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Medical and Health
66. We attach great importance to public health. We will promote health education and work with the sports sector in this regard. We remain highly vigilant about communicable disease surveillance and control. We endeavour to ensure that the Centre for Health Protection is capable of making an effective response in a crisis. We will also enhance our communicable disease surveillance and notification system with the Mainland.
67. We must develop a sustainable health care system. The Health and Medical Development Advisory Committee has embarked on a study and analysis of various health care financing options. It will put forward its initial proposals for public discussion early next year. Modern health care has developed into an integrated multi-disciplinary system. In response, the Government continues to work with the whole spectrum of health professionals with a view to delivering quality services. We also recognise the role of Chinese medicine in our health care system. We will assure the sustained development of Chinese medicine and treatment through effective regulation. In the public sector, the Government will open in stages more Chinese medicine out-patient clinics to cover the whole of Hong Kong, and will install computers at these clinics for the collation of Chinese medicine clinical knowledge. The public Chinese medicine out-patient clinics will also provide training to selected graduates of our local full-time Chinese medicine bachelor degree programme.
Treatment of Solid Waste
68. A total of 3.4 million tonnes of refuse was disposed of at the three landfills last year. Obviously, relying solely on landfills to treat solid waste is not sustainable. In any advanced society, the treatment of municipal waste must involve waste reduction, recovery and reuse and appropriate treatment of what is left. Methods to resolve the waste problem completely include policy incentives to change people's habits of waste disposal, the encouragement of recovery and reuse and the promotion of recycling industries. For this purpose, Phase I of the EcoPark being built in Tuen Mun Area 38, designated for the development of environmental industries, will be commissioned towards the end of 2006.
Improving Water Quality in the Harbour
69. Our spectacular Victoria Harbour is an internationally renowned icon of Hong Kong. It is our common responsibility to keep its water clean. To improve the harbour's water quality, the Government is taking forward the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme Stage 2 which, coupled with the improvement to all sewer facilities in Hong Kong, will tackle pollution at source. While the Government will bear the construction costs, the public has to pay for the operating costs of sewage treatment in line with the "polluter pays" principle.
70. In planning future development, we will achieve the objective of protecting and beautifying Victoria Harbour and pay particular attention to the vista on both sides of the harbour. Government departments will step up their co-operation to implement a sustainable greening programme for the urban areas. Our country parks and marine parks, which together cover an area of 44 000 hectares will be effectively protected. For selected ecologically important areas, we will, as a priority, carry out a pilot scheme involving management agreements and public-private partnership. Under this scheme, land owners will participate voluntarily and non-governmental organisations will provide the funding for conservation work.
D. Helping the Economy to Power Ahead
71. We have a steadfast commitment to promoting economic development. Following a strong rebound last year, Hong Kong's economy continues to show very strong growth, with increases in both external trade and domestic demand. Outstanding external trade, coupled with a huge surplus in our recurrent account, underlines Hong Kong's immense competitiveness as the conduit for trade between China and the world. Increased domestic demand reflects the confidence of local consumers and investors. Employment has reached a new peak, with an increase of nearly 200 000 new jobs in the past two years. Although there will be various risks in global economic development in the coming year, the recovery of our economy on all fronts has proved once again that our abilities to adapt and adjust enable us to overcome any difficulty.
72. Hong Kong is a highly externally oriented economy. Our strategy is to "leverage the Mainland and engage ourselves globally"; to strengthen our advantages; to encourage entrepreneurship and fair competition under the principle of "Big Market, Small Government"; and to consolidate our position as Asia's world city and our role as a key international financial, trading, transportation and information hub of China. This strategy has delivered significant results and has allowed us to bring into full play our comparative advantages.
73. Helping the economy power ahead at full steam means that we must augment our efforts in all areas where Hong Kong has a comparative advantage. We will strive to consolidate the existing pillar industries. At the same time, we will closely follow changes in the market and respond promptly to the demands of the business sector in new growth areas. We will actively help open up new business opportunities by providing the necessary policy support, regulatory control and infrastructure.
Externally Oriented Economy
74. A unique feature of Hong Kong is our international outlook and global network. We have many different talents, who have helped to link Hong Kong with the rest of the world through education, work, cultural activities as well as family and social ties. We have many enterprises that have maintained stable co-operative relationships with foreign partners in trade, finance, investment and other areas. They have helped build a good reputation for Hong Kong and establish our position in the globalisation process. We also have a large expatriate community that calls Hong Kong home, a host of consulates and foreign missions, thousands of multinational companies and business people, a wide range of international organisations and schools, and a substantial concentration of overseas news and media companies. To the international community, Hong Kong is a city steeped in Chinese culture but with many institutions and practices common to other major cities worldwide. People from all around the world feel at home here. To people in the Mainland, Hong Kong is a city characterised by its "international flavour" but whose people speak their language and share their culture. They find it extremely convenient to do business. Under "One Country, Two Systems", Hong Kong has developed into Asia's world city-not just "another Chinese city".
75. We will continue to consolidate and strengthen our ties with the international community. Our high degree of autonomy enables us to enhance our profile and competitiveness in the global arena through commerce, trade, finance, culture, sports and tourism. We act as an irreplaceable bridge linking the Mainland and the world. In view of new developments in our overseas markets, we need to strengthen the coverage of our networks. We plan to add a new economic and trade office in Europe to assume responsibility for such promotion in eastern Europe. We play a prominent and constructive role in international and regional affairs. For example, we will host the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation in December this year, to participate actively in promoting global trade liberalisation and regional economic co-operation.
76. Backed by the Mainland, we are well positioned to capitalise on the tremendous momentum of China's rapid economic growth. The huge investments made by Hong Kong business people in the Mainland have laid a solid foundation for expansion. The continued growth in demand of Mainland enterprises and people has created new business opportunities for Hong Kong. Our well-developed services sector can serve as a driving force to help the manufacturing industry and other related industries in the Mainland build brand names and expand their business. Our well-established market mechanism can facilitate the integration of Mainland enterprises into international markets. We will continue to promote and expedite the process of attracting Mainland enterprises, both state-owned and private, to Hong Kong.
77. Located in a fast-growing region, Hong Kong faces both opportunities and challenges. We will continue to take measures to improve our unique strengths, attract talent and enhance our overall competitiveness. Hong Kong is the freest economy in the world. We have a sound legal system and free flow of information. We respect private ownership and honour our contractual obligations. We have a comprehensive and sophisticated business infrastructure, good corporate governance, a clean and highly efficient public sector and a simple and low tax regime. The Economic and Employment Council, led by the Financial Secretary, works on improving our business environment by pushing for simplified procedures and the elimination of outdated or unnecessary regulation in government departments. Hong Kong's intellectual property rights (IPR) protection regime meets international standards. We will keep abreast of technological developments and market changes to ensure that our IPR protection regime moves with the times. To implement the "Market Leads, Government Facilitates" principle, we will consider delivering more public services through Public-Private-Partnerships.
(To be continued)
Ends/Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:05
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