Bulletin Number Two 1984

Kong is obviously trailing behind in social awareness, government spending in terms o f GNP, degree o f protection towards workers and the environment. It is only in the last five years that something has been done. However, we are better o ff than our neighbour ing countries. S. Tong: When compared w ith more advanced countries, Hong Kong is not doing enough in the area o f environ mental protection. Laws and legislation concerning various aspects o f pollution control are still in the drafting stage. Systematic research and in-depth study in environmental protection are also lacking. Moreover, coordination between the different government departments and private sectors in environmental management is generally poor. K . L iu : Although Hong Kong hasjust taken the first step, it is lagging behind such advanced countries as Japan, U.S.A. and Germany where environmental protection is a high priority. The shortage o f more advanced equipment prevents us from having agood surveillance and analysis o f the pollutants; the shortage o f personnel prevents us from attending to different pollution problems. A t the present stage, we need more specialists at the managerial level to carry out an in-depth study o f the impact o f pollutants on living organisms and on the environment, and to provide adequate data and information for the Government to draft laws and to control pollution problems. H o w is the situa tion in China in respect o f environ m en ta l p ro te c tio n ? S. Tong: China has devoted much effort to environ mental protection. Environmental Protection Bureaux have been set up in most counties to draw up legisla tion, enforce laws and carry out research. To achieve its goal o f modernization, China has to develop rapidly her agriculture, light and heavy industry; consequently, attention has also been given to environmental pro tection. Since 1973 when the first National Meeting on Environmental Protection was held, much progress has been made in this direction. In the 5th People's Congress, environmental protection was included into its plan for social development, underlining the importance attached to environmental protection. The only setback is that officials o f many departments and units are still ignorant o f the nature and importance o f environmental protection, thus unable to include it in their long-term planning strategies. K.C. Lam : The impression o f the Chinese environment has changed significantly in the last ten years. In the first half o f 1970s it was widely believed that the Chinese environment was a Maoist miracle —the country was clean and green, soil erosion was checked by massive afforestation, pests were effectively controlled by biological methods, and wastes were thoroughly recycled. However, since the downfall o f the ‘gang o f four', a great deal o f information concerning environ mental problems in China was gradually unfolded. These reports show that environmental pollution in China is at least as serious as any large modernized nation. Unlike Hong Kong, environmental degradation in China is not a consequence o f affluence, but is a result o f industrial inefficiency. Fortunately, the Chinese society is so structured that wastes are efficiently recylced and reutilized. China's moderni zation programme w ill have considerable bearing on the industrial efficiency, waste generation and the social structure. How these would affect the environ mental quality o f China would be an interesting topic for research. S. Donnan & T.C. Tan: From our experience in Guangdong Province over the past two years, it is apparent that concern for the health and safety o f workers is certainly as great as in Hong Kong, and in some places considerably greater. There are as yet some limitations to the technological support that is available, but rapid progress is being made and we hope to have the privilege and opportunity o f working w ith colleagues there to promote the development o f occupational health information and management systems. Is i t necessary f o r the lo cal universities to o ffe r a specialized programme on environm ental science to meet the lo ca l need f o r more specialized personnel?