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Following is the full text of the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the Symposium on Y2K Readiness of Hong Kong today (Thursday):

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am glad to have the opportunity to participate in the Symposium today and talk about the year 2000 problem which is indeed of tremendous importance because of its direct influence on everyone of us and the community as a whole.

In 344 days, we will enter the next millennium. As year 2000 is drawing near, the "Millennium Bug" problem has become the global focus. Hong Kong is an advanced city where information technology is widely used in all trades and all areas of our daily life, including our home. Therefore, the potential impact of the year 2000 problem on us can be very extensive.

To minimise the impact of the year 2000 problem, the Government of the HKSAR has taken a series of actions to ensure that Hong Kong is well prepared for it. Such work includes the completion of rectification work of all mission-critical systems within the government by the middle of this year so that government services will not be disrupted by the year 2000 problem. To ensure that non-government organisations which provide essential services to the public can solve the problem before year 2000, policy bureaux and departments of the government are closely monitoring the rectification progress of these organisations. We have also launched a series of publicity and promotion activities to enhance public awareness of and concern for the year 2000 problem. In the meantime, we also actively encourage the organisations which provide services to the public to publish their compliance progress so as to achieve a higher degree of transparency and thereby remove the anxiety of the community. The Symposium today is a very good example of our work in this area.

As you may have heard a lot about the year 2000 problem from media reports, I am not going to talk about its cause and the extent of its potential impact. As a matter of fact, I know that people in various sectors have already taken action to tackle the problem. But I must emphasise that cooperation is essential in solving the problem because this is not a problem for individual institutions. The daily operation of each institution relies to various degrees on the services and information provided by other institutions. If an institution cannot rectify the problem in time, the normal operation of other institutions with which it has business connection may be affected as well.

In view of the domino effects, I hereby urge every sector, apart from taking early rectification of their own computer systems, to communicate and discuss with their business partners. If necessary, contingency plans should be drawn up to prepare for possible disruptions.

From the perspective of the general public, what concerns us most is whether the problem will affect our daily lives, including in particular such essential services as energy supply, telecommunications, public transport, health care, financial services and aviation. Like all of you, I would like to know more about the readiness of the organisations which provide essential services to the public in tackling the problem. Therefore, I strongly support this Symposium jointly organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau, which will enable us to know the progress of various sectors in tackling the problem and thus remove our doubts.

I would also like to take this opportunity to share with you my views on the year 2000 problem. I have heard of different views on this problem. Some think that the doomsday is due to come in year 2000 and the world be in great chaos. Some others feel that the problem is exaggerated by a small number of people. As a matter of fact, we cannot predict precisely the extent of the impact of the problem upon the arrival of year 2000, but one thing is certain: the year 2000 problem is not absolutely insurmountable. We will certainly be able to minimise its impact if we are well prepared and have formulated appropriate contingency plans before year 2000.

The year 2000 problem poses a great challenge to us and affords no delay of action. I sincerely hope that we will be able to solve the problem through concerted efforts before the arrival of the new millennium.

Thank you.

END/Thursday, January 21,1999

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