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The following is issued on behalf of the Women's Commission:
The Women's Commission welcomes the Policy Address delivered by the Chief Executive today (October 11). The Commission will continue to work closely with the Government to complement its commitment to promoting family and social harmony, and support the Government's efforts in strengthening families and rebuilding family values and resilience.
The Chairperson of the Women's Commission, Ms Sophia Kao, said: "Harmonious families are the foundation of a harmonious society. We are pleased that the Chief Executive has accorded high priorities this year in strengthening and supporting family.
"The Commission also supports the Government's initiative to consider setting up an integrated, holistic and high-level Family Commission responsible for policies and initiatives relating to family support.
"Family issues cut across different policy area and require central coordination at a high level. The Commission has been calling on the Government to adopt a holistic and strategic approach in strengthening and supporting families. We hope that the new mechanism will be able to take a leading role in setting the agenda and providing directions in the development of policies, services and researches in Hong Kong.
"We are also glad that the Chief Executive recognises the importance of quality parenting and pre-marriage counseling. Over the past two years, the Commission has dedicated a lot of efforts in the promotion of nurturing caring families, with an emphasis on quality parenting. We will continue our efforts on this front," Ms Kao said.
The Commission has conducted a research on the core life values for parenting education for instilling in the younger generation. It is now planning a pilot project in a district to promote quality parenting education and the core life values.
"We also welcome the Government's initiative to provide additional resources to assist family in need and upgrade the quality of pre-school education. This will certainly help ease the financial burden of parents, particularly of the lower-income families, and enhance the quality of our next generation.
"The Commission is most pleased to see the Chief Executive's positive response to its call for creating a family-friendly environment to foster work-family balance and family solidarity. We have earlier announced the results of a research on family-friendly employment policies and practices conducted jointly with the Equal Opportunities Commission. We are now developing the strategies and measures to promote wider adoption of such practices. We will spare no efforts in complementing the Government's work toward this end.
"We are most encouraged that the Government has responded swiftly and positively to the Commission's recommendations in its report on 'Women's Safety in Hong Kong: Eliminating Domestic Violence' ". We welcome the Government's further efforts in strengthening support and protection for victims of domestic violence, and will continue to provide advice and support to the Government in implementing the multi-disciplinary strategy in tackling domestic violence.
"As the Chief Executive has mentioned, building a family-friendly and harmonious society is an undertaking of the whole community and requires the concerted efforts of all. The Women's Commission is committed to continuously working closely with the Government, and collaborating with different sectors of the community to nurture a culture of mutual help and respect, and promote gender equality," Ms Kao concluded.
Ends/Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Issued at HKT 20:23
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