Press Release

 

 

Chief Secretary for Administration: Gov't committed to making HK premier international city

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Hong Kong's commitment to realising the dream of becoming the premier international city of the region is deep-seated and strategically underpinned, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, said.

Addressing the British Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon today (Thursday), Mrs Chan stressed that the international business community would have a key role to play in that process.

On the environmental front, Mrs Chan noted that there had been warnings that Hong Kong's less than perfect environment might make it increasingly difficult to attract foreign investment and new overseas companies to establish in the territory.

She pointed out that the Chief Executive had launched an all-out assault on environmental problems in his third Policy Address.

"Through the efforts of a joint partnership with the entire Hong Kong community, from government and business through to the newest arrival from the Mainland, we should begin to see the evidence of cleaner air and a better quality environment filtering through before 2005," she said.

She believed that the evidence would become even more pronounced as a result of increased cross-boundary co-operation between the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments.

"Although we have already seen a price tag of $30 billion," she said, "the cost to the community for not proceeding down this environmental path will be far, far greater.

"By reducing particulate and other air pollutant levels to the targets set for 2005, we will cut hospital admissions by over 10,000 a year. That alone represents significant cost savings, but more importantly it means there will be far more healthier people in our community as a result," she added.

Mrs Chan also highlighted the need for a critical mass of well-educated people to turn Hong Kong into a world-class city.

"As you are aware, to a large extent, Hong Kong's competitiveness in the future depends on a workforce that has effective communication skills in both English and Chinese," she said.

For the younger generation, she noted that the Education Commission is getting on with its task to review Hong Kong's entire education system and produce recommendations that will result in the all-round development of young people.

"As a government, we are continuing to improve the quality of our English teachers and the method of instruction in the schools to ensure that students master basic language skills at an early stage," she said.

She noted that the Government is also delighted to join hands with the business community next year to launch a Hong Kong-wide publicity campaign promoting the use of English in the work place and in the community at large.

"So, this should be a spur to all of us here to re-double our efforts to maintain our competitive edge.

"But it may also act as a positive factor in moves to expand our economic base into a high-tech, higher value-added content and to attract talented people from other areas of China and, indeed, from other countries," she said.

On bringing in people from the Mainland, Mrs Chan said that they will be people who excel in their own fields and who have the necessary technological skills and experience that are currently not available in Hong Kong or not available in sufficient numbers. She stressed that the idea is to stimulate job growth, not to break local rice bowls.

She also assured the audience that the plan will not affect Hong Kong's long-standing policy of welcoming talent from all over the world.

"The strength of the foreign business community here has always been a measure of our reputation as an international city.

"On the one hand, we look to you for advice in keeping our policies business friendly. On the other, we look to you for leadership in maintaining business standards," she added.

On recent reports about shoddy work in Hong Kong's construction industry, Mrs Chan said that the Government will work closely with the Housing Authority, and in consultation with the industry and its associated professionals, to see what is required to improve and maintain standards, and ensure discipline.

Turning to the economy, Mrs Chan said: "We are meeting the challenges thrown up by the Asian financial crisis and the IT revolution by reforming and readjusting our economy.

"We are refining our services infrastructure to make Hong Kong even more business-friendly for international companies to set up here."

She said that Hong Kong's gradual climb from the depths of the worst recession in living memory is a tribute to the resilence of Hong Kong and its people. With a forecast growth of two per cent in the economy in the second half of this year, Hong Kong should be able to achieve the forecast growth of 0.5 per cent for the year as a whole. This would be a significant turnaround from the negative growth of 5.1 per cent last year.

On the implementation of "One Country, Two Systems", Mrs Chan said: "The Central Government has been scrupulous in adhering to its hands off approach to Hong Kong - allowing us free rein to get on with the job of running Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy laid down in our constitution."

She strongly disagreed with the view of some people that there had been a gradual dilution of Hong Kong people's freedoms, way of life and the commitment to the rule of law.

She stressed that the Government remains firmly committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting Hong Kong people's way of life.

Turning to the subject of constitutional arrangements, Mrs Chan noted that there were claims that serious flaws in the system ate away at the process of good governance. She said: "Life is not always easy for an executive-led government which does not have a single vote in the legislature to which it is accountable. That means Government officials have to spend a huge amount of time explaining, persuading, lobbying often skeptical legislators about our proposals and decisions."

The upside of this process, Mrs Chan said, is that having debated and discussed the proposals, sometimes to a standstill, the end result is one in which the public can be confident as it has been exhaustively tested in the court of public opinion.

The Chief Secretary for Administration said that the Basic Law clearly lays down a timetable for constitutional change and the opportunity of reform.

"We are on a steep learning curve, and my own view is that arriving at a community consensus on the most appropriate and workable arrangements for harmonious government is one of the most important decisions we will need to take in the coming years.

"The key to a successful conclusion is to fix as our common objective the preservation and protection of the high degree of autonomy we enjoy under 'One Country, Two Systems'," she added.

Photo:The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, attended the British Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Conrad Hotel. Photo shows Mrs Chan making a point during the Question-and-Answer session.

End/Thursday, October 14, 1999

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