Hong Kong in the 1970s underwent many changes that shaped its future, led for most of the decade by its longest-serving and reform-minded Governor,
Murray MacLehose
Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...
. Economically, it reinvented itself from a manufacturing base into a financial centre.
Background
Political talks about the
Second Convention of Peking
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
resurfaced in the early 70s. The
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
land lease agreement would end within 27 years in 1997. MacLehose began visiting
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
to talk about the future of Hong Kong with
PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
leaders.
The British and the PRC governments began a long negotiation process that would ultimately lead to the
Handover of Hong Kong
Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the British Hong Kong, former colony. Hong Kong was establ ...
in 1997.
Political and social development
Under
Sir Murray MacLehose, 25th
Governor of Hong Kong
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
(1971–82), a series of reforms improved public services, the environment, housing, welfare, education and infrastructure. MacLehose was the longest-serving governor and, by the end of his tenure, had become one of the most popular and well-known figures in the Crown Colony. MacLehose laid the foundation for Hong Kong to establish itself as a global city in the 1980s and early 1990s.
A number of MacLehose's most significant policies included:
* Nine years of compulsory, free education for school-aged children
* ICAC (
Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong)
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong was established by Governor of Hong Kong, Governor MacLehose of Beoch, Sir Murray MacLehose on 15 February 1974, when Hong Kong was under colonial Hong Kong, British rule. Its ma ...
) in 1974: eradicated corruption in public bodies, police force, firefighters and business corporations, which led to Hong Kong being regarded as one of the least corrupt cities during the 1990s
* the Ten Years Housing Scheme, designed to end squatting and slums and provide ample housing for expansion.
* Social welfare protection: Jobseekers' Allowance, Elderly Allowance, Disability Allowance, etc.
* Overhaul of the healthcare system and construction of
Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Queen Mary Hospital,
Princess Margaret Hospital and
Prince of Wales Hospital
Prince of Wales Hospital is a large of Tertiary referral hospital and large of teaching hospital from Faculty of Medicine in Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong..
Named after Charles, Prince of Wales (now ...
* Adoption of Chinese, along with English, as an official language of British Hong Kong
* Development of new towns,
Sha Tin
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The ne ...
and
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...
* Establishment of
country parks
A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.
United Kingdom
History
In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...
to preserve 70% of Hong Kong's green landmass
With the rising public service provision came a clampdown on the free flow of refugees from mainland China that had powered the growth of Hong Kong since the Second World War. In 1974, the 'touch base' was introduced, under which only those immigrant arrivals who reached the urban areas were allowed to stay. Six years later, it was replaced by a policy of repatriation for all illegal arrivals.
Culture
Metrication
The
Metric System
The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...
was adopted under the 1976
Metrication Ordinance
The Metrication Ordinance () was enacted in 1976 in Hong Kong. The law allowed a gradual replacement of the Imperial units and Chinese units of measurement in favour of the International System of Units Metric System. The adoption was facilitat ...
. Subsequently, many of the
wet market
A wet market (also called a public market or a traditional market) is a marketplace selling fresh foods such as meat, fish, produce and other consumption-oriented perishable goods in a non-supermarket setting, as distinguished from " dry market ...
s and
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
shops used the
old Chinese system for at least another decade.
Education
The Hong Kong government introduced six years of free
compulsory education
Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at other places.
Compulsory school attendance or compulsory schooling ...
in 1971, and expanded it to nine years in 1978. Companies were also seeking well educated employees for complex projects. Seventy-two percent of overseas graduates between 1962 and 1976 would come back to Hong Kong to take on highly skilled domestic positions.
Domestic entertainment
On 7 September 1975,
Commercial Television
Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...
was established. It provided competition for the other two other companies:
Rediffusion Television
Rediffusion Television (RTV) was the first television station in Hong Kong, making it both the first British colony and the first predominantly ethnically Chinese city to have television.Kitley, Philip. 003(2003). Television, Regulation and ...
and
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...
. Unable to compete, Commercial TV closed down on 22 August 1978 after only three years of operation.
The 1970s was when Hong Kong gained daily news broadcasts. News programmes ranked in the top 10 continuously for a decade. Other segments of the
ratings included TV dramas, which averaged 80 to 120 episodes, usually broadcasting at 7:00 pm. 66% of the population tuned in regularly covering 2 to 3 million viewers nightly. Popular series finales would empty streets and restaurants. Most series did not contain much if any Chinese traditionalism. The theme songs of these dramas also helped revive Cantonese music - indeed the term
Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
was coined during this period.
Foreign entertainment
Hong Kong also found itself at a unique geographical and cultural crossroads. Many of the western artists like
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
were getting exposure in the music industry. Toys from Japan have arrived in Hong Kong via random and inconsistent shipments in the past. But the first big waves of Japanese products with staying power in the market place were mainly
super robot
Mecha anime and manga, known in Japan as and , are anime and manga that feature robots (mecha) in battle. The genre is broken down into two subcategories; "super robot", featuring super-sized, implausible robots, and "real robot", where robots are ...
toys.
Gordian Warrior
is a Japanese anime television series that aired in 1979 to 1981. There were 73 episodes. It is also referred to as ''Champion of Gordian'' or ''Gardian''.
Original Story
The Earth had become a wasteland of deserts as the survivors work to ...
and
Baxinger were some that were commonly available.
The 1975 Japanese series ''
Ultraman
''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with ''Ultra Q'' and then ''Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is one ...
'' was aired, and was named as such since the protagonist had eyes resembling eggs. The children were fascinated. Kids tried to "fly" in the air, imitating their heroes. Two kids (aged 3½ and 4½) attempted a flight jumping off a 7-storey building in
Kowloon City
Kowloon City is an neighbourhood, area in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is part of Kowloon City District.
Compared with the council area of Kowloon City District, the Kowloon City area is
History
As early as in the Qin dynasty (221 BCE ...
on 26 July 1975. The younger brother was killed on the spot, while the elder was miraculously saved. The broadcast of the series was suspended for a while after the accident.
Cinema
The
martial arts film
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...
s starred by
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
, including the 1971 ''
The Big Boss
''The Big Boss'' (, lit. "The Big Brother from Tangshan"; originally titled ''Fists of Fury'' in America) is a 1971 Hong Kong action martial arts film produced by Raymond Chow and starring Bruce Lee in his first major film in a lead role. The ...
'' () and ''
Fist of Fury
''Fist of Fury'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after ''The Big Boss'' (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreogr ...
'' () the following year, were sensational. Cornered for some times by Western and Mandarin films, Cantonese films were much revived in the 1970s, with the great success of 1976 ''The Private Eyes'' (), directed by
Michael Hui
Michael Hui Koon-man (born ; 3 September 1942) (also known as Mr Boo!) is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director. He is the eldest of the four Hui brothers (together with Ricky, Sam, and Stanley) who were prominent figures in ...
, which is said to remain the all-time
box-office
A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...
king of
Hong Kong cinema
The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of po ...
when
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
is taken into account.
The James Bond film ''
The Man with the Golden Gun'' in 1973 was filmed in Hong Kong. The film featured the wreck of SS ''Seawise University'' and that of the famous former Cunard Ocean liner
RMS ''Queen Elizabeth''.
Natural disasters
In August 1971,
Typhoon Rose passed over Hong Kong causing extensive damage, forcing the hoisting of
Hurricane Signal No. 10 on 16 August. A total of 5,664 people from 1,032 families became homeless. The typhoon also destroyed 653 wooden huts and damaged 24 buildings, six beyond repair.
In June 1972,
torrential rains caused two serious landslides in
Sau Mau Ping and the
Mid-levels
Mid-Levels is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals.
The Mid-Levels is further ...
respectively. Around 150 were killed and many buildings were destroyed.
In August 1979,
Typhoon Hope reached Hong Kong but has weakened considerably from the 150 mph wind earlier.
Law and order
Anti-corruption campaigns
In the 1970s, corruption was a way of life in Hong Kong, being the norm in all government departments. Policemen would often extract bribes (popularly called "tea fee") before they investigated a crime, as did firemen before they rescued people and put out fires. Many
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
detective superintendents amassed incredible wealth from their corrupt dealings with
triads and corporations. Their names have been seared into the memories of the older generations, their stories adapted into several popular movies such as ''
To be Number One'' (跛豪) in 1991. That is not to say British officers were entirely clean in their dealings.
In 1974,
Hong Kong Governor
The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...
Murray MacLehose
Crawford Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, (; 16 October 1917 – 27 May 2000), was a British politician, diplomat and the 25th Governor of Hong Kong, from 1971 to 1982. He was the longest-serving governor of the colony, with four ...
, realising the seriousness of the problem, founded the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). The investigations and arrests of many police officers created a furore among the police, who protested against the ICAC and even tried to overrun the headquarters in one protest.
The Governor, concerned to avoid a possible police strike or even rebellion, at last issued a pardon, preventing arrests in cases committed before 1977. However, the pardon did not extend to higher-level detective superintendents. These high-level Chinese officers, famous for their riches, left for exile to Taiwan, which had no extradition treaty with Hong Kong. In time, the efforts of the ICAC changed the habits of an entire population and turned Hong Kong into one of the least corrupt cities in the world.
Politics
Defend Diaoyutai Islands campaigns
In 1970, the
American government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
returned to Japan the sovereignty of
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
and
Diaoyutai Islands
The are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, west of Okinawa Island, and north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands. They are known in main ...
(known as the Senkaku Islands to Japan). The act stirred up campaigns for defending the Diaoyutai Islands among Chinese societies all around the world. The "Hong Kong Federation of Students" (香港專上學生聯會) requested a protest at
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
in
Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
on 7 July 1971. Having been frightened by the
1967 riots 1967 riots may refer to:
* Long, hot summer of 1967, marked by race riots and civil disorder throughout the United States
** Avondale riots of 1967, June 12–18, Cincinnati, Ohio
** Buffalo riot of 1967, June 27–July 1, Buffalo, New York
** 1 ...
, the police tried to prevent the protest. Unnecessary violence erupted, leading to the arrests of students. The media criticised the violation of
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
. The British police officers involved were sent back to the UK and went unpunished. Protests concerning the defence of Diaoyutai Islands continued to be held the following months.
Economy
Manufacturing
Many factors contributed to the decline of manufacturing in Hong Kong. The late 1970s saw increases in land prices. Along with the opening up of global trade with China via the 1978
economic reforms
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
, factories were gradually relocated to the mainland, where labour costs were lower.
At the same time, Singapore and Taiwan underwent similar developments to those of Hong Kong. The competitiveness of manufacturing similar products led to
protectionism
Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
to shelter local companies. As a result, there was less demand for Hong Kong goods.
Property and land
Following decades of immense and sustained immigration, the shortage of housing in the territory became acute. Many lived in squatter settlements or boats, where they were susceptible to typhoons, fires and landslides. To improve the quality of
public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
and relieve overcrowded conditions, the government announced the Ten-year Housing Programme (十年建屋計劃) in 1972, with the goal of providing quality housing for 1.8 million people in 10 years. The
Hong Kong Housing Authority
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) is the main provider of public housing in Hong Kong. It was established in April 1973 under the Housing Ordinance and is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong. In the same year, the Resettlement Departm ...
was formed to spearhead the programme. The government also introduced the
Home Ownership Scheme
The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing with two aims – to encourage b ...
(居者有其屋計劃) in 1976, building houses and selling them at below-market prices to help people own property.
Emerging businesses
Wellcome
Wellcome () is a supermarket chain owned by British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings via its DFI Retail Group subsidiary. The Wellcome supermarket chain is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Parkn ...
, the first
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
in Hong Kong, was opened in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
in 1970. It was called "
Gweilo
''Gweilo'' or (, pronounced ) is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use. Cantonese speakers frequently use to refer to ...
market" by some locals, as most customers were westerners during the initial period of its operation, but Chinese citizens would soon embrace this new kind of store. By 1975, more than 200 big- and small-scaled supermarkets could be found in the city. These new stores eliminated most traditional rice dealers (米舖), wine shops (辦館) and convenient stores (See Dor) (士多).
Wellcome
Wellcome () is a supermarket chain owned by British conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings via its DFI Retail Group subsidiary. The Wellcome supermarket chain is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Parkn ...
and
PARKnSHOP
ParknShop (styled ''PARKnSHOP'', ) is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Wellcome. ParknShop operates more than 300 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.
The first ParknShop store opened in Stanley ...
did not take long to capture the market. The front and full page ads of these two mega franchises aided in their increase in popularity
where smaller traditional stores couldn't. The first
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant opened on Paterson Street,
Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
in 1975.
Infrastructure
Hong Kong's first modern rapid transit, the
Mass Transit Railway
The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...
(MTR) was opened in October 1979. The first line served eastern Kowloon from
Shek Kip Mei
Shek Kip Mei, is an area in New Kowloon, to the northeast of the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. It borders Sham Shui Po and Kowloon Tong.
History
At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Shek Kip Mei was 72.
A major fire on 25 ...
to
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon ...
. In December, services were extended to
Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hu ...
, and by 1980, it was possible to ride from Kwun Tong to the central business district in Central on the other side of the harbour on Hong Kong Island.
The
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method.
It is the earl ...
, the first underwater tunnel in Hong Kong, opened in 1972. For the first time in the region's history, people could travel between Hong Kong and Kowloon without taking ferries. As a result, small electrical boats like
sampans
A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed Chinese and Malay wooden boat. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. The design closely resembles Western hard chine boats like th ...
(小電船) were gradually eliminated.
Kai Tak Airport
Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply Ka ...
was expanded in the first half of the 1970s to handle
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
s, despite the limited land space and proximity to nearby hills.
Finance
People grew richer entering the 1970s. Not surprisingly, people started to look for some means of investment. The passing of
Banking Ordinance of 1964
The Banking Ordinance is a set of laws passed by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to tighten restrictions for opening up or licensing a bank. Prior to the 1964 re-regulations, the government had no way to control bank's monetary effect on ...
would begin the tightening up of banks. A minimum capital of HK$5 million and
liquidity ratio of 25% and limitation on loans and investments became the new requirements to operate legally.
[Jao YC. 001(2001). The Asian Financial Crisis and the Ordeal of Hong Kong. Quorum, Greenwood. ] People began to have more trust in their banks, and the accumulation of savings led to people's willingness to invest.
Soon, the stock rush began. New stocks were on sale every day; brokerage houses mushroomed; some people quit their jobs to become full-time investors, suffering a kind of urban disease that doctors called "stock illness". It is said that the investors during this period numbered to 500,000. The
Hang Seng Index
The Hang Seng Index (HSI) is a freefloat-adjusted market- capitalization-weighted stock-market index in Hong Kong. It is used to record and monitor daily changes of the largest companies of the Hong Kong stock market and is the main indicator ...
kept soaring, but then
crashed
"Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...
in March 1973, leaving many people bankrupt. The Hong Kong economy recovered only slowly over the next few years.
In 1976, a "Deposit-taking Companies Ordinance" was also passed to enforce non-licensed bank institutions to register with the government. A minimum paid up capital requirement of HK$2.5 million was also required.
The strategy was to mirror the
Deposit Trust concept in the United States.
Resource
As a result of the water shut-down by mainland China during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
riots in Hong Kong, the government responded with a
desalination plant
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltwa ...
at Lok On Pai,
Castle Peak in 1975. The
High Island Reservoir
The High Island Reservoir, located in the far south eastern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula, was opened in 1978 helping to alleviate water scarcity, water shortage problems in Hong Kong. Its water capacity is approximately 273 million cubic ...
construction went from 1969 to 1979, and was expected to be the same size as
Plover Cove
Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae.
Description
There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subf ...
. The construction, contracted by a Japanese company cost more than HK$400 million.
[Mody, Ashoka. ]997
Year 997 (Roman numerals, CMXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first ...
(1997). Infrastructure Strategies in East Asia: “The ”Untold Story". World Bank Publications.
Trivia
Tsang Tsou Choi
Tsang Tsou-choi (), commonly referred to as the "King of Kowloon" () (12 November 1921 – 15 July 2007) was a Hong Kong citizen known for his calligraphy graffiti.
Early years
Tsang was born in Liantang Village (), Koyiu (Gaoyao), Shiuh ...
, or the "Kowloon Emperor", began his career of calligraphy graffiti in the 1970s.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1970s in Hong Kong
British Hong Kong