*********************************************************
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, at a media session after attending a luncheon of the Lions Club of Happy Valley today (June 5):
Reporter: Secretary, you ask the Hong Kong people to consider the price they're willing to pay when there is a decrease of Mainland tourists. What is the price that the Government is willing to pay and what is the Government's vision?
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: The price that will be paid by the Government is the same price that will be paid by the community. We are one. Therefore, we need to listen to our community, all sectors of the community, including the business sector, including our average citizens in Hong Kong, our different stakeholders in terms of how they see this issue, and what if there is any adjustment in the number of the tourists visiting Hong Kong, and the impact that will be made on employment, the impact that will be made on our economy, and that would have to be taken into consideration. There is a cost in everything, and you cannot have a reduction in the number of tourists without affecting the economy, without affecting employment. That is precisely the issue that we need to gauge today, an issue that we need to confront today, and come up with a solution that would solve the problem. And that is why we are posing this question today, and I believe that the community will have to make an informed decision with these objective facts confronting them, how we are going to approach this together. The Government and the people are one, and we need to do this together.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, June 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:58
NNNN
