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The Government will continue to support the information and communications technology sectors in adopting international standards, a spokesman for the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) said today (October 13).

The spokesman was speaking on the eve of World Standards Day 2003, which is celebrated on October 14 every year by members of major international standards organisations, such as the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The slogan of World Standards Day 2003 is "Global Standards for the Global Information Society". Information and communications technologies (ICTs) are the building blocks of the information society, where information and knowledge are disseminated electronically, impacting on all aspects of social development. Recognising their importance, ISO, IEC and ITU have been promoting the development and adoption of international standards on ICTs, with a view to simplifying the use of technologies, reducing costs and opening markets and in turn bridging the digital divide between developed and developing economies.

"Entering the age of the knowledge-based economy, the Hong Kong SAR Government appreciates the importance of ICTs and supports the use of international standards. The Government has also been taking part in standardisation activities of the ISO and ITU. In fact, for implementation of the e-government services, the Government has been using international standards or standards widely adopted in the ICT industry. The Government's regulatory requirements for electrical and electronic devices are also mostly based on international standards developed by IEC and its International Special Committee on Radio Interference," the ITC spokesman said.

In an effort to support local businesses in understanding and applying international standards, the Product Standards Information Bureau of the ITC maintains a library with some 120,000 standards issued by ISO, IEC and standard bodies of Hong Kong's major markets and offers a technical enquiry service. It also operates a Standards Sales Service for the purchase of originals and photocopies of standards from overseas standard bodies.

Ends/Monday, October 13, 2003

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