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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today (Saturday) called on community groups to put the interest of Hong Kong as a whole in the first place, be open-minded towards opposing views and adopt a pragmatic approach in working together for a better future for the territory.

He reiterated that a cohesive and harmonious society was fundamental to a good business environment.

Mr Tung stressed the importance of more communication among various sectors in the community during a meeting this morning with Legislative Councillors from the Democratic Party.

The Chief Executive said, "While we have been affected by the Asian financial turmoil, the business environment here is still more attractive than a lot of places. This is because we practise free trade and the rule of law, we have a low taxation system and a cautious fiscal policy, our people are creative and we provide a level playing field for businesses.

"The 'One Country, Two Systems' concept puts Hong Kong in a strong position to develop our special status. We must make the most of this advantage, and grasp the opportunity to further improve our business environment, offer our industrial and commercial sectors greater scope for development, and open up more job opportunities," he said.

Turning to the proposal to include appointed members in the future District Councils, the Chief Executive said that during our consultation, we had gathered from the community different opinion about appointed membership.

"Many indicated their preference to retain appointed members in order to attract some individuals who are enthusiastic and interested in district affairs and are capable and experienced but have no intention to serve the community through the channel of election to join the District Councils.

"Such members will help to reflect the interest of different sectors within a District. And this will certainly be beneficial to the operation of District Councils and the people in the Districts particularly when many issues affecting the well-being of the people, such as advising on food and environmental hygiene service, will fall within the purview of District Councils in future," he said.

The Chief Executive stressed that Hong Kong's political system was moving forward steadily in accordance with provisions in the Basic Law. He said, "Our process of democratisation will move according to our pace of development."

Mr Tung shared the view that more competition was necessary in order to lower business operating costs.

"We appreciate that lower prices and higher efficiency resulting from keen competition would help enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness and be conducive to the development of our economy," he said.

"What we are doing is to advocate competition through administrative measures. We do this by individual trade rather than across the board as the latter may have a negative impact on certain trades and their employers.

"As a responsible Government, we must balance and take care of the interests of various sectors.

"To promote competition, we have completed a preliminary review of a number of government practices and is now actively examining those areas where improvement can be made," he said.

End/Saturday, January 9, 1999

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