HONG KONG 1973
A REVIEW OF 1972
113°-50'
HONG KONG, KOWLOON AND THE NEW TERRITORIES
KWANGTUNG
114°-00'
PROVINCE
22-30-
Chun
DEEP BAY
Sham
SAN TIN
Mon
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22-20
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SERIES HM 200(R) L
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SHEK KANG
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Crown Lands & Survey Office P.W.D. 1972
Shek Kwu Chau
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Lung Tau
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Sunshine Island
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EAST LAMMA CHANNE
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Crooked Island
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Proposed
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New Territories
Administration Districts
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700 +
ELEVATION TINTS
METRES
(approximate
FEET conversions)
2300 +
1000 - 2300
KAU SAI GHALT
PORT SHELTER
ROCKY HARBOUR
300
-
700
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300
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100
0
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Main Road
Minor Roads
Railway
Ferry Route
Scale of Kilometres
joss HOUSE
BAY
TATHONG CHANNEL
Tung Lung
Ninepin Group
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4
6 8
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10
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KOREA
Island
JAPAN
Nanking
CHINA
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NDIA
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Shanghal EAST
Foochow
Canton
CHINA SEA
TAIWAN
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HONG KONG
PACIFIC OCEAN
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THAI-
LAND
SOUTH CHINA SEA
PHILIPPINES
GUAM.
Po Toi
KHMER
Waglan
Island
市政局公共圖書館 UCPL
MALAYSIA
MALAYA
•
SABAH
SUMATRA
SINGA PORE
1000
2000
BORNEO
Scale of kilometres
0°
INDONESIA
120"
ST IBIAN-
NEW GUINEA
140°
3 3288 00031051 8
JAVA
100
114-10
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HONG
KONG
NG KONG PUBLIC LIBRAR
HONG KONG 1973, REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1972
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT PRESS 1973
URBAN COUNCIL PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Acc. No.
1299329
Class
951.25
Autior
HON
HKC
Contents
Chapter
Page
1 REVIEW: A BETTER TOMORROW
1
2
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
12
3 FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
30
4
EMPLOYMENT
39
5
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
46
6
EDUCATION
53
7
HEALTH
69
8
LAND AND HOUSING
85
9
SOCIAL WELFARE
104
10
PUBLIC ORDER
110
11
IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM
120
12
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
123
13
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
131
14
PRESS, BROADCASTING AND CINEMA
147
15
THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
155
16
RELIGION AND CUSTOM
159
17
RECREATION
164
18
THE ENVIRONMENT
172
19
POPULATION
183
220
NATURAL HISTORY
187
21
HISTORY
191
22 CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
200
iv
Illustrations
CONTENTS
Page
Frontispiece
The Year
Campaign
Port
Calligraphy
Dance
Princess
facing
i
between vi-1
between
4-5
between 28-9
between 44-5
between
60-1
between 116-7
Movement
between 132-3
Volunteers
between 148-9
Youth
between 164-5
Tunnel
between 196-7
END-PAPER MAPS
Front:
Hong Kong and the New Territories
Back:
Plan of Hong Kong, Kowloon & adjacent New Territories showing District Names
CONTENTS
Appendices
1
Appendix
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT
Page
214
2
OVERSEAS REPRESENTATION
215
3-4
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
216
5-10
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
220
11-14
EMPLOYMENT
226
15-17
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
229
18-21
EDUCATION
231
22-25
HEALTH
233
26
LAND AND HOUSING
235
27-28
PUBLIC ORDER
236
290
CASES IN THE COURTS AND WORK IN THE MAGISTRACIES
238
30
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
239
31-33
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
240
34
RECREATION
242
35
WEATHER
243
36-37
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
244
38
URBAN COUNCIL
246
39
SOCIAL WELFARE
247
INDEX
249
When dollars are quoted in this Report, they are, unless otherwise stated, Hong Kong dollars. The official rate for conversion to US dollars is HK$5.65 =US$1.
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The year 1972 added another memorable chapter to Hong Kong's 130-year-old history. It was a year of significant development, with the opening of the cross- harbour tunnel and the Kwai Chung container terminal. These and other events are covered in individual colour sections, whereas the following pages are devoted to the tragic, the lighthearted and the everyday events that also combined to make it a year to remember. Pictured above is the Peak Tower which opened in 1972. Straddling Victoria Peak at the terminus of the Peak Tramway, the tower restaurant commands a breathtaking panorama from its lofty position 1,400 feet above the harbour.
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Tragedy struck twice on June 18 following a week of torrential rain. Above is an aerial view of Sau Mau Ping where a landslide destroyed many homes, killing 71 people and injuring 60 others.
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A 13-storey building once stood on this site in the Mid-levels district of Hong Kong Island. It was swept away, along with a four-storey house, by a landslide that killed 67 people.
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Hong Kong's instant flyover. Erected in just 90 hours, this 1,000-foot temporary flyover is now carrying traffic over a busy intersection during construction of a permanent flyover complex in Kowloon.
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This image is unavailable for access via the Network due to copyright restrictions. To view the ufage, please contact library staff for a printed copy of the copyright work.
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By late 1973, the 52-storey Connaught Centre will be one of Asia's tallest buildings. It is shown here two-thirds complete, towering above 'Lap Sap Chung' the litterbug who despondently surveys a spotlessly clean Statute Square.
7
The 'Hong Kong Arts Festival 1972' featured traditional Chinese opera along with western music and drama. The performances, to mark the 10th anniversary of the City Hall, attracted 37,000 people.
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Dating back more than 2,000 years, the Dragon Boat Race is one of six major festivals celebrated each year. Occasionally, however, circumstances dampen the enthusiasm of those taking part.
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In October, bands of the Black Watch provided colour and pageantry as they 'Beat the Retreat' in the heart of Central District on Hong Kong Island.
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1
Review: A Better Tomorrow
Hong Kong has crammed a great deal of progress into a short historical span. Other places have had the luxury of being able to develop at a leisurely pace over centuries but Hong Kong has come of age only in the last few decades. Its growth has been by any standards phenomenal.
In 1841 when the British first arrived, it was regarded as a 'piece of useless granite with no water and nothing to commend it'. But Hong Kong is as hardy as the tight scrubby bush which clings to its slopes. It is above all a survivor through typhoons, floods, and trade embargoes. It responds to challenge, it rises above adversity.
Hong Kong for long has been a problem of people-too many people. It has also been a problem of space-lack of space. Typically, however, Hong Kong has turned the problem of people into an asset. People are its wealth. They provide the brains, the enterprise, the muscle for industry. Hong Kong has imaginatively solved the problem of its space shortage. It has carved down mountains and dumped them into the sea to become good flat land for building. In the face of world embargoes, it changed its role from an entrepôt to a world trade centre. It bustles with activity, it pulses with life.
To the casual visitor, it is a shoppers paradise, bat-winged junks in a dazzling harbour, glaring neon signs, the world of Suzie Wong, clattering mahjong tiles and 24-hour tailoring. To the late Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, it was one of the most vivid and exciting cities he had seen. 'It seems to have everything'. To another author, Harold Ingrams, commissioned by Her Majesty's Colonial Office in 1950 to write a book on the territory, it was 'altogether a splendid place humming with vitality and progress'.
But to the people who live here, it is more, much more. For many of the older people, it is a place which has offered them a second chance to earn a living, and to raise a family in a stable environment. To the younger people-more than half the population-it is an expanding community of growing affluence. And there is a growing expectancy among them for something more.
The last review reflectively regarded 10 years of progress in Hong Kong and marked the departure of Sir David Trench after seven-and-a-half years as Governor and Commander-in-Chief. Tallying the credit record, the review's author wrote of the 'peak of prosperity and opportunity unprecedented in its history' which Hong Kong had achieved under Sir David's administration.
He went on: 'The task that lies ahead is to ensure that the efforts of both the community and the government are used in the properly planned and common
2
REVIEW
objective of raising social benefits and standards of living for all and of making Hong Kong a better place in which to live'.
The new Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose spelt out such aspirations in his first major speech in the Legislative Council in October, in which he outlined bold measures towards his declared goal of prosperity with social progress. The speech was described by the local press as a 'blueprint for the 70s' and a 'new deal'. Its underlying theme was a respect for human dignity.
Dignity was something there was little room for 20 years ago. Here was a small territory which before the Pacific War held perhaps 1.5 million people and whose whole reason for existence for 100 years had been the China trade. It had little in- digenous manufacturing activity of its own. Then, during the Korean war, when the United Nations embargoed trade with China, that entrepôt role collapsed overnight.
Meanwhile immigrants from China swelled the population alarmingly and for most there were no homes, no jobs, few public services: nothing seemed to augur well for the future.
Since then remarkable changes have taken place. The population has risen to four million, yet there is full employment. Industrial production has grown at such a pace that Hong Kong is perhaps the biggest exporter of manufactured goods of all the developing countries in the world.
Where, 20 years ago, thousands of people were sleeping in the streets glad of any job which would provide them with enough to live on, many of these same people now regard a television set as a necessity of life. They have a roof over their heads, dress and eat much better, and have a bit of money left over to enjoy the new found possibilities of leisure time. Some even have a little left over to bank, or invest in the stock market.
In those 20 years, the national income and government expenditure have in- creased 12 times, domestic exports of locally manufactured goods have grown 18 times, the labour force seven times, bank deposits 23 times and currency in circula- tion by just over four times. Wages, in real terms, are worth three times as much.
Physical development, too, has been striking. High-rise buildings have changed the sky-line, there has been large scale reclamation of land from the sea. Motor transport has risen dramatically, giving Hong Kong a traffic density of nearly 300 vehicles per mile of road-certainly many times the density in Europe or the United States. To cope with this situation, a complex of flyovers and highways has been built. A major project in this field has been the recent opening of a $320 million cross-harbour tunnel which now links the Island and Kowloon.
Still more lies ahead. The government has decided in principle to build a mass transit underground railway system, estimated at $6,000 million at mid-1970 prices. The nine-stage system would take many years to build, but the first two stages could be completed within four-and-a-half years from the time work begins. The line would start at Choi Hung, in Kowloon, linking several resettlement estates with the Nathan
REVIEW
3
Road corridor and running under the harbour to the central business district of Victoria and terminating at Western Market. Pending a final decision on such a vast project a Steering Group has been formed to go into all the possibilities of financing, constructing and operating it. Proposals have also been called for, and received, from many groups and consortia on how the system could be financed and constructed.
The airways, too, have thrived in the last two decades and to meet the needs of growing air traffic the runway at Kai Tak International Airport is being extended from 8,350 to 11,130 feet.
Dock facilities have expanded. Shipbuilding and repairing have taken on new dimensions. A new port is being created at Kwai Chung in the New Territories, just north of the present harbour. It will be one of the most efficient container terminals in the world catering for an armada of purpose-built ships. The $500 million complex will eventually cover 125 acres, with a 4,000-foot sea frontage. The first of three berths was in use in September and the other two will be completed in early 1973.
A growing population and a thriving industry develop a healthy thirst and to keep pace with it, work on the High Island 60,000 million gallon reservoir has been pushed ahead. Meanwhile, the level of the dam at Plover Cove reservoir is being raised to bring the capacity up to 50,000 million gallons and contracts have been let for a desalting plant which, with an output of 40 million gallons of water a day, will be the largest in the world.
The tourist industry has been developing rapidly through the years and it reached new levels in 1972 with more than one million visitors. Japanese remain the largest national group of visitors with Americans the next. Four new hotels were opened during the year but, in spite of the extra 2,300 rooms they offer, occupancy rates. throughout Hong Kong are still, on average, as high as 80 per cent.
Gross income from tourism is about $2,000 million which accounts for six to seven per cent of the national income. More hotels are planned for 1973 and there have been suggestions that resort areas might be developed in the New Territories and on larger outlying islands. It is hoped that this will encourage visitors to stay longer by offering them attractions other than shopping.
The environment is receiving attention from many quarters. A Conservancy Association has been formed which aims to stimulate a sense of personal and social trusteeship of natural resources and amenities in the people of Hong Kong. The government has set up an Advisory Committee on Environmental Pollution on Land and Water to keep these matters under review and with more immediate objectives in mind, the government, mid-year, launched the 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign. The results are plain to see. Hong Kong is indeed a cleaner and brighter place.
These changes are solid indications of rising living standards and a higher degree of sophistication in the community. The concomitant is inevitable. As Sir Murray MacLehose said in his major policy speech, the people have become more expectant of their government. The areas which he earmarked as ripe for far-reaching advances in the 1970s were housing, education and social welfare.
REVIEW
The new housing target is to give every inhabitant of Hong Kong self-contained accommodation in a reasonable environment within 10 years. In cold figures this means that the government plans to build new housing for 1.8 million people at a cost of $3,340 million. It also means new towns, new roads to link them with the old urban areas, and a full ration of the essentials of modern life: schools, medical facilities, parks, playgrounds, services and markets.
In education, all branches of learning are to be expanded, but the main thrust will be in secondary and technical education with more facilities in the tertiary field.
Social welfare in Hong Kong has long ceased to be regarded as an emergency operation. Public assistance has been overhauled and modernised and cash rather than rations is given to those in need.
New proposals to breathe new life into the social welfare system include a five- year plan for expanded services and a hefty increase in trained professionals to carry them out.
Housing for All
There is no field in which Hong Kong's pressure of people has produced more acute problems or one in which the government has responded more vigorously than housing.
Since the first resettlement blocks rose phoenix-like from the ashes of the great squatter fire of 1953 which made 53,000 homeless, more than 1.6 million people have been housed in government built low-rent estates.
The early resettlement blocks were rudimentary. But they offered security and a real home to people who until then had lived in cardboard and corrugated iron shacks, with no protection from flood and fire.
Those first concrete blocks represented a brave start to solving a massive problem. From those beginnings better things evolved. Year by year designs improved, offering more room per family, better facilities and more pleasant surroundings.
The new estates are fine examples of how Hong Kong has coped with housing people at densities higher than anywhere else on earth.
Today the rash of squatter huts that used to disfigure the hillsides has diminished. Many of the ageing and dilapidated pre-war tenement houses have been replaced by private development.
But in spite of all this, problems remain. There are still more than a quarter of a million squatters and many rooms in the earlier resettlement estates are badly crowded. In the private sector, over 300,000 people are living in unsatisfactory con- ditions in shared flats or tenements.
The scarcity of housing and living space and the harsh realities that result are major sources of friction and unhappiness. Children who have grown up in these
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CAMPAIGN
The most ambitious community project ever mounted by the government, the 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign reached its peak in November. The entire community joined hands with the government to conduct an extensive clean-up of all city and rural areas. The project took 18 months of planning, backed up by tough new anti-litter, public cleansing and hawker legislation; along with a massive publicity campaign co-ordinated by staff from the Government Information Services and Radio Hong Kong. The Information Services produced some 200 designs ranging from booklets to display advertising, and animated films to the posters shown above.
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A symbol of the massive publicity campaign was anti-social 'Lap Sap Chung' (the Cantonese for litterbug), who became Hong Kong's number-one public enemy.
He is shown on these centre pages littering Hong Kong's streets. But as this crowd of youngsters shows, his actions did not go unnoticed.
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.
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By the end of the year, however, Hong Kong's streets were much cleaner as Miss Super Cleans eradicated the infamous Lap Sap Chung once and for all.
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REVIEW
5
sardine-like conditions now look for something better from a society which, though not affluent by international standards, seems affluent to them. In a city of rising standards and rising expectations, it is not a situation that can be accepted readily.
Only a major effort can solve the problem and the determined action that the government proposes is to build on such a scale that, within 10 years, there will be enough permanent homes, self-contained and with good amenities and in a reason- able environment, for everyone in Hong Kong.
When realised, this will mean the virtual disappearance of squatter areas, and the elimination of the worst of overcrowding. This means building homes for 1.8 million in a decade.
Given Hong Kong's grave shortage of land and the fact that almost every avail- able hillside in the urban areas has been terraced for housing sites, it is clear that the bulk of the new housing must be in the New Territories.
But providing new towns is not enough. To be acceptable to their inhabitants, there must be good communications. There must be social facilities. Above all, there must be employment close by.
With this firmly in mind, the new towns will be planned as complete communi- ties. They will have schools, clinics, markets, police, fire and ambulance stations, parks and playgrounds and community centres. There will be sites, too, for private and commercial development.
Even remote areas in the New Territories will share in this plan for a brighter tomorrow. Not only will people in rural areas benefit, but there will be a chance for boat squatters to move ashore.
The new housing programme demands a high degree of efficiency and co- ordination. Unified control and administration will be vested in a single body which will be responsible for planning, administering and constructing all public housing in Hong Kong.
These measures mark the government's determination to give new impetus to the solution of this problem.
New Look for Welfare
In the 1950s, with the population swollen by the influx of people from China, social welfare in Hong Kong was largely a series of uncoordinated emergency opera- tions, providing dry rations and cooked meals as relief for the destitute and those made homeless by fire, flood or typhoon. It was thought then that the bulk of new immigrants would return to their homeland when conditions settled. But they stayed and the problems grew.
Public policy at that time was largely concerned with the creation of wealth. It was believed that the rapid growth of the economy and the accompanying demand for labour would result in higher incomes for the poorer sections of the population. In the event, there was a tendency for social progress to lag behind economic progress.
6
REVIEW
But the situation changed and improved social welfare over the years has marked the extent of that change. Estate community centres were started, family welfare services were reorganised on a regional basis, training centres were set up for the dis- abled, probation and correction services were expanded and refined.
Perhaps the most significant move was the introduction of a government system of public assistance in cash.
Notable though these advances were, they hardly measured up to Hong Kong's requirements in size and scope, but they did provide a sound basis for building a more comprehensive scheme to care for those prevented, through no fault of their own, from sharing the general prosperity.
Such a scheme was launched in October when the government nailed its colours to the masthead with a forward-looking five-year programme for the development of welfare services in which expertise and professionalism will play the dominant part.
The role which voluntary agencies have performed has been invaluable, and they will continue to be indispensable. But the days are over when the qualities of energy, enthusiasm and devotion which many of them brought to the field are in themselves sufficient to meet the needs of the community.
Shortage of trained staff has long haunted Hong Kong's welfare programme and the proposal to set up an institute for social work training will go a long way to banish that spectre. The institute will take its first students in 1973 and will give two-year courses to people entering government or voluntary service. Together with the in-take of social science graduates from the universities it will create a strong corps of professional workers.
The five-year programme, a joint effort by the government and voluntary agencies, is the product of a genuine partnership to plan these improvements. The proposals are concerned with help by cash and service.
The public assistance scheme already in being gives aid to those who do not have adequate means of support. It is now proposed that cash support should also be given to the severely disabled and the elderly infirm and, progressively, to other vulnerable groups. Perhaps the most enlightened feature is that help will be offered regardless of income.
Facilities will be improved for the disabled, including the mentally retarded, especially in the fields of vocational training, job placement, sheltered work and housing. This means that every disabled person in need of assistance will be given the chance to reach a position of social and economic independence in the community.
It is also intended that the elderly should be helped to live at home in the com- munity as long as possible by providing them special services.
Finally, the existing network of community and social centres will be extended so that everyone in Hong Kong will have direct access to them.
REVIEW
7
The plan firmly recommends a non-contributory insurance scheme. This is partly because such a scheme can be set up quickly, partly because it avoids the problems of funding and principally because a contributory scheme such as the one operated in the United Kingdom would not easily be accepted by Hong Kong people.
These proposals, which will bolster the social welfare service and give new hope to those who benefit from them, will cost the government something in the region of $775 million over five years.
Basically, social security means that the state guarantees that people can live secure in the knowledge that they and their children will be protected from the worst effects of adversity. In Hong Kong, there is no codified comprehensive system as in some European and Commonwealth countries. But, in addition to the social welfare services being developed to cater for those in want and for vulnerable groups, there are medical services which are practically free, an educational system which provides free primary education, and subsidised housing without parallel.
In practice, this amounts to a very extensive system of social security based on the principle of assistance to those in need and which affords a sound basis for future development.
Education-Higher and Better
Hong Kong, with nearly half its population under 19, is bursting at the seams with young people eager for schooling. For years, the authorities have been trying to cope with stresses imposed on an educational system that originated in less trau- matic times when the population was a third of its present size. They have had sub- stantial success in some areas. Shortages in the primary field have been eliminated and there is now a free place available for every child in that sector.
Nevertheless, the system has been based on the regrettable but inescapable assumption that there are fewer places in secondary schools than there are students wishing to fill them, and the Secondary School Entrance Examination casts a long shadow over the lives of primary school pupils.
School life is intensely competitive and the emphasis on examinations has pro- duced distortion in both curricula and teaching methods. Unhappily, this has also meant a concentration on narrow scholarship rather than broader human values.
There is the added problem that under Hong Kong's labour laws, children must not work in industry until they are 14.
Hong Kong's education services are already expanding. Taking, for example, the yardstick of expenditure alone, the budget for the financial year 1972-3 is for $519 million compared with the 1969-70 allocation of $370 million.
Now that free primary schooling is available for all, the government is deter- mined to improve the quality of education. It aims to increase the number of secondary school places and so reduce the stringency of the Secondary School Entrance Exami- nation.
8
REVIEW
Already good progress has been made towards giving post-primary education to 50 per cent of all Hong Kong's 12 to 14-year-olds. But this is only a partial objective and the intention is to give three years secondary schooling to all in this age group. This means that 184,000 more assisted places will be provided. About 20,000 of these will be in pre-vocational schools, some will be in government secondary technical schools and some in private school places bought by the government.
It is also planned to double the percentage of places in secondary schools for the full five-year courses leading to a Certificate of Education Examination. This will mean an extra 55,000 places.
To handle the increased demand for technical training, there will be at least four more technical institutes by 1977 with the first two operational by 1975. By 1980, the total number might be as high as eight.
To staff this expansion, the output of the three existing teacher training colleges will be stepped up by 1976.
This programme will go hand in hand with a review of the whole field of second- ary education including curricula and the examination system.
Broadly speaking, the future pattern will be free primary education for all followed by secondary, including technical education, for children up to the age of 14. From that point, the youngster will have available expanded facilities for further secondary education, or he can choose between going into industry or qualifying in a technical institute. Those who opt for work in industry will be able to benefit from technical institutes through apprenticeship courses.
The more prosperous and sophisticated Hong Kong grows, the greater is its need for well qualified young people who can be trained for professional, technical, administrative and executive roles. But the demand for higher education by far outstrips existing facilities. The major expansion in the tertiary field will be at the new Polytechnic with a target of 8,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time students by 1978.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong's two universities will have 6,000 places with the capa- bility of turning out 1,600 graduates a year by 1974 and present plans are to raise that to 8,400 places by 1978. Together with the Polytechnic, this means that by 1978 existing tertiary education facilities will have trebled.
These are bold plans for the future. But to succeed they must be linked to the economic prosperity of Hong Kong that has provided the resources for all that has been done in the past and must provide for everything in the future. Continued economic growth is one of the prerequisites for the well-being of the community.
There is another equally important prerequisite and it is one which until recent years seemed to be taken as a matter of course-a sense of personal safety among the citizens. As in virtually every other community, Hong Kong has experienced an unhealthy increase in robberies with violence, many committed by young people. The suddenness and viciousness of this growth in crime has caused a surge of alarm.
REVIEW
Crime The Creeping Fear
9
More than 120 years ago, when Captain William Caine of Her Majesty's 16th Regiment of Foot organised Hong Kong's first Police Force, crime thrived. High- way robberies and burglaries went on daily-even the governor was robbed-piracy flourished and the menace of Triad societies was everywhere. By nightfall the streets were deserted and police patrolled with loaded muskets.
In an attempt to counter crime, punishment was severe. Flogging was common and the 'cat' was administered freely. Gradually, as police strength grew, the forces of law and order gained the upper hand and, at the turn of the century, the com- munity went about its daily business with a sense of security.
That situation prevailed until relatively recently. But in the last four years there has been a marked increase in crime, particularly violent crime which has risen at the alarming rate of 135 per cent during that period.
The root causes of this state of affairs are complex and there is no easy way to solve the problem.
Whatever the cause might be, it was clear that a creeping fear of violence was beginning to disturb the community, and that it had become a prime duty of the government to redress the situation. As Sir Murray MacLehose pointed out, pros- perity and social progress were of little value unless there was an accompanying feeling of safety and peace of mind. Plans for advances in housing, social welfare, education and increased recreational facilities might have an effect on crime in the long term, but short-term measures were necessary to bring immediate relief. These, it was felt, should be based on the principle of deterrence by fear of detection; and this required both an increased police presence on the streets and improved co- operation from and with the public.
Most important among the measures announced, is a plan to greatly enlarge the auxiliary police force and turn it into a permanent part-time citizens' constabulary which will be deployed on a neighbourhood basis with men patrolling areas in which they live and know intimately. Such a force will go some way to meet the call from some quarters for a vigilante organisation. More important, it should encourage greater public involvement and more responsible public support for the forces of law and order. Of equal importance are plans to raise the strength of the regular force and, by reorganisation, to transfer to the fight against crime as many men as possible whose present jobs could be done by civilians.
Another proposal which aims to improve the quality and quantity of recruitment to the regular police force is the establishment of a cadet school with a curriculum significantly geared to life in a disciplined service. It will offer a two-year course at secondary level to 16 to 18-year-olds.
The legal armoury has also been reinforced. The Crown now has taken the right to appeal against sentences it considers inadequate. A new detention centre has been established to give short, sharp punishment to young offenders.
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REVIEW
In addition, minimum penalties have been introduced for crimes involving weapons or physical violence and police have been given wider powers to stop and search for weapons.
The government is also examining the possibility of a more exacting prison regime for those convicted of violent crime, and the introduction of a system of preventive detention for habitual criminals.
Announcing these proposals, the Attorney General said, 'During the past generation we, in Hong Kong, have prided ourselves upon an increasingly liberal and humane attitude towards the treatment of wrongdoers. More and more emphasis has been put upon the needs and rehabilitation of the offender, rather than upon the legitimate protection of the interests of the community. Generally speaking, our chief aims have been to re-educate rather than to punish the criminal in the hope that he will re-enter society and make a useful contribution to it, and also to deter others from behaving in a similar manner. It is a matter of regret that the time has come for us to take a harsher view'.
In the final analysis the confidence of the public is more important than the rehabilitation and the personal circumstances of a particular offender.
The Future
Unlike the problem of crime, which can only be tackled within the community, the economic prosperity of Hong Kong depends very much on external factors beyond its control. The resourcefulness of the people and the government's determination to create an environment that encourages individual enterprise and high productivity cannot alone guarantee that prosperity.
Hong Kong could never have achieved its present place as a manufacturing force in the world unless other countries were willing and able to buy its exports.
Hong Kong owes much of its success to the fact that it was among the first of the developing territories in the region to industrialise after the second world war. This gave it a head start in the markets of the world, especially in the markets of advanced countries. Nowadays there is no doubt that it is in these countries that Hong Kong finds its most lucrative markets. Some 45 per cent of its exports go to North America, about 30 per cent go to the enlarged European Economic Community, including Britain, and eight per cent go to Japan and Australia. It is clearly on the spending power of these countries and their willingness to buy, that Hong Kong's future prosperity rests.
The present and future of Hong Kong depends on overseas trade to an extent not parallelled elsewhere. Hong Kong is no longer alone in selling good quality, low-price textiles and consumer goods overseas. Other suppliers, particularly Taiwan, South Korea, and to a lesser extent Singapore, are becoming serious competitors in some fields with, in the case of Taiwan and South Korea, advantages of lower wage rates and lower costs.
The vital question for the future is: Will Hong Kong's economy continue to expand at the same pace? This will depend to a large extent on conditions in world
REVIEW
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trade. Just as Hong Kong benefits in a period of strong expansion of international trade, it is vulnerable if there is any contraction. But it is encouraging that the economy has come tolerably well through a year which witnessed a realignment of the world's major currencies, the floating of the pound sterling and the imposition of additional textile restrictions in some of Hong Kong's most important markets.
The fact that Hong Kong was able to weather two monetary crises in the course of a year with its exchange value more or less unimpaired is a sign of the strength and stability of the economy which sustains it.
One thing is certain. The days of easy expansion are over. Advances must be along the more difficult route of manufacturing more high quality, better designed goods using the same work force, but at a higher rate of productivity. The major hope for the future lies in Hong Kong industry's proven flexibility and ability to grasp new opportunities and adapt to changing conditions. That is not a vain hope.
In planning for Hong Kong's development over the next decade, the government is determined to set targets which can be achieved, while maintaining financial flexibility. In the final analysis, Hong Kong's competitive position in export markets must have priority.
Despite an awareness of possible problems ahead, there is a mood of excitement and optimism in Hong Kong. This is spurred on to a great extent by reduced tensions in the Western Pacific and China's increasingly friendly international relationships. It is bolstered by past experience in accepting and facing great challenges.
The prospects of a 'better tomorrow' for Hong Kong are bright.
2
Industry and Trade
HONG KONG's industrial and commercial sectors continued to expand in 1972. Al- though external trade registered the highest annual total ever recorded, the rate of growth in domestic exports slowed down to 10.9 per cent. Nevertheless, this must be considered satisfactory in view of the generally uncertain trading conditions created by the disturbed international currency situation, along with the increased protec- tionism and soft market conditions which continued to prevail in a number of Hong Kong's major markets. Provided the international trading climate does not deteriorate, Hong Kong should be able to maintain the progress recorded in 1972.
Many factors have contributed to give Hong Kong its international reputation as a leading manufacturing and commercial centre within Asia. Among them, an economic policy of free enterprise and free trade, an industrious work force, a sophis- ticated commercial infrastructure, a modern and efficient seaport, a strategically located airport, and excellent worldwide communications. Its access to markets in North America and close traditional trading links with Britain have also boosted Hong Kong's prosperity.
Hong Kong is probably the only territory still completely faithful to liberal economic policies of free enterprise and free trade. There are no import tariffs, and revenue duties are levied only in respect of locally manufactured or imported tobacco, alcoholic liquors, table waters and some hydrocarbon oils. Duty is also payable on first registration of motor vehicles.
Economic planning is not a function of the government except in the very broadest sense. Apart from provision of the infrastructure, either through direct services or by co-operation with public utility companies and autonomous bodies, the government's role remains one of providing a suitable and stable framework within which commerce and industry can function efficiently and effectively with a minimum of interference. The government intervenes in economic processes only in response to the pressure of over-riding economic or social events. There is also no protection or subsidisation of manufactures.
The cornerstone of Hong Kong's commercial policy is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), of which Hong Kong is a contracting party by virtue of the United Kingdom's membership. Developments in international commercial policy in and through the GATT are of vital importance to Hong Kong because of the possible impact on external trade, which in turn affects Hong Kong's industry and employment.
Hong Kong continues to participate in the Cotton Textiles Arrangement (CTA) which aims not only at increasing the export possibilities for cotton textiles of less
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
13
developed countries, but also at avoiding disruptive conditions in import markets. Under the CTA, Hong Kong has entered into a number of agreements with govern- ments of developed countries, restraining exports of various types of cotton textiles to stipulated levels and under certain conditions.
Also of importance to Hong Kong in varying degrees are the activities of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE)-of which Hong Kong is an associate member-the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-Hong Kong is a member of the last two of these in its own right.
All these matters, in both their external and internal aspects, are the concern of the Economic Branch of the Colonial Secretariat in terms of higher policy and of the Commerce and Industry Department at the advisory and executive levels.
On matters of policy affecting trade and industry other than textiles, the Director of Commerce and Industry takes advice from the Trade and Industry Advisory Board of which he is chairman. This is a body of senior unofficial representatives of com- merce, industry, banking, insurance etc, nominated by the Governor, which meets once a month. The Textiles Advisory Board, a more specialised board also chaired by the Director, is consulted on matters affecting the textiles industry. It met on 43 occasions during 1972.
Industry
Light industry predominates in Hong Kong and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. A considerable variety of high quality goods is now produced. However, rising labour costs, competition from other low-cost countries in Asia, active consumer protection activities in Hong Kong's major overseas markets and additional restraints on Hong Kong's textile trade, have continued to make manufacturers aware of the benefits to be gained from higher productivity and diversification into more sophisticated product lines and new industries. An increased level of foreign invest- ment has brought several of these new product areas and industries to Hong Kong. Local manufacturers are also keenly aware of changing trading conditions and, with the assistance of the several institutional organisations supporting industry, are con- stantly upgrading their production, management and marketing techniques.
Textiles
The textile industry not only dominates Hong Kong's economy, accounting for 50 per cent of its domestic exports and 46 per cent of its industrial labour force, but is also a significant factor in international trade in textiles. This situation is likely to continue for some time despite the fact that the total number of export restraint agree- ments now in force will severely limit the industry's future growth rate.
The spinning mills, operating some 925,200 spindles, are among the most modern in the world. In 1972, production of cotton yarn was 250 million pounds, compared
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
with 308 million pounds in 1971. This figure would have been higher but for substantial quantities of cotton yarn imported from Pakistan at prices lower than those at which Hong Kong mills could obtain raw cotton. Although this led to an appeal for protec- tion from the industry, the government did not feel that the circumstances warranted a departure from the existing free trade policy. Responding to changing consumer fashions, there was, however, a substantial upsurge in the production of man-made fibre yarn and cotton/man-made fibre blended yarns: production increased by 33 per cent to 69 million pounds. Woollen and worsted yarn production also increased with production reaching 22 million pounds. Most of the yarn production of all fibres was consumed by local weavers.
The weaving sector, with 25,000 looms, produces fabrics of various fibres and blends. Total production decreased by 14 per cent to 761 million square yards in 1972, of which 81 per cent was of cotton, 16 per cent man-made fibres or blends containing such fibres, and 0.3 per cent wool. Although demand for cotton piecegoods continued to be strong, a significant shift to man-made fibres, and cotton/man-made fibre blended fabrics was experienced, again in line with changing consumer fashions.
In the knitting sector, exports of fabrics registered a sharp increase of 100 per cent to 120 million pounds in 1972. Knitted fabrics of cotton took up 24 per cent of the total. As a result of changing fashions, particularly in North America, man-made fibre knitted fabrics assumed much greater importance than previously and accounted for 76 per cent of total knitted fabrics exports, while woollen fabrics constituted a mere 0.3 per cent. A substantial part of knitted fabrics of all fibres was consumed by local clothing manufacturers.
The finishing sector continued to handle an ever-increasing yardage of fabrics for bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing by various other processes. New machin- ery operating at low temperatures has been imported on a significant scale to cater particularly for the finishing of man-made fibre fabrics.
The manufacture of clothing continued to be the largest sector of the textile industry, with 2,687 establishments employing 124,496 workers, and producing a wide variety of high quality items. With fashion knitwear becoming extremely popular, Hong Kong managed to secure a growing share of this market overseas. In 1972, the textile industry accounted for $6,113 million in domestic exports, an increase of 12 per cent over 1971.
The export restraint agreement concluded with the United States Government in respect of non-cotton textile products, and the agreement concluded with the British Government covering polyester/cotton items, both had serious effects on the re- equipment plans of the textile industry as a whole. Several companies which had made substantial investments in new machinery, or which had planned to do so, found themselves with insufficient quotas to meet their planned production schedules. This situation led to cancellations or scaling-down of re-equipment plans, particularly in respect of companies operating in the man-made fibre sector which, in line with changing consumer tastes, had until now enjoyed rapid growth. However, with the conclusion of these major restraint agreements, companies can now afford to plan
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
15
ahead on a firmer base, although the opportunity for future expansion of the industry as a whole is limited by the restraint agreements now in force.
Other Light Industries
The majority of Hong Kong's light industries have enjoyed continued expansion. Second in importance to textiles, the plastics industry accounts for 11 per cent of domestic exports and 13 per cent of the industrial labour force. Many plastics factories employ the latest equipment, with many injection and extrusion machines now being manufactured locally. Much of the industry's production was accounted for by novel- ties, dolls and toys; with the design and quality being up to the highest world standards, Hong Kong now ranks among the world leaders in the toy industry. In addition to plastic flowers and fruits, a wide variety of household requisites was produced, ranging from heat-insulated plastic tumblers and jugs to furniture made of polypropylene and fibreglass reinforced plastic. The 3,235 establishments in the industry employed 72,124 workers and contributed $1,710 million to domestic exports in 1972.
The electronics industry has continued to develop rapidly. It accounted for 9.0 per cent of the industrial labour force in 1972. The products manufactured covered a wide range of hardware items, such as computer memory systems, transistors and integrated circuits; and consumer items, such as transistor radios, television sets, casette tape recorders, desk electronic calculators and radio-controlled toys. Employ- ing 49,772 workers, the 305 establishments contributed $1,719 million to domestic exports in 1972.
A serious decline in the demand for wigs continued. The industry is going through a complicated process of re-structuring and consolidation brought about by a con- traction in Hong Kong's principal overseas markets. Nevertheless, the industry still remained a sizeable one, employing some 9,433 workers in 194 establishments. Domestic exports in 1972 were valued at $224 million, a decrease of 58 per cent over total wig exports in 1971.
Other light industries of significance are footwear, metal products, watches and clocks, food manufactures and travel goods.
A degree of diversification of products has taken place within the light manu- facturing sector of Hong Kong's industry. Further diversification is possible but this will be dictated by the general state of world trade and international demand for light industrial products, along with Hong Kong's continuing ability to supply prod- ucts of good quality and design, at competitive prices.
Heavy and Service Industries
Hong Kong's heavy industry has developed in response to the need for port facilities, servicing and accommodation. Severe international competition in what is clearly a highly competitive industry, prompted the two major dockyards to enter into a merger during the year, with a view to achieving greater efficiency and higher productivity. This move should ensure that Hong Kong will remain a significant ship-repair centre in the Asian region.
HONG KONG PUBLIC LIBRARIES
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The steel rolling industry had a satisfactory year. Production of reinforced bars and rods remained steady, despite limited supplies of raw materials, rising labour costs and keen competition from neighbouring-country suppliers. With the more intensive building programme envisaged by the government and private sector, this industry should continue to prosper.
The aircraft engineering industry, maintaining its very high reputation, provided maintenance and repair facilities for most airlines operating in the Asian region.
The manufacture of machinery, machine tools and parts is developing, with Hong Kong-made machine tools now being exported worldwide. Of particular importance are blow moulding and injection moulding machines of up to 80 oz capacity for the plastics industry, along with power presses, lathes and printing presses.
Industrial Investment Promotion
The Hong Kong Government welcomes foreign investment in local manufactur- ing industry and the Commerce and Industry Department works closely with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council to increase the level of foreign participation by active promotional work. The main joint effort for the year concerned a mission of Hong Kong industrialists and officials which visited Sweden in April to explain the advantages of setting up manufacturing facilities in Hong Kong. This was followed up by an inward mission of Swedish industrialists to Hong Kong in November to examine local investment possibilities.
At the end of 1972, there were 250 factories in Hong Kong either fully or partly owned by foreign interests. These establishments employed a total labour force of about 73,300 or 13 per cent of total employment in Hong Kong's manufacturing industry. The total investment involved was in the region of $1,200 million. The main sources of foreign investment continued to be the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland and West Germany, with the industries mostly involved being textiles and electronics.
Industrial Land
The demand for industrial land continues to grow, and a large number of sites were sold in Wong Chuk Hang, Kwai Chung and Castle Peak (known locally as Tuen Mun) in consequence. Prices obtained exceeded the upset prices proving that manufacturers were not unwilling to move into outlying areas, such as Castle Peak. This trend augurs well for the future industrial development of that area.
A significant number of flatted industrial buildings were completed in 1972. Coupled with the equally significant number completed towards the end of 1971, they provided a welcome addition to available factory space and also contributed to the stabilisation of rents.
The construction of the first berth of the container terminal at Kwai Chung was completed, while two other berths are expected to be operational by April 1973.
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17
Development plans for Tsing Yi Island, Kowloon Bay, Chai Wan, Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau are also in hand. Development at Tsing Yi, which has been des- ignated for heavy industry, will be greatly facilitated by the Tsing Yi Bridge (link- ing the island with Kwai Chung) which is due for completion towards the end of 1973. Reclamation at Kowloon Bay will also provide more land for industry, but development in this area is subject to height restrictions due to the proximity of Kai Tak International Airport.
External Trade
External trade expanded less rapidly in 1972 compared with previous years due to increases of only 7 per cent in imports and 11 per cent in domestic exports. Summary trade statistics, including a breakdown by countries and commodities and compari- sons with the previous year are contained in Appendices 3 and 4.
Hong Kong continued to rely heavily on imports to meet the needs of its 4.1 million people and the extensive requirements of its diverse industries. In 1972, imports were valued at $21,764 million, an increase of $1,508 million over the pre- vious year. Although domestic supplies of agricultural produce and fish were sub- stantial, the ever-increasing consumption of food had to be met from imports. Food accounted for 17 per cent of all imports and consisted mainly of fruit and vegetables, live animals, rice and other cereal, fish and fish preparations, meat and meat prepa- rations and dairy products and eggs. Imports of raw materials and semi-manufact- ured goods for industry included textile fibres, yarn and fabrics, base metals, plastic moulding materials, and paper and paper board. Capital goods imported consisted largely of machinery and transport equipment, while consumer goods and mineral fuels were also imported in large quantities.
The sources of imports are determined by proximity, prices, speed of delivery and traditional trade relationships. Japan continued to be the principal supplier in 1972, providing 23 per cent of all imports. Imports from China, the second largest supplier, accounted for 18 per cent of imports from all sources and 49 per cent of all food imports. Imports from the United States represented 12 per cent of all imports. Other important sources of imports were Britain, Taiwan, the Federal Republic of Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, Pakistan and Australia.
In 1972, domestic exports rose by $1,495 million to reach a value of $15,245 million, and consisted almost entirely of manufactured goods. The principal exports were textiles and clothing which accounted for 50 per cent of overall exports, but sales of miscellaneous manufactured articles, mainly plastic toys and dolls, artificial flowers, jewellery and goldsmiths' and silversmiths' wares, and wigs made up a further 19 per cent. Other light industrial products such as transistorised radios and elec- tronic components, metal manufactures, footwear, travel goods, and watches and clocks were also important exports.
The direction of Hong Kong's export trade is nowadays influenced less by such factors as tariff preference in Commonwealth markets than by economic conditions and commercial policies in principal markets. In 1972, 65 per cent of all domestic
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
exports by value went to three markets-the United States, Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany. The United States, which remained the largest market, took 40 per cent by value, Britain accounted for a further 14 per cent and the Federal Republic of Germany absorbed 10 per cent. Other important markets were Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Netherlands, Sweden and Taiwan.
The entrepôt trade has sustained its role in Hong Kong. Re-exports totalled $4,154 million in value in 1972, an increase of 22 per cent over the previous year. This was 21 per cent of the total combined value of exports of Hong Kong manu- factures and re-exports of imported goods. Japan remained the most important re- export market, followed by Singapore, the United States and Taiwan. The principal commodities re-exported were diamonds, medicinal and pharmaceutical products, watches and clocks, textiles and clothing, machinery, dyeing, tanning and colouring materials, and coffee.
International Economic Relations
As the United Kingdom has acceded to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on behalf of Hong Kong, the latter's exports are given 'most-favoured- nation' tariff treatment in the majority of its overseas markets; they are also accorded a degree of protection against discriminatory import restrictions by members of the GATT. Nevertheless, difficulties do occur from time to time, and the Commerce and Industry Department is responsible for such action as is necessary and practicable at official level to resolve them.
The GATT Committee on Trade in Industrial Products drafted guidelines and rules of conduct regarding customs valuation, licensing procedures and consular endorsements, standards, and export subsidies which are now under consideration by participating governments. A Working Party on the Tariff Study prepared a pre- liminary analysis of the post Kennedy Round tariff situation in major developed countries. The Group on Residual Restrictions and the Joint Working Group ex- amined and considered possibilities of eliminating various residual import restrictions which were still maintained contrary to the provisions of the GATT. The 'Group of Three' formulated proposals to deal with the trade problems of developing countries in the market of developed countries. A Working Party on Trade in Textiles was formed and is expected to complete its fact-finding study and issue a report in early 1973. The Commerce and Industry Department followed and participated in some of these deliberations, which were of considerable interest to Hong Kong, and was kept fully informed by its Assistant Director in Geneva.
The year saw the introduction of a generalised preference scheme for develop- ing countries by the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland and Denmark on January 1, Switzerland on March 1 and Austria on April 1. Finland and Denmark limited their schemes to the UNCTAD 'Group of 77' developing countries, thereby excluding Hong Kong but promised to consider their possible wider extension at a later stage. Hong Kong was included in all the other schemes, but in the case of Austria and Japan, an exclusion list of products was applied solely to Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong was included in the second phase of the Japanese scheme on April 1 with a discriminatory exclusion list of 96 items representing over 50 per cent of Hong Kong's principal exports to Japan. Strenuous efforts were made by the British Government and the Hong Kong Government with a view to eliminating the discrimination against Hong Kong. Following the British Prime Minister's visit to Tokyo in September, the Japanese Government undertook to review in the near future the Hong Kong exclusion list.
Hong Kong's claim to be considered a beneficiary under the various schemes has been formally stated by the British Government and every effort continues to be made to ensure that Hong Kong's interests are safeguarded.
Australia: Following consultations in Hong Kong with Australian officials in July 1972, the Hong Kong Government agreed to restrain exports of certain cotton denims to Australia for a period of one year beginning September 1, 1972. The export authorisation system in respect of exports of certain cotton drills to Australia expired on June 30, 1972 and was allowed to lapse.
On September 1, 1972, the Australian Government announced the introduction of tariff quotas on imports of woven shirts, knitted shirts and blouses and knitted outerwear during the period September 1, 1972 to June 30, 1974. Imports within the tariff quotas would be subject to the lower rates of duty recommended in the Tariff Board Reports of September 1971. Imports in excess of the tariff quotas would be subject to an extra duty of A$7 per kilogram.
Austria: On April 1, the Austrian Government introduced its generalised pref- erence scheme with Hong Kong included as a beneficiary. The scheme provided for unlimited entry at reduced tariff rates for agricultural products and a number of manufactured goods, with Hong Kong excluded from preferences on footwear and a range of textile items.
Canada: In May 1972, consultations were held with officials of the Canadian Government regarding Hong Kong's exports of certain woven and knitted shirts to Canada. As a result of these consultations, and following the expiry on September 30, 1972 of the 1971-2 Hong Kong/Canada textiles agreement, a new system of control in respect of shirts was implemented whereby only 77 per cent of the 1971-2 annual level of restricted trade was subject to export control. In addition there was an un- reserved global quota on shirts which was administered by the Canadian authorities. Hong Kong was given the right, during the new restraint period, to participate in this global quota.
Following consultations in Ottawa in June 1972, the Hong Kong/Canada textiles agreement was renewed for a further year. The restraint on cotton woven nightwear was lifted and was replaced by an export authorisation arrangement. Exports of bed sheets and pillow cases also became subject to export authorisations.
Denmark: Consultations with representatives of the Danish Government on Hong Kong's exports of shirts took place in January. Following these discussions, Hong Kong unilaterally undertook to restrain exports to Denmark of tailored shirts of cotton and man-made fibres during the period January 1 to December 31, 1972.
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The European Economic Community: In 1972, exports of all cotton textiles other than yarns to the six Member States of the European Economic Community con- tinued to be limited under the Hong Kong/EEC Cotton Textiles Agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Hong Kong undertook to restrain exports of some finished fabrics and made-ups and apparel items to agreed limits. For certain grey and bleached fabrics, however, a separate arrangement has been instituted whereby the limits are only to be determined under agreed conditions following consultations between the EEC and Hong Kong. In October 1972, consultations were held in Brussels at the request of the European Economic Community on exports of grey and bleached fabrics, and on the conversion factors applied by Hong Kong in respect of woven cotton trousers exported under the provisions of this agreement. Following these discussions a limit on exports of grey and bleached fabrics was determined, and modifications to the conversion factors for woven cotton trousers introduced.
During the year, further progress was made by the European Economic Com- munity in achieving a Common Commercial Policy covering all aspects of the external trade of Member States. The Hong Kong Government continued to watch these developments closely and to examine the implications for Hong Kong of all new regulations issued regarding the implementation of a Common Commercial Policy.
Republic of Ireland: On January 1, the Government of the Republic of Ireland introduced its generalised preference scheme for developing countries and dependent territories including Hong Kong. This scheme provided for unlimited entry at reduced tariff rates for manufactured goods, with the exception of textile manufactures.
Norway: The agreement whereby Hong Kong undertook to restrain exports to Norway of six categories of cotton and non-cotton garments in the period November 1, 1970 to June 30, 1972 was extended to December 31, 1972 by an exchange of letters in May and June.
Sweden: On January 1, Sweden introduced its generalised preference scheme for developing countries and dependent territories including Hong Kong. The Swedish scheme provided for unlimited duty-free entry for certain agricultural and manu- factured products with the exception of a range of textile items and footwear.
Consultations with representatives of the Swedish Government on Hong Kong's exports of cotton and non-cotton textiles took place in May, resulting in an agreement whereby Hong Kong undertook to restrain exports to Sweden of six groups of garments in the period July 1, 1972 to June 30, 1973.
United Kingdom: On January 1, the United Kingdom introduced its generalised preference scheme for developing countries. Hong Kong is a beneficiary of the scheme.
As from January 1, imports into the United Kingdom of cotton yarn and woven cotton textiles were subject to new Commonwealth Preference rates of duty. The new Commonwealth Preference rates of duty are generally 85 per cent of the full rate.
On January 22, the United Kingdom (together with Ireland, Denmark and Norway) signed the Treaty of Accession concerning its entry into the European
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Communities. The United Kingdom became a full member of the European Com- munities as from January 1, 1973.
In September, the Rt Hon Geoffrey Rippon, QC, MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister who was responsible for the United Kingdom's negotia- tions to join the European Communities, visited Hong Kong in the course of a tour of a number of Commonwealth countries to discuss Britain's accession to the European Communities and its effects on the countries concerned.
The United Kingdom's entry into the European Communities from January 1, 1973 will have important implications for Hong Kong. Commonwealth Preference will gradually be abolished. The United Kingdom will have to adapt its Generalised Preference Scheme to that of the enlarged European Economic Community on January 1, 1974. It will also have to comply with the Regulations and Directives adopted by the European Economic Community to achieve a Common Commercial Policy. During the year, the Hong Kong Government continued its study of the likely effects on Hong Kong of Britain's entry into the European Communities.
In early January, a delegation from Hong Kong led by the Financial Secretary had discussions with the British Government in London to consider the United Kingdom's sudden change of policy to reinstate quotas and at the same time impose a tariff on imports of cotton woven textiles from Hong Kong. Following these dis- cussions, Hong Kong agreed to continue with the restraint on cotton woven textiles exports to Britain in 1972.
Having regard to the United Kingdom's position as a member of the European Economic Community as from January 1, 1973, further consultations were held between the two governments in London in June to consider a new restraint arrange- ment for cotton woven textiles for 1973.
At the request of the British Government, further consultations were held in Hong Kong in August, and then in London in September and October, to consider a restraint arrangement for the export of woven polyester/cotton textiles from Hong Kong. An agreement was subsequently concluded whereby Hong Kong undertook to limit the export of woven polyester/cotton fabrics, garments and made-ups to Britain for a period of 15 months from October 1, 1972.
In the course of these negotiations, the United Kingdom accepted Hong Kong's doctrinal position regarding the single market concept and agreed to the merging of the cotton and polyester/cotton quota limits under one combined limit. On the other hand, Hong Kong recognised the particular difficulties of the British industry, and agreed that the limits would not be shipped exclusively in either cotton or polyester/ cotton textiles. These limitations were expressed as sub-limits on cotton and polyester/ cotton within the combined aggregate limit.
United States of America: Exports of cotton textiles to the United States con- tinued to be restrained under a three-year agreement which commenced on October 1, 1970. The restraint limit for the textile year 1971-2 represented an increase of five per cent over that of the previous year.
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The formal US/Hong Kong Man-made Fibre and Wool Textiles Agreement was signed on January 6, 1972. Under the terms of this agreement, Hong Kong agreed to restrain its exports of wool and man-made fibre textiles to the United States for a period of five years, commencing October 1, 1971.
In accordance with the provisions of the agreements, consultations were held with the United States Government on a number of items including man-made fibre knit fabrics, where consultation levels had been reached.
Documentation of Exports
Import and export licensing formalities are kept to a minimum consistent with Hong Kong's international obligations. The most complex formalities are those resulting from Hong Kong's obligations to restrain certain exports of textile products.
With Hong Kong's economic dependence upon the export of manufactured goods, most of them made from imported materials, and the concurrent existence of a substantial re-export trade, the operation of an origin certification system satis- factory to overseas customs authorities is vitally important. The Commerce and Industry Department issues certificates of origin and accepts the responsibility for safeguarding the integrity of the entire Hong Kong certification system. To this end, close liaison is maintained with overseas authorities and with the authorised non- government certificate-issuing bodies, i.e. the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Hong Kong In- dustries, and the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong. The value of domestic exports covered by certificates of Hong Kong origin issued by the five organisations during the year was $9,877 million. Of this, $5,084 million represented the value of exports supported by departmental certificates of origin.
Britain and a number of other Commonwealth countries grant preferential rates of duty to Hong Kong products. In order to support claims to preference, the depart- ment issues Commonwealth Preference Certificates against legal undertakings given by manufacturers to use only Commonwealth raw materials or detailed cost state- ments prepared by accountants authorised for the purpose. The value of goods exported under these certificates during the year was $1,598 million. However, the value of this trade is likely to decline significantly over the next few years as Britain, now having entered the European Economic Community, has announced that it will phase out the present Commonwealth preferential rates of duty completely by the middle of 1977.
Following the introduction of the European Economic Community's Generalised System of Preferences in favour of developing countries on July 1, 1971, a number of other donor countries put their schemes into operation in 1972, including them were the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Japan. Hong Kong is a beneficiary under all these schemes. The value of exports in 1972 covered by Generalised Preference Certificates, which in Hong Kong are issued only by the Commerce and Industry Department, amounted to $658 million.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
23
An estimated 77.4 per cent of Hong Kong's domestic exports were covered by certificates of origin of one type or another; 46.8 per cent of them by the department's certificates.
Administration
The Commerce and Industry Department's responsibilities include overseas commercial relations, industrial development, origin certification, trade controls and the collection and protection of revenue from dutiable commodities. Its work is complemented by several autonomous institutions either wholly or partly financed by public funds, whose functions and activities are outlined in subsequent sections.
There are two Commercial Relations Divisions in the department, which collect and disseminate information on trade policy measures by other countries that may affect Hong Kong, and keep in touch with the activities of international organisa- tions. The divisions are also responsible for conducting Hong Kong's trade negotia- tions with other governments and for implementing the agreements reached. This involves the calculation and allocation of textile quotas and the operation of export control procedures.
The department's three overseas offices in Brussels, Washington and Geneva are almost entirely concerned with commercial relations work and provide up-to-date information on international matters which are likely to affect Hong Kong. Similar work is undertaken by the Hong Kong Government Office in London.
The Industry Division provides a liaison between industry and other government departments, answers industrial enquiries from overseas and deals with specific in- dustrial problems. It also operates the UNCTAD generalised preferences scheme, as well as certificate of origin and Commonwealth preference procedures. A trade investigation service enforces these procedures through the regular inspection of factories and goods and the prosecution of those suspected of contravening the relevant regulations, apart from handling trade complaints.
The Preventive Service, a uniformed and disciplined organisation, whose role in the protection of revenue from dutiable commodities and the control of narcotics traffic is described in Chapter 10, is under the command of an Assistant Commis- sioner. The service has an establishment of 13 gazetted officers, 288 inspectors and 754 rank and file. On June 1, an officer in the public service was appointed to one of the two posts of Senior Superintendent (formerly designated Chief Preventive Officer). During the year, 29 Revenue Inspectors and 82 Assistant Revenue Officers were recruited and on completion of their induction training were posted to the various operational commands. At the end of the year, 54 officers were undergoing refresher or induction training.
During the year, improvements and extensions were made to several Preventive Service stations. In Kowloon, new married quarters for 229 rank and file were officially opened on October 6, by the then Commissioner, Mr J. Cater, MBE, and construction of the new training school at Tai Lam Chung was in process. Eighteen mechanised baggage examination counters were installed in the Customs area at
24
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Hong Kong International Airport. These have been instrumental in speeding up the processing of passengers and their effects. The General Duties Branch deals with trade licensing (other than for textiles) and the control of certain reserved com- modities including rice.
Trade Development Council
The Trade Development Council (TDC) was established by statute in 1966 'to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's overseas trade, with particular reference to exports'. The council's chairman is appointed by the Governor. Its members consist of representatives of principal commercial and industrial organisations, two senior government officials and four nominated members. The work of the council's executive is financed by subvention from the general revenue.
At the end of the year under review, TDC's main office which includes a perma- nent display of Hong Kong products moved from the Ocean Terminal, Kowloon, to the new Connaught Centre Building, Hong Kong. The council's network of overseas offices was further extended with the opening of new offices in Manchester, Milan, Hamburg and Amsterdam. Offices overseas which provide extensive trade services for Hong Kong and foreign businessmen now number 15. Others are located in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Brussels, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Tokyo and Sydney.
The programme of overseas promotional activities in 1972 was the most extensive so far undertaken, covering a total of 36 separate projects. Participation of Hong Kong manufacturers and exporters was organised at a number of general and specialised trade fairs, the Milan Comis Tricot knitwear fair, Nuremburg International Toy Fair, Cologne Household Goods Fair, Dusseldorf IGEDO fashion fair, Frankfurt General Fair, the International Mens and Boys Wear Exhibition (IMBEX) in London, the Leipzig International Trade Fair, and New York's international toy and jewellery fairs. Pilot projects took place at a number of trade fairs in East Europe, at the Paris Pret a Porter and at the Tokyo International Toy Fair. In addition, outward trade missions visited the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Australia, Japan, Malaysia/ Singapore, selected African countries, and, on two occasions, the United States. Inward missions were drawn from Italy, West Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Britain and the United States.
In Hong Kong, the Trade Development Council participated in the annual CMA Exhibition of Hong Kong Products, and organised the fifth annual Hong Kong Ready to Wear festival in March which attracted buyers from many countries.
The overseas circulation of the council's trade publications increased during the year. The chief of these are the monthly magazine 'Enterprise' which is sent to more than 100 countries, 'Apparel' which is published twice yearly and "Toys' which is produced annually. Other TDC publications circulated overseas include 'Hong Kong for the Businessman' and 'Industrial Investment Hong Kong' (produced in collabora- tion with the Department of Commerce and Industry). During the year, the council completed its first film which was well received by overseas audiences.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation
25
The corporation's function is to insure exporters against losses due to non-receipt of payment of their overseas accounts due to causes which are not normally insurable commercially. Its liabilities are guaranteed by the government and it is authorised to assume liabilities up to $1,000 million at any one time. It is at the same time required to pursue a policy directed towards securing revenue sufficient to meet all its expendi- ture properly chargeable to revenue.
As a member of the international association of export credit insurers (the Berne Union) regular contacts, especially with the Export Credits Guarantee Department of Britain, help in keeping the corporation's support for Hong Kong exporters ahead of needs.
The corporation's protection against the mounting risks of non-payment by overseas buyers and countries is gradually achieving--among Hong Kong exporting companies-the importance attached to this specialised form of insurance by exporters of other trading nations, for whom export credit cover has become an essential factor in commercial life.
The business of the corporation continued to grow in line with the growth in Hong Kong's external trade and, in the short time since its inception in 1966, it has insured exports of over $4,000 million and paid claims totalling about $13 million.
Substantial claims were paid during the year due to delays in the transfer of pay- ments from overseas, particularly from Ghana. These claims, together with claims for losses due to payment defaults by overseas buyers, resulted in an underwriting loss on the year's operations.
The corporation is advised in the conduct of its business by an Advisory Board consisting of the Director of Commerce and Industry or his representative, the Ex- ecutive Director of the Trade Development Council or his representative and 10 other members who are leaders of the banking and business community appointed by the Governor. The Board held four meetings during the year. One of the many questions of policy on which the Board's advice was sought was the need to introduce measures to facilitate the financing of medium term export business.
Hong Kong Productivity Council
The Hong Kong Productivity Council was established by statute in January 1967. The council comprises a chairman and 20 members all appointed by the Governor, of whom 10 members represent management, labour, academic and professional in- terests; while the other 10 members represent government departments closely associ- ated with productivity matters.
The executive instrument of the council is the Hong Kong Productivity Centre which was formally established on April 1, 1967. The centre co-ordinates the activities of persons and organisations engaged in the study and development of productivity techniques in industry; collects and disseminates information relating to productivity; and provides training in productivity techniques.
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
The centre's premises in Gloucester Building comprise administrative offices, three lecture rooms and EDP facilities. In order to bring the centre's services as close to industry as possible, two branch premises were acquired in Kwun Tong with a com- bined area of 16,500 square feet comprising two lecture rooms, consultancy and re- search offices, an audio-visual unit, a technical reference library, a chemical laboratory and a low-cost automation unit which is the first of its kind established in Hong Kong.
The centre completed its first five years of operation at the end of March 1972. During these five years, the centre provided training to over 7,000 persons, undertook 126 industrial and technology projects, organised nine overseas study missions, built up a library of 2,800 books on management and technology, promoted a better understanding of productivity among both managers and workers, and disseminated information on productivity matters on a regular basis.
During the year under review, the centre continued to maintain its impetus, with facilities being utilised to the full. With more technical expertise becoming available, increased emphasis was placed on industrial technology in the field of training and technical assistance within enterprises.
The newly established low-cost automation unit continued to make satisfactory progress and apart from providing training and consultancy services, the centre or- ganised two one-week exhibitions on low-cost automation equipment in November and December 1972, respectively.
Following the announcement by the government that the Loans for Small In- dustries Scheme had been accepted in principle, the centre set up a special unit within the Small Industries Services in August 1972 to undertake technical feasibility studies of loans applications.
Towards the end of the year, the Productivity Council published its Second Five Year Plan covering the period 1972-3 to 1976-7. Over the next five years, the Hong Kong Productivity Centre plans to implement 1,000 training courses, with especial emphasis on technology programmes, for 20,000 industrial personnel and to provide a total of 18,000 man-days of consultancy services and technical assistance to industry.
The government has been for some years a member of the Asian Productivity Organisation. The present deputy chairman of the Productivity Council has been appointed by the Governor as Hong Kong's director on the governing body of APO and the executive director of the Productivity Centre as alternate director.
As a member of the Asian Productivity Organisation, Hong Kong was represented at the 12th Workshop Meeting of Directors of National Productivity Centre of the APO in Tokyo in April 1972, and at the 14th Governing Body Meeting of the APO in Tokyo in May 1972.
During the year under review, Hong Kong continued to take an active interest in productivity activities organised by the APO, especially in industrial management and engineering training programmes and industry study missions.
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Trade and Industrial Organisations
27
Founded more than a century ago, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Com- merce is the earliest established trade association in Hong Kong. Its membership stood at 2,121 as at end of 1972. It is an association representing all branches of commerce and industry, and is represented on a number of government boards and committees; it is also a member of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Federa- tion of Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce.
The Federation of Hong Kong Industries, established by ordinance in 1960, devotes much of its efforts towards helping to create an infrastructure to assist Hong Kong industry in its growth. Its membership represents all industries, many nation- alities and all sizes of enterprise. Among the services which it offers on a community basis are its Standards Centre and its Testing Laboratories for textiles, plastic and electrical products. To encourage the development of better industrial design in Hong Kong, the Industrial Design Council of the federation has instituted two awards for Hong Kong designed products: The Governor's Award for Hong Kong Design and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries Award for Good Design. Competitions are held annually. The federation has also set up a Packaging Council and Packing Centre to promote creativity and innovation in the fields of product design and packaging. The Packing Centre also regularly co-sponsors packaging competitions in co- operation with the Chinese Manufacturers' Association.
Established in 1934, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong has a membership of over 2,000, representing factories of all sizes and industries. The association, which is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce, has played an important role in the industrial development of Hong Kong. Each year, the association organises an exhibition of Hong Kong products which attracts an attendance of nearly two million visitors.
Trade Marks and Patents
Trade marks are registered under the Trade Marks Ordinance, which is based on the Trade Marks Act 1938 of the United Kingdom. The procedure is laid down in the Trade Marks Rules, and the prescribed forms may be obtained, free of charge, from the Registrar of Trade Marks, Registrar General's Department. Every mark, even if already registered in the United Kingdom or any other country, must satisfy all the requirements of the Hong Kong Trade Marks Ordinance before it may be accepted for registration. During the year, 2,807 applications were received and 1,641 (including many made in previous years) were accepted and allowed to proceed to advertisement. A total of 1,900 marks were registered, the principal countries of origin being:
Switzerland
United States of America
410
Hong Kong
385
France
Japan
366
Italy
United Kingdom
200
Australia
West Germany
137
91
69
41
30
30
The Netherlands
The total number of marks on the Register at December 31, 1972, was 27,671.
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INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Hong Kong law does not provide for the original grant of patents, but the grantee of a United Kingdom patent may, within five years from the date of its issue, apply to have it registered in Hong Kong under the Registration of United Kingdom Patents Ordinance. Registration confers the same rights as though the patent had been issued in the United Kingdom with an extension to Hong Kong. A total of 670 patents were registered during the year, compared with 430 in 1971.
Companies
The Companies Registry keeps records of all companies incorporated in Hong Kong and also of all foreign corporations which have established a place of business in Hong Kong. Local companies are incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, which is based on the (now superseded) Companies Act 1929 of Great Britain. The Companies Law Revision Committee, which was reconstituted in 1968 to consider the revision of the ordinance, submitted its First Report, dealing with the protection of investors, in June 1971. Some of the recommendations in the report were implemented by the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 1972, enacted on December 14. It will come into force on a date to be appointed by the Governor. This ordinance intro- duces more detailed requirements as to prospectuses, and brings the relevant pro- visions of the Companies Ordinance largely into line with those of the Companies Act 1948 in Britain. At the end of the year, several items of legislation based upon the other recommendations in the report were under consideration.
On incorporation a company pays a registration fee of $100 plus $2 for every $1,000 nominal capital. In 1972, a total of 4,810 new companies were incorporated, 963 more than the total incorporated in 1971. The nominal capital of new companies registered during 1971 totalled $5,551,900,410, or 161 per cent more than the cor- responding figure for the previous year. Of the new companies, 132 had a nominal share capital of $5 million or more. During the year, 1,132 companies increased their nominal capital by amounts totalling $10,458,670,000, on which fees were paid at the same rate of $2 per $1,000. At the end of the year, there were 26,067 local companies on the register compared with 21,622 on December 31, 1971.
Companies incorporated overseas are required to register certain documents with the Companies Registry within one month of establishing a place of business in Hong Kong. Only small filing fees are payable in such cases. During the year, 101 such com- panies were registered and 32 ceased to operate. By the end of the year, there were 832 companies registered from 48 countries, including 217 from the United States, 106 from the United Kingdom and 91 from Japan. Usually for tax reasons, many non- local companies incorporate a subsidiary in Hong Kong in preference to operating a branch office.
All insurance companies wishing to transact life, fire or marine insurance business in Hong Kong must comply with the provisions of the Life Insurance Companies Ordinance or the Fire and Marine Insurance Companies Deposit Ordinance, respec- tively. In addition to the filing of annual accounts, these ordinances require deposits to be made with the Registrar of Companies, unless the company qualifies for exemp- tion by complying with the Insurance Companies Acts 1958-1967 in Great Britain,
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PORT
For the port of Hong Kong, the year 1972 was one of significant development. Wharf facilities continued to expand and shipbuilding and repairing took on new dimensions. During May, two giant floating dry docks with a combined capacity of 125,000 tons came into service. In September, the initial berth of the $500 million Kwai Chung container terminal handled its first vessel-the 58,889-ton Tokyo Bay, forerunner of an armada of 'third generation' containerships sharing facilities at Berth 1. A further two berths are nearing completion at the Kwai Chung complex which is built on 125 acres of reclaimed land with a 4,000-foot seafrontage. Above container handling at Kwai Chung.
North Point Wharves operates its own container terminal on Hong Kong Island. The terminal was set up in 1970 along with an associated container freight station across the harbour in the industrial township of Kwun Tong.
ON
Almost 1,000 feet in length, the British-owned 'Tokyo Bay' became the first ship to berth at Kwai Chung-Hong Kong's container complex that was built in less than three years, entirely on land reclaimed from the sea.
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KOWLOON DOCKE
Also providing full container facilities, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Co Ltd recently merged its ship repair and engineering facilities with Taikoo Dockyard to form a new joint subsidiary.
The launching of 'Corbis' in August. Built by the Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Company, this 20,000-ton ocean-going pusher barge is the largest vessel ever built in Hong Kong.
AIKOO
TAKOO
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B
Taikoo Dockyard's 25,000-ton capacity floating dry dock came into service in May anchored off the company's premises at Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island. It is seen here undergoing final outfitting prior to installation of 25-ton and five-ton cranes.
A 78,000-ton tanker under repair in the world's largest floating dry dock. Anchored off Kwai Chung, this 100,000-ton behemoth belongs to Hong Kong shipowner C.Y. Tung who owns a fleet of 100 vessels totalling more than four million tons.
With Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island as a backdrop, tugs ma- noeuvre the massive containership 'Nihon' prior to berthing at the Ocean Terminal during the ship's first call at Hong Kong in August.
RIES
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
29
or-in the case of fire and marine insurance-by maintaining similar deposits elsewhere in the Commonwealth. There are altogether 225 insurance companies, including 60 local companies, transacting such business in Hong Kong. The approval of the Governor in Council must be obtained for transacting motor vehicle third party in- surance business.
The Companies Registry also deals with the incorporation of trustees under the Registered Trustees Incorporation Ordinance, and with the registration of limited partnerships and money-lenders.
Bankruptcies and Liquidations
In Hong Kong the number of business failures in which recourse is had to formal insolvency proceedings in court is always comparatively small in relation to the total number of businesses closing down. During the year, 27 petitions in bankruptcy and 62 petitions for the winding-up of companies were presented to the court, and the court made 18 receiving orders, one order for the administration in bankruptcy of the estate of a deceased debtor and 44 orders for the winding-up of companies. For many years past, the Official Receiver has become trustee or liquidator in almost every case, and this was so again in 1972, during which the assets realised by the Official Receiver amounted to approximately $20,000,000. In addition to the foregoing com- pulsory windings up, 170 companies went into voluntary liquidation during the year, 159 by members' voluntary winding-up and 10 by creditors' voluntary winding-up. There was one order made for a company to be wound up subject to the supervision of the court.
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Financial Structure
ALTHOUGH the approval of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is required before decisions are made on certain major matters including currency and banking, in other respects Hong Kong has complete autonomy in financial affairs and the ultimate financial authority is the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong is financially self-supporting, apart from the cost of its external defence, and towards this it makes a substantial contribution. Under an agreement covering the five years from April 1, 1971, to March 31, 1976, Hong Kong is making a contribution in kind and in cash amounting to £40 million. About £28 million of this contribution will be spent in Hong Kong on capital works and on the maintenance of buildings which will revert to Hong Kong if no longer required by the Armed Forces. The work is undertaken by the Public Works Department on behalf of HBM Department of the Environment in Hong Kong.
Apart from the Housing Authority, which has a certain measure of autonomy, there are no financially independent subordinate bodies similar to the local govern- ment authorities in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth territories. The revenue and expenditure figures thus represent all the public income and public expenditure of Hong Kong other than 'below the line' operations of various official funds.
A small deficit was returned in the first financial year after World War II. Since then, with the exception of 1959-60 and 1965-6, when there were deficits of some $45 million and $137 million respectively, a series of surpluses, some of them sub- stantial, have been accumulated. The accumulation of these surpluses in the varying economic conditions which Hong Kong has had to face since the war is a considerable achievement, particularly since it has taken place after charging annually against current revenue all capital expenditure other than a comparatively small amount financed by borrowing. These annual capital spendings have been increasing in recent years and in 1971-2 they totalled some $755 million.
The principal reason for these results, which appear so favourable, was that during the earlier years exceptionally rapid increases in population generated economic activity which raised the yield from taxation and other sources of revenue without appreciable increases in the rates of tax. Revenue expanded 11 times from $309 million in 1951-2 to $3,541 million in 1971-2. The rate of increase was affected by variations in such factors as the economic situation and inflows of capital, but the upward trend has been strong and continuous. In expenditure there was inevitably a time-lag before the government could develop community and social services necessary for an increasing population and made possible by economic growth itself. But as
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
31
these services were developed at a gradually accelerated rate, the margin between recurrent expenditure and recurrent revenue tended to narrow. For example, in 1952-3 recurrent expenditure absorbed only 57 per cent of the recurrent revenue, but by 1959-60 the figure had risen to 82 per cent. Consequently, in that year the surplus of the recurrent account could no longer finance all the capital expenditure and an overall deficit of $45 million occurred. Subsequent budgets forecast further and in some cases substantial deficits, but the actual results suggest that the economic strength and resilience of Hong Kong was underestimated, particularly earlier on, for 1965-6 is the only year in which another deficit has been recorded.
While the export trade remained buoyant, towards the end of 1964-5 the property market turned dull and this, to a degree, affected other sectors. The deficit of 1965-6 reflected this temporary setback.
There was a return to surplus in 1966-7. The change was assisted by a small increase in taxation, but a more important factor was a falling-off in capital works expenditure as certain major works, particularly the Plover Cove Reservoir scheme and some major land developments, neared completion. There was also a fall in construction costs due largely to reduced private development.
The picture changed again in 1968 when, partly as an aftermath of success in surmounting the political difficulties of 1967, partly under the influence of world inflation on the demand for Hong Kong exports, another period of unusually rapid growth began. This caused the growth of revenues at existing tax rates once again to out-distance the substantial rate of growth of expenditure on special services and development. A budget forecast of a deficit of $13 million in 1968-9 became an actual surplus of $208 million. The pace of economic growth continued to accelerate in the following years with surpluses rising from $448 million in 1969-70 to $640 million in 1971-2. Revenue and expenditure for the years 1970-1 and 1971-2 together with the estimates for 1972-3 are detailed and compared in Appendices 5 and 6.
For 1972-3 the budget estimate of revenue is $3,704 million which is $163 million more than actual revenue in 1971-2. The estimate of expenditure is $3,657 million which is $756 million more than actual expenditure in 1971-2. A small surplus of $47 million was estimated, but the cost of the Civil Service is expected to rise sharply and further commitments on medical and education subventions, in consequence of the recommendations of the 1971 Salaries Commission, will bring this figure down. On the other hand, the increased activities of the property and stock markets, as reflected in the collection of land sales and stamp duties, could bring the actual revenue for the year over the budgeted level.
At March 31, 1972, net available public financial assets were $2,916 million, while the public debt as of March 31, 1972, was $57.5 million or the equivalent of approximately $14 per head of population. Indebtedness decreased by $3 million during the year, due mainly to the repayment of £200,000 of the United Kingdom's interest-free loan of £3 million for the development of Hong Kong International Airport. This loan is repayable by 15 annual instalments; the first repayment was made on October 1, 1961. The Rehabilitation Loan, of which $50 million was raised
32
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
in 1947-8 to cover part of the cost of post-war reconstruction, is repayable in 1973-8; its sinking fund stood at $38.2 million on March 31, 1972.
In addition to the assets and liabilities referred to, there exist for special purposes the Development Loan Fund and a Lotteries Fund. The Development Loan Fund, now totalling $700 million, is used to finance social and economic development projects of a self-liquidating nature. The greater part has been used for low-cost housing schemes, but during the year 2,734 university students received interest free loans totalling $3.4 million. At March 31, 1972, liquid assets amounted to $55.2 million and outstanding commitments $107.1 million. The Lotteries Fund, established in 1965, is mainly for financing by grants, loans and advances the capital expenditure involved in the development of social welfare services. The fund started with a transfer from general revenue of $7.4 million and an additional $35.4 million was credited during the period June 30, 1965, to March 31, 1972 by which date grants and loans amounting to $31.4 million had been approved. A further sum of $1.7 million, being unclaimed prize money as at March 31, 1972, is held in deposit.
The audit of all public accounts and certain special funds is carried out by the Director of Audit, whose annual report on the accounts of the Hong Kong Govern- ment is presented to the Legislature and transmitted to the Secretary of State.
Duties
Consistent with Hong Kong's free port status, there is no general tariff, but four groups of commodities-alcoholic liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oils and table-waters -are subject to duty, whether they are manufactured in Hong Kong or imported. In certain cases, preferential rates are charged on local manufactures and imports from other Commonwealth countries.
Duties on methyl alcohol, and certain categories of hydrocarbon oils including liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene and lubricating oils, were abolished with effect from March 1, 1972.
On liquors, the basic rates range from $1.60 per gallon on Hong Kong brewed beer to $73 a gallon on non-Commonwealth liquors and spirits. On tobacco, they range from $2.50 a pound on Chinese prepared tobacco to $11.25 a pound on non- Commonwealth cigars; and on hydrocarbon oils, from 10 cents per gallon on fuel oils used for the production of electricity or gas to $1.80 a gallon on motor spirits. The rate for table-waters is 48 cents per gallon.
All firms engaged in the import, export, manufacture or sale of dutiable com- modities must be licensed.
Rates
Rates are levied on the basis of the annual letting value of land or a building held or occupied as a distinct or separate tenancy. The valuation list covers the rating areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Kowloon and part of the New Terri- tories. In the first three areas, rates are charged, with a few exceptions, at 17 per cent
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
33
per annum of rateable value. In those parts of the New Territories which are statu- torily subject to rates, the charge is 11 per cent. The valuation list is prepared by the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation and is frequently revised to bring it up to date. The estimated revenue from rates for 1972-3 is $383.5 million.
There are few exemptions from rates. Premises used for educational, charitable and welfare purposes are rated, but most of the bodies running these establishments are reimbursed in the form of either direct subventions or contributions toward rates.
Internal Revenue
As a temporary war-time measure, income was first subject to direct taxation in Hong Kong in 1940 and, although the War Revenue Ordinance was not repealed until 1947, no attempt was made to collect tax in the two years following the libera- tion of Hong Kong. However, a new source of revenue was by then essential and it was decided that as a permanent measure a direct tax on earnings and profits would be imposed from April 1, 1947. Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, tax is charged only on income or profits arising in or derived from Hong Kong. No tax is charged on income or profits arising outside the territory whether remitted to Hong Kong
or not.
The standard rate of tax was raised to 15 per cent from April 1, 1966, having stood at 12 per cent for the previous 15 years and at 10 per cent before that. Tax is an annual charge on earnings and profits for the year ending March 31.
Earnings and profits are classified into four categories each of which is subject to a separate tax-Property Tax, Salaries Tax, Profits Tax and Interest Tax. Property Tax is charged on the net rateable value of any land or building, with the exception of land or buildings in the New Territories and land or buildings wholly occupied by the owner as his residence; it is payable by the person paying the rates who, if he is not the owner, can then recover from the owner by deduction from rent or any other money due to him. Interest Tax is charged on the recipient of interest arising in or derived from the territory; but the borrower, when paying or crediting the interest to the lender recipient, is required by law to make a deduction for Interest Tax and pay it to the government within 30 days. Dividends are regarded as paid out of taxed profits and exempt from further tax. Salaries Tax and Profits Tax are levied by direct assessment.
Tax is charged at the standard rate except for Salaries Tax, which is subject to personal allowance deduction and a sliding scale of tax; and for property owners for whom, if the rent receivable is controlled by reference to the 1941 rental, the Property Tax charge is reduced to one-half the standard rate. Also, as an alternative to the separate taxes, a resident may elect to have personal assessment. A single assessment aggregating his total Hong Kong income, excluding dividends, granting personal allowances, and charging the same sliding scale of tax as for Salaries Tax is then made, with a set-off being allowed of any of the four separate taxes already paid.
The personal allowances at present are: for the taxpayer $7,000; for his wife $7,000; for each of the first two children $2,000; for each of the third to sixth child
34
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
$1,000 and for each of the seventh to ninth child $500. This makes a maximum allow- ance for children of $9,500. There is also an allowance for any premium on a contract of life insurance on the life of the taxpayer or his wife, limited to 10 per cent of the capital sum expressed in that contract; and for contributions to an approved Widows and Orphans Scheme: the total of this allowance must not exceed one-sixth of the amount by which total income exceeds $7,000. There is an allowance of $2,000 for a dependent parent resident in Hong Kong and an allowance of $3,000 for a working wife. The sliding scale of tax starts at 21 per cent on the first $5,000 of net chargeable income and increases by 24 per cent for each subsequent stage of $5,000 up to $55,000 of net chargeable income when a rate of 30 per cent is applied with a subsequent limitation that the total salaries or personal tax charged cannot exceed 15 per cent of gross income. At the bottom end of this scale there is a further low income relief giving additional allowances up to $3,600.
It is estimated that revenue from Earnings and Profits Tax during the financial year 1972-3 will be $1,019 million.
Estate Duty is imposed on that part of a deceased person's estate which is situated in Hong Kong. With effect from April 1, 1972 the rates of duty range from five per cent on estates valued between $200,000 and $300,000 to 15 per cent on estates valued in excess of $1 million. Estates valued at less than $200,000 are exempt from duty. Yield for the year ended March 31, 1973 is estimated at $33 million.
Stamp Duty is modelled on the British system which imposes specified duties on certain classes of documents and ad valorem duty on others. The lowest fixed duty is 15 cents on bills of lading and receipts and the highest is $20 on deeds. The ad valorem duty ranges from 25 cents per $1,000 to $2 per $100. There is a fixed duty of $20 on an instrument conveying title to land where the sale price does not exceed $20,000. The duties for conveyances of land in excess of $20,000 are-(a) one per cent where sale price exceeds $20,000 but is less than $40,000, and (b) two per cent where sale price exceeds $40,000. There is provision for marginal relief at the com- mencement of the higher rates. There is also an ad valorem duty of two per cent payable on lease premia. No architect, registered dentist, medical practitioner, pharmaceutical chemist or authorised auditor may practise unless he is in possession of a valid and current certificate to practise which must be renewed annually on payment of the prescribed stamp duty of $50 for every calendar year or part of a year. The estimated yield from stamp duty during 1972-3 is $395 million.
Entertainments Tax is imposed on the price of admission to cinemas and race meetings. The rate varies with the amount charged for admission and averages approximately 22 per cent. Certain cinema shows given for philanthropic, charitable or educational purposes are taxed at the lower rate or may be exempt. The antici- pated revenue from this tax for 1972-3 is $34.7 million.
Betting Duty is imposed on bets made on authorised totalisator or pari mutuels and on contributions or subscriptions towards authorised cash-sweeps. The duty is 7 per cent on bets and 25 per cent on cash-sweep contributions and is assessed from
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
35
the returns of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club who hold the monopoly for conducting such operations. The estimated yield for the year ended March 31, 1973 is $50.5 million.
Hotel Accommodation Tax is imposed on hotel and guest house accommodation and is levied at the rate of two per cent on the accommodation charges. For the financial year 1972-3 this levy is estimated to yield $4.8 million.
Every business operating in Hong Kong, except those not for the purpose of gain or those carried on by a charitable institution, must be registered and pay an annual registration fee of $25. Exemption is granted when the business is very small. The income from these fees for the year ended March 31, 1973 is expected to be $4.8 million.
Currency
In the absence of a central bank, Hong Kong's currency notes are issued by three commercial banks, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the Chartered Bank and the Mercantile Bank Limited. Coins of one dollar, 50 cents, 10 cents and five cents and notes of one cent denomination are issued by the government. The total currency in nominal circulation at December 31, 1972 was:
Bank note issue
Government $1 coin issue Subsidiary coin
Government 1 cent note issue
...
$3,150,625,000 $ 127,924,625 $ 99,045,559
$ 596,240
The value of the currency issued by the note-issuing banks is regulated by an Exchange Fund, which was set up in 1935 when the Hong Kong dollar ceased to be based on silver. Briefly, the Fund receives sterling from these banks in exchange for Certificates of Indebtedness denominated in Hong Kong dollars. These certificates, which are non-interest-bearing and are issued and redeemed at the discretion of the Financial Secretary, provide the legal backing for the notes issued by the banks, apart from their small 'fiduciary' issues-these are limited to a total of $95 million and are issued against securities, of a kind approved by the Secretary of State, which are held by the banks and deposited with the Crown Agents in London. The Fund's resources are invested in a variety of securities, both long and short-term, denominated in sterling and other currencies. Out of the income derived, the Fund bears the cost of the note issue except for a small proportion, equivalent to the proportion borne by the 'fiduciary' issues to the total note issue, which is met by the note-issuing banks. In practice, from 1937 to 1968, the Exchange Fund operated in a similar manner to traditional Colonial Currency Boards.
The exchange value of the Hong Kong dollar was established in 1935 at approxi- mately 1s 3d. On the setting up of the International Monetary Fund after World War II, the Hong Kong dollar was given its own gold parity at a rate reflecting this relationship. The relationship with sterling was, however, not a statutory one, and was established and maintained by the operations of the Exchange Fund in conjunc- tion with the note-issuing banks. Nevertheless, it came to be generally regarded as a fixed relationship, particularly since Hong Kong, as both a dependent territory and
36
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
a member of the sterling area, was required in practice to keep its official reserves, and the greater part of the reserves of the banking system, in the form of sterling.
Thus, when sterling was devalued by 14.3 per cent in November 1967, Hong Kong suffered a substantial loss estimated at £50 million. After an immediate devalua- tion of the same proportion, the Hong Kong dollar was revalued by 10 per cent four days after the British move, making a final devaluation of 5.7 per cent. This did not reduce in any way the loss to the community; rather it determined where the loss would fall. The cost to Hong Kong's public funds amounted to $450 million, including compensation paid from the Exchange Fund to commercial banks against their consequential losses.
These events finally made it clear that the old relationship with the pound was no longer appropriate to Hong Kong's economic situation. On the other hand, it was not possible for Britain to allow any significant diversification of Hong Kong's sterling assets (amounting then to £350 million) into other currencies, in view of her own depleted reserves; while at that stage she was not prepared to offer guarantees of the international value of sterling reserves.
Following negotiations in London, however, a novel arrangement was introduced in June 1968, whereby Hong Kong was allowed to use its sterling assets to purchase British Government bonds, of seven years maturity, denominated in Hong Kong dollars. These bonds were purchasable to a value of £100 million or 50 per cent of official reserves, whichever was greater, up to an absolute maximum of £150 million. The arrangement, for which a charge was made, gave limited protection against loss from a further revaluation of the Hong Kong dollar in terms of sterling, but was soon superseded by a wider arrangement.
Under the new deal, which was made possible by the backing of the so-called Basle arrangement, Britain offered all members of the sterling area, including Hong Kong, a free guarantee in terms of US dollar value of all officially held sterling in excess of 10 per cent of each country's total official external reserves. This was in return for their undertaking to maintain a minimum proportion of their reserves in sterling. The guarantee is for five years from September 25, 1968. Hong Kong accepted this new scheme, undertaking to maintain in her reserves a minimum sterling pro- portion of 99 per cent. This proportion was reduced to 89.1 per cent (or by 10 per cent) in September 1971, when the British Government agreed to a general reduction of the minimum sterling proportions which sterling area countries had undertaken to maintain in their reserves.
Because there is no central bank, a substantial part of Hong Kong's exchange reserves are held by commercial banks. While the sterling assets held by these banks are not in themselves covered by the British guarantee, the UK/HK guarantee arrange- ment has a unique feature which was carried on from the earlier Hong Kong Dollar Bond Scheme-a provision whereby official sterling deposits with commercial banks in Hong Kong rank as official reserves for the purposes of the guarantee. This enabled arrangements to be made in February 1969, through the mechanism of the Exchange Fund, to bring a substantial part of commercial banks' sterling within the scope of the guarantee.
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
37
Following the meeting of the Group of Ten in Washington towards the end of December 1971, it was announced that the US dollar would be devalued by 7.89 per cent. This was accompanied by a series of adjustments of other major world curren- cies. However, both sterling and the Hong Kong dollar maintained their gold parity. In effect, this meant that the rate of exchange between the HK dollar and sterling remained unchanged at $14.55 to £1, while the HK dollar was revalued against the US dollar by 8.57 per cent. The official rate became HK$5.58 to US$1 whereas the previous rate had been HK$6.06 to US$1.
When the United Kingdom announced on June 23, 1972 that sterling was to be allowed to float, the Hong Kong Government decided for the time being to retain the rate of HK$14.55 to £1 until it became clear how the situation would develop. This meant that as sterling declined in value in international markets, so did the Hong Kong dollar and on July 6, 1972, the Hong Kong Government decided to restore the Hong Kong dollar almost to its previous exchange value by fixing a new rate of HK$5.65 to US$1, a devaluation of only 14 per cent from the previous US dollar rate of HK$5.58 to US$1. By quoting the rate in terms of US dollars rather than sterling, during the period while sterling was floating, Hong Kong avoids movements in the value of sterling automatically bringing about equivalent rises and falls in the value of the Hong Kong dollar.
The devaluation of both the US dollar and the pound sterling described in the previous two paragraphs have meant that although Hong Kong's sterling reserves have suffered a further significant fall in value, the terms of the British Government guarantee do not provide for any compensation since the value of sterling in terms of US dollars has not fallen below US$2.40 to £1, the value ruling when the agreement was signed. Nevertheless, the value of sterling in terms of Hong Kong dollars has fallen significantly and compensation payments will fall to be made to the Hong Kong banks concerned by the Exchange Fund. The amount of the payments will not be known until a new fixed rate is established for sterling.
At the same time that sterling was allowed to float, the United Kingdom also announced that the sterling area would henceforth be restricted to the British Isles. It is not expected that this exclusion from the sterling area will have any significant effect on Hong Kong, especially as the United Kingdom has made certain concessions regarding investments by British residents in those countries, such as Hong Kong, which were formerly members of the sterling area.
Banking
Bank deposits in Hong Kong increased again during 1972 to reach a new record figure of $24,613 million at the end of the year, representing a rise of 31 per cent over the previous year-end figure.
Loans and advances increased to $17,726 million and, as a percentage of bank deposits, amounted to 72 per cent at the end of the year, compared with 63 per cent at the end of 1971.
38
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
At the end of 1972 there were 74 licensed banks in Hong Kong with a total of 478 banking offices, an increase of 47 banking offices during the year. In addition, four representative offices of foreign banks were given approval to open during the year, making a total of 44 at the end of the year. Banks in Hong Kong have branches and correspondents throughout the world and offer a comprehensive banking service of the highest order.
Monthly bank clearings during the year averaged $27,422 million. The tables at Appendix 10 give details of banking statistics during the past three years.
Stock Exchanges
At the end of 1972 there were seven stock exchanges incorporated in Hong Kong under the provisions of the Companies Ordinance, but only four of these were engaged in active trading. During the year, the total turnover reported by the stock exchanges was valued at $42,935 million, an increase of 190 per cent over the previous year's figure.
The Companies Ordinance empowers the Governor in Council to recognise stock exchanges for certain limited purposes connected with the offering in writing of shares to any member of the public. Conditions for recognition have been stipulated by the Governor in Council, and by the end of the year all of the four active ex- changes had been recognised.
4
KO
Employment
In recent years there have been a number of significant developments in the field of labour legislation in Hong Kong all aimed at the improvement of working conditions and the welfare of workers.
In the last five years no less than 41 items of labour legislation have been passed. These include maternity protection for women and four rest-days a month for most employees. In 1972 a minor amendment was made to the Employment Ordinance concerning the procedure for the apprehension of absconding employers. A new set of safety regulations, on electrolytic chromium processes was also introduced. An important contribution to the improvement of labour-management relations will be made by the Labour Tribunal Ordinance which, when brought into operation early in 1973, will provide an informal method of settling certain types of disputes involving claims of right between workers and employers.
The low level of unemployment has continued and average industrial wages have increased by 124 per cent since 1964. Meanwhile, the cost of living indices have risen by only 43 per cent. This means that, measured by real wages, standards of living have risen by about 56 per cent.
The 1971 population census revealed a total working population of 1,582,849 in Hong Kong, of whom 1,049,989 were male and 532,860 female. The main distribu- tion of the work force was: manufacturing 677,498; services 312,173; commerce 208,604; construction and engineering 168,773; transport and communication 114,722; agriculture, forestry and fishing 62,975; public utilities 8,870; mining and quarrying 4,518; and other industries 24,716.
In December 1972, the Labour Department had on record 21,386 industrial under- takings employing a total of 619,684 workers, an increase of 14,317 over the December 1971 figure. The largest section of the labour force, some 264,089 workers were engaged in weaving, spinning, knitting, and the manufacture of garments and made- up textile goods. The plastics industry remained the second largest employer. The demand for labour in the manufacturing industries continued to exceed the supply. Fuller details of the distribution of industrial undertakings and of people employed in them are given in Appendices 11 and 12.
The bulk of the industrial population is concentrated in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon but there is increasing industrial develop- ment in the New Territories, particularly in the new township of Tsuen Wan. In December 1972, the Labour Department had on record 2,528 factories in the New Territories, with a labour force of 107,280. Although most workers are engaged in
40
EMPLOYMENT
modern manufacturing processes and to a small extent in mining and quarrying, traditional village industries still provide employment.
The number of workers who went overseas for jobs during the year was 737, compared with 1,310 in the previous year and 2,150 in 1970. Few of these workers were accompanied by dependants.
Wages and Conditions of Work
Most semi-skilled and unskilled workers in the manufacturing industries are piece-rated, although daily rates of pay are also common. Men and women receive the same rates for piece-work but women are generally paid less when engaged on a time basis. Wages may be calculated on an hourly, daily, or monthly basis or on piece rates and are customarily paid fortnightly or weekly.
The range of daily wages for the manufacturing industries at the end of 1972 was $12.70 to $50.40 for skilled workers; $9.50 to $33.20 for semi-skilled; and $8.00 to $21.40 for unskilled workers. Many employers provide their workers with free accommodation, subsidised meals or food-allowances, good attendance bonuses, and paid rest-days as well as a Lunar New Year bonus of one month's pay.
A Consumer Price Index, intended as an indicator of the effects of price changes on household expenditure, continued to be published throughout the year. It varied from 133 to 143 (base of 100-period of September 1963 to August 1964). In December 1972, this index stood at 143 (see Appendix 14). A special index based on the expendi- ture of households spending less than $600 a month and known as the Modified Consumer Price Index is also published and used as the basis for adjustment in the salaries of minor staff in government service. A proportion of the wages of all minor staff (Scale 1) in the public service is adjusted quarterly by reference to this index.
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance is the basis for the control of hours and conditions of work in industry. As a result of the successful completion of the phased programme introduced on December 1, 1967 to reduce the maximum standard hours, women and young people aged 16 and 17 since December 1, 1971 work eight hours a day and 48 hours a week. In addition to establishing maximum daily hours, regulations limit overtime and provide for weekly rest-days and rest periods for women and young people.
Young people aged 14 and 15 may work eight hours a day in industry with a break of one hour after five hours continuous work. Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working in industry, and no woman or young person is allowed to work at night or underground. Regulations under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance also provide for the pre-employment medical examination of men employed underground or in tunnelling operations and for the periodical medical examination of men under 21 years of age employed underground.
Because of a continuing shortage of labour, a few large factories engaged in cotton spinning were authorised in 1970 to employ women at night. This permission was restricted to those able to comply with stringent conditions. This experimental
EMPLOYMENT
41
concession was reviewed in 1971 and subsequently continued for another year with minor changes in conditions. In 1972, it was again reviewed and will continue un- changed for a further year. The scheme will be reviewed again in 1973.
There are no legal restrictions on hours of work for men. Most men employed in industry work between eight and 10 hours a day. Government employees and those in concerns operating on western lines work eight hours. The restrictions on the hours of work for women, which were first introduced in January 1959, have resulted in a decrease in the number of hours worked by men working alongside women in the same concern. By December 31, 1972, a total of 36 cotton spinning and silk weaving mills had introduced a system of three eight-hour daily shifts. Cotton weaving mills were on either two or three shifts, and it was estimated that 44,386 men and 47,879 women were working eight hours a day. A rest period of one hour a day is customary throughout industry.
The Employment Ordinance (amendment of part two of the second schedule) Order 1972 which came into force on February 25, 1972 made a minor change in the statutory form to be used by a worker applying to the court for the arrest of an employer believed to be absconding with the intention of evading payment of wages.
Trade Unions
With the exception of a small neutral and independent segment, most workers' unions are either affiliated to, or associated with, one of two local federations which are registered as societies and bear allegiance to opposing political groups. Divided politically and further separated by differences in dialect, the number of unions has grown beyond practical needs, and divergent loyalties have prevented those with common interests from amalgamating into effective organisations.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions supports China. Most of the members of its 66 affiliated unions are concentrated in shipyards, textile mills, and public utilities. A further 23 unions, nominally independent, are friendly towards the federation and participate in its activities. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council, sympathises with the policies of the Taiwan authorities. Most of the members of its 89 affiliated unions and of the 10 nominally independent unions which generally support the Trades Union Council, are employed in the catering and building trades. The Trades Union Council is affiliated to the International Con- federation of Free Trade Unions.
There are 89 independent unions, some of which continued to make improve- ments in their internal administration and in the services offered to their members.
The legal requirements regarding the registration and control of trade unions are contained in the Trade Unions Ordinance which is administered by the Registrar of Trade Unions. This ordinance, formerly known as the Trade Union Registration Ordinance, was retitled on March 31, 1972 the date on which the Trade Union Reg- istration (Amendment) Ordinance 1971 came into operation.
Of the 335 unions on the register at the end of 1972, 277 were employees' unions with a total declared membership of 222,252, a further 46 were organisations of
42
EMPLOYMENT
merchants or employers with a declared membership of 5,019, and 12 were mixed organisations with a total declared membership of 6,053.
Labour Administration and Services
The year has been one of further consolidation for the Labour Department which now has a staff of 555 and has extended many of its services. An additional branch office for the Women and Young Persons Unit has been opened in Yuen Long in the New Territories and the two Labour Relations offices for Kowloon East and Kowloon West have moved into improved accommodation in the San Po Kong area. The network of branch offices continues to deal with labour matters in outlying areas.
The Commissioner of Labour is the principal adviser to the Governor on labour and industrial relations policies. He is also Commissioner of Mines. All labour legislation is initiated in the Labour Department which ensures that Hong Kong's obligations under International Labour Conventions are observed. The department is organised into six divisions: Labour Relations, Industry, Employment, Industrial Health, Industrial Training and Development.
The Labour Relations Division dealt with 4,524 disputes in 1972. Of these 119 were labour disputes, 821 major grievance disputes and 3,584 minor grievance dis- putes; compared to 126; 666 and 3,411 respectively in 1971. There were 46 strikes and the number of man-days lost in all disputes was 41,834 compared with 25,600 in 42 strikes during 1971. Most labour disputes were due mainly to problems arising from changes in piece rates, redundancy, dismissal and insolvency.
The Labour Tribunal Ordinance (previously referred to as the Summary Civil Court) was enacted on March 29, 1972. It has been announced that it will come into operation on March 1, 1973. The Tribunal, which will be part of the Judiciary, will provide a quick, simple and inexpensive method of settling monetary claims arising from contracts of employment, the provisions of the Employment Ordinance, and certain other ordinances. Claims will be determined by a single, legally qualified presiding officer assisted by a number of tribunal officers and supporting staff. The proceedings of the Tribunal will be conducted in an informal manner.
Conciliation by an authorised officer will normally precede the hearing. Thus, the Tribunal will be complementary to, and will not replace the existing conciliation services provided by the Labour Relations Service of the Labour Department. With the permission of the Tribunal, the right of audience may be given to an office bearer of a registered trade union or of an association of employers if he is duly authorised in writing by one of the parties. The Tribunal can only entertain claims made within six months from the cause of action arising, and may award a party costs and expenses, including any loss of salary or wages suffered by that party and any reason- able sum paid to a witness or expenses necessarily incurred and any loss of salary or wages suffered by him.
By the end of the year, the Labour Department had recorded the existence of 109 formal joint consultative councils and committees set up by 50 establishments. Most were working smoothly and achieving the object of bringing management and
EMPLOYMENT
43
employees together to improve relationships and to allow each to benefit from the experience of the other. Similar committees established in certain government depart- ments discussed a wide range of administrative, welfare and organisational problems. A total of 138 special visits were made during the year to employers who have shown positive interest in introducing joint consultation.
During the year, a comprehensive guide to the Employment Ordinance, was published and made available to employers and employees free of charge.
The continuing shortage of labour has resulted in many wage demands being made by employees. Altogether, 20 unions demanded wage increases.
The factory inspectorate of the department's Industry Division is responsible, under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, for the safety of workers in factories and industrial undertakings. Advice and assistance were given to manage- ments on the guarding of dangerous parts of machinery, the adoption of safe working practices, and the general layout of factories to achieve safer working conditions.
The Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Electrolytic Chromium Process) Regulations 1972 came into effect on September 1. They provide for special safety measures to protect workers from the harmful effects of chrome liquid and dust. A guide to the regulations, and a statutory warning notice which the proprietor is required to display at workrooms, have been distributed to all factories using this process.
During the year, the Industrial Safety Training Centre continued to provide. basic and advanced safety training courses. In addition, various short specialist safety training courses for supervisory staff from industry and government depart- ments were organised. Lectures on the basic principles of accident prevention were also given to students at technical and vocational training centres. The centre also helps to organise safety committees and prepare booklets and posters on industrial safety. To add realism to instruction in safe working procedures, the centre houses a display of power-driven machinery fitted with safety guards.
The Local Employment Service provides a placement service introducing job seekers to prospective employers and vice versa. During the year, the service registered 28,503 workers, recorded 10,031 employers' orders for workers, and helped 4,841 workers to find employment.
The Youth Employment Advisory Service continued with its second stage of development which involved group guidance in the form of careers talks to senior students in secondary schools. The dissemination of careers information has been greatly expanded during the year. By the end of the year, 433 talks had been given to 117 schools, and the number of students involved was estimated at 30,500. The service also organised and participated in careers exhibitions and seminars providing careers information to students, teachers, parents and interested individuals. The first major careers exhibition sponsored by the service was held in the City Hall during the last three days of the year. Some 20 of Hong Kong's leading firms and three units of the Labour Department participated in the exhibition which attracted over 30,000 visitors.
44
EMPLOYMENT
The Contracts for Overseas Employment Ordinance controls contracts of em- ployment entered into in Hong Kong by manual workers, including domestic servants but excluding certain limited categories, proceeding overseas for employment. During the year 737 contracts were attested.
Permission to work in Britain is given by the British Department of Employment. During the year 661 permits and vouchers were issued through the Labour Depart- ment, including six to Commonwealth citizens seeking unspecified employment, 215 to local people of British nationality going to specific jobs, and 440 to local residents who are not of British nationality.
Safety, Health and Welfare
The Industrial Health Unit of the Labour Department acts as an advisory service to the government and industry on matters relating to the health of workers. The unit is primarily concerned with preventing occupational diseases and protecting workers against health hazards in their working environment. These hazards are reported by the statutory notification of occupational diseases, by the factory in- spectorate, or by officers of the unit. Control is achieved by environmental and biological monitoring and health education. The unit's laboratory, staffed by tech- nicians trained in industrial hygiene, has been designated as a collaborating laboratory on air pollution by the World Health Organisation.
The measurement of many concentrations in the air, such as chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, solvents, silica dust and sulphur dioxide, and the investigation of standards of thermal comfort, ventilation, noise, and lighting also form a major part of the duties of the unit. Medical examinations, including X-rays and pathological investigations, are also undertaken, of workers exposed to risks of lead, radiation, fluoride toxicity or silica dust, and of government divers.
The Industrial Health Unit also has responsibilities for the clinical examination, casework, and medical assessment of injured workers. This important service operates principally from the casualty departments of the four main hospitals. Many visits to homes and work-places are also made by the health visitors of the division.
The Workmen's Compensation Unit administers the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance and is responsible for ensuring that injured workers or their dependants receive the compensation to which they are legally entitled.
The Air Pollution Control Unit (as described in Chapter 18) operates under the guidance of the Smoke Abatement Adviser. Seven Assistant Smoke Inspectors carry out its field work. Three additional Assistant Smoke Inspectors were appointed at the end of the year and are now under training. There are now 33 monitoring stations. The Clean Air (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys) (Installation and Alteration) Regula- tions were approved by the Governor in Council on December 12, and the Clean Air (Restriction and Measurement of Smoke Emission) Regulations were in an advanced stage of preparation.
陳宣海見福
本認於和上一建漁 象一為檣年遇女沿民悟 救次有賴間颶神海觀道些 生香天珠給風穿難天懂者 象人港后安事倘朱民候天巡 員枚神濟中當衣渡測文材 亦星靈以路天飛往風地 頒座前兌膜翔澎雨理
漿鎮漁迪拜海湖增
民使向上涉
CALLIGRAPHY
There are few places in the world more visually stimulating than Hong Kong. It may have experienced a decade of rapid industrial growth but it has lost none of its innate charm. A striking characteristic and vital part of Hong Kong's street scene is the colour and vitality of its calligraphy. Although simply meaning 'beautiful handwriting', calligraphy is more than just a means of written communication--it embodies the very spirit of Hong Kong's four million Chinese people. For thousands of years calligraphy has been the most revered of Chinese arts. It remains a fundamental element of everyday life in Hong Kong today.
昌
新
司公食肉
F
有利五金漆油
五
酒金!
琛記煙酒
As if decorated by an artist's brush, the entire city appears in a festive mood all year round as countless coloured signs vie for attention.
ון
5
VC
PUBLIC
With businessmen believing that only the best calligraphy will bring good fortune, skilled sign makers such as this command great respect.
泰營
法書體各
請
認
惠類
魏
BL
The services of street calligraphers are much sought after, whether it is for writing goodwill couplets for the home or signs for a shop.
大
圖
書館
RIT
A big sign, but this little boy is not interested in the message conveyed in Hong Kong's street advertisements.
i
伯
事
爲
誠 月
PUBL
Mr Chan Man-kit is a well-known calligraphic scholar whose life is devoted to the art of 'beautiful handwriting'.
RARIES
I
Bu Ku
SISTIEKCI
In July, 225 young people took part in a Social Welfare Department calligraphy contest held at Wong Tai Sin resettlement estate com- munity centre.
黒
BR
南九外廟山丁絲爬
樊隔
甑趣
番
恳
-
烟伏
我早已著
ii
A recent calligraphy exhibition in Hong Kong presented a pictorial
account of the mainstreams of Chinese calligraphy over the past 3,500
years.
EMPLOYMENT
Industrial Training
45
After five years of investigation, the final report of the Industrial Training Advisory Committee (ITAC) was published in November 1971 and is now under consideration by the government. Operating through a complex of committees, ITAC has drawn up a comprehensive picture of the industrial manpower needs now and in the near future of 10 major industries. In addition it has prepared and compiled minimum job standards and specifications for the principal jobs in these industries, evaluated the immediate deficiency in technical education and in-plant practical training facilities, and made recommendations on how to deal with various industrial training problems. Its recommendations will have far-reaching effects on the develop- ment of industrial training in Hong Kong.
Although the ITAC has submitted its final report to the government its as- sociated committees, in particular the industrial committees, continue with their work of updating manpower data. Three manpower surveys on the plastics, electrical apparatus and appliances, and the clothing industries were conducted by the respec- tive industrial committees in the year and one on the machine shop and metal working industry in November 1971. This second series of surveys represented part of an effort to draw up, at an early date, a development picture of specific manpower requirements.
In the field of pre-vocational and vocational training, a number of centres offering training in technical, commercial and catering trades are operated by volun- tary welfare organisations and the government. Committees of the ITAC complex have played an active role in co-ordinating and raising the standard of training in these centres.
In line with recommendations made by ITAC, the construction of two more technical institutes to meet the demand for more industrial training was approved in August 1971 and it is expected that they will be brought into operation by 1975. The need for further technical institutes and for an expansion in the pre-vocational education programme is under consideration by the government.
The Apprenticeship Unit of the Labour Department continued its work of encouraging and assisting employers to set up modern organised apprenticeship schemes for training craftsmen and technicians. This year more firms have started technician apprentice training in the electronics, building, textiles and clothing in- dustries. In the metal working, plastics, electrical and motor trades, more firms have started craft apprentice training.
Technical education on a day-release basis forms an essential part of the appren- ticeship scheme proposed by the Apprenticeship Unit. Part-time day-release courses for both craft and technician apprentices are being provided by either the Hong Kong Polytechnic or the Morrison Hill Technical Institute. Most of the courses began in 1970 and the demand for places for new apprentices has continued.
5
Primary Production
五
RAPID industrialisation has brought increasing prosperity to Hong Kong's four million inhabitants but, with few natural resources, manufacturing industries depend almost entirely on imported raw materials. As a result, only a small proportion of the working population is involved in primary production. The 1971 census showed that farmers and their dependants comprise only 2.48 per cent of the Hong Kong population, while fisherfolk make up another 1.53 per cent of the total. Despite these relatively low percentages, the farmers of the New Territories produce 45 per cent of the vegetables consumed locally, 67.5 per cent of the total requirement of live chicken and 14.3 per cent of all the pigs slaughtered; furthermore, Hong Kong fisher- men catch 92 per cent of all the marine fish eaten locally. The number employed in min- ing or quarrying was 5,265, or 0.3 per cent of the labour force. Of the 403.8 square miles that make up Hong Kong's total land area, only 12.4 per cent is taken up with farming.
The sudden increase in Hong Kong's population during the 1950s, due to massive immigration from China, gave considerable stimulus to agricultural production as many of the new arrivals were farmers. There was of course also a great demand for food, and these changes resulted in a rapid growth of small, intensively cultivated vegetable and livestock farms. Traditional rice cultivation was less profitable, and those farmers who retained rice fields tended to diversify production by planting vegetables after the harvesting of the second rice crop. The number employed in farming and fishing reached its peak during the mid-1960s, but the attraction of nearby industrial satellite towns, offering higher wages, has led to a reduction in the number of these workers over the past five years. Although last year's census showed 62,975 people as employed in farming and fishing-almost 10,000 less than in 1966-nevertheless modernisation and greater intensification of operations have resulted in 108 and 96 per cent increases respectively in Hong Kong's agricultural and fisheries production in real value during that same five-year period. However, the number of workers in mining and quarrying increased from 4,200 in 1966 to just over 5,200 in 1971.
Administration and Services
The Agriculture and Fisheries Department concerns itself with optimum land utilisation and provides technical, extension and advisory services to farmers. It also deals with the economic, social and technological development of Hong Kong fisheries, especially those aspects which directly involve fishermen, and the adminis- trative organisation of co-operative societies of all types. The conservation of water and soil through afforestation of bare, eroded hillsides and catchment areas, is also an important aspect of the department's work. Afforestation is principally undertaken
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
47
by the department and private afforestation is relatively unimportant. The New Territories Administration is responsible for land tenure and certain aspects of land development in the New Territories.
Research programmes of the department extend to and include crop and animal husbandry as well as fisheries. On government farms, experiments continue into improving the quality and yield per acre of strains of local vegetables, flowers and fruits. Results have been generally satisfactory. To improve quality in the field of animal husbandry, the department supplies farmers with breeding stock of pigs and poultry and also provides an artificial insemination service for pigs.
Fisheries research is carried on at the main station in Aberdeen, and sub-stations at Kat O and Au Tau. The Aberdeen station is concerned with biological and hydro- graphical research in local waters and in the northern part of the South China Sea and with aquaculture research. At the Kat O sub-station, investigations are continuing into mariculture and at the Au Tau sub-station, experiments relating to induced breeding of carp species are in hand.
Development and extension services are also provided for the agricultural and fishing industries. The main development in the agricultural industry (due primarily to rising labour costs) is the increasing interest which farmers have shown in the use of small farm machines and sprinkler irrigation. At the end of 1972, there were 279 'Landmaster' cultivators in use on fields and 209 sprinkler units on vegetable farms. With financial and technical assistance from the government, the fishing industry is in the process of further development and modernisation with the intro- duction of new vessel designs, including the 90-foot wooden pair trawler and the 76-foot long-liner. About 264 modern hull form fishing boats have so far been built, 200 with private funds and 64 with government financial aid.
Hong Kong is divided into three districts for agricultural extension. Each district is administered by a District Extension Staff, supported by teams of specialists trained to deal with farming, livestock and co-operative problems. Close contact with the farming community is maintained by means of farm advisers and by liaison with local co-operative societies and rural associations. Both credit and technical facilities are available through the extension service.
In the rural extension programme in 1972, over 1,000 farmers attended discussion groups led by professional and technical officers from the department. A restricted programme of formal training was also carried out, in which 190 farmers and farmers' sons and daughters received vocational training in a wide variety of subjects. Over 152,710 visits were made to farmers and co-operative societies by both professional and technical officers and farmers also visited government experimental farms and farming projects.
Close contact with the fishing community is maintained through an extension service, similar in scope to that provided for the agricultural industry, and by liaison with fishermen's co-operative societies. A number of these societies operate their own revolving loan fund schemes which continue to grow in size and effectiveness. Exten- sion work also included the training of fishermen for certificates of competency as
48
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
local masters and engine operators, and the instruction of local fishermen in naviga- tion. As an adjunct to extension work through the Fish Marketing Organisation, schooling facilities are provided for the children of fishermen. Fourteen schools have so far been established and some 4,267 children were being educated at these at the end of 1972. A further 314 were attending other schools on scholarships provided by the organisation.
Loans are available to the agricultural industry through four separate loan funds: the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, the J. E. Joseph Trust Fund, the World Refugee Year Loan Fund and the Vegetable Marketing Organisation Loan Fund, which are all administered through the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. At December 31, 1972, the total loans issued and recovered since the inception of these four funds were of the order of $66,036,315 and $62,100,178 respectively.
The Fisheries Development Loan Fund, administered by the Director of Agricul- ture and Fisheries, is allotted specifically for the development of the distant water fleet, for which it has a capital of $5 million. The World Refugee Year Loan Fund for Co-operative Societies, made available in 1954 by the United Nations High Com- mission for Refugees, also assists members of fishermen's co-operative societies. Further credit facilities are available to fishermen through the revolving loan fund of the Fish Marketing Organisation. This fund was established in 1946 and has made loans totalling $40 million; of this, some $35.67 million had been repaid by the end of the year. The fund's ceiling was raised to $4.5 million in 1971. The organisation also administers a revolving loan fund of $110,000 financed by the Co-operative for American Relief Everywhere, specifically for shrimp fishermen.
Co-operative societies operate under a Co-operative Societies Ordinance, which provides for the appointment of a Registrar (currently the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries) whose staff supervise and assist co-operative societies and encourage the formation of new ones. On December 31, 1972, more than 12,000 farmers and over 2,300 fishermen were members of co-operative societies formed to serve their various needs; there were 91 rural societies with two federations among the farming com- munity and 78 societies with four federations supported by the fisherfolk. A further 251 societies with some 8,370 members operate in the urban area, the bulk of these being co-operative building societies formed by local civil servants with financial aid from the government. The versatility of the movement is evidenced by the formation of primary societies with such diverse objects and activities as vegetable marketing, pig raising, agriculture and fisheries credit, better living, thrift and loan, housing and the supply of consumer goods.
In recognition of the needs of lower income groups for thrift and small loans, legislation in the form of the Credit Unions Ordinance was enacted in February, 1970 to incorporate and regulate credit unions and to provide for incidental matters. The ordinance provides for the appointment of a Registrar (currently the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries) with powers and duties in regard to the registration of credit unions and their by-laws, the examination of accounts and general supervision. Up to the end of the year, 49 credit unions with 7,637 members were registered; a total of 27 credit unions were formed of groups of persons having a common bond
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
49
of association; 17 by persons having common bonds of employment; and five by groups each with a common bond of residence.
Land Utilisation
Hong Kong's land area totals 403.8 square miles, of which only 12.4 per cent is used for farming, 76.3 per cent is marginal land with different degrees of sub-grade character, and built-up areas comprise the remaining 11.3 per cent. The need to establish new towns and residential areas on plans that provide for adequate open space, wider roads and public facilities of all kinds, inevitably means encroachment upon agricultural land. The losses, however, are partially offset by more intensive production and by development of marginal land.
Class
(i) Built-up (Urban Areas)
(ii) Woodlands ...
(iii) Grass and scrub lands
(iv) Badlands
(v) Swamp and mangrove lands
(vi) Arable
(vii) Fish ponds ...
Agricultural Industry
:
:
area
Remarks
Approximate
(square miles)
Percentage of whole
45.8
11.3
53.3
13.2
Includes roads and railways. Natural and established wood-
lands.
235.2
58.3
14.7
3.6
5.0
1.2
45.5
11.3
4.3
11.1
Fresh and brackish water fish
farming.
Natural grass and scrub, includ-
ing Plover Cove reservoir. Stripped of cover. Granite coun- try. Capable of regeneration. Capable of reclamation.
Includes orchards and market
gardens.
The policy of the government is to foster the growth of the agricultural industry in Hong Kong so as to make the territory as self-sufficient in foodstuffs as possible, bearing in mind priorities in land utilisation and the economics of food production in the region.
The principal crops grown are vegetables, flowers, rice, fruit and other field crops. The value of crop production has increased considerably, from $89 million in 1963 to $229 million in 1972, a rise of some 157 per cent. Vegetable production presently accounts for over 78 per cent of the total value, having increased from $58 million in 1963 to $186 million in 1972.
Rice is the staple food of the southern Chinese. Two crops of rice a year can be grown on land where water is adequate. The normal yield from an acre of two-crop rice land is approximately two tons, but the yield per acre can be increased to over five tons by planting high yielding strains of rice selected from varieties IR8 and Non- sensitive BPI (bicol) together with improved management and high levels of manuring. Since 1954 the acreage of rice land has dropped from 23,353 acres to 9,319 acres in 1972. Rice production continues to give way to very intensive vegetable production which gives a far higher return, where there is adequate water and good road access.
50
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
The main vegetable crops are white cabbage, flowering cabbage, lettuce, Chinese kale, radish and leaf mustard which grow all the year round. Considerable quantities of string bean, water spinach, cucumber, and many species of Chinese gourd are produced in summer and excellent quality tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, celery and watercress in winter. The main types of flowers are chrysanthemum and gladiolus which grow all the year round; dahlia, snapdragon, aster, carnation and rose are grown in winter, and ginger lily and lotus flower in summer. Peach blossom is grown especially for the Lunar New Year. The area of land under vegetables and flowers has increased from 2,250 acres in 1954 to 10,332 acres in 1972.
A wide range of fruit is grown on the lower hill slopes. The principal crops are lychee, longan, wampei, local lemon, orange, tangerine, Japanese apricot, guava, papaya, banana and pineapple. The acreage under orchards in 1954 was 952 acres. By 1972, it was 1,570 acres.
Other field crops such as sweet potatoes, groundnut, millet, soy beans and sugar- cane are cultivated in the drier land where water is inadequate for the planting of vegetables or rice. The acreage under the rainfed crops was 3,450 acres in 1954 com- pared with 1,759 acres in 1972.
As there is insufficient land for extensive grazing, pigs and poultry are the prin- cipal animals reared for food. The pigs of Hong Kong are mostly crosses of local animals with exotic stock, and pure strains of the Chinese type are becoming difficult to find. Although locally produced pigs represent only 16.4 per cent of total pigs killed, their value is some $64.3 million per annum, and proposals to stimulate and expand production are being implemented.
With an annual production value of $243 million, the poultry industry (includ- ing pigeons and quail) is developing rapidly. Farmers are adopting advanced methods of management and successfully adapting them to local conditions, taking the process through from locally bred chicks to table birds, using both local breeds and imported hybrids. Duck rearing is also important and steps are being taken to expand this industry. Legislation controlling the slaughter and inspection of Chinese style pressed ducks for export to the United States was passed during 1970.
While local cattle and buffaloes are kept mainly for work, imported Friesians are kept by dairies, of which the largest is on Hong Kong Island and the others in smaller groups outside Kowloon and in the New Territories. Regular tuberculin testing is carried out on all dairy animals.
Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (type O) and swine fever still occur, but these have been kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle disease in poultry has been controlled by the use of the Ranikhet and intra-nasal-drop vaccines. The lapinised rinderpest vaccine formerly used was replaced in 1970 by a tissue-culture vaccine which gives a prolonged immunity against the rinderpest disease in cattle. Investigations to establish the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are undertaken at the veterinary laboratory.
Legislation requires all imported dogs and cats to be quarantined for six months except those from scheduled countries (UK, Australia and New Zealand) to prevent
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
51
the introduction of rabies. Stray dogs are caught and detained for observation and, if unclaimed, destroyed in pursuance of the rabies control policy.
Fishing Industry
As marine fish is one of Hong Kong's main primary products, every effort is made to encourage the development of the fishing industry, to increase supplies of fish and to improve the economic status of fishermen.
The fishing fleet consists of some 5,600 vessels of which about 5,000 are mecha- nised. The number of fishermen is estimated at 48,000 and the main fishing centres are at Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan, Castle Peak, Tai Po and Sai Kung. The larger part of the fleet is owner-operated, while the remainder is directed by fish dealers and fishing companies.
Fish ponds totalling 2,750 acres are mainly located in the Yuen Long area. The most important species is the grey mullet, the fry of which are collected along the coastal waters in spring. Other important species for cultivation include silver carp, grass carp, big-head and mud-carp; a total of 13.1 million of these fry were imported from China and Taiwan during 1972. Total fish pond production in 1972 amounted to 2,672 metric tons, representing 8.44 per cent of the local freshwater fish consump- tion; this quantity is valued at $17.89 million.
Edible oysters are cultivated in Deep Bay. Production amounted to 55 metric tons of oyster meat, valued at approximately $718,000. Part of this quantity was dried for export.
Marketing
There are two principal wholesale marketing organisations serving the agricul- tural and fishing industries. These are the Vegetable Marketing Organisation and the Fish Marketing Organisation.
The Vegetable Marketing Organisation operates under the Agriculture Products (Marketing) Ordinance, which provides for a board to advise the Director of Mar- keting (currently the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries). Its main objective is to provide for orderly transportation of locally-produced vegetables from the New Ter- ritories to the wholesale market in Kowloon, and the supervision of sales and financial transactions in the market. Revenue is obtained from a 10 per cent commission on sales of vegetables. The organisation is a non-profit-making concern and seeks to obtain maximum returns for growers by minimising their marketing costs. During 1972, a total of 78,196 metric tons of vegetables, valued at $81,886,000 were sold through the organisation.
The Fish Marketing Organisation operates under the Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance, which likewise provides for a board to advise the Director of Marketing. The organisation grew out of the steps taken to rehabilitate the fishing fleet at the end of the Pacific War, with the long-term object of developing the industry on a sound economic footing. It provides orderly marketing and transportation facilities for the primary producer and the retailer of marine fish, at the organisation's seven wholesale
52
PRIMARY PRODUCTION
markets. Revenue is obtained from a six per cent commission on sales of fish. As a non-profit-making body, surplus earnings are ploughed back into the primary sector of the fishing industry through low-interest loans for productive purposes. In 1972, landings marketed through wholesale fish markets totalled 76,748 metric tons valued at $157 million.
Following the completion of a survey carried out by the Department of Agricul- ture and Fisheries on the wholesale marketing of imported vegetables, fruit and poultry, projects to build new wholesale markets in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island for the marketing of these commodities have been included in the Public Works Pro- gramme. Similar surveys as part of the forward planning of improved facilities for the wholesale marketing of freshwater fish and crustacea, and locally-produced vege- tables continued during the year.
Mining
Iron ore and, at times, graphite are mined underground and kaolin, feldspar and quartz by opencast methods. Iron ore concentrate (magnetite) is exported to Japan, graphite principally to the United States and kaolin to Japan and Taiwan. Most of the feldspar and about 30 per cent of the kaolin are consumed by local light industries.
Under the Mining Ordinance, the ownership and control of minerals is vested in the Crown. The Land Officer is empowered to grant mining leases and the Commis- sioner of Mines to grant mining and prospecting licences. Details of leases and licences in operation are published twice a year in the Government Gazette. At the end of the year, there were three mining leases, 13 mining licences, and three prospecting licences valid for different areas in the territory.
Staff of the Mines Department deal with applications for prospecting and mining licences, the issue of mine blasting certificates, inspection of mining and prospecting areas for the enforcement of mining legislation, inspection of stone quarries for the enforcement of safety regulations, inspections for the enforcement of explosives legislation and the delivery of explosives from government depots to blasting sites. The Commissioner of Mines is responsible for the control and management of govern- ment explosives depots which provide bulk storage facilities for all explosives imported into Hong Kong.
6
Education
THE year under review was again one of consolidation and progress. It saw 'the provision of more aided primary and post-primary school places, the extension of educational television courses to Primary 4 level, the introduction of an expanded teacher training programme and the approval of a second five-year development plan for special education. Moreover, the Technical College was taken over by the Polytechnic Board to form the nucleus of the new Polytechnic, and for the first time the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (English) and the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (Chinese) were conducted by one body, the new Hong Kong Certificate of Education Board.
Under the Education Ordinance, the Director of Education is responsible for all matters relating to education in Hong Kong. He directly controls all government schools, while all other schools with very few exceptions are required to be registered under the ordinance, thus providing the Director with the necessary powers to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained. The Education Ordinance also gives the Director powers to order parents to send their children to school where it appears to him that they are withholding their children from primary school without reason- able excuse. Parents so ordered may appeal, if they wish, to a specially constituted board of review. The Director of Education is also chairman of the Board of Educa- tion which advises the Governor on educational matters.
One of the main features of education continues to be its steady expansion. Detailed figures are given in Appendix 18. At the end of September, enrolment in kindergartens was 130,894; in primary schools it was 748,291 and in secondary schools enrolment was 323,090, compared with 132,900; 764,313 and 295,820 respec- tively in 1971. Altogether 1,284,393 pupils were enrolled in 2,895 schools, colleges and adult education centres, 15,733 more than last year. The drop in kindergarten and primary school enrolment is attributed to the decline in Hong Kong's annual birth rate over the past nine years.
In pursuit of government policy that the subsidy paid to English-speaking schools should not exceed the subsidy for other aided primary or secondary schools, a Select Committee of the Legislative Council was appointed to examine in detail the operating costs of the English-speaking schools. As a result, it was announced in August that with effect from January 1, 1973, fees at English-speaking schools will be raised to $1,150 a year at primary schools and to $2,050 a year at secondary schools. At the same time it was also announced that the government, as an em- ployer, would introduce local education allowances for its own employees from the same date.
54
Pre-primary Education
EDUCATION
Private kindergartens, which are not maintained or run by the government but are registered with the Education Department and supervised by the inspectorate, fell in number from 841 in the previous year to 797 in September 1972 and enrolment decreased from 132,900 to 130,894. The government gives assistance in the form of grants of Crown land to reliable bodies, the provision of accommodation in govern- ment low-cost housing estates, the waiving of rents in resettlement estates, and the provision of teacher training and further education facilities. It also makes freely available professional advice which is greatly sought after by teachers and managers.
Primary Education
The great majority of primary schools use Cantonese as the language of instruc- tion. English is studied as a second language from the second year of the course. Seven primary schools, including five operated by the government, cater for children whose first language is English.
The total primary day school enrolment in September was 728,426, compared with 744,219 in the previous year. In addition, 19,865 pupils attended primary night schools and a limited number of special afternoon classes. During the year 26,820 new primary places were provided, compared with 39,170 in the previous year. The target of providing a government or subsidised primary place for every child of primary school age has already been reached. Further provision of school places will be geared mainly to the needs of developing areas.
As from September 1971, education is free in all government Chinese primary schools and in the majority of aided primary schools. In those aided primary schools where fees continue to be charged, a fee remission may be awarded up to 20 per cent of the total enrolment to meet cases of genuine hardship. In order to lighten further the burden of needy parents, a textbook and stationery grant to the amount of $20 per pupil per annum, is available to 20 per cent of pupils enrolled in government and aided primary schools.
The Education Ordinance 1971 gives the Director of Education powers to enforce school attendance where parents appear to be unnecessarily withholding their children of suitable age from attending primary school. These powers will be exercised by the Director only after a careful investigation of the family's circumstances and the needs of the child. When an attendance order is made, parents have the right of appeal to a specially constituted board of review. The decision of the board is final.
Special Education
A second five-year development plan for special education was approved in August. The main aims of this development plan are threefold. Firstly, to provide 14,400 additional places for handicapped children in either special schools or special classes in ordinary schools. Secondly, to increase preventive measures by providing through the Special Education Section, more diagnostic and remedial services mainly in the fields of audiologic, psychological and speech therapy services. Thirdly, to
EDUCATION
55
expand the training programme by means of overseas training for the nucleus of specialist staff of the Special Education Section, local in-service courses for teachers in special schools and classes, and courses on special educational treatment for teachers-in-training at colleges of education.
At present, there are 31 special schools catering for some 4,000 blind, deaf, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped and maladjusted children. In addition, there are 44 special classes for 880 slow-learning children in 23 government primary schools, eight special classes for 80 partially hearing children in two government primary schools, and two special classes for 30 partially-sighted children in one government primary school. Over 400 mildly physically handicapped children have been placed in ordinary classes in government primary schools and government sub- sidised schools. These children are supervised regularly by the Special Education Section.
The Special Education Section provides diagnostic services which include audio- logic testing, psychological testing, speech screening, and educational assessment, as well as remedial services in auditory training and speech therapy. It also runs an audiometric screening programme and a speech screening programme in government primary schools. During the year, these services were made available to over 17,000 children. The section also runs in-service training courses for teachers of special schools and special classes. In addition, short courses on teaching of physically handi- capped children and seminars on speech therapy in the classroom are given to teachers in ordinary schools, and lectures on the education of handicapped children are given to teachers under training in the colleges of education. The section has a braille printing press which is operated by the Government Printer. This press prints all the Cantonese braille textbooks and supplies them to schools for the blind under government subsidy at one-tenth the actual cost. As a result, schools for the blind can purchase braille books at almost the same cost as standard textbooks.
Secondary Education
There are five types of secondary schools: Anglo-Chinese grammar schools, Chinese middle schools, secondary technical schools, secondary modern schools and pre-vocational schools. The 232 Anglo-Chinese grammar day schools have an enrol- ment of 208,118 pupils. They offer a five-year course in the usual academic subjects leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education (English) Examination. Instruc- tion is in English, with Chinese taught as a second language. Successful certificate of education candidates may enter sixth forms for two years to prepare themselves for entrance to the University of Hong Kong or The Chinese University of Hong Kong. They may also study for the General Certificate of Education at both ordinary and advanced levels. In addition, there are 33,133 pupils attending tutorial or evening classes where instruction in secondary level subjects, mainly English language, is offered.
The 102 Chinese middle day schools accommodate 55,027 pupils and offer a five-year course in the usual academic subjects leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education (Chinese) Examination. Instruction is in Chinese, and English is taught
56
EDUCATION
as a second language. A number of Chinese middle schools also offer a one-year sixth form matriculation course to prepare students for entrance to The Chinese University of Hong Kong. For those who obtain satisfactory results in the certificate of education examinations, higher education is available at the colleges of education, the Technical Institute, and the Polytechnic.
There are 15 secondary technical schools, 14 of which offer a five-year course in English with Chinese taught as a second language. Nine of the schools are govern- ment, four are subsidised and two are private. Their total enrolment is 8,852. Like the Anglo-Chinese grammar schools, they prepare their pupils for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and suitable candidates can continue their studies in Form VI or at the Polytechnic. Five subsidised secondary modern schools with an enrolment of 3,732 offer a three-year secondary course with a practical bias. There are also nine private and five subsidised secondary schools with a total enrol- ment of 4,142 which offer some form of technical or trade training not leading to the Certificate of Education Examination. Plans have been approved to provide 6,600 places in three-year courses in subsidised pre-vocational schools and three such schools are already in operation.
There has been a steady increase in the number of pupils enrolled in all types of secondary schools operated during the day. In September, there were 279,483 such students compared with 251,463 in the previous year. During the school year 5,280 new secondary places were provided in new school buildings. Furthermore, a total of 84,698 pupils entered the first year of the secondary school course. This represents the promotion of 81.4 per cent of the pupils completing the primary school course. Of these pupils, 41.3 per cent were awarded government, government-aided or assisted places.
The government's declared aim is to provide three years of aided secondary education for all children in the 12-14 age group seeking it. This will require a sub- stantial programme of expansion, and every effort is being made to provide places for 50 per cent of the age group by 1976. Within this figure and by the same date, provision will be made for 18-20 per cent of the 12-16 age group to proceed to aided courses leading to a certificate of education, but the long-term aim is to double the provision for full secondary education.
The extra school places to be found in Forms I-III under this new policy will be provided either directly in government or aided schools, or in private non-profit- making schools which will be assisted for the purpose, or by buying places in suitable private profit-making schools. For 1972-3 over 18,000 pupils have been awarded three-year assisted places on the results of the Secondary Schools Entrance Examina- tion to be taken up in various private non-profit-making and private profit-making secondary schools. New schools will also have to be built to make up the balance of the required number of places in Forms I-III.
Higher Education
A scheme of student financing, under which public funds are made available for outright grants and interest-free loans to needy students at the University of Hong
EDUCATION
57
Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, was introduced by the government in 1969-70. The administration of grants totalling $2.86 million and loans totalling $3.57 million for 1972-3 is in the hands of a Joint Universities' Committee. The scheme represented a substantial increase in the amount of public funds available for student financing and aimed to ensure that students offered a place in either of the two universities should not be prevented, through lack of means, from accepting the offer.
Early in the year, the Joint Universities' Committee produced evidence to show that in order to achieve this aim, an increase of about 32 per cent in grant funds and about 200 per cent in loan funds would be needed for 1972-3. As a result the govern- ment allocated in September 1972 an extra $918,000 for grants and an extra $6.25 million for loans for 1972-3. With these increased allocations, the amounts of grant and loan funds became $3.78 million and $9.82 million respectively.
Both the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong have financial resources of their own, but are largely financed by the government. Because of the importance of university development and the sums of public money involved, the government needs impartial and expert advice both on the assessment of the amount of grant required to sustain any level of university activity and on developments necessary to meet the community's requirements for graduates. The government also needs advice on the allocation of funds between the universities. To carry out these functions there is a University Grants Committee appointed by the Governor. It also acts as the formal channel between the universities and the government.
The University Grants Committee was expanded in May 1972 to become the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee to advise the government also on the allocation of funds for the Hong Kong Polytechnic which came into being in August 1972.
The University of Hong Kong was established in 1911 with a land grant from the government and endowments which have since been increased. Substantial govern- ment grants are also made towards the university's annual recurrent and non-recurrent expenditure.
The number of undergraduate places in each faculty in 1972-3 were as follows: arts 703; science 471; medicine 722; engineering and architecture 594; and social sciences and law 540. Of these, a total of 900 places were available for new under- graduate entrants. There were also 651 places for postgraduate students, comprising 395 reading for higher degrees and 256 reading for diplomas and certificates, 47 students at the Chinese Language School, two visiting students and nine external students. The number of full-time teaching posts (including demonstratorships and tutorships) at the beginning of the academic year was 491. All the degrees and other professional qualifications conferred by the university are on the same footing as those of the universities in Great Britain.
The university's Department of Education offers graduates a one-year full-time course leading to a Diploma in Education and a two-year part-time course leading
58
EDUCATION
to a Certificate in Education. The department also offers the MPhil following a qualifying examination, either as a six-term part-time period of study spread over two academic years, or as a one-year full-time candidature. As in other departments, the PhD is also available for specially qualified and selected candidates.
The Department of Extra-mural Studies provided over 216 evening and day-time courses for adult students in 1971-2. During the period July 1971 to June 1972, 4,808 attended regular courses and 467 attended public lectures, seminars and conferences. Some of these courses are conducted in Cantonese and Mandarin but the majority are in English. Subjects vary from oriental studies through a full range of liberal arts to economics, law and commerce, and include a rapidly growing section of vocational and professional courses leading to a number of qualifications, including a University Diploma in Management Studies.
The University of Hong Kong conducts its own advanced level examination, the standard of which is similar to that of the GCE advanced level. Entry to the univer- sity is generally dependent upon successful results in this examination. In May, 4,911 candidates entered for the examination, of whom 2,825 fulfilled minimum require- ments for entry.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong was inaugurated in October 1963 as a federal university in which the principal language of instruction is Chinese. It com- prises Chung Chi College, New Asia College and United College. The university is situated on 330 acres of land on the Tai Po Road near Sha Tin. United College, which was located on Hong Kong Island before, moved into the Sha Tin Campus in December 1971. It is anticipated that by September 1973, New Asia College, which is now located in Kowloon, will also be on the new campus.
The Chinese University at present has three faculties and the total undergraduate enrolment in September 1972 was 2,582 (arts 732, science 746, commerce and social science 1,104). During the year, 598 students graduated from the University-13 Masters of Arts, 9 Masters of Science, 16 Masters of Business Administration, 3 Masters of Social Science, 163 Bachelors of Arts, 121 Bachelors of Business Admin- istration, 132 Bachelors of Social Science, and 141 Bachelors of Science. In the matriculation examination held in the summer of 1972, a total of 6,796 candidates sat and 2,270 passed. The total number of freshmen for the academic year 1972-3 was 762.
The Graduate School of the university, established in September 1966, has been offering two-year postgraduate courses in arts, science, business administration, and social science leading to a Master's degree. In the academic year 1972-3, two types of programmes have been instituted: a two-year programme of course work and research thesis leading to a degree of Master of Philosophy in Humanities, Science or Social Science, Master of Business Administration, and Master of Divinity; and a one-year programme of course work leading to a degree of Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Social Science. Up to October 1972, 149 students had been awarded Master's degrees. In the current academic year, there are 130 students in the school.
EDUCATION
59
The School of Education, inaugurated in September 1965, offers a one-year full- time and a two-year part-time postgraduate course of professional training leading to a Diploma in Education. A total of 68 students obtained the Diploma in 1972.
The Lingnan Institute of Business Administration was inaugurated in September 1966. The institute provides facilities for graduate study and research in the broad area of business administration, and offers a two-year curriculum leading to the degree of Master of Business Administration.
The Department of Extra-mural Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong offered over 450 courses and had an enrolment of 13,422 during 1971-2. In addition to general courses, the department has so far provided certificate programmes in hotel management, hotel operation, social welfare, the promotion and techniques of tourism, tourist guiding, applied design, transistor technology, computer fundamentals and programming, Chinese history, Chinese literature, general banking administra- tion, basic systems analysis, librarianship, advanced translation, the teaching of modern mathematics in secondary schools, personnel management, industrial design, music, film and television studies, advanced electronics and practical accountancy. The majority of the courses are conducted in Cantonese or Mandarin. The depart- ment also offers correspondence courses in English and Chinese writing, English and Chinese language and literature, business administration, principles of economics, marketing management, design and Chinese painting etc.
University Research
Both universities conduct a wide range of research programmes each year. Set out below are some of the programmes with particular relevance to the Hong Kong community that were completed or in progress during 1972.
In the University of Hong Kong, the Centre of Asian Studies sponsored activities designed to preserve for study essential elements of Hong Kong and Kwangtung culture. These included production of a documentary film of the Hungry Ghost Festival, catalogued collections of photographs and slides of Kwangtung artists, Cantonese opera scripts, wood-block printed books, and materials on local medical practices. Specific subjects for research were Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and the Lingnan School of Painting. The centre also assisted the Bar Association in developing a research programme into the inter-related problems of crime and punish- ment in Hong Kong; while completing its own projects on the impact of modernisa- tion on the youth of Hong Kong, and a comparative study of hawkers in South-East Asian cities. During the year, studies were continued on subjects ranging from a biography of Hong Kong's first treasurer, Robert Montgomery Martin, to con- sideration of developments in China today.
In arts and social sciences and law, research studies were pursued in all aspects of the humanities. Work continued on urban and rural developmental problems, with special reference to Hong Kong conditions. The university is in an unusually fortunate position to pursue comparative East-West studies in psychology, in literature and in modern intellectual history, and these fields have been explored in the year under review. Research has been undertaken in industrial relations in Hong Kong and
60
EDUCATION
dangerous drugs legislation. Linguistic work on Chinese dialects and enquiry into the philosophy of language has also continued. In addition, two of several planned courses leading to Master's degrees in Arts and Social Sciences have been successfully launched.
In the medical faculty, the study of the growth and development of Chinese children entered its sixth year. Other projects included studies of erythrocytosis in hepatocellular carcinoma, the regulation of brain circulation and the level of female sex hormones in patients with trophoblastic disease. New and continuing projects in science, engineering and architecture included high-rise building research, building economics, ecology of marine and fresh-water organisms, investigations of agri- cultural pests, stability of cracking, electronic kymography and studies of local ionospheric and cosmic ray phenomena.
Research centres have also been set up in The Chinese University of Hong Kong. There are now centres in the Institute of Social Studies and the Humanities, the Institute of Science and Technology, and the Institute of Chinese Studies. These provide wide-ranging research and training opportunities for staff and students of the university.
Projects in the social studies and humanities field include studies on the impact of urban industrialism on a Chinese village; the impact of industrialisation on fertility in Hong Kong; the various aspects of Hong Kong's hawkers; the Kwun Tong health systems; the people of Kwun Tong; and the legal problems of the press in Hong Kong. Science and technology projects include physiological studies on mud-skipper fish; pollution studies and marine ecology of Tolo Harbour. Chinese studies include Cantonese as spoken in Hong Kong; the compilation of a dictionary of spoken Chiu Chow dialect; and the Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage.
The Polytechnic
On August 1, 1972 the Polytechnic Board assumed responsibility for the work of the Hong Kong Technical College as the first stage in its development of the Poly- technic.
The Board has accepted the recommendations of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee that its student target figures should be raised to 8,000 full-time and 20,000 part-time students by 1978.
For the current academic year, the teaching work of the Polytechnic is essentially that being carried out by the Technical College at the time of the transfer of responsi- bility.
During the session preceding the hand-over, the Technical College, a post- secondary institution operated by the government, had a total enrolment of 12,402 students in 413 classes comprising 1,576 full-time students in 65 classes, 1,164 part- time day-release students in 47 classes and 9,662 evening students in 301 classes distributed over 10 centres with eight departments.
The Polytechnic now has a total enrolment of 12,998 students in 418 classes, comprising 1,828 full-time students in 63 classes, 942 part-time day-release students
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Delightful costumes of some 1,800 schoolchildren provided a rich kaleidoscope of colour during the Eighth Schools' Dance Festival held in March. The 10-day event featured western folk dances, oriental dances and modern education dances, along with a special event for handicapped children. This year there were 127 entries from d primary schools and 51 from secondary schools. Staged in three centres-one each on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories-the festival was organised by the Education Department's physical education section in conjunction with both the Hong Kong and the New Territories Schools' Sports Associations.
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EDUCATION
61
in 36 classes and 10,228 evening students in 319 classes distributed over 12 centres. Like its predecessor, it has eight departments: building, surveying and structural engineering; commerce and management studies; electrical engineering; mechanical production and marine engineering; textile industries; nautical studies; mathematics and science; and industrial and commercial design. These provide full-time courses leading to the Polytechnic's own higher and ordinary diplomas and to the member- ship examinations of many British professional institutions, a number of which have granted exemption from certain parts of their examinations to students in the higher diploma courses. These include, among others, exemption from the Council of En- gineering Institutions Part I examinations in structural engineering, mechanical en- gineering, production engineering, electrical engineering and electronic engineering; and from the first part of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors examinations for holders of the Technical College higher diploma in the relevant departments.
In addition to the two-year and three-year diploma courses, the electrical en- gineering department also offers courses for first and second-class radio officers, and a three-month course in radar maintenance which gives training to qualified sea-going officers and technicians. With effect from September 1971, the radio officers' courses have been replaced by a two-year marine electronic officers' course leading to the Telecommunications Authority's Radio Communication General Certificate. The department of nautical studies operates courses for deck officer cadets. These are approved by the British Department of Trade and Industry as preparatory courses for navigating officers and remission of qualifying sea service is granted. The depart- ment also offers upgrading courses for masters and mates of foreign-going vessels and radar observer courses for junior officers. The department of mechanical produc- tion and marine engineering also operates a number of productivity courses. Full-time courses at craftsman level are also offered in radio and television servicing. The department of textile industries is now offering courses covering all aspects of textiles. In the near future, some full-time students will undertake a specialised course in clothing technology. The Polytechnic will liaise with the United Kingdom Clothing Institute in regard to students becoming professionally qualified in this field.
The eight departments also provide part-time day-release and evening courses. These lead to qualifications in a range of technical and commercial subjects at profes- sional and technician levels. Whenever there is a need for courses on specific subjects of current interest to local industry or to a sufficient number of individuals, the college offers short courses to meet the demand, so far as its resources permit. During the year, a number of short courses of this nature were offered by all departments.
The Morrison Hill Technical Institute
The Morrison Hill Technical Institute, established in September 1969, consists of six departments: business studies, construction, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, preliminary and general studies, and technical teacher and workshop instructor training. It operates craft and lower technician courses on a full-time block- release, part-time day-release, and part-time evening basis. Short courses in specialised technical/commercial subjects are also provided. During the 1971-2 session, a total
62
EDUCATION
of 73 courses were provided and 11,700 students were enrolled. The courses offered included a number of new technical and commercial ones such as auto-mechanics (theoretical-upgrading), mechanical engineering craft endorsement course (fitting and machining), shipbuilding and repair estimating, audio-typing, Pitman's shorthand and an evening course for mechanical technicians. Of the students enrolled in all courses, 82 per cent attended courses with entry requirements of below Form V level, while the remaining 18 per cent attended post-secondary courses with entry requirements of at least completion of Form V or equivalent.
As a large number of students were on a part-time evening basis, the institute made use of 15 external evening centres on both sides of the harbour to provide part- time evening courses for over 9,000 students.
The institute maintains close links with industry, commerce, and the apprentice- ship training unit of the Labour Department to gauge local manpower requirements and plan courses directly relevant to community needs. Sponsorship of students also plays an important role in providing technical teacher training, which gives qualified status. The department of technical teacher and workshop instructor training offers both a one-year as well as a two-year full-time training course. It also provides train- ing for in-service technical teachers, as well as training for workshop instructors on a part-time day and a part-time evening basis.
As a result of the efforts and co-operation of the Apprenticeship Training Unit of the Labour Department and the good response and interest shown by industry and commerce, the institute has been able to fulfil an important role in providing part- time day-release training for both craft and technician apprentices in local industry. For the current session, 1,300 registered apprentices have been accepted a 100 per cent increase as compared with the enrolment in 1971. The increasing support given by the motor repair and other industries in sponsoring students for courses run by this institute has resulted in some over-utilisation of facilities.
The existing Morrison Hill Technical Institute building, completed in July 1970, was designed so that an additional floor could be added to the workshop wing at a later date. It was originally estimated that this extra accommodation would not be required for at least five years. However, the demand for the courses offered by the institute has been such that the provision of extra accommodation is now a matter of priority. As a result, the extra floor is to be built as soon as possible and will house three workshops for technical teacher training, mechanical fitting, and electrical in- stallation.
In addition, the institute is making plans to establish a department of printing with equipment donated by the printing industry. This is to meet the demand from the local printing industry for institutional training of apprentices and craftsmen. In the first instance, it is intended to set up temporary printing workshops in premises formerly occupied by the United College of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. At the same time, planning is underway for two more technical institutes at Kwai Chung and Kwun Tong respectively, scheduled for completion by 1975.
EDUCATION
Pre-vocational Schools
63
Plans have been approved for a total of approximately 6,600 subsidised places for primary school leavers in a number of three-year pre-vocational schools.
Pre-vocational education is a three-year post-primary course based on roughly 50 per cent general education and 50 per cent basic practical training in at least three of the major fields of Hong Kong's industrial development. This is to avoid special- isation which is inappropriate at this level. The aim of pre-vocational education is not to provide complete skills and knowledge of a specific trade or occupation but to include manipulative skills and help young people choose a suitable field of employment.
The students in such schools are given a general education together with training in manipulative skills to suit them for employment in industry. An opportunity for further training is provided in the Technical Institute.
At present, there are 1,560 pre-vocational school places. Practical subjects taught include metalwork, basic electrical engineering, automobile servicing, printing (type- setting), building trades and commercial subjects (mainly for girls). New schools are under active planning to provide an additional 5,080 places, and one of these schools will be occupying its own building next year.
Advisory Inspectorate
The Assistant Director (Chief Inspector of Schools) is responsible for the in- spection of all schools, the development of the curriculum, and the improvement of teaching standards. He is helped by the Assistant to the Chief Inspector, whose duty is to co-ordinate the work of advisory inspectors. The Chief Inspector, with the assistance of a senior education officer, is also responsible for the Research, Testing and Guidance Centre. This centre, established in 1965, continues to provide locally constructed tests of attainment in mathematics, Chinese language and English language and administers them to pupils in Primary 3 to Primary 6. The service has been extended to cover some 934 primary schools with more than 224,540 pupils participating. The test results provide cumulative information for the educational guidance of pupils and valuable data on the effectiveness of courses and syllabuses.
Also under the supervision of the Advisory Inspectorate is the English Language Teaching Centre. The centre, also set up in 1965, has a sub-unit in Kowloon and during 1972 was mainly concerned with the provision of refresher courses for teachers and the production of teaching materials.
In September, the first Joint Meeting of the Primary Curriculum Planning Com- mittee and the Secondary Curriculum Planning Committees was held. These com- mittees are charged with the task of ensuring that the curriculum of all schools is kept under constant review and that programmes of curriculum renewal and in- novation are introduced. In any such renewal the criterion will be the needs of students in contemporary society.
64
Visual Education Centre
EDUCATION
The Audio-Visual Education Centre of the department provides on loan to all schools a large range of audio-visual materials. A wide range of modern equipment is on display at the centre which also houses photographic and graphics facilities.
During the year, 14 titles of colour slides, sets of photographs and 8 mm loop films were completed. A series of 42 audio-visual workshops was held for primary and secondary school teachers. An exhibition on Audio-Visual Materials for primary schools was mounted at the Primary Schools Heads Conference held at the Grantham College of Education in April. Supplements to the main catalogue of Audio-Visual Materials are distributed to schools together with the Quarterly A-V News Bulletin published by the centre.
Teachers and Teacher Education
In March there were 36,001 full-time and part-time teachers employed in govern- ment and registered day schools, of whom 8,293 were university graduates and 16,512 were non-graduates qualified for the teaching profession. Other teachers were engaged in tutorial, evening and special afternoon classes, and 227 were in special schools. At the end of the 1971-2 school year, the ratio of pupils to teachers in primary day schools was 33.4 and in secondary day schools was 27.6.
Teacher training is provided at the Education Department's three colleges of education-Northcote, Grantham and Sir Robert Black. All three colleges offer full- time two-year courses designed to produce non-graduate teachers qualified to teach in primary schools and the lower forms of secondary schools. A special one-year course is offered at Northcote for diploma holders from certain post-secondary in- stitutions. Special third-year courses are offered to prepare non-graduate teachers to be specialists in domestic science or mathematics (at Northcote), art (at Grantham) and music (at Sir Robert Black) for teaching these subjects in the higher forms in secondary schools.
The colleges also provide in-service courses of training for unqualified teachers. These are part-time evening courses, in either Chinese or English, of two years' duration. They lead to the award of a certificate granting qualified teacher status and the number of students attending these courses has been considerably expanded as from September 1972 in order to provide 2,000 additional trained teachers by 1976. Since September 1969, the Morrison Hill Technical Institute has been co-operating with the colleges of education in offering special full-time one-year and two-year courses for the training of technical teachers.
In September 1972, there were 1,165 students in the two-year courses, 19 in the special one-year course, 44 in the specialist third year course, 1,256 trainees in the in-service training courses, and 17 in the one-year and 46 in the two-year course for special full-time training of technical teachers.
New premises for the Sir Robert Black College of Education are now under construction and are expected to be completed by mid-1974. In addition, an extension to Grantham College of Education is being built to provide increased facilities.
EDUCATION
Adult Education
65
Adult education is provided by the Education Department in the Evening In- stitute, the Technical Institute Evening Departments, the Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies and 14 adult education and recreation centres.
The Evening Institute offers English courses from elementary to post-certificate level; teachers' classes for art, music, handwork, woodwork, physical education, modern educational dance, modern mathematics and the teaching of English; and secondary school courses leading to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education, both English and Chinese. A three-year post-primary extension course providing additional training with a practical bias is also available for those who do not anticipate further education at the secondary school level. Rural literacy classes and general background classes provide fundamental and elementary education with special reference to adult needs and interests. Practical background education classes give adults an oppor- tunity to learn woodwork, housecraft, sewing and knitting. Adults have a complete educational ladder from the literacy level to post-secondary studies. The total number of classes provided by the Evening Institute is 756 in 75 locations in both urban and rural areas.
The Evening School of Higher Chinese Studies offers a three-year course in general arts leading to a diploma issued by the Education Department. Subjects taught include Chinese literature, philosophy, sociology and English language and literature. Most of the students are primary school teachers. There are 14 classes in two centres.
At the 14 adult education and recreation centres, education and recreation are combined in activities ranging from music appreciation and physical education to group study of art, photography and dramatics. These activities are expressly designed to stimulate creative ability and develop individual talents, with the aim of fostering a community spirit.
Apart from its regular activities, the Adult Education Section has from time to time designed various schemes which aim at serving the community at large. In con- junction with the Prisons Department, several classes giving instruction in general subjects with a moral and civic emphasis, and also in subjects of a practical nature, are organised for inmates at different prisons. Classes are also held at the Aberdeen Rehabilitation Centre in co-operation with the Social Welfare Department.
Educational Television
The Educational Television Services (ETV), which opened in the Educational Television Centre in September 1971, completed a successful year of transmissions in the four subject areas of Chinese language, English language, mathematics and social studies to over 100,000 children in the third year of their primary schooling.
These programmes have been revised and re-issued to third year primary school- children in the academic year commencing September 1972, while new programmes in the same basic subject areas have been devised for fourth year primary school- children. Approximately 220,000 primary schoolchildren will, therefore, benefit from ETV in the current academic year.
66
EDUCATION
ETV programmes are based on syllabuses in use in primary schools and are designed to complement and supplement classroom teaching. Notes for teachers and pupils accompany each programme and demand careful preparation and follow-up. Evaluation is supplied by teachers, questionnaires, visits to schools by ETV producers and reports from inspectors of schools.
Approximately 2,000 television receivers serving some 6,000 classes have been installed in schools since the opening of the ETV Service in September 1971.
Examinations
In 1972 there were five local examinations for schools, one conducted by the Education Department, two by the Board of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education, one by the Advanced Level Examination Board of the University of Hong Kong and one by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Matriculation Board.
The Secondary School Entrance Examination is a competitive examination to select pupils for places in government and aided secondary schools, and for assisted places in private secondary schools. It is conducted by the Education Department and an examination committee is appointed to give advice on general policy. All primary schools are invited to participate and may enter all their Primary 6 pupils for the examination. Moreover, schools that do participate are asked to send a minimum of 50 per cent of their Primary 6 enrolment. Scholarships for a full secondary school course are awarded on the results of the examination.
Since 1972, the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (English) and the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (Chinese) have been conducted by one and the same Hong Kong Certificate of Education Board, which comprises members representing participating secondary schools, the University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Education Department. The board aims at combining the above two examinations over the year, into one Certificate of Education Examination where subjects can be taken either in English or in Chinese.
The two Certificate of Education examinations and the Secondary School Entrance examination are processed with the help of the government computer, which also marks such papers in these examinations as are set in the multiple-choice format. The computer also allocates secondary school places to pupils in accordance with their results and their stated preferences.
The Education Department provides a local secretariat for various examining bodies in Britain and elsewhere and so makes available to students in Hong Kong many overseas examinations, academic and professional, at standards comparable with those in Britain. Of these examinations, the General Certificate of Education is open to both school and private candidates who hold a Certificate of Education of the required standard unless they have reached the age of 23 in which case no entry qualification is required. The University of London degree examinations are also conducted annually in May and June. Appendix 19 shows the more important overseas examinations held in Hong Kong and the number of candidates entering for them.
EDUCATION
Music and Art in Schools
67
The 24th Annual Schools Music and Speech Festival attracted a record response of 9,035 entries. Over 50,000 competitors took part in 416 available classes.
The annual practical examinations of the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music attracted 5,208 candidates and 2,073 candidates entered for the theory examinations. A Hong Kong candidate was again awarded the annual scholarship awarded jointly to India and Hong Kong valued at $30,000 and tenable for three years at the Royal College of Music, London, for the 12th successive year.
A total of 94 candidates entered for the examinations of the Trinity College of Music and 600 ballet students took part in the Royal Academy of Dancing Examina- tions.
The Hong Kong Youth Orchestra presented five concerts during the year, two of which were in the New Territories and two in Macau. The fifth featured the orchestra with the Combined Christian Choir in a performance of Handel's 'Messiah'.
Art and craft courses in new techniques and teaching methods for primary and secondary school teachers were run by the Education Department during the year. Hong Kong children won many prizes in art competitions and exhibitions in West Germany (in connection with the Olympic Games), in Britain and in Finland.
Recreation
The recreational activities programme of the Physical Education Section of the department continues to increase in scope and in the number of participants. The year-round programme for schools includes games competitions in all major sports, gymnastics and dance competitions, sailing and a comprehensive outdoor programme of canoeing and camping. Hong Kong Schools were represented during the year in three Asian international schools tournaments-swimming in Thailand and football and basketball in Singapore.
The promotion of physical recreation activities for the physically handicapped is now pursued throughout the year in training and coaching programmes culminating in an annual paraplegic sports day. During the year, the Outward Bound School held a course for the physically handicapped and this was a further extension of the pro- gramme now being developed throughout Hong Kong for the physically handicapped.
The department has become an operating authority for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme in Hong Kong and promotes the scheme in schools. At present just over 2,000 schoolchildren are participating in this scheme.
The summer vacation programme continues to cater for over 500,000 school- children. Two of the main features this year were a camp for 700 girls held at Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village and the Education Department's 'learn-to-swim' campaign. This campaign provided a series of 12 one-hour swimming lessons for over 3,000 schoolchildren and was an extremely popular and successful programme.
68
Education Overseas
EDUCATION
The Students' Section of the Hong Kong Government Office in London is responsible for keeping records of all officially recommended students in the United Kingdom and for assisting them in finding places in universities and institutions of higher education. The same services are provided for nurses undergoing training in hospitals in the United Kingdom. The section also makes arrangements for students including nurses, to be met and accommodated on arrival. Thereafter, it helps them with personal and educational problems during their stay. The section maintains close relations with the Education Department in Hong Kong, the Overseas Development Administration and other British government departments, the British Council, and educational establishments and hospitals where Hong Kong students are receiving training.
There are some 4,500 students recorded by the Student Adviser, excluding government servants but including apprentices on sandwich courses and nurse trainees, undergoing a wide range of courses in the United Kingdom.
During the year, the staff of the Students' Centre made a total of 65 visits to universities, institutions of higher education and to hospitals in various parts of Britain. The Student Adviser is also Secretary of the United Kingdom Selection Board which interviews those students who wish to return to Hong Kong after graduation or on completion of training. The board recommends for appointment those students who are found suitable for administrative, professional and executive officer posts. Numerous enquiries about employment in Hong Kong led to the board meeting 12 times during the year to interview a total of 41 candidates. Most of these were found suitable for employment in various departments of the Hong Kong Government. The year also saw the introduction of a Selection Board for Hong Kong nurses who wish to work in Hong Kong Government hospitals on completion of their training. This Nurses Selection Board met on four occasions and recommended 16 nurses for appointment.
The government maintains the Hong Kong Students' Centre, formerly known as the Hong Kong House, as a residential and social centre in London for Hong Kong students in Britain. It accommodates some 75 students and serves as a focal and meeting place for many more. The Administrative Commissioner in London is responsible for the administration of Hong Kong Students Centre and is assisted in this work by an Advisory Board which includes two student representatives among its members.
7
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Health
HONG KONG'S geographical and environmental circumstances make it vulnerable to infectious diseases, but in spite of this it has been free from any major epidemic in recent years. Considerable improvements have been made in the control of commu- nicable diseases with the result that very few cases occur. However, precautionary measures against the re-appearance of cholera were maintained throughout the year. Diphtheria and poliomyelitis have been brought under control due largely to the prevention programme, while the incidence of measles has remained at a low level in recent years.
Where once communicable diseases were responsible for the greater number of deaths, the position has now reversed and there are more deaths from non-commu- nicable diseases and from accidents. The leading causes of death in Hong Kong are cancer, heart and hypertensive diseases, pneumonia, cerebrovascular diseases and tuberculosis.
During the year, the development programme of the Medical and Health Depart- ment continued to make steady progress. A total of seven projects were completed. They are the Siu Lam Hospital for the mentally subnormal; the Medical and Health Department Institute of Immunology; stage one of the South Kwai Chung Polyclinic; the new clinical building and the new pathology building and virus laboratory at Queen Mary Hospital; the Medical and Health Department Laundry at Chai Wan; and the new Victoria Public Mortuary. Work also began on the Tsz Wan Shan standard urban clinic and maternity home, and on major alterations and the new outpatient department at St John Hospital, Cheung Chau. Construction work for the General Wing of the Princess Margaret Hospital continued satisfactorily.
Administration
The Medical and Health Department provides hospital and clinic facilities throughout both urban and rural areas, maintains maternal and child health, school health and port health services, and is responsible for measures to control epidemic and endemic disease.
The estimated expenditure of the department for the financial year 1972-3 is $215,184,100. To this should be added subventions totalling an estimated $123,006,900 to many non-government medical institutions and organisations. The estimated capital expenditure on hospital and other buildings, including furniture and equipment, is $40,691,000.
70
Communicable Diseases
HEALTH
Cholera has not been reported in Hong Kong since October 1969. Routine sampling of nightsoil for cholera vibrio was carried out on a year-round basis as part of the surveillance programme. In June, cholera vibrio were isolated from a sample of nightsoil taken routinely from a collection route at Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. In July, cholera organisms were again isolated from the same nightsoil route, but in each case subsequent samples from the same route were reported as negative. In September, specimens taken from nightsoil vehicles serving the Happy Valley and Wan Chai areas were found to be positive. However, subsequent investigations for cholera organisms from these two sources proved negative. No case of cholera was reported during the period when positive nightsoil samples were obtained. The public were informed of the findings and advised to observe strictly the rules of personal and food hygiene.
Tuberculosis remains Hong Kong's principal community health problem. It is believed from the figures available that approximately 0.8 per cent of the population is suffering from active pulmonary tuberculosis requiring treatment. Males are affected at least twice as commonly as females, the disease being especially common in elderly men, while drug addicts are also particularly prone. Tuberculosis in the young is now relatively uncommon and the once large numbers of acute and often fatal cases of tuberculosis in infants are no longer seen.
The government either by subvention or directly through the Government Chest Service spends more than $21 million annually on control measures. The tuberculosis control programme is a combined effort between the Government Chest Service, the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis and Thoracic Diseases Association, and the Junk Bay Medical Relief Council; while certain other organisations, including the Tung Wah Group and the Caritas Medical Centre also provide treatment facilities with the aid of substantial government subventions. The Government Chest Service operates seven full-time clinics, the newest being the one at Kwai Chung which was officially opened by HRH Princess Alexandra in October. There are 15 subsidiary centres throughout Hong Kong.
The Chest Service maintains an extensive Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vac- cination programme and during the year 96 per cent of babies born in Hong Kong received BCG vaccination within 72 hours of birth. It is believed that the widespread use of this prophylactic measure had led to the precipitate fall in tuberculosis in the very young in Hong Kong. There are several lines of investigation proceeding with BCG. An investigation of the different techniques of giving BCG to newborn infants, a study on the advantages and disadvantages of direct BCG and an intensive survey of children born after July 1, 1966 notified as suffering or dying from tuberculosis, should produce helpful results.
The cornerstone of treatment in Hong Kong is ambulatory chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. The position with regard to the treatment of tuberculosis in the last 15 years has changed completely, and the disease can now nearly always be cured provided the patient is co-operative and takes his treatment regularly. The previous monthly issue of PAS/Isoniazid tablets has now, in a large proportion of cases, been
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replaced by a regimen of twice weekly Streptomycin injections and high dosage Isoniazid tablets. This has the advantage of being a completely supervised regimen, while it is known that some patients did not take their drugs regularly when issued on a monthly basis.
As a result of a large scale trial with the Medical Research Council to assess the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy in Hong Kong, the six months of three drugs daily (PAS, Isoniazid and Streptomycin) with which treatment was usually initiated was reduced to three months. The trial also indicated the paramount need for super- vision in the taking of drugs and has led to a simplification in the management of the cases. The study to evaluate the most effective drugs for the treatment of resistant cases is almost complete and, as a result, it is now possible to treat many drug resistant cases which previously required hospitalisation-on a completely outpatient basis. The present course of treatment for tuberculosis is long and arduous, averaging some 18 months; a study of the possibility of reducing this lengthy period is now well under
way.
The results of these many investigations are of international interest and it is hoped that they will, within the next few years, revolutionise the approach to the treatment of tuberculosis.
Hong Kong now has 1,600 beds available specifically for the treatment of tuber- culosis. The government provides 108 beds in Kowloon Hospital, but the majority are in government-assisted hospitals, notably those managed by the Hong Kong Anti- Tuberculosis and Thoracic Diseases Association. This association offers a total of 783 beds distributed between Grantham Hospital, Ruttonjee Sanatorium and Freni Memorial Home. In addition, the Junk Bay Medical Relief Council has 300 beds at its Haven of Hope Sanatorium. The Tung Wah Group plays an important role in the treatment of tuberculosis and the Chest Unit at Wong Tai Sin Infirmary has 185 beds in spacious accommodation.
Venereal disease is diagnosed and treated free at social hygiene clinics. The recorded incidence of early infectious syphilis continued to remain low in 1972, thus differing from experience in other parts of the world. Latent and late syphilis and gonorrhoea have stayed comparatively unchanged and the incidence of chancroid and lymphogranuloma remained very low. The maintenance of this satisfactory position. is due, at least in part, to energetic epidemic control by contact tracing, follow-up of defaulters and routine ante-natal blood tests.
Leprosy remains a comparatively minor public health problem. Each week 20 outpatient sessions are held solely for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease, while other sessions are held at social hygiene centres in conjunction with dermatology and venereal disease clinics. The Leprosy Mission-Hong Kong Auxiliary, with the aid of a government subvention, maintains the Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium for the treat- ment of infectious cases and a small number of patients requiring reconstructive operations are also accepted. Due to the decreasing incidence of the disease, the num- ber of new cases admitted to the leprosarium has shown a notable reduction in recent years. A decision was taken in June 1971 to phase out and eventually close the lepro- sarium. Future leprosy cases requiring hospital treatment will be accommodated in
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the special infectious disease unit of the Princess Margaret Hospital scheduled for completion in early 1974.
Malaria is reported only in certain rural areas of Hong Kong. Of the few cases recorded in recent years most were either imported or recurrent cases. Malaria pre- vention in the urban areas is based chiefly on anti-larval measures consisting of drain- ing and clearing streams, ditching and oiling. In the greater part of the New Territories, where the background is essentially rural, screening of buildings, use of mosquito nets and chemoprophylaxis constitute the main protection against malaria. All anti- mosquito measures for the prevention of malaria are carried out by the Pest Control Section of the Urban Services Department. Clinical aspects of malaria control such as malaria surveys and chemotherapy are the responsibility of the Medical and Health Department.
Diphtheria occurred mainly among children under 10 years of age, predominantly within the 'pre-school' age-group. The annual inoculation drive which has been in progress since 1959 continued to give encouraging results, and from the number of cases recorded in recent years, the stage of eradicating the disease from the community appears almost to have been reached. There has been a steady decline in the number of cases notified annually; in 1972 only five cases were recorded compared with 25 cases in 1971 and 2,087 cases in 1959. The vaccine used in the campaign is a combined vaccine against both diphtheria and tetanus.
Poliomyelitis has been brought under control since the introduction of the poli- omyelitis vaccination programme in 1963. During the year only four cases were reported. The vaccine is offered free at government maternal and child health centres and a general immunisation campaign is mounted annually in January and March. Infants in hospitals and maternity homes are given one dose of type 1 polio-vaccine soon after birth. This is followed by two doses of balanced trivalent vaccine at three and five months and a booster dose at 18 months. Epidemiological surveillance of the disease was maintained throughout the year. This included virological investigation of laboratory specimens for polio-virus and the carrying out of a poliomyelitis faecal survey among normal children to find out the distribution of polio-virus in the community.
Measles is most prevalent among children under the age of five years and epi- demics are characteristically biennial. In Hong Kong during epidemics the disease is usually associated with high mortality due mainly to complicated bronchopneumonia encountered too late for treatment to be effective. Since December 1967 measles vaccine was included in the public health vaccination programme and the vaccine is now regularly available at government maternal and child health centres. Anti- measles campaigns are conducted throughout Hong Kong each year, and for the year under report the campaign was started in August, lasting about nine weeks. During the drive, measles vaccine was made available at all government dispensaries, clinics and health centres, as it is usually, and also in other inoculation posts set up in resettlement and low-cost housing estates, health offices and other areas. The disease incidence and its mortality have remained satisfactorily low in the last five years.
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These results were due, at least in part, to the immunisation campaign and the con- tinuing health education efforts to encourage parents to seek early medical advice.
Influenza occurred sporadically during the year. In conjunction with the World Health Organisation, the disease continued to be kept under a surveillance programme in which epidemiological and laboratory information about the disease is transmitted regularly overseas. The epidemiological information includes regular recording of influenza-like illnesses seen in the general outpatient departments of certain designated clinics, and also the recording of deaths from influenza, pneumonia and bronchitis. During the year, influenza A virus was isolated from a number of throat swabbings and throat washings sent for virological investigations. The influenza virus strains isolated were antigenically closely related to the variant A/Hong Kong/107/71 showing a certain degree of antigenic deviations from its prototype A/Hong Kong/68 (H3N2).
Other communicable diseases remain at a low level, and do not constitute a major public health problem.
Port Health Service
The Port Health Service is responsible for the enforcement of the International Health Regulations as provided under the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance and the sanitary control of the port and airport areas. It provides facilities for the vaccination and the issue of International Vaccination Certificates to travellers, and for the inspection, deratting and the issue of International Deratting or Deratting Exemption Certificates to ships on international voyages. It also renders medical assistance to ships in the harbour and transmits free medical advice to ships at sea. A 24-hour service for the inspection of incoming passengers arriving by sea and air and the granting of Radio pratique to ships from clean ports on request is maintained throughout the year.
Epidemiological information is regularly exchanged with the World Health Organisation in Geneva, the Western Pacific Regional Office in Manila and several neighbouring health administrations.
Maternal and Child Health
There is increasing public understanding of the value of Hong Kong's maternal and child health facilities. Almost all babies are born either in hospital maternity wards or in maternity homes, and confinements at home attended by private midwives now represent less than one per cent of the total deliveries. The Government District Midwifery Service has 29 centres, and the total number of maternity beds available for deliveries in these health centres is 552. There are 72 registered midwives practising privately in 46 maternity and nursing homes, which are regularly inspected by the Supervisor of Midwives and her staff.
The Government Maternal and Child Health Service offers free maternal and child care at 35 centres, 20 of which are full-time. A full-time centre in South Kwai Chung became operational in autumn 1972 on completion of stage one of the South Kwai Chung Polyclinic. Clinics are held for infants and for children between two and
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five years old, and ante-natal and post-natal sessions are also conducted. Whenever necessary, babies attending the clinic are visited at home, and health visitors also go to the homes of newborn infants whose names appear on the monthly birth returns. Health education forms an important part of this work and there is close liaison with the Family Planning Association, which conducts an increasing number of sessions at all the centres.
School Health
The School Medical Service is operated by the School Medical Service Board, an independent body incorporated by ordinance. Essentially the scheme offers a service whereby participating schoolchildren receive medical treatment from private medical practitioners for $7 a year. With effect from October 1, 1972 this per capita fee was reduced to $5 a year with the government contributing $20 a year for each participating pupil, as well as the cost of administrative expenses. At the end of the year 68,837 students attending schools were enrolled in the service and 180 private medical practitioners were participating.
The School Health Service continues as a government responsibility and is con- cerned with the environmental health and sanitary condition of school premises and the control of communicable diseases in schools. Routine inspection of schools is undertaken by school health inspectors, while immunisation of schoolchildren against the major infectious diseases is arranged by health officers.
Mental Health
Psychiatric cases are admitted to the Castle Peak Hospital, mostly as voluntary patients. Outpatient treatment is available in the urban areas and in the New Terri- tories, and day-patients are treated in the Psychiatric Day Centre on Hong Kong Island as well as the Yau Ma Tei Psychiatric Centre in Kowloon. The latter centre also provides special facilities for the observation of disturbed children. The Hong Kong Psychiatric Centre, which moved into its new premises in the David Trench Rehabilita- tion Centre in March 1971, also provides occupational therapy for the psychiatric patients. The acute Psychiatric Unit in the Kowloon Hospital West Wing became operational in July 1971. It has 67 beds and is equipped with facilities for the treatment of day-patients. A Psychiatric Observation Unit is operated in the Victoria Reception Centre for remand prisoners, and there is one ward for the severe grade mentally subnormal children in the Tung Wah Hospital. This ward will be closed when all its patients have been transferred to the Siu Lam Hospital for the mentally subnormal. Other cases of mental subnormality are in the care of the Social Welfare Department, where they receive occupational training. Certain voluntary agencies, working in close co-operation with the Mental Health Service, assist in the rehabilitation of patients before their return to full social and economic activities in the community.
Drug Dependence
The treatment centre for voluntary patients on Shek Kwu Chau Island can now accommodate 500 patients whose stay there varies from four to six months. This centre is run by the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts (SARDA), a
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government-subvented agency. In addition to this centre for male patients, the society also runs a female treatment centre accommodating thirty patients. (A description of the three treatment centres operated by the Prisons Department for drug dependant prisoners is contained in the Chapter on Public Order.)
Since the formation of the Action Committee Against Narcotics in 1965, co- ordination of the work done by both government and voluntary agencies in the drive against narcotics has been much improved at the operational level. By 1972 there were 10 government agencies and nine voluntary organisations represented on the committee with Sir Albert Rodrigues as Chairman. In June this year, the government appointed its first Commissioner for Narcotics. This move shows clearly that the government is determined to tackle with the utmost vigour the serious criminal and social problems connected with dangerous drugs. The Commissioner is responsible to the Secretary for Home Affairs, and in general terms, his role is to co-ordinate the activities of all the government departments and the various voluntary agencies in- volved in the fight against the illicit drug traffic in all its forms; including the rehabilita- tion of drug addicts.
In April this year, a Central Registry containing basic information on drug addicts was established. The main sources of information are government and voluntary agencies who in the course of their work come into contact with drug addicts. With this information it is hoped to learn more about the average success rate for treatment in institutions, estimate the total number of drug addicts in Hong Kong and compare the success rate of organised treatment with that of other forms.
Legislation has also been introduced to amend the Drug Addicts Treatment and Rehabilitation Ordinance to raise the age of competency of a young patient from 16 to 19 years and to extend the period of treatment for young patients from six months to a maximum of 12 months, during which time vocational training will be given.
Hospitals
There are now 16,733 hospital beds available in Hong Kong, representing 4.1 beds per thousand of the population (see Appendix 24). This figure includes maternity and nursing homes, but not institutions maintained by the Armed Forces. Of these beds, 14,658 are in government hospitals and institutions or in government-assisted hospitals, while the remaining 2,075 are provided by private agencies. Apart from beds assigned to the mentally ill and for the treatment of tuberculosis and infectious diseases there are 13,319 beds available for all general purposes, including maternity, giving a ratio of 3.3 beds per thousand of the population. The figures quoted are based on the normal bed capacities of the hospitals, but in some cases the actual occupancy is much higher, as temporary beds are used whenever the need arises.
Queen Elizabeth Hospital serves as the main emergency and specialist hospital for Kowloon and the New Territories, with all necessary ancillary and specialist services. It has a capacity of 1,596 beds, but the pressure for admission necessitates the extensive use of temporary beds bringing the total number of functional beds in the hospital to 1,904. The Kowloon Hospital is used mainly as a subsidiary to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for patients requiring convalescent care and rehabilitation.
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In addition, the Kowloon Hospital contains an acute Psychiatric Unit of 67 beds, a paraplegic unit of 50 beds and a thoracic surgical unit of 94 beds.
On Hong Kong Island, the government maintains another large general hospital, the Queen Mary Hospital of 1,144 beds, which performs the same functions for the Island as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital does for Kowloon. It is also the teaching hos- pital for the Medical Faculty of the University of Hong Kong. Construction work for a new pathology building and virus laboratory and a new clinical building was com- pleted during the year, while work on the new mortuary continued. These projects when completed will provide additional teaching facilities for an increased intake of medical students and also improved pathological services for the hospital.
Other government hospitals are maintained chiefly for specialised purposes. The Siu Lam Hospital was opened in June 1972. It has 200 beds for the severe grade of the mentally subnormal. Apart from this and the Castle Peak Hospital there are two infectious disease hospitals and a maternity hospital of 300 beds, where the teaching of medical students and training of midwives is carried out. The Tang Shiu Kin Hospital provides casualty service as well as facilities for maternal and child health, social hygiene and maternity services. Two smaller general hospitals are maintained, one on Cheung Chau Island and the other on Lantau. Small hospitals are also established in prisons; and maternity beds for normal midwifery are provided in many government clinics and dispensaries.
The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, a long-established charitable organisation, operates three general hospitals, the Tung Wah, the Tung Wah Eastern and the Kwong Wah with a total of 2,263 beds, and a convalescent hospital of 503 beds at Sandy Bay. It also provides subsidiary beds for long-term patients at Wong Tai Sin Infirmary. These hospitals, whose recurrent expenditure is met mainly by a large sub- vention from the government, provide a valuable contribution to Hong Kong's medical facilities and are gradually being modernised and expanded. During the year, alteration work was started in the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, which will be converted into an acute hospital to admit cases directly referred from Tang Shiu Kin Hospital.
The Pok Oi Hospital, near Yuen Long in the New Territories, is another long- established charitable organisation operating with the assistance of a government sub- vention. It has been modernised and expanded.
A number of the general hospitals are maintained by missionary and other chari- table organisations such as the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, Caritas Medical Centre at So Uk, Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital, the Duchess of Kent Children's Orthopaedic Hospital and Convalescent Home, the Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital and the Fanling Hospital. Several receive substantial government subventions.
Specialist Services
In government hospitals there are clinical specialists in various medical fields. There are also specialised clinics for tuberculosis and social hygiene, together with specialist services offered by the Government Chemist's Laboratory and the Forensic Pathology Laboratory. The Medical and Health Department Institute of Pathology
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maintains clinical pathology and public health laboratory services. The Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals maintain blood banks, and the Hong Kong Red Cross Society operates a blood-collecting service for voluntary blood donation; lab- oratory work for these blood banks is carried out by the Institute of Pathology.
Outpatient Clinics
To meet the increasing demand for treatment by modern western medicine, the outpatient services, provided mainly by the government, and also by subsidised or- ganisations and private agencies, are developing steadily. The government now main- tains 49 clinics for general outpatients, with specialist facilities available in the major centres of the urban areas; similar specialist facilities are provided in the New Terri- tories by visiting teams from Hong Kong and Kowloon. Mobile dispensaries and floating clinics take medical services to the more remote areas of the New Territories, while other inaccessible villages are visited by the flying doctor service.
In accordance with the Medical Clinics Ordinance, all clinics are required to be re-registered annually. On December 31, 1972, there were 75 registered static clinics and three registered mobile clinics under the control of registered medical practitioners, and 350 clinics registered with exemption, making a total of 428. The Low Cost Medical Care Scheme under which static clinics are set up in resettlement and housing estates continued to operate during the year, and in allocating these premises, regis- tered doctors are given priority.
Medical Fees
At government general outpatient clinics there is a nominal charge of $1 a visit, including medicine and such things as X-rays and laboratory tests. Consultation at a specialist clinic also costs $1. There are no charges for patients at tuberculosis, social hygiene, and leprosy clinics or for patients suffering from quarantinable diseases. Similarly, no charges are made at certain remote institutions located in outlying areas or on the floating clinics. The infant welfare and ante-natal and post-natal clinics are also free.
For patients admitted in the general ward of government hospitals, the daily maintenance and treatment fee ranges from $2 to $6 according to the diet supplied. A limited number of private rooms and small semi-private wards are provided at major hospitals. The charges for these are much higher than those for general-class wards and, in addition, all treatment is chargeable.
Where a patient is unable to pay the medical fees, provision has been made for the charges to be either waived or reduced at the discretion of the Director of Medical and Health Services.
Dental Services
The Government Dental Service undertakes complete dental care for all monthly- paid government officers and their families, and offers a limited treatment programme for inpatients of government hospitals, prisoners and inmates of training centres. The service also provides emergency treatment for the general public at certain clinics.
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There are 31 government dental clinics, including one mobile unit which supplements static clinic facilities and one clinic that has recently been completed.
Fluoridation of Hong Kong's urban water supply began in 1961 and most of the population now receive water which has been treated (under strict control) with sodium fluoride or sodium silico-fluoride. It appears from clinical observation that this mea- sure has already brought about a reduction in the prevalence of dental caries, particu- larly among children, and that this benefit will become more marked in the future.
Many voluntary bodies and welfare organisations, particularly the Hong Kong Dental Society and the St John Ambulance Brigade, maintain free or low-cost dental clinics and many dentists give their services free of charge. The Church World Service, the Lutheran World Service and Caritas operate fully-equipped static and mobile. dental clinics.
Ophthalmic Service
Based on three full-time outpatient centres, equipped with operating, investigation and treatment rooms, this service operates on a sessional basis in the urban areas and in the outlying districts of the New Territories. Ophthalmic surgeries are performed in the eye clinics as well as in two government hospitals, in which 36 beds are reserved for ophthalmic cases. The staff of the Ophthalmic Service also deals with ophthalmic emergencies at three casualty departments situated at the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Kwong Wah Hospitals.
Training
The degrees of MB, BS, conferred by the University of Hong Kong, have been recognised for registration by the General Medical Council of Great Britain since 1911. During recent years the Medical Faculty has expanded to meet Hong Kong's increasing need for doctors. Post-graduate clinical training is available, and the government maintains a programme for the training of its doctors for post-graduate qualifications. Suitable candidates, when selected, are given training under the super- vision of the clinical specialists for a period of about four years. A local officer who has completed four years continuous resident service and has been confirmed to the pensionable establishment, may be granted paid study leave to attend a course outside Hong Kong. Through this arrangement many government doctors in the past years have been given paid leave to attend courses of study overseas.
Hong Kong has no local facilities for training in dentistry, but a government dental scholarship scheme enables a number of students from Hong Kong to go over- seas each year to study dentistry. A total of 89 scholarships have been awarded since the scheme commenced in 1954.
There are three government hospital schools of nursing where instruction is given in the medium of the English language; two of these provide a three-year course in general nursing and are attached to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Queen Mary Hospital respectively, while the one in Castle Peak Hospital provides a three- year course in psychiatric nursing.
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Other approved nurse training schools are attached to the following government- assisted or private hospitals; the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, and the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital-where in- struction is given in Chinese-and the Caritas Medical Centre where instruction is given in English. Final registration examinations are conducted by the Hong Kong Nursing Board, with full reciprocity of registration between the board and the General Nursing Council for England and Wales.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and all the above-mentioned government-assisted and private hospitals also run one-year courses in obstetric nursing for registered nurses. On completion of their training, the students are qualified to sit for the reg- istration examination conducted by the Hong Kong Midwives Board. These courses, held in Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Caritas Medical Centre, are conducted in the medium of the English language, and are recognised as equivalent to Part 1 mid- wifery training by the Central Midwives Board in England. Due to the limited scope of domiciliary midwifery, adequate practical training in this aspect cannot be given and full reciprocity of registration with the Central Midwives Board in England is not possible at present.
The Tsan Yuk Hospital, which is the only government maternity hospital, offers a two-year obstetric course in the medium of the Chinese language for students who are not registered nurses. On completion of this two-year training, they are eligible to sit for the registration examination conducted by the Hong Kong Midwives Board.
The Government Hospital Schools of Nursing also offer two-year courses in general nurse training and psychiatric nurse training at the Kowloon Hospital and Castle Peak Hospital respectively. Five other approved schools for this type of course in general nursing are attached to the government-assisted and private hospitals. They are the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, the Haven of Hope Sanatorium, the Grantham Hospital, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital. As from July 1972, pupil nurses who have completed these courses and have passed the examination conducted by the Hong Kong Nursing Board become Enrolled Nurses.
A nine-month course for Health Visitors is held at the Tang Shiu Kin Hospital, which prepares entrants to sit for the examination of the Royal Society for the Pro- motion of Health. Health Auxiliaries, who supplement the Health Visitor service, continue to have a two-year training course in health education and basic public health nursing at the same hospital.
The government conducts a continuous post-graduate overseas training programme for graduate nurses. Subjects studied during 1972 were nursing admin- istration, nursing education, dietetics, orthopaedic nursing, intensive-care therapy, operating theatre service and ophthalmic nursing.
The Hong Kong Examination Board of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health conducts examinations for the Diploma for Local Public Health Inspectors, the Diploma in Public Health Inspection for General Overseas Appointments, the Diploma in Tropical Hygiene for Public Health Inspectors and the Certificate for
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Health Visitors and School Nurses. Training for the Diploma for Local Public Health Inspectors, the Diploma in Public Health Inspection for General Overseas Appoint- ments and the Diploma in Tropical Hygiene for Public Health Inspectors is carried out within the Urban Services Department.
Environmental Health
Responsibility for environmental health services and for the disposal of the dead in the urban areas rests with the Urban Council working through the Urban Services Department. In the New Territories, the Director of Urban Services is responsible.
About 8,600 employees of the Urban Services Department are engaged in street cleansing, removal of refuse and nightsoil, disposal of the dead and the running of public conveniences and bathhouses.
An average of 2,900 tons of refuse is collected and disposed of daily-1,300 tons at two large oil-fired incinerators operated by the Public Works Department and 1,600 tons at the controlled tips at Gin Drinker's Bay, Chau Tau, Ngau Tam Mei and Shuen Wan in the New Territories. Construction of a second incinerator and the planning of a third one for Kowloon are in progress.
Certainly the largest, most expensive and most ambitious project of its kind ever mounted here, the 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign reached its peak in November with a massive clean-up in which the entire community joined forces with the govern- ment to fight filth and to create cleaner living conditions generally. This campaign. took 18 months of planning and involved the introduction of new public cleansing, hawker and anti-litter legislation enforced by litter wardens, contributions of resources from all government departments, an extensive publicity campaign (described in Chapter 14) and the active participation of some 80 Area Committees representing 8,000 volunteers at peak mobilisation. The success of this major drive is to be seen throughout Hong Kong's streets, public places, picnic areas and in the communal parts of multi-storey buildings, but is even more evident in the changed attitude of the people towards the disposal of refuse and litter. Thus, a major step was taken to arrest the ever-encroaching dirt and squalor that afflicts most industrial societies. However, it is recognised that this success must be firmly and vigorously built upon in the years ahead, and planning to this end is now in hand.
The need for the free nightsoil collection service continued to diminish as pre-war property was replaced by modern buildings with waterborne sanitation. In the urban areas, about 16,579 gallons of nightsoil are collected daily from 13,072 floors with dry latrines, and from 1,454 temporary latrine structures on building sites and squatter or licensed resettlement areas. There are 34 specialised vehicles and three tanker-barges employed on this service and, since a former maturation plant closed, all the nightsoil collected is dumped into deep sea outside the harbour limits where currents are favourable.
The hygiene staff, consisting mainly of the health inspectorate, is responsible for the maintenance of environmental sanitation and for the hygienic control of all types of food business, food and drink, and laundries. Regular inspection of domestic
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premises is carried out by health inspectors, who are also responsible for investigating complaints of sanitary nuisances and for the prevention of fly and mosquito breeding. Investigation into food poisoning cases and control of infectious diseases are carried out in close liaison with the Medical and Health Department. All applications for licences in the urban areas (other than hawker licences) under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation are dealt with by a central licensing unit which ensures that only premises that comply with the statutory standard of hygiene are granted licences. During the year, 10,484 licensed premises (this figure includes the New Territories) were regularly inspected by the health staff.
The Food Inspection and Certification Unit is responsible for the inspection and control of imported food and meat products. This unit, maintaining close liaison with other government departments, also deals with the inspection and certification of food for export and the inspection of animal products for export under veterinary certification. Frozen meat and poultry continue to be imported in large quantities, 23 countries having become approved sources for this supply. Consideration is being given to amending the Imported Meat and Poultry Regulations so that more effective control can be exercised over the importation of meat and poultry. Systematic surveys and samplings were conducted to enable chemical and bacteriological analysis to be made of the composition and purity of food and beverages (including milk and ice- cream) on sale to the public. In addition, the list of permitted preservatives used in certain specified foods was brought up-to-date in the regulations governing preserva- tives in food.
A pest control section advises and carries out measures for the control of rodents, cockroaches, fleas, bedbugs, wasps, biting midges and other pests. In the New Terri- tories, the scope of this work is extended to include the control of culicine (nuisance) mosquitoes and flies. Weekly larvicidal oiling of streams to prevent the breeding of malarial mosquitoes on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon, and at Kwai Chung, Rennie's Mill Village and Cheung Chau in the New Territories, is also a pest control function.
The health education section continued to organise and participate in publicity campaigns on various aspects of environmental health. Public health training courses were held for specific groups of the public such as food handlers, boy scouts and cadets of the Hong Kong Red Cross. In order to promote health education in schools, various activities in the form of schoolchildren's competitions and contests were organised jointly with the Education Department and voluntary organisations.
Public markets still play a very important part in the daily life of densely- populated Hong Kong where food remains a culinary art at all levels of society. Markets are crowded both in the morning and evening, despite social habits gradually changing in the face of rising incomes, the ubiquitous refrigerator and an increasing shortage of personal servants to do the household shopping. There are 61 public retail markets- 41 in the urban areas and 20 in the New Territories. There are also five private markets in the New Territories. Although these markets are convenient centres where meat, fish, poultry, vegetables and fruit are available at reasonable prices, many were built several decades ago and are now too small to cope with today's
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heavy demands in a manner which is acceptable by modern standards. Also, the haw- kers surrounding the markets occupy land and street-space which is badly needed for development and traffic circulation and often their primitive stalls create health and environmental problems. The Urban Council, recognising the continuing im- portance of public markets in Hong Kong and the need for urgent measures to deal with the problem of street hawking, has launched an extensive programme for the reconstruction of old markets as well as the construction of new ones in areas of rapid population growth. The new markets are built to modern standards featuring larger, brighter stalls with improved facilities, to accommodate as many as possible of the hawkers who formerly traded in the open air. Particular emphasis is being placed on the provision of adequate market facilities for resettlement estates, where lack of facilities has resulted in a considerable hawker problem.
Although the implementation of the Urban Council's policy on hawkers has been hampered by lack of manpower for control and law enforcement along with the difficulty of obtaining land on which to construct bazaars, a number of major hawker operations have been carried out and continuous containing action is being taken with the resources available. The policy has now been endorsed by the Governor in Council and, as a result, substantial increases in staff and resources have been approved. The Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance has also been amended and new Hawker By-laws and Regulations have been made to make hawker control more effective.
Two government abattoirs are in operation: one at Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island and the other at Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon. Each abattoir was designed to handle 1,350 pigs and 170 cattle on the basis of a daily eight-hour shift. Kennedy Town Abattoir now handles, on average, 2,857 pigs and 188 cattle and Cheung Sha Wan 4,387 pigs and 250 cattle every working day. At festivals, the kill rises and on the two days preceding the Lunar New Year, some 6,000 pigs were slaughtered at Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir alone. This phenomenal kill is an indication of the increasing affluence of the community. Because meat consumption is increasing considerably, plans are in hand to expand the existing slaughtering facilities by the construction of an additional pig-dressing line at each abattoir. A second abattoir in Kowloon and the provision of other facilities in the New Terri- tories are also under consideration. There are at present two private slaughterhouses in the New Territories. Inspection of slaughtered animals both in government abat- toirs and in the private slaughterhouses is carried out by specially trained health inspectors of the Urban Services Department.
The New Territories Division of the Urban Services Department is fully and directly responsible for environmental hygiene, cleansing, hawkers and markets in the New Territories. It works in close liaison with the Medical and Health Depart- ment, the New Territories Administration and the Resettlement Department. The Urban Services Department, fully realising that standards in the rural New Territories are below those of urban areas, has made the problem of pollution and lack of basic services a priority task.
The Urban Services Department directly controls 11 public cemeteries (of which two are closed) and three public crematoria, and supervises the operation of 28
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private cemeteries and one private crematorium. It also provides two funeral depots which are open 24 hours a day, for the holding of reposing services and last rites and for the arrangement of transportation of deceased persons in coffins to a public cemetery or crematorium for interment or cremation; such services are free of charge. Apart from the government facilities for holding funeral services, there are three commercial funeral parlours and 34 undertakers licensed by the Urban Council. In addition, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals provides a low-cost funeral service on both sides of the harbour.
Research
The research work carried out in the Medical and Health Department Institute of Pathology includes a study of the incidence of the Australia antigen among Chinese blood donors, drug addicts and clinical cases of viral hepatitis; histological typing of lung tumours, jaw cysts and allied lesions; and a collaborative study with the neuro- surgical unit in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the immunological aspects of cryp- tococcal infections.
Research into various aspects of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) continued during the year at the Medical and Health Department Institute of Radiology. This year marks the end of Phase 2 of the Study Project carried out in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in Lyons, France. It entails a two-year study of the natural history of a Herpes-type virus (HTV) in NPC to discover the mechanism of transmission of the HTV infection in man and its role in the causation of NPC.
The Institute and the World Health Organisation's Regional Centre in Singapore have conducted a pilot study into the genetical susceptibility and resistance of an individual to NPC or to certain oncogenic viruses.
Supported partly by the World Health Foundation of Hong Kong, research is carried out on the establishment of cell lines, especially epithelial, from NPC and normal nasopharyngeal and tonsillar mucosa biopsies, and on the role of exogenous carcinogenic or co-carcinogenic factors in the aetiology of NPC.
With the assistance of the Health Service of the University of Hong Kong, the institute is also carrying out a community study to examine the environmental factors and living habits of residents of resettlement areas and to compare them with those of NPC patients.
Research work was also carried out among the clinical specialist units in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In the paediatric unit, the work included a study on the effects of anti-convulsive drugs on the development of rickets; Australia antigen in babies with exchanged blood transfusion; and the use of cyclophosphamide in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome with frequent relapse. In the obstetrics and gynaecology unit a study was carried out on epidural anaesthesia for pain relief in labour, and also on the application of certain drugs for the prevention of premature birth. In the neurosurgical unit a clinical trial was carried out on the use of L-DOPA in the treatment of Parkinson's disease in an Asian population; the use of 5-fluorocytosine
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in the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis and, as mentioned earlier on, in conjunc- tion with the Institute of Pathology in Kowloon Hospital a study was also made on the use of immunological tests for early detection of cryptococcal meningitis.
Research work carried out in the anaesthetic unit included a study on the effectiveness of laryngeal reflex during ketamine anaesthesia, comparison of blood loss in certain gynaecological operations performed under general anaesthesia and epidural anaesthesia; and the use of naloxone as an antagonist to pethidine. In the medical unit the main research work was concerned with chronic glomerulo-nephritis with a view to obtain pertinent information for the establishment of a long-term maintenance dialysis service; therapy in systemic lupus erythraematosus with renal involvement; analysis of clinical data among local diabetes mellitus patients; metabolic studies of uric acid level in serum and cells in patients with gout or conditions asso- ciated with hyperuricaemia; enzymatic studies on serum and cell cholinesterase activities in patients with cirrhosis of liver; and therapeutic studies on malignant disease of lymphoid tissue.
8
Land and Housing
ALL land in Hong Kong is owned by the Crown. In the early days of this British territory Crown leases were granted for 75, 99 or 999 years. With the exception of the New Territories, they are now granted for 75 years, usually renewable for a further 75 years at a reassessed Crown rent. Crown leases for New Territories land are now normally granted for a period of 99 years, less three days, from July 1, 1898 and so terminate three days before the expiry of the period of the lease from China.
Land administration in Hong Kong and Kowloon is the responsibility of the Director of Public Works, who is also the Building Authority and Chairman of the Town Planning Board. The Director also deals with that part of the New Territories between Boundary Street and the Kowloon foothills, called New Kowloon. The Dis- trict Commissioner, New Territories, is responsible for land administration throughout the rest of the New Territories. All leases of Crown land and private land transactions are recorded for Hong Kong and Kowloon in the Registrar General's Department, and for the New Territories (with the exception of certain inland lots) in the District Offices of the New Territories Administration. The inland lots in the New Territories are mostly located in the built-up area of New Kowloon and deeds relating to them, with a few exceptions, are recorded in the Registrar General's Department. The prin- cipal laws relating to the development and use of land are contained in the Buildings Ordinance, the Town Planning Ordinance and the New Territories Ordinance.
The government's basic policy is to sell leases to the highest bidder at public auction. All land available to the general public for commercial and industrial purposes and for residential sites is sold in this way. The realised premium is payable by a percentage of the upset price on the fall of the hammer and the balance within a short period after the sale, except in the case of industrial lots where it can be paid by in- stalments. In 1969 a change was introduced in respect of sites of high value in central areas when the upset price of the site was $10 million or more, providing for payment by annual instalments over 10 years free of interest; during 1971 this was further amended to provide for payment by instalments with 10 per cent of the realised price being payable within one month of the auction, the balance being payable by 10 equal annual instalments bearing interest at 10 per cent a year. Land for special housing projects, for public utilities, schools, clinics and approved charitable purposes is usually granted by private treaty. The premium charged in such cases varies from nothing for non-profit-making schools up to the full market value and payment by instalments for public utilities.
To assist owners of industrial lots where the premium is payable by instalments, there is a concession which, subject to certain conditions, permits the sub-letting of parts of the building without having to pay the outstanding balance of premium.
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In recent years the terms of a considerable number of 75-year Crown leases have expired. Many of these are non-renewable leases but unless the land is required for a public purpose, it is government policy to negotiate a new lease term with the former lessee. The premium payable represents the full market value of the land less the build- ings. The premium is normally payable by up to 21 instalments with interest at 10 per cent per annum. Where a property is required for a public purpose, it is the govern- ment's policy to pay ex gratia compensation for any building on the land at the time it resumes possession.
Considerable progress has been made during the year to effect the re-grant of non-renewable leases which were owned in undivided shares. Previously, failure of the co-owners to reach agreement between themselves had the result that no re-grant could be effected. Many of these leases expired six years ago or more, and during the inter- vening period the former owners had no proper title to their flats. The procedure that has made possible a satisfactory solution to this problem is that the former lot or section is granted under an entirely new lease to the Colonial Treasurer Incorporated and offers of assignments from the Colonial Treasurer Incorporated are subsequently made to the individual former owners with the premium instalments apportioned according to the value of the unit in the building they formerly owned. Offers have been made to approximately 1,000 former owners and there has been almost unanimous acceptance of the terms.
In 1973 a large number of 75-year renewable leases in the New Kowloon and New Territories fall due for renewal. A considerable amount of opposition to the impending assessment of renewal rent gave rise to a review of the lease renewal policy. This review resulted in further concessions being introduced into the lease renewal policy. A statement setting out the full terms for renewal of renewable leases was issued during the year, briefly dividing the lots into two groups; the first group comprises lots in the New Territories including those Survey District Lots in New Kowloon registered in a District Land Office; the second group comprises lots on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and New Kowloon together with new grant lots in the New Territories registered in the Victoria Land Office.
Legislation has been enacted which provides for the automatic renewal of leases of the first group of lots as from the expiration of the first term in 1973, without any alteration in Crown rent. In the case of the second group, renewal may be effected under the legal option contained in the Crown lease or by means of one of three other ways offered by the government.
Leases which are renewed under the legal option contained in 75-year renewable leases (which provides that the reassessed Crown Rent shall be 'such rent as shall be fairly and impartially fixed by the Director of Public Works as fair and reasonable value of the ground at the date of renewal') will be given certain concessions. Firstly, the rent which is assessed by the Director of Public Works will be abated by 20 per cent. Secondly, the reassessed Crown rent will be phased-in for a five-year period commencing July 1, 1973, so that in the first year following renewal, lessees will only be required to pay 50 per cent of the rebated renewal rent. In the second year they will pay 60 per cent and the rent will be increased by steps of 10 per cent until the
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renewal rent (less the 20 per cent reduction) becomes payable only in 1978. Further- more, if there is on the land a pre-war building which on May 24, 1972 was fully occupied by tenants protected by the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Ordin- ance, there will on renewal be no alteration to the Crown rent payable before expiry of the Crown lease for such time as such provisions subsist.
The first way of effecting renewal other than by legal option is for the lessee to take a new lease upon payment of a premium instead of a reassessed rent. The second way caters for the needs of a lessee of an underdeveloped lot who does not wish to redevelop and allows him to renew his lease at a rent of 30 per cent of the net annual value of the building existing on the land, if he is prepared to accept a covenant limiting the development on the lot to that existing at the time of renewal. The covenant can be modified at any time in the future when the rent will be increased to the rent that would have been payable had the legal option been exercised. The third way is open to a lessee whose lease has 20 years or less to run. He is permitted to surrender his existing lease in exchange for a renewed lease of a longer term upon payment of a premium or reassessed rent which would be assessed taking into account the value of the lease that he surrenders.
The demand for land continues unabated and future expansion must be in the New Territories. Outline development plans have therefore been prepared, or are under preparation, for building new towns and expanding existing market towns in areas best suited to industry and high-density housing. These are Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Castle Peak (known locally as Tuen Mun) and Sha Tin where entirely new towns are being built; and Yuen Long, Tai Po and Shek Wu Hui where development is based on the existing townships.
Most of these development areas contain a high proportion of leased agricultural and village building land, which must be surrendered or acquired before new develop- ment may proceed. As an incentive to surrender the lands required, an exchange system has been developed whereby old building land may be exchanged on a foot for foot basis for new building land, or five square feet of agricultural land may be exchanged for two square feet of building land, the lessee paying the difference in value between the surrendered lands and his new building lot. In layout areas where development is imminent, exchanges of land may be applied for by the lessee. Where land must be resumed for government development an offer is made to the lessee, during the period of resumption, of an exchange of land in any layout in the New Territories, to be taken up at such time as lands become available. This offer, if accepted, replaces his statutory rights to cash compensation under the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance. The letters of offer (which are known as letters 'A' and 'B') are freely assignable and the system has generally proved acceptable to landowners, at the same time reducing the government's cash commitment for compensation.
Land Sales
The system of selling land regularly in accordance with a planned programme continued throughout the year. Demand for land was at a high level with the result that there was considerable competition at Crown land auction sales and values
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reached new peaks in all sectors. There were several particularly noteworthy sales during the year; one of which in Central District on Hong Kong Island, for non- industrial (including hotel) purposes, realised $105 million, representing $2,902 per square foot. The realised premium was payable by 10 annual instalments including interest at 10 per cent per annum; the option to pay in this way was exercised by the purchasers and consequently the full amount realised was not reflected in the year's revenue. Another sale which created considerable interest was the site of the former Mount Kellett Hospital on the Peak. The site covering 78,310 square feet was sold for $18.5 million, representing $236 per square foot. The realised price reflected the prestigious nature of the site. Although the sale included the hospital building, the purchasers intend to demolish it and redevelop the site for residential use to the much lower density stipulated under the conditions relating to redevelopment.
Interest continues in the purchase of sites where construction of supermarkets is permitted, and four such sites were sold during the year at high prices.
Revenue from land transactions in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Kowloon during the financial year 1971-2 totalled approximately $182.9 million made up as follows: about $118.9 million from 57 sales by auction and tender; $11.9 million from private treaty sales; $14.9 million from modifications of lease conditions, extensions and exchanges; and $37.2 million from re-grants of expired 75-year leases. Revenue from land transactions in the New Territories during the same period was $18.9 million.
Where it is not possible to dispose of land immediately, either because public utilities and other services are not yet available or the site has been set aside for some future purpose, the land is rarely left vacant but may be let out either on temporary annual permit or on short-term tenancy. The 1971-2 revenue from this type of tenure was approximately $9.3 million in the urban area and $3.3 million in the New Terri- tories (the last figure includes modification of tenancy fees). As permanent develop- ment continues, permits are cancelled and the number decreases year by year; short- term tenancies however are increasing. Revenue derived in rent from the leasing of government-owned buildings in whole or part totalled $5.7 million.
Land Office
The Land Office, which is a branch of the Registrar General's Department, is responsible for the registration of all instruments affecting land; the settling and reg- istration of conditions of sale, grant and exchange of Crown land; the issue, renewal, variation and termination of Crown leases; the granting of mining leases; and advice to the government generally on matters relating to land.
The system of registration, introduced in 1844, is broadly similar to that in the Yorkshire Deeds Registries in England. The Land Registration Ordinance provides that all deeds and instruments registered under it shall have priority according to their respective dates of registration, and that deeds and instruments not registered (other than bona fide leases at rack rent for any term not exceeding three years) shall be absolutely null and void as against any subsequent bona fide purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration. Registration is therefore essential to the protection of title, but does not guarantee it.
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The number of instruments registered during the year rose by 23.1 per cent from last year's total of 73,946 to 91,057. The figure included 1,798 assignments of whole buildings or sites (against 1,727 in 1971), 28,491 assignments of flats and other units in multi-storey buildings (against 22,695), 14,760 agreements for sale of such flats and units (against 13,007), and 23,902 mortgages (against 17,440). As a consequence of the continuing high rate of new building projects, the number of building mortgages registered during the year rose from 145 to 196, although the number of orders ex- cluding premises from the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, which usually have to be obtained prior to redevelopment of the sites of old buildings, decreased by 29 to 195. Orders requiring redevelopment of the sites of demolished buildings totalled 127 (against 108). The number of searches rose by 12.4 per cent from 108,632 to 122,139, which provides a good index to the state of the property market as searches are nor- mally made prior to every land transaction. Compared with 1971 the grand total of considerations recorded in all instruments registered rose by $2,975 million, or 47.9 per cent, to $9,181 million.
The volume of work in several other sections of the Land Office was influenced by the prevailing market conditions. During the year, 258 conditions of sale, grant, exchange, etc, were registered as compared with 292 in 1971. Consents granted to for- ward sales of flats in those cases where the conditions under which the land is held give the necessary power of control, totalled 169 (against 202 in 1971). The number of modifications and deeds of variation of lease conditions-often a prelude to multi- storey development-decreased by two to 60. The number of Crown leases issued was 157, compared with 209 in 1971.
There were 139 determinations of Crown rent and premium under the Crown Rent and Premium (Apportionment) Ordinance, and 147 corporations were registered under the Multi-storey Buildings (Owners Incorporation) Ordinance, bringing the total number of corporations on the register to 429 compared with 282 at the end of 1971.
At the end of the year, the Land Office card index of property owners contained the names of 217,467 people (an increase of 16,647 over the previous year), some own- ing several properties, but most being merely owners or part owners of small individual flats.
Survey
Land survey in Hong Kong serves two main purposes; first, the delineation of town planning layouts, the setting out of public works and the boundaries of private lots and government sites, i.e. cadastral survey; and second, the production of plans and maps. To implement this policy there are two divisions, Hong Kong and Island Survey Division and Mainland Survey Division with the work of the branch as a whole being divided into the four main sections set out below.
Control Survey
This section is responsible for the provision and maintenance of a rigid frame- work of fixed points on both vertical and horizontal planes on which all surveys are based, viz triangulation stations, traverse stations and level datum bench marks.
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The main control work carried out during the year was the completion of a system of precise control points for the proposed mass transit railway scheme. This control was used to provide very accurate surveys in areas where development could conflict with proposals of the mass transit scheme and also as a basis for the accurate large scale surveys of the proposed station sites carried out by the consultants for the scheme. Also, should the scheme proceed, the actual setting out of tunnels and associated works will be based on this same control.
Control work generally has been greatly speeded up by the use of electronic distance measuring equipment which has also enabled the work to be carried out with greater precision than ever before.
Title Survey
This section is responsible for delineating and recording all property boundaries, surveys for surrenders, grants, sales, exchanges, leases, etc. There was once again an increase in land dealings, with the number of plans produced for title surveys increasing by more than 10 per cent over the previous year's figure. Part of this increase can be attributed to the rise in land value with property owners becoming more boundary conscious, particularly in the New Territories.
Mapping Survey
Surveys are carried out for the preparation of plans and maps of the whole ter- ritory at different scales and their subsequent revision at regular intervals. Due to the increase in title work, and the necessity of employing some mapping parties for this work, not as much progress was made during the year with the revision of large scale maps as was hoped. Investigations into improved methods of ground survey together with greater use of aerial photography are being carried out and it is hoped that this will result in increased production in 1973.
Approval was given during the year for the purchase of a 'Wild' RC 10 air survey camera to be installed into the newly acquired RHKAAF twin-engined 'Islander' aircraft. First results from using this camera were most encouraging, showing a very high standard of vertical photography. Details are now being finalised on the draft for a new air survey mapping contract which will include items for the plotting of engineering works, including volumetric work.
Cartography
This section is responsible for the production of plans and maps at different scales for both mapping and title purposes.
Coverage of the urban areas was completed at the new 1:2,400 and 1:4,800 scale plans. Design work is now in hand for a 'street series' map at 1:10,000 scale to replace the existing eight inches to one mile series and it is expected that the new series will be available in early 1973. A second edition of the 'countryside series' was published in February and is proving very popular. A second sheet in this series, Mainland West, is now being drawn and should be published in early 1973.
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The first edition of the dual language 1:50,000 maps, published in October 1971 was sold out by January 1972. Minor amendments were made to the map and the second edition was published in February 1972. Sales of this map continue to be good. The folded 'tourist map', completely recompiled and redesigned, was published in May 1972 under the new title Hong Kong Official Guide. End-plate maps were pro- duced for a Japanese version of an introductory guide to Hong Kong produced by the Government Information Services, and revised end-plates were also produced for this Annual Report.
As a first step towards metrication of maps and plans, work commenced in September 1972 with the addition of a metric grid and scale on the 1:600 and 1:1,200 survey plans. The second step in this conversion exercise is the change of imperial spot heights and contour values on large scale plans to metric equivalents which is expected to begin in January 1973.
In the photo-reprographic section, production continued at a high rate through- out the year. New equipment installed during the year was the 'Whirler', a centrifugal plate coating machine for general topographical map production, and a large format process camera which is capable of absolute precision in the changing of scale and will be invaluable in 1973 with the change to metric scales.
A Mapping Exhibition was held in the Ocean Terminal in May which attracted considerable public interest. It lasted for seven days and all available stocks of maps and plans put on sale were sold out. As a result of the interest created by the exhibi- tion, demand for maps and plans has continued to be heavy.
There is a Drawing Office in each District Office of the New Territories Adminis- tration and a small one in Headquarters, all under the control of the District Commis- sioner, New Territories. These drawing offices are responsible for cadastral survey and the production of plans and maps in connection with land administration in the New Territories.
Town Planning
The two bodies mainly responsible for town planning in Hong Kong are the Town Planning Board, chaired by Director of Public Works and comprising eight official and five unofficial members, and the Land Development Planning Committee, chaired by the Deputy Colonial Secretary and comprising seven official members. The functions of the Planning Branch of the Crown Lands and Survey Office include the servicing of these two bodies. There are three main levels of planning which proceed from general concepts to development projects. They are: firstly, the Colony Outline Plan; secondly, statutory outline zoning plans; and thirdly, departmental plans in the form of planning guides, outline development plans and planning layouts.
The Colony Outline Plan, which is based on a data bank of land use and demo- graphic information and the findings of six inter-departmental working committees, was prepared and revised under the guidance of the Land Development Planning Committee. It provides a framework for all other planning activities and sets out general planning concepts for future population distribution and development. The plan recommends standards for the provision of community facilities; suggests the
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locations of major facilities and defines the functions of areas in broad terms. It pro- vides a framework for the preparation of statutory outline zoning plans, planning guides, outline development and layout plans. It also forms a basis for the formulation of land development programmes and the reappraisal of transportation proposals. The data bank is continuously up-dated and the plan itself requires periodical reviews to be effective. Work is proceeding on its updating and revision taking into account the results of the 1971 census and recent changes in policies. Background studies are being prepared for all areas before detailed planning proceeds. These relate the plan- ning requirements for planning areas to surrounding areas and the territory as a whole and thus co-ordinate detailed and general planning. They identify deficiencies or over- provision of community facilities and land required for various uses in relation to the existing and future populations of planning areas. A 10-year development plan for all of Hong Kong is being prepared within the framework of the Colony Outline Plan.
On the advice of the Land Development Planning Committee, the Governor in- structs the Town Planning Board to prepare plans under the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance, for areas where development is likely to affect leased land or private interests. The Board's draft plans are exhibited for public objection. Objections are heard by the Board which may amend its plans after hearing them. Any which are not withdrawn are submitted to the Governor in Council together with the draft plans. Once the draft plans are approved by the Governor in Council they become statutory documents. The zoning proposals shown thereon are implemented through lease conditions where possible, and through the Buildings Ordinance. A total of 23 statutory plans have been prepared by the Town Planning Board; six have been re- ferred back to the Board for amendment or replacement. A further nine are in various stages of preparation, while five statutory plans, including the Urban Renewal District outline zoning plan, were approved during the year.
Departmental planning guides for developing rural areas and outline development and layout plans for developing urban areas are prepared within the framework of the Colony Outline Plan, and of statutory outline zoning plans where these exist. Outline development and layout plans are drawn to larger scales and indicate road patterns and the layout of sites for various uses including reserves for government, institution and community uses, open spaces, utility companies and other specific requirements. After consulting with other departments and making amendments where appropriate, these plans are submitted to the Land Development Planning Committee for agreement. They are then adopted by the Director of Public Works when they are in the urban areas, or by the District Commissioner when they are in the New Terri- tories. During the year, seven outline development plans were adopted. These plans have no statutory effect but are used as a guide for the formulation of leases, the sale of Crown land and the redevelopment of leased land.
Most of Hong Kong's developing areas are now covered by departmental plan- ning guides and outline development and layout plans. Most parts of both the older and new urban areas are covered by statutory plans. However, many of the present departmental and statutory plans are now due for revision and replacement by plans which take account of more sophisticated forms of development and increasing social requirements.
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In the Urban Renewal Pilot Scheme area, over 70 properties have been acquired by negotiation or resumption during the year at a cost of $8 million. The total number of properties so far acquired is now 160 and the first demolition is expected to take place in the near future. A further 205 properties remain to be acquired by negotiation or resumption and a programme to achieve this is continuing. There are some 13,000 occupants of old slum property which has to be demolished and those dispossessed are being offered government low-cost housing or resettlement accommodation.
The Urban Renewal District Zoning Plan, which covers some 250 acres in the Western and Sai Ying Pun districts of Hong Kong Island, was approved by the Governor in Council on March 7, 1972 and will eventually necessitate the acquisition of 652 properties to provide land for the construction of much needed amenities. While so far only nine of these have been acquired at a cost of $12 million, a large number of negotiations are proceeding to acquire more.
The Draft Wan Chai Environmental Improvement Plan, if approved as drafted, will eventually necessitate the acquisition of 174 properties and, where development is frustrated by it, negotiated surrender of property against payment of compensation may take place. The acquisition of 13 properties to provide land for public purposes in this category is currently being negotiated at an approximate cost of $7 million.
The Draft Yau Ma Tei Environmental Improvement Plan will, if approved, eventually necessitate the acquisition of 356 properties. Similar arrangements to those applicable to Wan Chai have been made to deal with property redevelopment which is frustrated by the Draft Plan, with the acquisition of eight such properties at present being negotiated at an approximate cost of $7 million.
Resumption
To enable a large number of projects to proceed the number of resumptions has increased in both the urban area and in the New Territories. In the urban areas many of the resumptions are for major new highways, which frequently involve the use of the procedure prescribed in the Streets (Alteration) Ordinance. As many highway proj- ects, such as elevated roads, affect land which is fully developed, compensation claims have become more sophisticated and time consuming both in negotiation and in Compensation Board proceedings.
New Towns
In order to accommodate Hong Kong's increasing population and to relieve overcrowding in existing urban areas, four large new towns are in various stages of development. Because of the lack of available flat land, designs for these new towns have been based upon general principles of cutting platforms into hill slopes for resi- dential land and using the excavated material to fill in nearby low-lying land and shallow seabed to form flat industrial land. The most advanced of these new towns is at Kwun Tong, to the east of the Kowloon peninsula, where 618 acres of land have been formed in this way since 1955 at a cost of some $89 million. The town is now
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almost completed, covering an area of 913 acres and housing just over half a million people. While land formation and the provision of roads, water and drainage has been a government responsibility, building development has been shared with private enterprise; government and aided housing accommodating about 379,000 people and private enterprise contributing housing for about 150,000 people. Local industry in Kwun Tong employs some 95,000 workers.
The second new town, at Tsuen Wan north-west of Kowloon, is now more than one-third complete. In March 1972 its population stood at 308,000 although eventually it will accommodate 880,000 people. So far 446 acres of land have been formed at a cost of $84 million with formation work still proceeding. The third new town, at Castle Peak on the western side of the New Territories, has been designed for 476,000 people. The first stage of formation, comprising 230 acres was completed in 1972 and the disposal of land and the construction of buildings is following. Work has now commenced on a fourth new town, in the Sha Tin valley, where the first stage will be the formation of 100 acres to house 30,000 people. The eventual population is expected to be about 490,000. In developing these new towns, care is taken to balance population with the provision of employment and community facilities, so creating a compact self-contained township where travel is unnecessary.
Private Building
Confidence in the real estate market continued to be firm. This was reflected by the large number of building plans submitted during the year to the Building Authority for approval, and the successful flotation of a number of public companies dealing in property and land. Although the demand for factory accommodation eased, the high level of building activity continued unabated and the total cost of new building completed in 1972, as reported by authorised architects to the Building Authority, rose to $1,252,038,379, an increase of 42.2 per cent over 1971. This is the highest figure recorded since the building boom of the mid 1960s which reached its peak in 1966 with a record value of $1,058 million, but allowance must be made for higher building costs since then. With no signs that these boom conditions in real estate and the building industry are likely to subside in 1973 there were, predictably, associated shortages of labour during the year which led to increased costs.
At the end of 1972, domestic accommodation in the urban areas, owned by private landlords, comprised 205,000 tenement floors, 76,700 small flats, 27,700 large flats and 1,050 houses.
During the unprecedented June rainstorms which lasted several days, a large number of landslides and earth slips occurred causing 148 deaths and the destruction of property worth millions of dollars. The Governor appointed a Commission of Inquiry at the end of June to investigate the circumstances in which the disasters occurred and make recommendations on how such disasters may be avoided. The Commission was asked to pay particular regard to the two catastrophic landslides which occurred at Sau Mau Ping and at the western Mid-levels of Hong Kong Island. The landslip at Sau Mau Ping occurred on an embankment behind a licensed area and completely obliterated the huts in the area. A total of 71 people were killed and
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60 others were injured. The Mid-levels landslide destroyed two buildings in its path-a fully-occupied 13-storey reinforced concrete post-war block of flats, and a four-storey private residence in Kotewall Road which had been evacuated. As a result of the Mid-levels landslide, 67 people died. The recovery of their bodies from the wreckage was a grim task involving round-the-clock excavation, cutting and dismantling for a period of more than two months before the last body was extricated. On August 18, the Commission submitted an interim report about the Sau Mau Ping landslide. It made several recommendations on measures to avoid similar incidents in future. This report was accepted by the government, and the recommendations are being imple- mented. The Commission's final report was submitted on November 29, and was being considered by the government at the end of the year.
A number of buildings in the Mid-levels area which had either been damaged by the landslide or were threatened by the possibility of further landslides had to be closed temporarily. Extensive works were necessary to make the area safe and as a result it had not been possible to allow all the closed buildings to be re-occupied by the end of the year.
There was a very substantial increase in the backlog of plans submitted by author- ised architects to the Buildings Ordinance Office as staff were diverted from their normal duties to deal with damage wrought by the storm, resulting in even longer delays in processing plans. This led to the passing of the Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1972 which suspended for a period of 34 months from June 15, 1972 the statutory time limits within which plans and occupation permits must be dealt with by the Building Authority. Although considerable efforts were made during this period to reduce the backlog and resultant delays, it was found necessary in September to extend the period of suspension to December 31, 1972 by passing the Buildings Ordinance (Extension of Operation of Section 30A) Regulations 1972. An assurance was given at the time that all applications for occupation permits and for consent to commence work would be processed by the Buildings Ordinance Office within 14 days and 28 days respectively. On December 10, the suspension of the time limit for the approval of plans was again extended up to March 31, 1973 to enable the problem to be examined in depth.
The report of the Committee of Inquiry appointed to consider matters arising from the closure and demolition of Chong Hing Mansion (a terrace of 10-storey post-war domestic buildings) in 1971 was published in September. The committee concluded that the law and administrative procedures in the Public Works Depart- ment were adequate to ensure that a building is not occupied until an occupation permit has been issued. Among its recommendations were that:
(i) consideration be given to devising means of improving the reliability of certificates signed by authorised architects and registered contractors, and (ii) the Control and Enforcement Section of the Buildings Ordinance Office be revived to detect and deal with unauthorised changes of use (following the occupation of a building).
Steps have been taken to implement the recommendations regarding statutory certifi- cates by substantially increasing the professional staff of the office which will enable
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comprehensive inspections of buildings under construction to be made. This move was intended to complement but not usurp the functions of the authorised architects. Little control could be exercised over unauthorised building works and changes of use in occupied buildings during the year because of lack of staff, but plans are being made to revive the Control and Enforcement Section of the Buildings Ordinance Office recommended by the Committee of Inquiry.
With land values continuing to rise sharply, developers are loath to construct buildings which represent something less than the maximum permitted by building legislation. This has led to complaints of poor layout and appearance arising from the lack of control over the design or visual effect of buildings in Hong Kong. While opinion may be divided upon its merits, the 52-storey Connaught Centre will certainly be an outstanding addition to the Central waterfront when completed and by the end of the year 42 storeys had been constructed, with the first phase opened and occupied. The skyline of the Peak was transformed by the Peak Tower which opened in August, a conspicuous tourist attraction at the top of the funicular railway provid- ing panoramic views to the north and south of the Island. A number of hotels were under construction during the year, notably the 35-storey Furama Hotel near the City Hall. The 34-storey Excelsior Hotel, located near the entrance to the cross-harbour tunnel in Causeway Bay, opened at the end of the year. The first berth of a container terminal at Kwai Chung opened in September, and is now handling massive 950-foot 'third generation' containerships. Two other berths at Kwai Chung were in an ad- vanced stage of construction at the end of the year.
Rent Control
Legislation controlling rents and providing security of tenure was instituted by proclamation immediately after the war and was later embodied in the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance in 1947. It applied to both domestic and business premises and restricted rents by reference to pre-war levels, while excluding new and substantially reconstructed buildings from control. Following an amendment in 1953, permitted increases in standard rents were raised to 55 per cent for domestic premises and 150 per cent for business premises, at which level they have remained ever since.
There is provision in the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance for the exclusion of premises where redevelopment is intended. Such exclusions are made on the recommendation of a tenancy tribunal by order of the Governor, or of the Governor in Council in the case of an appeal. The payment of compensation to tenants dis- possessed is almost invariably a condition to the grant of an exclusion order. During 1972 there were 202 such orders approved, involving 483 buildings. An amendment in 1968 provided that, subject to the agreement being certified by the Secretariat for Home Affairs, a tenant may accept compensation from his landlord in return for delivering up vacant possession of his premises; 1,087 agreements under this provision were certified during 1972.
The 1953 amending legislation also provided for the establishment as part of the Secretariat for Home Affairs of two tenancy enquiry bureaux, one in Hong Kong
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and one in Kowloon, to assist in the working of the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. Their principal task is to provide factual information to tenancy tribunals in respect of exclusion proceedings and where premises are declared dangerous by the Building Authority, which may also involve the payment of compensation. They also provide general advice and assistance on tenancy matters.
In respect of post-war premises, legislation dates back to 1952 and the Tenancy (Prolonged Duration) Ordinance which gave limited security of tenure to certain tenants who had entered into oral tenancy agreements involving the payment of key money or premia. In 1963 the three-year security provided by this ordinance was extended to five years. However, the payment of key money etc in such circumstances is no longer so prevalent in Hong Kong. Increases in rent in 1961 and the early part of 1962 resulted in the enactment of the Tenancy (Notice of Termination) Ordinance which generally requires landlords seeking possession to give six months' notice of termination.
The first comprehensive legislation affecting post-war domestic premises was the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Ordinance 1963 which was enacted. primarily to control increases in rents and provide a measure of security of tenure. With an increase in the supply of newly completed buildings in 1963 through to 1966 the housing position eased and rents stabilised. As a result, this ordinance was allowed to expire on June 30, 1966. For the next three years the situation remained fairly quiet but, with a return of confidence following the disturbances in 1967 and a continuing demand for accommodation, rents by the end of 1969 had taken a sharp upward trend. While the situation was being considered, a temporary measure was enacted in January 1970 to 'freeze' rents and this was followed in June by the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Ordinance 1970. This ordinance was originally due to expire at the end of May 1972, but has been extended for a further two years.
The ordinance, which follows very closely the provisions of the 1963 ordinance, provides security of tenure for tenants of post-war domestic premises up to May 31, 1974. Where rent has been increased under the ordinance, the security may in certain circumstances extend beyond this date. There are a number of exclusions, in particular larger flats and houses, and new lettings are not controlled. Landlords and tenants are free to agree an increase in rent, but such agreements must be endorsed by the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation. Where an increase in rent is not agreed, the landlord may apply to the Commissioner for his certificate as to what may be con- sidered a fair increase. If the Commissioner has endorsed an agreed increase or if he has certified an increase in rent, the tenant has security of tenure at the new rent for a period of two years from the date of the increase. Where the rent has been increased once under the ordinance, the landlord may be able to obtain two further increases in rent by service on his tenant of a specified notice. Neither of these further increases can exceed five per cent of the rent prevailing at the time, and each such increase affords the tenant security of tenure at the rent notified for one year from the date the increase becomes effective. The Commissioner has wide powers under the ordinance and also issues certificates to assist in disputes as to whether or not particular premises are excluded from its provisions. Where landlords, and in certain cases tenants, are dissatisfied with the increase in rent certified by the Commissioner, there is a right of
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review and also appeal to the District Court. Reviews are carried out by the Commis- sioner or one of his more senior officers in consultation with an appointed panel known as the Rent Increases Advisory Panel. There is no right of review in respect of the five per cent increases in rent. From its enactment in June 1970 to the end of 1972 the Commissioner had received 7,727 rental agreements for endorsement, 19,546 applications for increases in rent, 885 applications for reviews of rental increase certificates issued, and 5,798 copies of notices of further increases in rent not exceed- ing five per cent.
Multi-storey Building Management
The problems caused by the multiple ownership of large multi-storey buildings led to the enactment in June 1970 of the Multi-storey Buildings (Owners Incorpora- tion) Ordinance which, as its name implies, enables the owners of all parts of a multi- storey building to join together and form a single management body to look after the building. The staff of the City District Offices and District Offices in the New Territories have devoted much time to explaining the legislation and assisting owners with the procedures leading to incorporation. By the end of 1972, the total number of incorporated building owners was 429. Satisfactory progress has been made by public-spirited owners in improving the physical environment (especially cleanliness and building maintenance) and communal relations in their buildings. Federations of these owners' associations have also been formed in several City Districts with the object of improving their efficiency and developing a local community spirit. The Secretariat for Home Affairs has also organised seminars for the chairmen or committee members of these associations which serve not only to impart some knowl- edge of management to the participants but also, through exchange of opinions, to foster better public relations between property owners and the government.
Multi-storey building associations are based on a physical and social entity and on the pressing need for owners and tenants of a particular building to tackle common problems. The formation of these associations brings together people who are con- cerned with their living environment despite differences of dialect, nationality, occupation and-to a certain extent class. Such associations are thus a strong geo- graphically based means of social integration.
Housing
In his address to the Legislative Council during its opening session in October, the Governor said of housing that there is no field in which Hong Kong's pressure of people has produced acuter problems or in which the government's response has been so vigorous and received such international acclaim. He pointed out that the problem still nevertheless remained, and that present housing inadequacies are a constant source of friction between the government and the people, offending Hong Kong's humanity, civic pride and political good sense. He went on to reveal plans to vest in the Housing Authority powers and functions hitherto divided between several bodies, adjusting and widening its unofficial membership suitably, and to associate with it a unified Housing Department, in order to give fresh impetus to the work of resolving this 20-year-old problem. Its target will be to build homes for 1,800,000 people over the next 10 years, mainly in large new towns.
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This target provides for a self-contained, permanent home for every family in Hong Kong, and allows, among other things, for the clearance of all squatter huts with the occupants being given public housing. At current prices, the cost of this programme will exceed an estimated $3,000 million for the public housing estates alone, with very heavy additional expenditure for all the facilities necessary to ensure a pleasant and healthy environment for the residents of these new towns. With the bulk of this new housing situated in the New Territories, there will be a corresponding programme to greatly improve transport facilities and roads.
In conjunction with the new Housing Department, the Governor also announced the creation of a single, new Housing Authority to oversee the planning, design, construction and management of all public housing estates throughout Hong Kong. This authority will take over various functions now divided between the Housing Board, the Housing Authority, the Urban Council, the Commissioner for Resettle- ment and the Director of Public Works. It is planned that all the new arrangements will come into effect on April 1, 1973.
Government Housing
Hong Kong's resettlement estates have attracted worldwide attention and have become one of the focal points for visitors from overseas. Hundreds of thousands of people are being provided with homes by a building programme which, for speed and size, has few, if any, parallels. By the end of 1972 the Hong Kong Government had become, through this programme, the landlord of about 1.22 million people, or 30 per cent of the population.
The categories of persons eligible for resettlement were laid down in order of priority in the 1964 White Paper 'Review of Policies for Squatter Control, Resettle- ment and Government Low-Cost Housing' and subsequently revised on several occasions on the recommendation of the Housing Board. The present categories and the number of people rehoused during the year are:
Category 1:
(a) Victims of fires and natural disasters 5,092
(b) All other cases recommended for compassionate resettlement by
the Director of Social Welfare 3,399
Category 2: Occupants of squatter huts declared to be dangerous 10,924
Category 3: Former domestic tenants of buildings demolished as dangerous and occupants of surveyed structures on the roofs of such buildings and in the side and rear cases 5,432
Category 4: Present occupants of cottage, licensed or resite areas or occupants of tolerated structures on Crown land required for development 14,473 Category 5: Occupants of certain selected squatter areas nil
Category 6: Re-use of licensed areas 10
Category 7: Tenants of overcrowded resettlement rooms 9,064
Category 8: Pavement dwellers occupying tolerated structures nil
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The original seven-storey resettlement block design introduced in 1954 was abandoned 10 years later. A new design provided blocks, first of eight storeys and then of 16, which differ fundamentally from the older ones in that access is from a central corridor on each floor instead of from external common balconies. This makes it possible to give each room a private balcony. Other improvements include refuse chutes, electrical power and light points in domestic rooms, lifts in the 16- storey blocks and private lavatories and water taps in place of the former communal latrines and wash-houses. The latest blocks are being built to a larger room-grid to give effect to a Housing Board recommendation that families should be allocated 35 square feet of space for each adult on occupation. By the end of 1972, the total number of blocks of all types administered by the Resettlement Department was 508. Between them these blocks housed 1,175,771 people, some 55.3 per cent of them in the newer types.
In 1970 work was completed on converting a block in an old estate into self- contained flats, each with its own lavatory and water supply and some with their own balconies. The success of this pilot scheme has led to plans to redevelop other old estates where the environment has deteriorated seriously, and a start has already been made at Shek Kip Mei, the oldest multi-storey estate. Tenants of six blocks in this estate have already moved to a brand-new government estate nearby, to allow the first phase of the redevelopment work to begin. The whole scheme, which is due for completion in 1979, involves the conversion of 21 out of 29 blocks into self- contained units, and the demolition of the remainder to make way for new commercial, social and community facilities.
Rents in the resettlement estates have been fixed at the lowest possible level, the aim being to recover capital costs over 40 years (at 34 per cent interest), plus annually recurrent expenditure including the cost of administration and maintenance. Rents vary according to the design of the block and the size of the room: the rent of a standard room of 120 square feet in the oldest type of block is $18 a month, while the rent of a standard room of 140 square feet in a new block is $38. Despite the large population and the wide variety of rents charged, the number of tenants failing to pay is extremely small.
The resettlement estates are virtually townships (the population of Tsz Wan Shan estate, for instance, is around 144,600) and a wide range of community facilities must be provided. Some ground floor rooms are let as shops or workshops, while others are used by government departments or private welfare organisations such as schools, clinics or nurseries. In the newer estates, separate six-storey buildings are provided for primary school accommodation and, in the latest blocks, provision has been made for self-contained kindergarten accommodation. Some estates have com- munity centres and, in the latest ones, the tendency is to concentrate ancillary services into separate buildings for welfare services, restaurants and administration.
Provision is also made for the small factories which are often found in squatter areas or in areas under annual Crown land permits. To enable the operators of these factories to continue earning a livelihood when these areas are cleared for permanent development, multi-storey resettlement factory blocks have been built.
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The factory blocks are seven-storeys high and have units of 256 square feet. At the end of the year there were 22 such flatted factory blocks, containing a total of 1.86 million square feet of net working space, mostly situated in or near existing resettlement estates, and two further blocks were nearing completion. Rents are intended to cover administrative costs and a return on capital over 21 years at five per cent interest. In the latest factories these rents vary from 55 cents a square foot a month for a ground floor unit to 25 cents for one on the top floor, all rents being inclusive of rates.
There still remain 14 cottage resettlement areas in various parts of the urban area and the New Territories. The population of these areas has diminished as clear- ance for development continues and the occupants are resettled in multi-storey estates. However, cottage areas still house 49,994 people. Several of these areas contain many small factories, shops and workshops, together with schools, clinics and welfare centres of various types.
Government low-cost housing estates are managed on behalf of the government by the Housing Authority. These estates are built by the Public Works Department, and all capital and recurrent expenditure is met from government revenue. Under management at the end of 1972, were 17 estates housing 331,153 people. A further five projects are under development and, on completion, will accommodate an addi- tional 75,925 people.
The Housing Authority also manages the Pak Tin government estate, which is essentially a resettlement estate built to a standard approaching that of government low-cost housing. It is intended to house people displaced as a result of the redevelop- ment and conversion of the nearby Shek Kip Mei resettlement estate.
Government-aided housing
The Hong Kong Housing Authority, a statutory body created in 1954 by the Housing Ordinance (Chapter 183), aims to provide, manage and maintain suitable housing and amenities for as many as possible of those people who are living in overcrowded or otherwise unsatisfactory conditions and who could not afford to pay the rent charged by private landlords for comparable accommodation. By the end of 1972, the authority had accommodated 218,450 people in 34,893 flats in nine estates, three on Hong Kong Island, five in Kowloon and one in the New Territories. There were 322 shops, 28 kindergartens and 139 market stalls. An estate under construction at Ho Man Tin will have 6,205 flats for 46,125 people. In addition, seven sites in the New Territories were reserved for the authority by the government during 1972. These sites are in Castle Peak, Kwai Chung, Sha Tin, and Tsing Yi Island, and when fully developed will provide approximately 21,269 flats for 156,102 people.
Domestic flats built by the authority are self-contained. Each flat contains a private verandah, kitchen and toilet with a water closet and a shower, with living space of 35 square feet for each person. Housing estates are provided with such amenities as shops, market stalls, primary schools, kindergartens, clinics, community rooms, garages and play areas.
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The total capital assets of the authority as at December 31, 1972 amounted to $362 million, of which $252 million was from government loans and grants and $110 million from internal resources. The policy of the authority has always been to fix rents for new estates as low as possible, well below the market value for comparable accommodation and covering only direct annual expenditure including a charge for amortisation of the capital cost and a small budgeted surplus to finance future schemes. To accelerate its building programme and to keep pace with rising costs, the authority increases the rents for its flats by about 10 per cent at intervals of not less than two years for old estates and within four years for new estates.
The Housing Authority maintains a combined waiting list from which to find tenants to fill vacancies in both Housing Authority and government low-cost housing estates. By the end of 1972, 42,329 applications had been passed for allocation, 95,805 rejected or withdrawn and 82,529 were waiting for investigation. To be eligible for registration, an applicant must have a family of at least four persons with a monthly family income, as assessed in accordance with the rules of the authority, of $400 to $1,250 for Housing Authority flats and not exceeding $500 for government low-cost housing flats. Government low-cost housing estates at Kwai Chung also cater for families of at least three persons including a married couple, or larger families of any approved combination, with a monthly income of not more than $600. 'Family income' is defined for this purpose as the total of the main or permanent emoluments accruing to the principal wage earner, together with half of such high proportion as the authority might decide from time to time, of his casual earnings and of earnings of other members of the family.
The Housing Authority also manages, for a fee, government officers' housing estates planned by the architectural staff of the authority but financed by the govern- ment for sale to local civil servants. So far, only one estate consisting of 296 flats at Lung Cheung Court is under its management. Another estate at Kwun Tong is nearing completion. The staff of the Housing Authority are all government servants working under the direction of the Commissioner for Housing. The authority reimburses all staff salaries to the government plus a percentage surcharge to meet such costs as pension and medical treatment.
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the government plans to reconstitute the Housing Authority and to integrate the Resettlement Department and the staff of the present Housing Authority into a new Housing Department to service the new authority from April 1973. This new authority will undertake the functions of the present Housing Board and be responsible for the planning and construction, in conjunction with the Public Works Department, of a greatly accelerated new 10-year housing programme, as well as for the management of all existing estates currently under the control of the present Housing Authority and Resettlement Department.
The government provides certain of its staff with housing accommodation in accordance with their terms of service. Also, 15 per cent of the accommodation in government low-cost housing estates is offered to junior staff on the same tenancy terms as for the public. Government loans are made available to co-operative building societies formed among its staff to promote home-ownership. At the end of 1972 there were 232 societies with 4,884 members.
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The Hong Kong Housing Society, formed in 1948, is the largest voluntary housing agency. Its first flats were built at Sheung Li Uk in 1952. By the end of 1972, the society had provided 19,994 flats for 124,792 people in 15 estates. During the year, no additional flats were completed by the society. Other voluntary bodies in the hous- ing field include the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation Ltd, the Hong Kong Model Housing Society, and the Hong Kong Economic Housing Society.
The Hong Kong Building and Loan Agency Limited, established in 1964, provides long-term loans for the purchase of domestic flats. In 1972, the agency approved 26 developments for loan purposes. During the year, 2,137 loan applications amounting to $91 million were approved.
Squatter Control and Clearance
All squatting on Crown land is by definition unlawful, but illegal structures are 'tolerated' if they were included in squatter surveys made from time to time, the latest being in 1964. When the land on which they stand is needed for development they are then cleared and their occupants resettled into the estates. 'Untolerated' structures are demolished, as are extensions to tolerated huts. People who are genuinely homeless may apply for a site in one of the Resettlement Department's licensed areas, on which they can build a hut on payment of a small licence fee.
Industrial undertakings operated in tolerated structures but also requiring open storage space and thus unsuitable for resettlement flatted factories may be offered sites in licensed areas provided the trade falls within certain approved categories. A licence fee is charged at the rate of $1.80 per square foot per annum.
The squatter population continues to decrease gradually and at the end of 1972 was estimated to be about 319,800 as compared with 463,000 in April 1965. The disastrous heavy rains in May and June eroded many squatter areas and as a result about 20,000 squatters who had to leave their homes were provided with public housing.
The New Territories Administration is responsible for the control of squatters in the New Territories, with the exception of Tsuen Wan district where control lies with the Resettlement Department. The more accessible parts of the New Territories are regularly patrolled and are divided into prohibited and non-prohibited areas. In prohibited areas, such as the margins of roads, development areas, and land exposed to flooding, no new domestic huts are allowed. In non-prohibited areas temporary structures may be built with the permission of the District Office.
9
九
Social Welfare
AN important milestone was reached in October 1972 when a draft White Paper was published, entitled 'Social Welfare in Hong Kong-the Way Ahead'. The White Paper was published in draft form to give a further opportunity to all those concerned with social welfare matters to express their views on the proposals before any final decision was taken. The White Paper and a Five Year Plan for social welfare development (to be announced at the same time as the final version of the White Paper) were the result of the joint efforts by the Social Welfare Department and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and represented a consensus of opinion achieved in partnership between the department and the voluntary sector on how social welfare in Hong Kong should develop during the 1970s. The proposals represent firm guidelines for development of the public and voluntary sectors, enabling both sides to make detailed forward plans in a way that was not possible previously.
The White Paper contained comprehensive proposals covering a balanced social security system, community development with emphasis on youth and the family, facilities for the disabled, aid to the elderly, rehabilitation of young offenders and probationers, welfare services for families with problems, and effective supporting services in training, planning, research and evaluation.
If the proposals are approved the total capital cost in the five-year period between 1973-8 will be approximately $50 million. The recurrent cost will rise from about $122 million a year in 1973 to $155 million in 1978. The total expenditure over the five years will be about $725 million, the major proportion of which will be borne by the government.
The Social Welfare Department is and will continue to be responsible for carrying out government policies for social welfare. It operates through the following divisions: the Group and Community Work Division which aims at the development of respon- sible citizenship; the Family Services Division which is responsible for a wide range of social welfare services to help individuals and families; the Probation and Correc- tions Division which provides probation services in the courts and rehabilitation in its correctional institutions for young offenders; a newly formed Rehabilitation Division which is concerned with services for the disabled; the Public Assistance Division which is responsible for the administration of the public assistance scheme; the Training Section which is responsible for in-service training and field work place- ment for university students; the Planning and Development Section which is respon- sible for planning and co-ordination of welfare services; the Research and Evaluation Unit which has responsibility for social welfare research, evaluation of services, and statistical matters; and the Public Relations Unit.
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The government is advised by the Social Welfare Advisory Committee on all matters of social welfare policy, on applications from voluntary welfare organisations for subventions, and on all applications for grants from the Lotteries Fund. This is a committee appointed by the Governor consisting of leading unofficials, chaired by the Director of Social Welfare. Working under the direction of the Social Welfare Advisory Committee is the Social Welfare Planning Committee, which is concerned with the forward planning and evaluation of social welfare services and was involved especially in the preparation of the White Paper and Five Year Plan. It comprises members of the voluntary social welfare agencies, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and the Social Welfare Department and is also chaired by the Director of Social Welfare.
Hong Kong is exceptionally fortunate in having a great number of voluntary welfare agencies which play a very significant role in the social welfare field. Co- ordination of work in the social welfare field is achieved by the department and by the Council of Social Service both maintaining close contact and co-operation with these many voluntary agencies. Appendix 39 lists 93 voluntary organisations which are affiliated to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. Many of these organisations receive a government subvention, but they also attract considerable financial support both locally and overseas. Local support may be gauged by the donations made to the Community Chest which in 1971-2 raised $9.4 million for distribution to 65 member organisations. A list of members of the Community Chest is given at Appendix 39.
The government provides the majority of the funds available for social welfare in Hong Kong. Total government expenditure on social welfare including departmental costs, direct welfare services, and subventions was $50,737,868.00 in the financial year 1971-2; the estimated expenditure for 1972-3 is $66,069,000.00. In addition 40 alloca- tions for capital projects amounting to $5,600,141.00 were made from the Lotteries Fund in the financial year 1971-2.
Group and Community Work
Community development implies a process by which the people of an area are encouraged to acquire a better appreciation of their needs and problems and through mutual co-operation to promote their own well-being. Since 1960, when the first community centre was opened by the Social Welfare Department, seven more com- munity and social centres have been added. Another seven such centres are being operated by voluntary agencies. These centres provide facilities for day nurseries, libraries, clubs for all ages, casework services, various forms of vocational training and a communal hall. There are six estate welfare buildings which conveniently bring together under one roof the welfare services for people living in resettlement estates.
Group and community work is not however confined to community centres and resettlement estates. Since February 1969 four officers have been appointed by the department, on an experimental basis, to work in four urban districts in close co- operation with the City District Officers. Their major efforts have been directed towards the development of volunteers and youth service teams, the co-ordination of the sum- mer programmes and advising community organisations and youth groups. Proposals
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have been made for the appointment of such officers, to be called Community and Youth Officers, in each of the 15 urban and rural districts.
Special emphasis on work among young people has meant expansion of youth and children's centres operated by various youth agencies such as the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group, the Scouts Association, the Girl Guides Association, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs' Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Chinese Young Men's Christian Association, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, Caritas and many others. There are now more than 300 such centres and plans are in hand for further expansion.
The summer recreation programme for 1972 is described in detail in Chapter 17. The number of children and young people attending summer programmes organised by the Social Welfare Department has risen from 2,300 in 1965 to 90,000 in 1972; some 900,000 youngsters took part in the overall Summer Recreation Programme in 1972.
Family Welfare Services
The Family Services Division of the department consists of a regionalised network of 12 casework offices and supporting specialised services for the welfare of families with problems, of children and of women.
Casework services provided by the department include counselling on problems involving family and inter-personal relationships, the protection of children and young persons in need of care, help in obtaining special assistance from appropriate government departments and welfare agencies, job placement, resettlement accom- modation, hawker licences, schooling for children, day and residential care. The number of families and individuals receiving such services totalled 20,872 in 1972.
The Family Services Division is also responsible for carrying out statutory res- ponsibilities arising out of a number of ordinances, the principal ones being the Protection of Women and Juveniles Ordinance Chapter 213, and the Adoption Or- dinance Chapter 290. The department is responsible for the guardianship of abandoned children, children of unmarried parents, and children in moral or physical danger. The department's Children Reception Centre at Chuk Yuen provides temporary care for 80 children who are in need of care and protection, and for children who must have an immediate home.
Legal adoptions of children made in accordance with the provisions of the Adop- tion Ordinance require investigation by the department in the first instance as to the suitability of the adoptive parents. A total of 57 proposed adoptions were investigated during the year and 360 children were adopted locally during the year. Requests made by overseas families for adoption of local children are considered by the department in conjunction with two voluntary welfare agencies, the International Social Service and Caritas. The number of local children adopted by families abroad was 12.
Residential and day care services in nurseries, creches and play centres for children continue to be in great demand. In 1972 there were 10,830 places available in some 80 non-profit-making nurseries and creches and 11 play centres. The majority of these
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are assisted by a recurrent subvention from the government. The Institutions Liaison Unit of the department continued to advise and assist voluntary agencies operating in this field.
Women and girls in moral danger are assisted through counselling and guidance for the individual and her family, as well as through the relief of such immediate anxieties as care and accommodation for unmarried mothers, and through vocational training. Three reputable voluntary agencies, namely the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, the Po Leung Kuk and the Salvation Army, provide residential care for those in need. In addition the department provides training facilities at two
centres.
Rehabilitation
In the field of rehabilitation the aim of the department is to provide disabled people with the opportunity of becoming independent and productive members of the community. This generally involves three phases: treatment to help the disabled to adjust to their disabilities; vocational training to encourage them to make the fullest possible use of their residual skills; and their restoration to society through appropriate training or placement in remunerative employment. In order to cope with the expan- sion of rehabilitation services a separate division was formed on November 15, 1972. Rehabilitation services are provided at 17 centres and institutions run by the depart- ment and supplemented by the work of more than a dozen voluntary welfare agencies.
A delegation of 64 people from Hong Kong attended the 12th World Rehabilita- tion Congress held in Sydney in August 1972. Representatives from the Social Welfare, Medical, Education and Prisons Departments as well as representatives from the voluntary sector also attended four pre-congress seminars on the medical, education, social and vocational aspects of rehabilitation.
A Working Party was set up in 1972 to examine the future needs of the elderly. This working party will be submitting its recommendations to the government shortly. It is likely that in the social welfare field these recommendations will include the deve- lopment of a home help scheme, more old people's clubs and homes for the aged.
Probation and Correction
The probation and correctional services of the department are concerned with the supervision of offenders on probation, social enquiries for the courts, and the operation of correctional institutions.
At the end of the year, 2,700 people were under supervision on probation, and 7,159 social investigations were carried out at the request of the courts.
There are five correctional institutions catering for boys and girls of different age groups. The Castle Peak Boys' Home and the O Pui Shan Boys' Home are reformatory schools catering for boys aged between 14 and 16 in the former, and boys aged 14 and under in the latter. The Begonia Road Boys' Home is a combination of a remand home, a probation home and a place of refuge for boys. The Ma Tau Wei Girls'
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Home provides similar facilities for girls. Plans have been made for a bigger home in Ho Man Tin to replace the existing girls' home. There is a probation hostel in Kwun Tong for young men aged from 16 to 21 who are placed on probation by the courts with a special condition of residence for a maximum period of one year.
Although probation and correctional services are statutory responsibilities of the department, valuable supporting services and facilities are provided by voluntary welfare agencies such as the Hong Kong Juvenile Care Centre and the Society of Boys Centres which give residential training to those in need of special help.
Public Assistance
The Public Assistance Scheme is designed to provide cash assistance for indi- viduals and families who cannot manage on their existing resources. A review of the scheme was undertaken during the year and improvements were approved in March 1972. These improvements included a 60 per cent increase in the scales of assistance, higher allowances for rents and more generous allowances for recipients requiring a special diet. As from April 1972 the monthly scale of assistance was raised from $70 to $110 for a single person and for members of a family, from $50 to $80 for each of the first three members, from $40 to $65 for each of the next three, and from $30 to $50 for each additional member. Under the revised criteria the number of cases which became eligible stood at 17,728 as compared with 12,553 last year. Expenditure on public assistance payments for the financial year 1972-3 is estimated to be $30.4 million as compared with $11,987,749 in the financial year 1971-2.
As a complement to the public assistance scheme which is designed to help those who are the worst off financially, consideration is being given to the extension of this assistance to the next most vulnerable groups who are least able to support themselves but who are not necessarily covered by the public assistance scheme. The first groups envisaged are the severely disabled and those over 75 years of age. Should this new scheme prove to be successful, it is proposed that it should be extended to other groups such as widowed mothers with young children and the chronically sick.
Emergency Relief
The worst natural disaster of the year was a landslide at Sau Mau Ping and a house collapse at Kotewall Road on June 18 following heavy rainstorms. A total of 5,006 families, or 23,830 individuals registered for aid after the rainstorms. On this occasion, as on all such occasions, the department provided temporary accommoda- tion to those in need, and distributed hot meals, eating utensils, blankets and clothing. The public responded at once to the needs of the victims and a total of $16,941,167 was received from the public in donations to the Community Relief Trust Fund. Payment from the Community Relief Trust Fund for burial, re-accommodation, damage to crops, the replacement of vessels, etc, amounted to $11,347,158.
There were 96 minor natural disasters during the year which rendered 5,821 people homeless, all of whom were given assistance by the Social Welfare Department.
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One of the most important factors-perhaps the most vital factor-in the deve- lopment of social welfare is the availability of trained young men and women willing to devote their careers to this work. Professional social work training at the academic level is available at both the Hong Kong University and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. To assist young people to obtain training at the universities a number of government bursaries and scholarships of various kinds are available from the Social Work Training Fund, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and the American Women's Association. The Training Section of the Social Welfare Depart- ment organises in-service training programmes for persons who are academically untrained but already employed in social welfare work; refresher courses, and pre- service training for staff of voluntary agencies and government departments. In addition the Training Section organises fieldwork placements for social work students from the two universities. During 1972 a total of 1,066 people attended the various training courses.
While the demand for professionally qualified workers from the universities will continue, there is a growing demand for trained supporting staff to fill those posts which do not require a university trained worker. To meet this demand the government proposes to establish an Institute of Social Work Training providing two-year courses. The institute is expected to take in its first students in the autumn of 1973.
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Public Order
Police
THE Royal Hong Kong Police Force was not called upon to deal with any serious threat to peace and stability in 1972, although the performance of normal con- stabulary duties kept it busier than usual.
Crime increased, as it has done in previous years, and much of the additional work undertaken by the force was due to the greater number of cases. The public was vociferous in condemning the rising crime rate and suggesting ways in which it might be tackled; the police continued to urge the community to play their part by reporting all cases in which they were involved or which they witnessed.
Vehicle density rose from 267 per mile of road in 1971 to 297 in 1972. Several important projects were completed, among them the cross-harbour tunnel, but police problems in keeping traffic flowing were complicated by the ever-rising num- ber of vehicles. The ease of crossing the harbour by the tunnel has undoubtedly heightened social contact between the twin cities of Victoria and Kowloon; it now remains to be seen whether increased mobility between the two has any effect on the pattern of crime.
Internally, the police force continued to have serious manpower problems. The deficiency for most of the year was between 1,500 and 2,000 all ranks--about one seventh of force establishment-and, consequently, many beats were undermanned. Because of better pay and conditions brought about by the previous year's Salaries Commission, there was some improvement in recruiting. It was still well below target, however, and this continuing failure to attract sufficient men of the high calibre needed for police work is one of the difficulties facing the force.
There were several bomb threats to aircraft during the year, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. A number of fake bombs were also placed in buildings. Each of these 'bomb' incidents caused a regrettable waste of police time.
Demonstrations connected with the Tiao Yu Tai (Senkaku) Islands issue were held in Victoria Park and at Edinburgh Place on the same day. Both demonstrations eventually joined up to march through Central District, but there was no disorder.
In June, when landslides occurred in Mid-levels and at Sau Mau Ping, the force became immediately involved in rescue work and later provided security for several residential buildings which had been hurriedly evacuated.
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Crime
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During 1972, the number of crimes known to the police was 33,999 cases, an increase of 1,538 (or 4.7 per cent) over 1971. Robberies, forgery and coinage cases, frauds, snatchings, blackmail cases and indecent assaults on females increased; miscellaneous thefts, thefts from vehicles, and cases of going equipped for stealing, unlawful society and unlawful possession decreased. The number of murders was 115 compared with 98 the previous year.
Of the cases reported, 20,154 were detected, giving an overall detection rate of 59.3 per cent. The number of arrests was 14,982.
Adult offenders (16 years and over) prosecuted numbered 13,471; while juvenile offenders (under 16 years) prosecuted numbered 1,511. Compared with 1971, the number of adult prosecutions decreased by 1,823 (or 11.9 per cent) and juvenile prosecutions by 134 (or 8.1 per cent).
The Criminal Intelligence Unit, formed in May, collects and collates high-grade intelligence about professional and organised criminals. Some notable cases were solved by the unit during the year, including the theft of 48 hand grenades from a military camp in the New Territories in which all the gang members were arrested after investigations lasting two months; and the robbery of a jewellery shop when those responsible were caught in the act and property valued at $240,000 recovered.
During the short period the Criminal Intelligence Unit has operated, stolen property valued at over $1,151,000 has been recovered, and a quantity of firearms and explosive material seized.
The General Investigation Office continued to take action against organised gambling and offences connected with prostitution. A total of 84 raids were con- ducted against gambling establishments resulting in 970 persons being arrested and the seizure of $61,863. In connection with prostitution, 61 raids were carried out and 128 persons arrested.
The Commercial Crime Office, besides investigating a number of complicated fraud cases, also investigated a total of 54 cases of counterfeit notes, coins and travel- lers' cheques. Of these, 24 cases involved counterfeit United States currency, resulting in seizures amounting to a face value of US$4,605. Also investigated were three cases of counterfeit Hong Kong currency, with the face value of the seizures totalling $3,373. In one of these three cases, an illicit workshop engaged in the manufacture of $1 coins was discovered.
Also during the year under review, a fraud case concerning forged letters of credit with a face value of $12 million was investigated by the Commercial Crime Office. In this case, a total of $1.3 million in cash had been obtained before five of those involved were arrested.
The Narcotics Bureau made some large seizures during the year totalling 254 kilos of morphine, 49 kilos of heroin, 2,545 kilos of opium and one kilo of cannabis.
The total retail value of drugs seized by police during 1972 was $28.5 million. Convictions for drug offences of all kinds numbered 15,918.
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The conventional triad movement continued to decline. However, the number of serious crimes committed by quasi-triad youth gangs continued to pose problems to law and order. During the year, 1,014 triad offences involving 836 persons were dealt with, compared with 1,034 offences involving 874 persons the preceding year. Many triad offenders were also convicted of other crimes. The Triad Society Bureau paid special attention to the activities of 16-20 year olds. Within this age group, 529 persons were prosecuted for triad and associated offences in 1972, compared with 579 persons in 1971.
During 1972, prosecutions of juvenile criminals totalled 1,151, representing 10.1 per cent of the total number of persons prosecuted, compared with 9.7 per cent in 1971.
A total of 305 juvenile first offenders were treated as 'discretion' cases under the Juvenile Liaison Scheme; they were referred to District Juvenile Protection Sections for follow-up action. Only 11 or 3.6 per cent were subsequently found to have committed further offences, these results comparing favourably with those achieved in previous years.
The Criminal Investigation Department Training School, established in 1970, organises courses in the latest investigating techniques for inspectorate and rank and file officers. During the year, 230 members of the force attended. The training school also caters for officers from other government departments and police forces.
Throughout the year, advice on crime prevention was publicised in the press, on radio and on television. A Crime Prevention Exhibition, held at the City Hall in March, attracted more than 10,000 visitors. A variety of security equipment and services was on display.
Anti-Corruption
In 1972, the Anti-Corruption Office dealt with 1,167 allegations of corruption, of which 1,029 were tabled before the Target Committee. Of these allegations, 61 were dealt with by the courts, and 91 were the subject of disciplinary action by government departments.
A Principal Crown Counsel was appointed as Assistant to the Attorney General (Anti-Corruption) in May of last year. He is permanently attached to the Anti- Corruption Office, and has helped to improve case preparation. A publicity cam- paign in June coincided with the opening of a sub-office in Kowloon.
Traffic
The number of vehicles on Hong Kong's 626.7 miles of road rose to 186,377 in 1972, up 21,999 (or 13 per cent) over the previous year.
A number of major roadwork projects designed to ease traffic congestion were brought into use during the year, the most important being the cross-harbour tunnel. This, together with flyovers at the northern and southern portals of the tunnel, Garden Road and Waterloo Road, reduced police traffic control commitments in these areas, enabling officers to spend more time on law enforcement.
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The fixed penalty system for parking offences, introduced in September 1971, is now well established. During the year, 533,438 tickets were issued of which 87 per cent were settled without court proceedings. Of the 35,715 cases which went to court, 34,989 were upheld and 155 dismissed. During the latter part of the year, there was a marked increase in the number of tickets issued, reflecting a lack of consideration by some motorists. Radar was used to detect speeding offences of which 9,187 were reported.
Four road safety campaigns were held, three organised by the police and one jointly sponsored by the police, Rediffusion and the Road Safety Association. Police Road Safety Officers continued to give advice to schoolchildren, to employees of business houses and other organisations. They also helped to train school safety patrols and school crossing patrols. Road safety publicity material was produced. and advice given on radio, television and in the cinema.
Establishment
Force establishment at the close of the year totalled 14,816 all ranks, an in- crease of 1,056 over 1971. Strength (excluding women) was 11,588, made up of 186 gazetted officers, 988 inspectorate officers and 10,414 rank and file officers. The number of women serving with the force at December 31, was two gazetted officers, 40 inspectorate officers and 587 rank and file officers.
The number of civilian staff employed by the force rose by 259 to 2,207. During the year, the force lost the services of 801 men and women due to death, dismissal, retirement and resignation. The figure for the previous year was 1,123.
Recruitment
Recruitment of inspectors was satisfactory during the year; that of constables was well below the required level.
The number of inspectors, including women, joining the force was 71, of whom 31 were from overseas. The number of constables who joined was 845, of whom 105 were women. A total of 55 inspectors and 518 constables passed out from the Police Training School during 1972 compared with 67 and 926 respectively the previous year.
The extended interview scheme for local inspectorate applicants, introduced in April 1970, was attended by 106 candidates. The interview enables a recruiting officer to gain a more accurate assessment of an applicant's suitability. Potential inspectors attend a three-day course at the Police Training School, where they are tested on their maturity, decision making and leadership. Of those who attended these courses, 35 were taken on strength as probationary inspectors.
Besides training new recruits, the Police Training School also organises in- service courses for serving officers. These refresh their knowledge of police procedures and law, as well as develop their leadership, self-confidence and team work.
The school also held two police service courses for boys and girls aged between 14 and 20 as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Total attendance was 49.
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PUBLIC ORDER
The Police Tactical Unit (PTU), based at Fanling in the New Territories, provides men and women of the force with crowd control and internal security training. A reserve of seven riot control companies is available for use as an im- mediate striking force in any type of emergency.
All police officers, as part of their career, serve nine months with the PTU, to which they are usually posted during their third year of service. Men of the unit are known to the public as 'blue berets'. They are immediately available for duty when trouble of any kind occurs. During the June landslides, PTU companies were among the first to carry out rescue operations and they subsequently played a major part in controlling the two disaster areas.
The unit was visited by officers from Papua and New Guinea, Bermuda, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, West Germany, Korea, Japan, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. Demonstrations were given to visitors from the Royal College of Defence Studies and to senior police officers.
Administration
Mr N. G. Rolph, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, retired from the force in September to become Hong Kong's first Commissioner for Narcotics. He was suc- ceeded by Mr C. J. R. Dawson.
At the end of the year, there were 54 projects in the police building programme. They included four district headquarters, five divisional headquarters, additional urban and rural police stations as well as accommodation for training and ancillary units. Police buildings completed during 1972 were offices and kennels at Kai Tak Inter- national Airport for the Dog Unit, and a police post at Sai Wan Tsui built in connection with the High Island Water Scheme. Stage III of Police Headquarters, a 20-storey office block being built adjacent to the headquarters building in Arsenal Street, was close to completion at the end of the year; and two police stations at Ngau Tau Kok and Tsz Wan Shan were also nearly ready.
Towards the end of 1971, the Commissioner appointed a committee to see which duties being performed by police officers could be undertaken by civilian staff. The committee conducted a wide ranging survey, as a result of which, arrangements were made for some police officers to be replaced by civilian officers on an experimental basis. The committee took into account such factors as promotion structures, recruit- ment prospects, continuity and internal security. Recommendations were submitted to the Colonial Secretariat in November.
During the year, the Planning and Research Section completed projects concern- ing conditions of service, police procedures, equipment, training, data processing and secondary educational facilities for police schoolchildren. Approval was given to begin detailed planning of a police cadet school.
Following the successful introduction of a smarter winter uniform for rank and file officers last year, a new summer uniform is to be introduced next year.
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In July, the first of two new 78-foot high-speed launches joined the Marine Police fleet; by January 1973, seven of these vessels will be in service. They are built by Vosper-Thornycroft of Singapore and incorporate the latest developments in design and construction. They are capable of speeds of over 17 knots.
Three 40-foot water jet-propelled launches were acquired for shallow water use early in the year. Built locally, they are capable of patrol speeds of up to 20 knots. They are versatile and manoeuverable, particularly in shallow, confined waters. At the end of the year, the Marine Police fleet consisted of 43 vessels.
The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force
The strength of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force at the close of the year was 3,761, an increase of 501 compared with the figure at the close of 1971. Establishment was increased from 4,326 to over 5,000 in October.
In November, following an announcement of increased pay rates and improved annual bounties, the force conducted an intensive three-week recruiting campaign, the theme of which was 'neighbourhood policing'. The intention is that, in future, the majority of auxiliary police men and women will serve in the division where they live. The campaign resulted in 14,892 enquiries being received; these were being processed as the year ended.
The auxiliary police role is to support the regular force. Its members undergo eight hours training each month, and 14 full days a year, seven of which are spent at training camp. Since the beginning of the year, the auxiliary police have been perform- ing anti-crime duties on a regular basis and an encouraging number of arrests have been made.
Prisons
The Commissioner of Prisons is responsible for the overall administration of 11 penal institutions. These include maximum security prisons, an open prison, a psy- chiatric centre, training and detention centres for young offenders and drug addiction treatment centres. In addition, there is a staff training institute, a 'half-way house' and an extensive aftercare system.
Prisons
All convicted male prisoners are received at Victoria Reception Centre where they undergo a thorough medical examination and appear before a classification board which decides to which institution they should be sent.
Stanley Prison, Hong Kong's largest maximum security establishment, was com- pleted in 1936 with accommodation for 1,600 prisoners. Since its early days it has accommodated prisoners in excess of this number and during 1972 the prison had an average daily muster of 2,602. It presently caters for prisoners serving long sentences and all recidivists; and has a comprehensive industrial centre where qualified technical instructors teach tailoring, carpentry, metalwork, shoemaking, basketwork, silk- screening, fibreglass moulding and laundry work. An outside annexe accommodates
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80 prisoners serving sentences of under one year and who are employed on general maintenance work outside the prison.
The open system has continued to be a useful method of handling certain cate- gories of prisoners serving sentences under three years, particularly first offenders. Chi Ma Wan Prison is located on the island of Lantau, with the prisoners mostly employed on outdoor work such as afforestation or projects designed to assist the local population. The institution has a young prisoners section with separate dormitory accommodation and a daily routine of half-day study, half-day work.
Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre was opened in December 1972 and provides accom- modation for 120 inmates (males). The centre is manned by trained staff with a con- sultant psychiatrist and has modern facilities for dealing with offenders who require psychiatric care. The Tai Lam Centre for Women is situated in the New Territories and accommodates remand and convicted women prisoners.
Training and Detention Centres
These centres provide an alternative to imprisonment for convicted young offenders between the ages of 14 and 21. Four training centres for males are located at Stanley, Cape Collinson, Tai Tam Gap and Victoria. These highly disciplined centres provide a full programme of school and vocational training. Sporting activities are also encouraged. A sentence runs from a minimum of nine months to a maximum of three years followed by a compulsory period of aftercare. It was intended that Tai Tam Gap should cater for those held on remand in Lai Chi Kok. However, due to mounting pressure on accommodation, this was not possible and alternative accom- modation on a temporary basis has been made available in Victoria Reception Centre. The site and buildings at Lai Chi Kok have now been handed back to the Public Works Department for redevelopment into the Kowloon Reception Centre. The loca- tion of a training centre for remands in Victoria is an interim measure pending the completion of a new maximum security training centre at Pik Uk. Site formation works for this centre were completed during the year.
On March 16, 1972, the Detention Centres Ordinance was enacted to provide yet another alternative in dealing with young offenders. To facilitate the implementa- tion of this ordinance, the area and buildings of the Shek Pik Training Centre were modified and the inmates transferred to the Tai Tam Gap Training Centre. Renamed Sha Tsui Detention Centre, it became operational on June 16, 1972 and now has accommodation for 100. The emphasis is on strict discipline and hardwork with the aim of teaching an inmate respect for the law while providing positive training. A sentence of detention is indeterminate from a minimum of one month to a maximum of six months, followed by six months compulsory aftercare.
Addiction Treatment Centres
A large percentage of convicted persons are found to be drug dependant. As an alternative to imprisonment, the addiction treatment centres at Tai Lam and Ma Po Ping provide accommodation for 508 and 660 males respectively. Female drug de- pendants are housed in a centre in the Tai Lam Centre for Women. Comprehensive
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medical and psychological treatment programmes, aided by individual and group counselling, are provided for those under treatment. The period of detention for treat- ment is from six to 18 months, followed by a 12-month compulsory period of aftercare. During the year, discussions took place with the United Nations Social Defence Research Institute for an independent evaluation of the success of these centres.
A half-way house named 'New Life House' is a supporting facility for the treat- ment centres and spans the gap between the centres and society.
Aftercare
Aftercare plays an important role in the rehabilitation of discharged inmates and is a statutory requirement of the Training, Detention and Treatment Centres Ordin- ances. Aftercare commences soon after an inmate is admitted to a centre and mutual trust and respect is built up between him and the officer performing these duties. Advice and assistance are given on outside problems and family relationships im- proved. Suitability reports are prepared by the aftercare service as well as recommen- dations for recall.
Staff
All newly recruited staff undergo a 12-month programme of training. They spend the first two months in the Staff Training Institute on basic training. They are then posted to institutions for three months field training, followed by a further month in the Staff Training Institute where examinations are held. The next four months are spent on further field training, after which they attend a two-month advanced course of training in specialised fields. During the year, the old rank of warder was abolished and all staff holding that rank were re-graded assistant officers. Problems have, however, been created in the department owing to shortages of staff.
Discipline
There were no major disturbances among inmates during the year. However, there was an increase in incidents involving violence among inmates in maximum security prisons. There were 29 escapes compared with 53 in 1971.
Fire Services
Hong Kong's continuing industrial and residential development, along with in- creasing urbanisation of the New Territories, necessitated further re-organisation of the operational command structure. The six commands consist of Fire Services Head- quarters, responsible for the overall administration and organisation of the department and the airport division; the Fire Prevention Bureau; Hong Kong Island and Marine; Kowloon Command; New Territories Command; and the Ambulance Command.
The current authorised establishment of the department totals 3,303 of all ranks. It has 382 modern operational appliances and vehicles equipped with the most up-to- date fire and rescue equipment, including 562 sets of breathing apparatus and 93 miles of hose.
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The service, namely the Fire Prevention Bureau, is statutorily responsible for the enforcement of fire safety regulations throughout Hong Kong to advise and assist all sections of the community in the abatement and elimination of fire hazards. During the year, the Fire Prevention Bureau, which maintains a round-the-clock service, made 190,893 inspections of premises and dealt with 5,503 building plans. It also conducted fire prevention courses attended by 9,768 members of the public. In association with kaifongs, rural committees and other community agencies, frequent fire prevention exhibitions and demonstrations were conducted.
A total of 9,962 calls for assistance were received in the year, including three 'disaster alarms', which is the highest classification for an incident. The first disaster occurred early in the year and involved the fire and subsequent sinking of the 'Seawise University' (the former 'Queen Elizabeth'). Fortunately no lives were lost. However, the ship became a total loss and now lies a battered and rusting hulk in the harbour. The second and third disasters occurred on the same day in June within a few hours of each other. These were located on either side of the harbour and resulted from extremely heavy rainfall over a period of three days. At Sau Mau Ping resettlement estate in Kowloon, a mud landslide engulfed a resite squatter area resulting in a death toll of 71; a few hours later a landslide, which claimed a further 67 lives, occurred on Hong Kong Island destroying and damaging several reinforced concrete buildings including a 13-storey block of flats.
The Ambulance Command is an integral part of the department, currently manning 65 ambulances. Each month during the year, an average of over 9,245 patients/casualties were carried by the service. As anticipated, ambulance calls in- creased, with the total for the year being 94,221, resulting in increased establishment of the Ambulance Command and an intensive training programme being instituted to improve the existing high standards of first aid/nursing and rescue techniques.
Four new fire stations and one ambulance depot were completed and came into operation during the year. Other stations are now nearing completion and larger divisional stations have been included in the Fire Service's development programme for the years ahead.
Preventive Service
The Hong Kong Preventive Service is the uniformed and disciplined division of the Commerce and Industry Department. The present strength of the service is 13. gazetted officers, 288 inspectorate and 754 rank and file, under the overall command of an Assistant Commissioner.
Duties are imposed on four categories of goods, namely alcoholic liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oils and table waters. The service is charged with responsibility for safe- guarding revenue derived from these commodities and to this end, physical controls governing import, export, manufacture, storage and sale of dutiable goods are carried out through excise verification centres located throughout Hong Kong. In turn, these are supported by mobile patrols designed to combat illegal distillation of alcohol and misuse of industrial diesel oil. Seizures and arrests continued to be made in Hong
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Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories throughout the year, and the success of these activities is reflected in the increased revenue collected from dutiable commodities being $462,868,841 in 1972, as opposed to $440,601,288 in 1971, an increase of $22,267,553.
The service is also committed to the suppression of illicit traffic in dangerous drugs and achieved a notable degree of success during the period. Officers engaged in the prevention and detention of illegal trafficking in dangerous drugs conducted round- the-clock operations throughout the year. While, what is known of the extent of this pernicious trade leaves no room for complacency, a high degree of success was achieved. On six occasions, attempts to illegally import large quantities of dangerous drugs by sea were forestalled and the entire consignments, amounting to 6,040 lbs of raw opium and 665 lbs of morphine were seized. The persons involved were arrested and dealt with according to law. In addition, significant quantities of dangerous drugs were seized from ocean-going vessels entering both the port and Hong Kong Interna- tional Airport. Particularly noteworthy were the results achieved by the enlarged Inves- tigation Bureau in raids against opium and heroin divans, storage and manufacturing centres. A total of 292 establishments used for trafficking, manufacturing, storage and smoking of dangerous drugs were raided and 1,598 persons, a record number of traffickers and smokers of dangerous drugs, were arrested and brought before the courts. Overall operations designed to combat every aspect of the trade in dangerous drugs resulted in the arrest of 2,098 persons and the seizure of 7,767 lbs of various forms of dangerous drugs having a retail value in excess of $44,900,000.
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Immigration and Tourism
Immigration
HONG KONG Continued to attract visitors from all over the world, with 7,987,223 travel- lers passing through immigration controls in 1972, representing an increase of 28.33 per cent over the previous year. Of this figure, 2,702,807 travelled by air, 3,835,694 by sea (mainly Macau traffic) and 1,449,242 by land between Hong Kong and China.
A new Immigration Ordinance was enacted during the year. One of the most important aspects of the new legislation is that it conveys the right to land in Hong Kong on persons wholly or partly of Chinese race and resident UK belongers who have been ordinarily resident in Hong Kong on a continuous basis for not less than seven years. Hong Kong belongers (the categories of which have been substantially extended) also have this same right to land.
For the first time, immigration controls have also been extended to cover UK citizens, that is, the holders of UK passports issued in Britain, and persons born, adopted, naturalised or registered as British subjects there. Such persons do not require visas to enter Hong Kong for employment, education, residence, etc, nor re- entry visas, but if they wish to stay for longer than six months they are obliged to apply for an extension of stay.
Local residents are becoming very travel conscious, and this is perhaps a reflec- tion of the increasing prosperity of Hong Kong. This year 34,164 British (Hong Kong) passports were issued, the highest figure ever, representing an increase of 22 per cent over 1971. In addition 59,018 Certificates of Identity and 705,059 Re-entry Permits were issued to stateless residents of Hong Kong. There was also a continuation of the steady upward trend in the demand for Entry Certificates for Britain which was largely attributable to the growing popularity of cheap charter flights to Britain, more group travel, and a large number of students going to Britain for higher educa- tion. This control which the Immigration Department exercises on behalf of the British Home Office, particularly the work relating to appeals, placed a heavy burden on the department. It is proposed to establish a separate section specifically for this work, which will also handle all visa applications for those Commonwealth countries for which the department is the agent in Hong Kong.
The British Consulate in Taipei, Taiwan, closed during the year and arrangements were made in Hong Kong to deal with applications for visas for Hong Kong and the United Kingdom by Taiwan residents. The applications are submitted to the airlines with offices in Taiwan who arrange for them to be delivered to the Immigra- tion Department. When the applications are approved, an entry permit is issued to the airline company involved for delivery to the applicant.
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The more relaxed atmosphere in China's relations with the rest of the world has had its effects on the numbers of travellers entering and leaving Hong Kong over the Sino-British border at Lo Wu. The figure of 1,449,242 for the year is 62.47 per cent higher than last year's total.
Illegal immigration continued to cause concern, with 17,271 detected as having entered illegally during the year, an increase of 37 per cent on the preceding year. The main sources of illegal entry are China, Macau and the countries of South-East Asia. There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of stateless persons from Burma in transit through Hong Kong to Macau.
Tourism
The year under review has been one of challenge and change. Challenge from neighbouring tourist destinations in South-East Asia who are realising the economic benefits to be gained from the development of a tourist industry, and changes in tourist patterns and trends as indicated by statistics compiled by the Hong Kong Tourist Association.
For the first time, the number of visitors to Hong Kong exceeded one million. The total number of visitors for 1972 was 1,082,253 which is an increase of 19.3 per cent over the previous year. A sample survey conducted by the Hong Kong Tourist Association showed that the average spending per capita by visitors was $1,800, which means that tourists spent about $2,000 million in Hong Kong over the year.
Research in 1972 revealed some interesting new trends in the pattern of tourism. It indicated that Hong Kong is now receiving more young tourists who are less affluent, more adventurous and more demanding than their elder counterparts. In 1972, visitors in the under 35 age bracket totalled 383,118, or 35.4 per cent of the total number of visitors; an increase of 8.6 per cent over the previous year.
There were also changes in the country of origin of tourists. In particular the numbers of Japanese visitors continued to increase while the number of Americans remained approximately the same as last year partly because of the continuing economic recession in the United States. The Japanese numbered 349,212 visitors, representing 32.3 per cent of the total, Americans numbered 212,690, or 19.6 per cent and Australasians accounted for 71,387 visitors for a 6.6 per cent share of the total. There was an increase in 1972 in the number of visitors arriving from Western Europe and the United Kingdom, who accounted for 14.7 per cent of the total number of visitors.
The steady increase in the number of relatively inexpensive charter flights con- tinues to be the single most significant factor affecting the tourist industry. It has a direct influence on many of the trends apparent in 1972 tourist patterns. Travel is no longer restricted to an affluent few and this is introducing a new era in tourism in the South-East Asian region.
In 1972, Hong Kong sought to improve the range and quality of its tourist facilities and attractions. The Hong Kong Tourist Association introduced a wide new
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range of free literature and improved its information services to ensure that visitors would take advantage of the many varied attractions offered by Hong Kong.
The hotel situation improved considerably with the opening of two major hotels with almost 2,000 rooms in Causeway Bay and several smaller hotels which helped to relieve the shortage experienced in the last two years; altogether another 2,309 rooms were added in 1972. Nevertheless all rooms were fully booked for parts of October and November. The opening of the cross-harbour tunnel improved the trans- port situation for hotels located on Hong Kong Island by considerably reducing the time taken for the journey to and from the Airport. It has also resulted in the emer- gence of Causeway Bay, where the tunnel opening is located on the Island, as the third major tourist district of Hong Kong, following Tsim Sha Tsui and Victoria.
The announcement of plans by a local consortium to build a major trade and convention centre in Causeway Bay, led to a considerable revival of interest in promot- ing Hong Kong as a major convention city, thus widening the scope of its attractions as a tourist destination.
There was a decline in the average length of stay of all visitors from 3.6 days in 1971 to 3.2 days in 1972. In order to improve the average length of stay of visitors, various resort projects are under consideration for Lantau and other outlying, rural districts of the New Territories. Carefully planned resort areas, taking advantage of Hong Kong's beaches, natural resources and potential sporting facilities, would go a long way towards maintaining Hong Kong's position as the leading tourist destina- tion in Asia, as well as providing recreational facilities for local residents.
The Hong Kong Tourist Association expanded its activities throughout 1972. During the year, the association established direct representation in the United Kingdom and Western Europe by appointing its first European Representative. Its offices overseas, in conjunction with Cathay Pacific Airways, continued to promote Hong Kong as a tourist centre.
A successful promotion campaign was launched in all the major markets using the Hong Kong Lightshow, an audio-visual, multi-screen slide presentation. The Lightshow formed the focal point of the Hong Kong Travel Fair which included Chinese traditional entertainment, a Hong Kong fashion show, seminars and open forum discussions and was the largest promotion ever undertaken by Hong Kong's tourist industry in the United States. This promotion was mounted with modifica- tions in Washington, Denver, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and at the Convention of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) in Las Vegas.
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Public Works and Utilities
H
THE government's biggest single financial commitment is the programme of public works, which ranges from the formation and reclamation of land, the building of resettlement and low-cost housing estates, schools and hospitals to the construction of roads, sewers, piers and reservoirs. Capital expenditure on the programme for the financial year 1972-3 is estimated at $840 million, or about 23 per cent of the total expenditure envisaged in the annual estimates. Of this sum $81 million is to be spent on resettlement and government low-cost housing, $113 million on roads and $345 million on water supplies.
Water Supplies
For the fifth successive year Hong Kong enjoyed a continuous water supply, but as demand continues to grow at a high rate, the risk of having to impose restric- tions continues to pose a threat.
At the beginning of the year, the storage position was not very satisfactory; there were 35,317 million gallons in storage in January this year compared with 47,014 million gallons in January 1971. However, early rains soon improved the position, and the very heavy rains of mid-summer caused all reservoirs except Plover Cove to overflow. Relatively drier weather at the end of the wet season meant that we entered the dry season in October with our reservoirs only 94.5 per cent full. How- ever, as the total system capacity had been increased this year by the partial comple- tion of works to raise the level of the Plover Cove dams, we had in fact 51,032 million gallons in storage on October 1, 1972, compared with 41,346 million gallons on October 1, 1971.
There were 24,434 million gallons of water stored in Plover Cove on January 1, 1972, and the inflow during the summer months reduced the salinity of the impounded water from 253 parts per million to 170 parts per million by the end of the year. Clearly marked thermal and chemical stratification occurred in the reservoir but this is considered a normal feature which causes no supply problems. From the initial impoundment of Plover Cove in 1967, nearly 1.8 million fish fry have been stocked in the reservoir to control algal and insect growth and maintain the quality of the water. As the condition of the stored water is good and the fish population has firmly established itself, fish stocking has been discontinued for the present.
The Chinese Authorities continued the supply from the Shum Chun Reservoir, and from October 1, 1971 until August 12, 1972, 18,003 million gallons were obtained, 3,000 million gallons of which were by supplementary agreement. The supply was resumed on October 1, 1972, in accordance with the agreement with the People's Council of Kwangtung Province. In November, a later agreement was reached
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increasing supply by 3,500 million gallons a year on a continuing basis, bringing the total annual delivery to 18,500 million gallons.
Demand for water rose steadily, and a new daily peak of 234.9 million gallons was supplied, an increase of 9.3 per cent over the 1971 peak. Average consumption throughout the year was 195.5 million gallons a day, an increase of 8.0 per cent over the 1971 average. A total of 71,563 million gallons of potable water were consumed compared with 66,100 million gallons in 1971. In addition, 12,829 million gallons of salt water for flushing were supplied, 8.0 per cent less than 1971. Work continued on raising Plover Cove dams. By the end of 1972, the new siphon spillway system had been built and the main dam was almost up to its new level. In conjunction with this work, uprating of Tai Mei Tuk and Tai Po Tau pumping stations continued. Sha Tin treatment works, a focal point of Hong Kong's water supply, was steadily being enlarged, with new filters and settlement tanks being constructed to raise its capacity to 175 million gallons per day in early 1973.
The major contract in the High Island Water Scheme for the construction of the dams was awarded to the Italian firm of Vianini-Societa Per Azioni in August. The two main dams, which will form a fresh water reservoir between the mainland peninsula and High Island, will rise 210 feet above sea level and will be 2,500 feet and 1,500 feet long respectively. In addition to the two main dams, two smaller rock dams will be built higher up in two valleys. The reservoir thus formed will be 3.5 miles long and two miles wide, covering an area of 1,700 acres. About 16 million cubic yards of rock will be used to form the dams, while about 8.5 million cubic yards of material will be dredged from the seabed to form suitable foundations. Construc- tion of the tunnels and intakes to intercept water from the Sai Kung Peninsula catch- ment commenced at the end of 1971. Some 24 miles of tunnel ranging from seven to 13 feet in diameter are being driven, together with 18 stream intakes, each with a shaft of over 250 feet deep. Water from the catchment will flow to the reservoir by gravity and may be drawn from the reservoir into supply by gravity or pumping, depending on the level in the reservoir. There will be associated treatment works, service reservoirs and pipelines to bring the water to the public. The scheme is sched- uled for completion in 1978, but it is hoped to begin drawing water into supply in 1976.
The 50,000 gallons a day experimental desalting plant commissioned in 1971, proved the suitability of the site at Lok On Pai near Castle Peak for the construc- tion of a larger plant and in August 1972, a contract worth $337 million was awarded to the Sasakura Engineering Company of Osaka, Japan, for the supply and instal- lation of boilers, evaporators and ancillary equipment to produce 40 million gallons a day of desalted water from the sea, by a multi-stage flash evaporation process. A proportion of this cost is being met by a loan from the Asian Development Bank of US$21.5 million, repayable in 10 years from 1976. The first of the six units of the plant is expected to come into operation in mid-1974, the remaining five units coming into service successively at three-monthly intervals. When completed, it will be the largest desalting installation in the world.
In addition to these very large schemes, work continued on other projects bringing dependable supplies of fresh water to New Territories villages at Kat O
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and Kau Lau Wan in Mirs Bay, Tai O on Lantau, and to Tsing Yi Island. Towards the end of the year, work began on a second tunnel through Lion Rock, to perform the dual functions of providing a route for further pipelines required to deliver water from High Island and the enlarged Plover Cove schemes to the main centres of popu- lation, and also to provide another road link between Sha Tin and Kowloon. On Hong Kong Island, a major scheme to improve supplies to Shau Kei Wan and Chai Wan was started.
Buildings
Building costs continued to rise during 1972 although a levelling off became apparent during the last quarter of the year. It is estimated that the general rise in costs over the year was about 12 per cent. This increase was almost entirely due to increased labour costs. The situation whereby demand for building operatives out- stripped supply continued during the year and while this situation exists, further wage increases must be expected. Basic building materials have maintained relatively stable cost levels although a general increase was noted in the final quarter which, if maintained, will be a further factor affecting building costs in 1973.
The 12 per cent general increase noted above is perhaps somewhat modest when compared with recent years. This must in part be attributed to a slowing down in the construction of private buildings, resulting in a healthy increase in competitive tender- ing for public building contracts during the year.
Although maintenance works proceeded at a slightly slower pace because of the labour shortage, progress on construction of government buildings and those for HBM Department of the Environment was generally satisfactory. Private architects, private quantity surveyors and consultants continued to assist the Public Works Department in implementing the public building programme.
During the year, expenditure on resettlement estates and associated buildings amounted to approximately $30.3 million, on government low-cost housing $46.7 million, and on all other government building projects $91.07 million.
During the year, 14 resettlement blocks and 29 government low-cost housing blocks were completed, providing sufficient accommodation for some 159,000 people, together with 12 primary schools each with 24 classrooms; six restaurants and 15 kindergartens. In addition, two standard resettlement flatted factories were completed at Kwai Chung. At the end of the year, work was in progress on eight resettlement blocks and 17 government low-cost housing blocks (which will provide accommo- dation for 61,500 people), six estate schools (providing a total of 144 primary class- rooms), two restaurants and five kindergartens.
Improvements to the electrical wiring in Mark I and II resettlement blocks continued. This work was completed at Wong Tai Sin, Lo Fu Ngam and Tung Tau estates and was in hand at Chai Wan, Wang Tau Hom and Tai Wo Hau estates. Piling work was also in hand for the first phase of buildings at the Lek Yuen San Tsuen estate, Sha Tin, the estate in which the new design approach embodying improved ancillary facilities will be first implemented.
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At the end of the year, planning and preparatory work was in hand or construc- tion work was about to start on several resettlement and government low-cost housing estates which will, on completion, provide accommodation for a further 420,000 people.
Many varied and interesting projects were completed during the year. On Hong Kong Island the most notable of these were: a swimming pool at Morrison Hill, for which the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club provided the total funds; a vaccine insti- tute at Pok Fu Lam; a new clinical building at Queen Mary Hospital; a laundry for the Medical and Health Department at Shau Kei Wan; a training centre for Prisons Department at Shek O Road; a market at Shau Kei Wan; and a total of 49 non- departmental quarters for government staff.
Among the many buildings completed in Kowloon were the Cheung Sha Wan Fire Station; an ambulance depot at King's Park; staff quarters at Lai Chi Kok Incinerator and for the Preventive Service at Hung Hom; a motor vehicle service station for the Electrical and Mechanical Office of the Public Works Department; an off-street refuse collection centre at Canton Road; the first stage of the improve- ments to the Kowloon Sorting Office for the Post Office; and the first stage of Hoi Sham Park, To Kwa Wan, this latter project being financed by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Work completed in the New Territories included a secondary technical school at Kwai Chung; fire stations at Fanling and Kwai Chung; a hospital for the mentally sub-normal and a mental hospital both at Siu Lam; the first stage of the Tsuen Wan/ Kwai Chung Polyclinic; a columbarium at Wo Hop Shek Cemetery; beach buildings at Clear Water Bay Beach and Cheung Chau; and the first stage of Fanling Recreation Ground. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club provided the funds for the hospital for the mentally sub-normal at Siu Lam and the Tsuen Wan/Kwai Chung Polyclinic.
Projects under construction at the end of the year included a college of edu- cation at Piper's Hill; a secondary school at Sha Tin; a fire station at Yau Tong; a multi-storey car park at Murray Road; a training school for the Preventive Service; the new Lai Chi Kok General Hospital and combined staff quarters to serve both this new hospital and a new mental hospital which is to be sited adjacent to the general hospital. Also under construction were a clinic and maternity home at Tsz Wan Shan; the new Police Headquarters building, police stations at Happy Valley, Chai Wan, Ngau Tau Kok and Tsz Wan Shan; the second stage of the Kennedy Town Swimming Pool, Tsuen Wan Swimming Pool and Park; combined latrine and bathhouse buildings at Mongkok Road and Apliu Street; and markets at Wong Tai Sin and Shek Tong Tsui. Several playgrounds, amenity areas, latrines, hawker bazaars and floodlighting schemes were also in hand.
At the end of the year, design, working drawings and contract documents were in preparation for more than 200 projects including the fourth stage of the modi- fications to the terminal buildings at Kai Tak International Airport; technical insti- tutes at Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan; fire stations at Chung Hom Kok and the airport; a second block of government offices in Garden Road; a judiciary building in Gascoigne Road; a mental hospital at Lai Chi Kok; 11 police stations and a police
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driving school; the new General Post Office; a public park and swimming pool at Tai Wan; and several recreation grounds, beach buildings, markets and off-street refuse collection centres. Design work was also in hand for an outdoor stadium at Ho Man Tin while working drawings were being prepared for the Hung Hom deve- lopment complex which includes the new railway terminal building, an indoor stadium for 15,000 spectators and a multi-storey car park for 900 cars.
Drainage
All the urban areas and the newly developing townships have been provided with waterborne sewerage systems, although in a few areas there are still some old buildings which are not yet connected to the public sewers. Building developments are kept under surveillance and the hydraulic conditions of existing sewers are con- stantly reviewed; with suitable arrangements made to ensure that no overloading will occur. Accordingly, new sewers were laid in Sham Shui Po, Lai Chi Kok, Wan Chai, Happy Valley and North Point.
The planning and construction of sewage screening plants and submarine out- falls continued. Construction of a second new submarine outfall off Wan Chai Reclamation and a sewage screening plant in Lai Chi Kok was started. Consulting engineers were assigned to undertake detailed investigation into the best method for treating and disposing of sewage from North-West Kowloon which was observed in a previous hydrological survey to be an area that needs special attention.
Sewerage systems are also being constructed in the new towns being developed in the New Territories. A new intercepting sewer at Kwai Chung and a sewage screen- ing plant and pumping station for Castle Peak new town were both completed. The construction of the Shek Wu Hui pilot sewage treatment plant was started and plans were in hand to build a temporary sewage treatment works for Sha Tin new town.
The extension of stormwater culverts in Wan Chai reclamation was completed. Work continued on river training at Sha Tin and a start made on the extension of Staunton Creek nullah in Aberdeen. Works for the extension of an arterial drain in the Kai Tak area continued.
Port Works
On Hong Kong Island, work commenced on the seawall for the fifth and final stage of the Central Reclamation, and on a further 1,500 feet of seawall at Chai Wan to allow more land to be reclaimed there. At Kennedy Town, work started on a berth for the bigger craft which bring fruit and vegetables from China, while four salt- water pumphouses were completed at Wan Chai. In Kowloon, a further 1,200 feet of seawall was constructed inside the Yau Ma Tei typhoon shelter for the extension of Tong Mi Road and work began on the breakwaters for Kowloon Bay typhoon shelter and cargo-handling basin.
At Kwai Chung, new access roads were ready in time for the opening of the first container berth in September, while work on further roads and a flyover required
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for access to the other container berths continued. Dredging of the sea approaches to the container berths progressed well and work began on the seawall for the Kwai Chung incinerator.
Among works completed in the New Territories were a bund for coastal pro- tection at Tai O on Lantau Island, the first stage of the extension of Cheung Chau Praya, and 1,100 feet of seawall for Castle Peak new town. Work began on public piers at Sha Lo Wan on Lantau Island and at Sai Wan on Cheung Chau.
Navigational beacons were constructed on Ngau Chau in East Lamma Channel, on the rock outcrop of Lo Shue Pai near Chai Wan, and at eight points in Deep Bay.
Land Development
Progress at the two new towns at Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan included the formation of 0.9 acres of land and 25.9 acres of reclamation. At Kwun Tong, 13.8 acres were reclaimed from Kowloon Bay for industrial development. At Tsuen Wan- Kwai Chung, 13 acres of land were formed, comprising 0.9 acres of formed hillside sites for government low-cost housing; and 12.1 acres of reclamation at Gin Drinker's Bay.
In Kowloon, development of land for low-cost housing, schools, government and institutional uses included about 6.9 acres of terraced sites at Ho Man Tin and 4.5 acres at Pak Tin. At Kai Tak, 18 acres of land were formed for the extension of airport facilities, and 4.7 acres at Tong Mi Road.
On Hong Kong Island, reclamation continued with the formation of six acres of land at Chai Wan and 2.8 acres at Sandy Bay. At Hing Wah, 5.4 acres of terraced sites were formed for a resettlement estate.
In the first stage of the new town at Castle Peak, a further six acres of land were formed by cutting and filling. Work continued on the remaining site formation, roads and drains including the trunk road between San Hui and Fu Tei. In the first stage of the new town at Sha Tin, a further 11.4 acres of land were reclaimed, completing a site for the first government housing estate there.
Quarrying
There are six major quarries in full production under the government policy of concentrating stone production in large quarries let on long-term contracts. During the year, progress was made towards implementing regulations to ensure greater work- ing safety in these quarries; including the provision of additional land where required to form haulage roads for access to quarry benches, so as to reduce the working height of the rock faces. Only five private quarries are still operating under the old system of Crown Land Permits and these will shortly be closed down as new quarries on contract replace them.
Supplies of crushed-rock aggregates for construction works were adequate throughout the year; there was a fall in demand in the middle of the year as con- struction was slowed down by bad weather but this increased again towards the end
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of the year. At the two government quarries at Diamond Hill in Kowloon and Mount Butler on Hong Kong Island, which produce aggregates and road-surfacing mate- rials for government projects, new crushing machinery was purchased and was being installed to provide additional production capacity and to improve efficiency.
The materials-testing laboratories operated by the Civil Engineering Office of the Public Works Department carried out 77,580 tests on building materials; of these 8,780 were for private firms.
Public Utilities
Electricity
Hong Kong Island and the neighbouring islands of Ap Lei Chau and Lamma are supplied with electricity by the Hongkong Electric Co Ltd, while Kowloon and the New Territories, including Lantau and a number of outlying islands, receive their supply from the China Light and Power Co Ltd. The island of Cheung Chau is served by the Cheung Chau Electric Co. In addition, minor enterprises such as village co-operatives produce current for certain remote localities.
The three companies are investor-owned, and do not operate under a franchise. However, since 1964 the government has exercised a measure of financial control over the two main undertakings.
Safety aspects are covered by an Electricity Supply Ordinance. The supply voltage is normally 200 volts single-phase or 346 volts three-phase, four-wire, 50 hertz alternating current. For bulk consumers, supply is available at 11 kV and, in some locations, 6.6 kV.
In Kowloon and the New Territories, generation is carried out in part by the Peninsula Electric Power Co Ltd, an enterprise financed 60 per cent by Esso and 40 per cent by China Light; it owns the power stations at Tsing Yi (600 MW) and Hok Un 'C' (240 MW). Operation of these plants is in the hands of China Light, which also has its own station Hok Un 'A' and 'B' (410 MW) and a number of diesel sets (4 MW).
Hongkong Electric has generating stations at North Point (336 MW) and Ap Lei Chau (245 MW). Including Cheung Chau's 3 MW, there is thus a combined. capacity of 1,838 MW.
Considerable additional capacity is being erected or planned: at Tsing Yi, a further 920 MW is due to be installed by 1977, and at Ap Lei Chau, a further 250 MW by 1975.
Main electricity statistics for 1972, as well as electricity sales figures for the years 1970 to 1972, are shown in the tables in Appendix 30.
Gas
The Hong Kong and China Gas Co Ltd supplies Towngas to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. The supply is available throughout the urban
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areas, including Repulse Bay on the Island and the industrial towns of Kwun Tong, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan. Towngas production is centred at Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon, and the Island is supplied by two submarine gas mains across the harbour. The total installed production capacity of the station is approximately 14 million cubic feet per day. Tsuen Wan is supplied by an independent station with a capacity of 900,000 cubic feet per day.
Gas is sold on a thermal basis (one therm = 100,000 British thermal units). The calorific value of Towngas in the urban area is 455 British thermal units per cubic foot and in the Tsuen Wan area it is 650 BTU per cubic foot. The total quantity of gas sold in 1972 was 10.8 million therms compared with 9.8 million in 1971, an in- crease of 10.2 per cent.
Liquid Petroleum Gas and Kerosene
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a chemical by-product of petroleum. It is stored in steel cylinders under pressure and has a wide range of domestic and indus- trial applications.
Demand for LPG in Hong Kong has greatly increased, because it is cleaner and more convenient to use than kerosene. It is estimated that almost 50 per cent of the population now use LPG for domestic cooking purposes (though many households use both LPG and kerosene, the latter being mainly used for heating water). About 25 to 30 per cent of total LPG sales are to the industrial sector.
When LPG was first introduced to Hong Kong in 1956, sales were about 1,000 lb a year, but within a period of six years, sales of LPG increased to 300,000 lb. Domestic sales for the year are estimated to be 142 million lb. The main suppliers are Shell, Mobil and Esso with Caltex, Gulf, Peninsula, and the Hong Kong and China Gas Co Ltd following closely behind. Supplies for Hong Kong come mainly from the Philippines and Singapore.
The excise duty on both LPG and kerosene was abolished on March 1, 1972. LPG which has a net calorific value of 19,700 BTU/lb now costs 60 cents per one lb.
Kerosene, which is the cheapest domestic fuel, is still very popular and about 600,000 households use it. The retail price of kerosene is $1.80 per gallon, and during the year an estimated 42 million gallons were used, most of which was imported from China, Singapore and the Middle East.
13
H
Communications and Transport
FOR its size Hong Kong has the most sophisticated communications system in Asia -a system that is continuing to expand to keep pace with advances in technology. Satellite earth stations, computers, highly complex electronic equipment have all been a part of Hong Kong's communications network for some years. These, together with older-established systems, make Hong Kong a major international communica- tions centre.
Shipping
Hong Kong harbour is one of the busiest in the world and it has earned a world- wide reputation for the way in which it caters for the requirements of modern shipping. Victoria harbour, which lies between Hong Kong Island and the city of Kowloon, is one of the three most perfect natural harbours in the world and it has an area of 23 square miles, varying in width from one to six miles.
The administration of the port is one of the responsibilities of the Director of Marine. To ensure that port facilities and services continue to develop along with the changing needs of Hong Kong and of the ships which use the port, the Director is advised on its administration by the Port Committee and the Port Executive Committee, through which the closest liaison with Hong Kong's shipping and com- mercial interests is maintained. With the exception of the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal wharf, the department neither controls nor operates any of the alongside berths of the port nor the transit sheds or warehouses associated with them. It does, however, operate and maintain 74 moorings for ocean-going vessels within the harbour. Of these, 44 are classified as being suitable for use by ships up to 600 feet in length, and 30 for ships up to 450 feet in length. Special typhoon mooring buoys are provided for vessels wishing to remain in the port during the passage of a tropical storm. In addition, the largest and deepest draught vessels afloat can also be afforded a safe anchorage. The commercial wharves can accommodate vessels of up to 1,000 feet in length with draughts not exceeding 36 feet.
Quarantine and immigration facilities are available on a 24-hour basis at the Western Quarantine Anchorage and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Eastern Quarantine Anchorage. This change in times of availability of the 24-hour clearance from the Eastern to the Western Anchorage reflects the emphasis now being placed upon the arrival and departure of vessels via the western approaches to the harbour. Ships are normally cleared on arrival and large passenger vessels are processed en route to their alongside berth or mooring buoy. Advance immigration clearance may be obtained by certain vessels on application, as may radio pratique.
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A comprehensive system of navigational aids in the harbour and approaches provides safe entry to the port by day and night and improvements are continually being made. Most fairway light buoys and certain navigational beacons are fitted with radar reflecting devices. The department operates a network of signal stations at Waglan Island, Green Island, North Point and at the Marine Department Port Communications Centre, which are all inter-connected by telephone and teleprinter circuits. A modified Hague Plan VHF Port Operations Service is also operated by the department. Although pilotage in the port and in Hong Kong waters is not com- pulsory, it is generally recommended because of the density of marine traffic and the scale of harbour works continuously being undertaken. Following the completion and opening of the cross-harbour tunnel, the Hung Hom fairway that joins Kowloon Bay with the central and western areas of the port, resumed its original alignment on October 2, 1972.
The harbour is patrolled by Marine Department launches to ensure effective control of fairways, typhoon shelters and cargo working areas. The launches are in continuous contact by radio with the Port Control Office which is thus able to initiate and control action required in any unusual circumstances. A fleet of modern fire- fighting vessels, operated by the Fire Services Department, is kept in continuous readiness and units are stationed on either side of the harbour. These and other government vessels are equipped with emulsifier sprays for dispersing oil pollution. As described in Chapter 18, the Pollution Control Unit of the department is respon- sible for the detection and combating of oil pollution within the waters of Hong Kong. The Harbour Cleansing Unit removes some 6,000 tons of floating refuse from the main harbour each year and this year extended its operations to three of the larger typhoon shelters. A refuse collection service for ships has been introduced on a six-month's trial basis.
At present, a large percentage of the cargo handled in Hong Kong is at some stage transported by lighters. Over 2,000 lighters and junks are now used for this purpose and nearly half of these are mechanised. Ships' own cargo gear is normally used for loading or discharging cargo alongside wharves or in the stream, but floating heavy-lifting equipment is available in the port when required. Wharf and godown companies are fully aware of the advantages and increased productively which can result from mechanisation, and adequate modern equipment is available to speed the rapid and safe movement of goods between godowns, ships and lighters.
The development of container handling facilities within the port continued during the year. The interim facilities available at North Point Wharves Ltd, the Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Co Ltd and the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Company continued to be utilised throughout the year. The first berth of the container complex at Kwai Chung was used for the first time on September 5, 1972 when the container ship Tokyo Bay moored alongside. This marked the beginning of a new era of cargo transportation for Hong Kong. Berth 1, owned and operated by Modern Terminals Limited, represents an investment of $155 million. It has an area of about 37 acres and is the first of three berths being phased into service. With container ships and other vessels of deep draught and higher speeds likely to make greater use of the East Lamma Channel and western approaches in future, the Marine
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Hong Kong seems always to be on the move. With most of its four million people living in twin cities divided by the world's busiest harbour, this teeming metropolis utilises almost every means of transport. Although Kowloon and Victoria are now connected by a cross-harbour tunnel, ferries still provide a shuttle service above. Double-decker buses, minibuses and countless taxis contribute to an efficient public transport system that will probably boast an underground railway by the 1980s. In contrast, sedate trams clatter through Central District on Hong Kong Island and cable cars climb more than 1,300 feet up Victoria Peak.
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Hongkong Tramways Ltd operates an electric tramway service on Hong Kong Island. Its 162 double-decker trams and 22 trailers provide
a frequency of one every 25 seconds within the city centre.
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Department is considering further improvements in the provision of navigational aids for ships proceeding to the Kwai Chung berths. The Royal Naval survey vessel Hydra carried out detailed soundings in the main approaches to the port towards the end of the year.
Good bunkering facilities are provided in the port and vessels may be supplied with fuel oil either at the wharves of oil terminals or from a fleet of harbour oil- carriers owned and operated by the major oil companies. Fresh water is similarly available at commercial wharves or from waterboats which service vessels at anchor or at government moorings.
Hong Kong has a long history of shipbuilding and its ship repair facilities are extremely efficient. While the major shipyards are able to build dry cargo vessels, tankers, and general purpose passenger and cargo vessels up to 500 feet in length, their work is now increasingly directed towards ship repairing and major modifica- tions.
Two major shipyards are the Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co Ltd and the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Co Ltd. Both companies have extensive facilities for the repair, maintenance and dry docking or slipping of all class and types of vessels up to 35,000 deadweight tons in the case of bulk oil tankers, or 750 feet in length and 88 feet beam in the case of passenger liners and dry cargo vessels. A new type of facility was introduced to Hong Kong during the year when two floating dry docks commenced operations. The larger of the two, with a capacity of 100,000 tons, is owned by Island Navigation Corporation Ltd and lies west of Tsing Yi Island. The other floating dry dock is capable of lifting 25,000 tons and is situated off Taikoo Dockyard's premises at Quarry Bay. Minor shipyards in Hong Kong, with over 170 slipways, are well equipped to undertake repairs to small vessels and have developed a capacity for the building of specialised craft, particularly pleasure craft and yachts.
Hong Kong continues to play an important role as a centre of recruitment for seamen and over 23,400 seamen, out of a total of 70,723 locally registered men, are serving on board some 1,285 British and foreign flag vessels. The Seamen's Recruiting Office and the Mercantile Marine Office combine to register and supervise the employ- ment of seamen on board vessels of all flags. The Mariner's Club in Kowloon provides recreational and welfare facilities of a high standard for visiting seamen of all nation- alities.
The proximity of Hong Kong to the Portuguese territory of Macau attracts both tourists and residents to Macau. The facilities of the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal wharf have been improved and additional alterations are planned to ensure greater ease of passenger processing and movement. The volume of passenger traffic on this route has increased from just over one million in 1962 to 3.75 million in 1972.
Tragedy struck in the port on January 9, 1972 when the former passenger liner Queen Elizabeth, which had been renamed Seawise University, caught fire just five days before renovation work was expected to be completed. The fire spread very rapidly and, despite massive fire-fighting efforts, soon engulfed the liner. In the late afternoon of January 9, attempts to save the vessel were abandoned and on the
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following day she listed heavily to starboard and foundered. There was no loss of life but a Marine Court, which was appointed under Section 52 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance to investigate the fire, found that it was a deliberate act or acts by a person or persons unknown. There were about 3,000 tons of fuel oil on board the vessel at the time and the majority of this has now been removed from 24 tanks to eliminate as far as possible any pollution threat to the waters of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is situated in an area which is frequently affected by tropical cyclones in the summer months but, although signals were hoisted on several occasions, Hong Kong was not seriously affected during the year, although heavy rains affected cargo working during the summer months.
Civil Aviation
Hong Kong International Airport, built on land reclaimed from the sea, continues to arouse worldwide interest, and has long been regarded as second to none in Asia. Conveniently situated on the Kowloon peninsula, it is only 20 minutes drive, or less than five minutes flight by scheduled helicopter service, to the heart of the com- mercial, hotel, and shopping centre of Victoria on Hong Kong Island. Geographically, it is strategically positioned for the rapidly expanding markets of the Far East.
The airport is of vital significance to the economy, serving tourism and commerce, and providing a speedy outlet for Hong Kong's manufactured goods. It is linked to all parts of the world by 31 international airlines, that provide 806 scheduled passenger services to and from Hong Kong each week. Of these, 72 are by Boeing 747 'jumbo' jet. In addition, there are also 57 scheduled freight services, and a large number of non-scheduled charter passenger and cargo flights each week. Revenue from the airport amounted to $103,492,357 during the last financial year.
The airport is managed and operated by the Civil Aviation Department of the Hong Kong Government. This department is also responsible for the provision of Air Traffic Control services, and an air/sea search-and-rescue facility to all aircraft operating over a 100,000 square mile area designated as the Hong Kong Flight Information Region. Aeronautical information and an extensive system of telecom- munications are also available, along with the aeronautical meteorological service provided in conjunction with the Royal Observatory. The latest equipment is im- mediately available to provide fire, crash and rescue services to the highest inter- national standards in any emergency.
Sophisticated radio and navigational aids are provided by the airport to meet international standards of performance, and these are supplemented or updated as necessary. A third surveillance radar of the latest design recently became operational. A new precision approach radar is shortly to be commissioned as an alternative final approach aid for Runway 31, and work is continuing on the implementation of a new instrument approach system for Runway 13.
To remain in the forefront of civil aviation, the airport is currently engaged in a very extensive development programme. Work is continuing on the extension of the runway by 2,780 feet to a total of 11,130 feet, along with the building of a new
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link taxiway, together with fast entry and exit stubs to the runway. Parking bays have been increased from 11 in 1967 to 23 in 1972, and the area of occupancy has expanded from a mere 50 acres in 1930 to 530 acres today. A visual guidance/stop system for unaided parking of aircraft is being implemented and three parking bays are now equipped with a total of eight air-bridges in order to expedite passenger handling.
The passenger terminal building provides a full range of services such as duty- free shops, hairdressing facilities and a nursery. The terminal and its surrounds are being enlarged to permit the handling of an increased number of passengers and to provide more space for essential facilities. These will include car parks, a viewing gallery, bars, restaurants, shopping arcades, left-luggage rooms, post and telegraph offices and banking facilities. Staff of the Hong Kong Tourist Association and Hotel Association give guidance to arriving passengers, and taxis, hotel buses, and a limousine service are available for their convenience. A scheduled helicopter service operates frequently to and from Hong Kong Island, and the cross-harbour tunnel now brings the airport to within a 15-minute drive from the Island.
Two airlines are currently based in Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific Airways operat- ing four B-707 and seven CV880 aircraft that provide frequent services throughout Asia and to Australia; and Hong Kong Air International, which operates (within Hong Kong) a fleet of four helicopters ranging from two Alouettes to a Bell 47 and Bell 212.
Private flying within Hong Kong is catered for by the Aero Club and Flying Club. Both are privately managed and provide social amenities in addition to flying training. Three light single-engined aircraft are available for the latter task, and there is no shortage of qualified instructors. Both clubs are becoming increasingly popular. Their combined membership increased by over 30 per cent during the year, and the number of student pilots by over 10 per cent.
Kowloon-Canton Railway
The British section of the Kowloon-Canton Railway runs from Tsim Sha Tsui at the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula to Lo Wu near the Chinese frontier beyond which it joins the Chinese railway system. At present, there is no direct passenger service between Kowloon and Canton and passengers travelling to and from China must change trains at the border and walk across a bridge connecting the two territories. Freight and mail wagons, however, travel through without tran- shipment.
There are 17 daily passenger trains each way and an average of five goods trains per day operating on the British section which is owned by the Hong Kong Government. Passenger traffic is heavy at weekends and public holidays, especially in winter time, and special trains are often run between the Kowloon terminus and Sha Tin which is a popular picnic resort. The running time, between Tsim Sha Tsui and Lo Wu including stops at seven intermediate stations, is about one hour.
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The greatest number of passengers carried in a single day during the year was 102,222 on April 5, 1972, the Ching Ming Festival day, when Hong Kong residents paid their respects to their ancestors in the cemeteries at Wo Hop Shek and Sandy Ridge in the New Territories.
International tenders have been invited for the supply of 40 new carriages, 28 of which are for the replacement of existing rolling stock. Arrangements were also being made towards the end of the year to purchase an additional locomotive.
A new railway terminus is under construction at Hung Hom to replace the existing terminal station at Tsim Sha Tsui. Site formation works have been completed, and tracklaying, drainage and construction of platforms are now in hand. Foundations are also being laid for a podium which will cover the passenger platforms and a part of the railway goods yard. The passenger concourse, booking hall, waiting rooms, restaurants and railway offices will be situated on the podium and a multi-storey car park will be built above them. The podium will also carry a bus station and an indoor stadium. Plans for double-tracking part of the railway line and for the re- modelling of several stations are going ahead. Other improvements of the railway facilities are also under active consideration.
Roads
With few exceptions, all roads accessible to the public are maintained by the government. The total mileage of roads so maintained now stands at 626.67, of which 205.35 miles are on Hong Kong Island, 186.45 in Kowloon and 234.87 in the New Territories.
As a result of the rapid social and economic progress in the past decade, the pressure of traffic on the road system has increased tremendously as reflected in the 186,377 vehicles now registered in Hong Kong. This represents a density of 297 vehicles for every mile of road, which places Hong Kong second highest in the world after Monaco. To meet this situation and to deal with future demands, a vast programme of road construction and improvement has been found necessary. A total of $91.6 million was spent on construction of major highway projects and $31.8 million on improvements and maintenance during the year.
The $320 million four-lane cross-harbour tunnel opened to traffic in August. It represents a new era in road communications in Hong Kong, with journey times between Hong Kong Island and the mainland substantially reduced, thus fostering a more complete social and economic integration of Hong Kong. This project, a joint private and government venture, has demonstrated once more the co-operation which exists between private enterprise and the government for the benefit of the community.
The exceptional rainstorms in June caused numerous landslides and road col- lapses. A total of 537 incidents were reported but, with few exceptions, the majority of affected roads were repaired and re-opened to traffic within two weeks. On Hong Kong Island, the new Waterfront Road project was completed and, with its many grade-separated junctions, provides free-flowing conditions for traffic between North Point, the cross-harbour tunnel and Central District.
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The completion of two flyovers over Garden Road linking Kennedy Road and Upper Albert Road marked yet another step towards the completion of the im- provement scheme for better road communications between the Central and Mid- levels Districts of Hong Kong Island. A further flyover, linking Garden Road with Queensway, is now being designed by consultants and when this is completed in 1974, the entire project will have been brought to a successful completion.
On the south side of the Island, the construction of a new road from Deep Water Bay Road to Wong Chuk Hang Road is in hand. Other new roads were constructed in conjunction with private building developments in the Morrison Hill, Chai Wan, Wan Chai Reclamation, Jardine's Lookout and Tin Hau Temple Road areas. Existing major roads being widened to handle increases in traffic included Connaught Road Central, Kennedy Road and Wongneichong Gap Road. Improvement works at the junction of Pokfulam Road, Bonham Road and Hill Road continued.
In Kowloon, the flyovers for the Kowloon City and San Po Kong interchanges were completed and opened to traffic. Work continued on major improvements to the route along the foothills in the northern part of Kowloon between Lai Chi Kok and Kwun Tong. This project, on which consulting engineers were engaged, provides for grade-separation at all intersections. Consulting engineers were also engaged on the construction of elevated road works at the Waterloo Road/Prince Edward Road/ Boundary Street interchange where a 1,000-foot long, three-lane temporary steel flyover was erected in four days. This flyover will reduce traffic congestion during construction of the permanent works.
Two concourses, serving passenger ferries for Hong Kong Island, one at Kwun Tong and the other at Tai Kok Tsui were completed and brought into use. To provide safe crossing facilities on busy roads, two footbridges were completed, one at Cheung Sha Wan Road and the other at Choi Hung Road.
In the New Territories, a new road linking Tai Wan and Kei Ling Ha Lo Wai was completed and work on its extension to Nai Chung commenced. The widening of the last single-lane section of Tai Mong Tsai Road was completed. The section of the Luk Keng-Tai Mei Tuk Road between Tai Mei Tuk and Chung Mei was com- pleted and surfacing of the section between Chung Mei and Luk Keng commenced. Upon completion, this 3.8-mile length of road will not only provide a direct link between Tai Mei Tuk and Luk Keng, but will improve communications to the remote villages at Wu Kau Tang in Tai Po District.
Traffic management techniques continued to be applied to improve the flow of traffic on the existing road network. Good progress was maintained on the installa- tion of traffic light signals at road intersections and pedestrian crossings, and 234 sets of traffic signals were in operation by the end of 1972. The conversion of existing pedestrian signals to 'standing/walking man' signals with flashing units began; and the street lighting system was again expanded with a total of 1,304 new lamps installed.
Among the transportation surveys carried out were journey time studies in the New Territories, the characteristics of Public Light Bus operations, and the speed of
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vehicles at locations where changes in the legal speed limit might be justified. With the help of university students on vacation, the parking inventory for Hong Kong was brought up-to-date and the level of parking by night and day was established. Students were also employed for the study of conditions at ferry termini and at selected pedes- trian problem spots; they also interviewed passengers on the newly introduced Central District/Kwun Tong ferry route to find out their opinions on the new route. Substan- tial progress was made on compiling an inventory of public transport routes, along with the processing of data on transportation collected during the population census in 1971.
Road Tunnels
The cross-harbour tunnel was built in three years at a cost of $320 million and is now operated by the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Co Ltd (a consortium including private enterprise and the government). Linking Causeway Bay and Hung Hom, it was opened by the Governor on August 2, 1972. A later ceremony was conducted by HRH Princess Alexandra on October 21, 1972 to mark the completion of the entire project. The tolls charged by the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company vary from $2 for a motor cycle to $15 for a double-decker omnibus and $20 for a goods vehicle over 5 tons; while the charge for a private car is $5. From the time the tunnel was opened until December 31, 1972 a total of 3,978,473 vehicles passed through the toll booths. In December, the average number of vehicles using the tunnel each day was 29,600.
Hong Kong's first road tunnel, the Lion Rock Tunnel linking Kowloon and Sha Tin, was five years old on November 14, 1972. Built by the Hong Kong Government, this tunnel is managed and operated by the Transport Department. Tolls charged are 50 cents for private cars and motor cycles and $1 for other vehicles. During the year, a total of 4.14 million vehicles used the tunnel and $2.39 million was collected in tolls, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous year.
Parking
With one of the highest densities of traffic in the world, parking in Hong Kong becomes increasingly difficult each year. To improve traffic flow, the number of on- street parking spaces has had to be reduced, thus increasing the demand for off-street car parks.
Since 1966, it has been the government's policy to provide multi-storey car parks from public funds only in main commuter areas which have a high daily inflow of traffic and consequently a high parking requirement. In mixed residential and com- mercial areas, where the demand for parking exceeds the supply, certain sites have been earmarked for sale for private enterprise to develop as multi-storey car parks and any other activities that can conveniently be combined with car parking. Off-street open-air car parks are provided on a temporary basis on land awaiting development.
There are six government multi-storey car parks, managed by the Urban Council with a total capacity of 3,600 vehicles. An additional multi-storey car park is under construction and others are in the planning stage.
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Where on-street parking facilities are provided, it is the government's policy to ration the limited space available and to ensure a reasonable turn-over of short-term parkers by means of parking meters; a total of 7,300 meters have so far been installed. As part of the policy of rationing space, both on-street and in car parks, it was found necessary in July 1972 to increase parking fees by an average of 66.7 per cent and to extend the operation of some parking meters up to midnight and to weekends and public holidays.
Public Transport
Apart from the Kowloon-Canton Railway, whose activities are described earlier in this chapter, public transport is operated by private enterprise. There are five companies operating scheduled passenger services under ordinances which grant exclusive rights. They are: the China Motor Bus Company, and Hongkong Tramways Ltd which operate services on Hong Kong Island; the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Ltd which has the franchise in Kowloon and the mainland portion of the New Territories; the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company, and the Star Ferry Company which operate ferry services on specific routes across the harbour and in the waters of Hong Kong. Appendix 32 lists the traffic carried by each of the undertakings for the three years up to 1972.
Buses
At the end of 1972, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company's fleet totalled 1,272 vehicles, comprising 906 double-deck buses and 366 single-deck buses. On order or under construction at the end of 1972, were 70 double-deck buses which will be added to the fleet during 1973-4. The fleet's total passenger-carrying capacity at the end of the year was 118,706. During the year, 501.2 million passengers were carried and 44.4 million miles were operated by the company's buses. At the end of 1972 there were 84 routes (47 in Kowloon, 34 in the New Territories, and three cross-harbour routes).
The company continued with the replacement of two-conductor operated buses. with one-conductor buses and a start was made on the introduction of one-man operated buses on several urban routes. It is intended to convert all the New Territories routes to one-man operation during 1973.
Bus services on Hong Kong Island are operated by the China Motor Bus Co Ltd which has 261 double-deck and 235 single-deck buses. The total passenger- carrying capacity of the fleet at the end of 1972 was 38,124, an increase of 8.0 per cent over 1971. A general fare revision came into effect on July 1, 1972. This revision raised 73 per cent of existing fares, while 23 per cent remained unchanged and three per cent were reduced. The overall impact was an average 28 per cent increase in fares, mainly on suburban routes.
With the opening of the cross-harbour tunnel to traffic on August 3, 1972, the two major bus companies introduced three jointly operated services linking the urban areas of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The services are one-man operated with
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a flat fare of $1. These routes have been very popular and by December 31, 1972 the companies had carried over 12.3 million passengers through the cross-harbour tunnel.
In addition to the franchised transport companies, there are 3,800 Public Light Buses which may ply for hire on any route except for some particularly congested areas where they are banned altogether or where the setting down and picking up of passengers is prohibited. On Lantau Island, three bus companies provide services on four routes served by 46 single-deck vehicles.
Trams
Hongkong Tramways Ltd operates an electric tramway service on Hong Kong Island. Its fleet comprises 162 double-deck tramcars and 22 single-deck trailers. The double-tracked route, which runs from Kennedy Town in the Western District east- ward along the north of the Island to Shau Kei Wan, is divided into three main routes, two of which are about five miles long and include a single track loop around Happy Valley. The minimum frequency of the service through the city centre is one tramcar approximately every 25 seconds in each direction. In 1972, each vehicle carried an average of 916,400 passengers, the highest annual utilisation of any of the public transport modes.
On July 1, 1972, the 10 cents third class fare for the lower deck was abolished (fares had remained unchanged since 1946) and a 20 cents flat fare introduced, with no classes. There were 62 tramcars converted to one-conductor operation during the year.
The Peak Tramways Co Ltd has operated a funicular railway service to Victoria Peak since 1888. The present system has been in use since 1925 and cars are drawn along the track by two miles of steel cable. The tramway climbs to an altitude of 1,305 feet and the steepest part of the track has a gradient of one in two. During the year, 2.26 million passengers were carried. Traffic increased as a result of the development of the new Peak Tower shopping and restaurant complex. A fare increase, which in- creased the adult fare for the full journey from 60 cents to $1, was approved and came into effect on November 1, 1972.
Taxis and Public Hire Cars
Taxis are licensed for use on either Hong Kong Island or Kowloon. On Hong Kong Island, fares are $1.50 for the first mile and 20 cents for every subsequent fifth of a mile. In Kowloon, the fare is $1 for the first mile and 20 cents for each quarter of a mile thereafter. By December 31, 1972 there were 3,448 licensed taxis: 2,261 in Kowloon and 1,187 on Hong Kong Island. Taxi licences are issued by competitive tender and 350 were issued in 1972. The average tender price for the 350 new licences was $111,000.
Public cars are hire cars which can be used to carry passengers on specified and pre-arranged routes. They differ from taxis in that they may not ply for hire and all the trips must be pre-arranged. By December 31, 1972 the number of public car licences issued was 1,063.
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In addition to these services, a number of companies operate coaches for sight- seeing tours, school bus services, and factory bus services. A number of factories and schools operate their own private omnibuses and private light buses.
Ferry Services
The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Ltd has a fleet of 60 diesel-engined vessels, 14 of which are vehicular vessels. The company operates nine routes in the harbour between Hong Kong and Kowloon, as well as services to the New Territories and outlying islands.
With the opening of the cross-harbour tunnel, there was a considerable reduction in the number of vehicles, particularly private cars, using the vehicular ferries. As the tunnel now provides a link between the central parts of the urban area, the ferry company proposes to develop new vehicular ferry services to the east and west of the existing routes: one between North Point and the industrial area of Kwun Tong, and the other between Jubilee Street and Tai Kok Tsui on the western side of the Kowloon peninsula.
The company introduced a new weekday passenger service between Kwun Tong and Central District in May 1972. This direct link proved popular as a means of avoid- ing land traffic congestion. It also held its own in competition with the new cross- harbour bus services.
The company now has four dual-purpose triple deck ferries with air-conditioned top decks. Besides serving the new Kwun Tong route, these ferries are used on harbour cruises in the evenings, operating as floating restaurants and on excursion trips to outlying islands at weekends.
The Star Ferry Company Ltd runs a passenger ferry service across the harbour between Victoria City on Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui on the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula. The company uses 10 vessels on this service with a total passenger-carrying capacity of 5,600. Supplementary services are operated during the daily rush-hour traffic and to relieve congestion at the ferry concourses. A total of 58.1 million passengers were carried during 1972.
Administration
The Transport Advisory Committee, formed in 1965, has a membership of four official members and six unofficial members, with one of the latter as its chairman. It advises the Governor on all aspects of transport and traffic policy, with the excep- tion of external sea and air communications.
The Transport Department provides a secretariat for the Transport Advisory Committee and carries out a wide range of executive functions including vehicle licensing, driving tests and vehicle inspection, As the statutory authority, the Commis- sioner for Transport is also responsible for planning and regulating public transport services and co-ordinating action between other departments in the transport field..
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The number of registered motor vehicles at the end of 1972 was 186,377, an increase of 13 per cent over the previous year (vehicle statistics are given in Appendix 32).
The demand for driving licences increased at a phenomenal rate and at one stage in 1972, the list of persons awaiting driving tests totalled 156,702. To cope with this demand, an accelerated testing programme was introduced in September, whereby volunteer testers from among competent drivers in various government departments were employed to carry out tests in the evenings, at weekends and on public holi- days. This programme reduced the waiting time for private car practical driving tests from 11 months to 2 months. On the other hand, it also stimulated further demand for provisional driving licences and the department's capacity to deal with 300 applications per day for the written test became totally inadequate. At the end of the year, there was a waiting list of 191,952 candidates.
Congestion
During 1972, the number of motor vehicles on Hong Kong's roads increased by 13 per cent to a total of 186,377, representing 297 vehicles to every mile of road. The number of licensed drivers went up to 416,046, with 81,034 new licences being issued during the year. Although considerable progress was made in new road construction, particularly in respect of the roads leading to the cross-harbour tunnel, it is clear that to cope with an unrestricted demand for road space in heavily built-up areas, existing property would have to be demolished on a massive scale. Area traffic control systems, flyovers, one-way routings and clearways contribute towards increasing the capacity of the existing road system but the scope for these is not unlimited. Obviously it will be necessary to restrain ownership and the use of vehicles to ensure that the best use is made of the road system. In particular, public transport (as the most eco- nomical user of road and kerb space) will have to take priority over private transport. During peak hours, a private car carries, on average, 2.1 people whereas a large double-decker bus or tram, occupying at the most three times as much road space can carry just over 120 passengers.
As road congestion increases, public transport becomes less efficient, because it loses mileage through disrupted schedules and delays in frequency. As it becomes less efficient and the community becomes more prosperous, the incentive to own private cars increases and thus traffic congestion grows worse. This is a vicious circle that will have to be broken if the community is to avoid the prospect of having large sections of the road system completely jammed through much of the day.
The problem will have to be tackled from both ends; not only in terms of restricting the use of private transport but also in improving public transport, including the proposed mass transit railway, so that there is a reasonable alternative to the private car.
Road congestion affects not only drivers and passengers in vehicles but also pedestrians who find it increasingly difficult to cross roads safely and to find any- where where they can walk freely. Recent major road improvements, such as the
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Kowloon City Roundabout, the approach roads to the cross-harbour tunnel, and the roads along the north side of Hong Kong Island, all have pedestrian bridges or subways. A start has also been made on an elevated walkway system in the Central District which will eventually cover the whole area from the ferry piers to the business centre.
Proposed Mass Transit Railway
During the early part of the year, a government working group continued its consideration of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies Final Report and duly presented its findings and recommendations to the Governor in Council.
In early June, it was announced in the Legislative Council that the government had decided after most careful consideration that, if the demand for movement in Hong Kong in the late 1970s and thereafter was to be satisfied, the surface public transport system would need to be augmented, if at all possible, by an underground mass transit railway.
To work out the best methods of resolving the major outstanding problems, namely finance, the letting of contracts and the operation of the system, a small 'steering group' was set up and proposals were invited from interested parties on all aspects of the system. By the end of the year, the 'steering group' had completed its findings and was on the point of presenting its recommendations to the Governor in Council.
In order that no time would be lost, certain essential pre-construction work started in July at a rate of progress that would permit construction to start early in 1974.
The small PWD unit controlling the project was expanded and the consulting engineers were re-appointed to start the final design of Stages 1 and 2 of the system, i.e. a line from Choi Hung, linking the resettlement estates of Wong Tai Sin, Lo Fu Ngam and Shek Kip Mei with the Nathan Road corridor and then running under the harbour to the central business district of Hong Kong to terminate at Western Market. To provide the information necessary for preparing detailed layouts and design, particularly at the large stations, comprehensive land surveys and soils in- vestigations were carried out.
Work continued throughout the year on the examination of all public and private development proposals along the proposed route to ensure that they did not conflict with the construction of the project. Preliminary consideration was also given to the acquisition of land and property required for the project and associated works sites.
In addition, the drafting of legislation commenced as did the co-ordination of the utility services and the public works associated with the project.
Postal Services
There was a slight decline in the total postal traffic handled in 1972 as compared to the trend in previous years. The increase in the minimum local printed paper rate
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in July 1971, had some effect on local postings but the factor which contributed most to the decline was a marked reduction in mail order promotional postings by air mail. It was estimated that some 182 million ordinary postal articles were posted in Hong Kong for local delivery and for destinations abroad. An estimated 156 million items were delivered, including some 52 million items from abroad. About 2.2 million items were handled in transit.
Counter business at all post offices includes the sale of stamps, acceptance of registered articles and parcels, and the issue and payment of money orders and postal orders. Special services used mainly by the business community, such as business reply facilities, cash-on-delivery parcels, private boxes and bags, postage meter machines and arrangements for bulk postings are available. Agency services provided on behalf of other government departments include the payment of public assistance benefits. Mail deliveries are carried out twice a day, excluding Sundays, in most areas. A fleet of some 80 vehicles is used for posting-box collections, motorised deliveries, and the internal movement of mail.
The routings of both air and surface mails to destinations overseas were kept under constant review and suitable changes were made whenever justified by the volume of mail and the availability of new routes. Direct despatches were made up for 205 different places overseas. The train services between Kowloon and Lo Wu form the main link for the conveyance of mails to and from the People's Republic of China.
There are 63 post offices in operation. While no new post offices were opened during 1972, the So Uk post office was reprovisioned in a new and separate building with larger accommodation in the Lei Cheng Uk resettlement estate. Four new post offices are currently under construction and include one in the Upper Peak Tram terminal building, one in the Mei Foo Sun Chuen estate and two in the Ho Man Tin and Ko Chiu Road government low-cost housing estates. It is anticipated that these offices will be completed in early 1973.
A mobile post office was introduced to serve the Clear Water Bay area but, as there was insufficient public response to this facility, it was withdrawn after a trial period of three months. Temporary post offices were provided for the Agricultural Show held in Sek Kong, and the 30th Exhibition of Hong Kong Products on the Wan Chai Reclamation.
A new complex of temporary hutments was completed on the Central Reclama- tion of Hong Kong Island to house the inward and outward parcel sections. To overcome problems in transferring mail across Connaught Road Central, a new chain conveyor was installed, linking the General Post Office with the temporary hutment complex. This has considerably improved the mail flow and distribution around the GPO building.
The removal of the parcel acceptance counter and parcel processing work from the GPO to the hutments on the Central Reclamation enabled work to proceed on a number of improvements within the GPO itself, such as the modernisation of the
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counter positions in the main public hall, the rehousing of the registration section in more spacious accommodation, and the provision of accommodation for training centre facilities.
Alteration work at the Kwun Tong post office was carried out early in the year to provide additional accommodation necessary for the extension of the counter and the sorting office to cater for fast growing development in the district.
The feasibility mechanisation layouts for the new General Post Office on Hong Kong Island and the new transit and sorting office at Hung Hom were finalised by the British Post Office Consultancy Services, and the detailed planning of the new buildings is now in hand.
Three postage stamp issues were made during the year. As part of a series of stamps to commemorate Lunar New Year, two stamps in values of 10 cents and $1.30 were issued in February to commemorate 'the Year of the Rat'. In October, there was a further issue of one stamp, of $1 denomination, to mark the official opening of Hong Kong's cross-harbour tunnel. To commemorate the Silver Wedding of Her Majesty the Queen, two stamps in the denominations of 10 cents and 50 cents were issued in November. First Day Covers were sold on each occasion. The popular pictorial Christmas aerogrammes were again placed on sale this year.
Telecommunication Services
The Postmaster General, as the Telecommunication Authority, administers the Telecommunication Ordinance and is responsible for the control and supervision of all telecommunication services operating within and from Hong Kong. The Tele- communication Division of the Post Office licences and inspects installations operating under the ordinance, monitors radio transmissions and investigates interference. The division also provides an advisory service to the government and co-ordinates the communication requirements of government departments.
Overseas communication facilities are provided by Cable and Wireless Ltd. A total of 254 telephone and 521 telegraph circuits to all parts of the world are provided by submarine cable, HF radio, satellite and tropospheric scatter systems.
A submarine cable with a capacity of 80 telephone channels extends westwards to Singapore and eastwards to Guam where it is extended by other cable systems to Japan and the United States.
Two satellite earth station antennae provide direct links to both east and west by way of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean satellites. The facilities available to Hong Kong by satellite include the international transmission and reception of colour television programmes. A specially equipped telecine studio has been established to provide facilities for news agencies to transmit news items in colour to other agencies throughout the world. HF radio systems continue to play a useful role and provide communication facilities to 12 countries.
The computerised Message Switching Centre operated by Cable and Wireless handles the traffic of the public telegram service, airline operations and other com- mercial organisations. The system is one of the largest installations of its type in the
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world. It currently handles 18,000 messages an hour and has a capacity of half a million per day.
Installation of a computerised telex exchange was completed in April 1972. This enables telex subscribers to directly select the called subscribers' number on automatic routes. The new exchange also enabled Cable and Wireless to reduce the minimum charge period from three minutes to one minute. A marine telex service providing ships at sea with facilities for worldwide telex connection through Hong Kong is also operative. Overseas telephone services continue to link Hong Kong with the rest of the world.
Telephone service within Hong Kong is provided by the Hong Kong Telephone Company Ltd, which is a public company operating under a franchise from the government. The telephone system is fully automatic and consists of 45 exchanges serving some 795,000 telephone stations, resulting in a penetration factor of 18.5 telephones per 100 population, which is the highest rate in Asia apart from Japan. Exchange line rentals are on a flat rate basis of $350 a year for business lines and $235 a year for residential lines. No charge is made for calls made within the territory. Connection to most overseas countries and to ships at sea is available through the external facilities operated by Cable and Wireless Ltd.
The Hong Kong Telephone Company's service has been improved by the pro- gressive incorporation of modern techniques, such as the use of pressurised cable and pulse code modulation carrier systems. Operation of the first electronically controlled exchange used in the network has been successful and the company is installing a system of microwave junction circuits to supplement the cable network.
The demand for telephone service has continued at a very high rate and the annual growth rate is in the region of 17 per cent. Some 100,000 new lines were installed during the year, which is approximately the same as the 1971 figure.
14
Press, Broadcasting and Cinemal
WITH the second highest newspaper readership in Asia, Hong Kong once again proved that its people are among the world's most avid readers. There are now 375 copies to every 1,000 people in Hong Kong, compared to Japan's 487 copies and a world average of 102 per 1,000 people.
This insatiable demand for both news and entertainment has given rise to a healthy and outward looking press which, free from government intervention and restriction, enjoys complete freedom of expression.
Apart from 288 publications of which 101 are newspapers with a total circula- tion of 1.5 million, there are four television channels (two operating a colour service) providing entertainment and information to some two million viewers. There are very nearly 100 cinemas in Hong Kong; and three radio stations with well over one million radio receivers in use. The purchase price of a radio or television is perhaps the lowest in the world and no licence fee is required for either. The price of newspapers remains, in most cases, a mere HK 20 cents.
In addition to their own sources of local and world news, all media receive news releases, radio bulletins, films and photographs from the Government Information Services, informing the people of the government's aims and achievements. The department maintains a 24-hour service and provides news coverage of all major
events.
Press
Newspapers account for 101 of the 288 publications now registered with the Registrar of Newspapers. There are four English and 97 Chinese language news- papers. The combined circulation of the English language papers is 100,000, while the Chinese newspapers command a circulation of 1.4 million. Of the 97 Chinese dailies there are four selling more than 100,000 copies each.
Besides 20 concerned with general news, there are some 40 Chinese dailies whose content is solely entertainment orientated. These papers are for amusement and provide little or no news coverage. With combined sales in the region of 400,000 per day, many enjoy considerable advertising support, and some are also printed in colour.
Periodicals represent the other main sector of Hong Kong's press. There are 187 such publications, divided into 53 English and 134 Chinese. These magazines cover an exceedingly wide range of subjects, from the most specialised technical journals to local entertainment guides.
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Chinese and English language newspapers are represented in the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong which has 19 members and three associate members. The society, formed in 1954, is empowered to act in matters affecting the interests of local newspapers, the society or its members. However, as none of the left-wing papers and few of the small papers are members, it cannot yet be said to speak with one voice.
There is also a Hong Kong Chinese Press Association and a Hong Kong Jour- nalists Association. In just four years the HKJA has emerged as an effective union with over 300 members. Not only has it given local journalists a voice in their own profession, it has also helped improve professional standards. In July the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, was guest of honour at a reception given by the Hong Kong Journalists Association.
Hong Kong is the base of South-East Asian operations for many international magazines, newspapers, radio and television networks. International news agencies represented include the Associated Press of America, Agence France Presse, Kyodo, Reuters and United Press International.
Printing and Publishing
Significantly, in just five years the value of Hong Kong exports of printed matter has more than doubled, from $52 million in 1968 to $120 million in 1972. During this period Australia has replaced Britain as Hong Kong's biggest overseas customer. Australians are said to read more books per head than any other nation, and over half of all the books published in Australia are now printed in Hong Kong.
Many printers have established themselves in the North Point district on Hong Kong Island, while others operate from flatted factories in areas such as the high-rise industrial satellite of Kwun Tong. Although about 75 per cent of Hong Kong's 1,200 or so printing firms use the letterpress method, they produce mainly small-scale print- ing such as letterheads, posters, wrappers and textbooks. The remainder mostly use offset, and although they are fewer in number, their capital investment in mainly German or Japanese equipment is far higher, and their volume of production is much greater than that of letterpress. Many specialise in printing books, textbooks, period- icals, calendars and diaries; others concentrate on wrappings and industrial packaging.
The standard of offset printing is extremely high, with printing and illustrative production techniques comparing favourably with those of the world's leading print- ing nations. Electronic colour-engraving machines are widely used and colour separa- tion technique is generally good. Two and four-colour printing machines are widely used; and leading printers introduced eight-colour rotary and web-offset machines as early as 1962.
Specialising almost entirely in book production, Lee Fung-Asco is the largest locally-owned printing firm. Originally most of its work was done for Australia with the remainder exported to Britain. But the company is now finding an increasing demand from Europe and America. Last year Lee Fung-Asco printed more than 600 titles of which about half went to Australia.
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149
Dai Nippon, a Japanese-backed concern, prints the Asian editions of Time, Asia Weekly and other regional magazines. It also produces a considerable number of book titles each year for such publishers as Longman's, Thomas Nelson, Reed, and Macmillan. Also Japanese-backed, Toppan prints the Asian editions of Newsweek, Textile Asia, and almost a million copies every month of the prestigious Reader's Digest.
With its regional headquarters in Hong Kong, Reader's Digest not only produces monthly magazines in both Chinese and English, but also publishes many books ranging from hardcase to paperback, accounting for one-fifth of its entire operations.
The regional headquarters of Heinemann Educational Books Ltd was established in Hong Kong some 10 years ago. It now stocks an average of 250 titles with one- fifth of them printed locally. Another long-established educational book publisher with offices in Hong Kong is the Oxford University Press. McGraw-Hill Far Eastern Publishers recently set up an office to tap the ever-growing educational book market of Hong Kong, and IPC of London set up its regional headquarters in Hong Kong last year to handle the interests of its subsidiaries which include among others, the Paul Hamlyn Group, the Lansdowne Press and Jacaranda Press of Australia.
During the past 10 years many overseas publishers have established offices or regional headquarters in Hong Kong where printing represents a saving of up to 30 per cent in cost over other areas, backed up by good quality, and excellent distribution and communication facilities.
Television
Hong Kong had the distinction of becoming Britain's first overseas territory to operate a television service when Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Ltd (RTV) pioneered a wired television service in 1957. The company began operating on one channel which produced 28 hours of television a week to about 63,000 viewers.
A second television service came into operation in November 1967, with the first wireless transmissions from Television Broadcasts Ltd (HK-TVB). Television viewer- ship has increased from 63,000 in 1957 to well over two million. At the end of 1972, it was estimated that 79.6 per cent of households possessed television receivers, of which 550,000 received only TVB, 43,000 received only RTV and 83,000 received both. Viewers may now watch some 366 hours of television a week-193 hours being transmitted by Rediffusion and 173 by HK-TVB. Of the total, 40 hours a week are taken up with the transmission of the government's educational television service.
RTV operates a wired television service in Hong Kong under an exclusive fran- chise which expires in April 1973. It offers a wide variety of programmes from 8 a.m. until midnight, with a 405-line, two channel service, one in Chinese and the other in English. All programmes, whether live, videotaped, telerecorded or filmed, originate from or are channelled through the company's multi-studio centre at Television House, Broadcast Drive, Kowloon. This modern production centre is equipped with 19 studios, of which nine are television, eight are audio studios and two are dubbing
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suites. The RTV network not only covers Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon penin- sula, but also extends to many parts of the New Territories. There are now more than 100,000 subscribers to RTV.
HK-TVB, which has operated under an exclusive licence during its first five years, broadcasts two wireless channels, the Jade (Chinese) and the Pearl (English). The company employs the UHF, 625-line PAL colour system with its main transmitters on Temple Hill. There are now nine auxiliary transmitters located in various areas so as to give complete coverage to both urban and, with the exception of minor isolated pockets, rural Hong Kong. At the end of the year, HK-TVB installed an additional storey onto its large studio and office complex. There are now 489 locally trained personnel employed by the company.
With installation of new equipment fully completed, the new television unit of Radio Hong Kong began regular production of programmes during the year. These public affairs programmes are transmitted by the commercial television companies under an agreement with the government.
Now in its second year, the Educational Television Division (ETV) of the Educa- tion Department operates from the ETV centre in Broadcast Drive. It produces. 15-minute programmes for primary schools which are transmitted five days a week via RTV and HK-TVB.
Sound Broadcasting
Hong Kong is served by three broadcasting organisations all operating both English and Chinese sound channels. Two of the three organisations are commercial and the other is a government station.
Radio Hong Kong broadcasts separate Chinese and English programme services on AM and FM. It is financed from general revenue and carries no advertising. The aim of the government broadcasting service is to provide balanced programmes with the emphasis on information and public affairs. It also plays an important role in assisting the development and better mutual understanding of the problems and attitudes of the different communities.
From its new studios in Broadcast Drive, Commercial Radio broadcasts three services on AM-two in Chinese and one in English. Situated in northern Kowloon, the modern three-storey studio complex was officially opened on August 26, 1971, exactly 12 years after Commercial Radio first went on the air. The opening of these new studios marked a further stage in establishing Broadcast Drive as the centre for all Hong Kong's radio and television stations.
Both Commercial Radio and Radio Hong Kong vary their public affairs content with serious, light and the latest popular music; along with comedy, drama, variety shows and outside broadcast coverage. The two stations also provide comprehensive news and weather services throughout the day.
The wired sound service of Rediffusion (Hong Kong) Ltd, a locally controlled subsidiary of the organisation which operates in Britain and many other Common- wealth countries, is distributed throughout the urban areas of Hong Kong and
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Kowloon and to many outlying areas in the New Territories by more than 1,500 miles of trunk lines and another 4,000 miles of installation cabling. There are now 35,000 loudspeakers connected to these sound services, offering a choice of four programmes.
Film Industry
With a thriving motion picture industry, Hong Kong once again maintained the output and quality that has made it one of the world's leading film producing centres.
In the 1960s, Hong Kong's movie industry was producing more than 500 feature films annually; most of which were in Cantonese for the local market. Aware of the saturation point at home, the two leading studios of Shaw Brothers and the Cathay Organisation switched to widescreen Mandarin pictures. These soon won widespread public appeal in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. Today, with Mandarin produc- tions receiving worldwide acclaim, not a single Cantonese feature film is produced in Hong Kong.
Shaw Brothers remains the principal film company following the closure of Cathay's studio but a new motion picture studio, Golden Harvest (HK) Ltd, entered the field in 1970. Shaw Brothers, operating its own highly automated colour labo- ratories, produces more than 40 pictures a year with a target of 50 set for 1973.
In little over two years, Golden Harvest has grown to be the second largest production company in South-East Asia. It began by renting a modest studio in the New Territories, but by late 1971 had taken over the large Cathay studios at Hammer Hill Road, Kowloon. Since then, two Golden Harvest films have broken Hong Kong's all-time box office record previously held by "The Sound of Music', and between them grossed over $7.5 million. Producing an average of 12 films a year, the company achieved another 'first' in Hong Kong movie history when it sent a unit to Rome for extensive location shooting just over a year ago. Yet another breakthrough came in 1972 when Golden Harvest became the first Chinese motion picture company to enter into an equal co-production with a major American studio.
There are 97 cinemas in Hong Kong, with a total seating capacity of 118,355. Attendance figures are among the highest in the world per head of population and amounted to 71,279,000 in 1972.
Films for public exhibition within Hong Kong are subject to censorship in accord- ance with the law and must be viewed by the film censors panel. A total of 7,058 films were submitted for censorship during the year including 130 local productions.
Government Information Services
The Government Information Services is a major link between the government, the people of Hong Kong, and the rest of the world. Utilising all the media, it provides a continual flow of information both locally and overseas. Besides the vital task of communicating the government's aims and achievements, it also monitors local opinion so as to keep the administration informed of the general public's viewpoint.
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The department is organised in three main divisions-news, technical services and public relations, with certain services common to all three. The most familiar service to the Hong Kong public is the news division which is linked by teleprinter to 68 newspapers, news agencies, radio and television stations as well as City District Offices. Divided into two sections, one dealing with the press and the other with radio news, the news division is completely bi-lingual. The press section channels informa- tion to newspapers, produces a daily information bulletin and deals with press enquiries 24 hours day. The radio news section prepares world and local news for Hong Kong's radio stations and Rediffusion Television. Each day it produces 40 radio news bulletins of between two-minutes and 10-minutes in length.
Although their activities are less well-known locally, the other two divisions of Government Information Services are concerned with a variety of activities that extend far beyond the boundaries of Hong Kong. Technical services has both local and overseas commitments, producing magazine and newspaper feature articles, photo- graphs, newsreels, booklets and every type of visual publicity.
The largest division within the department, technical services, comprises five sec- tions: publications and editorial, design and display, photographic, films and, finally, marketing-which is responsible for the entire distribution, at home and abroad, of something like half a million booklets and news sheets each year. In addition the marketing section is responsible for the research and compilation of data necessary to ensure that all material will reach the targeted audience with economy and efficiency. The marketing section also controls the photographic library which meets both world- wide and local demand for colour and black and white photographs of all Hong Kong events, whether topical or of more general interest. There is also a film lending library and a mobile film unit which stages open-air film shows in urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon.
Another major responsibility of the division is the planning and implementation of all government publicity campaigns. Almost 40 of these publicity campaigns were carried out during the year, ranging from road safety and police recruiting to persuad- ing parents to have their children inoculated and vaccinated. The massive Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign was run with a special team consisting of staff from all divi- sions of Government Information Services and Radio Hong Kong.
The editorial section of the technical services division employs qualified jour- nalists who write material under contract for a worldwide press syndication service. The scope covers economics, public works and utilities, and social and cultural matters. Features are also translated into Chinese for the Chinese press of South- East Asia. During the year, many of the world's trade journals carried features written by the editorial section; covering such topics as the cross-harbour tunnel, desalina- tion schemes, port facilities, air freight, and even the oceanarium project. Along with many publications and fact sheets describing various government departments, this Annual Report is also a responsibility of the editorial section. A weekly news digest for the overseas reader is also produced. Feature articles are backed by sets of photo- graphs conforming to the highest standard of world photo-journalism. The well- equipped modern photographic section employs first-rate professional photographers and darkroom technicians, who produce hundreds of prints each week.
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During 1972, the design and display section again increased its production of artwork, posters, leaflets, display advertisements, window displays, and exhibitions- the latter involving the design and building of a display for the 16th International Conference on Social Welfare at the Hague, and the Action Committee Against Narcotics pavilion for the Chinese Manufacturers' Association Exhibition on Hong Kong Island waterfront. On average about 60 jobs are completed each month by this creative section, embracing all facets of graphic design and three-dimensional design and occasionally touching on industrial, interior, and other allied design fields. Animated film shorts are also produced from time to time.
Although much of its work is for publicity campaigns, this creative section is responsible for handling all government advertising in both local and overseas press. It also handles all government recruiting advertisements and the placing of statutory notices. Significantly, for the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign the section produced almost 200 different designs. These included posters, leaflets, booklets, displays, window displays, street decorations, display advertising, animated films and cinema slides; along with the whole corporate image of the campaign with such symbols as Miss Super Clean and the infamous Lap Sap Chung himself.
Short newsreels, entitled 'Hong Kong Today', are produced as a monthly maga- zine series by the film section of the technical services division. These are screened regularly in some 60 local cinemas and on local television channels. A minimum of two to three documentary films are also produced each year under subcontract. Films produced this year have included "The Three Steps Down' for the Action Committee Against Narcotics and 'Put it in the Bin' for the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. This section has also produced a film showing the highly original and successful way in which English is taught as a second language in Hong Kong schools, which is expected to receive worldwide coverage where this aspect of teaching is a problem.
The public relations division is more locally-orientated, monitoring the entire spectrum of local press, with emphasis on the 60 or so Chinese newspapers that are read by more than 90 per cent of the population. A major role of this division is to improve understanding between the government and the people, but another respon- sibility is to reach Hong Kong Chinese living abroad. A weekly Hong Kong News Digest and Seamen's Newsletter, distributed free to Chinese abroad, helps keep restaurant workers in Europe, or seamen in other parts of the world, in touch with local events.
Based partly on the success of the public relations division, it is now the depart- ment's policy to attach public relations units to all major government departments. By the end of the year nine of these units had been set up. Of these, four were set up prior to 1972 in the Royal Hong Kong Police, Labour, Social Welfare and Resettle- ment Departments; while a further five were established only recently. The informa- tion officers in these units are mostly bi-lingual and have considerable journalistic experience, equipping them well for their task of improving the flow of information between the government and the people of Hong Kong.
During the year a significant advance was made towards improving this two-way flow of information. Government Information Services, along with Radio Hong Kong,
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was placed under the overall guidance of an Information Secretary. Mr Jack Cater has been appointed to the newly created post and is now co-ordinating the govern- ment's total information, broadcasting, and public relations effort.
The information section of the Hong Kong Government Office in London works in close collaboration with the Government Information Services. Press relations form an important part of the work and releases for the British press are prepared from information bulletins sent daily from Hong Kong. The information section also acts as a distributing agency in Britain for photo-features prepared by the Govern- ment Information Services.
15
The Armed Services and
Auxiliary Services
THE British Armed Forces are stationed in Hong Kong to assist the Hong Kong Government in maintaining security and stability in the territory. All three services are represented and are under the command of the Commander British Forces, Lieu- tenant General Sir Richard Ward, KCB, DSO, MC, who is responsible to the Chief of Defence Staff in London. The Commander British Forces is the Governor's adviser on matters affecting the security of Hong Kong.
Army units predominate in Hong Kong, and are under the direct command of the Commander British Forces, who has the additional appointment of Commander Land Forces. Royal Navy ships in Hong Kong are under the direct operational control of the Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong (who has his headquarters at HMS Tamar), while the Commander Royal Air Force commands the Royal Air Force station at Kai Tak and associated units including No. 28 Squadron equipped with Wessex helicopters.
The Commodore-in-Charge, Hong Kong, Commodore J. K. Stevens, commands the Naval Force in Hong Kong and its waters. During the year, HM Ships Sheraton and Kirkliston of 6th Patrol Craft Squadron, stationed in Hong Kong, were replaced by HM Ships Wasperton, Wolverton and Monkton. The strength of the squadron is now five ships.
Following the naval withdrawal from Singapore, HMS Tamar's role as the one remaining Naval Shore Establishment in the Far East has become even more impor- tant. HMS Tamar provides essential services to the 6th Patrol Craft Squadron, to the Guardship (which is usually a frigate) and to all RN Ships stationed in the Far East, as well as to Commonwealth warships visiting Hong Kong for maintenance and recreation. Major warships which visited Hong Kong during 1972 included the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and the guided missile destroyer HMS Devonshire. The Chilean Navy's sail training vessel Esmeralda was an impressive and welcome visitor in the spring.
HMS Tamar recruits and trains Chinese cooks and stewards who serve aboard the larger ships, as well as employing Chinese naval ratings for service in HMS Tamar itself. HMS Tamar is also the agency for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service and operates a licensed crew department for the recruitment of local Chinese seamen for service in RFA vessels worldwide.
Headquarters Land Forces is at Victoria Barracks on Hong Kong Island and has under its command, 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade, stationed at Sek Kong in the New Territories and 51 Infantry Brigade with its headquarters in Kowloon.
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Units stationed in Hong Kong for some or all of 1972 were B Squadron the 14th/ 20th King's Hussars, 47th Light Regiment Royal Artillery, 1st Battalion the Irish Guards, 1st Battalion the Royal Welch Fusiliers, 1st Battalion the Black Watch, 1st and 2nd Battalions the 2nd King Edward VII Own Gurkha Rifles, (The Sirmoor Rifles), the 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles and the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles. In addition to these units, there was a wide range of units from the supporting arms and services providing assistance to all three services.
Throughout 1972, units of the Army manned defensive positions in the border area, and in conjunction with the Royal Hong Kong Police provided joint police/ military patrols in the border area and in the more remote areas of the territory.
The Royal Air Force Station at Kai Tak is a separate enclave adjacent to the civil airport and uses the airport's runway and control services. The Royal Air Force has its own radar and signal facilities for the long distance control of military aircraft approaching Hong Kong. These facilities are shared by the Director of Civil Aviation to ensure the safety of civil aircraft operating within the Hong Kong Flight Informa- tion Region.
Based permanently at Kai Tak, No. 28 Squadron is equipped with eight Wessex helicopters. It is established primarily for the rapid movement of troops and supplies, and in one lift can transport a complete platoon. In addition it provides a standby aircraft for search and rescue throughout Hong Kong and the near waters, and assists in the evacuation of casualties from the New Territories and outlying islands. Vulcan aircraft continued their training flights from the United Kingdom, supplemented by detachments of Phantom fighter bombers and Victor tanker aircraft of Strike Com- mand. Royal Air Force transport aircraft activity has maintained the established regular pattern. Air Commodore C. L. Godwin, AFC, is currently the Commander Royal Air Force Hong Kong.
The continuing secure and stable situation in Hong Kong in 1972 enabled the armed forces to extend their contribution of providing help of all kinds to the local community. This varied in scope from the provision of recreational activities on a large scale for the young, to the undertaking of construction projects. The former included the use of service sporting facilities, provision of service instructors and coaches in all forms of sport, and a major contribution to Hong Kong's Summer Youth Programme in the form of an intensive training course for youth leaders. Linked to this work are the numerous patrols that the services carry out with the police to isolated parts of the territory. These visits help the government to keep in touch with the areas and engender confidence among the inhabitants.
The primary task of the British Armed Forces in Hong Kong remains, however, to be ready at all times to give instant support to the Hong Kong Government and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, should this be necessary. To this end, the services have maintained a high standard of training and alertness and jointly with the New Territories Administration and the police, have steadily improved the arrangements for the security of the border and other critical areas of Hong Kong and its waters should an emergency arise.
THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
Local Auxiliary Defence Services
157
In addition to the regular forces, Hong Kong has two auxiliary defence units, the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) and the Royal Hong Kong Auxil- iary Air Force. These are administered by the Hong Kong Government but would come under the command of the Commander British Forces, and his appropriate single service subordinate commanders, for operations if called out.
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) has evolved as a profes- sionally-minded organisation over a period of 118 years. Today there are almost 700 volunteers and over 40 permanent staff. Based on Hong Kong Island, it is a light re- connaissance regiment comprising five reconnaissance squadrons, headquarters squad- ron, and home guard squadron. The recently established fifth reconnaissance squadron which became operational during the year, will be based in Kowloon.
The regiment is highly mobile and operates mainly in support of the British Armed Forces stationed in Hong Kong. Its members are well suited for this role of internal security and reconnaissance. A significant development was the establishment of a junior leaders squadron in 1970. Catering for boys between the ages of 14 and 18, the squadron now has an enrolment of 140 boys. It serves no specific military purpose but simply aims at providing training in community spirit, leadership and self-reliance.
The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force also comprises both volunteers and permanent staff, and if necessary can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The unit continues to operate three Alouette III helicopters, two Beechcraft Musketeer primary trainers and one Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. The unit's primary func- tion is internal security with the auxiliary aircrew trained mainly for this purpose. Other commitments continue to grow, however, and the unit's aircraft are being used on an increasing number of occasions for search and rescue, casualty evacuation, aeromedical services, aerial survey and the conveyance of government officers to outlying areas. Over 100 casualty evacuation flights were carried out during the year.
Essential Services Corps
The Essential Services Corps comprises four autonomous services-the units of the Essential Services Corps proper, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Civil Aid Services and the Auxiliary Fire Service.
The Essential Services Corps consists of 69 units which can be mobilised during civil disorder to maintain public utilities and other essential services under circum- stances in which the security of Hong Kong or the health of the population might be seriously endangered. Approximately half of the 11,000 strong corps is formed from government departments and the other half from commercial organisations. Each unit is principally staffed by a restricted number of volunteers employed by the departments or organisations concerned. When a unit is called out, members of the corps under- take special obligations under a disciplinary code. In return, the members are entitled to substantial benefits appropriate to the abnormal conditions of service. Compre- hensive plans for operation of each essential service in times of civil disorder are constantly under review and co-ordinated with the police and military. Units of the
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THE ARMED SERVICES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES
corps hold occasional exercises to practise their role and the headquarters of units also take part in joint telephone command and control exercises with both police and military.
The Auxiliary Medical Service has a strength of over 5,700 volunteers of whom more than 1,000 are professionally qualified in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, pathology or hospital administration. Others are trained as auxiliary nurses and dressers or as ambulance drivers and attendants; while the remainder are trained as first aid workers for disaster relief or for certain public functions, and also as light rescue workers in the New Territories and outlying islands. A large proportion of the membership com- prises young people under 24 years of age and the service experiences no difficulty in recruiting. At weekends and on public holidays, members of the service man units in support of the regular ambulance service; others reinforce Urban Services Department lifeguards on beaches or at public swimming pools during the summer months. During emergencies, all members are deployed to work in co-ordination with the Medical and Health Department and the Ambulance Section of the Fire Services Department.
The Civil Aid Services, first established in 1951, is now a volunteer organisation trained and equipped to deal with all kinds of civil emergencies. It also operates the only trained Mountain Rescue teams in Hong Kong. The service is divided into two main wings. The adult wing numbers some 3,600 officers and members who are posted either to the warden service, the rescue units, the command units, the pay and records unit or the stores sub-section according to interest or ability. Before passing out, each recruit is required to undergo a series of training courses including fire-fighting, first aid, light rescue, foot drill and general warden service duties. The junior wing (cadet corps) has at present a total of 20 units. Each unit has an establishment of 100 boys from 14 to 18 years of age. The corps aims at training the boys in citizenship and basic skills in helping others, through a versatile programme of outdoor and indoor activities such as camping, canoeing, folk-dancing and elementary training in first aid, life-saving and casualty handling. More than 2,000 Civil Aid Services volunteers were employed alongside Fire Services Department, police and military personnel at the scenes of the tragic disasters at Kotewall Road and Sau Mau Ping during the June rainstorms.
The Auxiliary Fire Service has undergone a year of consolidation which has seen its membership reduce to 200. This was due to many members reaching retirement age and the introduction of higher minimum medical standards. Smaller units within the service have been regrouped to improve training programmes and to ensure that an adequate number of personnel can be concentrated at major fire stations when re- quired. All personnel continue to render valuable support to their regular colleagues throughout the territory, and their assistance is particularly appreciated in the New Territories and outlying islands where the service plays an important role. The Aux- iliary Fire Service Band, having recruited a number of young members, continues to entertain the public with regular concerts in addition to providing music at official Fire Service functions.
16
Religion and Custom
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A BRIEF account of religious practices in Hong Kong must embrace such diverse subjects as Taoism, the religious aspects of Confucian teaching, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and the broad spectrum of Christianity. It is easy to be misled by the entire- ly different appearances of religious observance, particularly between the traditional Chinese practices and those of the Christian churches, and even to assume a relative lack of religion in Chinese life. It is true that Hong Kong's business centre may not have as many temples as there are churches in the City of London, but there are significantly more signs of religion in the average Chinese home, or business, than in its Western counterpart. Almost every Chinese shop has its 'God Shelf' and many homes their ancestral shrines, while the traditional religious rites associated with birth, marriage and death are still widely observed.
There has been a notable revival of Buddhism and Taoism in recent years, mainly due to the immigration of Buddhists from China. Buddhism appears to have more followers in Hong Kong, but both maintain a strong hold among the older Chinese and are far from dying out among the younger people.
Religious studies in both ways of life are conducted in a large number of mon- asteries, nunneries and hermitages. Because of their accessibility, those at Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan are popular with people living in the urban areas. However, some of the better known monasteries are situated in the more remote and unspoilt parts of the New Territories. The Buddhist Po Lin monastery at Ngong Ping on Lantau Island is reputed to have the best view of the sunrise and is regularly visited at week-ends and holidays.
Sightseers as well as devotees are attracted to other Buddhist and Taoist mon- asteries in the New Territories, such as Ching Shan Tsz and Tsing Chung Koon at Castle Peak, Tung Po Tor and Yuen Yuen Hok Yuen near Tsuen Wan and Sai Lam at Sha Tin. At Tao Fong Shan, near Sha Tin, there is a Christian study centre on Chinese religion and culture, where the work of the Christian Mission to Buddhists has been carried on for many years. To meet the demands of the urban population, Buddhist Ching She (places for spiritual cultivation), Fat Tong (Buddha Halls) and To Yuen (places for Taoist worship) have been opened in flats in residential areas. Sutras are also expounded under the auspices of various Buddhist institutions in the urban areas.
As places of public worship, the temples play an important part in Chinese re- ligious life; it is estimated that worshippers of one major deity (Tin Hau) number no less than 250,000. The temples generally house, and are named after, one major deity, but other subsidiary deities may often be found in the same temple. Many of them are
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sea gods and goddesses, reflecting Hong Kong's origin as a fishing port. Except for Kwun Yam, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, the majority of them are deified mortals who, as a result of their performance of true or mythical feats, have been traditionally worshipped. The better known ones are Tin Hau (Goddess of Heaven and protectress of seafarers), Kwan Tai (God of War and the source of righteousness), Hung Shing (God of the South Seas and a weather prophet), Pak Tai (Lord of the North and local patron of the island of Cheung Chau) and Lo Ban Sin Shi (patron of masons and building contractors). Many Tin Hau temples are found near the entrances to fishing harbours, and the best known of these is the one at Fat Tong Mun in Joss House Bay. Other Tin Hau temples which were originally established close to the shore are now some distance inland, as a result of reclamations.
Dedicated to the Gods of Literacy and Martial Valour, the Man Mo temple in Hollywood Road, which is under the control of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, is equally famous. Other popular temples of Taoist origin include the Sik Sik Yuen at Wong Tai Sin in New Kowloon and the Che Kung temple at Sha Tin.
With the rapid growth of the population in new resettlement and other public housing estates, steps are being taken to provide them with proper facilities for worship and the celebration of religious festivals.
In the New Territories, where traditional clan organisation has been preserved to a great extent, many villages have an ancestral hall where the ancestral tablets of the clan are kept and venerated. In such villages, the inhabitants often all belong to the same clan and the hall is the centre of both the religious and the secular life. Animism, in the form of shrines dedicated at the foot of certain rocks and trees where spirits are believed to dwell, is also to be found in the New Territories, particularly among Hakka villagers.
The Chinese as a whole observe five major festivals of the Chinese calendar. The first and the most important is the Lunar New Year. The customary exchanges of gifts and visits to relatives and friends are widely observed. During the Ching Ming Festival, which falls in spring, visits are paid to the graves of the family ancestors. The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the lunar calendar and dragon boat races are held at different places throughout Hong Kong. The Mid- Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth moon, when gifts of mooncakes are exchanged among relatives and friends. The ninth day of the ninth moon is Chung Yeung, when large crowds climb Victoria Peak and other hills in imitation of a Chinese family of old who escaped death and misfortune by fleeing to the top of a high moun- tain. Visits to the graves of the family ancestors are also paid on this day as well as during the Ching Ming Festival.
The fact that Chinese may follow one or other of these ways or may combine them without any feeling of incongruity, has often made Christianity, with its exclusive aims, seem uncongenial to the Chinese spirit. Nevertheless, Christianity is rooted deeply and growing steadily in Hong Kong.
It dates back almost to the foundation of the British Crown Colony, the first church being established in 1842. Since that time, the Christian church has grown
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until today there are close to 500 churches and chapels, grouped together in some 60 denominations and sect groups. The number of Christians in Hong Kong is estimated at about 420,000-slightly over 10 per cent of the total population. Of these, just over one half are Catholic, and slightly less than half, Protestant. There is an annual in- crease in church membership of about four per cent. New churches and chapels are being established in new housing estates and satellite towns.
The great majority of the congregations in Hong Kong are Chinese speaking, mostly Cantonese and a few Mandarin, but about 16 churches hold services in English, German and Japanese to minister to the needs of the various communities. The major world denominations are represented in the Adventists, Anglicans, Alliance, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Pentecostals and Roman Catholics, while churches of a Pres- byterian type are joined in the Church of Christ in China. In addition, there are a number of non-denominational churches.
The Protestant Churches are responsible for more than 250 primary schools, and over 130 middle schools and colleges throughout the territory and the number is increasing nearly every year. They also sponsor a variety of service programmes, including hospitals, clinics, orphanages, family casework centres, vocational training centres, aid for the handicapped and many others. In the past, a large percentage of these projects was financed almost entirely from overseas sources, but this is decreas- ing and local support must now take over.
Churches which are affiliated to the World Council of Churches come together with other Christian organisations (such as the YMCA, the YWCA and the Bible Society) in the Hong Kong Christian Council. Established in 1954, the council's headquarters, known as the Christian Centre, houses the offices of the Hong Kong Christian Service, Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, Chinese Christian Literature Council and the Audio Visual Evangelism Committee. The facilities include an ecumenical library and a conference room. The Hong Kong Christian Council's 42 members represent 77 per cent of the total Protestant Church membership in Hong Kong.
In the same building is the old-established Chinese Churches Union, in which. churches are linked on a congregational basis. The union now numbers 145 congrega- tions in its membership.
The Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong dates back to the very beginning of the British Crown Colony when British Army chaplains were among the first to arrive here. On April 23, 1841, Pope Gregory XVI established the Apostolic Prefecture of Hong Kong with Msgr Theodore Joset as the first Prefect. He built a matshed church at what is now the intersection of Wellington and Pottinger Streets, established a seminary for the training of Chinese priests, and persuaded religious sisters to voyage out here to start schools, hospitals, creches and other welfare work.
The first Chinese Bishop of the 131-year-old Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong, the Most Rev Francis Chen-ping Hsu, was formally installed on October 26, 1969. Almost two years later, on September 8, 1971, the Most Rev Peter Wang-kei Lei was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong.
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Health, education and diversified social welfare works have been maintained and in some cases extended during the past year, for example, the foundation stone of the new Precious Blood Hospital was laid on April 12, 1972, and the Bishop Bianchi College for careers was opened in late 1971.
In the field of education, expansion continued and there are at present 178 Catholic primary and secondary schools with a total enrolment of 235,123 students.
Social services include six vocational centres, six social centres, 13 hostels for students and working people; six hospitals, one maternity home, 20 general clinics, five dental clinics, two mobile clinics; four residential homes for children and 18 day nurseries; two homes for the aged and two for the blind and two training centres for the disabled.
In their Christian social commitment, the Catholic clergy and laity have, during the past year, increasingly engaged in joint activities related to contemporary condi- tions in Hong Kong with other Christian groups. In general the social dimension of education has been more stressed in the schools.
Today, church personnel engaged in pastoral, educational and welfare work in Hong Kong include 355 priests, 125 religious brothers and 804 religious sisters, 33 religious orders and congregations representing 32 nationalities. Catholics, as in September 1972, numbered 252,803, over 90 per cent of them Chinese, spread out in 53 parishes on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and in 15 rural districts of the New Territories.
Hong Kong's Jewish community worship at a synagogue in Robinson Road con- structed in 1901 on land given by Mr Joseph Sassoon and his family. Mr Sassoon built the synagogue in memory of his mother Leah and it is known as the Synagogue 'Ohel Leah'. The Jewish Recreation Club and the resident rabbi's apartments are on the same site. There are about 500 people in the congregation and they belong to families who originally came from the United Kingdom, China, India, Eastern and Western Europe, the United States, South Africa and Israel.
There are some 20,000 followers of Islam in Hong Kong, most of them Chinese who have come to Hong Kong during the past two decades. The other members of the Muslim community are mainly from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran and from neighbouring regions. They gather for prayers at the Shelley Street and Wongneichong Road Mosques on Hong Kong Island, and at the Nathan Road Mosque in Kowloon.
The co-ordinating body for all religious affairs is the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community of Hong Kong. The board of trustees, comprising representa- tives of the various sects within the Muslim community, is also responsible for the mosques and cemeteries. Much charitable work among the Muslim community, in- cluding financial help to the needy, hospitalisation and assisted education, is done through a welfare committee working under the direction of the board of trustees.
The Hindu community numbers more than 8,000 and their religious and social activities centre round a temple in Happy Valley. The community has been associated
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with Hong Kong since earliest times and the temple itself is considered to be one of the finest in the region. In addition to visits by swamis and learned men who give spiritual lectures, a number of festivals are observed, the more important being the Holi Festival, the Birth of Lord Krishna, Shivaratri, Dessahara and Diwali. The Hindu Association of Hong Kong is responsible for the upkeep of the temple, which is also used for meditation periods, for yoga classes open to all communities, and for the teaching of Hindi to the Indian community. During 1972, the association sponsored several seminars on the ancient Hindu teachings of Bhagwat Gita and Upanshads which were given by Hindu scholars invited from India. The seminars were held in English and were open to all nationalities. During the year, religious music recitals were also held periodically at the temple.
17
Recreation
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THE programme to provide recreational facilities has been gathering momentum in recent years as the existing facilities become strained from over-use. Every effort is made to develop even the smallest plot of spare land into a recreational area to benefit the public. As a result, amenities vary from small playgrounds and gardens serving an immediate locality, to large parks incorporating a wide range of facilities. The 37-acre park at Kowloon Tsai is a good example of the latter. First opened in June 1964, it has gradually been developed by stages until today it comprises a swimming pool complex, large garden areas for strolling, a children's playground, a miniature golf-course, a running track, four grass soccer pitches, a roller-skating rink, two car parks and four tennis courts. Other facilities at Kowloon Tsai Park include a pavilion, a refreshment kiosk, toilets and changing rooms, while further improvements in the future will provide basketball, volleyball and badminton courts.
Projects completed during the year include playgrounds at the Shek Kip Mei service reservoir (8.6 acres) and the Ho Man Tin East service reservoir (7.4 acres); along with many small playgrounds, several inside government low-cost housing and resettlement estates.
The Urban Council has many ambitious projects in the planning stage. These include Hong Kong's first velodrome and sports training centre at Causeway Bay to provide both indoor and outdoor athletic training facilities. Other projects will provide the Kowloon Indoor Stadium at Hung Hom, and a large football stadium at Ho Man Tin with a seating capacity for 35,000 spectators.
Apart from continuing its policy of promoting sports by leasing land at nominal rents to non-profit-making recreation clubs, the government has established Sports Subvention Allocation Committee which distributes funds to recognised organisations to enable them to organise sports events in Hong Kong or to participate in overseas competitions. At the same time the government is also considering ways and means of providing more positive direction in the co-ordination of sport and physical recreation.
The Urban Council, working through the Urban Services Department, builds and administers recreational facilities in the urban areas. In the New Territories, this responsibility rests with the Director of Urban Services working closely with the Dis- trict Commissioner. During the year, 14.29 acres of public open space were provided throughout the New Territories. These include the 6.2-acre Fanling Recreation Ground, which will later be extended to incorporate a swimming pool complex.
In June, the government announced that it had approved, in principle, a $33 million plan to develop other recreational facilities. The main features of the plan are
ONG KON
IBRARIES
YOUTHUBLIC
In the first fully co-ordinated summer youth programme staged in 1969 about 500,000 youngsters took part. This year almost a million participated in some 350 activities under the guidance of a 30,000-strong army of equally youthful volunteers. The fact that half the population is under 22 years old has stimulated a determined effort, by both government and voluntary agencies, to provide organised activities. A Central Co-ordinating Committee on Youth and Recreation was set up three years ago to provide the co-ordination needed by a programme of this scale-involving people from all walks of life and widely dispersed sources of money and manpower.
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This year the summer holidays once again presented great oppor- tunities. For these girls it was the chance to learn the art of canoeing.
A swimming instructor fascinates a group of youngsters as he explains
a water game during a 'swim-in' at Clear Water Bay.
These centre pages capture the entire spirit of Hong Kong's massive summer recreation programme that brought enjoyment to children of all ages.
Sponsored by the Fish Marketing Organisation, this summer camp
was typical of the non-stop programme packed with both exciting and educational events.
IL
But not all summer activities were quite so strenuous. Hundreds of girls took advantage of dressmaking and sewing classes staged throughout Hong Kong.
J
K
NG P
And for those who just liked to relax, art shows such as this at the City Hall presented a relaxing interlude during a fun-packed vacation.
A
However, the theme of 1972's summer youth programme was one of 'team spirit', to enable the largest number possible to participate to the full.
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the development of four major parks in the New Territories and the provision of picnic areas and hiking facilities on Hong Kong Island. The parks in the New Ter- ritories will each be about two square miles. It is envisaged that they will have sur- faced tracks for service vehicles, surfaced and unsurfaced foot tracks for visitors, barbecue pits, shelters, seats, benches, tables, pavilions, and be provided with toilet facilities, refuse bins and water supplies. More picnic spots, barbecue pits, toilets and other facilities will be provided in the 40 square miles of recreational areas surrounding the parks. On Hong Kong Island the proposed picnic areas will be at Quarry Bay, Tai Tam, Shek O, Brick Hill, Pok Fu Lam, Mount Davis and Wong Nei Chung. The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries will be responsible for the management of these country parks and recreational areas when they materialise.
The Urban Services Department now manages a total of 1,529 acres of public open space (976 acres in the urban areas and 553 acres in the New Territories). During the year, a total of 225,086 trees, shrubs and seasonal flowers were planted in these parks, playgrounds, along roadsides and in other public places. The percentage of survival was very high, mainly because of favourable weather for planting.
In addition to its own planting programme, the Urban Council also encourages horticulture in Hong Kong by its annual flower show held each spring. This year it attracted more than 120,000 people. This highly successful venture has led to an in- vitation to provide exhibits peculiar to Hong Kong for the Singapore Flower Show. The Urban Services Department again participated in the New Territories Agricul- tural Show that was held in December 1972.
Swimming was as usual the most popular outdoor summer activity. It is estimated that some 200,000 people used the 38 gazetted beaches and five public swimming pools under the management of the Urban Services Department on each Sunday and public holiday during the summer months. On one Sunday in July, some 65,000 people used the five Urban Council controlled swimming pools. During the summer holidays, training courses in swimming were held at these pools for 1,000 people. Of these, 650 were beginners who learnt to swim to a minimum distance of 25 yards, while the other 350 attended the intermediate courses and improved their swimming ability to a minimum distance of 400 yards.
All beaches were damaged by the heavy rainstorms which occurred in June and some were denuded of much of their sand. Fortunately, there were no serious out- breaks of Red Eye disease, and only isolated instances of Red Tide.
The first heated swimming pool was opened to the public during the year (gen- erously built and donated by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club). Of the six public swimming pools, four are located on the Kowloon peninsula. Three of these pool complexes consist of one main and one secondary pool, a diving pool, three teaching pools, a children's pool and a paddling pool. The other two swimming pools are on Hong Kong Island, one of which is the heated swimming pool at Morrison Hill. Swimming activity during the winter months of the year will undoubtedly increase with the completion of this new facility. The construction of a pool complex on Hong Kong Island has started at Kennedy Town and the planning of a further two in the
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New Territories is now in hand; a heated pool complex in Kowloon is also being planned. During the year, 3,609,361 people used the pools, an increase of 1.7 million over the previous year's record of 1,909,091 people.
The Urban Council and the Urban Services Department played an important role in promoting, organising and presenting a series of varied and extensive public enter- tainment programmes to a wide audience throughout the year. Many public and pri- vate organisations gave material and financial assistance to making a great success of these programmes which have been strongly supported by ever-increasing numbers of the public.
There were two peak periods of activity in this field during the year. The summer entertainment programme lasted from early June until early September when pro- grammes were especially organised for schoolchildren and youths. The winter enter- tainment programme covered the Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year festive seasons with the inclusion of popular events such as 'Operation Kung Hei', large scale open-air folk/pop concerts, cycling competitions and go-karting competitions.
Chinese opera favoured more by older people, variety shows and film shows which are always well received, especially in resettlement estates by both young and old, swim-ins, beach parties, swimming parties at swimming pools and launch picnics were organised during the summer and proved to be very popular.
An open miniature-football competition was concluded and an open volleyball competition launched during the year. An Inter-Schools Chess (Chinese and Inter- national) Tournament was also held, and open-air band concerts, fun fairs, and roller- skating demonstrations, and many other kinds of entertainment were provided throughout Hong Kong.
A novelty item was introduced this year in the form of 'fun weeks'--twelve weeks of fun and gaiety-held in city and rural districts. The recreational needs of the younger generation were considered when planning these weekly programmes. Special emphasis was placed upon the need both to entertain and to involve young people in Hong Kong, particularly those living in resettlement estates. Some 700 functions were presented this year which were attended by over 630,000 people. Many of these func- tions of public entertainment were integrated into the Summer Recreation Programme.
Summer Recreation Programme
The fact that half the population is under 22 years old has stimulated a determined effort, by both government and voluntary agencies, to provide recreation facilities. Now in its fourth year, the Summer Recreation Programme has established itself as a permanent feature in the life of Hong Kong's young people. The programme is a large scale community effort involving many hundreds of youth and welfare voluntary agencies, schools, district groups, the Armed Forces and government departments. Although it provides a very wide range of interesting activities throughout the summer months, the main purpose is not so much to give young people a good time, but to develop potential qualities of leadership. It educates youth in civic responsibilities and
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mobilises them in community service. Such a programme is vital at a time when in- creasing affluence and better education have resulted in growing numbers of young people having the time and the inclination to take part in leisure activities.
This year, some 900,000 young people took part in the activities, with 30,000 volunteers involved in planning and running the events and programmes. Although activities are held during the summer months to benefit schoolchildren, special efforts are also made to attract young workers and other young people who are not members of any organised group. In this respect, local committees working closely with City and New Territories District Offices and the Social Welfare Department, play a signi- ficant role in meeting the needs of young people. The programme promotes a better understanding of rural life in urban youth, and conversely of urban life in young people from country areas.
To provide the co-ordination needed by a programme of this scale-involving people from all walks of life and widely dispersed sources of money and manpower- the Central Co-ordinating Committee on Youth and Recreation was set up in 1969 with the active support of the government. The Committee comprises representatives from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and major government departments, all concerned with youth recreation. This year the Association of Volunteers for Service was also represented on the committee which made available additional re- sources for recruitment and placement of volunteers.
Generous grants of almost $1 million from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and a roughly matching contribution by the government together with numerous donations from community groups, firms, families and private individuals have again made it possible for yet another successful summer youth programme.
Entertainment and the Arts
The cultural life of Hong Kong in which the performing arts now play an im- portant role, tends to centre on the City Hall which is administered under policies laid down by the Urban Council.
The facilities offered by the City Hall include a concert hall with 1,500 seats, that can be quickly converted for use for theatrical productions, an intimate 470-seat theatre which is also used for film shows, the City Museum and Art Gallery, the main branch of the Urban Council Public Library system, rooms for exhibitions, lectures and conferences, and two public restaurants with bars.
The City Hall was opened in 1962 and celebrated its tenth anniversary by holding the 'Hong Kong Arts Festival 1972' from July 13 to August 12. A total of 38 perform- ances of Chinese and western music, drama, opera and dance, all performed by local artists, were presented in this period and were attended by some 37,000 people, rep- resenting 99.7 per cent of the auditoria capacities.
Local performers and overseas artists are presented regularly in the two auditoria. Unfortunately, the demand for use of the City Hall facilities is far greater than can be satisfied, and once again, a considerable number of performances had to be given in other localities.
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The City Hall, often in association with national cultural organisations such as the Alliance Francaise, the British Council, and the Goethe Institute, engages artists to give performances of music, ballet and drama. In 1972, there were 213 such per- formances. The Urban Council also arranged eight concerts of recorded music using sophisticated equipment in the Concert Hall where the acoustics are exceptionally good. In planning these 'hi-fi' concerts, attempts are made to include works which are unlikely to be heard 'live' in Hong Kong, and these have been particularly well received by the public. A new project for 1972, and one which proved popular with students, was the presentation of recorded chamber music in one of the lecture rooms in the City Hall. The admission price for students at all Urban Council cultural presenta- tions was $1, and tickets were invariably sold out quickly.
Local impresarios also arranged visits of internationally renowned artists. In the City Hall, they presented 15 artists and groups with a total of 27 performances.
In addition to participating in the Urban Council's own presentations, local musical groups and soloists gave 112 concerts in the City Hall during the year. In drama, three active English amateur groups and many Chinese dramatic groups, amateur and professional, presented 47 productions with 121 performances in the City Hall.
Among the various projects being planned by the City Hall management are regular performances of Chinese classical instrumental music, Chinese drama and western plays translated into Chinese. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra which is sponsored by the Urban Council, plans to include a Chinese work in each of its 24 concerts presented annually at the City Hall.
City Museum and Art Gallery
This year, the City Museum and Art Gallery entered its second decade. In retro- spect, the past 10 years has been a period of rapid development, starting from very basic historical collections to sizeable collections covering a variety of fields: Chinese art and antiquities, historical pictures, ethnographical materials, archaeological finds, local and contemporary art.
The collection of Chinese antiquities includes ceramics, bronze, jade, lacquerware, cloisonné, embroidery, painting and calligraphy. The major portion of this collection made up of ceramics, now includes many representative pieces of almost every period, and so provides a comprehensive picture of the whole development of the art of pottery and porcelain in Chinese history. The group of Kwangtung paintings and calligraphy based on a bequest made by a Hong Kong painter, the late Mr Wong Po-yeh, is also of some significance.
A unique pictorial record of Sino-British contacts in the 18th and early 19th cen- turies is contained in the collection of historical pictures which amounts to over 700 paintings, water-colours, drawings, lithographs and engravings. These were from the Chater, Hotung, Law and Sayer Collections, steadily augmented over the past years by purchase, and occasionally by gift. In addition, there are approximately 1,820 old photographs vividly portraying Hong Kong in all its aspects over the span of a century since 1870.
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The collection of ethnographical materials includes folk costumes, carved house- hold gods, Chinese musical instruments and farm tools.
Valuable finds from excavations at various local archaeological sites make up the archaeological collection. Such excavations have been joint efforts of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society and the museum staff. This year was a most rewarding one for archaeological excavation. From a site at Lamma Island were unearthed two complete glazed Six Dynasties pots, Han and Tang coins, pieces of bronze, bones, stone imple- ments, pots, and numerous pot sherds.
The collection of local and contemporary art includes works by contemporary Hong Kong artists, as well as prints by artists in other parts of Asia.
At present, owing to shortage of space, only a selection from the collection of Chinese art and antiquities is on permanent exhibition. A section in the Art Gallery has been used for regular, rotational displays of material from the other collections. Occasionally this section also shows small educational exhibits prepared by the City Museum and Art Gallery which are later to be made available for loan to local schools as part of the museum's developing educational service.
In addition to displaying the collections, the City Museum and Art Gallery usually presents about 10 temporary special exhibitions a year. The number of exhibitions was increased to 13 this year because of the organisation of the Arts Festival in the summer to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the opening of the City Hall. During the Arts Festival, three exhibitions were held simultaneously. One was of contemporary Hong Kong art which is a biennial survey of Hong Kong art, with paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture by artists working in Hong Kong today. Another exhibition was a decade of children's pictures, showing the best works from the several children's art exhibitions organised by the City Museum and Art Gallery over the past 10 years. The last of the three was a photographic exhibition which described the life and physical changes of Hong Kong during the past quarter of a century. Drawing a daily average of 3,154 visitors, it was the most popular exhibition of the year.
Besides the Arts Festival, the exhibition programme was marked by three large- scale print exhibitions from abroad, making 1972 very much a print year. These graphic art exhibitions were from France, Australia, and the United States, represent- ing works by prominent artists in these respective countries.
The City Museum and Art Gallery continued to present a monthly programme of art documentary films. During the Arts Festival, a special film programme was organised, featuring the thirteen 50-minute colour films of the BBC 'Civilisation' series by Lord Clark. A total of 52 shows were presented at the City Hall Theatre, all of which were well attended.
The Lei Cheng Uk Museum, which is a site museum of a Han tomb discovered in 1955 and preserved in situ, came under the administration of the City Museum and Art Gallery in 1969. Relics from the tomb are on public display, providing a glimpse of the life in Southern China 2,000 years ago.
The total attendance at the City Museum and Art Gallery at the City Hall for 1972 was 217,601, representing an average of 704 people on each day it was open.
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The corresponding figures for 1971 were 175,450 and 579. At the Lei Cheng Uk Museum, where an admission charge of 30 cents for adults and 10 cents for children is made, the total attendance was 22,866 averaging 74 per opening day. In 1971 the figures were 17,140 and 56 respectively.
Quite apart from, and in addition to, the formal exhibitions organised by the City Museum and Art Gallery, 126 exhibitions were held in the City Hall general exhibition hall and the general exhibition gallery, which are available for hire. These were arranged by various commercial and non-commercial groups and ranged from ex- hibitions of paintings to displays of commercial appliances. Photography is an art form in which Hong Kong residents have gained international recognition, and pho- tographic exhibitions were again among the most interesting of those arranged. During the year, the large general exhibition hall which was originally designed as a ballroom, was considerably modified structurally to make it more effective for the new primary functional purpose that it has developed.
Libraries
The Urban Council public libraries offer free lending, reference and study room facilities to all residents of Hong Kong. There is a comprehensive range of 467,730 volumes in both English and Chinese, 521 current newspapers and periodicals from all over the world, 2,764 reels of microfilm and 1,093 seats in the reading rooms. Of these seats, 282 are provided in the separate students' study room at Kowloon Park, opened late in 1970 as a pilot scheme.
During the year, a new library at the Ping Shek Estate was opened. This brings the number of Urban Council public libraries to five: three on the Kowloon peninsula and two on Hong Kong Island.
The City Hall and Yau Ma Tei libraries, which are the main libraries for each side of the harbour, have comprehensive reference sections in addition to the normal adult lending, junior, newspaper and periodicals sections and students' reading rooms. The branch libraries at Cambridge Court and Ping Shek Estate in Kowloon and at Wah Fu Estate on the southwest of Hong Kong Island concentrate on lending faci- lities for adult and junior readers, but each has a newspaper and periodicals section and a reading room for students.
The libraries continue to be well used and in 10 years since the first library (at the City Hall) was opened, 349,193 people have registered as borrowers. An average of 2,049 books were borrowed and 843 books were consulted each day in the lending and reference libraries. Various extension activities in the form of book exhibitions, children's story-hours, a Christmas card competition and organised school visits have been a regular feature at the libraries and all have proved successful.
The British Council
The British Council continued to make a valuable contribution to educational and cultural activities in Hong Kong during 1972. The cultural events of the year were marked by the visits of Britain's leading Baroque ensemble, the Academy of St Martin- in-the-Fields, and the popular Royal Lyceum Theatre Company of Edinburgh.
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Under the direction of Neville Marriner, the Academy of St Martin-in-the- Fields gave three concerts in April. These were held in the City Hall under the auspices of the Hong Kong International Music Festival Society in association with the British Council. In May, the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company of Edinburgh gave four per- formances in the City Hall under the joint auspices of the British Council and the Urban Council.
The two libraries, one at Gloucester Building on Hong Kong Island and the other at Star House in Kowloon, loaned over 98,000 books to some 8,200 members. These readers, mainly students, also made full use of the reading rooms for study, where they were provided with more than 200 British newspapers and magazines covering a wide range of subjects. On any one day during the year an average of 3,000 books out of a total of 34,000 were on loan.
Assistance was given to government departments, the Hong Kong Council of Social Services, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, and the two universities, to enable staff to visit British universities and other institutions, to attend specialist courses, or go on tour. Five British Council Scholarships (three for training in the teaching of English as a second language), and five Sino-British Fellowship Trust Scholarships were awarded for post-graduate studies in the United Kingdom.
The British Council also made arrangements for specialists from Britain to visit Hong Kong for consultations with government departments and universities, or to give lectures to local professional societies. Subjects covered included ophthalmology, art and design education, social services, industrial design, microbiology, cardiology, computer science, horticulture, television and broadcasting, diagnostic radiology, and higher education. Among the lengthier assignments was that of Mr David Bethel, Deputy Director of the City of Leicester Polytechnic advising the Education Depart- ment on art and design education; and Sir Misha Black, Professor of Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art, advising Hong Kong University on industrial design
courses.
At Star House, the council again provided the venue for the English section of the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival. Educational films from a library of locally held prints were lent to a large number of schools and other institutions. Several feature- films of artistic and literary interest, along with specialist medical films were obtained from London and also shown to schools, university departments, and hospital staff. At the City Hall theatre in August, the British Council and the Urban Council jointly presented Lord Clark's outstanding series of 13 colour films entitled 'Civilisation', as part of the tenth anniversary celebrations of the opening of the City Hall. Some 11,000 people attended these showings.
The British Council continued to give advice and information to students leaving for higher studies in Britain. Close co-operation was maintained with the Education Department, and a large number of students were met and assisted by the council on arrival in London.
18
The Environment
六
HONG KONG is situated on the south-east coast of China, adjoining the province of Kwangtung. It is just inside the tropics, less than 100 miles south of the tropic of Cancer, and lies between latitudes 22°9′ and 22°37'N and longitudes 113°52′ and 114°30′E. It consists of a small part of the Chinese mainland and a scattering of offshore islands, the most important of which is Hong Kong Island. Its economic heart is the magnificent natural harbour which lies between Hong Kong Island and the tip of the Kowloon peninsula on the mainland. The twin cities of Victoria, on Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon overlook the harbour on either side, and are about 90 miles south-east of Canton and 40 miles east of Portuguese Macau. Although the shortest air route between Hong Kong and London is almost 6,000 miles, by modern jet this represents less than 20 hours flying time.
The total land area is 403.8 square miles (including recent reclamations) of which Hong Kong Island itself, together with a number of small adjacent islands, comprises 29.2 square miles. Kowloon and Stonecutters Island comprise another 4.1 square miles. The New Territories, which consist of part of the mainland and more than 230 islands, have a total area of 370.5 square miles.
Topography and Geology
Hong Kong lies on the edge of an eroded mountain chain which extends along the south coast of China. The chain is largely composed of folded and metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks with younger intrusions of granitic rocks mostly of the Jurassic Period. The oldest sedimentary rocks found in Hong Kong are those of the Tolo Harbour Formation. This formation is exposed at Ma Shi Chau and contains fossils that have been dated as most probably Permian in age. However, its stratig- raphic relationships are somewhat uncertain. Mineralisation, associated with the intrusion of the granitic rocks, has been of limited economic benefit to Hong Kong. Lead, zinc, tungsten, beryl and graphite have been mined but only in small quantities. Iron ore mining has been of greater importance and there is currently an active mine at Ma On Shan, which exports concentrated ore to Japan.
Due to the hilly topography, agricultural land is extremely restricted. The most important area is the flat alluvium around Yuen Long in the Deep Bay area. Outside the alluvial areas, soil cover is usually thin, sometimes no more than two or three inches. In general the natural residual soils are acidic and of low fertility, needing the addition of lime, potash and superphosphates. Given intensive labour input, however, water supply rather than soil condition tends to be the controlling factor in farming. The predominantly crystalline character of the rock formations unfor- tunately makes them unsuitable as aquifers for underground storage and this makes
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it necessary to concentrate on the collection of surface run-off for all water supplies. The highly variable rainfall of the area has led to periodic water shortages. Most of Hong Kong's surface water supply has now been captured through the construction of catchments and reservoirs, and with the completion of the High Island reservoir scheme, desalination processes on a large scale will become necessary.
Hong Kong lies in the frost-free double-cropping rice zone of East Asia, but more profitable vegetable crops have increasingly displaced rice during the past 25 years and it is now grown on only 31 per cent of the area being used for agriculture. Fish ponds are also an important form of rural land use. The upland areas are mostly grass-covered and in several places, as in the Castle Peak area, severely eroded. Afforestation has been developed since 1945 but the area covered is still relatively small. The most important function of the uplands is for water catchment areas. To some extent this is now conflicting with the needs of the crowded urban areas for recreational space, and problems of rural conservation in this and other respects are becoming pressing.
Climate and the Year's Weather
Climate
Although Hong Kong lies within the tropics it enjoys seasonal weather conditions, which is unusual for tropical countries. The winter monsoon blows from the north or north-east and normally begins during September. It prevails from October until mid-March but can persist until May. Early winter is the most pleasant time of the year when the weather is generally dry and sunny. After the New Year there is often more cloud and although rainfall remains slight it is often fairly persistent. Coastal fog and drizzle 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 monsoon blows from the south or south-west and can occur from mid-April until September, but it is not as persistent as the north-east monsoon of winter. Summer is the rainy season and is almost continuously hot and humid. The annual rainfall measured at the Royal Observatory has varied between 901.1 mm in 1963 and 3040.7 mm in 1889 but the mean value is 2168.8 mm.
The mean daily temperature ranges from about 15°C in February to about 28°C in July and the average for the year is 22°C. February is normally the coldest month and July the hottest. The absolute minimum and maximum temperatures ever recorded at the Royal Observatory were 0.0°C and 36.1°C respectively. However, greater extremes may occur in the New Territories where ice occasionally forms on high ground. Afternoon temperatures are usually about 5°C higher than those during the coldest part of the night. The mean relative humidity exceeds 80 per cent from mid-February until early September. November is the least humid month with a mean relative humidity of 69 per cent, but the lowest reading of 10 per cent was recorded in January. The average daily duration of bright sunshine ranges from three hours in March to over seven hours in mid-July and late October.
Gales caused by tropical cyclones may be expected in any of the months from May to November but they are most likely from July to September. The passage of
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these cyclones several times a year at varying distances from Hong Kong brings spells of bad weather with strong winds and heavy rain. Gales are experienced once a year on average, and less frequently the centre of a mature typhoon passes sufficiently close to Hong Kong to produce winds of hurricane force, endangering life and property.
The Year's Weather
During the year 1972, many countries in Asia suffered from widespread flooding caused either by tropical cyclones, as in Japan, or by heavy rain associated with the strong south-west monsoon, as in the Philippines. Hong Kong was no exception and the heavy rainstorm in June, which caused disastrous landslides and the collapse of several buildings, will probably be long remembered. Because of this tragedy, almost 150 people died and 20,000 people had to be rehoused.
In Hong Kong the year as a whole was slightly warmer, less cloudy, but much wetter than usual. It was the fourth wettest year since 1884, and the annual rainfall was more than 30 per cent higher than the normal value. Although five tropical cyclones affected Hong Kong during the year, only one, Typhoon Pamela, came sufficiently close to cause gales.
Apart from being slightly sunnier than usual, the weather during January was fairly normal. Although there was measurable rain on only three days, the total rainfall during the month was about 50 per cent above average.
Cold northerly winds affected Hong Kong at the beginning of the year, and the Strong Monsoon Signal was hoisted for eight hours on January 1. On January 23 and 24, widespread coastal fog was reported and, as a result, 39 aircraft were diverted from Hong Kong International Airport.
A very intense cold front passed through Hong Kong on February 4, and caused the air temperature to fall during the following five days. The minimum temperature recorded at the Royal Observatory on February 9 was 3.8°C, which was the third lowest temperature ever recorded in February. Frost warnings were issued on February 8 and 9, and ice was reported at Tate's Cairn. The coldest place, however, was on the top of Tai Mo Shan where a temperature of -6°C below freezing was recorded.
March was exceptionally fine and dry and several new records were established. The mean cloudiness of 49 per cent and the mean relative humidity of 73 per cent were the lowest, while the total sunshine of 188.6 hours was the highest ever recorded for the month. The monthly rainfall was also the second lowest on record for March.
April was a cloudy month with fog reported on several occasions. However, the foggy spells during the month were generally short-lived and did not seriously inter- rupt the air and sea traffic. The Strong Monsoon Signal was displayed from April 1 to 2, when Hong Kong was affected by a late winter monsoon surge.
The rainy season started in early May when a trough of low-pressure in the South China Sea brought moist air to Hong Kong. Rain was recorded on 27 days of the month with the total rainfall amounting to more than twice the normal value. The
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heaviest falls occurred on May 10 and 11, when violent thunderstorms and squalls produced 325 mm of rain at the Royal Observatory. Maximum gust peak speeds during the squalls were 81 knots at the King's Park Meteorological Station and 75 knots at Tate's Cairn. The heavy rain caused landslides and widespread flooding, disrupting traffic in various parts of the territory. During the month, thunderstorms and heavy rain warnings were issued on 15 occasions.
Tropical Depression Mamie developed over the western part of the South China Sea on June 3. It moved across the Vietnam coast and dissipated overland the next day. On June 10, another tropical depression formed about 190 miles south of Hong Kong. It moved east north-eastwards and did not affect Hong Kong.
A very active trough of low pressure moved slowly southwards across South China on June 14 resulting in Hong Kong's weather deteriorating rapidly on June 15, the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. During the next three days, continuous heavy rain with frequent thunderstorms, reminiscent of the rainstorms of June 1966, were experienced and the maximum hourly rainfall of 98.7 mm recorded on June 18 was close to the record value of 108.2 mm set in 1966. It was the first time in the recorded history of the Royal Observatory that rainfall in excess of 200 mm fell in three con- secutive days. Thunderstorms and heavy rain warnings were issued and renewed almost continuously from June 15 to 18. During this period, widespread flooding and serious traffic disruption were reported in nearly all parts of Hong Kong, with the excessive rainfall resulting in the disastrous landslides at Sau Mau Ping and the col- lapse of several buildings at Kotewall Road/Po Shan Road on June 18.
Typhoon Ora formed over the western Pacific to the east of the Philippines on June 24. It moved north-westwards across the central Philippines and dissipated over the Luichow Peninsula on June 27.
In July, strong winds were experienced in Hong Kong during the passage of Typhoon Susan. The typhoon formed on July 7 over the South China Sea off Luzon, and drifted slowly north-westwards until it came to about 160 miles south-east of Hong Kong on July 9. It then began to move in a series of loops to the west of Pratas Island. During the following five days, Susan moved very slowly in a generally north- ward direction towards the South China coast east of Hong Kong and its closest approach was about 90 miles. The erratic movement of Susan necessitated the fre- quent hoisting and lowering of No 1 and No 3 signals which were displayed for a period of 140 hours from July 8 to 14. On July 14, Susan finally moved away steadily north-eastwards across the Taiwan Strait and degenerated into an area of low- pressure near the east coast of China. Since records began in 1884, Susan was the first tropical cyclone which has remained within 200 miles of Hong Kong for more than five days.
August was wet with rainfall about 50 per cent above normal. An active trough of low-pressure remained almost stationary along the South China coast from August 8 to 14 and caused unsettled weather with thunderstorms in Hong Kong.
Typhoon Betty developed over the western Pacific on August 8 and moved on a north-westerly course. It crossed the East China coast near Foochow on August 18
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and rapidly dissipated, but its remnants continued to move westwards to central China and activated the south-west monsoon over the South China Sea. As a result, periods of heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms affected Hong Kong from August 19 to 21.
Severe Tropical Storm Cora formed over the South China Sea about 230 miles south-east of Hong Kong on August 25. It moved along a west north-westerly track and passed south of Hong Kong, causing a few hours of fresh winds and some scattered showers. Cora finally dissipated over North Vietnam on August 29.
September was warm and the mean monthly pressure of 1011.3 mb was the highest on record for the month. A cold front moved south and crossed the South China coast on September 24, causing periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms in Hong Kong.
October was much drier than usual and the total rainfall for the month was 63 per cent below normal. Tropical Storm Lorna developed about 330 miles south of Hong Kong at the beginning of the month. It moved rapidly west north-westwards towards Hainan and brought scattered showers to Hong Kong on October 2. During the remainder of the month, three surges of cold air arrived from the north causing cooler conditions in Hong Kong. The Strong Monsoon Signal was hoisted on two occasions and a Yellow Fire Warning was issued on October 21, when the relative humidity dropped below 65 per cent. This was the first warning issued since the introduction of the new Fire Warning System on October 9.
Since records began in 1884, Typhoon Pamela was the sixth tropical cyclone to affect Hong Kong in November. It formed to the east of the Philippines on No- vember 4 and moved westwards, entering the South China Sea on November 6. It then started to move north-westwards, and after passing over the eastern coast of Hainan, it turned to a north north-easterly course and crossed the South China coast about 180 miles west south-west of Hong Kong on November 8. During the passage of Pamela, gales were experienced in Hong Kong's exposed places for five hours, with the max- imum gust peak speed recorded being 83 knots at Tate's Cairn. Altogether, 73.8 mm of rainfall were recorded at the Royal Observatory between November 8 and 9.
Cloudy conditions with periods of rain persisted through the middle of Novem- ber. A cold front passed through Hong Kong on November 23, and the weather became generally fine with low humidities and long periods of sunshine. Fire danger warnings were issued on six occasions.
December was slightly cloudier than usual. There were several outbreaks of cold dry northerly air during the month, alternating with periods of warm and relatively humid weather. Typhoons Therese and Sally entered the South China Sea at the beginning of the month, but they both moved across the South China Sea on a westerly course and did not affect Hong Kong.
The Royal Observatory
The Royal Observatory is directly concerned with all matters relating to mete- orology, geophysics and environmental sciences. It provides a diversity of services on a broad spectrum of environmental problems. These services not only play an
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important role in the economic progress and development in a modern society like Hong Kong, but also help to reduce the possible loss of life and property in natural catastrophes caused by severe weather systems such as thunderstorms, rainstorms and tropical cyclones.
Weather forecasts and tropical cyclone warnings are prepared in the Central Forecasting Office, while services for aviation are provided at the Airport Meteor- ological Office.
Close liaison is maintained with all ships visiting Hong Kong and about 45 selected ships are provided with instruments by the Observatory to encourage them to transmit weather reports which are used in the preparation of forecasts and for locating tropical cyclones. About 60 weather reports are received each day from ships, through two coastal radio stations in Hong Kong. All reports received are dissemi- nated to other centres through the World Weather Watch telecommunication network. In addition, about 5,000 weather reports from land stations and ships are received each day from other countries together with aircraft reports and other data. They are decoded, plotted and analysed at the Royal Observatory. Special weather bulletins are broadcast for shipping and for fishermen, and all aircraft leaving Hong Kong are given briefings, written forecasts and weather charts.
One of the most important functions of the Royal Observatory is to issue warn- ings of tropical cyclones. Whenever a tropical cyclone is located within the region bounded by latitudes 10°-30° north and longitudes 105°-125° east, six-hourly and often three-hourly non-local warnings are issued. These provide information on the maximum winds, the position and movement of the centre and the forecast position 24 hours ahead. Reports from ships and reconnaissance aircraft and cloud pictures received at the Royal Observatory direct from meteorological satellites are used to locate the centre and evaluate the intensity of the tropical cyclone.
When Hong Kong itself is threatened, warnings are widely distributed by means of visual signals, telephone, radio and television. Advice and recommended precau- tions are broadcast at frequent intervals whenever signals are displayed. The Royal Observatory also issues thunderstorm and heavy rain, fire hazard, frost and low temperature warnings whenever necessary.
The Observatory's weather radar station at Tate's Cairn is equipped with a three-centimetre radar for detecting showers and local rainstorms and a 10-centimetre radar for locating larger tropical disturbances up to 240 nautical miles away. A new iso-echo device was fitted to the latter radar to facilitate the real-time estimation of the intensity of rainfall. This equipment now provides valuable additional information for rainfall forecasting as well as for hydrological applications.
The Observatory is responsible for Hong Kong's Time Service. Six pip signals from a special crystal clock, accurate to 0.05 second, are broadcast every 15 minutes on a frequency of 95 MHz and are relayed by the various broadcasting and television stations. With effect from January 1, 1972, the time kept by the Hong Kong Time Standard was changed to Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC). This new time system has been adopted by international agreement and is based on an atomic time standard
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which provides a more uniform time scale than that based upon astronomical stand- ards. The UTC will never differ by more than 0.7 second from the astronomical time. To ensure this, step adjustments to UTC of one whole second will be made whenever necessary.
Twelve seismometers are operated by the Observatory. The department prepares bulletins of all earthquake tremors recorded and participates in the Pacific Tsunami Warning Service. Hong Kong lies just outside the circum-Pacific seismic belt and has not suffered serious earthquake damage since 1918. However, an average of two to three tremors may be felt each year by residents in certain locations such as on balconies of high buildings. Nine such tremors occurred in 1972 and the strongest was of intensity three to four in the modified Mercalli Scale on December 18, 1972.
Geomagnetic measurements, which ceased in 1941 and resumed in 1971, were regularly made at the geomagnetic station near Tate's Cairn, where magnetic variation was also recorded. This was made possible with a donation from the Nuffield Founda- tion for a joint project by the University of Hong Kong and the Royal Observatory.
The Observatory answers requests for climatological and meteorological informa- tion from various government departments, firms and the general public, and issues certificates for litigation purposes and for insurance claims. The department also acts in an advisory capacity in the planning of many projects in the territory that may be affected by meteorological conditions. Technical papers are published on various aspects of the weather of Hong Kong and on a wide variety of geophysical subjects.
Plans were approved for the Royal Observatory to use computer facilities to process all incoming meteorological data received through communication networks so that the information can be more fully utilised, particularly for the preparation of tropical cyclone forecasts under operational conditions.
The Committee for Scientific Co-ordination is chaired by the Director of the Royal Observatory and was established in 1962 to advise the government on scien- tific and technological matters and policies and to co-ordinate scientific activities in Hong Kong. During the year, the committee supported many scientific exhibitions by allocating financial assistance from the UNESCO International Participation Programme Funds. The committee also made preparations to host a special sym- posium in 1973--under the auspices of the Pacific Science Association-on 'Marine Sciences' and 'Problems of High Density Living'.
Research
Apart from basic research activities in connection with operational requirements of the department, numerous investigations were carried out on various aspects of meteorology and geophysics to meet the demand for services by aviation, shipping, industry and the general public. Many of the enquiries called for answers in a short time while a number involved detailed investigation using computer facilities. The latter included an analysis of sea-waves and swell in the South China Sea for a harbour project and a frequency study of winds over Hong Kong for the construction of a multi-storey hotel. In addition, studies were made of various problems concerning
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oil refinery operations in Hong Kong, the siting of incinerators, desalters and power stations and the planning of land use.
During the year, an investigation on the mean thermal structure of tropical cyclones was completed, using more than 100 upper-air soundings made within their circulations. The rainfall associated with tropical cyclones which affected Hong Kong was also examined and the characteristics of rain cells as revealed by radar studied. Tropical cyclone tracks in the western North Pacific and the China Seas for the period 1884-1970 were revised and up-dated and part of the results are being published as Royal Observatory Hong Kong Technical Memoir No. 11, Volume 1. This publica- tion contains basic charts of tropical cyclone tracks for standard five-day periods and relevant eye-fix data derived from reconnaissance aircraft reports.
Detailed statistical analyses of the probabilities of dry and wet days in Hong Kong were carried out and new techniques for improving the siphoning efficiency of autographic raingauges used in Hong Kong's rainfall observing network were developed.
An investigation on the sea-wave characteristics off Waglan Island was also initiated for the purpose of estimating the probable maximum height of sea-waves in that area under typhoon conditions.
Pollution Monitoring and Control
The Royal Observatory is responsible for providing basic information to enable warnings to be issued of any possible health hazards due to radioactive fallout from old and fresh nuclear explosions. This, and regular measurements of beta and gamma activity in the atmosphere and in rainfall have been made since 1961 at the King's Park Meteorological Station of the Royal Observatory. The radioactivity of filtered water samples from several reservoirs in the territory is also regularly monitored. The issue of licences for irradiating apparatus and radioactive substances is controlled by a Radiation Board set up within the Medical and Health Department. The board's effectiveness is assured by two sets of regulations which, taken together, cover the entire field of control in relation to radiation. The two radiation regulations are the Control of Radioactivity Substances, and the Control of Irradiating Apparatus.
The Advisory Committee on Air Pollution was reconstituted in December 1970 as a permanent advisory committee under the chairmanship of Mr J. L. Marden, JP. Its members are drawn from various government departments including the Royal Observatory, Public Works, Medical and Health, Urban Services, Labour and Trans- port, as well as from the Colonial Secretariat. A number of unofficial members are appointed for their special interest or expertise in this field. The committee's terms of reference are to keep the state of air pollution in Hong Kong under constant review and to advise the government on appropriate measures for its control.
Regulations are being drafted under the Clean Air Ordinance requiring owners of premises to submit plans of all new or proposed modifications of existing furnaces and chimneys, as well as setting standards to ensure that the combustion of liquid. fuels will produce a minimum of dark smoke. Consideration is also being given to
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controlling emissions from motor vehicles. With the ready assistance of the China Light and Power Co, substantial progress has also been made in reducing the level of sulphur dioxide in the Hung Hom area. The annual moving average for sulphur dioxide for the month of July was 12 parts per hundred million compared to 70 parts per hundred million when the monitoring programme first began in April 1967.
Air pollution monitoring is carried out by the Air Pollution Control Unit of the Labour Department. Apart from the Hung Hom area, which now represents only a fourth of the maximum permitted level of 50 parts per hundred million set by the advisory committee, significant reduction has been achieved in many other areas during the year. The average readings at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in urban Kowloon were below five parts per hundred million, while readings at Un Chau Street and Central Market (both busy urban areas) stood at a mere one part per hundred million.
The considerable reduction in smoke densities achieved in the three smoke control zones, is due partly to inspections made by Smoke Inspectors of the control unit and partly to the co-operation from various fuel users. Although the unit offers constructive advice rather than stringent enforcement, during the year it was necessary to take 22 cases to court under the Clean Air Ordinance, with fines ranging from $30 up to a maximum of $2,000 for a second offence.
The growing concern about pollution of the environment has also been reflected in the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Pollution on Land and Water (EPCOM). Concerned mainly with problems of local pollution- particularly in the lowland New Territories where pollution is at its worst--the committee has devised a framework of controls, legislation and enforcement measures which is aimed at eliminating the future threat of pollution in the area. Reference has already been made in Chapters 7 and 14 to the 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign which started in September.
The Pollution Control Unit of the Marine Department is responsible for dealing with oil pollution problems and the collection of harbour refuse. Under the overall guidance of a Marine Officer, the staff of the unit regularly inspect ships in the harbour receiving oil fuel bunkers, so as to prevent oil pollution. They also inspect tankers discharging oil fuel at various terminals, as well as inspecting the oil terminal itself. Since the unit was established in February 1971, numerous pollution offenders have been successfully prosecuted in court.
The Marine Department operates three tugs modified for the spraying of emulsi- fiers and the agitation of surface waters. One of these tugs is permanently allocated to the Pollution Control Unit, along with a patrol launch which is used for reporting sources of pollution to the Port Communications Centre of the Marine Department for subsequent follow-up action.
Harbour refuse collection services are divided into the five following operations: harbour scavenging services, ship-to-ship refuse collection, and the Causeway Bay, Yau Ma Tei, and Aberdeen typhoon shelter scavenging services. To cover these opera- tions, some 30 small craft are currently under contract to the Marine Department.
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They are manned by contract labour operating under the supervision of Pollution Control Unit staff. An average of 30 tons of refuse is removed from these areas each day, of which about 80 per cent is floating timber.
Conservation
The two principal factors adversely affecting Hong Kong's flora and fauna are the widespread occurrence of bush fires and the ever-increasing numbers of people from urban areas who now visit the countryside. In comparison the damage caused by insect pests, illegal wood cutting and the unauthorised trapping of birds and wild- life is negligible.
Throughout the dry season many bush fires occur in the countryside, leading to soil erosion and to the destruction of the natural habitats of wild birds and animals. Consequently, much of the work of the Conservation and Forests Division of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department is directed towards fire prevention, fire fighting and the restoration of damage caused by hill fires. A total of 86 fires were extin- guished during the year, representing 320 acres of affected woodland and hill land, with a total of 14,500 trees and shrubs damaged or destroyed. In October, at the start of the dry season, the government sponsored a campaign to draw public attention to the dangers of fire. Although primarily for soil erosion control, tree planting is also carried out by the division for landscape improvement, and rehabilitation of landscape damaged as a result of engineering development projects. During the year, some 385,000 trees were planted for these purposes.
With the majority of Hong Kong's four million living in an urban area of less than 46 square miles, many people now flock to the countryside at weekends and on public holidays-by their very numbers threatening to destroy the very country- side which they go out to enjoy. With signs of deterioration visible everywhere, the general effect is one of steady despoliation of the dwindling natural amenities. The threat of pollution is particularly acute since many picnic sites are within catchment areas that feed reservoirs with water for domestic consumption. As an immediate step, the massive 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign conducted in the autumn, has spotlighted the serious problems caused by visitors littering the countryside; at the same time strict new laws were introduced.
As a long-term measure to safeguard the countryside, two Advisory Committees for Recreational Development and Nature Conservation were created in September 1970. During the year, the committees met frequently and have each submitted detailed reports. One deals with Hong Kong Island and the other with the New Territories. One of the major proposals put forward is for a bold new concept in country park development.
The government has agreed in principle to an ambitious scheme which will initially provide four country parks of up to two square miles each. To provide easy access, the parks will form a semi-circle around the densely-populated urban areas, and by providing the amenities necessary, it is hoped that the large numbers of visitors will not only fully enjoy the surroundings but will also respect the beauty of these
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areas; while at the same time reducing the pressures on other parts of the country- side where intensive recreational use is not considered appropriate at the present time. Each of the country parks will be located adjacent to about 10 square miles of hinterland, where simple access and nature trails will lead the adventurous or serious rambler deeper into the more remote and scenic areas of the countryside.
The four parks to be created over the next five years are located north of the industrial townships of Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan-north-east and north-west of Kowloon respectively; while a third will be developed at Pak Sha Wan, about four miles north-east of urban Kowloon; and a fourth at Pak Fu Tin on Lantau Island. The total cost of the four parks will exceed $24 million excluding the annual recurrent cost of $3.5 million in upkeep and staffing.
The law was also recently amended to provide greater protection of local fauna, and in addition to other measures, the number and areas of protected localities were increased. Besides prohibition of the hunting of birds and wild mammals (other than rodents) in these areas, additional restrictions have been introduced on the carrying of firearms in certain localities. Enforcement of the Wild Birds and Wild Mammals Protection Ordinance is carried out by four full-time game wardens, 180 official game wardens (in addition to other duties), and 24 honorary game wardens. All Justices of the Peace and police officers have the statutory powers of game wardens.
19
Population
F
THE total estimated population of Hong Kong at the end of 1972 was 4,103,500, with 2,095,300 males and 2,008,200 females. This estimate is based on the population esti- mate at the end of 1971, adjusted by births, deaths and migration during the year. Compared with the population in 1961, this represents an increase of 908,200 over the past 11 years.
Density: Hong Kong, with a total land area of only 400 square miles (1,045 square kilometres) is one of the most densely populated areas in the world and its population is comparable with that of Norway (3.9 million in 1970), Niger (4.0 million in 1970) or Zambia (4.3 million in 1970). The total population, excluding transients and boat people, on census day March 9, 1971 was 3,856,736 and the density of population per square kilometre was almost 3,700, which is higher than that of Singapore (3,528 in 1970) and East Berlin (2,665 in 1970). The 1971 census also revealed that Mong Kok with 154,677 persons per square kilometre was then the most densely populated dis- trict. This is about 10 times greater than Tokyo city proper (15,754/sq km in 1969) or Osaka city proper (15,158/sq km in 1969).
Population Composition: Of the total population, over 98 per cent can be de- scribed as Chinese on the basis of language and place of origin. At the time of the 1971 census, 29,004 persons claimed to originate from Britain. According to records main- tained by the Immigration Department, the numbers of other Commonwealth citizens residing in Hong Kong at the end of 1972 were as follows: India 5,328; Malaysia 3,081; Australia 2,399; Singapore 1,663; Canada 1,180; other Commonwealth countries 1,378. The figure of non-Commonwealth alien residents (excluding visitors staying for period of less than three months and children under 16 years old), based on records kept by the Aliens' Registration Office, was 23,040. The largest groups were American (6,200), Japanese (2,891), Portuguese (2,502), Pakistani (1,926), Filipino (1,651), Indonesian (1,213), German (889), Korean (659), Dutch (624), French (565).
Approximately 55 per cent of the urban population is now of Hong Kong birth. Most of these, and the greater part of the immigrant population, come from Kwang- tung Province. The districts of Kwangtung which have supplied the largest percentage of Hong Kong's urban Chinese population are Po On and Tung Kwun, Wai Yeung and Mui Yuen, Chiuchow, Sze Yap, Nam Hoi, Pun Yue, Shun Tak and Chung Shan. The urban population also includes immigrants from Fukien and Kiangsu and over- seas Chinese whose families originally came from Kwangtung or Fukien.
In the New Territories, the indigenous inhabitants consist principally of Can- tonese, Hakka, Tanka and Hoklo. The Cantonese and Hakka groups are traditionally
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POPULATION
land-dwellers, whereas the Tanka and Hoklo groups are traditionally boat-dwellers. These people differ from each other in physical appearance, dress and custom. The usual village community consists of a single clan but two and three clan villages are common and multi-clan villages also occur. By custom, men are compelled to marry outside their own clan but, as far as is known, intermarriage between land and boat- dwellers is rare.
The Cantonese form the biggest community in the New Territories. They occupy the best parts of the two principal plains in the north-western section and own a good deal of the most fertile valley land in other areas. The oldest Cantonese villages-those of the Tang Clan in the Yuen Long district-have a history of continuous settlement dating from the late 11th century. Some of the villages on Lantau date back to the late 13th century.
The Hakka people began to enter this region at about the same time as the first Cantonese, or possibly even before. The latter were, however, the more successful settlers and in areas where both groups live side by side the Hakka are now always found upstream, along foothills, and generally on poorer land.
The Tanka people have been in the region since time unknown and are the prin- cipal seafaring people of South China, owning large sea-going junks and engaging in deepsea fishing. They speak their own distinctive dialect of Cantonese. During the past few years, young men and women of the Tanka community have begun to take factory jobs and thousands have now moved their homes ashore.
The Hoklo people, like the Tanka, have been in the area since time unknown. 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. They are traditionally boat-dwellers and are mostly found in eastern waters. In some places, they have lived ashore for several generations.
With rapid urbanisation of certain districts in the New Territories, notably Tsuen Wan where large resettlement and low-cost housing estates have been built, an increas- ing number of families have moved to these satellite towns from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The total population of the New Territories on census day March 9, 1971 was 693,915 including 28,215 boat people.
The Census and Statistics Department
The department was set up in December 1967 to collect and co-ordinate govern- ment statistics. Besides censuses, the department collects, compiles and analyses Hong Kong's trade statistics; calculates the Consumer Price Index; conducts surveys and research of various kinds; and supplies statistical information to commercial concerns and international organisations. The department also maintains frequent contacts with other statistical organisations, institutions of higher learning and with the specialised agencies of the United Nations. A major commitment during 1972 was the analysis and publication of the full population and housing census held in 1971, together with a census of manufacturing establishments.
POPULATION
Births and Deaths
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The registration of births and deaths is compulsory, and facilities for registration are provided throughout Hong Kong. The General Register Office is situated at Li Po Chun Chambers, Connaught Road Central, Victoria, where all records of births and deaths are maintained. Sub-registries have been established in all main urban and rural districts, while in outlying areas and islands, births are registered at rural committee offices by visiting district registrars and deaths are registered at local police stations.
The statutory period during which a birth should be registered, and is registered without fee, is 42 days from the date of birth. Between the end of the 42-day period and the expiration of one year from the date of birth, the birth may be registered upon payment of a fee of $2. During the year, 79,053 live births and 21,145 deaths were registered, compared with 76,818 and 20,253 respectively in 1971. These figures, when adjusted for under-registration, give a natural increase in population for 1972 of about 58,212. The number of illegitimate children registered with or without the name of the father in the birth entry, totalled 1,058 in 1972.
A birth which has not been registered within one year after the date of birth may be post-registered with the consent of the Registrar and on payment of a fee of $15. During the year, 1,380 such births were post-registered, including 416 in the New Territories. The principal reason given for non-registration at the time of birth was simple negligence, but there continue to be a number of cases where non-registration was due to the fact that facilities for registration were not available until 1932, and also some cases relating to births in the war years when there was no registration of births. However, in most cases during the last year, applications for post-registration have been in respect of minors. The New Territories cases are dealt with at local sub- registries or by mobile registration teams. All applications for post-registration are passed to a legal officer in the Registrar General's Department for final approval.
The General Register Office is responsible for the collection of vital statistics throughout Hong Kong. The information is recorded on various statistical forms and coding sheets for card punching and data processing by computer.
Marriages
All marriages are governed by the Marriage Ordinance and the Marriage Reform Ordinance. Under the Marriage Ordinance, notice of an intended marriage must be given to the Registrar at least 15 clear days before the date of the marriage. The Reg- istrar has discretion to reduce the period of notice in special circumstances, and the Governor has power to grant a special licence dispensing with notice altogether, but this is done very rarely and then only in the most exceptional circumstances.
Marriages may take place either at places of public worship licensed for the cele- bration of marriages or at any of the 13 full-time marriage registries and 14 part-time sub-registries located in the main urban districts and rural centres. During the year, 25,006 marriages were performed in the registries and 2,258 at licensed places of worship. The total was 27,264; or 360 more than in 1971. All marriage records are maintained at the principal marriage registry at the City Hall.
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The Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that all marriages entered into in Hong Kong on and after October 7, 1971, shall imply the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others and may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance. It declares valid certain customary mar- riages and validates certain other customary marriages known as modern marriages, provided in each case they have been entered into before October 7, 1971. The or- dinance also makes provision for post-registration of these customary and modern marriages and for dissolution of such marriages by mutual consent. During 1972, 181 customary and 21 modern marriages were post-registered, including 11 in the New Territories.
20
Natural History
F
THE rapid development of the urban areas in the past decade or so has made further inroads into the countryside but, in spite of this, and especially in the New Terri- tories, large areas of Hong Kong are still virtually untouched, with wooded hillsides and valleys and green fields. It is here that the animal and plant life can be found.
Wild Life
With increased urbanisation and greater use of the countryside by an urban population many wild animals, particularly mammals, are declining in numbers. Indigenous mammals which no longer occur are the Crab-eating Mongoose, the Wild Red Dog or Dhole, the Tiger and the Leopard. The last definite record of a Tiger was in 1947 and the last recorded sighting of a Leopard in 1957. The Eastern Chinese Otter, once abundant, is now a rare visitor, and of the carnivores, the South China Red Fox and the Chinese Leopard Cat have all but disappeared from Hong Kong.
The Barking Deer and the Wild Pig were once plentiful. Both are now rare in the New Territories and the remaining Barking Deer on Hong Kong Island are confined to a few areas, particularly the forests about Victoria Peak.
Of the larger indigenous mammals, the Chinese Pangolin (Scaly Anteater) which grows to three-and-a-half feet and is protected by horny scales, may occasionally be seen. Monkeys are to be seen on the hillslopes and the more daring ones on the motor roads near the Kowloon reservoirs.
Smaller mammals are abundant, with the Woodland Shrew and the House Shrew being fairly numerous in some rural areas. The Chinese Porcupine, with its strikingly coloured black and white quills, is still present in some areas of the New Territories and on Hong Kong Island.
There is ample opportunity in Hong Kong for either serious study, or simple enjoyment, of bird life and the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society holds about 12 field outings each year. A total of 370 species, representing more than 60 different families, including resident and migrant birds, have so far been recorded.
The largest species is undoubtedly the Spotted-billed Pelican which comes in small numbers as a winter visitor to the Mai Po Marshes. Among the smallest are the insectivorous White-eyes of the wooded areas and the Yellow-bellied Wren Warbler of the reed beds. The Chinese Blue Magpie, with royal blue plumage and orange beak, and the Crow Pheasant, which has dark brown plumage with light brown wings, can frequently be seen on the shrubby and wooded hillsides. The
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Crow Pheasant is in fact neither crow nor pheasant but a cuckoo. Its haunting call of descending notes can be heard in spring and early summer. The Bulbul and the minute Tailor Bird with its insistent 'tch tch' call are common birds in urban areas; while the beautiful song of the Hwamei delights hikers and residents in the country- side.
Snakes, lizards and frogs are well represented in Hong Kong. There are also various species of terrapin and turtle. Most of the snakes are non-poisonous and death from snake bite is extremely rare. Apart from back-fanged species, not dangerous to man, the venomous land snakes are: the Banded Krait, with black and yellow bands; the Many-banded Krait with black and white bands; Macclelland's Coral Snake, which is coral red with narrow, black transverse bars; the Chinese Cobra and the Hamadryad or King Cobra, both of which are hooded; the very rare Moun- tain Pit Viper and the White-lipped Pit Viper or Bamboo Snake. The Bamboo Snake is bright green and, although less venomous than the others, is more often seen and more likely to attack if accidentally disturbed. The Hamadryad preys almost exclu- sively on other snakes. Several species of sea snake, all venomous, are found in Hong Kong waters but, fortunately, have never been known to attack bathers. An am- phibian of special interest is the Hong Kong newt, which has not been recorded any- where else in the region.
There are just over 200 species of butterfly in Hong Kong. Of the many moths, two are outstanding for their size. These are the Moon and Atlas moths with wing spans of six and nine inches respectively. Apart from butterflies and moths there is a great variety of insects, many brilliantly coloured. They include many species of dragon fly and damsel fly and metallic-coloured beetles and solitary wasps. The beau- tiful Candle Fly or Lantern Fly has delicately coloured wings like those of a butterfly, but is more closely related to the cicada. It lives on lychee trees and is remarkable in that its forehead is almost as long as its body, hence the Chinese name which translated means the elephant-nosed bug. The adults of several species of cicada emerge during spring and summer. They range from the rare three-and-a-half inches Tacua to the small grass cicadas less than half an inch long.
Land molluscs of note are the Giant African Snail, measuring about five inches long, which was introduced (and is now a considerable pest), and a large black slug, Veronicella, a species sufficiently distinct from all other slugs to be placed in a separate family.
Aquatic Life
Marine life in Hong Kong waters is exceedingly diverse in variety, form and colour. It used to sustain a profitable inshore fishery, as the Yellowtail (Seriola quinquilineata), Mackerels (Scomberomorus species), Yellow Croaker (Pseudosciaena arocea) and a number of other schooling species appeared seasonally in commercially exploitable quantities. In the course of fisheries development, however, the abundance of these resources (with the exception of certain isospondylous fishes) began to diminish possibly due to an increasing disturbance of the local marine environment. The full extent of Hong Kong's marine fauna is difficult to assess, but the diverse varieties of fish, crustacea, cephalopod, mollusc and seaweed indicate that the number
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of species involved is certainly very high. The discharge of the largest freshwater system in South China to the west, and the prevailing Taiwan Current from the north-east, have created a situation where the westerly sector of Hong Kong has a predominantly brackish water fauna, while the eastern sector has a genuine marine fauna. A notable marine animal which has been successfully introduced in the Deep Bay area is the Japanese oyster, Crassostrea gigas. It is now being cultivated.
The freshwater fauna of Hong Kong is relatively poor in variety when compared with that of the mainland of China. This situation is in all probability the result of the absence of a perpetual system of rivers and lakes. Although there are large bodies of water stored in man-made reservoirs, only a few varieties of fish life have been introduced-primarily for water quality control purposes. The indigenous fauna comprises only limited species of cyprinid, loach and goby, while the African Tilapia has also established itself in local waters but its initial introduction cannot be traced. Despite its limited size, Hong Kong has now some 2,700 acres of commercial fish ponds, where the Grey Mullet and seven species of Chinese carps are being produced at a rate of 1.2 tons per acre.
Flora
The flora of Hong Kong is tropical, although at about the northern limit of tropical flora. After centuries of cutting and burning, most of the original arborescent vegetation on the mountainsides has been replaced by herbaceous cover, but in the ravines and on sheltered northern slopes a flora rich in flowering shrubs, low trees and ferns persists. Few high trees are to be found except in the fine fung shui groves preserved around many villages in the New Territories. A great variety of plants in Hong Kong bear flowers of exceptional beauty or fragrance.
The Bauhinia Blakeana, which grows on a medium-sized evergreen tree known as the Hong Kong orchid tree, is among the finest of the Bauhinia genus anywhere in the world and has been adopted as Hong Kong's floral emblem. Named after a former Governor, Sir Henry Blake, it was discovered in 1908 by the Fathers of the French Foreign Missions at Pok Fu Lam. Its origin is unknown and it is a sterile hybrid never producing seed. Another related species is Bauhinia glauca, climbing by means of tendrils, with bunches of pink flowers of sufficient beauty to merit cultivation as a covering for trellises and porches.
There are several species of camellia growing wild on the island and the mainland. All but one have white flowers; the one with red flowers is known only on Hong Kong Island and grows in the Peak district. It is Camellia Hongkongensis, a small tree up to 40 feet in height which comes into flower in November and continues until the middle of March. A new and distinct camellia was discovered in 1955 and named Camellia Granthamiana in honour of the then Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham.
Many local shrubs and a few herbs have very beautiful fruits in striking colours. The Ardisia, the Chloranthus and several wild hollies have brilliant red berries. Numerous yellow fruits with elusive names, one of which is the Maesa, abound the hillsides. There are many inconspicuous green fruits and berries, one of which is the
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Mussaenda or Buddha's Lamp. The remarkable star-like fruit of the Sterculia turns crimson in late summer and splits open to disclose jet black seeds. At a distance, these open fruits look like large red flowers.
More than 80 species of native orchids are recorded. Some of the ground orchids are very beautiful and have long been cultivated in other countries. Probably the best known of the local species is the Nun orchid, bearing flowers four inches across with white petals and a purple lip. Other noteworthy species are the white Susanna orchid, the yellow Buttercup orchid, the pink Bamboo orchid and the purple Lady's Slipper orchid.
By regulations, made under the Forestry Ordinance, special protection is given to certain plants including camellias, enkianthus, magnolias, orchids, and azaleas.
The Hong Kong Herbarium, which was founded in 1878, contains a valuable collection of over 30,000 plant specimens including all the known 2,346 indigenous species and some 2,500 related species from adjacent regions of East and South-East Asia. The Herbarium, situated in the headquarters of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department in the Canton Road government offices in Kowloon, is open to the public.
21
History
Hong Kong-'a barren island with hardly a house upon it'
The Founding of Hong Kong as a British Colony 1841-2
브
Lord Palmerston 1841
ARCHAEOLOGICAL investigation has shown that Hong Kong was inhabited from primitive times, but it has failed to reveal evidence of the existence of any previous centre of population. All that it would be safe to conclude is that in the early migra- tion of peoples along the Pacific coast, an island with a water supply and some cultiv- able land would naturally attract permanent or temporary settlement. Up to the 19th century Hong Kong remained sparsely populated. Small villages maintained themselves by fishing, by cultivation of the scanty soil available, and by casual preying on coastal shipping. The fishing ports of Shau Kei Wan and Shek Pai Wan (Aberdeen) were noted as the haunts of pirates from the time of the Mongol Dynasty.
The Kwangtung area of the Chinese mainland was first brought under the suzerainty of China between 221 and 214 BC, but even after its conquest by the Han Emperor Wu Ti in 111 BC, it remained for some centuries a frontier area. The Lei Cheng Uk Tomb, which was discovered in Kowloon in 1955, probably dates from before the Tang Dynasty (620-907) and is evidence of Chinese penetration, although Chinese migration on a large scale did not come until the Sung Dynasty (960-1279). The oldest villages in the New Territories, those belonging to the Tang Clan, have a continuous history dating back to the 11th century, and other villages date from the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368). Hakka and Cantonese, the two main Chinese groups, probably settled in the area over the same period.
In 1278, Ti Ping, the Sung Emperor, was driven by the invading Mongols to Kowloon and died there. A small hill crowned with a prominent boulder bearing the characters Sung Wong Toi (Sung Emperor Stone) was held sacred to his memory until the hill was demolished in 1943, during the Japanese occupation, to make room for an expansion of the airport. His brother, the last Sung boy Emperor, met with final defeat in an attempted stand in the New Territories and he and his ministers fled to Ngai Shan further south, but some of his followers found refuge on Lantau where their descendants are still to be found.
Trade relations between Britain and China originally centred on Canton. The first English ship to trade peaceably with the Chinese was the East India Company ship Macclesfield in 1699. By the end of the 18th century, the British dominated the
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HISTORY
foreign trade at Canton but found conditions unsatisfactory, mainly because of the conflicting viewpoints of two quite dissimilar civilisations. The Chinese regarded themselves as the only civilised people and treated all others as barbarians. Foreigners trading at Canton were subjected to humiliating personal restrictions. Confined to the factory area, they were allowed to reside only for the trading season, during which they had to leave their families at Macau. They were forbidden to enter the city and to learn the Chinese language. Shipping dues were arbitrarily varied and generally much bickering resulted between British and Chinese. Yet there was mutual trust and the spoken word alone was sufficient for even the largest transactions.
Trade had been in China's favour, and silver flowed in until the growth of the opium trade from 1800 onwards reversed this trend. The outflow of silver became more marked after 1834, when the East India Company lost its monopoly of the China trade and the foreign free traders, hoping to get rich quickly, joined in the lucrative opium trade, which the Chinese had made illegal in 1799. This led to the appointment of Lin Tse-hsu in March 1839 as special Commissioner in Canton, with orders to stamp out the opium trade. A week later he surrounded the foreign factories with troops, stopped food supplies and refused to allow anyone to leave until all stocks of opium had been surrendered and dealers and ships' masters had signed a bond not to import opium on pain of execution. Captain Charles Elliot, RN, the British Government's Representative as Superintendent of Trade, was shut up with the rest and authorised the surrender of 20,283 chests of opium after a siege of six weeks. But he would not allow normal trade to resume until he had reported fully to the British Government and received instructions. The British community retired to Macau and, when warned by the Portuguese Governor that he could not be re- sponsible for their safety, took refuge on board ship in Hong Kong harbour in the summer of 1839.
Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, decided that the time had come for a settlement of Sino-British commercial relations. Arguing that, in surrendering the opium, the British in Canton had been forced to ransom their lives--though in fact their lives had never been in danger-he demanded either a commercial treaty which would put trade relations on a satisfactory footing, or the cession of a small island where the British could live free from threats under their own flag. An expeditionary force arrived in June 1840 to back these demands and thus began the so-called First Opium War, 1840-2. Hostilities alternated with negotiations until agreement was reached between Elliot and Keshen, the new Manchu Commissioner who had replaced Lin after the latter's exile in disgrace, over the preliminaries of a treaty. Under the convention of Chuenpi, January 20, 1841, Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain. A naval landing party hoisted the flag at Possession Point on January 26, 1841 and Elliot proclaimed Hong Kong a British Colony; in June he sold plots of land and settlement began.
Neither side accepted the Chuenpi terms. The cession of a part of China aroused shame and anger among the Chinese, and the unfortunate Keshen was ordered to Peking in chains. Palmerston was equally dissatisfied with Hong Kong which he contemptuously described as 'a barren island with hardly a house upon it' and refused
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to accept it as the island station which had been demanded as an alternative to a commercial treaty. 'You have treated my instructions as if they were waste paper' he told Elliot in a magisterial rebuke, and replaced him by Sir Henry Pottinger who arrived in August 1841. The latter conducted hostilities with determination. Twelve months later, in August 1842, after pushing up the Yangtze River and threatening to assault Nanking, he brought the hostilities to an end by the Treaty of Nanking, August 29, 1842. In the meantime, the Whig Government in England had fallen and in 1841 the new Tory Foreign Secretary, Lord Aberdeen, issued revised instructions. to Pottinger, dropping the demand for an island. Pottinger, who had returned to Hong Kong during the winter lull in the campaign, was pleased with the progress of the new settlement and, in the Treaty of Nanking, deviated from his instructions by successfully demanding both a treaty and an island, thus securing Hong Kong. In addition five Chinese ports, including Canton, were opened for trade. The commercial treaty was embodied in the supplementary Treaty of the Bogue, October 1843, by which the Chinese were allowed free access to the island for trading purposes.
Extensions to the Colony 1860-99
The Second Anglo-Chinese War, 1856-8, arose out of disputes over the inter- pretation of the earlier treaties and over the boarding of a British lorcha the 'Arrow', by Chinese in search of suspected pirates. The Treaty of Tientsin 1858, which ended the war, gave the British the privilege of diplomatic representation in China. The first British envoy, Sir Frederick Bruce, who had been the first Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong, was fired on at Taku Bar on his way to Peking to present his creden- tials, and hostilities were renewed from 1859-60. The troops serving on this second expedition camped on Kowloon peninsula, as the earliest colony photographs show. Finding it healthy, they wished to retain it as a military cantonment, with the result that Sir Harry Parkes, Consul at Canton, secured from the Viceroy the perpetual lease of the peninsula as far as Boundary Street, including Stonecutters Island. The Convention of Peking, 1860, which ended the hostilities, provided for its outright
cession.
Other European countries and Japan were now demanding concessions from China, particularly after Germany, France and Russia had rescued her from the worst consequences of her defeat by Japan in 1895. In the ensuing tension Britain felt that efficient defence of Hong Kong harbour demanded control of the land around it.
By the Convention of Peking on June 9, 1898, the New Territories, comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shum Chun River, and 235 islands, were leased for 99 years. The move was directed against France and Russia, not against China, whose warships were allowed to use the wharf at Kowloon City, where Chinese authority was permitted to continue 'except in so far as may be inconsistent with the military requirements for the defence of Hong Kong'. An Order in Council of Decem- ber 27, 1898 invoked this clause and the British thus unilaterally took over Kowloon City. Some desultory opposition, when the British took over the New Territories in March 1899, soon disappeared. The area was declared part of the colony but was administered separately from the urban area.
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Growth of the Colony 1841-1941
HISTORY
The new colony was a great disappointment at first. It attracted unruly elements; fever and typhoons threatened life and property, and crime was rife. The Chinese influx was unexpected as it had not been anticipated that they would choose to live under a foreign flag. The population rose from 32,983 (31,463 Chinese) in 1851 to 878,947 (859,425 Chinese) in 1931.
The Chinese asked only to be left alone, and thrived under a liberal British colonial rule. Hong Kong became a centre of Chinese emigration and of trade with Chinese communities abroad. Ocean-going shipping using the port increased from 2,889 ships of 1.5 million tons in 1860 to 23,881 of 29.1 million tons in 1939. The dominance of the China trade forced Hong Kong to conform to Chinese usage and to adopt the silver dollar in 1862 as the currency unit. In 1935, when China went off silver, the colony had to follow suit with an equivalent 'managed' dollar.
Hong Kong's administration followed the normal Crown Colony pattern, with a governor nominated by Whitehall and nominated Executive and Legislative Councils with official majorities. The first unofficial members of the Legislative Council were nominated in 1850, and the first Chinese in 1880; the first unofficial members of the Executive Council appeared in 1896, and the first Chinese in 1926. Two electoral bodies, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, and the Unofficial Justices of the Peace, were each allowed from 1885 onwards to nominate a member of the Legislative Council. The British residents on a number of occasions strongly pressed for self-government, but the home government steadily refused to allow the Chinese majority to be subject to the control of a small European minority. A Sanitary Board was set up in 1883, became partly elected in 1887, and developed into an Urban Council in 1936. The intention at first was to govern the Chinese through Chinese magistrates seconded from the mainland, but this system of two parallel administra- tions was only half-heartedly applied and broke down mainly because of the weight of crime. It was completely abandoned in 1865 in favour of the principle of equality of all races before the law, and in that year the Governor's Instructions were significant- ly amended to forbid him to assent to any ordinance 'whereby persons of African or Asiatic birth may be subjected to any disabilities or restrictions to which persons of European birth or descent are not also subjected'. Government policy was laissez-faire, treating Hong Kong as a market place where all were free to come and go and where government held the scales impartially.
Public and utility services developed; the Hong Kong and China Gas Company in 1861, the Peak Tram in 1885, the Hongkong Electric Company 1889, China Light and Power 1903, the electric Tramways in 1904 and the government-owned Kowloon- Canton Railway, completed in 1910. There were successive reclamations dating from 1851, notably one completed in 1904 in Central District, which produced Chater Road, Connaught Road and Des Voeux Road, and another in Wan Chai of 1921-9.
A system of public education began in 1847 with grants to the Chinese vernacular schools, and the voluntary schools, mainly run by missionaries were brought in by a
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grant scheme in 1873. The College of Medicine for the Chinese, founded in 1887, developed into the University of Hong Kong in 1911 with arts, engineering and medical faculties.
The Chinese Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Manchu Dynasty. There followed a long period of unrest in China and again large numbers of refugees found shelter in the colony. One of its leaders, Sun Yat-sen, who headed the Kuomintang republican group centred in Canton, had been deeply influenced by the British institutions he had seen while a student in Hong Kong. Chinese participation in the First World War was followed by strong nationalist and anti-foreign sentiment, inspired both by dis- appointment over their failure at the Versailles peace conference to regain the German concessions in Shantung and by the post-war radicalism of the Kuomintang. The Chinese wanted to abolish all foreign treaty privileges in China. Foreign goods were boycotted and unrest spread to Hong Kong where a seamen's strike in 1922 was fol- lowed by a serious general strike in 1925-6 under pressure from Canton. This petered out, but not before causing considerable disruption to the life of Hong Kong. Britain, as the holder of the largest foreign stake in China, was the main target of this anti- foreign sentiment, but Japan soon replaced her in this position.
The Japanese Attack and Occupation 1941-5
Japanese plans for political aggrandisement in the Far East became apparent when she seized the opportunity of the First World War to present her 'twenty-one demands' to China early in 1915. In 1931 Japan occupied Manchuria and her attempt to detach China's northern provinces led to open war in 1937. Canton fell to the Japanese in 1938, resulting in a mass flight of refugees to Hong Kong. It was estimated that some 100,000 entered in 1937, 500,000 in 1938 and 150,000 in 1939, bringing the population at the outbreak of war to an estimated 1,600,000. It was thought that at the height of the influx about half a million were sleeping in the streets.
The outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939 gave Japan the advantage of being able to extend her ambitions over the whole of East and South-East Asia, and the position of the colony became precarious. On December 8, 1941, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbour, the Japanese attacked from the mainland, and sub- sequently the British were forced to retire from the New Territories and Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. The Japanese crossed the harbour at Lei Yue Mun on the night of December 18-19 and after a week of stubborn resistance on the island the defenders, who included the local Volunteer Corps, were overwhelmed and the colony surrender- ed on Christmas Day. The Japanese occupation lasted three years and seven months.
British civilians were interned at Stanley under harsh conditions, while prisoners of war fared even worse. The Chinese population and neutrals also suffered under steadily deteriorating conditions. Trade virtually disappeared, the currency lost its value, food supply was disrupted and government services and public utilities were seriously impaired. Many moved to Macau, the Portuguese Colony hospitably open- ing its doors to them. Towards the latter part of the occupation, the Japanese sought to ease the food problems by organising mass deportations. In the face of increasing
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oppression the bulk of the community remained loyal to the allied cause: Chinese guerillas operated in the New Territories and allied personnel escaping were assisted by the rural population.
Soon after the news of the Japanese surrender on August 14, 1945, was received a provisional government was set up by the Colonial Secretary, Mr (later Sir) F. Gimson, until Rear Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt arrived on August 30 with units of the British Pacific Fleet to establish a temporary military government. Civil govern- ment was formally restored on May 1, 1946, when Sir Mark Young resumed his interrupted governorship.
The Post-war Years
From the moment of liberation, Hong Kong began a spectacular recovery. The Chinese returned at a rate approaching 100,000 a month and the population, which by August 1945 had been reduced to about 600,000, rose by the end of 1947 to an estimated 1,800,000. Then in the period 1948-9, as the forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government began to face defeat in civil war at the hands of the communists, Hong Kong received an influx of people unparalleled in its history. About three quarters of a million, mainly from Kwangtung province, Shanghai and other commercial centres, entered Hong Kong during 1949 and the spring of 1950. By the end of 1950 the population was estimated to be 2,360,000. Since then it has continued to rise and the 1971 census put the population at 3,948,179.
After a period of economic stagnation, caused by American trade barriers against China which applied temporarily to Hong Kong and by further sanctions against China resulting from the Korean War of 1951, Hong Kong entered an era of indus- trialisation. As an entrepôt, Hong Kong had earned a livelihood by a service she alone could perform: now she found herself directly competing with other manufacturing
centres.
The immigrants formed a huge reservoir of labour, industrious, trainable for the necessary skills, with no tradition of trade union restrictive practices and all looking for jobs.
From the start, the industrial revolution was based on cotton textiles, gradually adding woollens and, in the late 1960s, man-made fibres and made-up garments. In 1959, 42 per cent of Hong Kong's total domestic exports were textiles and clothing, compared with 50 per cent in 1972, showing the continued dominance of textiles in Hong Kong's economy. Older light industries expanded, including rattanware, torches and rubber shoes, while new industries developed such as optics, transistor radios and television sets, watches and clocks, stainless steel flatware, wigs and plastics, including artificial flowers. All needed labour as a principal factor of production.
In 1959, the first year they were separated from re-exports, domestic exports were valued at $3,277.54 million. In 1972 they had increased by more than 500 per cent. Re-exports declined in relative importance but remained significant, comprising 30 per cent of total exports in 1959 and 20 per cent in 1972.
At first Hong Kong catered for cheap Asian markets, such as Malaya and In- donesia, but in 1972, 85 per cent of her goods went to developed countries, with the
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HISTORY
197
United States and Britain sharing 65 per cent of this. The need for food ensured the dominance of China as a source of Hong Kong's imports, accounting for 21 per cent in 1959 and 22 per cent in 1967, after which Japan supplanted China with 24 per cent of the total imports against China's 18 per cent in 1972.
Government public works have necessarily been on the grand scale to keep pace with industrial growth. The 8,340-foot long airport runway, built up from the sea-bed in Kowloon Bay, is being extended to 11,130 feet. New reservoirs were completed at Tai Lam Chung in 1957 and Shek Pik, on Lantau Island, in 1963; the unique Plover Cove scheme of 1967 is being expanded to hold 50,000 million gallons; work began in 1970 on the High Island scheme, with a planned storage capacity of 60,000 million gallons; former cuts in the water supply, which in 1963 was only four hours every four days, are unlikely to recur. In 1964 China agreed to raise to 15,000 million gallons the amount of water purchased annually since 1960. Road development, including flyovers, has been remarkable. In 1967 the Lion Rock Tunnel opened to provide a highspeed road link between the New Territories and urban Kowloon; a second tunnel is now in the planning stage. A new era in Hong Kong's internal communications came with the opening of the cross-harbour tunnel in August 1972. Built by private enterprise with government participation, it was completed several months ahead of schedule and is now the longest underwater road tunnel in Asia.
Not all developments have been in the economic field and considerable social advances have also taken place. Local recruitment into the public service has been expanded and local candidates are given preference if suitably qualified. This has given more opportunity in the government service for local doctors, architects, adminis- trators and teachers, among others, and they have shown themselves well able to compete in professional and higher degree examinations overseas. The unofficial membership of the Legislative Council was increased to 14 in 1972, of whom 12 were Chinese, as against 13 official members, leaving only two Europeans nominated by the five nominating bodies. The Executive Council was given an unofficial majority of eight to six in 1966. The Urban Council has been gradually reconstituted to give it six official and 20 unofficial members, 10 of the latter being nominated and 10 elected. Following the publication of the White Paper on the future of the Urban Council in October 1971 and its acceptance by the legislature in February 1972, the council will be given substantial financial autonomy. At the same time the number of unofficial members will be increased by four while all official members will be removed from the Urban Council, which will then have 12 elected and 12 appointed members. These changes will come into effect on April 1, 1973. An office of the Unofficial Members of the Executive Council and Legislative Council (UMELCO) was set up in 1963 to assist the public to resolve problems arising from their dealings with the government; and with the appointment in 1970 of an administrative secretary, the office was able to handle an increasing volume of complaints.
Economic expansion has enabled the government to increase its social services to match Hong Kong's all-round-growth. Total enrolment in all types of schools and educational centres increased from 120,000 in 1948, to 1,284,393 in 1972. A government or subsidised primary school place is now available for every child of primary school age. In the field of primary education, free education was introduced in September
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HISTORY
1971 for the vernacular schools and at the same time a form of compulsory education for all primary schools came into force. A new policy for secondary education was also announced. Under this, three years of post primary education will be provided for all children in the age group 12-14 and it is hoped that half of the places required can be provided by 1976. The University of Hong Kong re-opened in 1946 with a total of 109 students and, by 1972, had expanded to 3,030 under-graduates, 395 higher degree students and 265 students reading for post-graduate diplomas or cer- tificates. The Chinese University of Hong Kong opened in October 1963 comprising three student colleges, Chung Chi, New Asia and United and enrolment had risen to. 2,582 by September 1972. A Polytechnic, run by its own board with its first principal appointed in 1971, assumed responsibility for the work of the Hong Kong Technical College in August 1972.
The Social Welfare Office was set up in 1946 and became an independent govern- ment department in 1958 with branches dealing with community services, the problems of the handicapped, family welfare, probation and public assistance. These services are provided both directly and also by grants to voluntary agencies, particularly the 93 organisations affiliated to the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, which was founded in 1946. A wider scheme of public relief, inaugurated in 1970, gives needy families cash grants in lieu of assistance in kind.
The rapid industrialisation of Hong Kong has demanded special attention to labour legislation. Hours of work for women and young people were regulated in 1959 and by the end of 1971 were reduced to eight a day and 48 a week. Industrial workers are guaranteed six days paid holiday annually and 12 days sick leave on half pay. All manual workers and non-manual workers earning less than $1,500 a month must be given four rest days each month. In addition, the Labour Department has conciliation machinery to deal with industrial disputes and great progress has been made with industrial health and safety measures. The development of an effective trade union movement has been relatively slow and local trade unions retain strong political affiliations.
Huge housing estates bear spectacular witness to the government's interest in this field. It has been the policy to integrate refugees into the local community and after 50,000 squatters lost their flimsy homes in a Christmas day fire in 1953, it was decided to resettle them in multi-storey blocks built to minimum standards of accom- modation. These resettlement blocks have been gradually improved and standards of accommodation have been progressively raised as new housing estates have been constructed. Resettlement estates housed 1.2 million people at the end of 1972. Low-cost housing estates have also been built for those with monthly incomes up to $500 and these accommodated 331,153 people at the end of 1972. The Government Housing Authority was set up in 1954 and had built nine estates housing 218,450 persons by the end of 1972, these estates being intended for those with a family income of $400 to $1,250 per month. Of government-aided voluntary housing societies, the Hong Kong Housing Society is the largest. Altogether about 46 per cent of the entire population lived in government built or aided housing at the end of 1972.
HISTORY
199
Post-war Hong Kong has developed into a dynamic industrial and commercial centre and its growth has been truly remarkable. Economic expansion has brought with it a rising standard of living and has made possible more comprehensive social services although much still remains to be done. Life in Hong Kong has not always been peaceful and the civil disturbances in 1947, 1956, 1966 and 1967 have revealed some of the strains to which the local community is subject. However, these disturb- ances, with their associated outbreaks of violence have not impeded the continued development for very long and appear to have done little to weaken public confi- dence in the future prosperity of Hong Kong.
The far-reaching plans outlined in the Review Chapter of this report, illustrate the government's determined approach in tackling social and environmental problems faced by Hong Kong in the decade ahead.
22
Constitution and Administration
HONG KONG is a British Crown Colony, and this chapter describes the organisation of the Hong Kong Government by which it is administered. The policy of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom is that there shall be no major consti- tutional change; nor is there much popular pressure for it.
The Governor
The office of Governor is the central feature of the Government of Hong Kong. The Governor is the representative of the Queen and is in a real sense the head of the government. He presides at meetings of the Executive Council, whose advice he must seek on important policy matters. He is also the President of the Legislative Council, where he possesses both an original and a casting vote. All bills passed by the Legislative Council must have his assent before they become law. With strictly defined exceptions, he is responsible for every executive act of the government.
The Governor is appointed by the Queen and derives his authority from the Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom. These Letters Patent create the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong, and require him to observe its laws and such Instructions as may be given him by the Queen or Secretary of State. Among the more important of these are the Royal Instructions and Colonial Regulations.
Executive Council
The composition of the Executive Council is determined by the Royal Instruc- tions, which provide that it shall consist of five ex officio members (the Commander British Forces, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary for Home Affairs, and the Financial Secretary) together with such other persons as are appointed by the Queen, or by the Governor on the instructions of the Secretary of State. At the present time, one official member and eight unofficial members have been appointed in addition to the five ex officio members.
The Executive Council usually meets once a week throughout the year but addi- tional meetings are held if necessary. The Governor presides at meetings of the council, although he is not a member of it. The council's function is to advise the Governor, who is required by the Royal Instructions to consult it on all important matters of policy except:
(a) those of such immediate urgency as to preclude prior consultation (in which
(a) those of such immediate urgency as to print pro
case the Governor must inform the council as early as practicable of the measures adopted and the reasons for them);
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
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(b) where such consultation could prejudice the interests of Hong Kong; (c) where the appointment, disciplinary control, or removal from office of a
public officer is involved.
Meetings of the Executive Council are called by the Governor, who alone decides in accordance with the Royal Instructions which matters to submit for its advice. However, should the Governor not submit a matter for the council's advice when requested by a member to do so, a record of the request and refusal must be entered in the minutes of the council.
The decision on any question which comes before the council is that of the Governor. If he decides to act in opposition to the advice given by the majority of members, he is requested to report his reasons to the Secretary of State.
The Governor in Council (that is, the Governor acting after receiving the advice of the Executive Council) is also the statutory authority for making regulations, rules and orders under a number of ordinances. The Governor in Council also considers appeals, petitions, and objections under ordinances which confer such a statutory right of appeal.
Legislative Council
This council comprises the Governor, who is both a member and president, four ex officio members (the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary for Home Affairs, and the Financial Secretary), 10 official members and 15 unofficial members. With the exception of the ex officio members, all members are appointed by the Queen or by the Governor on the instructions of the Secretary of State.
The primary functions of the Legislative Council are to enact legislation and to control the expenditure of public funds. The Queen has the power to disallow laws passed by the council and assented to by the Governor. In addition, laws having effect within Hong Kong may also be made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and by the Queen by Order in Council in exercise either of prerogative powers or of powers conferred by an English Act of Parliament.
The procedure in the Legislative Council is broadly similar to that of the House of Commons, with provisions for public debates and for questions. There is a debate on financial and economic affairs in February/March of each year during the second reading of the Appropriation Bill. A wider-ranging debate on social progress and government policy in general, normally takes place at the opening of the new session of the council in October of each year.
The Finance Committee of the council, which consists of the Colonial Secretary (Chairman), the Financial Secretary, the Director of Public Works and all the unofficial members of the Legislative Council, considers requests for the supplementary pro- vision of funds, and meets in private once a fortnight on average.
Judiciary
Under powers conferred on the Governor by the Supreme Court Ordinance, the Chief Justice, the Senior Puisne Judge and the puisne judges of the Supreme Court
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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
are appointed by Letters Patent issued under the Public Seal by the Governor on in- structions from the Queen given through, and on the recommendation of, the Secretary of State; district judges and magistrates are appointed by the Governor by instrument under the Public Seal or by warrant. The qualifications of puisne judges are prescribed in the Supreme Court Ordinance and those of district judges in the District Court Ordinance.
The function of the Judiciary is to try all prosecutions and to determine civil disputes, whether between individuals or between individuals and the government. The principle of English constitutional law that, in the performance of their judicial acts, members of the Judiciary are completely independent of the executive and legis- lative organs of the government is fundamental in Hong Kong. The English common law and the rules of equity are in force in Hong Kong, so far as they may be applicable to local circumstances. English Acts of Parliament are in force in Hong Kong only if applied by the Legislative Council or by their own terms or by an Order in Council. Locally enacted laws of Hong Kong are consolidated and revised periodically; the last edition of them was published in loose-leaf form in 1967.
The courts of justice in Hong Kong are the Full Court, the Supreme Court, the District Court, the Magistrates Courts, the Coroners Courts and the Tenancy Tribunal. In 1972, the Judiciary had posts for the Chief Justice, the Senior Puisne Judge, eight puisne judges, eight district judges, 48 magistrates, and three presidents of the Tenancy Tribunal.
Magistrates exercise criminal jurisdiction over a wide range of indictable offences as well as summary offences. In the case of indictable offences, however, their powers of punishment are restricted to a maximum of two years imprisonment or a $2,000 fine for any one offence, unless the law in regard to any particular offence prescribes that they may impose some higher penalty. Cumulative sentences of imprisonment imposed by magistrates when trying two or more offences together may not exceed three years. Magistrates also hold preliminary enquiries to decide whether persons accused of the most serious offences should be committed for trial to the Supreme Court. They also transfer criminal cases to the District Court for trial, on the applica- tion of the Attorney General.
A Justice of the Peace Court, consisting of two Justices of the Peace, and having the same jurisdiction as a special magistrate, also sits several times a week. There is a Coroners Court on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. The work of the Tenancy Tribunal is described in Chapter 8.
The District Court, established in 1953, provides a simple method of trial of civil disputes in which the value of the subject matter is under $10,000 or $5,000 in the case of land, and also tries criminal cases transferred to it by the magistrates. It exercises appellate jurisdiction in stamp and rating appeals and in tenancy tribunal matters, and ordinary jurisdiction under the Distress for Rent Ordinance and the Workmen's Com- pensation Ordinance. Trial in both civil and criminal proceedings in the District Court is by a judge sitting alone; he may not award more than five years imprisonment.
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
203
The Supreme Court's civil jurisdiction is similar to that of the English High Court. It also exercises jurisdiction in lunacy, bankruptcy and company winding-up matters. The most serious criminal offences are tried by a judge of the Supreme Court sitting with a jury of seven. A summary of cases heard and dealt with in all courts for the years 1970-2 will be found in Appendix 29.
The highest court in Hong Kong is the Full Court, which sits when required and is composed of two or three judges of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice directs. The Chief Justice usually presides over this court, which hears appeals from the Supreme Court and the District Court and has jurisdiction corresponding roughly to that of the Court of Appeal in England. Appeals may be brought from the Full Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
Legal Aid
The year 1972 was an eventful year for the Legal Aid Department. As a result of the recommendations of the Working Party on Legal Aid, important legislation has been enacted during the course of the year, which not only extends rapidly the scope of the Legal Aid Scheme but enables more people to qualify for legal aid.
On August 30, 1972, the Legislative Council passed a resolution raising the amounts of disposable income and disposable capital of applicants for legal aid in civil cases from $500 to $700 per month and $3,000 to $4,000 respectively. On the same day, the Legal Aid (Scale of Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 1972 were passed providing that the full amount allowed on taxation on account of the profit costs shall be payable to solicitors acting for legally-aided persons in civil cases. Hitherto the solicitors were paid only 80 per cent of their taxed profit costs.
On October 4, 1972, five additional posts were created which almost double the Legal Aid Department's present establishment of professional staff. These additional professional officers together with their supporting staff are required to enable the department to take over the solicitors' side of the work in legal aid cases and to act as advocates in District Court civil cases in which Counsel would not normally be briefed.
The increase of staff is due to the substantial increase in the number of legal aid cases and the acute shortage of solicitors in private practice who are willing to under- take legal aid civil cases, especially those in the District Court. The use of legal aid officers devoting their time exclusively to legal aid cases will enable legally-aided per- sons to obtain the benefits of litigation more expeditiously.
The Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance was passed on August 30, 1972. This gave the Director of Legal Aid and his deputies and assistants the rights and duties of a barrister or solicitor admitted to practice when carrying out their duties. On September 12, 1972, the Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulations 1972 were passed which provide for fees and costs of the director and his professional officers when performing work as barrister or solicitor in legal aid civil cases. It is to be noted that the jurisdic- tion in respect of undefended divorces was transferred as from April 1, 1972 from the Supreme Court to the District Court. It is anticipated that the legal aid officers when
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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
recruited in the near future will take over, inter alia, these undefended divorce cases in the District Court.
With regard to criminal cases, the Legal Aid in Criminal Cases (Amendment) Rules 1972 came into operation on September 1, 1972 and they enable legal aid to be granted to a person on whom a sentence has been passed and whose sentence the Attorney General applies to the Full Court to review. Since then, legal aid has been granted to several persons in this type of case.
Urban Council
The Urban Council consists of a maximum of 26 members, six ex officio, 10 elected unofficial members and not more than 10 unofficial members appointed by the Governor. The term of office of an unofficial member (which includes both elected and appointed members) is four years. Of the ex officio members, the chairman (who is appointed by the Governor) is the Director of the Urban Services Department, while the vice-chairman is the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services in charge of the health division of that department. The other ex officio members are the Secretary for Home Affairs, the Director of Public Works, the Director of Social Welfare and the Commissioner for Resettlement.
The council meets monthly, but most of its business is conducted by eight select committees which meet at frequent intervals. Unofficial members of the council are in the majority on all select committees, and the chairman of each committee is an unofficial member.
The main responsibilities of the Urban Council are sanitation and hygiene, licens- ing and inspection of food premises and factories, offensive trades, bathhouses and laundries, running of markets and abattoirs, licensing and control of hawkers, management of cemeteries and crematoria, and control of funeral parlours, licensing of advertising signs, management of the City Hall and public libraries, management of government car parks and the control and maintenance of places of public recrea- tion, such as bathing beaches, swimming pools, tennis courts, squash courts and parks and playgrounds in the urban areas. The council is also the competent authority for the management of resettlement cottage areas and estates and resettlement factories in the urban areas. Policies and decisions of the council are carried out by the Urban Services Department and, in the case of resettlement estate management, by the Resettlement Department.
On October 13, 1971, a White Paper was tabled in the Legislative Council and published for general information, outlining proposals for significant changes in the organisation of the Urban Council which will come into effect on April 1, 1973. These include a substantial degree of financial autonomy, the removal of all official members and an increase in the number of unofficial members.
Foreign Relations
The foreign relations of the Government of Hong Kong are the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, but in the sphere of external trade a considerable degree of latitude is in practice permitted to the Hong Kong
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
205
Government. Hong Kong's dependence on trade makes it necessary for the Hong Kong Government to maintain offices in London, Washington, Geneva and Brussels whose function is to maintain and improve commercial relations with other countries.
Colonial Secretariat
The Colonial Secretary is the Governor's principal adviser on policy, the chief executive of the government, the head of the civil service and the chief government spokesman. His office (known as the Colonial Secretariat) is under the general direction of the Deputy Colonial Secretary and co-ordinates and supervises the work of all government departments.
The Financial Secretary is responsible for financial and economic policy and for the overall supervision through his Deputy Financial Secretary and Deputy Economic Secretary of departments primarily involved in this field. The Establishment Secretary deals with personnel matters; the Defence Secretary advises on defence and internal security, co-ordinates the work of the local forces and auxiliary services and maintains liaison with the police and Her Majesty's armed forces stationed in Hong Kong.
A Political Adviser seconded from the Foreign Office advises on the external political aspects of government policies.
Principal Assistant or Assistant Colonial Secretaries head the other main branches of the Secretariat, dealing with general matters, social services, buildings and lands, councils and legal matters.
London Office
The London Office is a projection of the Hong Kong Government in London, and as such it forms part of the Colonial Secretariat with the Commissioner-his title was changed in March 1972-being directly responsible to the Colonial Secretary. The Commissioner provides a point of direct contact in London between Hong Kong and various ministries and departments of the British Government.
In October 1972 the office moved from 53-54 Pall Mall to new accommodation at 6 Grafton Street, London W1. The entire building has been leased by the Hong Kong Government for a period of 32 years. The move became necessary because of the continuing expansion of the London Office and the services it provides on behalf of the Hong Kong Government and the people of Hong Kong.
The London Office keeps British commercial, economic and industrial develop- ments and official thinking on worldwide trade policies under review and advises the Hong Kong Government on the likely repercussions of these developments on Hong Kong. It also keeps under review the needs of Hong Kong residents in Britain, main- tains contact with them and assists them over problems arising from their residence in Britain or relating to their families and interests in Hong Kong. It also operates well-developed publicity services aimed at projecting Hong Kong's image to the British public and the Chinese community in Britain; with special sections to look after the interests of Hong Kong students, including nurses and government trainees resident in Britain.
206
Government Departments
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
The administrative functions of the government are discharged by about 40 departments, most of which are organised on a functional basis and have responsi- bilities covering all of Hong Kong. This form of organisation, rather than one based on authorities with responsibilities in a limited geographical area only, is suitable for this small, compact territory and has enabled the government to provide services without regard to the capacity of residents of various districts to pay taxes.
Secretariat for Home Affairs and New Territories Administration
The two government departments most closely concerned with the reactions of the people to government policies and plans are the Secretariat for Home Affairs, which controls the City District Officers in the urban areas, and the New Territories Administration under which come the District Officers stationed in the New Terri- tories. Hong Kong Island has four districts, Kowloon six and the New Territories five. A primary function of both departments is to assess the impact of contemplated new policies upon the population and, when they are adopted, to explain these policies to the public. They also report on trends of public opinion in the districts. In this general connection it has long been the practice of these two departments to foster links with a variety of private organisations including, in the urban areas, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, kaifong associations, district and clansmen's associations, multi-storey building associations and religious organisations and youth groups.
The City District Office scheme, modelled on the long-established District Officer system, was introduced during 1968. The 10 City District Officers who are located in the urban areas of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon, are charged with the threefold duty of rendering services on behalf of the government, services for the community and services for the individual. They exercise a local co-ordinating func- tion, test public opinion, watch for sources of grievance and tension, and in general try to interpret to the man in the street the measures adopted by a specialised and sophisticated administration; they also deal with individual complaints, answer en- quiries, provide information and mediate in a variety of disputes.
At the City District offices and sub-offices, almost all of which are located in shop-type premises easily accessible to the public, enquiry service counters are com- bined with the reception facilities. The primary objects of the enquiry services are to give the man in the street information and guidance on the services provided and functions performed by government departments, to explain rules and procedures, and to supplement broadcast information during tropical storms and other emergencies. During the year, City District Officers handled a total of about 1.9 million enquiries of all kinds.
In September 1972, on the advice of the Executive Council, the Governor author- ised the establishment of a new division within the Secretariat for Home Affairs to be known as the Television and Films Division. Following the establishment of this new organisation, all staff from the Television Authority and from the Panel of Film Censors, formerly under the control of the Director of Information Services, were
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
207
transferred to the Secretariat for Home Affairs. A post of Commissioner for Television and Films was created with overall responsibility for the following: carrying out the functions of the Television Authority; exercising policy control over commercial broadcasting; implementing the government's policy relating to the grant of new wire- less television broadcasting licences; the future of wired television; community aerial television and aerial distribution systems; and all matters relating to film censorship. Mr N. J. V. Watt, OBE, JP, formerly Director of Information Services, was appointed as the first Commissioner for Television and Films.
In the New Territories the District Commissioner and his five District Officers also exercise political and co-ordinating responsibilities, and in addition perform cer- tain executive functions, principally in relation to land administration. The arrange- ments for consultation with the people are more formalised to the extent that there is a village representative system. More than 900 Village Representatives are chosen from over 600 villages. Villages are grouped under 27 Rural Committees, each of which has an executive committee. With one exception, all the executive committees of the Rural Committees are selected by secret ballot every two years by village rep- resentatives. The Rural Committees execute minor works and carry out certain tasks on behalf of the government, receiving a small monthly subvention to cover part of their expenses. Within its own area the Rural Committee acts as spokesman for local public opinion, mediates in clan and family disputes, and generally provides a bridge between the New Territories Administration and the people.
The chairman and vice-chairman of the 27 Rural Committees, with the unofficial New Territories Justices of the Peace and 21 Special Councillors, elected every two years, form the Full Council of the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk whose title may be translated into English as 'Rural Consultative Council'. The Kuk serves as a forum of New Territories opinion from which the government seeks advice on New Terri- tories affairs. Under the constitution established by the Heung Yee Kuk Ordinance, the Kuk has an executive committee which meets monthly and consists of the chairmen of Rural Committees, the unofficial New Territories Justices of the Peace and 15 ordinary members elected every two years by the Full Council. The Full Council also elects the chairman and two vice-chairmen of the Kuk, through whom close contact is maintained with the District Commissioner.
Use of the Chinese Language
In October 1970 a special committee, under the chairmanship of Sir Kenneth Ping-fan Fung, was appointed by the Governor 'to examine the use of Chinese in official business, and to advise on practicable ways and means by which the use of Chinese might be further extended in the interest of good administration and for the conven- ience of the public'. This committee submitted four reports and recommended, among other things, the provision of simultaneous interpretation facilities for the Legislative Council and the Urban Council, a considerable expansion of the government's trans- lation services and a much wider use of the Chinese language not only in ordinary communication with the Chinese-speaking public but also in the courts. The committee further recommended the setting up of a controlling authority charged with the
208
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
responsibility for maintaining a constant positive check on the extent to which the current official policy of a much wider use of the Chinese language is being followed by government departments. Some of the recommendations are still under considera- tion, but most of them have either been accepted or put into practice during the year. The Secretary for Home Affairs was appointed the controlling authority and financial approval was given for a big expansion of translation services under his control. Simultaneous interpretation facilities were brought into use at the opening of the new session of the Legislative Council in October and at the Annual Conventional Debate of the Urban Council in November 1972.
Advisory Committees
Such bodies as the Board of Education, the Medical Advisory Board, the Social Welfare Advisory Committee, the Labour Advisory Board, the Trade and Industry Advisory Board, the Housing Board, the Transport Advisory Committee, and many others of a similar nature, constitute effective consultative and advisory machinery which enables unofficial opinion to be brought to bear on policy formation. In addition to unofficial members of both Executive and Legislative Councils, members of the public are appointed to many boards, councils and committees.
The Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN) is a standing committee designed to meet the need for practical co-ordination and direct co-operation between the various voluntary and government organisations engaged in the suppression of the narcotics trade, the medical and social rehabilitation of addicts and public educa- tion and propaganda. It has five specialist sub-committees, each handling a particular aspect of the narcotics problem. Established in 1965, the committee now consists of representatives of 10 government departments and eight voluntary agencies under the chairmanship of Sir Albert Rodrigues.
Grievances
In Hong Kong there are several well-developed channels for the examination of complaints from members of the public and for helping people who have difficulty in their dealings with government departments. Probably the most commonly used channel is an appeal or complaint to the department concerned, which will ensure a review, at a higher level, of the decision taken. Another method is a letter to the Governor or the Colonial Secretary, which will also ensure that the matter is recon- sidered. Complaints and representations are also dealt with by the office run by unofficial members of the Executive and Legislative Councils-commonly referred to as the UMELCO office. City District Officers and District Officers in the New Ter- ritories also receive and investigate complaints. The absence of any statutory powers of investigation is offset by a lack of restriction on the type of complaint which UMELCO and the District Officers can receive and investigate. Both systems deal effectively with many grievances.
In addition, members of the Urban Council operate a ward system through which they receive complaints from members of the public and bring them to the attention of the appropriate government department or raise them formally in the Urban Council.
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Public Service
209
The Public Service provides the staff for all government departments, sub- departments and other units of the administration. As at April 1, 1972, the total num- ber of posts in the Public Service (or its establishment as it is generally called) was 90,652. The strength on January 1, 1972 was 84,565 officers of whom 82,662 were local officers and 1,903 were overseas officers.
This indicates that about one person in every 50 in Hong Kong is employed by the government. There is a large proportion of labouring staff, and nearly 34,054 of the total establishment of the Public Service are labourers, semi-skilled labourers or artisans of one kind or another. The Public Service of the Hong Kong Govern- ment is somewhat unusual in that it includes the staff for certain activities which in other territories and administrations are carried out by people who do not belong to the Civil Service. For example, in other territories staff for hospitals, public works and utilities, urban cleansing and public health, and the police, are not always ser- vants of the central government. In Hong Kong, the establishments of the Medical and Health Department (12,052 posts), the Public Works Department (12,666 posts), the Urban Services Department (15,139 posts) and the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (15,742 posts) account for a total of 55,602 posts or about 66 per cent of the total establishment of the service.
The growth in the size of the service from just over 17,500 in 1949 to about 45,000 in 1959 and now to its present total strength of over 84,500 reflects not only the con- tinuing expansion of existing services, in line with the continuing expansion of the population, but also the development of new and more diverse services to meet the changing needs of the population.
The cost of the Public Service is reflected in the expenditure on personal emolu- ments. For the financial year 1972-3 the estimated expenditure on personal emolu- ments, excluding pensions, is about $1,186 million. This represents approximately 33 per cent of the estimated total expenditure included in the Budget. However, by the close of accounts for the financial year, this figure is expected to be exceeded as a result of the implementation of the 1971 Salaries Commission's recommendations and the revision of teachers' pay.
The establishment of each post in the Public Service requires the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council, assisted by the advice of its Establish- ment Sub-Committee, which examines all requests received from departments for additional posts, both for new projects and to meet increasing work-loads, to ensure that staff is properly utilised and that new posts are provided only when they are essential.
Recruitment and promotions to the Public Service are, with certain exceptions, subject to the advice and overall scrutiny of the Public Services Commission, a body independent of the government, set up in 1950. The commission also advises the Governor in specified discipline cases. Mr D. R. Holmes, CMG, CBE, MC, ED, JP, is the full-time chairman of the commission, and local leading citizens are appointed as members on a part-time voluntary basis.
210
CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION
Overall responsibility for recruitment, promotion, training and conditions of service in the Public Service is exercised by the Establishment Branch of the Colonial Secretariat.
An event of considerable importance occurred on November 17, 1972. Married women in the Public Service had previously been employed only on a temporary month-to-month basis. As a result of legislation amending the Pensions Ordinance, marriage is no longer a bar to pensionable service and married women are now eligible for the same basic terms of service as single women.
During the year, the salary structure and conditions of service in the Public Service were substantially revised when most of the recommendations of the 1971 Salaries Commission, under the Chairmanship of Sir George Mallaby, KCMG, OBE, were implemented. The most significant of the recommendations adopted was a new salary structure based on occupational groupings replacing the previous system of model salary scales.
Conclusion
The system of public administration described in this chapter is an unusual one for a sophisticated community such as Hong Kong, but it is well suited to local conditions and the economic and social progress made since the war indicates that it works with a substantial degree of efficiency. The government, though prevented by its peculiar situation from following a normal pattern of constitutional development, nevertheless attaches the greatest possible importance to ascertaining and, as far as practicable, meeting public aspirations and needs.
The structure of the government is by no means static, and institutional and organisational developments still continue on a pragmatic basis to meet the needs of an exceptionally resilient and robust community.
The government of a territory unique in the 20th century poses problems to which neither history nor practice elsewhere provide solutions, but which will continue to be tackled in a vigorous and imaginative way.
APPENDICES
Appendices
Appendix
Page
1
Units of Measurement
214
2
Overseas Representation
215
3
Hong Kong's External Trade by Major Countries
216
4
Hong Kong's External Trade by SITC Commodity Section/
217
Division
5
Government Revenue by Source
220
6 Government Expenditure by Function
221
7 Comparative Statement of Recurrent and Capital Income and
222
Expenditure
8
Revenue from Duties
224
Licence Fees under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance
Miscellaneous Fees (Commerce and Industry)
9
Currency in Circulation
225
10
Banking Statistics: Liabilities and Assets
225
11 Number of Persons Employed in Registered and Recorded In-
dustrial Undertakings in Main Industrial Groups
226
12
Number of Persons Employed in Registered and Recorded In-
dustrial Undertakings in Selected Industries
227
34
13 Industrial Accidents
228
14 General Consumer Price Index
Modified Consumer Price Index
228
15
Local Production of Crops, Livestock, Poultry and Fish
16
Local Production and Imports of Ores and Minerals
17
Imports of Crops, Livestock, Poultry and Fish
18
Categories of Schools
231
2 2 2 2
229
230
School Enrolment
19
Overseas Examinations
231
20
Hong Kong Students Pursuing Further Studies in the United
Kingdom
232
Distribution of Courses by Hong Kong Students in the United
Kingdom
213
24
Hospital Beds
25
26
Appendix
21
22
23
2 2 2 2 2 2
Expenditure on Education
Vital Statistics
Causes of Death
Page
232
233
233
234
Professional Medical Personnel
234
Domestic Units and Estimated Persons Accommodated, March 31,
235
1972
27
Traffic Accidents
236
Traffic Casualties
22280
Crime and Narcotic Offences
236
29
Cases in the Supreme Court, District Court and Tenancy Tribunal
238
Work in the Magistracies
30
Electricity Production and Distribution
239
1972 Electricity Statistics
Gas Production and Distribution
Liquid Petroleum Gas Sales
31
International Movements of Aircraft and Vessels
240
International Movements of Passengers
International Movements of Commercial Cargo by Different Means
of Transport
32
Registered Motor Vehicles
241
Public Transport: Passenger Journeys by Undertaking
Public Transport: Passenger Journeys by Area
33
Communication Statistics
242
34
Recreational Facilities Provided by the Urban Council and Urban
Services Department
242
35 Climatological Summary 1972
243
Climatological Normals
36
The Executive Council
244
37
The Legislative Council
245
38
Urban Council
246
39
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
247
The Community Chest of Hong Kong
214
Appendix I
Units of Measurement
Chinese, metric and British Imperial units are all in common use in Hong Kong. The Chinese units in the table below are those which have statutory equivalents in Hong Kong.
In China the standard size of the chek (Chinese foot) increased through the three millennia from the Chou period, and in practice the size also varied according to locality and the trade in which the unit was used. In Hong Kong the variation with usage still persists but the tabulated values are based on the statutory equivalent for the chek of 14 inches.
In the past, the values used in China for the units of mass have varied according to locality. The tabulated values are those in general use in Hong Kong and are in accord with the present statutory equivalent for the leung (tael) of 14 ounce.
Length
Chinese Units
Equivalents
Metric (SI)
British (Imperial)
10 fan
1 tsün (Chinese inch)
37.147 5 mm
1.462 5 in
10 tsün
1 chek (Chinese foot)
0.371 475 m
1.218 75 ft
Mass
10 fan (candareen)
=
1 tsin (mace)
3.779 94 g
58.333 3 gr
10 tsin
1 leung (tael)
37.799 4
g
1.333 33 oz
16 leung
1 kan (catty)
0.604 790 kg
1.333 33 lb
100 kan
1 tam (picul)
60.479 0
kg
1.190 48 cwt
The conversion factors are printed in bold type when they are expressed exactly. Not more than six significant figures are used.
Australia
Britain
Canada
India
Malaysia
New Zealand
Singapore
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Bolivia
Brazil
Burma
Costa Rica
Cuba
Countries
Countries
Appendix 2
Overseas Representation
1. Commonwealth Countries
Represented by
Commissioner
Senior Trade Commissioner Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner
II. Foreign Countries
Commissioner
Represented by
Consul General Consul General
Consul General Honorary Consul
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Honorary Consul General
Consul General
Denmark
Dominican Republic Ecuador
Egypt, Arab Republic of
El Salvador
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Guatemala
Indonesia
Irish Republic
Israel
Iran
Italy..
Consul General
Consul General
Honorary Consul Honorary Consul
Consul General
Consul General
Honorary Consul General
Honorary Consul
Consul General
Consul General
Honorary Consul
Honorary Consul General
Consul General
Japan
Khmer Republic
Korea
Lebanon
Liberia
Mexico
Netherlands
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General Honorary Consul Consul General Consul General
Consul General
Honorary Consul
Consul General
Trade Commissioner
Nicaragua
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Republic of South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
United States of America
Uruguay
Venezuela
Vietnam
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
Consul General
215
Note 1 The consular representatives of Finland, Poland and Turkey are resident in London and have jurisdiction extending
to Hong Kong. Finland also has an honorary consul resident in Hong Kong.
Note 2 In addition, Austria, Denmark, France and Thailand have resident Trade Commissioners.
216
Appendix 3
(Chapter 2: Industry and Trade)
Hong Kong's External Trade by Major Countries
Imports
1970
1971
1972
1972
1971
$ million
% of
$ million
% of
total
$ million
% of
%
total
total
change
Japan China
4,188
23.8
4,926
24.3
5,045
23.2
+ 2.4
2,830
16.1
3,330
16.4
3,847
17.7
+15.5
USA
2,317
13.2
2,535
12.5
2,595
11.9
+ 2.4
United Kingdom
1,517
8.6
1,593
7.9
1,437
6.6
9.8
Taiwan
820
4.7
991
4.9
1,309
6.0
+32.0
Germany, Federal Republic
657
3.7
732
3.6
748
3.4
+ 2.1
Singapore
358
2.0
538
2.7
668
3.1
+24.2
Switzerland ...
513
2.9
541
2.7
640
2.9
+18.3
Australia
430
2.4
611
3.0
557
2.6
9.0
Thailand
324
1.8
359
1.8
465
2.1
+-29.4
Other Countries
3,653
20.8
4,100
20.2
4,454
20.5
+ 8.7
Merchandise total
17,607
100.0 20,256
100.0
21,764
100.0
+ 7.4
Exports
USA
5,190
42.0
5,708
41.5
6,125
40.2
+ 7.3
United Kingdom
1,481
12.0
1,946
14.2
2,195
14.4
+12.8
Germany, Federal Republic
985
8.0
1,128
8.2
1,525
10.0
+35.2
Canada
389
3.1
484
3.5
501
3.3
+ 3.5
Japan
492
4.0
484
3.5
480
3.1
1.0
Australia
359
2.9
402
2.9
445
2.9
+10.9
Singapore
280
2.3
332
2.4
350
2.3
+ 5.4
Netherlands
216
1.7
250
1.8
295
1.9
+18.0
Sweden
242
2.0
195
1.4
254
1.7
+29.8
Taiwan
147
1.2
213
1.6
233
1.5
+ 9.8
Other Countries
2,566
20.8
2,608
19.0
2,843
18.6
+ 9.0
Merchandise total
12,347
100.0 13,750
100.0
15,245
100.0
+10.9
Re-exports
Japan
584
20.2
644
18.9
834
20.1
+29.5
Singapore
337
11.7
397
11.6
435
10.5
+9.5
USA
244
8.4
303
8.9
364
8.8
+20.1
Taiwan
154
5.3
200
5.9
351
8.4
+-75.1
Indonesia
202
7.0
312
9.1
326
7.9
+ 4.6
Republic of Korea .
82
2.8
84
2.5
142
3.4
+68.3
Macau
84
2.9
123
3.6
125
3.0
+ 1.9
Switzerland
100
3.5
98
2.9
108
2.6
+10.4
Belgium
91
3.1
95
2.8
100
2.4
+ 5.5
United Kingdom
75
2.6
61
1.8
98
2.4
+61.3
Other Countries
938
32.4
1,096
32.1
1,270
30.6
+15.8
Merchandise total
:
2,892
100.0
3,414
100.0
4,154
100.0
+21.7
Appendix 4
(Chapter 2: Industry and Trade)
Hong Kong's External Trade by SITC Commodity
Section/Division
Imports
217
$ million
Section/Division
1970
1971
1972
Food
Live animals
Meat and meat preparations Fish and fish preparations
Cereals and cereal preparations Fruit and vegetables
Others
495
639
717
339
363
378
336
406
470
556
546
583
671
760
818
654
760
713
Sub-total
3,051
3,474
3,679
Beverages
Others
Beverages and tobacco
Sub-total
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels
Wood, lumber and cork
Textile fibres and their waste
Crude animal and vegetable materials, n.e.s. Others
Sub-total
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials
Petroleum and petroleum products
Others
Sub-total
Animal and vegetable oils and fats
Fixed vegetable oils and fats
Others ...
Chemicals
Sub-total
157
237
244
172
206
230
329
443
474
82
108
83
796
829
841
249
322
341
201
199
153
1,328
1,458
1,417
498
626
642
17
27
26
515
653
668
:.
97
114
111
3
5
2
100
119
113
Chemical elements and compounds
234
244
279
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products
316
319
317
Plastic materials, regenerated cellulose and artificial resins Others
422
454
478
451
500
564
Sub-total
1,423
1,517
1,637
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material
Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof
439
498
531
Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products
3,012
3,450
3,632
Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.
1,235
1,437
1,624
Iron and steel...
464
442
482
Others
..
Sub-total
Machinery and transport equipment
675
801
972
5,825
6,628
7,240
Machinery, other than electric
969
1,225
1,237
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances Others
1,508
1,744
2,088
420
498
531
Sub-total
2,897
3,467
3,857
Miscellaneous manufactured articles
Clothing
278
364
487
Professional, scientific and controlling instruments; photographic and optical goods;
watches and clocks
876
984
1,089
Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s.
791
886
797
Others
166
216
259
Sub-total
2,111
2,450
2,632
Commodities and transactions not classified according to kind and transactions in gold and
coin
336
Total
17,913
421
20,629
253
21,971
218
Food
Section/Division
Fish and fish preparations
Fruit and vegetables
Miscellaneous food preparations
Others
Sub-total
Appendix 4-Contd
(Chapter 2: Industry and Trade)
Exports
Beverages and tobacco
Tobacco and tobacco manufactures
Others
Sub-total ...
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels
Pulp and waste paper
Ores and metal scrap
Crude animal and vegetable materials, n.e.s. Others
Sub-total...
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials
Animal and vegetable oils and fats
Chemicals
:
:
::
:
:
$ million
1970
1971
1972
89
121
122
24
24
37
41
44
53
2397
25
48
41
194
239
236
449
45
45
АЙ
47
4
5
49
49
52
20
19
151
84
30
32
32
27
9425
32
103
32
25
233
162
192
::
::
+
5
Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials
26
29
31
Medicinal and pharmaceutical products
33
37
37
Essential oils and perfume materials; toilet, polishing and cleansing preparations Others
27
37
46
18
20
17
Sub-total
104
123
131
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material
Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products
Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.
Iron and steel
Manufactures of metal, n.e.s.
Others
Sub-total ...
Machinery and transport equipment
Machinery, other than electric
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances Others
Sub-total
...
:
:
:
:
1,277
1,398
1,552
96
115
124
53
18
17
345
345
415
75
79
82
1,846
1,955
2,191
93
86
104
1,293 69
1,541
1,963
57
58
1,455
1,684
2,125
Miscellaneous manufactured articles
Sanitary, plumbing, heating and lighting fixtures and fittings
175
187
200
Travel goods, handbags and similar articles
175
228
302
Clothing
4,337
5,464
6,113
Footwear
302
351
304
Professional, scientific and controlling instruments; photographic and optical goods;
watches and clocks
216
273
330
Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s.
3,142
2,902
2,920
Others
...
87
85
104
Sub-total
8,434
9,490
10,272
Commodities and transactions not classified according to kind and transactions in gold
and coin
Total
28
44
41
12,347
13,750
15,245
Food
Section/Division
Fish and fish preparations
Cereals and cereal preparations
Fruit and vegetables
Coffee, tea, cocoa and spices Others
Sub-total ...
Beverages and tobacco
Beverages
Others
Appendix 4-Contd
(Chapter 2: Industry and Trade)
Re-exports
:
Sub-total ...
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels Oil seeds, oil nuts and oil kernels
Textile fibres and their waste
Crude animal and vegetable materials, n.e.s. Others
Sub-total..
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials
Petroleum and petroleum products
Others
...
Sub-total ...
Animal and vegetable oils and fats
Chemicals
Chemical elements and compounds Dyeing, tanning and colouring materials Medicinal and pharmaceutical products Explosives and pyrotechnic products Others
:
:
:
:
219
$ million
1970
1971
1972
23
27
43
22
19
66
99
123
129
121
114
83
41
52
47
306
335
368
12
14
95
19
18
15
18
26
34
36
16
12
14
11
19
42
121
154
208
22
24
41
170
209
306
41
45
43
1
1
1
42
a
༅། ཨ
44
10
48
50
60
67
93
121
253
299
237
41
39
34
84
90
105
493
571
558
Sub-total
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material
Paper, paperboard and manufactures thereof
29
39
26
Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products
387
441
587
Non-metallic mineral manufactures, n.e.s.
705
757
1,025
Manufactures of metal, n.e.s.
23
41
48
Others
52
52
79
1,196
1,330
1,765
Sub-total...
Machinery and transport equipment
Machinery, other than electric
Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances
Others
Sub-total ...
138
146
185
106
191
216
33
42
49
277
379
450
Miscellaneous manufactured articles
Clothing
53
Professional, scientific and controlling instruments; photographic and optical goods;
watches and clocks
190
271
Miscellaneous manufactured articles, n.e.s.
101
118
22 23
72
103
318
148
Others
14
20
29
---
Sub-total...
358
481
$97
Commodities and transactions not classified according to kind and transactions in gold and
coin
207
269
196
Total
3,084
3,663
4,330
220
Appendix 5
(Chapter 3: Financial Structure)
Government Revenue by Source
$ million
Estimate 1972-3
Actual 1970-1
Actual
1971-2
Item
Recur-
Capital Total
Recur-
Recur-
Capital
Total
Capital Total
rent
rent
rent
Direct Taxes
Earnings and Profits Tax
778.3
778.3
929.4
Estate Duty
24.9 24.9
26.7
929.4 26.7
1,011.9
1,011.9
17.0 17.0
Sub-total
778.3
24.9 803.2
929.4
26.7 956.1
1,011.9
17.0 1,028.9
Indirect Taxes
Rates
335.7
www.
335.7
367.3
367.3
383.5
383.5
Excise Duties
412.6
412.6
451.3
451.3
457.4
457.4
Royalties and Concessions.
40.9
40.9
46.0
46.0
53.1
30.0 83.1
Stamp Duties
127.4
127.4
213.7
213.7
190.0
190.0
Other Taxes
113.0
113.0
131.5
131.5
138.6
138.6
Sub-total
1,029.6
1,029.6 1,209.8
1,209.8
1,222.6
30.0 1,252.6
Other Revenue
Fines, Forfeitures and Penalties
Licences
23.8
23.8
26.9
26.9
28.6
28.6
90.7
90.7
96.6
96.6
93.2
-
93.2
Provision of Goods and Services
472.1
472.1
550.8
550.8
609.2
609.2
Income from Properties and Investments...
Sub-total
894.0
307.4 271.8 579.2
271.8 1,165.8
375.2 269.3 644.5
1,049.5 269.3 1,318.8
411.3 223.3 634.6
1,142.3
223.3 1,365.6
Reimbursements, Contributions and Loan
Repayments
Reimbursements
Contributions
Loan Repayments
Sub-total
Grants from Abroad
World Refugee Year
Colonial Development and Welfare
Sub-total
Total
Development Loan Fund Receipts
Allocations from Exchange Fund Surplus...
25.9
15.8
41.7
14.5 40.4
13.3 29.1
2.8 2.8
30.6 72.3
38.0
20.7 -0.5 20.2 17.3 14.9 32.2
4.2 4.2
18.6 56.6
24.7
0.1 24.8
18.4
10.0 28.4
3.5
3.5
43.1
13.6 56.7
2,743.6
327.3 3,070.9 3,226.7
314.6 3,541.3 3,419.9
283.9 3,703.8
Land Sales Premia, Kwun Tong
Reclamation
Loan Repayments
2.8 16.9 16.9
2.8
7.5 7.5
15.6 15.6
1.0 1.0
14.9 14.9
Interest on Investments and Loans
26.6
26.6
27.9
27.9
28.0
28.0
Sub-total
26.6
19.7
46.3
27.9
23.1 51.0
28.0
15.9
43.9
Lotteries Fund Receipts
Net Proceeds from Government Lotteries...
5.4
5.4
5.3
5.3
6.2
Loan Repayments
0.2
0.2
0.3
0.3
Interest
1.6
-
1.6
2.3
2.3
2.0
Sub-total
7.0
0.2
7.2
7.6
0.3
7.9
8.2 0.3
188
6.2
0.3
0.3
2.0
8.5
Grand Total
2,777,2
347.2 3,124.4
3,262.2
338.0 3,600.2
3,456.1
300.1 3,756.2
Appendix 6
(Chapter 3: Financial Structure)
Government Expenditure by Function
$ million
Estimate
221
Actual 1970-1
Actual 1971-2
1972-3
Item
Recur-
rent
Capital Total
Recur-
rent
Capital Total
Recur- rent
Capital Total
General Services
Administration
47.6 4.7
52.3
53.9
8.9 62.8
Law and Order
226.8 13.5 240.3
263.0
21.9 284.9
66.3 11.9 78.2 302,1 43.0 345.1
Defence
81.8
21.7
103.5
66.8
49.2 116.0
73.3 59.4
132.7
Public Relations
13.1
3.0 16.1
14.7
1.8 16.5
19.2
2.1 21.3
Revenue Collection and Financial
Control
38.8
4.8 43.6
43.4
3.5 46.9
57.1
2.2 59.3
Sub-total
408.1
47.7
455.8
441.8
85.3
527.1
518.0
118.6 636.6
Economic Services
Primary Products
Airport and Harbour
Commerce and Industry Communications
15.4
1.5 16.9
16.6
1.6
18.2
21.2
4.6 25.8
22.0
52.3 74.3
26.5 64.7
91.2
30.7
75.9 106.6
11.8
0.1
11.9
12.7
0.1
12.8
13.8
0.1
13.9
112.4
2.4
114.8
116.7
3.5
120.2
131.5
12.6
144.1
Other
52.1 10.3
62.4
61.1
17.3
78.4
70.0
13.0
83.0
Sub-total
213.7 66.6 280.3
233.6
87.2
320.8
267.2 106.2 373.4
Community Services
Transport, Roads and Civil Engineering . Water...
69.3
101.3 170.6
99.1
143.7
242.8
119.3
184.7
304.0
73.1
73.1
146.2
81.1
120.0
201.1
92.0 347.0
439.0
Fire Services
32.2
4.5
36.7
38.6
8.4
47.0
42.7
7.5
50.2
Urban Services and Amenities
98.6
23.3
121.9
117.2
31.9
Sub-total
273.2 202.2 475.4
336.0
149.1
304.0 640.0
144.3 50.8
195.1
398.3
590.0
988.3
Social Services
Education
Medical and Health
Housing
433.4 64.4 497.8 237.5 14.7
252.2 62.4 109.3 171.7
267.2
488.4 98.5 37.5
586.9 304.7
574.3 108.9
683.2
300.4 74.5
374.9
78.4
100.2 178.6
104.2
87.7
191.9
Social Welfare
35.7 0.8
36.5
50.9
4.2
55.1
66.2
0.3 66.5
Labour
7.9
0.1
8.0
8.6
0.4
9.0
10.7
0.1 10.8
Sub-total
776.9
189.3
966.2
893.5
240,8 1,134.3
1,055.8
271.5 1,327.3
Common Supporting Services
Government Launches and Dockyard
14.2
4.7
18.9
16.0
Government Printing
10.3
10.3
12.6
Government Supplies
20.6
9.5 30.1
7.7
8.9 24.9 0.7 13.3 1.7 9.4
18.3
13.8 32.1
15.2
1.8
17.0
11.6
2.3
13.9
Architectural and Electrical and
Mechanical Engineering Offices
Sub-total
131.6
86.5 13.2 99.7
27.4 159.0
96.8 15.2 112.0
133.1 26.5 159.6
116.1 22.8
138.9
161.2 40.7
201.9
Unallocable Expenditure
Government Quarters
6.4
Passages, Telephones, Telegrams, etc
19.6
Extraordinary Expenditure
Sub-total
26.0 18.0
7.5 13.9 0.2 19.8 10.3 10.3
44.0
11.5 10.1 21.6
21.6
20.3
3.3
23.6
21.6
21.5
21.5
0.3
0.3
33.1 10.4 43.5
41.8
3.3
45.1
Other Financial Obligations
Public Debt
Pensions and Gratuities
Sub-total
Total
FFFFFFFFF
2.1
82,2
84.3
1,900.3 551.9 2,452.2
2,147.2
754.2 2,901.4 2,526.1 1,130.8 3,656.9
Development Loan Fund Expenditure
Economic Services
Social Services
Sub-total
Lotteries Fund Expenditure
Social Welfare Grants and Loans
Sub-total
Grand Total
2.9 2.9
5.8
5.8
4.6 4.6
19.7 19.7
26.6
26.6
49.1
49.1
22.6 22.6
32.4
32.4
53.7
53.7
3.4
3.4
3.4
3.4
1,900.3
577.9 2,478.2
2,147.2
ཀིཉྩ
5.3
5.3
5.3
5.3
791.9 2,939.1
5.2
5.2
5.2
5.2
2,526.1 1,189.7 3,715.8
222
Appendi: 7
(Chapter 3: Financii Structure)
Comparative Statement of Recurren and Capital Income and Expenditure
Recurrer
Actual 1970-1
Actual 1971-2
$
$
Estimate 1972-3 $
Recurrent Revenue ...
2,743,563,546 3,226,687,739
3,419,956,00 Personal Emoluments
Pensions
2,743,563,546 3,226,687,739 3,419,956,000
223
Actual
Actual
1970-1
1971-2
$
$
Estimate 1972-3 $
:
907,488,261
1,014,334,601 1,186,655,000
69,212,849
74,489,105
82,143,000
...
...
...
...
284,517,707 310,662,477
421,364,070 496,512,675
377,904,700
Departmental Recurrent Expenditure (Excluding
Unallocated Stores)
Recurrent Subventions
Public Works Recurrent
Miscellaneous Recurrent Expenditure
Transfer to Capital Revenue
Surplus
...
579,033,800
104,855,738 145,539,633 166,452,000
112,896,633 105,621,286 133,883,720
1,900,335,258 2,147,159,777 2,526,072,220
224,561,693 439,622,294 846,956,200
618,666,595 639,905,668
46,927,580
2,743,563,546 3,226,687,739 3,419,956,000
:
:
:
:
45,318,060
58,815,260
3,409,091
396,721,222
...
•
:
:
39,565,157
19,398
8,009,386 Cr.
58,109,271 89,657,800
95,792,133 134,364,900
2,909,091
533,382,988
64,506,285
9,023
492,993
3,409,100
840,586,400
60,753,000
35,000
2,000,000
Capital
Estate Duty
•
...
24,889,529
26,701,585
17,000,000 Departmental Special Expenditure
Excess Stamp Duty (3% on Assignments)
Private Contributions towards Government Schemes
13,308,573
Loan Repayments
...
...
...
Land Sales
Taxi Concessions
Colonial Development and Welfare Grants
World Refugee Year Grants
Services Capital Works
...
•
...
:.
2,779,852
271,766,036
2,951
19,398
14,858,435
4,231,131
269,332,420
9,970,000
3,491,000)
223,245,000)
Capital Subventions
Public Debt (excluding interest)
Public Works Non-recurrent
...
...
...
Miscellaneous Capital Expenditure
9,023
:
14,529,542 Dr. 539,090
35,000)
30,000,000)
109,000)
World Refugee Year Schemes
Unallocated Stores Accounts
··
327,295,881
Contribution from Recurrent Revenue
...
224,561,693
314,593,504
439,622,294 846,956,200)
283,850,000)
Deficit
...
...
...
551,857,574
754,215,798 1,130,806,200)
551,857,574
754,215,798 1,130,806,200
224
Appendix 8
(Chapter 3: Financial Structure)
Revenue from Duties*
Actual
Actual
Estimate
1970-1
1971-2
1972-3
$
$
$
Import Duty on Hydrocarbon Oils
156,102,105
172,438,061
168,800,000
Import Duty on Intoxicating Liquor
100,038,913
113,726,231
129,000,000
Import Duty on Liquor other than Intoxicating
Liquor
2,409,298
2,342,862
2,200,000
Import Duty on Tobacco...
125,021,578
135,456,323 130,000,000
Duty on Locally Manufactured Liquor...
18,895,345
18,368,885
18,000,000
Duty on Table Waters
10,147,196
8,945,370
9,400,000
412,614,435
451,277,732
457,400,000
* These figures represent net revenue collected, i.e. after deducting refunds and drawbacks of duty.
Licence Fees under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance
Hydrocarbon Oils ...
Liquor
Tobacco
Miscellaneous
:
:
200,963
203,801
202,000
3,538,816
3,729,731
4,676,000
842,921
818,093
865,000
34,115
37,475
37,000
4,616,815
4,789,100
5,780,000
313,217
340,000
Miscellaneous Fees (Commerce and Industry)
Denaturing
Factory Inspection and Supervision
Anti-narcotic Smuggling Guards
Bonded Warehouse Supervision ...
:
420,429
447,118
511,193
516,000
867,547
824,410
856,000
Appendix 9
(Chapter 3: Financial Structure)
Currency in Circulation
225
$ million
As at end of year
1970
1971
1972
Commercial Bank Issues:
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
2,069.30
2,333.30
2,697.30
The Chartered Bank
315.90
379.97
424.90
Mercantile Bank Ltd
28.29
28.36
28.42
Government Issues
164.19
190.48
227.57
Total
2,577.68
2,932.11
3,378.19
Note:
The three banks mentioned above are responsible for the issue of notes. Government issues include 1-cent notes only and coins of all denominations.
Appendix 10
(Chapter 3: Financial Structure)
Banking Statistics: Liabilities and Assets
As at end of year
Number of Reporting Banks Liabilities
Notes in Circulation
Deposits:
Demand
Time
Savings
:
:.
:
:
:
$ million
1970
1971
1972
73
73
73
2,413
2,742
3,151
4,326
5,317
8,500
6,407
7,395
7,807
4,222
6,073
8,306
1,525
1,980
3,103
2,212
3,000
5,428
2,726
2,978
4,030
23,831
29,485
40,325
356
358
466
1,533
2,004
3,104
7,099
9,384
10,616
9,670
11,836
17,726
839
1,051
1,491
17
30
59
4,317
4,822
6,863
23,831
29,485
40,325
:
:
:
⠀ ⠀ ⠀
Balance due to:
Other Banks in Hong Kong
Banks Abroad
Other Liabilities
Assets
Total Liabilities
Cash (legal tender notes and coins) Balance due from:
Other Banks in Hong Kong
Banks Abroad
Loans and Advances
Investments:
Local
Other
Other Assets
:::
Total Assets
:
:
226
Appendix II
(Chapter 4: Employment)
Number of Persons Employed in Registered and Recorded Industrial Undertakings in Main Industrial Groups
Industrial undertakings
Persons employed
Industry
Metal ore mining
1970
1971
1972
1970
1971
1972
1
1
1
333
282
269
Other mining
Food manufacturing
Beverage industries
Tobacco manufactures
Manufacture of textiles
Wearing apparel except footwear
39
37
28
807
993
835
656
689
755
11,106
11,117
11,821
24
23
24
2,629
2,883
2,957
3
3
3
1,022
1,034
947
2,540
2,924
3,110
127,466
126,502
120,900
2,299
2,929
3,364
110,974
131,435
143,189
Leather and leather products except footwear
61
69
68
790
1,356
1,295
Footwear except vulcanised, moulded rubber or
plastic footwear
198
252
258
3,888
4,819
4,491
Wood, and wood and cork products except furniture
504
542
636
6,059
6,138
6,357
Furniture and fixtures except primarily of metal
347
421
553
3,631
4,166
4,725
Paper and paper products
411
458
543
6,269
6,191
6,786
Printing and publishing
1,078
1,138
1,201
18,484
19,112
18,989
Industrial chemicals
30
30
31
694
615
677
Other chemical products
Petroleum refineries
Rubber products
122
131
160
3,676
3,373
4,400
1
1
2
8
7
12
337
346
351
12,042
10,908
8,398
Plastic products
...
2,756
3,019
3,235
70,958
68,950
72,124
Pottery, china and earthenware
16
18
25
227
Glass and glass products
75
74
82
2,047
287
2,040
306
2,133
Other non-metallic mineral products
36
37
41
942
857
886
Iron and steel basic industries...
72
66
70
2,014
1,777
1,689
Non-ferrous metal basic industries
75
81
89
869
1,029
1,164
Fabricated metal products
2,586
2,934
3,350
46,673
45,850
49,690
Manufacture of machinery
732
775
844
7,454
8,406
9,329
Electrical machinery, apparatus, appliances and
supplies
446
511
570
48,829
52,538
62,405
Transport equipment
59
74
82
13,493
15,723
14,485
Professional and scientific, and measuring and
controlling equipment, and photographic and optical goods
:
146
149
179
7,155
7,577
7,902
Other manufacturing industries
Electricity, gas and steam
Wholesale trade ...
897
918
848
39,779
29,680
20,798
12
12
13
6,665
6,404
6,037
13
13
17
644
600
648
..
Land transport
8
9
9
10,421
9,455
8,718
Services allied to transport
54
73
88
4,708
4,890
4,690
Communication
2
2
3
6,531
7,240
7,994
Motion picture and other entertainment services
16
21
29
2,172
2,220
1,935
Repair services
295
326
406
5,313
6,269
6,934
Laundry and dry cleaning
287
291
308
2,694
2,605
2,691
Miscellaneous personal services
5
5
10
39
39
78
Totals
17,239
19,402 21,386
589,505 605,367
619,684
Note: The figures in this appendix are compiled from voluntary returns made by managements of industrial under-
takings registered with or recorded by the Labour Department.
Appendix 12
(Chapter 4: Employment)
Number of Persons Employed in Registered and Recorded Industrial Undertakings in Selected Industries
Industrial undertakings
227
Industry
1970
1971
1972
1970
Persons employed 1971
1972
Manufacture of textiles
Cordage, rope and twine
25
26
29
386
414
446
Cotton knitting
252
269
248
8,821
9,585
7,694
Cotton spinning
36
33
31
21,957
20,685
19,191
Cotton weaving
252
256
258
29,547
31,049
28,441
Finishing
290
319
370
10,381
10,931
13,558
Made-up textile goods except wearing apparel
126
127
144
1,930
1,629
1,873
Wool spinning
12
16
11
4,416
3,360
3,396
Woollen knitting
1,020
1,269
1,332
39,186
36,250
32,916
Wearing apparel except footwear
Garments
1,802
2,310
2,687
95,978
115,151
124,496
Gloves
185
211
193
8,748
8,509
7,687
Footwear except vulcanised, moulded rubber or plastic
footwear
Shoes
:
:
162
210
225
3,151
4,182
3,991
Industrial chemicals
Chemicals
Other chemical products
Matches
Medicines
Paints and lacquers
Plastic products
Plastic flowers
Plastic products (miscellaneous) Plastic toys
Iron and steel basic industries
Rolling mills
Fabricated metal products
Aluminium ware
Electro-plating
Enamelware
Hand torch cases
Metal toys
17
16
-800
1
1
50
55
63
10
11
2132
20
513
435
495
109
102
97
1,175
1,150
1,435
874
897
889
516
501
476
14,690
12,264
12,877
1,208
1,366
1,512
19,582 19,900
22,194
1,032
1,152
1,246
36,686
36,786
37,046
16
:
15
17
1,279
1,206
1,104
41
53
67
2,116
2,135
2,236
216
233
253
2,161
2,099
2,347
22
24
21
1,456
1,097
926
48
45
45
3,474
3,332
2,912
68
71
73
1,836
2,226
2,403
Pressure stoves and lanterns
Tin cans
Vacuum flasks
31
34
33
2,028
1,804
1,674
53
51
50
1,181
1,077
1,080
7
6
5
1,106
968
892
Wrist watch bands
Electrical machinery, apparatus, appliances and
127
127
151
5,730
5,377
5,551
supplies
Electronics
223
Hand torch bulbs
Transport equipment
Aircraft repair
Shipbuilding and repairing
28 22
281
63
88
305
38,362
41,624
49,772
68
74
4,150
4,158
4,307
2
39
50
53
333
2
2,045
2,009
2,028
9,803
11,880
10,279
Professional and scientific, and measuring and control-
ling equipment, and photographic and optical goods Cameras
16
19
Manufacture of watches and clocks
102
106
126
Other manufacturing industries
Bakelite ware
42
54
Wigs
Land transport
Motor buses
422
342
194
2250
2,322
2,651
2,617
4,043
4,187
4,574
1,232
1,158
1,185
30,990
19,896
9,433
7
Tramways
Repair services
Repair of motor vehicles
1
2
72
72
8,846
7,863
7,333
1,575
1,592
1,385
217
236
290
3,598
4,265
4,388
Note: The figures in this appendix are compiled from voluntary returns made by managements of industrial under-
takings registered with or recorded by the Labour Department.
228
Appendix 13
(Chapter 4: Employment)
Industrial Accidents
1970
1971
1972
Transport
***
Cause
Machinery: power driven
Machinery: other
Explosions or fires
Hot or corrosive substances
Gassing, poisoning and other
toxic substances
Non-
Non-
Non-
Fatal
Total Fatal
Total Fatal
Total
Fatal
Fatal
Fatal
01931
6
4,563
4,569
12
7,475
7,487
2
4,599
4,601
116
116
1
277
278
1
616
617
288
298
5
431
436
9
318
327
23
145
168
30
234
264
14
205
219
462
462
696
697
Electricity
Falls of persons
32
132
10
32
661
693
398539
10
Stepping on or striking
against objects
6
1,399
1,405
Falling objects
11
787
798
122 34
6
6
43
45
27
747
774
33
4,194
4,227
14
1,631
1,645
Falls of grounds
1
4
5
3
3
Handling without machinery
1
1,567
1,568
3,380
3,380
Hand tools
1
877
878
1,588
1,588
...
Miscellaneous
22
1,668
1,690
14
83
97
1 52m -mat 10
592
592
11
16
44
46
35
780
815
1
4,349
4,350
13
1,770
1,783
9
13
22
4
2,614
2,618
1,712
1,712
26
1,369 1,395
Total
116
12,579
12,695
139
20,788
20,927
121
18,992
19,113
All items Food-stuffs
Housing
Fuel and light...
Alcoholic drink and tobacco
Clothing and footwear
Durable goods
Miscellaneous goods
Transport and vehicles
Services
All items Food-stuffs
Housing
Fuel and light...
Alcoholic drink and tobacco
Clothing and footwear
Durable goods
Miscellaneous goods
Transport and vehicles
Services
Appendix 14
(Chapter 4: Employment)
General Consumer Price Index
(September 1963-August 1964-100)
Weights
Monthly Average
attached
1970
1971
1972
100.0
126.5
130.8
138.8
48.3
145.1
150.3
161.0
15.2
106.0
108.7
115.0
3.0
99.5
103.2
104.2
3.3
108.3
110.8
112.7
6.2
103.3
104.3
107.7
2.1
117.6
122.2
127.3
4.2
114.3
117.3
122.6
3.2
104.3
110.9
127.4
14.5
117.0
120.7
126.2
Modified Consumer Price Index
(September 1963 - August 1964-100)
100.0
129.8
133.9
142.8
55.6
146.6
151.7
162.6
12.9
106.8
108.9
115.3
3.0
100.8
105.1
106.3
4.2
108.3
110.8
112.6
4.9
104.3
105.3
108.7
1.5
119.8
125.7
131.5
4.1
114.4
117.3
122.3
2.8
102.3
110.7
132.1
11.0
113.3
117.3
122.3
Appendix 15
(Chapter 5: Primary Production)
Estimated Local Production of Crops, Livestock,
Poultry and Fish
229
Item
Unit
1970
1971
1972
Crops
Rice (paddy)
metric tons
16,239
10,651
7,819
Cereal straw and husks
metric tons
16,239
10,651
7,819
Other field crops
metric tons
21,959
17,612
16,317
Vegetables (fresh, frozen or simply preserved)
metric tons
170,911
183,260
172,855
Fresh fruits and nuts
metric tons
3,092
3,353
3,072
Flowers
Livestock and poultry
Cattle
Sheep, lambs and goats Pigs
Chicken
Other poultry
Dairy products and eggs
Milk (fresh)
Eggs (fresh)
Fish and fish preparations
Fish (fresh, chilled or frozen)
Marine water fish
Freshwater fish
***
($'000)
16,225
16,093
18,710
head
4,185
3,169
2,883
head
43
10
thous. head
339
450
435
metric tons
20,995
22,360
23,492
:
metric tons
7,453
8,589
7,177
metric tons
6,673
6,706
6,739
thou. gross
1,102
1,136
1,196
metric tons
105,817
99,127
104,278
metric tons
2,132
2,121
2,682
Fish (dried, salted or smoked)
Marine water fish
metric tons
1,665
2,511
2,929
Freshwater fish
metric tons
Crustaceans and molluscs (fresh, frozen, dried, salted, etc)
metric tons
20,568
18,435
20,306
Fish products and preparations
metric tons
1,304
676
751
Crustacean and mollusc products and preparations
metric tons
580
552
517
Oil and fats (crude or refined)
metric tons
153
metric tons
3,183
3,713
3,368
Meals (animal feeding-stuffs)
NB:
Local production of cereal straw and husk refers to paddy straw only. Other field crops include yam, millet, peanut, soybean, sugar cane, sweet potato and water chestnut.
Appendix 16
(Chapter 5: Primary Production)
Local Production and Imports of Ores and Minerals
Metric tons Imports
Item
Iron ore
Quartz
Feldspar
Graphite ...
Clay and kaolin
1970
Production
1971
1972
1970
1971
1972
170,256
162,739
162,283
-
5,350
5,141
3,631
1,533
3,436
3,172
1,621
1,145
1,149
383
904
2,469
302
270
1,046
3,784
2,540
3,162
7,037
8,723
7,190
230
Appendix 17
(Chapter 5: Primary Production)
Imports of Crops, Livestock, Poultry and Fish
Item
Unit
1970
1971
1972
Crops
Rice (paddy)
Wheat
Other cereals and cereal preparations
metric tons
344,611
370,912 458,148
metric tons
121,735
131,376 119,455
metric tons
261,701
278,924
251,523
Cereal straw and husks
metric tons
477
180
1,297
Other field crops
metric tons
49,719
43,757
45,072
...
Vegetables (fresh, frozen or simply preserved)
metric tons
355,892
398,965
442,766
Vegetables (preserved or prepared)
metric tons
53,636 56,891
57,302
Fresh fruits and nuts
metric tons
294,503
305,588
317,412
Dried fruit and fruit preparations
Flowers
Sugar and honey
Coffee
metric tons
25,496
29,334 30,962
($'000)
398
1,225
2,647
metric tons
103,698
132,824
85,018
metric tons
34,234
16,448
9,174
Cocoa
metric tons
93
104
210
metric tons
8,420
8,829
7,623
Tea and mate
Livestock and poultry
Cattle
Sheep, lambs and goats
Pigs
Chicken
Other poultry
Live animals
:
head
201,825
184,286 229,394
head
13,751
22,134 21,783
thous, head
1,760
2,301
2,538
metric tons
6,321
9,961
12,369
metric tons
10,551
15,492
15,839
metric tons
148
352
347
metric tons
84,445
86,322
87,157
Meat and meat preparations
:
Dairy products and eggs
Milk (fresh)
metric tons
2,012
2,524
2,702
Cream (fresh)
metric tons
158
260
Milk and cream (evaporated, condensed, powdered, etc)
metric tons
26,660
31,316
27,417
Butter, cheese and curd
metric tons
3,731
4,497
2,972
Eggs (fresh)
thou. gross
5,684
6,340
5,913
Eggs (preserved)
thou. gross
512
461
492
Fish and fish preparations
Fish (fresh, chilled or frozen)
Marine water fish
:
Freshwater fish
metric tons
metric tons
6,167
7,452
7,426
25,057
31,937
32,214
Fish (dried, salted or smoked)
Marine water fish
metric tons
6,673
6,853
7,042
Freshwater fish
metric tons
53
84
157
Crustaceans and molluscs (fresh, frozen, dried, salted, etc)
metric tons
15,287
18,915
18,594
Fish products and preparations
...
metric tons
2,002
1,900
2,880
Crustacean and mollusc products and preparations
metric tons
2,686
2,760
2,596
Oil and fats (crude or refined)
metric tons
422
405
319
Meals (animal feeding-stuffs)
metric tons
2,947
2,705
2,726
Government
Grant ...
Subsidised
Private
Special Education
Total
Kindergarten Primary
Secondary Post-Secondary Adult Education Special Education
Total
Appendix 18
(Chapter 6: Education)
Categories of Schools
School Enrolment
:
Appendix 19
(Chapter 6: Education)
Overseas Examinations
231
As at September 30
1970
1971
1972
137
137
136
22
22
22
689
711
719
1,925
1,960
1,987
31
31
31
2,804
2,861
2,895
123,218
132,900
130,894
765,397
764,313 748,291
279,318
295,820
323,090
11,739
11,799
12,593
58,196
61,113
66,052
2,672
2,715
3,743
1,240,540
1,268,660
1,284,663
Entries
Examinations
1970
1971
1972
Associated Examining Board, General Certificate of Education
Association of Certified Accountants
Association of International Accountants
Cambridge University Certificate of Proficiency in English
Cambridge University Lower Certificate in English
Canadian English Language Achievement Test
Canadian Scholastic Aptitude Test
Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators
Corporation of Secretaries*
Institute of Cost and Works Accountants
London Chamber of Commerce
1,570
794
510
758
970
1,162
1,266
1,428
2,957
273
224
326
175
233
306
560
370
236
560
370
236
430
680
845
483
51
168
281
13,285
16,281
19,981
Royal Society of Arts
Pitman Examinations Institute, Shorthand
Pitman Examinations Institute, Typewriting
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
University of London, External Degree
1,780
1,696
1,662
639
605
611
63
126
132
8,025
11,279
9,237
University of London, General Certificate of Education
Others
124 13,025 254
143
13,695 204
189 17,173
315
Total
43,321
49,266
56,159
* Merged with the Chartered Institute of Secretaries and Administrators in 1971.
232
Appendix 20
(Chapter 6: Education)
Hong Kong Students Pursuing Further Studies in the United Kingdom
1969-70 (Oct.-Sept.)
551
1970-1
1971-2 (Oct.-Sept.) (Oct.-Sept.)
913
Number of Hong Kong students arriving in United Kingdom
789
Distribution of Courses by Hong Kong Students in the
United Kingdom
Course
1970 September
1971 December
1972 December
Accountancy Architecture
Arts
83
81
78
27
30
28
44
43
45
Business Studies
Dentistry
Economics
82
87
12
20
21
27
Education
18
21
Engineering
457
399
425
2222
18
28
23
General Certificate of Education
1,468
1,154
1,273
Law
122
86
83
Medicine ...
108
92
86
Meteorology
1
Music
19
25
24
Nursing
1,111
1,050
1,123
Science
170
131
138
Secretarial
Social Science
Textiles
Others
90
111
128
23
18
15
21
33
41
135
282
268
3,929
3,686
3,911
School Children ...
Total
695
493
431
:
4,624
4,179
4,342
Appendix 21
(Chapter 6: Education)
Expenditure on Education
$'000
1969-70 (Aug.-July)
1970-1 (Aug.-July)
1971-2 (Aug.-July)
Recurrent Expenditure.. Capital Expenditure
Grants and Subsidies
109,699 6,069 238,439
125,020
5,373
126,558
9,373
296,235
332,678
Grants to University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong
Kong
73,519
University Grants Committee
335
106,077 383
125,463
Total
:
428,060
533,088
760
594,832
Education Expenditure by other Departments
5,268
4,942
6,373
Appendix 22
(Chapter 7: Health)
233
Estimated mid-year population
Births:
Known live births
Crude birth rate (per 1,000 population)
Deaths:
Known deaths ...
Crude death rate (per 1,000 population)... Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) Neo-natal mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) Maternal mortality rate (per 1,000 total births)
Vital Statistics
1970
3,959,000
1971 4,045,300
1972 4,077,400
::
79,132 20.0
79,789
80,344
19.7
19.7
19,996
20,269
22,135
5.1
5.0
5.4
19.6
18.4
17.5
12.7
12.6
11.6
0.19
0.14
0.20
Appendix 23
(Chapter 7: Health)
Causes of Death
1969
1970
1971
Infective and Parasitic
1,668
1,633
1,459
Tuberculosis, all forms
1,470
1,436
1,250
Neoplasms
...
3,865
3,976
4,257
Malignant, including neoplasms of lymphatic and
haematopoietic tissues
3,839
3,964
4,237
Endocrine, Nutritional, Metabolic and Blood
300
311
234
Diabetes Mellitus
175
167
159
Nervous System, Sense Organs and Mental Disorders
186
228
162
Circulatory System
4,688
5,224
5,129
Heart diseases, including hypertensive diseases
2,351
3,121
2,952
Cerebrovascular diseases
Respiratory System
Pneumonia, all forms
Digestive System
Peptic ulcer
1,812
1,806
1,956
2,536
3,108
3,369
1,601
1,985
2,263
Bronchitis, emphysema and asthma
815
926
888
1,080
1,093
1,033
151
182
163
Cirrhosis of liver
344
370
363
Genito-urinary System
403
455
440
Complications of Pregnancy, Childbrith and the Puerperium Skin, Subcutaneous Tissues, Musculoskeletal System and
Connective Tissues ...
12
15
11
57
50
34
Congenital Anomalies
328
320
283
Certain Causes of Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Symptoms and Ill-defined Conditions
832
669
620
1,874
1,964
1,784
Accidents, Poisonings and Violence.....
All accidents...
Suicide and self-inflicted injuries
Total
901
1,717
1,438
528
1,050
925
330
540
388
:
18,730
20,763
20,253
234
Government Hospitals
Appendix 24
(Chapter 7: Health)
Hospital Beds
:..
:
:
:
:
:.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Government Dispensaries
Government-Assisted Hospitals
Private Hospitals
Private Maternity Homes
...
Private Nursing/Maternity Homes
Total
1970
1971
1972
6,299
6,364
6,534
489
485
503
7,533
7,664
7,621
1,806
1,888
1,838
302
246
195
42
42
42
16,471
16,689
16,733
Appendix 25
(Chapter 7: Health)
Professional Medical Personnel
(as at end of year)
1970
1971
1972
Total Registered
In Government Service
Total Registered
In Government Service
Total Registered
In Government
Service
Medical doctors
Provisionally registered medical
doctors (house officers)
Dentists
:
:
1,996
610* 2,161
639*
2,333
670*
180
108
181
109
194
128
486
69
480
67
485
61
Pharmacists
180
18
186
22
198
24
Midwives (without nursing
qualifications)
726
226
747
232
776
258
Nurses (general, male and female,
excluding student nurses)
•
5,120
1,834
5,472
2,064
5,851
2,160
(a) with midwifery qualifications
3,492
1,331
3,763
1,365
3,969
1,450
(b) without midwifery
qualifications
1,628
503
1,709
699
1,882 710
Nurses (psychiatric, male and female,
excluding student nurses)
135
182
173
241
184
218
* Including unregisterable assistant medical officers.
Appendix 26
(Chapter 8: Land and Housing)
Domestic Units and Estimated Persons Accommodated,
March 31, 1972
235
Domestic Units
New Territories
Category
Urban Areas
Tsuen
Rest of
Total
Wan
NT
Public
Government quarters
Resettlement estates
10,921
200
2,105
Resettlement cottage areas
Government low-cost housing
Housing Authority
Housing Society
Total
Private
TOTAL PERMANENT
:
:
:
:
:
:
13,226
191,620
32,352
5,720
229,692
6,270
118
2,029
8,417
32,046
17,037
49,083
:
31,800
3,100
34,900
17,916
2,100
20,016
:
290,573
54,907
9,854
355,334
291,600
10,489
52,586
354,675
582,173
65,396
62,440
710,009
Estimated Persons Accommodated
Hong
Kowloon
Tsuen
Rest of
Kong
and New
Total
Wan
NT
Island
Kowloon
Public
Government quarters
29,100
28,000
1,600
10,100
68,800
Resettlement estates
47,200
798,400
141,200
13,600
1,000,400
Resettlement cottage areas...
13,700
28,300
1,400
6,100
49,500
Government low-cost
housing
5,700
153,200
72,500
231,400
Housing Authority
60,100
123,800
18,000
201,900
Housing Society
47,600
55,500
11,900
115,000
Total
203,400 1,187,200
246,600
29,800
1,667,000
Private
747,600 1,002,000
57,900
217,700
2,025,200
TOTAL PERMANENT
TEMPORARY
MARINE...
TOTAL POPULATION
951,000 2,189,200 304,500
247,500 3,692,200
297,100
78,200
:
:
4,067,500
236
Hong Kong Kowloon ...
New Territories
Hong Kong
Fatal
Total
Serious
Slight
Kowloon
Fatal
Serious
Slight
New Territories
Fatal Serious...
Slight
Total
Appendix 27
(Chapter 10: Public Order)
Traffic Accidents
1970
1971
1972
3,445
3,675
3,726
5,548
6,041
6,156
2,027
2,564
2,916
11,020
12,280
12,798
Traffic Casualties
89
89
102
1,280
1,241
2,707
2,999
1,300 3,079
185
162
2,380
2,520
177 2,808
3,973
4,382
4,568
107
132
162
1,167
1,360
1,383
1,672
2,078
2,836
13,560
14,963
16,415
Appendix 28
(Chapter 10: Public Order)
Crime and Narcotic Offences
Number of Cases
Reported
1970
1971
Number of Persons Prosecuted
1972
1970
1971
1972
Crime
Against Lawful Authority
Against public order
72
150
179
265
510
579
Perjury
71
44
59
51
27
Escape and rescue
123
84
75
78
48
Unlawful society
960
1,034
1,014
875
874
Other offences
50
74
97
25
38
கஜீகம்
836
Sub-total...
1,276
1,386
1,424
1,294
1,497
1,550
Against Public Morality
Rape and indecent assault
378
377
538
149
167
205
Other sexual offences
397
464
580
210
229
290
Sub-total ...
775
841
1,118
359
396
495
Against the Person
Murder and manslaughter
Attempted murder
Serious assaults
Abortion
Kidnapping
Other offences
Criminal intimidation
Sub-total...
:
:
71
98
115
98
115
123
5
4
12
1
3
10
1,337
1,598
1,726
1,083
1,212
1,181
3
1
3
3
1
2
2
33
38
59
167
239
193
3539
120
29
65
192
2
36
64
1,617
1,982
2,108
1,279
1,461
1,417
Appendix 28-Contd
(Chapter 10: Public Order)
Number of Cases Reported
Number of Persons Prosecuted
1971
237
1970
1971
1972
1970
1972
Crime
Against Property
Robbery with firearms
4
14
25
10
13
19
Other robberies
3,002
5,132
7,379
1,596
2,779
2,180
All burglaries
2,522
3,789
3,688
758
1,180
750
Going equipped for stealing, etc
292
940
756
140
329
220
Blackmail
349
327
399
134
149
223
Theft from person
1,500
1,705
1,551
729
778
446
Other thefts
10,247
10,363
9,208
4,101
4,030
3,073
All frauds
497
619
847
130
148
194
Handling stolen goods
62
45
48
30
29
37
Malicious damage to property
275
257
305
140
119
154
Unlawful possession
726
674
573
610
552
445
Possession of an unlawful instrument
1,834
1,381
1,303
366
779
936
Loitering and trespass
2,243
1,158
970
2,146
1,096
920
Sub-total ...
23,553
26,404
27,052
10,890
11,981
9,597
Other Crimes
Forgery and coinage
281
233
514
54
60
49
Bribery and corruption
38
80
81
26
35
47
Possession of arms and ammunition
66
41
84
51
31
53
Conspiracy
39
19
33
228
66
92
Breach of deportation
9
15
9
8
8
9
Other crimes
207
239
199
97
98
80
Sub-total
640
627
920
464
298
330
Serious Narcotic Offences
Total
Crime Detection Rate
1,191
1,221
1,377
1,267
1,306
1,593
29,052
32,461
33,999
15,553
16,939
14,982
:
:
1970-76.6% 1971-76.5% 1972-59.3%
Narcotic Offences
Serious Offences
Manufacturing
Trafficking (Importing) Other Trafficking
Possession for purpose of trafficking
Opium
Sub-total
Possession of opium
:
3
7
15
6
19
37
1
1
1
34
12
3
33
14
7
1,154
1,201
1,358
1,228
1,273
1,548
1,191
1,221
1,377
1,267
1,306
1,593
1,974
3,123
2,833
1,729
2,643
2,395
Possession of equipment
145
217
265
41
18
52
Keeping a divan
7
72
229
6
72
228
Smoking opium
2,279
3,320
6,219
2,238
3,255
6,113
Other opium offences
25
37
20
1
Heroin
Possession of heroin
8,262
6,707
5,408
7,174
6,310
4,764
Possession of equipment
118
81
239
65
51
107
Keeping a divan
3
4
5
3
4
5
Smoking heroin
1,169
1,056
1,384
1,071
1,003
1,218
Other heroin offences
79
17
11
5
4
1
Other Dangerous Drugs
Possession
488
740
248
292
623
196
Smoking
9
53
38
9
42
38
Other offences
2
26
8
1
9
6
Total
15,751
16,674
18,284
13,905
15,341
16,716
238
Appendix 29
(Chapter 10: Public Order)
Cases in the Supreme Court, District Court and
Tenancy Tribunal
Supreme Court
Civil appeals
:
:
Criminal appeals
Original jurisdiction
Miscellaneous proceedings
Adoptions
Divorce
Criminal sessions
Admiralty jurisdiction
Probate grants Bankruptcy
Company winding-up
District Court
Total
Criminal jurisdiction
Civil jurisdiction
...
:
Workmen's compensation ...
Distress for rent
Rent increase application
Divorce jurisdiction
:
1970
1971
1972
51
50
58
735
1,026
900
2,210
3,097
3,345
237
308
366
271
320
398
257
388
126
72
90
104
40
38
56
1,449
1,562
1,614
10
15
27
10
38
62
5,342
6,932
7,056
Total
Tenancy Tribunal
Ordinary cases
Exemption cases
Demolished building cases
Total
:
:
:
:
:
:
::
:
::
:
:
:
:
:
216
247
15,690
13,965
470 16,826
201
306
258
1,214
1,309
1,620
856
1,181
532
17,321
16,683
20,887
719
679
687
289
267
390
110
103
172
1,118
1,049
1,249
Work in the Magistracies
Summary matters (charges, summonses and applications,
etc)
Adult defendants
Adult defendants convicted
528,363
575,697
517,339
541,247
606,060
601,693
490,146
537,487
539,066
Juvenile defendants
5,111
4,458
3,297
Juvenile defendants convicted
4,682
4,240
3,137
Charge sheets issued
199,414
209,592
213,806
Summonses issued
321,387
359,947
290,662
Miscellaneous proceedings issued
7,562
6,152
12,874
Appendix 30
(Chapter 12: Public Works and Utilities)
Electricity Production and Distribution
:
Domestic
Industrial
Commercial
Street Lighting
Total
:
:
:
239
GWh*
1970
1971
1972
927.29
1,058.77
1,193.37
1,830.12
2,031.17
2,211.41
1,673.25
1,779.85
1,984.57
20.10
21.48
22.99
4,450.77
4,891.28
5,412.34
1972 Electricity Statistics
China Light & Power
Co Ltd
Hong Kong Electric Co Ltd
Cheung Chau
Electric
Total
Co Ltd
869
370
:
:
(8.1)
(8.2)
3,944
1,463
5
5,412
(10.3)
(11.6)
(16.1)
(10.7)
6,054
2,128
37
8,219
(6.1)
(4.7)
(5.7)
(5.7)
1,315
1,446
357
1,327
(8.1)
(10.6)
(24.8)
(9.9)
Maximum Demand, MW
Electricity Sales, GWh*
Consumers, hundreds
(Figures in brackets represent annual percentage increase).
Gas Production and Distribution
Sales per head of population, kWh
:
Domestic
Industrial
Commercial
Total
:
:.
Therms
1970
1971
1972
4,684,504
5,149,564
5,567,203
1,009,639
946,057
1,012,551
3,383,672
3,717,691
4,179,161
9,077,815
9,813,312
10,758,915
Liquid Petroleum Gas Sales
'000 lb
1970
1971
Total LPG Sales
65,323
97,727
1972 (Forecast)
142,000
* One GWh one million kWh.
240
Appendix 31
(Chapter 13: Communications and Transport)
International Movements of Aircraft and Vessels
Aircraft
Arrivals
Departures
Total
Ocean-going vessels
Arrivals
Departures
Total
:
:
River Steamers, Hydrofoil Vessels, Junks and Launches
Arrivals
Departures
Total
:
:
1970
1971
1972
23,416
24.432
24,548
23,425
24,441
24,546
46,841
48,873
49,094
7,147
7,714
7,827
7,156
7,714
7,880
14,303
15,428
15,707
23,747
25,234
28,384
23,759
25,238
28,380
47,506
50,472
56,764
International Movements of Passengers
Arrivals (thousand)
Air
Sea
Rail
Total
Departures (thousand)
Air
Sea
Rail
Total
:
(Immigration Figures)
:
:
:
1,134
1,092
1,347
1,464
1,612
1,912
356
445
730
2,954
3,149
3,989
1,137
1,095
1,381
1,452
1,609
1,924
340
447
719
2,929
3,151
4,024
International Movements of Commercial Cargo by
Different Means of Transport
Air (metric tons)
Imports Exports
Total
Sea ('000 DW tons)
Imports Exports
Total
Rail (metric tons)
Imports Exports
Total
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
16,728
23,833
26,235
44,458
51,631
55,023
61,186
75,464
81,258
10,463
11,470
12,097
2,964
3,154
3,760
13,427
14,624
15,857
857,836 702
997,838 650
1,160,106 1,362
858,538
998,488
1,161,468
Appendix 32
(Chapter 13: Communications and Transport)
Registered Motor Vehicles
Public Vehicles
Public Omnibuses:
China Motor Bus Company
Kowloon Motor Bus Company Lantau Bus Companies
Others
Taxis
Public Hire Cars
Public Light Buses
Hongkong Tramways Company
Tramcars Trailers
Private Vehicles
Motor Cycles
Motor Tricycles
Private Cars
Private Omnibuses
Private Light Buses
Goods Vehicles
Crown Vehicles (Excluding Vehicles of HM Forces)
Motor Vehicles
Motor Cycles ...
Total
:
241
1970
1971
1972
501
528
496
1,068
1,133
1,272
33
39
46
865
989
1,067
3,408
3,406
3,448
770
884
1,063
3,784
3,813
3,828
162
22
162
162
22
22
22
22
14,089
116
16,592 100
19,833 82
92,884
105,874
120,725
406
386
367
1,368
21,298
1,567 25,790
1,684
28,794
2,324 773
2,462
815
2,645 843
143,871
164,562
186,377
Public Transport: Passenger Journeys by Undertaking
Kowloon Motor Bus Company
China Motor Bus Company
Hongkong Tramways Company
Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company
The Star Ferry Company
Kowloon-Canton Railway
Peak Tramways Company Lantau Bus Companies
Hong Kong
Kowloon ...
Total
Thou. trips
568,014
547,571
501,188
185,795
175,110
166,721
158,533
156,760
148,464
182,201
190,531
179,496
56,646
58,216
58,108
9,660
10,092
10,972
2,239
2,303
2,260
974
1,151
1,358
1,164,062
1,141,734
1,068,567
Public Transport: Passenger Journeys by Area
(Excluding Public Light Buses, Taxis and Public Hire Cars)
Cross Harbour
Ferry
Tunnel
New Territories
Urban
Rural
Ferry
Total
:
Public Light Bus (Estimated Daily Journeys)
:
:
:
:
Thou. trips
346,567
334,173
311,989
501,171
475,405
422,076
230,725
239,894
227,965
12,320
28,422
36,155
39,766
49,055
47,254
44,812
8,122
8,853
9,639
1,164,062
1,141,734
1,068,567
1,157
1,250
1,255
242
Appendix 33
(Chapter 13: Communications and Transport)
Communication Statistics
1970
1971
Postal Traffic:
Letter mails (million articles)-
posted to destinations abroad
posted for local delivery
in transit
Parcels (thousands)-
1972 Estimated
92.1
81.7
78.1
100.2
106.2
109.8
received from abroad for local delivery
51.7
46.7
52.2
1.9
2.2
2,2
posted to destinations abroad
2,699
2,431
2,594
posted for local delivery
26
38
34
received from abroad for local delivery
562
554
508
in transit
25
31
53
1970
1971
1972
Telecommunication Traffic:
Telegrams (thousands)-
accepted for transmission received
in transit
Telex calls (1,000 minutes)-
outward
inward
International telephone calls (1,000 minutes)-
outward
inward
Radio pictures-
transmitted
received
Broadcast and reception services (1,000 hours)--
press
meteorological
::
: :
Appendix 34
1,458
1,477
1,484
1,744
1,714
1,726
1,252
1,299
1,336
1,419
1,947
2,803
1,377
1,871
2,254
4,078
5,099
6,355
4,947
5,763
7,165
2,836
4,453
6,270
18,922
13,800
6,766
20
21
23
92
122
140
(Chapter 17: Recreation)
Recreational Facilities Provided by the Urban Council and Urban Services Department
Facilities
1970
1971
1972
Children's playgrounds.
233
255
272
Parks and gardens
Grass games pitches
Hardsurface mini soccer pitches
Basketball/volleyball courts
Tennis courts
Running tracks
Beaches
336
360
396
37
42
50
73
86
94
303
326
363
...
Swimming pools
www
30
36
36
7
9
9
38
38
37
5
6
Obstacle golf course, squash courts, practice tennis courts, bowling and putting greens, soil surfaced mini soccer pitches, roller skating rinks and table tennis
Aviaries and mammal exhibits, concrete chess tables, model boat pools,
television sets and open air theatre
220
30
41
49
92
102
102
Bandstand, barbecue pits, composite beach buildings, car parks, changing rooms, fountains, dog's gardens, refreshment kiosks, public lavatories, public libraries, pavilions/shelters and spectators stands
384
420
452
Total acreage of public open space administered
1
1,388
1,472
1,529
Appendix 35
(Chapter 18: The Environment)
Climatological Summary 1972
243
Mean Maxi- Pressure mum at Mean Air
Sea Temper- Level ature
Mini-
mum Air Temper-
Mean Air Temper-
Point Humidity ature
Mean Mean
Dew Relative
Mean Total Amount Bright
of
Sun- Cloud shine
Total Rainfall
Prevail- ing Wind
Mean
Wind
Direction
Speed
ature
mb
°C
°C
ос
°C
%
%
hours mm points knots
January
1,019.5
24.3
15.7
7.9
10.6
73
54
162.8
46.5
E
5.8
February
1,016.1
23.3
14.7
3.8
11.5
82
85
59.9
22.0
E
7.2
March
1,017.0 28.0
19.5
10.5
14.3
73
49
188.6
1.8
E
6.2
April
1,014.3 30.4
21.5
14.5
18.2
82
84
80.0
134.8
E
[T]
6.5
May
1,008.2
32.0
25.0
20.2
23.0
89
82
116.3
654.5
E
5.1
June...
1,005.6 33.1
27.7
23.3
24.6
84
64
203.6
799.8
E
4.7
July
1,000.3 34.7
28.8
23.2
25.1
81
64
206.0
191.0
W
3.3
August
September
1,004.9 33.2
27.5
23.8
25.0
87
69
176.2
556.8
E
4.4
1,011.3 33.4
27.7
22.8
23.9
80
57
202.2
239.7
E
4.1
October
...
1,015,2 30.9
25.6
21.1
21.2
78
5565
188.6
36.4
E
5.7
November
1,017.3 30.5
22.4
14.5
17.8
76
62
134.5
109.0
E
7.0
December
1,019.2 25.2
17,8
8.8
12.4
72
66
133.6
15.0
E
5.8
Mean
1,012.4
22.8
19.0
80
66
E
5.5
Total
1,852.3 2,807.3
Climatological Normals
(1884-1939; 1947-1960)
mb
°C*
°C
°C*
°C
%
%
hours mm points
knots
January
February
March
1,019.9 26.9
15.4
0.0
11.1
75
64
145.4
31.7
E
7.7
1,018.4 27.8
15.2
2.4
11.7
79
75
100.2
46.9
E
8.9
1,016.1 29.7
17.5
6.2
14.8
83
82
94.7
72.2
E
9.4
April
...
1,012.7 33.4
21.3
9.9
18.8
85
80
114.6 135.8
E
8.7
May
1,009.2 35.5
25.2
15.4
22.4
85
76
156.1
292.7 E
8.3
June
1,005.9 35.6 27.3
19.2
24.2
84
78
159.9 401.2
E
7.6
July
1,004,9 35.7
27.9
22.2
24.7
83
69
213.7 371.7
E
6.8
August
. 1,004.9 36.1
27.7
21.7
24.6
84
67
200.9 370.8
E
6.5
September
1,008.4 35.2 27.1
18.4
23.1
2
79
61
197.5 278.8 E
7.8
October
1,013.8 34.3 24.6
14.1
19.3
72
51
218.9
99.2
E
8.5
November
...
1,017.5 31.8
20.9
6.5
15.1
69
53
187.9
43.1
E
7.8
December
1,019.7 28.7
17.3
4.8
11.9
70
55
172.6
24.9
E
7.2
Mean
1,012.6
22.3
18.5
79
68
E
7.9
Total
1,963.1 2,168,8
16
* 1884-1939; 1947-1972.
244
Type of appointment
Ex officio
95
"
Appendix 36
(Chapter 22: Constitution and Administration)
The Executive Council
Name of Members on January 1, 1973
Presided over by His Excellency the Governor,
Sir Crawford Murray MACLEHOSE, KCMG, MBE
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
His Excellency the Commander British Forces
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Erskine WARD, KCB, DSO*, MC
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary
Sir Hugh Selby NORMAN-WALKER, KCMG, OBE, JP
The Honourable the Attorney General
Mr Denys Tudor Emil ROBERTS, CBE, QC, JP
The Honourable the Secretary for Home Affairs Mr Donald Collin Cumyn LUDDINGTON, JP
The Honourable the Financial Secretary
Mr Charles Philip HADDON-CAVE, JP
Remarks
Nominated
Dr the Honourable Gerald Hugh CHOA, CBE, JP
(Director of Medical and Health Services)
Appointed w.e.f. 16.11.72.
Nominated
"
A
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS:
The Honourable Sir Albert RODRIGUES, CBE, ED, JP
The Honourable Sir John Douglas CLAGUE, CBE, MC, QPM,
TD, JP
The Honourable Sir Sidney Samuel GORDON, CBE, JP
The Honourable Sir Yuet-keung KAN, CBE, JP
The Honourable Woo Pak-chuen, OBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72,
"
The Honourable SZETO Wai, OBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
The Honourable George Ronald Ross, OBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
Dr the Honourable CHUNG Sze-yuen, OBE, JP
""
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72,
Type of appointment
Appendix 37
(Chapter 22: Constitution and Administration)
The Legislative Council
Name of Members on January 1, 1973
PRESIDENT:
Ex officio
His Excellency the Governor
"
""
Nominated
""
+
"
Sir Crawford Murray MACLEHOSE, KCMG, MBE
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary
Sir Hugh Selby NORMAN-WALKER, KCMG, OBE, JP
The Honourable the Attorney General
Mr Denys Tudor Emil ROBERTS, CBE, QC, JP The Honourable the Secretary for Home Affairs Mr Donald Collin Cumyn LUDDINGTON, JP The Honourable the Financial Secretary
Mr Charles Philip HADDON-CAVE, JP
The Honourable David Richard Watson ALEXANDER, CBE, JP
(Director of Urban Services)
The Honourable James Jeavons ROBSON, CBE, JP
(Director of Public Works)
The Honourable John CANNING, JP
(Director of Education)
Dr the Honourable Gerald Hugh CHOA, CBE, JP
(Director of Medical and Health Services)
The Honourable Jack CATER, MBE, JP
(Secretary for Information)
The Honourable Denis Campbell BRAY, JP (District Commissioner, New Territories)
Nominated
**
Remarks
245
The Honourable Paul Tsui Ka-cheung, CBE, JP
(Commissioner of Labour)
The Honourable Ian MacDonald LIGHTBODY, JP
(Secretary for Housing)
The Honourable David Harold JORDAN, MBE, JP
(Director of Commerce and Industry)
Appointed w.e.f. 14.11.72.
The Honourable Lr Fook-kow, JP
(Director of Social Welfare)
Appointed w.e.f. 16.11.72.
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS:
The Honourable Woo Pak-chuen, OBE, JP
The Honourable SZETO Wai, OBE, JP
The Honourable Wilfred WONG Sien-bing, OBE, JP
32
The Honourable Mrs Ellen Li Shu-pui, OBE, JP
The Honourable Wilson WANG Tze-sam, OBE, JP
""
The Honourable Herbert John Charles BROWNE, OBE, JP
"
Dr the Honourable CHUNG Sze-yuen, OBE, JP
The Honourable LEE Quo-wei, OBE, JP
""
The Honourable Oswald Victor CHEUNG, OBE, QC, JP
27
The Honourable ANN Tse-kai, OBE, JP
""
The Honourable Rogerio Hyndman LOBO, OBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
""
The Honourable Mrs Catherine Joyce SYMONS, OBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
The Honourable Peter Gordon WILLIAMS, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
"
The Honourable James Wu Man-hon, JP
The Honourable Mrs Mary WONG Wing-cheung, MBE, JP
Appointed w.e.f. 1.7.72.
Appointed w.e.f. 14.11.72.
246
Appendix 38
(Chapter 22: Constitution and Administration)
Urban Council
Type of appointment
Names of Members
on January 1, 1973
CHAIRMAN:
By Governor The Honourable David Richard Watson
ALEXANDER, CBE, JP
Director of Urban Services
Ex officio
OFFICIAL MEMBERS:
Remarks
Vice-Chairman
Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services
Dr James Kenneth CRAIG, MBE, JP
The Honourable the Secretary for Home Affairs Mr Donald Collin Cumyn LUDDINGTON, JP
The Director of Public Works
The Honourable James Jeavons ROBSON, CBE, JP
The Director of Social Welfare
The Honourable Li Fook-kow, JP
The Commissioner for Resettlement
Mr John Charles Creasey WALDEN, JP
Mr Li Fook-kow, JP, acted as Secretary for Home
Affairs from 19.8.72 to 2.10.72.
Mr Alexander Stuart ROBERTSON, JP, acted as Director of Public Works from 20.7.72 to 17.9.72.
Succeeded The Honourable George Tippett Rowe,
CBE, JP on 15.11.72.
Succeeded The Honourable Ian MacDonald LIGHT-
BODY, JP on 13.11.72.
Elected
UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS:
Mr Brook Antony BERNACCHI, OBE, QC, JP
Mr Hilton CHEONG-LEEN, OBE, JP
Mrs Elsie ELLIOTT
22
Mr Henry Hu Hung-lick
"
Dr Denny HUANG Mong-hwa
""
Mr Raymond KAN Yat-kum
Mr Peter CHAN Chi-kwan
Mr Henry WONG
|Mr Charles Sin Cho-chiu
Miss Cecilia YEUNG Lai-yin
Appointed
Mr Arnaldo de Oliveira SALES, OBE, JP
"
9.
The Honourable Rogerio Hyndman LOBO, OBE, JP
Mr Hugh Moss Gerald FORSGATE, JP
Mr Kenneth Lo Tak-cheung, JP
Mr Peter NG Ping-kin, JP
The Honourable James Wu Man-hon, JP
| Mr Peter CHAN Po-fun, JP
Mr Lo Tak-shing, JP
Mr John MACKENZIE
Mrs KWAN Ko Siu-wah, MBE, JP
Succeeded The Honourable Mrs Catherine Joyce
SYMONS, OBE, JP, resigned on 1.10.72.
247
Appendix 39
(Chapter 9: Social Welfare)
(A) The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
American Women's Association of Hong Kong
Association of Volunteers for Service
Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association
CARE Inc Hong Kong Mission
Canossian Mission (Welfare Services)
Caritas Hong Kong
Catholic Relief Services-USCC
Catholic Women's League
Member Agencies
Causeway Bay Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association
Chai Wan Area Kaifong Welfare Advancement
Association (Hong Kong) Ltd
Children's Meals Society
Catholic Marriage Advisory Council
Children's Playground Association
Child Care Centre-Walled City
Christian Children's Fund, Inc
Christian Family Service Centre
Church of Christ in China, Hong Kong Council,
Social Welfare Department
Community Development Committee, The Church of
the Good Shepherd
Conference Board of Christian Social Concerns of
the Methodist Church
Convent of Good Shepherd
Department of Social Work, University of Hong Kong
Diocesan Welfare Council of the Diocese of Hong Kong
and Macau
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Ebenezer School and Home for the Blind
The Endeavourers
Epworth Village Community Centre (The Chinese
Methodist Church)
Evangel Children's Home
Family Planning Association of Hong Kong
Five District Business Welfare Association
Foster Parents' Plan, Inc
Girl Guides' Association
Hans Andersen Club
Heep Hong Club
Holy Carpenter Church, Hostel and Centre
Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society
Hong Kong Anti-TB and Thoracic Disease Association
Hong Kong Baptist College
Hong Kong Catholic Youth Council
Hong Kong Cheshire Home
Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club
Hong Kong Council of Boys Brigade
Hong Kong Council of Women
Hong Kong Christian Service
Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society Hong Kong Family Welfare Society
Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups
Hong Kong Housing Society
Hong Kong Juvenile Care Centre
Hong Kong Life Guard Club
Hong Kong Red Cross
Hong Kong Red Swastika
Hong Kong School for the Deaf
Hong Kong Social Workers' Association
Hong Kong Society for the Blind
Hong Kong Society for the Deaf
Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children
Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation
Hong Kong University Social Service Group
International Rescue Committee
International Social Service
Junk Bay Medical Relief Council
The Leprosy Mission
Lutheran World Service
Maryknoll Sisters
Marycove
Mennonite Central Committee
Neighbourhood Advice Council
New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
North Point Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association
Po Leung Kuk
Project Concern, Inc
Rennie's Mill Student Aid Project
Resettlement Estates Loan Association
The Salvation Army
Save the Children Fund
Scout Association
Social Welfare Committee of the Chinese Methodist Church
Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts
Society for the Relief of Disabled Children
Society of Boys' Centre
Society of St Vincent de Paul
Spastics Association of Hong Kong
St James' Settlement
St John Ambulance Association and Brigade
Street Sleepers' Shelter Society
Student Christian Centre
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
United Christian Hospital
World Council of Churches
World Vision, Inc
Young Men's Christian Association
Young Women's Christian Association
Yang Memorial Social Service Centre
248
Appendix 39-Contd
(Chapter 9: Social Welfare)
(B) The Community Chest of Hong Kong
Member Agencies
Buddhist Po Ching Home for the Aged Women
Calvary Social Service Centre
Canossian Mission Welfare Services
Caritas Hong Kong
Catholic Marriage Advisory Council
Catholic Women's League
Child Care Centre-Kowloon Walled City
Children's Meals Society
Chinese Young Men's Christian Association
Christian Family Service Centre
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Ebenezer School and Home for the Blind
Epworth Village Community Centre
Family Planning Association
Foster Parents Plan
Hans Andersen Club
Happy Home for the Aged
Heep Hong Club for Handicapped Children
Holy Carpenter Youth Centre
Holy Nativity Social Service Centre
Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society
Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee
Hong Kong Christian Service
Hong Kong Council of the Boys Brigade
Hong Kong Council of Social Service
Hong Kong Discharged Prisoners Aid Society
Hong Kong Family Welfare Society
Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups
Hong Kong Life Guard Club
Hong Kong Red Cross
Hong Kong School for the Deaf
Hong Kong Sea School
Hong Kong Society for the Blind
Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation
International Rescue Committee
International Social Service
Junk Bay Medical Relief Council
Kei Oi Youth Centre
Leprosy Mission-Hong Kong Auxiliary
Lutheran World Federation
Mental Health Association of Hong Kong
Neighbourhood Advice Council
New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
North Point Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association
North Point Estate Residents Association
Practical Training Centre of the Churches
Project Concern-Hong Kong
Rennie's Mill Student Aid Project
St Christopher's Home
St James' Settlement
St John Ambulance Association and Brigade
St Thomas' Day Nursery
Salvation Army-Hong Kong Command
Save the Children Fund
Shaukiwan Kaifong Welfare Advancement Association
Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Society for Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts
Society of Boys' Centre
Society of St Vincent de Paul
Spastics Association of Hong Kong
Street Sleepers' Shelter Society
Workers Tours and Travel Service
Yang Memorial Social Service Centre
Young Women's Christian Association
Youth Centre St Barnabas'
Index
Abattoirs, 82, 204
Aberdeen, 17, 51, 65, 180, 191
Action Committee Against Narcotics, 75, 153,
208
Administration, Government, 200-10 Adoption, 106
Advisory Committees, 3, 179, 180, 181, 208 Aero Club of Hong Kong, 135 Agriculture-
administration and policy, 46-9, 181 extension services, 46-9
industry, 39, 46-51
Air traffic, 134-5
Air freight, 134, 152
Aircraft engineering, 16
Airport, 3, 12, 17, 24, 31, 114, 119, 122, 126,
134-5, 197
Ambulance service, 117, 118
American Women's Association, 109
Animal industries, 46-50
Apprentices, 62
Archaeology, 168-9, 191
Armed Services, 30, 75, 155-7, 166, 205 Art collections, 168-9
Arts, the, 167-8
Asian Development Bank, 13, 124
Asian Productivity Organisation, 13, 26 Assets & liabilities, 225 Auxiliary Fire Service, 157, 158 Auxiliary Medical Service, 157, 158 Auxiliary Services, 157-8, 205
Banknotes, 35, 225
Bankruptcies and liquidations, 29, 203
Banks, 37-8
Bauhinia Blakeana, 189
Bets and Sweeps Tax, 34-5
Birds, 187-8
Birth and death registration, 185
Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, 106
Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association, 106, 171 British-
Council, 68, 168, 170-1
Government, 14, 19, 21, 36-7, 68, 192-3,
200
Broadcasting, 149-51
Buddhism, 159-60
Budget, 30-1, 201, 209 Building(s)-
Authority, 85, 94-5, 97
development, 123, 125-7 multi-storey, 80, 89, 98
Bus services, 138, 139-40, 141, 142, 241
Business registration, 27-9
Butterflies, 188
Cable and Wireless Ltd, 145-6
Cantonese, 54, 55, 58, 59, 60, 151, 161, 183-4, 191 Cargo handling, 3, 96, 131, 132, 134, 240 Caritas Medical Centre, 70, 76, 78, 79
Castle Peak, new town, 16, 51, 87, 94, 101, 124,
127, 128, 173
Castle Peak Hospital, 74, 76, 79
Cathay Pacific Airways, 122, 135 Cattle, 50, 82
Cemeteries, 82-3, 204
Census, 39, 46, 184, 196
Statistics, Department of, 184
Certificates of Origin, 22, 23
Chartered Bank, 35, 225
Cheung Chau Electric Co Ltd, 129, 239
Chi Ma Wan Prison, 116
Child welfare, 106-7
China, 11, 41, 59, 159, 162, 172, 175-6, 189
trade with, 2, 17, 51, 127, 130, 135, 196-7
movement between, 5, 46, 120, 121, 135, 144 water supplies, 123-4, 197
history, 2, 85, 169, 191-3
China Light and Power Co Ltd, 129, 180, 194, 239 China Motor Bus Co Ltd, 139
Chinese language, 207-8
Chinese Manufacturers' Association, 22, 24, 27, 153 Cholera, 69
Christians, 159-62
Churches, 159-62 Cinemas, 151
City District Offices, 98, 152, 167, 206, 208 City Hall, 43, 112, 167-70, 171, 185, 204
Civil-
Aid Services, 157, 158
Aviation, 134-5, 156
Service, see Public Service
Climate, 173-6, 243
Coinage, 35, 111
Colonial Secretariat, 13, 114, 179, 200, 205, 210
Commerce and Industry Department, 13, 16, 18,
22-4, 118
Commercial crime, 111
Commercial wharves, 132-3
Commonwealth preference, 22, 23
Communicable diseases, 69, 70-3, 74
Communications, 5, 12, 39, 131-46, 240-2
Community work, 5, 6, 105-6
Community Chest, 105, 248
Community Relief Trust Fund, 108
Companies Registry, 28-9
Computers, 15, 59, 131
Confucius, 159
Connaught Centre, 24, 96
Conservation, 3, 46, 181-2 (see also
Environment)
Constitution, 200-1
250
Consumer Price Index, 40, 184, 228
Container facilities, 96, 127-8 (see also Kwai
Chung container terminal)
Convention of Chuenpi, 192
Convention of Peking, 193
Co-operative societies, 47-8
Cotton, see Textiles
Courts, 201-4, 238
Credit unions, 48
Crime, 8-10, 110-12, 115, 236-7 Crops, 49-50
Cross-harbour tunnel, 2, 96, 110, 112, 122, 132,
135, 136, 138, 139-40, 141, 142, 152, 197 Crown Rent and Premium Ordinance, 89 Currency, 2, 35-7, 225
Deaths, 69, 233 Defence, 30, 155-7
Defence expenditure, 30
Dental services, 77-8
Desalination, 3, 124, 152, 173
Design-
Governor's Award, 27
Federation Award, 27
Devaluation, 36-7
Development Loan Fund, 32
Diphtheria, 69, 72
Diseases, 70-3, 74, 75, 77, 81
District Community Offices, 105-6
Dockyards, 15, 133
Dollar coins, 35, 111
Drainage, 127
Drug addiction, 74-5, 83, 115-17, 208 (see also
Narcotics)
Drug seizures, 111, 119
Ducks, 50
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, 67, 106,
113
Dutiable commodities, 12, 23, 32, 118-19
Earnings and profits tax, 33-4
East India Company, 192
ECAFE, 13
Economy, 10, 11, 199
Education, 3, 4, 7-8, 9, 54-68, 197-8, 231-2
Advisory Inspectorate, 63
adult, 65
English school fees, 53
educational television, 65-6
enrolments, 231
examinations, 53, 66 higher, 56, 62
loans and grants, 56-7
music and art, 67 Ordinance, 54
overseas, 68
polytechnic, 53, 56-7
pre-primary, 53, 54
pre-vocational, 55, 63 primary, 53, 54 research, 59-60
secondary, 53, 55-6
Education (Contd)
special, 54-5
technical, 8, 53, 56-7
Visual Education Centre, 64 Electricity, 32, 129, 239 Electronics industry, 15, 16, 45 Elliot, Capt C, 192 Emergency relief, 5, 108, 158 Employment, 39-45
advisory service, 43 holidays, 40-1, 198 migration for, 40, 44 Ordinance, 39, 41
overseas, 44
safety, health and welfare, 44 wages and conditions of, 40-1 working hours, 40-1, 198 Entertainment, 166, 167-8 Entertainment tax, 34
Entrepôt trade, 1, 2, 18, 196, 219 Environment, 3, 30, 125, 172-82 Essential Services Corps, 157-8 Estate Duty, 34
European Economic Community, 20, 21, 22 Exchange fund, 35-7
Executive Council, 194, 197, 200-1, 244
Exhibitions, 167, 168-70
Expenditure and revenue, 30-2, 220-4
Explosives, 52
Exports, 2, 10, 11, 12-25, 31, 196, 218
Factories and industrial undertakings, 13-16,
39-40, 43, 196, 226-7
Ordinance, 40, 43
Family Planning Association, 74 Farming, 46-51
Fauna, 181, 182
Federation of Commonwealth Chambers of
Commerce, 27
Federation of Hong Kong Industries, 22, 27 Ferry services, 141
Festivals, Chinese, 82, 160
Film censorship, 151, 206-7 Film industry, 151
Finance, 11, 30-8
Committee, 201
Fire-
damage, 118, 133, 181
prevention, 118, 181
Services, 117-18, 126, 132, 158
Fish-
Marketing Organisation, 48, 51
ponds, 51
Fisheries-
Development Loan Fund, 48 research, 47
Fishing fleet, 51
industry, 39, 46-9, 51
Flatted factories, 100-1, 125
Flora, 181, 189-90 Flying doctor service, 77 Food inspection, 80-1 Foreign Relations, 204-5
251
Foreign Investment, 13, 16 Forestry, 39
Fruit, 50
Garden Road Complex, 112, 137
Garment industry, 13-15, 196 Gas, 32, 129-30, 239
GATT, 12, 18
Geography, 172
Geology, 172-3
Government Chest Service, 70
Government Information Services, see Information Services Department
Governor in Council, 29, 38, 44, 82, 92, 93, 96,
143, 201
Governor, office of, 200
Grievances, 208
Hakka, 160, 183-4, 191 Handicapped, the, 55
Harbour facilities, 3, 73, 131-3 Hawkers, 59, 60, 80-2, 106, 204 Health, 69-84
dental services, 77-8 education, 81 environmental, 74, 80-3 inspectors, 79, 81 maternal and child, 73-4 mental, 74
ophthalmic services, 78 outpatient services, 77 port services, 73, 131 specialist services, 76-7 statistics, 233-4 training, 78-80
Heavy industries, 15-16
Herbarium, 190
Heung Yee Kuk, 207
High Island Water Scheme, 3, 114, 124-5, 173
Hindu community, 162-3
History, 1, 191-9
Hoklo, 183-4
HK Air International Ltd, 135
HK Anti-Tuberculosis and Thoracic Diseases
Association, 70, 71
HK Building and Loan Agency, 103
HK and China Gas Co Ltd, 129-30, 194
HK Christian Council, 161
HK Council of Social Service, 104-5, 167, 171,
198, 247
HK Export Credit Insurance Corp, 25 HK Federation of Trade Unions, 41
HK Federation of Youth Groups, 106
HK Flying Club, 135
Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown
Co Ltd, 132
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,
35, 109, 225
Hongkong Tramways Ltd, 139, 140, 194
Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Co Ltd, 132, 133 Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Co Ltd, 139, 141 Hospitals, 68, 69, 71, 73, 74, 75-7
Hotel tax, 35
Hotels, 3, 59, 96, 122, 135
Housing, 3-5, 9, 85-103, 235
Authority, 30, 98-9, 101-2, 198
Board, 100
co-operatives, 102
low-cost scheme, 32, 54, 72, 101-3, 123,
125-6, 128, 164, 198
Society, 103, 198
HRH Princess Alexandra, 70, 138 Hygiene, 80-3
Immigration, 120-1, 183
illegal, 121
Ordinance, 120
Imports, 17, 197, 216-17, 230 Incinerators, 80,128
Indian Chamber of Commerce, 22 Industrial-
design, 27, 59, 61
employment, 2, 13, 15, 39-45 health, 44
land, 16-17, 87, 94
relations, 42-4 safety, 43, 228
training, 42-3, 45, 62
undertakings, 39-44, 226-7
wages, 40-1
Industry and trade, 2, 12-29, 196-7
Influenza, 73
Information Services Department, 91, 147,
151-4, 206-7
Interest tax, 33-4
Internal revenue, 33-5
International Chamber of Commerce, 27
International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions, 41
International economic relations, 10-11, 18-22
International Monetary Fund, 35
Iron ore, 52, 229
Islamic community, 162
Japanese occupation, 195-6 Jewish community, 162 Joseph Trust Fund, 48 Judiciary, 201-3
HK General Chamber of Commerce, 22, 27, 194 Junk Bay Medical Relief Council, 70, 71
HK Housing Authority, 101-2
HK Housing Society, 103
HK Journalists Association, 148
HK and Kowloon Trades Union Council, 41
HK Telephone Co Ltd, 146
HK Tourist Association, 121-2, 135
Hongkong Electric Co Ltd, 129, 194, 239
Junks, 1, 132
Juvenile crime, 111-12
Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, 48 Keep Hong Kong Clean campaign, 3, 80, 152,
153, 181
Kowloon-Canton Railway, 135-6, 194
252
Kowloon Hospital, 71, 74, 75-6, 79, 84 Kowloon Motor Bus Co (1933) Ltd, 139 Kwai Chung, 16, 17, 62, 70, 73, 81, 87, 101,
102, 125, 127, 128, 130
Kwai Chung container terminal, 3, 16, 96,
127-8, 132, 133
Kwangtung, 59, 168, 172, 183, 191, 196
Kwun Tong, 26, 60, 62, 93, 102, 108, 128, 130,
141, 148, 182
Labour-
Department, 39-45, 62, 180, 198 disputes and stoppages, 42-3 hours of work, 198
legislation, 7, 39-44, 198
shortages, 43
Land, 85-103
administration, 85-7
agricultural, 46, 49-50 area, 49, 172
auctions, 85, 87-8 Crown, 85-9
development, 47, 91-2, 128
for industry, 16-17, 87, 94 Office, 88-9 registration, 88-9
resumption, 93
revenue, 88
sales, 31, 87-8, 90
surveys, 89-91
tenure, 47
utilisation, 49
Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, 87, 89, 96, 97
Landslide disasters, 94-5, 108, 110, 114, 118,
136, 174, 175
Lantau Island, 122, 140, 159, 182, 197
Law courts, 201-4, 238
Leases, Crown, 85-7, 89
Legal Aid, 203-4
Legislative Council, 2, 30, 53, 98, 143, 194, 197,
200-1, 245
Lei Cheng Uk, Tomb, 169, 170
Leprosy, 71-2, 77
Libraries, 167, 170, 171, 204
Light industries, 15
Lion Rock tunnel, 125, 138, 197
Liquid petroleum gas, 130, 239
Liquidations, 29
Loans, 26, 31, 32, 47-8, 56-7, 102-3
Lo Wu, 121, 135, 144
London Office, Hong Kong Government, 23,
68, 154, 205
Lotteries Fund, 32, 105
Low-cost automation, 26
Manufacturing industry, 12, 13-16, 17 Mapping, 90-1
Marine Department, 131-2, 180 Marine life, 188-9
Market gardening, 46-52
Markets, retail, 4, 5, 81-2, 101, 204 Marriages, 185-6
Mass transit railway, 2, 3, 90, 142, 143 Maternal and child health, 73-4
Measles, 69, 72
Medical-
and Health Department, 69-84, 126, 158,
179, 209
Clinics Ordinance, 77
fees, 77
finance, 69
research, 60, 71, 83-4
training, 78-80
Mercantile Bank, 35, 225
Meteorology, 177-8
Mid-levels, see Landslide disasters
Minibuses, see Public light buses
Mining, 39, 40, 42, 46, 52
Modern Terminals Ltd, 132
Monasteries, 159
Mong Kok, 183
Morrison Hill Technical Institute, 45, 61-2, 64
Multi-storey buildings, 80, 89, 98
Museum, 167-70
Muslim community, 162
Narcotics, 111, 115-17, 119, 208, 237
Natural history, 187-90
Navigation, 131-2
New Territories-
Administration, 47, 85-7, 91, 103, 206-8 employment, 39
health services, 77, 78
Heung Yee Kuk, 207
land development, 5, 16-17, 87, 94 population, 183-4
New towns, 4, 5, 93-4, 98-9
News agencies, 148
Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, 148
Newspapers, 147-8, 152
North Point Wharves Ltd, 132
Nurses, 78-9, 234
Ocean Terminal, 24, 91
OECD,
13
Oil refinery, 179
Opium, 111, 119, 192
Orchids, 190
Low-cost housing, 32, 54, 72, 101-3, 123, 125-6, Overseas representation, 215
128, 164, 198
Macau, 67, 121, 172, 192, 195
ferries, 131, 132
MacLehose, Sir Murray, 2, 3, 9, 148 Magistracies, 238 Malaria, 72, 81
Oyster farming, 51
Palmerston, Lord, 191, 192
Parking, 138-9
Parks and playgrounds, 4, 164-5, 181-2, 204, 242 Patents, 27-8
Peak tramways, 96, 140, 194
253
Peking, Convention of, 193
Peninsula Electric Power Co Ltd, 129
Personal assessment, 33-4
Pest control, 72, 81
Pig-raising, 46, 47, 50
Plastics, 15, 16, 17, 27, 39, 45, 196
Plover Cove Scheme, 3, 30, 49, 123-5, 197
Po Leung Kuk, 107, 206
Police, 9-10, 110-15, 156, 209
administration, 114
anti-corruption, 112 Auxiliaries, 9, 115 building projects, 114 Marine, 115
Narcotics Bureau, 111 recruiting, 113, 115
Tactical Unit, 114 traffic, 110, 112-13
women, 113, 114, 115
Poliomyelitis, 69, 72
Pollution, 44, 60, 134, 179-81
air, 44
environmental, 44, 82
litter, 80
port control, 132, 180
Polytechnic, 8, 53, 56-7, 198
Population, 2, 5, 39, 46, 93, 99, 166, 181,
183-6, 194, 196
composition,
183-4
New Territories, 183-4
Port, 12, 131-3, 152
Communications Centre, 132 Executive Committee, 131
health, 73
Pollution Control, 132, 180
works, 127-8
Postal services, 143-5, 242
Pottinger, Sir Henry, 193
Poultry, 50
Press, 60, 147-8
Preventive Service, 22-4, 118-19, 126
Primary Production, 46-52
Printing and Publishing, 16, 55, 62, 63, 148-9
Prisons, 10, 65, 75, 107, 115-17
Privy Council, 203
Probation, 107-8
Productivity, 11, 25-6
Centre, 25-6
Council, 25-6
Profits tax, 33-4
Property tax, 33-4
Protestant churches, 161
Psychiatric services, 74 Public-
administration, 200-10
assistance, 4, 6, 104, 108, 198 cars, 140
debt, 31, 221
light buses, 137, 140 Order, 110-19
service, 23, 31, 40, 209-10 Services Commission, 209 transport, 139-41, 142-3
Public (Contd)
utilities, 39, 85, 129-30
works, 52, 123-9, 197
Works Department, 80, 85-6, 91-2, 95,
101, 102, 123-9, 143, 209
Public relations, 153, 206
Quarantine, 73, 77, 131
Quarrying, 39, 40, 46, 52, 128-9
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 75-6, 77-8, 79, 83, 180 Queen Mary Hospital, 69, 76, 77, 78, 126
Rabies, 50-1
Radio, Commercial, 150
Radio Hong Kong, 150
Radio News, 152
Radioactivity, measurements, 179 Railway, 135-6
Rainfall, 173-6
Rainstorm (see Landslide disaster)
Rates, 32-3
Reclamations, 1, 2, 17, 194
Recreation, 67, 164-71
Red Cross, 81 Refugees, 195
Refuse collection, 80 Rehabilitation Loan, 31
Religion and Custom, 159-63 Rent control, 96-8 Research-
agricultural, 47
fisheries, 47
Medical and Health, 60, 71 meteorology, 178-9
universities, 59-60
Reservoirs, 3, 30, 49, 123-5, 164, 173, 187, 197 Resettlement--
estates, 2, 4, 54, 72, 82, 99-101, 105, 123,
125-6, 128, 143, 164, 198, 204
buildings, 100-10
cottage area, 101
flatted factories, 100-1, 125
rents, 100
schools, 100
statistics, 99, 235
welfare buildings, 5, 105
Revaluation, 36-7
Revenue and expenditure, 30-2, 220-4
Rice, 46-50, 173
Roads, 2, 93, 112, 123, 136-8, 197
Roman Catholic-
church, 161-2
schools, 161-2
RHK Auxiliary Air Force, 90, 157
RHK Jockey Club, 35, 126, 165, 167 RHK Regiment, 157
Royal Observatory, 134, 173-9 Rural Committees, 207
Salaries Commission, 31, 110, 209, 210 Salaries tax, 33-4
254
San Po Kong Interchange, 137 Sanitary services, 80-2, 204 Satellite earth stations, 131
Sau Mau Ping, see Landslide disasters School(s)-
Anglo-Chinese grammar, 55, 56 Chinese middle, 55-6 fishermen's children, 48
Health Services, 74
Medical Services, 74
pre-vocational, 55, 63
primary, 53, 54, 100, 101
secondary, 53, 55-6
special, 55
technical, 8, 53, 56-7
Seamen's recruiting, 133
Secretariat for Home Affairs, 75, 96, 98, 206-8
Seismology, 178
Sewerage, 127
Sha Tin, 58, 87, 94, 101, 124, 125, 127, 128,
138
Shipbuilding and repairing, 15, 62, 133
Shipping, 131-4
Silver currency, 192, 194
Snakes, 188
Social Welfare, 3-7, 9, 32, 59, 65, 74, 104-9,
198
training, 6, 104, 109
Temples, 159-60
Tenancy Tribunal, 96-7, 238
Textiles, 12-22, 24, 27, 39, 40-1, 45, 61, 196
Textiles Advisory Board, 13
Tientsin, 193
Tin Hau, 159-60
Topography, 172-3
Tourism, 3, 59, 121-2, 134 Town planning, 91-2
Town Planning Board, 91-2 Toys, 15, 17, 24
Trade-
administration, 23-7
agreements, 18-22
and industrial organisations, 27
and Industry Advisory Board, 13 Commissioners, 215
Development Council, 16, 24, 25 external, 12-23
fairs, 24
history, 2, 196
international, 10, 11, 196-7, 216-19 Marks and Patents, 27-8
policy, 12-13
promotion, 24, 27
restrictions, 1, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19-22 statistics, 216-19
Trade unions, 41-2, 196
Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Traffic, 2, 110, 112-13, 136-9
Addicts, 74
Sports and recreation, 164-6
Squatters, 4, 5, 99, 103, 118, 198
Stamp duty, 31, 34
Stanley Prison, 115-16, 195
Star Ferry, 139, 141
Sterling, 35-7
Stock exchanges, 38
Steel, 16
Stock market, 2, 31
Strikes and stoppages, 42-3
Training-
health, 78-80 industrial, 25-6, 45
social welfare, 6, 104, 109
teachers, 54, 55, 64
Tramways, 139, 140, 194
Transistor radios, 15, 17, 59, 196
Transport, public, 39, 139-41, 241
Transport Advisory Committee, 141
Transport Department, 141-2
Treaty of Nanking, 193
Summer Recreation Programme, 67, 106, 166-7 Treaty of Tientsin, 193
Supreme Court, 201-3
Survey, 89-91
Swimming, 165-6
Swimming pools, 126, 164-6, 204, 242
Tai Lam Treatment Centre, 116-17
Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Co Ltd, 133 Tanka, 183-4
Taoism, 159-60
Taxation, 30-1, 33-5
Taxis, 140, 241
Teachers and teacher training, 54, 55, 64
Technical institutes, 8, 53, 56-7
Telecommunications, 145-6
Telephones, 146
Television, 147, 149-50, 206-7
Broadcasts Ltd, 149-50
Educational, 65-6, 150 Rediffusion, 149-50, 152
Telex, 146, 242 Temperatures, 173-4, 243
Trench, Sir David, 1, 74
Tsing Yi Island, 17, 101, 125, 129, 133 Tsuen Wan, 39, 87, 94, 103, 128, 130, 182, 184 Tuberculosis, 69, 70, 75, 77
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, 70, 71, 74, 76,
78, 79, 83, 160, 206
Typhoons, tropical storms and rainstorms, 1, 5,
94-5, 103, 108, 134, 136, 158, 165, 173-7
UMELCO, 197, 208
UNCTAD, 13, 18, 23
Underground Railway, 2, 3, 90, 142, 143
Universities, 8, 32, 55, 56-60, 62, 66, 68, 76,
78, 83, 109, 171, 195, 198
Urban-
Council, 80-3, 99, 138, 164-70, 197, 204,
242, 246
renewal, 91-3
Urban Council White Paper, 204
Urban Services Department, 72, 80-3, 158,
164-70, 204, 209, 242
Utilities, public, 39, 85, 129-30
Vegetable(s)-
cultivation, 46-50 marketing, 51-2
Vehicle ferries, 141, 241
Vehicle inspection, 141
Vehicles and drivers' licences, 141-2
Venereal diseases, 71
Vital statistics, 233
Voluntary agencies, 6, 105
Wages, 2, 40-1
Water-
consumption, 123-4 from China, 123-4, 197 schemes, 3, 123-5 supplies, 123-5
Waterfront Road Complex, 136
Weather, 173-6, 177, 243
Weights and measures, 214
Welfare of Women and Children, 106 Wigs, 15, 17,
196
Wild life, 187-8
Workmen's compensation, 44, 202 World Health Organisation, 44, 73, 83 World Refugee Year Loan Fund, 48
X-ray examinations, 44, 77
YMCA, YWCA, 106, 161
Zoning of land, 91-2
255
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Kowloon Reservoir
LION
ROCK
TUNNEL
ΤΑΙ TAI PO DISTRICT
PEAK
CHING
Reception Byewash Reservoir Reservoi
MONG FU SHEK (A MAH ROCKI
TUNNEL
LION ROCK
SHA
TIN
PASS ROAD
EW TERRITOS
LAI CHL KOK
STONECUTTERS
VSLAND,
CHEUNG R
CASTLE
LUNG
SHEK
NG
CHEUN
KIP MEI
PEAR
ROA
CHEUNG
RD
OK
ROAD
NEW KOWLOON
KOWLOON
TAI KOK TSUI
YAU YA ANGESUBN
18 (c) Ul ̃ND AIR Y
ROAD
11
WONG
SIN
ARAM
TSZ WAN SHAN
RAMMER
MILL
DIAMOND
MILL
TATE'S CAIRN
SAI KUNG DISTRICT
INCLINE
SHAN
KOWLOCI
TONG
KOWLOON TSALE
PRINCE EDWARD
OAD
MONG
RGYLE
MARLET WAI
ARINCE EDWARD
HONG KONG
AIRPORT
KAI TAK
KOWLOON,
KONG
HAMMER
NGAU CHÌ WAN
KOWLOON MEA K
HIRAM S HIGHWAY
ROAD
CLEAR
WATER
O MAN
TIN
GREEN
SULPHUR CHANNEL
POX
MOUNT DAVIS
MT
DAVIS RO
EDY,
'ERN
MID LEVE
VICTORIA PEAK
THE PEAK
[POK FU LAM
New Territories District Boundary
District Office Boundary
City THE PEAK Locality
SAI YING SHEUNG
PUN
SHEK TONG TSUL
QUEENS
RD W1F
WAN
YAU
MA ΤΕΙ
TSIM
SHØ
TSUI
VICTORIA
KING PARK
ASCOIGNERD
TAU
WAI RD
KO
KYVA JAKAN
CHATHAM
RUNWAY
JORD RD
AUS
ÎN RD.
HUNG HOM
KOWLOON
BAY
HAR
11
CROSS HARBOUR
110
11
TUNNEL
UR
NGAU TAU KOK
KWUN
TON
FSUI
UNE TONG
ROAD
WALYIPST
LEI
TUE
MUN
YAU
TONG
RENNE
MILL
VILLAGE
JUNK BAY
Pok Fu Lam Reservoir
MT KELLETT
PEAK.
TER ROAD
HỆNN1457
WANCHAT SO KON
KENNEDY ROAD
ZMAGAZINE GET/
ROAD
PO
HAPPY VALLEY
KINGS ADAS
"1
NORI FROINT\\
CAUSEWAY
QUARRY BAY
HAY
Braemar Reservoir
KING
ΤΑΙ HANG
ROAD
SAI WAN HO
SHAU
LEI YUE MUN
EAST LAMMA CHANNEL
WAH FU
(KAI LUNG WA
ABERDEEN
SHEK_PAI WAN RO
WONG
Aberdeen Reservoirs
CHUK
WESTERN
HANG
LOAD
WONG CHUK; HANG
MT CAMERON
GAP
MT NICHOLSON
ROAD
WONG NAI
ROAD
CHUNG
BAY RO
Wong Nai Chung Reservoir
Tai Tom
Reservoir
EASTERN
CHAI
WAN
MT PARKER
MT BUTLER
JARDINE'S LOOKOUT
COLLINSON ROAD
CAPE COLLINSON
AP LEI CHAU
DEEP WATER
BAY
To Tam Intermediate Reservoir
Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir
SHEK O ROAD.
STRICT
ISLANDS DISTRICT
LAMMA ISLAND
PICNIC BAY
Crown Lands & Survey Office. Hong Kong. 1972
MIDDLE ISLAND
REPULSE
BAY
NGAN CHAU
TAN:
CHUNG HOMI WAN
STANLEY BAY
STANLEY
HONG KONG, KOWLOON
AND ADJACENT NEW TERRITORIES
Scale in Kilometres
0
2
3
TAI TAM HARBOUR
TAI TAM BAY
BIG WAVE BAY
SHER
D'AGU ILAR
PEAK
HE BE HAVEN
ļ
一九七三年
-一九七二年的顧