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2007-08 Policy Address by Chief Executive (12)
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People-based Governance

110. Civil servants deliver public services in the front line. I am grateful to them for maintaining quality services at a time when they are required to achieve enhanced productivity. I take pride in them. They are Hong Kong's pride too. I will adhere to the "people-based" principle in public services planning. I will identify what our people need, so as to provide them with more efficient and convenient services.

111. For the business sector, the Government is both a regulator and a service provider. To enhance the efficiency of the building construction industry and property development market, we endeavour to speed up the planning and approval procedures for private works. As the first step, the District Lands Offices will set up dedicated teams with an integrated management structure to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications. To complement this initiative, the head office of the Lands Department will step up case management and monitor more closely the progress of processing applications. We will launch this pilot scheme in the next financial year by setting up the first dedicated team in the District Lands Office (Hong Kong West and South). This measure is expected to bring about a 10% reduction in the processing time of related cases within the district. We will also examine if further improvements can be made to urban planning, land administration and approval procedures for building construction. Separately, to enhance our competitiveness, the Government will conduct a comprehensive review on other business licensing processes and streamline application procedures.

Integration with the Mainland

112. I have stressed on various occasions that to embrace the era of globalisation, Hong Kong must find a suitable niche in the development of our country. Our economic integration with the Mainland is an irreversible trend. In the course of integration, our work can be divided into two major levels as detailed in the ensuing paragraphs.

Central Planning

113. Preparatory work for the National 12th Five-Year Plan will begin next year. We will strengthen our communication with the Mainland authorities and put in place appropriate working mechanisms, so that the HKSAR can take early action in supporting the preparation of the Plan under the principle of "One Country, Two Systems". In this way, Hong Kong can leverage on the latest developments of the region to set the stage for our long-term development. We will also better understand the directions of socio-economic development in the Mainland when the Plan is being drawn up. This will enable us to make more timely and effective contributions to the development of our country while maintaining Hong Kong's irreplaceable role in the course of national development.

Relations with Provinces and Municipalities

114. It is important for Hong Kong to complement the planning work of the Central Authorities. However, it is equally important to co-operate with Shenzhen, Guangdong Province as well as Pan-PRD provinces and municipalities. I will press ahead in the following areas:

(1) Jointly developing a world-class metropolis with Shenzhen: In my Election Platform, I have put forward the vision of developing the Hong Kong-Shenzhen metropolis and undertaken to strengthen our co-operation. My proposals met with positive responses from the Shenzhen authorities. We share a common goal and have had some preliminary exchange of views. Currently, we are discussing airport collaboration and the development of the Lok Ma Chau Loop.

(2) Co-operation with Guangdong: We will strengthen co-operation with Guangdong to achieve a win-win situation; provide service support for economic transformation and industry upgrades in Guangdong Province; and enhance our co-operation in infrastructure development and environmental protection.

(3) Pan-PRD: We will promote jointly with Guangdong Province regional co-operation in the Pan-PRD; assist Hong Kong enterprises in the Pan-PRD in enhancing technology, and facilitate their brand building; and consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in financial services, trade, logistics, tourism and professional services.

Promoting the Basic Law

115. As the constitutional document of the HKSAR, the Basic Law has laid a solid foundation for the continued stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau will devote more resources to increase the promotion of the Basic Law. We will also enhance Basic Law-related training for the civil service. In addition to providing training courses tailored to the specific needs of different levels of civil servants, we will establish a mechanism to follow up on their training status and incorporate the Basic Law into the civil service recruitment examination. At the same time, we will work closely with the working groups under the Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee to step up the promotion of the Basic Law in local communities and schools. For instance, we will actively sponsor and assist community organisations and schools in organising promotional activities.

National Education

116. The decade following Hong Kong's return to the motherland has seen a growing sense of national identity in our community. To prepare ourselves for the next decade, we must have a better understanding of our country's development and a stronger sense of our national and cultural identity. If Hong Kong people make their life and career plans from the perspective of national development, both individual citizens and the community at large will surely have a brighter future.

117. At the welcoming banquet the HKSAR Government hosted on 30 June this year, President Hu Jintao earnestly advised that "we should put more emphasis on national education for the youth in Hong Kong and promote exchanges between them and the young people of the Mainland so that they will carry forward the Hong Kong people's great tradition of loving the motherland and loving Hong Kong".

118. The future lies with our young people. In the interest of our country's development and the continued success of "One Country, Two Systems", the HKSAR Government will make every effort to promote national education. In particular, we will attach great importance to promoting national education among our young people, so that they grow to love our motherland and Hong Kong, aspire to win honour and make contributions for our country, and have a strong sense of pride as nationals of the People's Republic of China.

119. The promotion of national education is an undertaking of the whole community. The HKSAR Government will work closely with various sectors in the community, in particular the education sector, to enhance our young people's awareness and understanding of our country's development, the land and the people, the history and the culture. This can be done through different means and channels, such as classroom teaching, teacher education, extra-curricular activities and exchanges with young people from the Mainland. The objective is to foster among young people a sense of affinity with our motherland and heighten their sense of national pride and identity.

120. We will give more weight to the elements of national education in the existing primary and secondary curricula and the new senior secondary curriculum framework to help students acquire a clearer understanding of our country and a stronger sense of national identity. The Government will also encourage more schools to form flag guard teams and to stage more national flag-raising ceremonies, and subsidise more Mainland study trips and exchange programmes for youths. We will rally the efforts of various sectors to bring about synergy in enhancing the overall effectiveness of national education.

Promoting the Olympic Spirit

121. The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games presents an excellent opportunity to promote national education. We will highlight this important event as the main theme of our promotional activities, so people will understand our country better and have a shared sense of national pride. We will also take this opportunity to promote sports among the public by making available the sports and recreational facilities managed by the LCSD for public use free of charge from 1 July to 30 September 2008. These facilities include public swimming pools, water sports centres, tennis courts, squash courts and holiday camps.

(To be continued)

Ends/Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:58

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