**************

Following is a speech by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mrs Carrie Yau, at the HKU 90th Anniversary Symposium on IT Excellence for Development of Hong Kong today (December 15):

Professor Davies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to be here today to speak at the Opening Ceremony of the HKU 90th Anniversary Symposium on IT Excellence for Development of Hong Kong. This symposium provides an excellent opportunity for participants to share their vision and wisdom in IT strategy, innovation and deployment which will help drive Hong Kong's development as a leading digital city in the globally connected world.

Normally I will talk about our Digital 21 IT Strategy in an IT-related symposium. But since I am speaking to the local IT experts today who are already playing a crucial role in putting the various initiatives of the Digital 21 Strategy in place together with the Government, I don't think I need to further preach to the "converted" by labouring you with the details of the strategy. As an alumna of HKU and returning to my Alma Mater at its 90th anniversary, I would like to focus this morning on the efforts and achievements that HKU has made in keeping Hong Kong at the forefront of the global IT development, and how these initiatives are crucial in sharpening our overall competitiveness in the globally connected world.

I recall that only in April this year, I had the honour to participate in the signing ceremony for HKU to set up a joint research centre on information and communications technology with the world renowned French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA). This is a great achievement which fosters a strategic partnership that would enhance the edges of both sides to strive for synergy of success in the IT field. In this fast-changing digital age, we all appreciate that we cannot afford to stand still. We must continue to drive forward. Just a few days ago, I was excited to know that i-SSL, a local IT security solutions company excelling in public key infrastructure technologies and spun off from the technology arm of HKU, had teamed up with IBM to integrate its encryption technologies into IBM's software to drive secure e-business applications. The encryption software is locally developed in HK which clearly demonstrates to the IT world that we have the people and the capability to develop quality software of international standard which can be adopted by world-renowned multi-national IT companies for market deployment. Should we all not take pride in our determination to forge ahead in pursuits of IT excellence capitalizing on each and every opportunity?

Apart from these two cases, there are numerous other examples which can be cited to illustrate how HKU has taken an active role in driving IT development and excellence in Hong Kong. Indeed I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation and recognition to HKU which, together with other local universities, has set up the regime to administer Internet domain name registration in Hong Kong. We are now gradually transferring the administration work to a non-profit making and non-statutory corporation to meet the increasing demand of the community. But without the crucial pioneering work of HKU and other local universities, our Internet and e-business developments would not be able to evolve as they are today. The establishment of the Authorized Java Academic Campus together with Sun Microsystems and the setting up of the E-business Technology Institute together with IBM are some other examples which illustrate how HKU closely collaborates with the industry to provide training and IT services which cater for the needs of the market. There is no more ivory tower. Town and gown must go together and move in the same direction. And a vibrant and active academic community to drive IT growth is crucial to sustain the development of our knowledge-based economy.

I believe HKU will continue to embark on new and innovative initiatives in future, very much as it has been so in the past 90 years. For instance, the E-business Technology Institute has recently received funding from the Innovation & Technology Fund to work on the establishment of an ebXML infrastructure for Hong Kong to facilitate consistent, secure and effective exchange of electronic business data. Successful establishment of the infrastructure will no doubt further enhance our world class e-business environment. HKU SPACE will also co-operate with the world renowned National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) of India to provide continued and professional education in IT very soon, which will help upgrade the local IT workforce.

Ladies and gentlemen, many innovative initiatives are in the pipeline and will be coming on stream. I can't wait witnessing them flourishing and bearing fruit. And this is the sort of vitality and momentum which drives Hong Kong forward, and which enables us to compete favourably with other economies in the region. Government's efforts alone are not sufficient and we must work together with the academic community. I will always count on you all and look forward to continued collaboration with the HKU to make Hong Kong a leading digital city, connecting the world.

Thank you.

End/Saturday, December 15, 2001

NNNN