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The Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee discussed at its meeting today (April 19) the proposed focus areas for the fourth Digital 21 Strategy to be promulgated in early 2007.
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) kicked off the review of the Digital 21 Strategy in early 2006 and has since met over 20 government bureaux and departments as well as external stakeholders to solicit their views on how information and communications technology (ICT) can benefit their organizations, the general public and the economy.
In the light of the discussions, the OGCIO has come up with seven initial focus areas for further exploration and consultation with the stakeholders in the coming months. Broadly speaking, the aim is to exploit the full potential of ICT for the purposes of:
-Delivering citizen-centric public services;
-Furthering economic and industry development;
-Fostering an innovative culture;
-Facilitating information infrastructure and standards development;
-Creating trust: information security and privacy
-Enhancing the quality of living; and
-Building a digitally inclusive and knowledge society
The proposed focus areas seek to embrace those actions areas under the existing Digital 21 Strategy that require further action, while including new ideas and initiatives arising from discussions with the stakeholders and the international trends and developments.
Taking into account members'comments, the OGCIO will consult the ICT industry and other key industries, as well as the relevant bureaux/departments on the proposed focus areas and preliminary initiatives that may be covered in the new strategy. The plan is to issue a draft Strategy for public consultation in October 2006 and promulgate the finalized Strategy in early 2007.
The Digital 21 Strategy is the blueprint for ICT development in Hong Kong. It was first published in 1998, and was subsequently revised in 2001 and 2004 to ensure that the strategy kept pace with the rapid technological developments.
As an important initiative under the new strategy for e-government service delivery, which is part and parcel of the 2004 Digital 21 Strategy, the Committee was updated on the development of the one-stop access portal (OSP) at its meeting today. Members noted that good progress was being made on the OSP development and that its soft-launch was scheduled for July/August this year. To facilitate consideration of the format of private sector participation, the OGCIO would conduct an Expression of Interest exercise in the third quarter of 2006 to gauge the interest of the private sector in offering value-added information and services through the OSP to members of the public, with a view to introducing such content and services in the latter half of 2007 after completing the necessary tendering procedures.
At today's meeting, members also discussed the proposed establishment of the Communications Authority (CA) as a unified regulator for the electronic communications sector in Hong Kong. The new CA will be responsible for enforcing the existing Telecommunications Ordinance and Broadcasting Ordinance, and will administer all the matters which currently fall under the purview of the Telecommunications Authority (TA) and Broadcasting Authority (BA).
The meeting expressed general support for this new initiative. Subject to the outcome of public consultation, the Government plans to introduce the necessary legislation on the establishment of the new unified regulator into the Legislative Council by the end of the year.
Members also noted that the OGCIO had commissioned a consultancy study to review the institutional framework and corporate governance for the administration of Internet domain names in Hong Kong. The four-month study, to be completed in August this year, will make recommendation on how the existing framework and arrangements can be improved to the best advantage of the Hong Kong community.
In view of the increased security concerns regarding the management, processing, use and transmission of information assets arising from the wider adoption of ICT in the community, the Committee was briefed on the efforts that the Government had made in enhancing the information security in Hong Kong. Members also made suggestions for further enhancing information security in Hong Kong.
The OGCIO will continue to closely monitor the compliance of Government bureaux and departments with the prevailing Government information security requirements including their progress in conducting security risk assessment and auditing of their critical systems.
The Government will also continue to review other initiatives that can be pursued to enhance the awareness and preparedness of public organizations to deal with information security issues.
Ends/Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:21
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