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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, is encouraged by the success rate of retrained employees in finding new jobs during a visit to an employees retraining centre in Wong Tai Sin today (Wednesday).

Speaking after a visit to the Choi Wan Retraining Centre of Hong Kong YWCA Employees Retraining Service in Choi Wan Estate, Mr Tung said he was encouraged to note that some 80 per cent of employees who took various retraining courses at the centre had been able to find new jobs.

"We often urge employees to take training and retraining courses because we believe that the unemployed must never feel discouraged and give up," he said.

"While actively seeking jobs they must also seek to enhance their competitiveness by acquiring new knowledge and skills. And the maintenance and enhancement of our competitiveness is an on-going and long-term exercise," he added.

Mr Tung said that Hong Kong was going through a difficult period of economic adjustment. He said : "For many years, Hong Kong has been experiencing high property prices, high inflation and negative interest rates. These factors have seriously undermined our competitiveness and will affect our economic vitality in the long run. It has reached a stage when adjustments are inevitable and the Asian financial turmoil has sped up the process."

"In view of uncertain external factors and the fact that Hong Kong is going through a process of economic transformation, we can anticipate that our economic growth will inevitably be slowing down to some degree over the next few quarters. We must be psychologically prepared that this situation will last for some time," he said.

Mr Tung noted that under such circumstances, each family in Hong Kong would feel the pressure and be bothered to varying extents. "As the Chief Executive, I share the worries of the people. I can guarantee that together with my colleagues, we will do our best to assist people to tide over this adjustment period," he said.

Mr Tung stressed that we must not let temporary troubles blurred our view of Hong Kong. "To be blindly optimistic or blindly pessimistic will affect an accurate assessment of the future," he said.

"Our economic fundamentals are undeniably sound and stable," Mr Tung said. "All the favourable conditions in Hong Kong which have underpinned our robust development in the past, such as our prudent financial policy, low taxation, sound financial and banking regulation, first-rate infrastructural facilities are still there and unaffected by external factors."

He added that Hong Kong's inflation rate was at its lowest in many years and was on a downward trend. Together with the decline in wage levels and property prices, this would contribute to lower operating costs for businesses and thus increase our competitiveness.

Mr Tung said that the Government had introduced a number of fiscal measures in the 1998/1999 Budget to stimulate the economy. "The drastic tax reductions and increases in public expenditure together amount to about $52 billion, or four per cent of our GDP. A high ratio as such is rarely seen elsewhere," he said.

The Chief Executive maintained that it was the Government's responsibility and its goal to ease the hardships of the people.

He said that the Government had made concerted efforts to assist job seekers. "Infrastructural projects, the coming into operation of the new airport and Government departments together will provide some 30,000 new jobs over the next one to two years," he said.

Before his visit to the retraining centre, Mr Tung, together with the Secretary for Home Affairs Mr David Lan, kicked off a countdown to the May 24 Legislative Council Election at the Lok Fu Shopping Centre.

Mr Tung recalled that more than a year ago he had pledged that election for the first Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would be held within the first year of the establishment of the SAR. "This Sunday, May 24, is the important day," he said.

He urged voters to turn up at the polls on Sunday. By casting their votes, the electorate would not merely be exercising their civic duty, they would also be implementing the concept of "Hong Kong people running Hong Kong", Mr Tung said.

Mr Tung then proceeded to the Chi Nin Nunnery in Diamond Hill where he was briefed on the traditional Chinese architectural construction of the building.

Before concluding his visit to the Wong Tai Sin district, Mr Tung met with Wong Tai Sin Provisional District Board members and local community leaders at the Chuk Yuen Estate Community Centre.

Mr Tung was accompanied on the visit by the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Shelley Lau, and the Wong Tai Sin District Officer, Miss Diane Wong.

End/Wednesday, May 20, 1998

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