Social administration
Introduction
There are a number of major developments in the social welfare system of Hong Kong over the past 60 decades. With hindsight, one is to see the shifts in the government’s role in the provision of social welfare services, from that of an entirely passive one in the 1950s to a relatively active one in the late 70’s and to that of a pro-active HKSAR government since the transfer of sovereignty. The following essay will be commenting on the development of social welfare in Hong Kong before and after 1997. In particular, the development of housing, social security and education policies, which are regarded as the pillars of social policy will be discussed in details. The essay will also discuss and suggest how the political, economic and socio-cultural factors affect the development of social welfare policies in Hong Kong.
Changes in Housing Policy before 1997:
The importance of housing policy in Hong Kong should never be ignored for it extends “far beyond the issue of shelter to that of social and also economic welfare.”1 There are a couple of fundamental changes in housing policy in the past 70 years.
In the 1940s, there was no “public housing policy” as such, 15 and 30 per cent of the population were living as squatters and in substandard and inadequate housing respectively.2 Until 1953, the government has been adopting a laissez-faire3 attitude towards housing policy, leaving housing allocation in the hands of market. The Hong Kong Housing Society, established in 1948 with the aim to provide low-cost housing was the only governmental organization which was responsible for housing policy during the relevant period.
The year 1953 should be recorded as the milestone in the development of Hong Kong’s housing policy, for the first public housing policy was launched in this year, after the broke out of the fire in Shek Kip Mei squatters’ area, leaving 50,000 people homeless in one night. The gravity of the housing problem was highlighted
There are a number of major developments in the social welfare system of Hong Kong over the past 60 decades. With hindsight, one is to see the shifts in the government’s role in the provision of social welfare services, from that of an entirely passive one in the 1950s to a relatively active one in the late 70’s and to that of a pro-active HKSAR government since the transfer of sovereignty. The following essay will be commenting on the development of social welfare in Hong Kong before and after 1997. In particular, the development of housing, social security and education policies, which are regarded as the pillars of social policy will be discussed in details. The essay will also discuss and suggest how the political, economic and socio-cultural factors affect the development of social welfare policies in Hong Kong.
Changes in Housing Policy before 1997:
The importance of housing policy in Hong Kong should never be ignored for it extends “far beyond the issue of shelter to that of social and also economic welfare.”1 There are a couple of fundamental changes in housing policy in the past 70 years.
In the 1940s, there was no “public housing policy” as such, 15 and 30 per cent of the population were living as squatters and in substandard and inadequate housing respectively.2 Until 1953, the government has been adopting a laissez-faire3 attitude towards housing policy, leaving housing allocation in the hands of market. The Hong Kong Housing Society, established in 1948 with the aim to provide low-cost housing was the only governmental organization which was responsible for housing policy during the relevant period.
The year 1953 should be recorded as the milestone in the development of Hong Kong’s housing policy, for the first public housing policy was launched in this year, after the broke out of the fire in Shek Kip Mei squatters’ area, leaving 50,000 people homeless in one night. The gravity of the housing problem was highlighted