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Following is the transcript (English portion)of the media session given by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, today (May 25):
I am delighted to learn that the House of Representatives of the US Congress has approved legislation to grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status to China. This is an important milestone. All the indications are that the Senate will support this legislation when they vote on it in June.
Last week, we witnessed two major steps forward with China reaching agreements with the European Union and Australia on this issue. The scene is set for China to complete WTO accession within this year.
China's accession to the WTO, of course, will benefit China. But let's make no mistake it would benefit America a lot. It will benefit Hong Kong, Asia and indeed, the entire global economy. The opening up of China over the last 20 years and the sustained economic growth on the Mainland over the last 20 years has given Hong Kong enormous opportunities. With China's accession to the WTO, according to some expert forecasts, China's external trade and foreign direct investment going into Mainland are expected to double within the next seven to eight years. Our service sector and professions will have an enormous market in the Mainland to serve. There are great opportunities.
Our challenge is to get Hong Kong fully prepared, so that we can take advantage of all these new opportunities. The whole country is moving forward, and so is Hong Kong!
Earlier today, Mr Strickland presented the report of the independent panel on the Yuen Chau Kok short piles incident. The Chairman of the Housing Authority has also put to me this report.
I wish to say to the people of Hong Kong in clear and unequivocal terms that the Government takes this report very seriously.
* We will not tolerate short piles in any form whatsoever.
* We will not allow substandard public works to jeopardise public safety.
* If any officials are guilty of misconduct or corruption, we will deal with them severely strictly according to the law and civil service disciplinary regulations.
The Housing Authority will address the question of compensation with the contractor and ascertain responsibility.
The independent panel has recommended that while the question of compensation is being addressed, no public works contracts should be awarded to the contractor and its associated companies. The Government's Works Bureau has suspended the contractor, Zen Pacific Civil Contractors Ltd, from tendering for all Government public works contracts.
The Works Bureau and related departments have already stepped up supervision across the board to ensure that current public works being undertaken by the contractor and its associated companies are up to safety and professional standards.
I have also asked the Secretary for Housing to establish a special team to assess whether there is misconduct of officials of the Housing Department. If there is prima facie evidence, the Secretary for the Civil Service will commence necessary proceedings.
The Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption has reported to me in detail the progress made by the ICAC in this particular criminal investigation. The ICAC will, of course, conduct a thorough investigation. I have also asked the Corruption Prevention Department of the ICAC to undertake a thorough review of the site supervision system of the Housing Department to see how we can strengthen corruption prevention.
We are making efforts on many fronts to upgrade Hong Kong's position as a world city. We will not allow any "bad apples" to bring down the professional standards of our construction industry. The Construction Industry Review Committee chaired by Mr Henry Tang is examining the areas which need to be improved to upgrade our construction industry. This is a most important review. We do have to raise our standards in personnel training, modernisation of techniques, cost efficiency and other areas.
Let me restate the Government takes a very serious view of the issue of short piles. We will not refrain from, and are fully committed to, disciplining officials concerned, enforcing the law and protecting public interest and public safety.
Chief Executive's transcript (Chinese part)
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End/Thursday, May 25, 2000