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Appointments to the Commission on Strategic Development
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    The Chief Executive, Mr. Donald Tsang, today (November 15) appointed 153 non-official members and four official members to the Commission on Strategic Development.

     The appointments followed the pledge by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address last month (October) to substantially expand the membership of the Commission by inviting talent from different fields to join the body.

     Looking upon the Commission as our most important advisory body, the Chief Executive said he had pledged that his administration belonged to the people and it would govern with people-based principles. "I fully understand the public's aspiration to play a greater role in policy making.  The members of the expanded Commission come from all sectors of the community.  They will join the Government in exploring major issues relating to our long-term development."

     "The Commission will be able to reflect and gauge more precisely a wide range of community views early in response to calls for new Government policy initiatives," Mr. Tsang pointed out.

     "With the enhanced role of the Commission, we will spend more time with the public in discussing preliminary policy ideas before we formulate a policy," he said.

     "Views are canvassed by the Commission not when a policy is made but during the early stage of policy formulation.  When we eventually launch a policy, we will be confident that it will be more readily accepted by the public."

     The 153 non-official members are drawn from a broad cross section of the community comprising mainly professionals, academics, businessmen, politicians, and prominent labour and media personalities.  The four official members are the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, the Head of the Central Policy Unit and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office.  All members will serve until June 30, 2007.

     Mr. Tsang was pleased that a wide spectrum of prominent people and experts have agreed to contribute their time and efforts to the Commission. "We shall start our work as soon as possible," he said.

     In order to enhance the operational efficiency, the Commission comprises four committees on equal standing.  They are the Executive Committee, the Committee on Governance and Political Development, the Committee on Social Development and Quality of Life, and the Committee on Economic Development and Economic Cooperation with the Mainland.

     The Chief Executive will personally chair the Executive Committee and the Committee on Governance and Political Development.  While the former will focus on issues relating to the overall long-term strategies of Hong Kong's development, the latter will mainly study issues in pursuit of excellence in governance.  The Committee on Governance and Political Development will deliberate the hot issue of working out a road map for universal suffrage.

     The Executive Committee will hold its first meeting on  November 28. The Committee on Governance and Political Development will meet on November 29.  The Committee on Social Development and Quality of Life, to be chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, will meet on December 1.  The Committee on Economic Development and Economic Cooperation with the Mainland, under the chairmanship of the Financial Secretary, will meet on December 5.  The Central Policy Unit will provide secretariat support and work in tandem with the relevant Bureaux on specific policy issues.

     The full membership of the Commission, a brief introduction of individual members and the terms of reference of the Commission and the four committees are at Annex.
   

Ends/Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:32

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