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Following is the transcript of the question-and-answer part of the press briefing by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today (Wednesday) after the meeting of Chief Executive's Council of International Advisers:

Reporter: ... the international advisers have any ... criticisms on anything that the Hong Kong Government is doing? ...

Mr Tung: I think they said to me and my colleagues that we are not doing sufficiently. On the PR side, Hong Kong has a very good story to tell and I'm not telling it very well to the press. No, they made this particular criticism that Hong Kong has a very good story to tell and I said to them: yes, the Government really needs to do more to get the story out. I hope you guys can help me in this effort. This is not just in Hong Kong, but also internationally, we need to get the story out a great deal more.

They had a tour of the campus today. They were very impressed with what Hong Kong has achieved,... what the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has achieved in the last seven years because it was only completed seven years ago. I told them that HKUST symbolises: number one, symbolises Hong Kong in a very special way, symbolises Hong Kong -- our can do spirit. We are going to build this university, build it quickly and we have done it. Secondly, it symbolises our move into science and technology. They have seen for themselves all the research projects we are doing here. Thirdly, it symbolises the international aspects of Hong Kong because there are professors from Germany, there are many professors who are Chinese-Americans who have returned to Hong Kong. So they were quite impressed with the University.

I'm sorry you were looking for criticisms. Let me think of another criticism. It was a beautiful day today. I think you will agree with me there was a bit of haze out there. The reminder is -- let's get on with the environmental protection.

Reporter: Hong Kong's prosperity has always relied on being the gateway to China. What's your assessment of Hong Kong's future and Hong Kong being a re-export centre for goods going in and out of Hong Kong? How do you address concerns of Hong Kong's exporters after China joins the WTO?

Mr Tung: Firstly, I have said that I read some financial reports by somebody, well-known international financial analysts, who indicated that because of China's accession to WTO, export and import trade to and from China will double by the year of 2005. The pie is going to get much bigger. And Hong Kong being one of the main centres of shipping, both by air and by sea, will benefit enormously from this expansion of trade. This is basically because the pie is getting bigger, substantially bigger.

Secondly, as I said earlier on, also that foreign direct investment is going to increase very rapidly. China already is the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment of any nation in the world, the United States being number one. Foreign direct investment into China will also increase. Hong Kong being a financial centre will benefit from this. Obviously some foreign direct investment will go directly into the Mainland of China. But some of it will come through Hong Kong also. So we will benefit from that also.

So Hong Kong will benefit from almost every aspect of China's accession to WTO. The concern that we have in Hong Kong about our future role is there whether China is in WTO or not, because if you have read my Policy Speech, the point I repeatedly made is that China is improving. In many cities in China, the infrastructure is getting a lot better. They are very conscious of environmental protection now, human resources is improving, quality is getting very good. Hong Kong will have to work very hard to stay ahead, and that is irrespective of whether China is in WTO or not. But I think China being in WTO, in fact, is very positive for Hong Kong. Thank you very much.

Photo: Picture shows Mr Tung briefing the media of the meeting during a press conference.

Transcript of Chief Executive's press briefing after CECIA (Chinese Part)

End/Wednesday, November 17, 1999

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