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The following is the transcript of the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (SCIT), Mr Henry Tang, speaking to the media after attending the "Talkabout" programme in Radio Television Hong Kong today (June 30):

Reporter: What sort of assistance can the Government provide SMEs in taking advantages of the CEPA? Premier Wen yesterday said that the CEPA was neither a big gift nor free lunch. What is your feeling about this?

SCIT: I very much agree with the Premier's words that this is not a gift, and certainly it is not a free lunch. As Government, we do not believe that it is a free lunch at all. We believe that everyone should do a hard day's work in order to make a living and everyone should do their best. Those who do better will get a better standard of living than those who are perhaps not as good. I think the CEPA is a very good arrangement that it provides a lot of business opportunities, but these business opportunities need to be captured by the companies in Hong Kong. This is within the principle of a market-driven economy, and this is also a chance for Hong Kong people to look for new opportunities and to realise their dreams.

As far as Government assistance is concerned, we are going to do a round of consultation with relevant interested parties to see how further can Government facilitate them in order to capture these business opportunities.

Reporter: Any specific ideas?

SCIT: We are thinking of various measures. Whether some may need more infrastructural support, or some small and medium enterprises may need more handholding in terms of facilitation. We are thinking may be a one-stop shop, if we are capable of doing it. All of these are still in the thinking stage. We are going to consult the trade as well as the Mainland authorities to see whether there is something that can be done.

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

End/Monday, June 30, 2003

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