CE sets out common goals for HK people

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Education, poverty and Hong Kong's governance receive the greatest emphasis in the Policy Address delivered by Chief Executive Mr Tung Chee Hwa in the Legislative Council today (October 11).

Mr Tung said that the Government would focus on these areas in the coming year.

"Education reform should be a matter of concern for society generally; the poor need our support; the implementation of various policies requires the monitoring, support and participation of the public," he said.

"I sincerely hope that every member of the community can join hands with me, sharing common goals, so together we can build a better Hong Kong."

Poor and disadvantaged

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"It is our duty to assist the disadvantaged in society," Mr Tung said. "We plan to allocate over $2.7 billion in the next two years to finance various measures to help the poor. But I must point out once again that the fundamental way to address the poverty problem is to create ample employment opportunities through sustained economic growth on the one hand, and continuously upgrade the quality of people's skills through education on the other. We must persevere in our efforts in these areas."

Education

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On education, the Chief Executive said that he had stressed from the beginning of his tenure that he would do his best to cultivate the talents Hong Kong needed. Resources allocated to education had continued to rise significantly despite overall budgetary constraints.

"Total spending on education this financial year amounts to $54.4 billion, a jump of 43 per cent compared to that before our reunification," he said. "It now represents 4.25 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product."

Mr Tung said that the education system could no longer meet the challenges of the new age. The knowledge-based New Economy needed a large pool of talent equipped with the right skills and creativity. Improvement would start at the earliest stage, by upgrading the quality of teachers.

Mr Tung said that Hong Kong had to catch up with developed countries and some major cities in Asia, where up to 60 per cent of senior secondary school graduates could pursue tertiary education.

"For Hong Kong, however, the rate is just about half that, not only are we lagging far behind, but we are failing to meet the needs of a knowledge-based economy," Mr Tung said. "Our objective is that within 10 years, 60 per cent of our senior secondary school leavers will receive tertiary education.

"As education is our most important long-term investment, we are determined to continue to provide the necessary resources. Full implementation of all the plans I have outlined will increase our annual recurrent expenditure on education by about $2 billion."

Gearing up for the Knowledge Economy

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Mr Tung said that developments in Hong Kong in the past three years revealed profound changes in public awareness in two areas: the knowledge economy and the environment.

"The first change is that people can now better appreciate the importance of innovation and technology," he said. "Three years ago, there were very few people in Hong Kong who thought about the relationship between technology and economic development. Now it is widely recognised that innovation and technology are essential to enhance productivity for our sustained economic growth."

To meet the challenges of the knowledge-based New Economy, the SAR Government had adopted a series of measures to improve its soft and hard infrastructure.

These included:

* Further liberalising the telecommunications and broadcasting markets.

* Introducing a legislative framework to promote the use of electronic transactions.

* Setting up the Growth Enterprise Market.

* Starting preparation work for the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, while Phase One of the Science Park would be completed by the end of 2001. Work on Cyberport was under way and it was expected to open in stages from 2002.

Improving the Environment

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Greater emphasis on the quality of Hong Kong's environment and the concept of sustainable development formed another major change in public awareness since he had declared his commitment to preventing and reducing environmental pollution, he said.

He listed the achievements so far:

* Financial assistance for diesel taxi owners to switch to LPG taxis, and a subsidy for installing particulate traps on older light diesel vehicles.

* A pilot scheme on the use of clean LPG and electricity by public light buses.

* At the end of July, Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to adopt ultra low sulphur diesel and a concessionary duty introduced to encourage owners of all diesel vehicles, including heavy goods vehicles, to switch to this cleaner fuel.

Mr Tung said that these and other measures would significantly alleviate air pollution by vehicle emissions in the coming years. However, if the number of vehicles continued to increase, these benefits would be eroded and further measures might become necessary.

"We will again examine the use of an electronic road pricing scheme, not to generate additional revenue, but to encourage effective use of vehicles so as to reduce emissions and traffic congestion as far as possible," Mr Tung said. "Before making any decision, we will carefully consider the issues, especially concerns about personal privacy."

Mr Tung told the Legislative Council that extra jobs would be created as part of the campaign to clean up the environment.

The quality of Hong Kong's waters would improve with the implementation of Stage I of the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme, which was making good progress and should be completed by the end of next year, he said.

He said that a new Clean Hong Kong Campaign would be launched at the end of the year to help bring about an overall improvement to the city environment.

"Environmental protection is an urgent task," he said. "But as an old Chinese saying goes, 'It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep.' Our pollution problems have been brewing for quite some time, and we should not have unrealistic hopes that they can be solved completely overnight."

Civil Service Reform

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Mr Tung said that enhanced productivity arising from the civil service reforms would result in total savings this year and in the previous year of $1.8 billion in recurrent expenditure. Savings of $2 billion were expected in each of the next two years, he said.

Remaining measures to be introduced include a performance-based reward system and a provident fund scheme designed for new recruits. The civil service needed to keep pace with the times, he said, but extensive consultations would be held and communications maintained with the staff side in a thorough, open and transparent manner.

Health Care Reform

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Mr Tung said that the current health care system was becoming unsustainable as a result of rapid advances in medical science, an ageing population and the ever-changing needs and aspirations of the community.

"Since the release of the report of the Harvard consultants last year, we have listened carefully to opinions from all sectors of the community," he said. "A report setting out our future policy directions will be published later for further public consultation. A series of proposals will be put forward, some of which are likely to be implemented shortly while others will be carried out in phases over the next 10 years. The Government will proceed after careful deliberation and full consultation on the issue."

Housing

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The Chief Executive said that housing policy was heading in the right direction. More flexible initiatives had been introduced into public housing, such as the sale of public rental flats and the introduction of the well-received Home Starter Loan Scheme.

Governance

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Mr Tung said that several issues had been raised in the governance of Hong Kong: the relationship between the executive and the legislature, accountability and community involvement in public affairs.

The experience of the past three years demonstrated that the political system stipulated in the Basic Law could function effectively, he said.

"Of course, having inherited most of the systems and institutions operating prior to the reunification, the SAR has to go through a process of adjustment and adaptation before it can function optimally. This process takes time," he said.

Mr Tung said, "As Hong Kong people are now running Hong Kong, I appreciate their aspirations for the SAR Government to be subjected to a higher degree of accountability."

Mr Tung said, "The principal officials of the SAR Government at Secretaries and Directors of Bureaux rank assume an important role in policy formulation and implementation which is different from that of other civil servants. Therefore, we should examine how, under the leadership of the Chief Executive, the accountability of principal officials for their respective policy portfolios can be enhanced. This involves very complicated issues. We would need to consider devising a compatible system of appointment for these principal officials, setting out their powers and responsibilities and at the same time defining clearly their role in formulating and implementing government policies under the new system. I appreciate that the people of Hong Kong would like to see the establishment of a comprehensive system of public accountability. A decision will be taken as soon as possible on the basis of our deliberations."

Mr Tung said, "In future, regardless of the system to be adopted in respect of the appointment of principal officials, we will maintain the stability of the civil service structure, preserve the principles of permanence and neutrality of the civil service, and maintain a highly efficient, professional and clean government."

The Chief Executive said that he would examine ways of strengthening communication between the executive authorities and the Legislative Council, to better ensure that policies formulated and Bills submitted would have the support of the legislature.

"Our experience in the three years since reunification fully demonstrates that the executive authorities, legislature and judiciary of the SAR are able to function effectively under the Basic Law. The rights of Hong Kong people have been fully protected. In seeking to improve our governance, the priorities are to enhance the accountability of the senior echelon of the executive authorities, to continue to establish an effective and constructive executive-legislature relationship and to encourage greater community participation in public affairs. We will continue to act according to the Basic Law and the actual situation in the Hong Kong SAR to make gradual and orderly progress in furthering Hong Kong's constitutional developments," Mr Tung added.

Mr Tung said that, despite the general success of the past three years, in recent times he had noticed a change in community attitudes.

"People are more inclined to adopt a mood of scepticism, and criticism - even belittling the capabilities of our own people," he said. "I am also aware that many of our citizens are tired of this. Most want a society with greater harmony, less hostility, less unnecessary quarrelling, but more rational discussion.

"Looking ahead, we still have quite a few problems to address as we pursue Hong Kong's development. We are also facing keener competition as a result of globalisation. Instead of indulging in negativism, let us join hands and direct our efforts at making Hong Kong the world city in Asia," Mr Tung said.

End/Wednesday, October 11, 2000

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