Speech by the Chief Executive

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Following is the speech delivered by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the Better Air Quality Motor Vehicle Control & Technology Workshop Opening Ceremony of Better Air Quality (BAQ) 2000 at Hong Kong Polytechnic University:

Mr Tsang, Mr Hung, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to take part in today's opening ceremony for the Better Air Quality 2000 Workshop. I extend a very warm welcome to our guests, especially those who have come all the way from the United States, Europe, part of Asia, and Mainland China to share your experience and expertise with our local experts in the important area of controlling motor vehicle emissions. I like also to take this opportunity to laud the Polytechnic University, not only for jointly hosting this very important gathering, but also for the research and development work and academic work that has been done in the area of protecting Hong Kong's environment.

Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong is already famous for being one of Asia's most cosmopolitan cities. We have set ourselves a vision of not being one of the most important cities of China, but also to build on our strength and to become a 'World City' in Asia - a great city with a vibrant economy and a dynamic, cultured and diverse population, like London in Europe and New York in North America. We already have many necessary ingredients - a flexible, well-educated and entrepreneurial workforce, excellent communications and infrastructure, a great airport, world-class financial services, low taxes and the rule of law upheld by an independent judiciary.

But there are areas where we need to do more. One is in the area of education, and we are now forging ahead with reforms that will promote life-long learning and equip our young people with the skills needed to succeed in the knowledge-based economy in the future.

Another area where we need to do a lot more is the environment. My government fully understands that it is no good having a hugely successful economy if we do not have a commensurate quality of life which includes clear air, fresh water, and a green and healthy living environment. Nowadays, a world-class business environment means more than just providing the institutions and physical infrastructure needed for business to flourish in an open and corruption-free system. Nowadays, as much emphasis is being placed on the state of the environment as much as on the state of the economy. And that is why I am delighted to see this workshop taking place in Hong Kong.

Controlling vehicle emissions is an important component of the government's comprehensive programme to improve the air quality in Hong Kong. In my Policy Address last year, I announced a set of aggressive but I believe achievable measures to reduce vehicle emissions. To curtail the two major pollutants in vehicle exhausts, we set a target to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions by 30% by the end of 2005 and to cut particulate emissions by 80% by that time. I am happy to say that, over the past twelve months, we have made considerable progress.

As one of the first steps, we have begun a programme to replace our 18,000 diesel taxis with those that run on cleaner liquefied petroleum gas. We are encouraging faster replacement by providing a one-off grant of $40,000 for each diesel taxi that is replaced. There are now 1400 LPG taxis on the road but we expect a much sharper increase in the coming few months as more LPG filling stations come on line.

From next week, we begin a programme to retrofit particulate traps on the 42,000 pre-Euro light diesel vehicles in Hong Kong. We will launch a similar retrofitting programme for pre-Euro heavy diesel vehicles after trials to identify catalytic converters best suited to Hong Kong driving conditions.

I am pleased to inform you that in July, Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to introduce ultra-low sulphur diesel. A concessionary duty was levied on the fuel to make it price-competitive with the normal diesel on the market at that time. Within a month all 160 petrol stations were selling this new fuel instead of the older type diesel. I was extremely encouraged by the quick uptake of this cleaner fuel. And in fact I believe it was the quickest transition to ultra-low sulphur diesel ever witnessed in any community. It just goes to show that with the right incentives people can and do opt for environmentally-friendly fuel options.

In order to better co-ordinate inter-departmental efforts to improve air quality, a Task Force chaired by the Secretary for the Environment and Food was established in May. In addition to overseeing the implementation of measures announced in last year's Policy Address, which were many, the Task Force will investigate further practicable measures that can be taken to tackle air pollution problems even more comprehensively.

I am very glad that events like today's workshop are being organized. It enables our local experts to exchange ideas and technical knowledge among themselves and with our overseas counterparts. This, of course, will be a great help to us as we develop new initiatives to tackle our air pollution problems.

I am sure that in the three days ahead all of you will find this workshop extremely useful and interesting. And, of course, I hope that all of our overseas guests also find time to enjoy the sites, sounds and hospitality of our home, Hong Kong.

With these remarks, I now declare this workshop open.

Thank you very much.

Photo: The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, addressing at the opening ceremony of the "Better Air Quality: Motor Vehicle Control & Technology Workshop" at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

End/Monday, September 18, 2000

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