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Three feature articles entitled "Crime Statistics in 1998", "Trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland of China" and "Trend of Public Transport Passenger Journeys" are published in the April 1999 issue of the Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics, which is now on sale.
"Crime Statistics in 1998"
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In 1998, Hong Kong had to face the Asian financial crisis and experienced a sharp downturn in economic growth. Hong Kong nevertheless fared much better from the perspective of law and order. Although crime in 1998 did not continue to fall as in the past few years, it remained generally at a low level. The overall crime rate fell to its lowest level in 24 years in 1997 and leveled out during 1998. Although both the overall crime rate and violent crime rate rose slightly by 3.9% and 3.8% respectively in 1998, the number of violent crimes such as robbery with firearms, homicide and serious narcotics offences continued to decrease. This article aims to give an overview of the latest crime situation in 1998. Various categories of crimes such as robbery, burglary, homicide, blackmail and theft, etc. are analysed.
For enquiries about this article, please call the Statistics Office, Crime Wing, Hong Kong Police Force (Tel. : 2860 8438).
"Trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland of China"
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Hong Kong and the mainland of China have maintained a close trading relationship with each other for many years. For a decade, the mainland has been the largest supplier of imports and largest destination for re-exports of Hong Kong, on average accounting for 38% and 33% of the value of Hong Kong's total imports and re-exports respectively over the period. Since 1993, the mainland has replaced the USA and become the largest destination of Hong Kong's domestic exports till today. On average, the mainland accounted for around 26% of Hong Kong's total domestic exports in the past decade.
At the same time, Hong Kong plays an important role in the external trade of the mainland. According to the China Customs' statistics, Hong Kong was the fourth largest trading partner of the mainland in 1998. This article analyses the performance and highlights the salient features of trade between Hong Kong and the mainland in recent years.
For enquiries about this article, please call the Trade Analysis Section, Census and Statistics Department (Tel. : 2582 4914).
"Trend of Public Transport Passenger Journeys"
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The passenger journeys handled by the public transport network increased at an average annual growth rate of 2.7%, from 2.3 billion in 1978 to 3.9 billion in 1998. The various modes of transports meet the demand of the community for transport services in respect of quality, speed and convenience. This article depicts the trend of passenger journeys handled by the public transport network during the past twenty years. It also analyses the shares of various modes in the network, and the number of passenger journeys handled by mode in 1998.
For enquiries about this article, please call Statistical Analysis Section, Transport Department (Tel. : 2829 5351).
The April 1999 issue of the Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics is now on sale at $62 a copy. In addition to the above three feature articles, it contains up-to-date information on Hong Kong's development regarding economic growth, labour market, inflation and many other social and economic issues.
This publication can be purchased at the Government Publications Centre, ground floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong. It is also available for sale at the Publications Unit of the Census and Statistics Department, 19th floor, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
Enquiries about the contents of this Digest can be directed to the General Statistics Section (1)B of the Census and Statistics Department (Tel. : 2582 5073). Regular subscription can also be arranged with the Publications Sales Section of the Information Services Department (Tel. : 2842 8844).
END/Thursday, April 22, 1999
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