A weekly look through the archives at how the century progressed April 6, 1958: Rediffusion (HK) Ltd began broadcasting television programmes. For years, while television was a treat for the wealthy, it came a very low second to radio programmes on the daily entertainment listings. Rediffusion - which started off on a cable system - received its wireless TV licence in 1973. In 1982 the company's name was changed to Asia Television Ltd. TVB did not start broadcasting until 1967.
January 1962: Hong Kong was becoming a Mecca for tourism, with 'in excess of 215,000 tourists arriving every year', it was reported. 'This means that whereas a few years ago we were looking at tourism in terms of less than 10,000 visitors a month, we must now do so in terms of double that number,' a happy Hong Kong Tourist Association spokesperson said.
January 1962: Drilling for the Lion Rock Tunnel started. It was completed five and a half years later, opening the direct link between Kowloon and Sha Tin.
February 1962: The border with China opened and in 25 days more than 70,000 people flooded into Hong Kong and the horrors of the famine on the mainland were realised. Field rats, revealed one story, were becoming a popular food in southern China as the food shortage became more acute. Even many wild plants were rationed by the authorities, reported an arrival from Canton.
January 1963: In the coldest month of an exceptionally cold year, the Government's resettlement policy went ahead with its plan to get rid of shanty districts, making 400 people homeless in Jordan Valley, Kowloon.
October 1963: The Chinese University of Hong Kong was established at an inaugural meeting held at City Hall, ending the monopoly over tertiary education held by the University of Hong Kong since 1912.