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Follows is a transcript of the Q&A session by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after his keynote speech at a lunch co-hosted by the Canadian Club of Toronto, Hong Kong Canada Business Association (Toronto), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Toronto in Toronto today (April 5, HK time)
Q: Mr Tung, I must congratulate you on your remarks. I had a couple of prepared questions in anticipation of waiting a minute or two for questions from the floor to come up, but you covered practically everything I was going to ask you. So, you're making this rather difficult.
One of the questions I had related to technology. Certainly, my impression from living in Hong Kong during the nineties was that Hong Kong was a laggard in terms of technology, certainly as compared to Canada and the United States. But since you've taken over, Hong Kong has made enormous strides in the areas of technology. One of the difficulties, I expect, that's going to happen, and you mentioned this briefly in your remarks, is that some of the people from the 'Old Economy' are not going to easily shift into the new economy. Is Hong Kong going to be able to find the critical mass of technology workers and could you tell us a bit about how you're expediting the immigration or the work visas for technology workers from North America or India?
Mr Tung: Thank you very much. Beforehand, before I answer the question, I just wanted to tell you that I was really concerned that my speech was so long. In Chinese custom, we would speak before lunch or before dinner and then I can be sure that, after I've spoken, I can have a nice lunch. But instead I had to keep on worrying about this, and then, on top of that, the speech being so long, I was a bit worried that some of you might fall asleep. I am pleased that most of you were quite attentive. Thank you very much.
About technology: about two years ago, I was trying to find a way forward and I established a Commission on Innovation and Technology. This commission was headed by Professor Tien. He was, for a long time, the President of UC Berkeley and, as you know, UC Berkeley is one of the premier schools in Silicon Valley - especially in areas of innovation and technology. So, he was very helpful, coming to Hong Kong, working together with people in the private sector to develop a vision for Hong Kong's future move into innovation and technology.
In Hong Kong, we're not talking about making basic research or sending people to the moon. We don't have the ability to develop 'rocket scientists', as such. What we are trying to do is to take the basic research which is available anywhere in the world, including on the Mainland of China and then commercialise it. This is what we are trying to do. Since about two years ago, since we started this program, the response in the community has been enormous, especially in information technology, in the IT area. We are really greatly encouraged.
The CEO of Microsoft, a controversial name today, but the CEO of Microsoft told me that there were 20,000 individuals in start-ups in Hong Kong. This was unheard of before. It's suddenly just happened. It shows Hong Kong people's basic entrepreneurial spirit, which was always there, even through the asset bubble and so on and so forth... That spirit was always there and this has now happened again.
But no, we're not going to produce rocket scientists. We are trying to really apply research into commercial applications. We recognise that our universities, as hard as they try, will not be able to meet the necessary demand from the community. And so we opened up our immigration process for people to come. It will take six weeks, so long as they have the right qualifications, so long as they are sponsored by private sector companies, to come and join us. I have to say the response has been enormous.
I have also been urging all of the companies in Hong Kong to embrace information technology as a way forward, as a way to improve their marketing, as a way to reduce costs and improve productivity. And I think the whole community has responded very well. Thank you.
Q: They certainly are responding very well. It also happens to boost their stock price significantly, in cases of listed companies that embrace technology. I certainly have been of the view that nobody does it better than Hong Kong when it comes to adapting and changing.
The question we have here is, how does your hometown, Shanghai ... will it be in a position to replace Hong Kong in terms of being the economic power of China? I'm sure you've heard that question before.
Mr Tung: For those who do not know me, I was born in Shanghai. So, Shanghai, obviously, has my affection. But my real affection, now, is for Hong Kong. My responsibility is to get Hong Kong going. I don't know how many of you have visited Shanghai. It's really, well, the progress that Shanghai has made is really startling in almost every aspect: infrastructure, roads, railways, building use, schools. It is astounding progress, but I just want to say one thing - I want to make sure Hong Kong is always ahead of Shanghai!
I think, in many areas, Shanghai and Hong Kong co-operate with each other. Shanghai will be the financial centre, the centre for trading, a major port for the whole of China. As far as Hong Kong is concerned, we have a unique position under 'One Country, Two Systems'. We go by Common Law. We practice Common Law in Hong Kong. So in terms of international financial markets, we do have an advantage. In terms of our geographic location, to serve the rest of Asia, we do have an advantage. And, in terms of serving Southern China, where the economy is growing by leaps and bounds, we have an advantage. And finally, I would say that as China gets bigger and bigger, the size of the pie gets bigger. There will be Hong Kong, there will be Shanghai and there will be two or three other cities who will all enjoy the growth of that economy together.
Q: The next question asks you to be something of a prophet. I hope you don't mind looking out into the future. The question is: what is your vision of Hong Kong in 50 years time? Will steps be taken to integrate Hong Kong into China, or do you see the 'One Country, Two Systems' arrangement continuing indefinitely?
Mr Tung: The commission of strategic studies was given a mission to look 10 years, 20 years, 30 years - not quite 50 years ahead! (laughter) I think that 'One Country, Two Systems' will go beyond 50 years and I'm quite sure Hong Kong will go from strength to strength as time goes one.
Q: I think the 50 years was a minimum. It wasn't ever set out as a maximum. The next question: Hong Kong is well known for its exporting capability. With the developments of the Cyberport, Disneyland and investment in infrastructure, how do you assess the capability of Canada as an exporter of products and expertise to Hong Kong?
Mr Tung: During the course of my visit to Toronto and Ottawa, short as it may be, I met, already, some leading business personalities and I'm looking forward to meeting some more this evening. I have to tell you that I was very impressed with the range of products that Canada has to offer that Asia would be interested in. I visited Nortel yesterday afternoon to see some of the latest innovation that the company has. I have to say to you, that your products are right there. They are one of the best and, you know the United States is too big a market, too close to home and probably too easy to sell. I would urge you to come to Asia, do a whole lot more because that market is a very big one. As I said earlier on, in 10 years time the combined GDP of the Asian countries will be as large as NAFTA. So, the market is out there. You have the product. Come and sell. Let me say one more time, promoting Hong Kong... Use Hong Kong as a base.
Q: Now, we have a couple of questions here about pollution. Hong Kong is always ranked, when 'Fortune Magazine' or other magazines look at global cities, they always rank Hong Kong as one of the five top cities in which to do business. One area where it always scores very poorly is the level of pollution in Hong Kong. I was there last week, and for two days, the headlines in the newspapers were 'Record high pollution levels'. You mentioned some very interesting initiatives with respect to the buses, the public transport system. Can you tell us how quickly things are likely to improve? What are the concrete steps that are being taken?
Mr Tung: Pollution, air pollution is a major problem in Hong Kong. We have more diesel vehicle transport on the road, in terms of density, in terms of miles traveled, I think, than any other city in the world. All our buses are diesel vehicles. Our taxis, they are all diesel engine vehicles and that is causing a major problem in Hong Kong. Additionally, very rapid industrial development across the border from Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta is another factor affecting the pollution on both sides. So, if the wind is blowing from south to north, Pearl Delta is affected by our pollution. And vice versa, when the wind is blowing from north to south.
We are determined to cure this particular problem. Firstly, the Governor of Guangdong Province and I made a six-point joint declaration to emphasise our joint determination to, as quickly as possible, deal with this air pollution issue. In Hong Kong, too, we are looking very resolutely at changing our transport policy, a whole new approach. For instance, we are going to eliminate taxis driven by diesel engine. They all will be, at a certain time, driven by LPG. So, all these initiatives have now begun. Unfortunately, none of these are easy. There are no quick solutions. So, we have targeted the year of 2005/2006 as the year where our air pollution will improve to the extent that they can be acceptable.
Later on this afternoon, I'm visiting the mayor of Toronto and, particularly, I have asked for a review about how Toronto handles air pollution, waste disposal, et cetera, et cetera... as a way of learning from you, how you have dealt with these particular problems.
Q: Thank you, Mr Tung for your kindness in answering these questions. I have a whole series of additional questions, but I'm told by your advisors that we're running out of time. So I have one last question for you that is of utmost importance to your audience, and that is : what do you think the chances are for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup this year?
Mr Tung: When I was in Boston in 1960 and '61, I'm sorry it was the Montreal Canadiens. And later on, when I got back to Hong Kong, I noted that the Boston Bruins with Bobby Orr were winning. I hope it's time for Toronto Maple Leafs! (laughter).
Thank you very much.
End/Wednesday, April 5, 2000
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