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Preparation work was entering the final stage for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference (HKMC) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be held next week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), the Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Commerce and Industry), Miss Denise Yue, said today (December 5).
Miss Yue, who chairs a Steering Committee to oversee the planning and implementation work for the conference, said the Government has been planning for and putting in place all the necessary arrangements for next week¡¦s event since the WTO in 2004 chose Hong Kong as the host for its Sixth Ministerial Conference.
She hosted a press conference today to explain the aim and importance of the coming Ministerial, as well as the various special security and traffic arrangements to be implemented during the Conference period.
Joining Miss Yue were the Head of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference Co-ordination Office (MCO), Miss Janet Wong; Deputy Director-General of Trade and Industry, Ms Carol Yip; Director of Operations of the Hong Kong Police Force, Mr Peter Yam Tat-wing; Deputy Commissioner for Transport, Ms Carolina Yip; and Assistant Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Miss Olivia Chan.
Speaking at the press conference, Miss Yue said the HKMC would be a significant milestone in the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations. A successful conclusion of the Doha Round would help boost world economy, and potentially lift the world¡¦s poorest people out of poverty. At the conference next week, Hong Kong will press for an early harvest ¡§development package¡¨ for the developing and least developed member economies of the WTO.
"Hosting the HKMC underlined Hong Kong¡¦s commitment to, and active participation in, the WTO as a full and separate member," Miss Yue said.
"The conference will also raise our international profile as a bastion of free trade which is the cornerstone of Hong Kong¡¦s economy.
¡§More than 11,000 participants from around the world will attend the conference which is a large-scale international event. Its success will depend on the support and understanding of the whole community,¡¨ Miss Yue said.
Noting that Hong Kong was a busy city, she said that in order to safeguard public safety and public order, a closed area covering the HKCEC (i.e. the Conference venue) and its vicinity would be set up from 6pm on December 12 to 5am on December 19.
Only holders of accreditation badges issued by the Government and those others granted permission by the Commissioner of Police will be allowed to enter or leave the closed area.
The closed area will be set up under the Closed Area (Hong Kong Ministerial Conference of World Trade Organization) Order, which came into effect on December 2.
During the conference period, entry to some government buildings in the Wan Chai and Central Districts will be regulated for security reason. Public services provided by departments housed in these buildings will be adjusted or diverted to other places. People are advised to check with the concerned departments in advance for the services they require during the conference period.
Miss Yue appealed to people for their co-operation and tolerance for all the special arrangements which may cause some inconvenience.
¡§I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to members of the public for their understanding. Working together, I am sure we will showcase Hong Kong¡¦s capability and competence in organising large and complex events such as a WTO Ministerial Conference,¡¨ she said.
The Steering Committee, which comprises representatives from relevant bureaux and departments, has held 22 meetings since it was set up in August 2004.
On the progress of the DDA negotiations, Deputy Director-General of Trade and Industry Ms Carol Yip, said the DDA multilateral trade negotiations were at a critical juncture. "WTO Members have been working hard to capture the progress made so far under the negotiations, and the HKMC is expected to agree on a platform on which the final stage of the DDA negotiations will be based. This is essential for achieving the goal of successfully concluding the negotiations by the end of 2006," Ms Yip said.
¡§The General Council of the WTO has now prepared a draft Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration of more than 40 pages for ministers to consider in Hong Kong. The Annexes of the Declaration set out the crucial elements under the five key negotiating items of the DDA, that is agriculture, non-agricultural market access, services, rules and trade facilitation, as well as development. The HKMC will be a serious negotiating session at which ministers will decide, among other things, whether further elements could be agreed.¡¨
On the preparation of the Conference, Miss Janet Wong, who heads the MCO established to co-ordinate the detailed arrangements, said her office was putting the finishing touches to the various logistics arrangements, covering hotel accommodation, transport and protocol, conference facilities, information and communication technology, hospitality and social programmes.
¡§We welcome all the participants to visit Hong Kong, the ¡§Asia¡¦s world city¡¨, and will do our best to ensure the smooth conduct of the conference,¡¨ Miss Wong said.
¡§In planning and implementing all these arrangements, the MCO has maintained close dialogue with those likely to be affected and has kept them informed of the work being undertaken.
¡§More than 70 briefings have been conducted for the concerned District Councils, residents and business organisations in the affected districts and along the routes of processions planned by various non-governmental organisations, as well as various sectors and organisations in the business community.¡¨
A pamphlet ¡§Understanding the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference¡¨, which details the special security and traffic arrangements and offers advice to individuals, schools, institutions and businesses, has been produced. It will be widely distributed to the public, schools and hotels through the District Offices, the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Turning to the special security arrangements, Director of Operations, Mr Peter Yam Tat-wing, said that about 9,000 officers would be deployed in the security operation for the HKMC, which would be the biggest police operation in terms of manpower resources being deployed.
Mr Yam said that the Police were now fully prepared and would do their best to ensure the smooth progress of the conference, while facilitating all lawful and peaceful demonstrations and maintaining law and order in Hong Kong.
¡§Our planning has covered such major aspects as security, traffic management, training, manpower deployment and communication. These aspects all require detailed planning in order to ensure sufficient attention is given to important issues,¡¨ he said.
The planning by the Police has been aimed to achieve three major objectives:
1. to ensure the holding of a safe and undisrupted conference;
2. to respect the rights and freedom of assembly and freedom of speech; and
3. to ensure rights of others and public law and order are protected.
¡§To this end, we have gone a long way to making appropriate arrangements to facilitate public processions and public meetings,¡¨ Mr Yam said.
¡§Should groups or individuals behave in a way that threatens to disrupt the conference, threatens the personal safety of others, causes extensive damage to property, or causes serious disruption of traffic at major thoroughfares, they will expect nothing but resolute action from the Police,¡¨ Mr Yam stressed.
¡§We urge that groups and individuals show respect to the law and customs of Hong Kong,¡¨ he added.
In addition to the closed area in Wan Chai, a restricted area will also be established at the sea adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport from 8am on December 9 to 11.59pm on December 19.
In the restricted sea area, yellow marker buoys fitted with yellow flashing lights will be laid to mark the boundaries of the closed area. The area will be closed to all marine traffic, except those vessels with a valid permit issued by the relevant government departments.
Marine Police, Marine Department and Fire Services Department launches will patrol at the vicinity of the closed sea area.
Explaining the special traffic arrangements, the Deputy Commissioner for Transport, Ms Carolina Yip, said every effort would be made to ensure effective co-ordination of traffic measures, provision of public transport services, quick response to emergency incidents and effective dissemination of information during the Conference period.
These arrangements include:
a) Closure of all roads and ferry piers in the closed area to all traffic except with the permission from the Police.
b) Suspension of certain transport facilities (namely bus termini, bus stops, taxi stands, loading bays) in Wan Chai north of Gloucester Road and all on-street parking spaces in Wan Chai north of Hennessy Road.
c) Diversion of 29 bus routes.
d) Relocation of the terminus of the cross-boundary (Wan Chai ¡V Huanggang) coach service to the Central (Macau Ferry) Terminus.
e) Suspension of ferry services from Wan Chai Ferry Pier to Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom.
Depending on circumstances and traffic conditions, other ad hoc traffic and transport arrangements may be introduced during the conference period.
The Transport Department (TD) has been working closely with the Police, public transport operators, operators of tunnels and bridges on arrangements to handle emergency situation and on the drawing up of contingency plans to deal with different scenarios of traffic congestion. Drills have been conducted to test the effectiveness of these plans.
During the conference period, motorists and commuters are encouraged to take heed of the following five points of advice:
1. Avoid travelling to the affected/congested areas, especially Wan Chai North, unless really necessary.
2. Use public transport where possible.
3. Avoid driving through the Cross Harbour Tunnel as far as practicable.
4. Plan travel routes early, use alternative routes and allow more travelling time to cater for unexpected delay.
5. Watch out for traffic updates from the Transport Department via media.
The TD will announce detailed arrangements in advance where possible and provide updates through the electronic media during the conference period.
For further information and enquiries, please access the following website and hotline of the concerned departments:
Hong Kong Ministerial Conference
Website: www.wtomc6.gov.hk
Hong Kong Police Force
Website: www.info.gov.hk/police
E-mail: pprb@police.gov.hk
Transport Department
Website: www.td.gov.hk
Hotline: Enquiry 2804 2600 (24 hours)
IVRS 183 4567 (operational from December 2 to 19) (24 hours)
E-mail: tdenq@td.gov.hk
Home Affairs Department
Website: www.had.gov.hk
Hotline: 2835 1473
Hong Kong Tourism Board
Website: www.DiscoverHongKong.com
Hotline: 2508 1234 (multilingual) (Daily 8 am to 6 pm, extended hours 8 am to 10 pm during December 10 to 19)
Ends/Monday, December 5, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:28
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