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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick FUNG Kin-kee and a reply by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, in the Legislative Council today (November 16):
Question:
Regarding the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization ("the Conference") to be held in Hong Kong next month, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as there have been criticisms that the authorities' promotional messages are over-simplified and incomprehensive, how the authorities will assist Hong Kong people in understanding the agenda items of the Conference and encourage them to discuss these issues; of the current progress of the work and the estimated total expenditure incurred in this respect;
(b) how it will enhance its communication with local and overseas non-governmental organizations, and whether it will brief them daily during the Conference on the status of the negotiations and its position on the issues under negotiation; and
(c) of the measures which Hong Kong, as the host of the Conference, will adopt in respect of the Conference arrangements, the appointment of Conference facilitators and the negotiations on agricultural subsidies and drug patents, to ensure that developing countries will be treated in a fair manner and their special needs given due consideration; and whether international human rights organizations will be invited to assess independently whether the consensus reached at the Conference is in violation of the principles of protection of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the international human rights treaties?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) To enhance our community's understanding of the WTO and enlist public support for the Conference, the Government has been explaining to the public through various channels the importance of WTO and free trade to global economic development, as well the objectives of the Conference. The methods used differ having regard to the different target audience and characteristics of individual media. For instance, in the case of TV APIs, we adopt a simple and more layman approach to explain to the general public the fundamental benefits of free trade to Hong Kong in 30 seconds. This however does not mean the end of the job and we supplement these publicity works by other means that can convey more comprehensive information, including electronic media interviews, media workshops, feature articles, seminar, the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference website, etc.
In addition, we also reach out to target audience by direct contact with them - for example, we have attended meetings of relevant District Councils (DCs) to gauge their opinions; we have arranged briefings for various sectors (e.g. hotel, security, estate management, etc) and residents in the most affected districts to give advance information and advice so that early preparation can be made. So far, we have already conducted more than 50 briefings.
In the coming few weeks, we will step up publicity to keep the public abreast of the security and transport arrangements during the Conference period in order to minimize the inconveniences to the public. For instance, a publicity pamphlet will be widely distributed. Nearer the Conference, press conferences by various government departments will also be organized to explain to our public the arrangements in detail.
The Information Services Department estimates that up to now, the expenditure on public education and publicity is around $4 million.
(b) We pay high regard to the freedom of speech and right of assembly of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and attach great importance to facilitating their peaceful and lawful public activities during the Conference. Starting from early 2005, the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference Coordination Office (MCO) has been meeting with local and overseas NGOs with a view to facilitate their participation in the Ministerial Conference process The Trade and Industry Department has also met with NGOs on many occasions to explain to them about the contents of various aspects of trade negotiations. In particular, we held a NGO Roundtable in October which was attended by Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General of WTO (DGWTO). The Roundtable provided an opportunity for NGOs to have a direct dialogue with DGWTO and the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (SCIT).
We will facilitate NGOs' participation in the Conference and the reporting on the negotiation progress by the media. We will set up a well-equipped NGO Centre and Press Centre in HKCEC. It is worthwhile to mention that the Conference is the first in the history of WTO to house NGO Centre, Press Centre and negotiation venue under one roof. NGOs will find this setting more convenient and conducive for their direct communication with WTO members during the Conference. In addition, we are currently discussing with the WTO Secretariat on measures to disseminate information on the progress of negotiation to NGOs and the media on a daily basis in order to increase transparency of the Conference.
(c) This question comprises different components as follows. The first component part deals with Conference arrangements to ensure the needs of developing countries will be given due consideration. As the host of the Sixth Ministerial Conference, we aim to chair a Conference that is transparent, inclusive and effective. Towards this end, we will ensure that developing country groupings like the G20, G33 and G90 will have a strong representation in the Conference, and that coordinators of different groupings will be properly represented in the various small group meetings.
The second component deals with the appointment of Conference facilitators. A decision on the matter will be taken by SCIT as chair of the Conference, in consultation with the Director-General of the WTO, in the next two to three weeks. Our key consideration is who will be best placed to facilitate the forging of consensus among WTO Members in accordance with the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) mandate, which has clearly provided for the proper address of development concerns in each and every negotiating area.
The third component deals with negotiations on trade in agriculture. Developing WTO Members pressing for further liberalization are typically represented by the G-20. They are demanding the early elimination of export subsidies, substantial reduction of domestic support measures and meaningful market access through sharp and genuine import tariff reduction by Members such as the EU, Japan and the US. Developing WTO Members' position on agriculture is not unanimous. For example, another group representing the interests of WTO Members in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Region, has put up a far more conservative proposal on market access.
We have been closely monitoring the agricultural negotiations as the state of these negotiations will facilitate negotiations in other areas under the DDA. We have made use, and will continue to make use, of suitable opportunities to identify possible bridges that will reduce differences between WTO Members.
The fourth component part deals with patents on drugs. This issue is outside the DDA and will not be covered in the agenda of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. The position on this issue is that a Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health was reached at the Doha Ministerial Conference in 2001 and a decision was taken by the WTO General Council in August 2003. The gist of both the Declaration and the General Council decision is that the less well-off developing and least-developed WTO Members facing public health problems like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics should be allowed to grant compulsory licences (that is, governmental use of patents without the authorization of the patent owner) for the production and export of pharmaceutical products for such health problems.
The last component part deals with the compatibility of the consensus to be reached at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference with the principles of protection of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the international human rights treaties. The coming Conference will not conclude the DDA negotiations. It is inconceivable that any consensus reached at the coming Conference will be in violation of the principles of protection of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the international human rights treaties.
Ends/Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Issued at HKT 13:19
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