Cowperthwaite, acted as Financial Secretary during the absence of Mr. Clarke from 6.4.57 to 26.11.57. Mr. P. C. M. Sedgwick appointed provisionally during the absence of Mr. Crozier from 6.12.57.
Type of appointment
Appendix XX-Contd.
Executive Council
Names of members on 1.1.57
395
Changes in composition during the year
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS:
Nominated
The Honourable
Note:
""
""
"2
""
Sir Tsun Nin CHAU, C.B.E.
The Honourable
Sir Man Kam Lo, C.B.E.
Dr. the Honourable
CHAU Sik Nin, C.B.E.
The Honourable
Leo D'Almada e Castro, C.B.E., Q.C.
The Honourable
Michael William Turner, C.B.E.
The Honourable
Charles Edward Michael Terry, O.B.E.
Mr. H. D. M. Barton, M.B.E., appointed pro- visionally during the absence of Mr. Turner from 10.7.57 to 29.9.57.
The style and decorations of members are given as on 1.1.58.
Type of appointment
Legislative Council
Names of members on 1.1.57
Changes in composition during the year
Ex-officio
PRESIDENT:
His Excellency the
Governor,
Sir Alexander William
George Herder Grantham, G.C.M.G.
Mr. C. B. Burgess, C.M.G.,
O.B.E.,
assumed the office of O.A.G. during the absence of the Governor from 20.7.57 to 27.7.57. Mr. E. B. David, C.M.G., assumed the office of O.A.G. when Sir Alexander Grantham, G.C.M.G., left the Colony on retirement on 31.12.57.
396
Type of appointment
Appendix XX-Contd.
Legislative Council
Names of members on 1.1.57
Changes in composition during the year
Ex-officio
99
""
""
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
His Excellency the
Commander, British Forces,
Lieutenant-General
Sir William Henry Stratton, K.C.B., C.V.O., C.B.E., D.S.O. The Honourable the
Colonial Secretary, Mr. Edgeworth Beresford
David, C.M.G.
The Honourable the Attorney General, Mr. Arthur Ridehalgh,
Q.C.
The Honourable the
Secretary for Chinese Affairs,
Mr. Brian Charles Keith
Hawkins, C.M.G., O.B.E. The Honourable the
Financial Secretary, Mr. Arthur Grenfell
Clarke, C.M.G.
Nominated The Honourable
""
Theodore Louis Bowring, C.M.G., O.B.E.
(Director of Public Works). Dr. the Honourable
YEO Kok Cheang, C.M.G. (Director of Medical and
Health Services)
Succeeded by Lieutenant- General Sir Edric Montague Bastyan, K.B.E., C.B., on 5.6.57.
Mr. C. B. Burgess, C.M.G., O.B.E., acted as Colonial Secretary during the absence of Mr. David from 29.4.57 to 19.7.57 and from 28.7.57 to 4.10.57; Mr. D. W. B. Baron acted as Colonial Secretary when Mr. Burgess assumed the office of O.A.G. from 20.7.57 to 27.7.57. Mr. Burgess also acted as Colonial Secretary on 31.12.57 when Mr. David assumed office of O.A.G.
the
Succeeded by Mr. J. C. McDouall on 12.5.57.
J.
Mr. J. J. Cowperthwaite, acted as Financial Secretary during the absence of Mr. Clarke from 6.4.57 to 26.11.57. Succeeded by Mr. Forbes, O.B.E., 21.1.57 and by Mr. A. Inglis on 30.5.57. Succeeded by Dr. G. Graham-Cumming on
12.7.57.
on
Type of appointment
Nominated
99
""
""
99
"
Appendix XX-Contd.
Legislative Council
Names of members on 1.1.57
397
Changes in composition during the year
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
-Contd.
The Honourable
David Ronald Holmes, M.B.E., M.C., E.D. (Director of Urban
Services)
The Honourable
Patrick Cardinall Mason Sedgwick.
(Commissioner of Labour)
Mr. E. B. Teesdale, M.C., appointed provisionally during the absence of Mr. Holmes from 18.2.57 to 18.11.57.
Mr. D. C. C. Trench, M.C., appointed provisionally during the absence of Mr. Sedgwick from 12.2.57 to 4.12.57.
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS:
Dr. the Honourable
CHAU Sik Nin, C.B.E.
The Honourable
Charles Edward Michael Terry, O.B.E.
The Honourable
Lo Man Wai, C.B.E.
The Honourable
NGAN Shing-Kwan, O.B.E.
The Honourable
Dhun Jehangir Ruttonjee, O.B.E.
The Honourable
Cedric Blaker, M.C., E.D.
The Honourable
""
Kwok Chan, O.B.E.
Dr. the Honourable
Alberto Maria Rodrigues,
M.B.E., E.D.
Note: The style and decorations of members are given as on 1.1.58.
398
Appendix XXI
(Chapter 27: Reading List)
Official Publications
The Government Printer issues quarterly catalogues of all avail- able official publications. These may be obtained from the Government Printing Department, Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, or from the Government Publications Bureau, General Post Office, Hong Kong. The following are the more important official publications issued during 1957:
Urban Council Electoral Register, 1957-9 (Parts I & II). Report on Kowloon and Tsuen Wan Riots (in English and
Chinese).
Hong Kong Law Reports, Vol. 40, 1956 (Parts I & II).
Report of the Public Works
Committee, 1956-7.
Hong Kong Annual Report, 1956.
Sub-Committee of Finance
Hong Kong Commerce, Industry, Finance Directory, 1957 (for
Commerce and Industry Department).
A Problem of People (A reprint, with illustrations, of Chapter I
of the 1956 Annual Report).
Estimates, 1957-8.
Hong Kong Civil Service List, 1957.
Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee Report, 1956.
District Court Law Reports, 1953-5; 1956; 1957 (Part I). Jury List, 1957.
Ordinances of Hong Kong, 1956.
Regulations of Hong Kong, 1956.
Meteorological Results, 1954 (Part I).
Hong Kong Post Office Guide, 1957.
Report of the Riot Compensation Advisory Board (in English
and Chinese).
Hong Kong Law Reports, 1957 (Part I).
School Certificate Examination Papers, 1957.
Teachers' Handbook-The Teaching of English.
Teachers' Handbook-The Teaching of Chinese.
Administrator of German Enemy Property Report, 1957. Town Planning Maps and Charts.
Hansard.
Annual Departmental Reports.
Issued Weekly:
Hong Kong Government Gazette.
Issued Monthly:
Trade Statistics, Imports and Exports.
Issued Monthly (By Commerce and Industry Department):
Trade Bulletin.
Index
Index
[NOTE: Chapter I of the Report is excluded from the scope of this Index.]
Abattoirs, New, 174.
Abercrombie, Sir Patrick, 202. Accidents, 61, 235.
Accountant General, 75, 357. Administration, Government,
41, 355-361.
Adoption, 207, 228, 243.
Adult Education, 137, 141, 142. Adult Education and Recreation
Centres, 142, 286.
After Care, Prisoners', 239. Aged, Homes for, 215. Agriculture, 41, 65-67, 105-107,
117, 118.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Department, 64, 104, 109, 111, 112, 114-120, 128, 129, 175, 289. Aircraft Engineering, 88, 273. Airport, New, 72, 222, 273, 274. Aluminiumware, 82, 85.
America, United States of, 36, 43,
66, 88-95, 98, 101, 106, 107, 116, 123, 129, 139, 282, 290, 292, 294, 302, 315, 343, 353.
Anglican Church, 304.
Animal Industries, 107-109, 118. Anti-T.B. Association, Hong Kong,
145, 154, 162, 163, 171. Apprentices, 64, 65.
Armed Forces, 41, 56, 57, 136, 157,
169, 356.
Arts, The, 142, 309-313.
'Asian flu', 147, 148.
Association Football, 314, 315. Attorney General, 354, 356. Audience Research, 289, 290, 302. Audit, Director of, 357.
Australia, 88, 100, 108, 116, 139,
171, 213, 263, 266, 291, 343. Auxiliary Civil Defence Services,
297, 299, 300.
Aviation, 72, 222, 272-274, 349.
Bacillary Dysentery, 149. Badminton, 315.
Banking, 79, 379.
Bankruptcies and Liquidations, 241. Bathing, 316-318.
Beer, 75, 86.
Beverage Industry, 86. Bibliography, 367, 398. Birds, 332.
Births and Deaths, 36, 148, 149, 242,
243.
Blind, Care of, 214.
Boat dwellers, 35, 39, 40, 68, 110, 118, 119, 122, 123, 127, 128, 322, 324.
Bowls, Lawn, 315.
Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association,
135, 198, 212, 213.
Boy Scouts and Cubs, 135, 212. British-
Broadcasting Corporation, 283,
287, 290-292. Council, 135, 287, 311. Red Cross, 135, 219. Subjects, 36, 297.
Broadcasting, Commercial, 293.` Broadcasting, Government, 283-291. Brunei, 44.
Buddhists, 307, 349.
Building, 43, 44, 184-194, 256-259,
270, 346, 352.
Authority, 179, 199, 200. Co-operative Societies, 126, 128,
182, 188, 385. Covenants, 181.
Ordinance, 179, 199, 203, 270. Private, 40, 185, 186, 192,
199-202, 240.
Bus Services, 252, 253. Business Registration, 74.
Butterflies and Moths, 332, 333.
Cable & Wireless, Ltd., 276, 277,
283, 284.
Cambodia, 92, 109.
Canada, 43, 87, 88, 94, 100, 123,
139, 291.
Cantonese, 37-39, 55, 68, 235, 283,
285-287.
C.A.R.E. Inc., 123, 218, 219. Car Parks, Multi-storey, 234, 256,
271, 272, 358.
Castle Peak Boys' Home, 211.
402
Catholic Welfare Committee,
217-219, 307.
Cattle, 67, 107, 108.
Cement, 80, 87.
Census, 35, 322.
Certificates of Origin, 97-99. Chartered Bank, 77, 78.
Cheung Chau Electric Co., Ltd.,
250.
Chi Ma Wan Prison, 114, 238, 255. Children's Centre, Kowloon, 211. Children's Playground Association,
135, 213.
China, 35-40, 50, 66, 67, 69, 77, 78,
81, 87, 89-91, 98, 99, 106, 108, 109, 111, 122, 147, 166, 179, 185, 194, 201, 204, 208, 229, 235, 264-266, 280, 282, 294, 321, 323, 336-344, 349-353.
China Light & Power Co., Ltd.,
249, 250.
China Motor Bus Co., Ltd., 63,
187, 252, 253.
Chinese Affairs, Secretary for,
205-207, 210, 237, 345, 354, 356. Chinese Colleges Joint Council, 133. Chinese Manufacturers' Association,
48, 63, 95-97.
Christian Children's Fund Inc., 207. Church, Anglican and
Non-Anglican, 304-307. Church World Service, 219, 306. Cinemas, 294.
City Hall, New, 256, 312, 313. Civil-
Aid Services, 297, 300. Aviation, 72, 222, 272-274, 349. Defence Services, 297, 299, 300. Servants Co-operative Building
Societies, 126, 128, 182, 188, 385.
Service, 41, 139, 140, 361-365. Clan and District Associations, 216. Clegg, Mission of Sir Cuthbert, 93. Climate, 324, 325.
Clinics, 54, 62-64, 147, 154-156, 159,
163-165, 167, 169-171, 189, 270, 307.
Club Leadership Training Course,
213.
Colonial Development and Welfare, 72, 105, 119, 138, 186, 190, 191, 248, 255, 268, 364, 371. Colonial Secretariat, 355, 356. Commerce and Industry
Department, 45, 95-100, 357. Commerce, Industry and Finance
Directory, 97.
Communicable Diseases, 146-157,
387.
Communications, 261-279.
Community Development, 215-217. Companies Registry, 240. Compensation, Riot, 236, 237. Conservancy, 177. Constitution, 354, 355. Consular Corps, 100, 101. Co-operative and Marketing
Department, 121, 124, 126. Co-operative Societies, 126-129, 188,
385.
Cordage, Rope and Twine, 80, 87. Cost of Living, 45-47. Cotton Textiles, 42, 44, 45, 80,
82-85, 89-93.
Courts, 210, 225-228, 355, 360. Credit and Consumers' Society,
128, 129. Cricket, 315.
Crime, 233, 234, 390-392. Cross-Harbour Tunnel and Bridge,
272.
Crown Leases, 102, 179-182, 239. Crown Proceedings Ordinance,
220, 221.
Currency and Banking, 77-79. Cycling, 315.
Deaf and Dumb, Overseas Chinese
School for the, 214.
Deaf, Hong Kong School for the,
214.
Death Rate, 36, 148, 149, 242, 243. Defence Force, Royal Hong Kong,
298, 299, 351.
Dental Service, 170, 171. Development Fund, 71, 186. Diesel Locomotives, 53, 266. Diptheria, 148, 150, 151. Disabled, Care of, 213-215. Disabled Children, Society for the
Relief of, 163, 214.
Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society,
239.
Dispensaries, 63, 157, 163-165. District Courts, 210, 226. District Health Work, 173.
Dockyard, Royal Naval, 41, 56, 57,
65.
Dockyards, Civilian, 42, 44, 54, 65,
80-83, 264.
Dollar, Hong Kong, 77, 78. Drainage, 259, 260.
Drama, 142, 285, 287, 309-311. Driving Licences, 235. Dutch New Guinea, 44.
Dutiable Commodities Legislation,
75, 220.
Duties, Import and Excise, 70, 75,
76, 81, 82, 220.
Earnings and Profits Tax, 72, 73. Ebenezer Blind Home, 214. E.C.A.F.E., 91, 92.
Education, 123, 131-143, 167, 168, 198, 211-217, 257, 301-307, 345, 346.
Electric Torches, Batteries and
Bulbs, 80, 82, 85, 94, 373. Electrical Products, 85, 86. Electricity, 248-250.
Embargoes on Trade with China,
81, 99, 106, 122, 352, 353. Emergency Relief, 219.
Employment, 41-44, 65-69, 372, 373.
Advisory Committee, 56.
Liaison Office, 56, 57.
Enamelware, 44, 55, 82, 85, 373. Engineering, 44, 193.
English Language, 37, 140, 283,
287, 288.
Enteric Fever, 149, 150. Entertainment Tax, 74, 311, 312. Erroll, F. J., M.P., 93, 288. Essential Services Corps, 297, 299. Estate Duty, 70, 73. European Common Market and
Free Trade Area, 92. Evening Institute, 141, 142. Evening School of Higher Chinese
Studies, 141, 142. Examinations, 132, 133, 140. Exchange Control, 79. Exchange Fund, 78. Excise Duties, 75-76.
Executive Council, 345, 354, 355,
394, 395.
Expenditure, Government, 70, 71, 120, 136, 145, 172, 192, 195, 206, 377, 378.
Exports, 76, 81, 88-99, 106, 111, 116,
123, 264, 265, 352, 353, 380, 382-384.
Factories and Industrial
Undertakings, 42, 43, 58, 59, 81, 372, 373.
Factory Registration and Inspection,
48, 58, 59.
Family Welfare Society, 171, 205,
218, 239.
Fauna, 330-333.
Federation of Hong Kong
Industries, 96.
Fencing, 316.
Ferries, 253, 254, 263, 264.
Ferry Piers, New, 254, 256. Festival of the Arts, 142, 286, 287,
309-311.
Film Censorship, 294.
Film Industry, 293-295.
Finance Committee, Standing, 355. Financial Secretary, 78, 354, 355,
357.
Fire Brigade, 257, 263, 299, 359. Fisherfolk, Training and Education
of, 118, 119, 123.
Fisheries, 41, 65, 68, 86, 109-111,
120-124, 302, 303.
Division, 64, 118-120.
Research Unit, 302, 303.
Fishermen, Loans to, 72, 119, 123. Fishermen's Credit and Marketing
Society, 128.
Fishermen's Thrift and Loan
Societies, 127, 128.
Fish-
Fry, 111.
Marketing Organization,
120-124.
Ponds, 111, 119, 128. Flora, 333-335.
Food and Fuel Index, 46, 47. Food Inspection, 173, 174. Foodstuffs and Beverages, 86, 90. Football, 314-316, 318.
Footwear, 42, 82, 87, 89, 91, 373. Foreign Assets Control Regulations
(U.S.), 98.
Foreign Exchange Banks, 79, 379. Forestry, 111-116.
France, 37, 43, 94, 100, 101. Free Churches, 304, 305.
Free Trade Area, European, 92. Fung Keong Rubber Manufactory
Ltd., 51-53.
Furniture, wooden, 88.
Gardens Division, 319.
Gas, 250, 251.
General Health, 146-148.
Geography of Hong Kong, 321-324. Geology of Hong Kong, 301,
326-329.
Germany, Western, 94, 95, 100. Ginger, 67, 86.
Girl Guides and Brownies, 135,
212, 213.
Golf, 315, 316.
Good Shepherd Sisters, 209. Government-
Administration 41, 355-361. Art Collections, 312, 313. Information Service, 282, 283. Grantham Hospital, 154, 162, 163.
403
404
Hakka, 37-39, 65, 68. Hats, 85.
Hawkers, 175, 176.
Health Education, 168. Health Services, 165-169. Heavy Industries, 82, 83, 264. Herbarium, Colonial, 319, 335. Higher Education, 137, 138.
Higher Studies Overseas, 139, 140,
386.
Hindus, 308.
History of Hong Kong, 301,
336-353.
Ho Tung, Sir Robert, 312, 313. Ho Tung Technical School, 141. Hoklo, 37, 39, 68.
Honeyville Blind Home, 214. Hong Kong and China Gas Co.,
Ltd., 53, 250, 251.
Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades
Union Council, 50.
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation, 77, 78, 187, 379. Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Co.,
Ltd., 63, 253, 254, 256.
Hong Kong Christian Council, 305. Hong Kong Coal Workers'
General Union, 55.
Hong Kong Cotton Spinners
Association, 93.
Hong Kong Council of Social
Service, 186, 205, 214, 215. Hong Kong Dental Society, 171. Hong Kong Economic Housing
Society, 187.
Hongkong Electric Co., Ltd., 187,
248, 249.
Hong Kong Federation of Trade
Unions, 50.
Hong Kong House, London, 140. Hong Kong Housing Society, 182,
186, 192, 199, 205.
Hong Kong Island, 321, 322,
326-329.
Hong Kong Model Housing
Society, 187.
Hong Kong Philharmonic
Orchestra, 310.
Hong Kong products, 82-88, 91,
96, 384.
Hong Kong Sea School, 211.
Hong Kong Teachers' Association,
50, 135.
Hong Kong Technical College,
51, 65, 141, 142, 257.
Hong Kong Telephone Co., Ltd.,
63, 277, 278, 283.
Hong Kong Tourist Association,
222, 223, 295.
Hongkong Tramways Ltd., 51, 53,
63, 187, 251.
Hong Kong Tramway Workers'
Union, 53.
Hong Kong, University of, 35, 134, 135, 137, 138, 158, 168, 169, 194, 206, 288, 290, 301-303, 346. Hospitals, 154, 156-165, 256, 305,
348, 388.
Housing, 183-202.
Authority, 182, 188-194, 199,
359.
Commissioner for, 188, 193,
359.
Special Committee on, 184, 193. Staff and Workers, 62-64, 187,
188, 251, 257-259, 270. Survey, 35, 193, 194, 302.
Immigration, 35, 36, 185, 204, 235,
236, 262.
Imperial Preference, 80, 98, 99. Imports, 88-90, 99, 108, 109,
380-382.
Import and Excise Duties, 70, 75,
76, 81, 82.
India, 43, 93, 100, 307, 308. Indonesia, 44, 88-93, 100, 123. Industrial-
Accidents, 59, 61.
Development, 41-43, 47, 80-82,
182.
Health, 48, 59-61, 167, 168. Relations, 49-57.
Safety, 48.
Training, 64, 65, 118, 119, 141. Undertakings, 41, 42, 47,
58-61, 81, 197, 372, 373. Welfare, 47, 48, 59, 62-64. Industries, Cottage, 42, 81, 197. Industry, 41-69, 80-88, 92, 104-111,
129, 130, 183, 352, 353.
Infant and Child Welfare, 206-208. Infectious Diseases, 146-157, 387. Influenza (Asian), 147, 148. Inland Lots, 179.
Inland Revenue, 70, 72, 73, 81, 357. Interest Tax, 72.
International Labour conventions,
45, 48.
Iron Foundries and Rolling Mills,
83. Irrigation, 67, 105, 117, 120, 128,
248.
Italy, 37, 100, 101.
Japan, 35, 37, 88, 89, 94, 99, 100, 111, 129, 147, 264, 282, 294, 350, 351, 353.
Jews, 308, 337.
Jockey Club, Hong Kong, 163, 164,
314, 317.
Joint Consultation in industry, 47,
48, 51.
Joseph Trust Fund, 125, 127. Judiciary, 225-228, 355.
Junior Chamber of Commerce, 212,
214.
Junks, 39, 67, 68, 72, 110, 118, 119,
229, 264, 265.
Mechanization of, 72, 110, 118,
119.
Juvenile Care Centre, 211.
Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Associa-
tion, 105, 108, 120.
Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan
Fund, 120.
Kaifongs, 134, 164, 215, 216, 218,
219.
Kai Tak Airport Development, 72,
222, 273, 274.
Kinder, Mr. H. F. A., 312. King's Park Orphanage, 207. Knitting, 80, 84, 85.
Korea, 81, 99, 100, 183, 352. Kotewall, Sir Robert, 313. Kowloon, 321, 323, 343, 344. Kowloon-Canton Railway, 53, 54,
64, 265-267, 323, 344. Kowloon Hospital, 159, 160, 256. Kowloon Hospital, New, 159, 165,
256.
Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933)
Ltd., 63, 253.
Kuoyü, 37, 283, 285, 287, 291. Kwai Chung Girls Home, 211. Kwangtung, 36-39, 110, 235, 321,
333, 336, 351.
Kwun Tong, 42, 47, 82, 104, 182,
246, 255, 268, 269.
Labour-
Advisory Board, 47. Department, 47-49, 51, 58, 59,
63, 167, 286. Disputes and Stoppages, 48,
51-57. Inspection, 48, 59.
Legislation, 47, 57, 58, 64, 223. Organization, 49-51.
Skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled,
42-44.
Lai Chi Kok Hospital, 159, 160.
Lai Chi Kok Prison, 238. Lam Yung Fai, Mr, 313. Lancashire, 93.
Land, 179-184.
Auctions, 180-182.
Conversion of, 102, 181, 182. Court, 102.
Office (Registrar General), 239,
240.
Policy, 180-182.
Sales and Transactions, 70,
182, 183.
Tenure, 102-104, 179, 180. Utilization, 104, 105, 301. Value and Development, 183,
184.
Law and Order, 225-243. Law Courts, 225-228, 355. Laws of Hong Kong, 355. Leases, Crown, 179-181, 239, 240. Leather and Travel goods, 82, 87. Legislation, 57, 58, 136, 137, 145,
146, 171, 172, 220-224. Legislative Council, 345, 354, 355,
395-397.
Lepers, Mission to, 145, 156, 157,
162.
Leprosy, 135, 156, 157, 162.
Li Cheng Uk Tomb, 258, 319,
320, 336.
Libraries, 135, 212, 216, 311, 313. Life-Guards, 317, 318. Lighthouses, 261.
Light Industries, 82-88, 92. Liquidations, 241. Liquor, 70, 75.
Living Space, Density of, 186. Loans from United Kingdom, 72,
274, 371.
Loans, Government Dollar, 71,
374, 375.
Local Armed Forces, 297-299. Local Loans Fund, 71.
Locomotives, Diesel, 53, 266. London Missionary Society, 305. London Office, Hong Kong Govern-
ment, 100, 357.
Low-cost Housing (other than Re-
settlement), 182, 186-194. Lutheran World Federation, 218,
306.
Ma On Shan Mine, 68, 69, 129. Macau, 80, 87, 255, 289, 302, 304, 307, 308, 312, 316, 321, 333, 337-340, 351.
Magazines, 281, 393.
405
406
Magistracies, 210, 225, 227, 360. Malaria, 152, 153.
Malaya, 44, 87, 89-91, 96, 123,
170, 171, 291, 314. Mammals, 330, 331.
Man-days, Loss of by strikes, 51. Marine, 261-265.
Marine Department, 64, 119, 225,
261, 262, 264, 265. Marine Police, 229, 262. Marketing, 120-126.
Marketing Advisory Board, 124 Markets, Urban, 172, 175, 257. Marriage Registry, 241, 242. Matches, 69.
Maternal and Child Health, 154,
166-168.
Maternity Hospitals, 160. Measles, 148, 151.
Medical Department, 61, 135, 144-171, 178, 208, 270, 300, 388, 389.
Medical Registration Ordinance,
145, 146, 221, 222.
Medicines (Proprietary), 75, 76. Mental Health, 135, 168, 215. Mental Hospital, New, 160, 165,
256.
Mercantile Bank, 78.
Merchant Shipping Legislation, 221. Metal Products, 42, 82, 83, 86,
88-90, 373.
Meteorological Research, 279. Meteorological Services, 278, 279. Methyl Alcohol, 75, 220. Midwifery Services, 167. Migration, 43, 44, 65, 66, 343. Mines Department, 47, 130. Mining, 47, 68, 69, 129, 130, 240. Minor (Labour) Disputes, 57. Mint, Old Hong Kong, 77, 312. Mission Hospitals, 162.
Morrison, Dr. Robert, 288, 304. Mosquitoes, 153, 166, 173, 176, 177. Motor sport, 289, 316.
Music, 142, 309, 310.
Society, 309.
Training Centre, 214. Muslims, 307.
Narcotics, 100, 230, 233, 339, 340. Natural Increase, 36.
Naval Dockyard, 41, 56, 57. Netherlands, 37, 101, 338. New China Enamelware Co. (H.K.)
Ltd., 55, 56.
New Territories-
Administration, 102-105, 120, 144, 179, 200, 259, 318, 344, 345, 360, 361. Beaches, 318. Geography, 321-324. Geology, 326-329. Housing, 200-202.
Land Tenure, 102, 103, 179,
239.
Law and Order, 226, 227, 229. New Towns, 184, 192. Occupations, 65-69.
Population, 35, 37-40, 321, 322. Primary Production and Market- ing, 105, 111-116, 121, 124, 129.
Public Health, 150, 152, 157,
163, 164, 167, 169, 171. Public Utilities, 249, 250, 253,
254, 264.
Public Works, 255, 256, 259. Rates, 74.
Roads, 184, 268, 344, 345. Scavenging, 178.
Water Supply, 247, 248. Newspapers, 280-282, 393. Nightsoil, Maturation of, 106, 125,
177, 178.
North Point Relief Camp, 215, 218. Northcote, Dr. Sydney, 310. Northcote Training College, 134.
Occupational Diseases, 59, 60.
Occupations, 41-44, 65-69.
Oils, Hydrocarbon, 70, 75, 76, 89,
90.
Opthalmic Service, 169, 170.
Oratorio Society, 310.
Ottawa Agreements, 80.
Overseas Representation, 100, 101.
Overtime, 44, 45.
Oyster-beds and Fish ponds, 68,
110, 111.
Pacific Science Congress, Ninth, 279. Paints, 82, 86.
Pakistan, 93, 100, 307.
Parks and Playgrounds, 317-319.
Parsees, 307, 344.
Patents, 241.
Peak Tramway, 252, 347. Pearls, 61, 111, 373.
Pest Control, 166, 173, 176, 177. Philippines, 37, 91, 100, 213, 302. Photography, 310.
Physical Education, 138, 143.
Picture Collection, Government, 312. Pig-Raising, 67, 107, 108, 120, 127. Plasticware, 82, 87, 88, 373. Po Leung Kuk, 135, 356. Pok Oi Hospital, 162. Police-
Auxiliaries, 230, 231, 297. Communications and Transport,
232, 233.
Force, 100, 176, 210, 228-236,
256, 257, 359. Supervision, 233, 234. Training, 231, 232.
Poliomyelitis, 151, 152.
Population, 35-40, 185, 198, 199,
321, 322, 342, 343, 352.
Port-
Committee, 47, 261. Health, 165, 166, 262. Welfare Committee, 265. Works, 254-256.
Portuguese, 36, 100, 337, 340, 344,
351.
Post Office, 66, 274-276, 342. Post-secondary Education, 133, 139,
305.
Poultry, 107, 108.
Prawns, Marketing of, 123. Press, 280-282, 293.
Preventive Service, 99, 100, 357. Primary Production, 102-120. Printing Department, 64, 359, 360,
398.
Prisons, 237-239, 258.
Probation, 209-211.
Professional Teachers' Training
Board, 134.
Profits Tax, 72, 73.
Property Tax, 72, 73.
Prostitution, 208, 209, 233.
Public-
Assistance, 217-219. Debt, 71.
Finance and Taxation, 70-76,
371, 374-378.
Health, 144-178, 342, 347, 348. Latrines and Bathhouses, 172,
176.
Relations Office, 48, 135, 282,
283.
Service, 361-365.
Services Commission, 361. Utilities, 45, 65, 244-254. Works, 244-248, 254-260.
Works Department, 64, 86, 179,
184, 193, 202, 203, 244, 256, 259, 269, 270, 357, 358.
Publications, Official, 398. Puerperal Fever, 152.
Quarantine, 109, 146, 165, 262. Quarries, 60, 68, 69, 269, 270. Quartering Authority, 360. Queen Mary Hospital, 157-159.
Radiation Board, 58, 223. Radio-activity, Precautions against,
57, 58, 60, 168, 223.
Radio Hong Kong, 62, 168, 169,
283-291, 310.
Radio-Licensing, 275, 276, 285. Railway, 53, 54, 64, 265-267, 323,
344.
Rains, Heavy, 113, 129, 150, 245,
246, 268, 269, 289, 325, 326. Rates, 70, 74, 75, 357.
Rattanware, 80, 82, 88. Reading List, 367.
Reclamations, 42, 82, 182, 255, 256,
346, 347.
Records (Registrar General), 179,
239-243.
Rediffusion, 291-293, 310. Refugees, 40, 68, 81, 185, 194, 204,
205, 208, 216, 343, 348-350, 352. Registered and recorded factories,
42, 43, 58, 59, 81, 372, 373. Registry of Trade Unions, 47, 49,
58.
Religion, 304-308.
Remand Home, 210, 211. Reptiles, 332.
Research, 279, 301-303.
Reservoirs, New, 244-248.
Resettlement, 194-199, 258, 358, 359.
Cottage Areas, 194, 197, 199. Estates, 35, 195-199, 205, 206,
212, 213, 246, 258, 302. Multi-storey Factory, 197, 258. Retail Price Index, 45-47, 55. Revenue and Expenditure, 70-72,
376-378.
Rice, 46, 67, 86, 105, 106. Riots, Kowloon and Tsuen Wan,
71, 233, 236, 237.
Road Traffic, 223, 224, 234, 235,
267, 270, 271.
Roads, 267-271, 344, 345. Rolling Mills, 83.
Roman Catholic Church, 306, 307. Rope-making, 80, 87.
Rotary Clubs, 135.
Royal Hong Kong Defence Force,
298, 299, 351.
Royal Observatory, 278, 279, 349. Rubber Footwear, 82, 87, 94.
407
408
Rural Committees, 360, 361. Rural Development Committee,
105, 117.
St. John Ambulance Association
& Brigade, 61, 161, 171, 229, 300. St. John Hospital, Cheung Chau,
158, 161.
St. Vincent de Paul, Society of, 218. Sai Ying Pun Hospital, 161. Sai Ying Pun Polyclinic, New, 163. Salaried Workers Thrift and Loan
Societies, 128. Salaries Tax, 72, 73.
Salesian Trade Schools, 141. Salt fish, 69, 122, 123.
Salvation Army, 63, 207, 211, 239,
305, 306.
Sanitary Services, 171-178, 347. Scavenging, 177, 178.
Scholarships and Bursaries, 134,
135, 138, 139. Schools-
Building Programme, 131, 132,
135, 257.
Certificate Examinations, 138,
140.
Government, 131, 132, 257. Grant, 131-133.
Health Service, 154, 167, 168,
170.
Music Festival, 142, 310. Post-Secondary, 133, 139, 305. Primary, 131-133, 189, 198, 257. Private, 131-134.
Secondary, 131-133, 139. Subsidized, 131, 133.-
Shanghai, 36, 55, 68, 342, 352. Shipbuilding and Repairing, 42,
69, 80, 82, 83, 264.
Shipping, 261-265.
Silvermine Bay Holiday Camp, 213. Singapore, 44, 89, 96, 111, 123, 166,
264, 294, 341. Slaughterhouses, 174. Social--
Group Work Among Youth,
Seminar on, 213.
Hygiene, 155, 156, 168.
Survey, 206.
Welfare, 204-219.
Welfare Advisory Committee,
206, 214.
Welfare Office, 135, 154, 198,
204-219, 237, 356, 357. Work, Training for, 206-208,
213, 214.
Society for the Protection of
Children, 208.
Soil Survey, 105, 117.
Special Afternoon Classes, 131, 134. Special Classes Centre, 139. Sport and Recreation, 314-320. Squatters, 35, 194-198, 343.
Staff training, Government, 64, 65, 159, 160, 171, 174, 207, 208, 231, 232, 290, 363-365, 389.
Stamp Duty, 73, 74.
Standing Conference of Youth
Organizations, 206, 213.
Stanley Prison, 237.
'Star' Ferry Co., Ltd., 63, 188, 253,
254.
Sterling area, 79.
Stores Department, 64, 71, 259, 359. Street-Lighting, 270, 271.
Strikes, 51-53, 55, 57, 349, 350. Sugar Refining, 80, 86.
Sung Wong Toi, 337.
Supreme Court, 210, 225, 226.
Swimming pool, Victoria Park, 172,
257, 258, 316, 317. Switzerland, 90, 100.
Table Waters, 75, 76, 86.
Taikoo Sugar Refining Co. Ltd.,
54, 55.
Taiwan (Formosa), 38, 50, 109, 111,
281, 282, 294, 352.
Tanka, 37, 39, 40, 68, 110. Taxation, 72-75.
Teacher Training, 134. Technical-
College, Hong Kong, 51, 65,
141, 142, 257.
Education, 64, 65, 142.
Education, Standing Committee
on, 47, 65.
Telecommunications, 276, 277.
Telegraph and Radiotelephone
services, 276, 277.
Telephones, 277, 278.
Television, 292, 293.
Tenancy Tribunals, 184, 227, 228. Tennis, 316.
Textiles, 42, 44, 45, 80, 82-85,
89-91, 93, 94, 373.
Thailand, 46, 88-90, 101, 109, 111,
287.
Thomson Memorial Hostel, 63. Tobacco Manufacture, 70, 75, 76,
86, 87, 90.
Toilet Preparations, 75, 76. Tokyo Representative, Hong Kong
Government, 100, 257.
Tourist Association, 222, 223, 295,
296.
Town Planning, 179, 202, 203. Trade, 88-92, 342, 351-353.
and Industry Advisory
Committee, 95.
Bulletin, 97.
Commissioners, 100, 101. Control, 99.
Fairs and Exhibitions, 49, 95,
96.
Marks and Patents Registry,
241.
Promotion, 92-99.
Trade Unions, 47-57.
Education, 48, 51.
Legislation, 49, 58.
Traffic, 223, 224, 234, 235, 267, 270,
271.
Traffic Accidents, 235.
Training Centres, Stanley and
Tung Tau Wan, 210, 238, 239.
Tramways, 251, 252.
Treaty of Rome, 92. Triads, 233.
Tsan Yuk Hospital, 160. Tuberculosis, 61, 148, 153-155, 168. Tung Wah Hospitals, 135, 145, 161,
162, 169, 218, 356.
Unemployment and Under-employ-
ment, 43, 217.
United Kingdom, 36, 41, 66, 72, 79, 87-89, 91, 93, 97, 100, 129, 139, 140, 145, 146, 152, 174, 207, 208, 220, 221, 223, 224, 232, 263, 274, 282, 292, 371.
United Nations activities, 91, 92, 146, 166, 204, 217, 291, 353, 364, 365.
United States of America, (see under
America, United States of.) United States Information Service,
135.
University Extra-Mural Studies, 137. University of Hong Kong, (see under
Hong Kong, University of.)
University Research, 301-303.
Urban-
Buildings, 199, 200.
Council, 144, 171-173, 188, 196,
271, 317, 358.
Expansion, 104.
Population, 35-37, 321, 322. Services, 171-178, 317-320. Services Department, 144, 168, 171-178, 188, 193, 257, 271, 317-320, 358.
Vacuum Flasks and Jugs, 82, 85. Vegetable-
Production, 86, 89, 106, 124-126. Marketing Organization, 124-126. Marketing Societies, 127.
Vehicles, 271.
Vehicular-ferry, 254, 255, 272. Venereal Diseases, 155, 156, 161. Victoria-
Park, 172, 257, 316, 318.
Port of, 229, 261-265, 322, 323. Prison, 237, 238, 258.
Technical School, 141.
Vietnam, North, 99. Vietnam, South, 92, 100. Vocational training, 64, 65. Voluntary Education and Welfare,
134, 135, 198, 204, 207.
Wages, 44, 45, 49, 59. Walking, 316, 317. Water-chestnuts, 106, 107. Water-Sports, 317.
Waterworks, 82, 244-248, 348. Weather, Year's, 325, 326. Weights and Measures, 366. Welfare, 62-64, 204-219, 305-307. Women and Juveniles, Welfare of,
48, 59, 208, 209.
Women's Welfare Clubs, 217. Workers' Playtime, 62, 286. Working Hours, 45.
Workmen's Compensation, 48, 64,
226.
World Health Organization, 146,
166, 364.
Yachting, 315.
Y.M.C.A., 135, 306.
Y.W.C.A., 63, 135, 213, 306. Youth Organizations 135, 198,
211-213.
409
Printed and Published by the Government Printer, at the Government Press, Java Road, Hong Kong March, 1958
KEY MAP
OF HONG KONG RELATIVE
ΤΟ
CANTON AND
MACAU
"118*15*
113°-30
115-45'
114-15
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ONG KONG PUBLIC LIBRARIE
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0
SCALE OF MILES
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1500-OVER
Rivers & Streams
114-30
REFERENCE
14:45
1000-1500 FT.
300-1000 FT
0-300 FT
Crown Copyright Reserved
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