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Following is the transcript (English portion) of the media session by the Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate), Professor Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, at the Main Wing of the Central Government Offices today (June 24):

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): For the past twenty years, I have worked at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I am very happy that in future I shall continue to have the opportunity, though in a different capacity and in a different position, to serve the educational sector of Hong Kong. For the past five years, education has been a very important policy area of the HKSAR Government. The Chief Executive has mentioned that he wish to be remembered for two things - one is the successful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" and the second is that he has improved the educational system of Hong Kong. For the past few years, the economy of Hong Kong has not been great. But in the allocation of resources for education, we can see the commitment of the Chief Executive. The importance Mr Tung has attached to education and his total commitment to bring about improvement is the reason why I accepted this appointment, and I am indeed very grateful to Mr Tung for his confidence in me.

Education is a long-term investment. It requires patience, determination and dedication. The road ahead is still long and arduous but I am very fortunate to have Mrs Fanny Law and her team at the bureau and department to work together with me.

It is indeed my honour to take charge of the educational portfolio at this difficult time in Hong Kong's development. It is a challenge which one must not underestimate its complexity. I shall try to understand the concerns of parents, teachers, employers as well as members of the Legislative Council. In the next five years, I shall liaise with all interested parties, listen to their concerns and bring about significant improvement to our education system. Thank you.

Reporter: ... You have a lot of experience dealing with educational matters. Have you got any experience in dealing with manpower on such a large scale?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): I think it is a very good question. What I think important is for us to listen to the community, find out what we want, set our priorities, analyse what is required and then implement our polices. I think these are the important issues that we have to deal with.

Reporter: Do you have any experience personally dealing with ...

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): Personally, no, I don't have a lot of experiences in dealing with manpower except in dealing with manpower of organization and I have headed a number of large organizations both publicly and privately.

Reporter: ... What's wrong with... portfolio?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): I think you have to ask Mr Tung why he chooses me for this.

Reporter: What reservations did you have before you sign on?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): I have worked at the Chinese University for twenty years and I am extremely happy in my job at the Chinese University. So my biggest reservation was my own personal feelings of leaving some of my colleagues back at the university and also probably leaving my own profession as a surgeon.

Reporter: Personally are you for merging the universities?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): Personally as the bureau head, I have no personal feeling. I only look at issues and policies.

Reporter: What do you see are the biggest problem with the education reform right now? What do you think is the way to deal with it?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): Well, the problem is also our strength because everyone is interested in education and everyone has an opinion about education. And I think this is our strength and also our weakness because we have many many stakeholders, from parents to employers, to councillors, to politicians. And so you have to settle and analyse what is required and come up with a policy that you can implement.

Reporter: ... biggest problem?

Secretary for Education and Manpower (Designate): As I said the biggest problem is also our biggest asset. There are too many cooks there.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)

End/Monday, June 24, 2002

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