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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, said today (March 30) that he shared the expectation of the community for the press to enhance the quality of news reporting. He also expressed support for the newspaper profession to strive for excellence to secure wider public approval.

In his address at today's Presentation Ceremony of 1999 Press Awards organised by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, Mr Tung stressed that newspapers represented a public institution with a social responsibility. He earnestly hoped that the press would strengthen its professional ethics and pursue self-regulation to meet the expectations of the public.

"Our society is highly tolerant. The stories covered by our newspapers are diverse in terms of subjects and content," Mr Tung said. "It is natural for newspapers to secure wider popularity in order to improve their circulation. However, in the long run, the press can only meet the high expectations of the community by striving for excellence and quality."

"Newspapers exercise very considerable influence. It is natural for the readership to expect newspapers to make a positive contribution to the values and standards in our community," he said.

Citing the winning entries of the Awards as examples, Mr Tung said that the outstanding photographs were much appreciated by the readers, and were distinct from pictures which had to be encoded or blurred in part for publication.

"The selection and appreciation of these outstanding entries certainly reflect a degree of value judgement. In our society, there exists a set of mainstream values to distinguish what is genuine, good and beautiful from what is ingenuine, distasteful and shameful. While Hong Kong society is highly open and tolerant, we have basic values which characterise our way of thinking, moral sentiments, behaviour and tastes.

"Hong Kong is part of China and the majority of our residents are Chinese. Our society has naturally inherited the essence of the Chinese culture, but at the same time has absorbed new ideas and cultural influences from the rest of the world. However, certain ethical values and norms are common to all civilisations, Chinese and western alike," he added.

Mr Tung said that from the standpoint of public acceptance, we should recognise that the community had expressed concerns about some of the practices of the press. These included reports which were irresponsible and distorted; coverage which harmed the interest of persons being reported on, without regard to the circumstances which victims faced nor their privacy; excessive displays of sex and violence, etc.

"Although such practices are not prevalent in most newspapers, they are sufficient to arouse concern in the community. Against this background, some time ago the Sub-committee on Privacy of the Law Reform Commission put forward the proposal of establishing a new regulatory framework. Several professional bodies of the media, including the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, have mooted proposals for self-regulation of the media. I earnestly hope that the press will strengthen its professional ethics, pursue self-regulation and meet the expectations of the public," he said.

The Chief Executive said that the public and the HKSAR Government were very concerned about pornographic articles disseminated through the media which profaned the morals of young people. He stressed that the Government attached much importance to the control of pornographic publications and had the commitment to address the issue.

"The younger generation represents Hong Kong's future. We have the responsibility to create a healthy environment for their development. This is not solely the responsibility of the press. We need the concerted efforts of parents, teachers and the entire community. With our joint commitment, and through developing Hong Kong into a major city of China as well as a leading world city of Asia, we will be able to establish a society which is rich in culture and which can offer the people of Hong Kong a more fulfilling life," he said.

Photo: The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, officiated at the presentation ceremony of the Best Press Articles and Photographs of theYear Awards 1999 organised by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong at Island Shangri-La Hotel. Picture shows Mr Tung delivering a speech at the ceremony.

End/Thursday, March 30, 2000

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