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Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, at a media session on the West Kowloon Cultural District Project during a visit to Wan Chai this afternoon (January 31):
Reporter: On the composition of the authority, can you tell us if the Chief Secretary will be the chairman of this authority and how will the Government actually make sure that it’s not only going to be run in terms of fiscally well managed, but also in terms of culturally? How are you going to make sure the voice of the cultural sector will be heard?
Chief Secretary for Administration: The public mission of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority is to facilitate and enhance, as well as promote, Hong Kong into a cultural hub, so it is a very important public mission. As far as the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority is concerned, the composition will include at least five members from the cultural background, so we are quite confident that this is a very good mix of cultural as well as other members of the public. We will require it to have a very high grade corporate government system in place. On top of this, it will be subject to Ombudsman and Director of Audit's external audit, as well as value for money audit. So, we are confident that it will manage its finances in a prudent manner and indeed we have written into the bill that it will need to exercise due care and diligence to ensure its sustainability.
Reporter: Will the authority be headed by a government official?
Chief Secretary for Administration: Our primary aim right now is to get the bill passed before Legco recesses in July this year. As far as who will chair and who will become members, we will cross that bridge when we are near it.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, January 31, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:18
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