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Following is a question by the Hon Sin Chung-kai and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (June 25):

Question:

In response to my question at the Council meeting on November 6 last year, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology advised that the Government had formulated policies and issued guidelines to encourage and assist government departments in adopting open source software ("OSS"). This would also set an example for the private sector to follow so as to promote the adoption of OSS in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the respective percentages of government departments and public organisations using OSS in the total numbers of such departments and organisations;

(b) whether it has formulated the direction, long-term and short-term objectives and timetable for implementing the above policies; if so, of the details in implementing such direction, objectives and timetable in government departments and the private sector; and

(c) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the policies concerned; if so, of the criteria for and the results of the assessment?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) As at May 2003, there were 30 government bureaux and departments or about 40 per cent of all government departments using open source software (OSS) in some of their systems. As regards public organisations, such information is not available.

(b) It is the Government's established policy to adopt, as far as possible, software products of open standards. We will consider the function, security features, system compatibility, technical support and cost effectiveness of different types of software including OSS, and decide which software product to use based on the principle of value-for-money. There is no preference for brand names or technology. To implement the above policy, the Information Technology Services Department (ITSD) has been promoting open source technology and OSS products among government departments through its Information Technology Solution Centre and other activities, and organising tests on OSS products for departments.

As the Government's policy is to select software products based on the principle of value-for-money, we will not set a target on the number or percentage of OSS products to be used. However, ITSD will take proactive action to facilitate suppliers to provide a full range of products including OSS to all government departments so that they can select those which suit them according to the existing procurement policy. For example, ITSD is now assisting 10 government departments and bureaux to set up by July this year nearly 150 common work stations which will mainly use OSS.

As regards the promotion of OSS in the private sector, the Government will provide funding and other forms of support to projects that encourage the development of OSS and activities that promote adoption of OSS in the private sector. For example, the SME Development Fund has approved funding of $890,000 for the setting up of a Linux Resource Centre in July this year to provide support services to SMEs in the adoption of OSS. Apart from co-organising the Linux Business Adoption Campaign with the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Hong Kong Linux Industry Association from July to November this year, ITSD will provide support to the Linux World Conference & Expo - HK 2003 scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in November this year. In addition, the IT Easy Link service co-organised by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau, ITSD and the Hong Kong Computer Society will be expanded starting from July this year to provide enquiry and face-to-face advisory services on IT applications including OSS to businesses.

(c) The number of computers within the Government installed with OSS has increased from about 130 in February 2002 to about 500 in May 2003. This reflects that government departments adopt an open position in the choice of software products and that the adoption of OSS has been increasing. As for the private sector, the Government will conduct a survey to gauge the use of OSS among private sector organisations and the difficulties facing them. The findings will help us formulate initiatives to further promote OSS in the private sector.

End/Wednesday, June 25, 2003

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