ICESCR Hearing useful and positive

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The following is the closing statement delivered by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr W K Lam, at the hearing of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which concluded today (Monday) in Geneva:

Madam Chair, Distinguished Members of the Committee:

We are glad to be here to attend this hearing. We find the sessions (from Friday to today) very useful and positive.

You have given us a lot of food for thoughts, many of which we have promised to take back home for further consideration.

On the very important question of how we treat the recommendations of this Committee, I would like to answer it in this concluding statement because I wish to treat it seriously.

We have taken the Committee's recommendations very seriously and we will continue to do so. As we had said in public, the HKSARG's commitment to this Covenant is explicit. In accordance with the obligation under the Covenant, we have undertaken to take steps to the maximum of our available resources to achieve progressively the full realizations of the rights recognized in the treaty. The Committee's recommendation is an important part of the process in realizing the right recognized in the treaty. So we do, and will continue to take the Committee's recommendation seriously.

Even for a rich society like Hong Kong, we do have our social and economic constraints. So we cannot implement the Committee's recommendations in full. But I hope Committee members, having heard us and having seen our report over the last few days, would be able to see that gradual progress is indeed being made on many fronts.

Madam Chair, I would like to highlight two important aspects of HK society for Members' reference. First, Hong Kong is a self-made community. We have come a long way through economic hardships and social crisis to reach the present state of our development. This has been achieved through our strict adherence to the sacred principle of the rule of law, a level playing field for our economic policies, a clean and largely uncorrupt administration, and humane social policies. We do not and will not leave the disadvantaged sectors behind in the course of our economic progress. Members would have heard over the last couple of days on what we have done to housing, health, education, elderly services, settlement of immigrants and employment etc.

Which society in this world charge people 15% income tax and 16% corporate tax and yet manage to house half of our population in heavily subsidized public housing?

Which advanced economy in this world would with our level of medical care, provide everybody with full access to our health care system at less than US$10 a day, with everything included, and if you are poor, that is also waived?

Which society can afford to invest so heavily, a 43% increase in the last 3 years, on education to try to bring the people up to the standard and requirements of our modern society?

We have done a lot in these areas. We still have to do a lot more. But we are a self-made society, and we are determined to continue to do it on our own resources and at the same time try to do our best to bring everybody up to a decent living standard.

The second aspect I want to highlight is that we are also a self-critical society. A free and mature society where criticisms and checks and balances are part of our self-reflecting process and an integral part of our social and political culture. These are of course necessary to keep us on our toes, to feed us with good ideas and to ensure that abuses are minimised. Long may these spirits live in Hong Kong.

Finally, I would like to thank Distinguished Members of this Committee for your questions, suggestions and continued interest in Hong Kong.

I would also like to thank our NGOs who have come a long way to help monitor our progress, to give us suggestions, and to keep us on our toes.

I would like to thank particularly you, Madam Chair, for your forebearance, your guidance and for your superb handling of the meeting's proceedings.

Thank you.

End/Monday, April 30, 2001

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