FS speaks on Economic and Employment Council

FS speaks on Economic and Employment Council
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Following is the transcript (English portion) of remarks of the media session by the Financial Secretary, Mr Henry Tang, after the Economic and Employment Council meeting at the ground floor lobby of Central Government Offices (West Wing) this afternoon (December 16):

Question: Can we have something in English about what transpired at the meeting and can you tell us, is this going to be the last meeting of the task force?

Financial Secretary: The Economic and Employment Council (EEC) held its eighth and last meeting today because we have decided that while, in the last two years, the members have contributed a great deal to enhancing our economic development as well as creation of employment, it is more practical to reconstruct, to reconstitute the EEC. In the future, while Government places a great deal of emphasis on the creation of employment, not necessarily by the Government, but by the economy in general, we feel that the achievements in the last two years have mainly been in licensing or in business facilitation. So the task force that focuses on business facilitation will go on and there will continue to be a Business Facilitation Advisory Committee. On the other hand, as far as the longer-term economic development issues are concerned, it is more appropriate for the Commission on Strategic Development (CSD) to discuss some of these longer-term issues, such as job creation, high-value-added logistics, creative industries or the flow of talents. These are the kind of issues that will create employment and enhance our competitiveness, but I believe it will be equally appropriate, if not more appropriate, that they be discussed at the Commission for Strategic Development level so that we can get more people to participate.

Question: Will the membership be the same as the one in the task force?

Financial Secretary: No. The Commission for Strategic Development's membership has already been announced.

Question: But none of the ones in the task force will be overseeing or observing?

Financial Secretary: There will be some overlaps, but on the other hand, at the first meeting at the CSD, we have already agreed that when we come to discuss specific issues, we will not rule out the possibility of inviting some other people who have more specific knowledge about those particular issues to join the discussion.

Question: Mr Secretary, can I just ask you one other question? I'm going to digress a bit here. It appears that the services deal might not be struck at this WTO meeting in Hong Kong. Now how concerned are you? If a deal has not been struck, will it affect Hong Kong negatively? Will it put a damper on the economy? And if a deal is struck, how will it benefit Hong Kong?

Financial Secretary: As far as being the host of the Sixth Ministerial Conference is concerned, I have three points to make. First of all, in organising perhaps the largest conference ever in Hong Kong’s history, I know it has caused certain inconvenience to the people of Hong Kong, to the community. So I ask for the community’s understanding that in organising these very, very large international conferences, a certain degree of inconvenience has to be expected and we ask for the community’s understanding.

Secondly, as far as the transport and security arrangements [are concerned], if we can carry out this conference in a reasonably smooth manner, then I feel it will greatly enhance Hong Kong’s reputation as an international metropolitan city which has the ability to hold these international conferences reasonably smoothly. We will always expect a certain amount of scuffles and there will be multiple protests, but we respect people’s right to be heard and we want this to be as transparent and as inclusive as possible. So I believe that if we can get through this whole meeting reasonably smoothly, it will greatly enhance our reputation as an international metropolitan city.

Thirdly, as far as the content of the meeting is concerned, with the accession of Tonga yesterday, we now have 150 members in the WTO. WTO’s rule is that everyone has to agree. They will have to forge a consensus on every single issue and with the DDA (Doha Development Agenda), nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. So it is our responsibility to provide the best environment for these kinds of discussions and everyone must be able to come to the table and be prepared to make concessions to facilitate the conclusion of the DDA, which will lift millions of people out of poverty, which will increase wealth worldwide by billions of dollars and it will enhance market access as well as facilitate trade, especially for the least developed countries. So I believe that the importance of the WTO is very well known and the polls have consistently shown that Hong Kong people do support WTO and feel that free trade will bring enhanced employment and economic opportunities for Hong Kong.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Friday, December 16, 2005
Issued at HKT 16:08

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