and boost economy (with photo)
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The Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, today (October 12) outlined plans to pursue excellence in governance, foster harmony in the community and help the economy power ahead.
Delivering his first Policy Address since being sworn in as Chief Executive in June, Mr Tsang said his vision was to succeed in implementing "One Country, Two Systems", achieve new results that made Hong Kong proud, and contribute to the modernisation of the country.
Mr Tsang unveiled major initiatives to pursue excellence in governance, which he described as "the most pressing public demand on the SAR Government today".
He emphasised the need for strong government, which in turn was a prerequisite for economic development.
"A harmonious society, itself founded on strong government and economic development, will create a favourable environment to achieve these goals. These three elements are interwoven, and of equal importance," he said.
Mr Tsang said a strong government did not work behind closed doors but heeded public opinion to help formulate policies, with the public interest as the guiding principle and with wide public participation.
Mr Tsang's blueprint for better governance includes:
* Strengthening the roles of the Chief Secretary for Administration and Financial Secretary in policy co-ordination.
* Strengthening communication with the legislature.
* Boosting links with the Central Government and the Mainland. This will include discussing with the Central Authorities setting up additional HKSAR offices in Shanghai and Chengdu. A Mainland Affairs Liaison Office will be established in the Constitutional Affairs Bureau to better co-ordinate co-operation with the Mainland.
* Expanding the Executive Council and the Commission on Strategic Development. More Non-official Members will be appointed to the Executive Council to help formulate, explain and promote policy.
The Commission on Strategic Development will be substantially expanded to about 100 members by inviting talented people from different fields. The expanded commission will help make policy formulation more scientific and transparent, backed by enhanced public participation and acceptance.
For advisory boards and statutory bodies, the Government will actively seek to bring in more people from different sectors when current members' terms expire.
* Enhancing work in districts, including an expanded role for District Councils (DCs) and strengthening the roles of District Officers to better respond to the demands of the people.
A public consultation on the ongoing review of the functions and structure of DCs will be launched in the first quarter of next year, and DCs will also be asked to manage some facilities such as libraries, community halls, leisure grounds, sports venues and swimming pools.
* Reorganising the Chief Executive's Office to enhance its effectiveness.
On constitutional development, Mr Tsang said the proposed methods to select the Chief Executive in 2007 and form the Legislative Council in 2008 would be published in the Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force.
He firmly believed the proposed methods would mark a key milestone in the development of democracy in Hong Kong, and hoped they would be supported by the Legislative Council and the community at large.
Mr Tsang said that while moving forward with constitutional development, there was a pressing need to strengthen support for Principal Officials to undertake growing political work in their respective portfolios.
"We will consider creating within our executive agencies a small number of positions dedicated to political affairs," he said.
Mr Tsang stressed that improved governance required not only the efforts of the SAR Government, but also the participation of people in community affairs as masters of the territory.
"We will open up opportunities for participation and encourage members of the public to become involved in politics," he said.
"The increased number of Non-official Members on the Executive Council, the expansion of the membership of the Commission on Strategic Development, the revamping of advisory boards and statutory bodies, the opening of channels for participation in district affairs, improvements to the electoral systems for the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council, and the enhancement of the Accountability System embody the sincerity and solid efforts of the Government to nurture political talent.
"Our goal is to progressively develop a system for political participation at various levels and through different channels. In particular, we seek to provide opportunities for those with political aspirations to hone their skills through participating in government work and to establish a clear career path for aspiring politicians."
The Chief Executive said fostering harmony required the concerted efforts of the Government and all sectors of the community.
He said he was determined to safeguard the pillars of Hong Kong's success and the foundations of a harmonious society, including the rule of law, respect for judicial independence and protecting the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people.
To help uphold social justice, he pledged that the Government would introduce legislation as soon as possible to enable the Chief Executive to be subject to anti-corruption regulation.
"We should act together to uphold pluralism and inclusiveness in our society, and oppose any form of discrimination. We will propose legislation to prohibit racial discrimination," he said.
The Government will also continue to promote the rights of children, foster racial harmony and protect the rights of sexual minorities.
Mr Tsang said the Government would rally the efforts of all sectors to create favourable conditions for personal development, including the opening of additional job centres in remote areas.
To maintain a level playing field for all businesses, the recently appointed Competition Policy Review Committee would consider the need to introduce a comprehensive and cross-sector law on fair competition.
"We do not seek to intervene in the market," Mr Tsang said. "Rather, we want to actively protect market order and fair competition by preventing manipulative practices such as price fixing, bid rigging and market sharing."
On helping the needy, measures include:
* Providing extra support to children and youth of poor families or with special needs.
* Strengthening community support services to people with disabilities and their families.
* Introducing a scheme for doctors to visit the disabled who live in rehabilitation facilities.
* Allocating new resources to strengthen and extend family education.
The Chief Executive said the Government would not tolerate domestic violence and would help and protect victims, pursue offenders and support families with domestic violence problems.
It will also allocate additional resources and utilise community capital to set up community support networks, as well as strengthen district welfare planning and co-ordination and allocate resources according to specific needs.
Mr Tsang said protecting labour rights and promoting good labour relations were essential in building a harmonious society.
In this regard:
* The Labour Advisory Board will study the question of a minimum wage and standard working hours.
* The Government will promote payment of average market level wages for non-skilled workers in subvented organisations and schools.
To help create jobs in the construction industry, and to improve the living environment, the Government will embark on a number of community facility projects, expedite urban renewal and promote active building maintenance.
Mr Tsang said the Government was "determined to deal with environmental pollution". To achieve this, the Government will:
* Make all new major government policies subject to environmental protection scrutiny.
* Require newly registered vehicles to meet Euro IV emission standards in stages from January, 2006.
* Reduce power consumption in all offices by 1.5% annually from January, 2006.
* Use ultra-low sulphur diesel on all government projects starting from next year.
* Ask power companies to accelerate the timing of emissions reduction projects, increase the use of ultra-low sulphur coal and use natural gas for power generation as much as possible.
* Require power companies to install effective emissions reduction facilities as a precondition for future licensing.
* Work with Guangdong Province to improve air quality in the Pearl River Delta, and to finalise details in 2006 of the Pilot Emissions Trading Scheme among PRD power plants.
Noting that there was widespread public concern about food safety, the Chief Executive said the Government would step up food-monitoring efforts and set up a new Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine Department.
The new department's responsibilities will include the monitoring and controlling of imported and local live food and non-food animals, poultry and birds, and the safety of vegetables, meat, seafood and food products.
On the economic front, Mr Tsang announced a number of initiatives to help drive economic development and create jobs.
These include:
* Expanding the scope of renminbi (RMB) business offered by Hong Kong banks, to include: raising the exchange limit between RMB and HK dollar per person per transaction; lifting the credit limit of RMB cards issued by Hong Kong banks; relaxing the RMB remittance limit on Hong Kong residents; and, extending RMB settlement to more designated merchants. These Central Authorities had given in-principle approval for the services.
The Central Authorities had also endorsed in principle a new RMB business in Hong Kong that would allow Hong Kong residents to issue RMB cheques for a limited amount for consumer spending in Guangdong Province.
* Building on the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. CEPA III details, to be announced soon, will extend tariff-free access to the Mainland for more Hong Kong products and expand liberalisation in existing CEPA service sectors.
The Individual Visit Scheme for Mainland residents will be expanded from November 1 to include four more Mainland cities: Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang and Dalian. The next stage will be to include Pan-PRD provincial capitals not yet covered by the Scheme.
* Strengthen co-operation within the Greater PRD and work closer in areas such as infrastructure planning and transport connectivity.
* Significantly reduce the size of the designated closed area adjoining Shenzhen and open it up for carefully planned development. A planning and development framework will be released for public consultation in the first half of 2006.
* Nurture human capital by improving the education system and by considering a scheme to allow talented people from the Mainland and overseas to stay in Hong Kong for a certain time without first having to secure a local job offer.
* Press ahead with infrastructural development. This will include consulting the Legislative Council on plan to reprovision the Central Government Offices and Legislative Council building to the Tamar site; further consultation on the West Kowloon Cultural District project; and ongoing major transport works such as the KCRC Lok Ma Chau Spur line, KCRC South Kowloon Line and Route 8.
* Set up a film development board to help Hong Kong's flagship creative industry chart a development course and draw up a clear action plan to meet the challenges ahead.
Ends/Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:43
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