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Creative Capital
57. Globalisation has brought about the rise of various cultural and creative industries. The markets for leisure goods, advertising, film, television, tourism, design, architecture and art are flourishing. These high value-added industries are environmentally friendly and compatible with the mode of economic development for global cities. Since the 1970s, Hong Kong has attained a leading position in the Asia-Pacific region in such industries as film, television, music, advertising, design and tourism. "Hong Kong film", our most successful creative product in the global market, has won worldwide acclaim.
58. With intense competition in the creative industries, our leading position is under threat as neighbouring regions catch up. For example, Korean films and Taiwanese music have become increasingly popular. Mainland cities have set up creative industries parks. Tourism boards are marketing their city brands in innovative ways to attract tourists. My view is that to maintain our edge, the development of our creative industries must accelerate in the next five years. The Financial Secretary and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau under his ambit will oversee our creative industries development plan. They will draw up overall strategic plans for future development, complementary facilities and manpower training in collaboration with government departments, non-governmental organisations and professional bodies.
59. I hope that the recently announced plan for the WKCD project will stimulate the development of cultural and creative industries in Hong Kong. At the same time, we need a large pool of creative talents and a discerning audience. To achieve this, the Education Bureau will encourage the nurturing of creativity, talents and ability in artistic and cultural appreciation in primary and secondary students, and promote university training for creative, performing arts and cultural talents.
60. On promoting our city's brand, I will ask the Financial Secretary to formulate strategies to revitalise Brand Hong Kong and step up publicity efforts highlighting Hong Kong as Asia's world city. We will also encourage and promote the development of Hong Kong brands.
61. World Expo 2010 Shanghai will provide an excellent opportunity for us to publicise Hong Kong's quality city life and position as a creative capital. To match the Expo's theme of "Better City, Better Life", we will organise a series of campaigns to promote Hong Kong's image.
International Convention, Exhibition and Tourism Capital
62. To meet intensified regional competition, we will enhance the appeal of Hong Kong as an international convention, exhibition and tourism capital. The Government will work more closely with the convention and exhibition, tourism and hotel industries to improve our competitive edge by seeking to host more mega international events. In parallel, we will actively work with various sectors to promote exhibition and convention tourism, and provide participants and tourists with more quality facilities, services and entertainment. We will also ensure a continuous supply of world-class professionals to support the rapid development of relevant industries. The Financial Secretary and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development will lead a cross-sector steering committee comprising government and trade representatives to conduct a comprehensive review and formulate relevant development strategies.
63. On infrastructure development, the exhibition area of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre will increase by 42% with the completion of the atrium link extension in 2009. To cater for longer term demand, we are exploring with AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) the early commencement of the phase II expansion, which will increase the AWE exhibition area to
100 000 square metres. We are also looking at providing additional convention and exhibition facilities in conjunction with the Trade Development Council. We will also gauge the need for land supply for hotel development.
64. Hong Kong will become a focus of world attention as the city staging the 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events. We will make use of this opportunity to attract tourists by vigorously promoting Hong Kong as a tourism and events capital.
Safe Living
65. A quality city life is not only about the natural environment, culture and creativity, but also a safe and worry-free living environment. Thanks to our outstanding disciplined services, Hong Kong's law and order has been well maintained with low crime rates over the years. There is, however, a threat which has caused grave concern in the community, namely, food safety. Ensuring food safety will be a priority.
(1) Food Safety Bill: I will introduce a Food Safety Bill to provide for a comprehensive registration scheme for food importers and distributors. Under the scheme, importers and distributors will be required to maintain proper transaction records of imported food, so that in the event of a food incident, the sources and points of sale of the food concerned can be traced by the Government swiftly and thoroughly. Under the new legislation, when public health is under serious threat, the authorities will be empowered to require all wholesalers and retailers to stop selling and recall the food concerned. We expect to submit the proposals to this Council by year end. The Bill will be introduced in the 2008-09 legislative session after a consultation exercise.
(2) Food safety standards: In parallel with reforming the food safety regulatory regime, we will formulate a set of comprehensive and clear food safety standards for Hong Kong. We will conduct a series of reviews and take reference from the food standards drawn up by the Codex Alimentarius Commission jointly set up by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation of the United Nations. Based on reviews, we plan to submit to this Council recommendations on the control regimes on residues of agricultural pesticides and veterinary drugs in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
(3) Nutrition Labelling Scheme: In addition to ensuring food safety, we will enact food labelling legislation to help consumers make informed choices and protect their health. The new requirement for labelling food additives and allergens on pre-packaged food came into effect in July this year. Drafting work will soon be completed for regulations on the Labelling Scheme on Nutrition Information for pre-packaged food. We plan to introduce the amendment bill into this Council early next year.
(To be continued)
Ends/Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:02
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