MacLehose became Governor of Hong Kong in November 1971. He held the position until May 1982, making him Hong Kong's longest-serving governor: his 10 years and 6 months in office exceeded Sir
Alexander Grantham's record by one month. He was widely and affectionately known as "Jock the Sock", in reference both to his Scottish heritage and to his name, 'hose' being a word meaning sock or stocking. MacLehose was appointed Governor shortly after the
1967 Hong Kong riots due to his diplomatic background in Asia, perceived skill at political problems, and because the British government felt he lacked colonial baggage. MacLehose surmised that Hong Kong had already established economic capacity, and the time had come to reform Hong Kong's social policies. MacLehose, who stood well over six feet tall, avoided wearing his gubernatorial uniform, which made him ill at ease but wore a traditional colonial office uniform when he was sworn in as Governor by
Hugh Selby Norman-Walker. A diplomat with a
British Labour Party background, MacLehose introduced a wide range of reforms during his time in office that laid the foundation of Hong Kong as a cohesive, self-aware society. He had Chinese recognised as an official language for communication, alongside English. He greatly expanded welfare and set up a massive public housing programme. Under intense public pressure, he created the
ICAC to root out corruption. By establishing the
District Boards, he greatly improved government accountability. He oversaw the construction of the
Mass Transit Railway, Hong Kong's transportation backbone, and other major infrastructure projects. On his watch, community and arts facilities were expanded, and public campaigns, such as against litter and violent crime, were introduced. These changes required approval from the
UK Government Treasury for increased expenditure, and it was against some opposition that, in his first two years in office, Hong Kong government expenditure grew by over 50%. In private, MacLehose was a supporter of gay rights and was urged by activist
Elsie Tu and members of the Hong Kong Anglican Church to reform laws that made homosexual acts illegal in line with international human rights standards. However, MacLehose chose not to change the laws out of concern that it would be met with hostility by the more socially conservative Chinese population. Homosexuality was later decriminalized in Hong Kong by the British administration and Legislative Council in 1991. MacLehose was convinced China would eventually reclaim Hong Kong and opposed any significant move towards constitutional democracy in Hong Kong. Under MacLehose's tenure, Hong Kong faced significant problems with illegal immigration from mainland China due to political turmoil following the
Chinese Cultural Revolution. MacLehose issued the Immigration Ordinance of 1971 which mandated only those who have lived in Hong Kong for seven years can be issued a Hong Kong permanent resident identity card. He also initiated the "catch and release" policy of deciding to repatriate all captured illegal immigrants to China. MacLehose also listed 24 to 26 October 1979 as a three-day grace period to allow illegal immigrants who had already come to Hong Kong to apply for Hong Kong identity cards while police and border patrols with the mainland were intensified. His tenure also saw the arrival of
Vietnamese boat people following the
Fall of Saigon. MacLehose found sites across Hong Kong to set up twelve refugee centers, which were jointly managed by the Hong Kong government and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. After MacLehose left office, the Vietnamese refugee problem continued to plague Hong Kong. Although the Hong Kong government later announced the implementation of a "lockdown policy" in July 1982 to prevent refugees from leaving refugee centers and reduce the impact of refugees on society. The refugee camps remained in operation until the
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region closed the final camp in 2000.
Other notable policies Other major policies introduced during the MacLehose era included: • The introduction of nine years of compulsory education. • The introduction of the Ten-year Housing Programme in 1972 to alleviate housing problems. • The establishment of satellite 'new towns', such as
Sha Tin and
Tuen Mun. • The establishment of the
Country Parks. • The establishment of the social assistance scheme. • The construction of the
Mass Transit Railway. • An expansion of community facilities. • The adoption of Chinese as an official language. • The introduction of paid holidays. • An increase in social service provision for the elderly. • The introduction of redundancy payments for workers. • The introduction of a major rehabilitation programme for the disabled and disadvantaged. • An increase in the number of schools and hospitals. • The introduction of Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation. • The introduction of Traffic Accident Victims Assistance. • The establishment of the
Jubilee Sports Centre • The establishment of the
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Relations with China In order to cooperate with the improvement of Sino-British relations, MacLehose took a series of actions to repair the tense relations between China and Hong Kong since the Cultural Revolution and the 7 June riots. MacLehose was the first Governor of Hong Kong to make an official visit to China since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Alexander Grantham had been the first Hong Kong governor had visited Beijing in 1955, but in a private capacity.
Hong Kong sovereignty negotiations In 1979, MacLehose raised the question of Britain's 99-year lease of the
New Territories (an area that encompasses all territories north of
Boundary Street on the
Kowloon Peninsula), with
Deng Xiaoping. After returning to Hong Kong with the talks, MacLehose wished to avoid a public panic and did not publicly disclose the nature of the talks. He only quoted Deng Xiaoping as "telling Hong Kong investors to rest assured" but abandoned plans to reform Hong Kong's democratic model out of fear of provoking the Chinese government. The talks, although inconclusive at the time, eventually involved top British Government officials and paved the way for the handover of Hong Kong in its entirety, including those parts ceded to the UK in perpetuity, to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997. == Legacy and assessment ==