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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today (Tuesday) met representatives from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance (HKPA) and exchanged views with them on various economic and livelihood issues.

He also listened to their proposals on ways to relieve people's difficulties in his Policy Address to be delivered next month.

The Chief Executive said that preparing for the second Policy Address was an even bigger challenge than for the first one.

"I have confidence in Hong Kong's future," he stressed. "I believe we will be able to find opportunities during difficult times. Nevertheless, we must face the reality and be prepared to go through an extended period of hardship."

Mr Tung agreed with the DAB's view that Hong Kong's economy was undergoing structural changes. He said : "We must recognise and treasure our strengths and advantages, and develop on them. These included development of our relationship with the Mainland and the tourist industry."

"Furthermore, the property market has gone through rapid adjustment. This, together with the regulatory measures soon to be introduced for the financial markets, will seek to improve the competitiveness and operations of our markets. I hope as external factors stabilise, we will once again become attractive to foreign investors, thus bringing about a speedy recovery of our economy," he added.

As regards industrial development, the Chief Executive said that the Government, employers and employees should have the courage to face the reality.

"The Government will provide the framework conducive for long-term development with the aim of safeguarding the interest of workers and attracting new and long-term investment in enterprises," he said.

On housing, Mr Tung said : "The Government's objective is to stabilise property prices. We will also continue our efforts in achieving public housing targets."

The Chief Executive also took the opportunity to thank DAB and HKPA for their support of Government's action in dealing with market manipulators. He said that unity of the community was important to improving the operation of the financial markets and hoped that Government's new measures would receive support from all political parties.

End/Tuesday, September 15, 1998

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