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Chief Executive's transcript

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Following is the transcript of a media session by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at Amoy Gardens this afternoon (June 23) after the WHO removed Hong Kong from the infected area list:

Chief Executive: The WHO has just notified us that our name has been removed from the infected area list. We are of course happy about this. Every time I think about those who have passed away as a result of SARS or who have sacrificed themselves as a result of SARS, I, like all of us, feel really a great deal of sorrow. Those who are living here at Amoy Gardens are particularly badly affected, so I decided that when the WHO removed our name from the infected area list, I would want to come here to make that announcement, to tell those who are affected, who died, or those families who have their loved ones who sacrificed themselves or who passed away as a result of SARS, that we care, we think of them, and this is particularly so at Amoy Gardens because as you know the impact here was really very, very serious. But over the last three months, we wouldn't have achieved what we achieved today without the concerted efforts of all those in the community, but I particularly want to single out those frontline medical workers, without whose valiant efforts we would not be where we are.

Yes, our name has been removed from the list, but from experiences everywhere else we have to remind ourselves that this could come again and we really have to be on high alert and we have to be on guard all the time. Also we really need to be pushing forward to learn from experience over the last three months, what experience we can learn, what lessons we can learn so that we are better prepared in case there is another outbreak in the future. Another very important task we have to be doing is to get the economy moving again. The Financial Secretary is going to announce a series of measures to attract Mainland people as well as overseas visitors to come to Hong Kong as tourists and also for business, and then last week we announced jobs and also training places for 70,000 people to minimise the damage that's brought about on the employment front by SARS. These are short-term measures. As to the medium and longer-term measures, we will be pushing ahead with an announcement towards the end of this month about CEPA and also we will be taking extra steps to work harder together with the Pearl River Delta. And all these medium and long-term measures will add vitality to our economy and get us going again.

Thank you very much.

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

End/Monday, June 23, 2003

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