Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777
Friday, January 16, 1998
CONTENTS
========
1. CS continues North American tour in Florida
2. Speech by CS in Miami
3. Withdrawal of the Tamar Basin Reclamation site
4. Commission on Strategic Development appointed
5. Bill to dispel uncertainties and confusion
6. Voter registration exercise to conclude
7. Committees to give advice to election candidates
8. Electoral procedure regulation gazetted
9. Changes to satellite TV broadcasting licensing endorsed
10. Social Worker Registration Board membership announced
11. ICAC advisory committees' members appointed
12. Appointments to Quality Education Fund Steering Committee
13. Bylaws for managing new airport come into effect
14. Prevention of Copyright Piracy Bill gazetted
15. Pilot credit guarantee scheme announced
16. Rate of transaction levy for securities trading to reduce
17. Revision of gas safety fees proposed
18. Electrical fees increase proposed
19. Statutory time limit for road works objections
20. Transport-related fees to be revised
21. Update on avian flu
22. 1997 figures on court insolvency cases released
23. Payroll and wage statistics for 3rd quarter 1997
24. Child Abduction & Custody Order published
25. Tender prequalification for Tuen Mun Road improvements
26. Producer price indices for manufacturing industries
27. Four pre-sale consents issued in December last year
28. Upgrading works for 116 slopes to begin soon
29. IT project to enhance teaching and learning
30. Green managers learn of sustainable development objective
31. Blankets for street sleepers
1. CS continues North American tour in Florida
*******************************************
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson
Chan, said that in its first promotion in Miami, Hong Kong
hoped to make more new friends, and coming as it did so
soon after the handover, it reinforced the special bond
which already existed between Hong Kong and the United
States.
Speaking at the reception and gala dinner marking the
end of the first day of Hong Kong*USA '98 promotion today
(Thursday, January 15, US time), Mrs Chan said: "Like Hong
Kong, Miami is an international trading hub - you have
carved out a niche as the principal gateway to the
Americas; we are the principal gateway to the markets of
China and Asia."
During the second leg of her promotional tour of the
United States Mrs Chan met Miami's most influential
community and business leaders and hammered home the
advantages of doing business and investing in Hong Kong.
On arrival from Los Angeles last night, she was met
by Mr David Tsui, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and
Trade Office in New York; Mr Wu Zurong, the Chinese Consul
General in Houston, Texas; and Mr Joseph Jean-Baptiste,
the mayor of Miami-Dade County representative.
Mrs Chan started her busy round of engagements with a
breakfast meeting with over 40 of Miami's leading women
executives. She told them that Hong Kong had chosen to
make its first promotional visit since last July the first
to the United States because it had very strong trade and
human links with the US. The US, she said, also had
trading interests in Hong Kong and "we wanted to be able
to explain ourselves how Hong Kong has fared in the six
months since the transition."
Following the breakfast, Mrs Chan travelled to Fort
Lauderdale, another important commercial and business
centre, for a meeting with the editorial board of one of
the state's largest circulation newspapers, the Sun
Sentinel. She briefed the editors on the latest
developments in Hong Kong.
It was then back to Miami for an interview with WPBT
television's number one business programme, the "Nightly
Business Report". The programme is viewed by over a
million households every weeknight on 275 public
television stations in the US and abroad.
Mrs Chan gave the keynote speech of her trip at a
lunch meeting that was part of a business conference on
"Hong Kong: New Era, New Opportunities", jointly organised
by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York and
the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC).
The Chief Secretary began by greeting a group of
former Hong Kong people in the audience in Chinese for
which they applauded her.
She then gave an overview of Hong Kong's first six
months as a Special Administrative Region of China. She
said Hong Kong reached this milestone a fortnight ago on
January 1, but it did not attract the kind of attention
the world's media gave to the six months leading up to the
handover back at the start of 1997.
"It has not attracted attention because the
transition has proved to be not a headline-grabbing
discontinuity, but a heartening continuity. The key
ingredients of our success story remain firmly rooted in
Hong Kong. So seamless has the transition been that to
many people in Hong Kong and for those coming back to
visit, there simply has not been any tangible change to
the lifestyle, or in the way in which Hong Kong operates
in its new role as a Special Administrative Region," she
said.
Among other topics the Chief Secretary spoke about
was the way in which Hong Kong had been able to handle the
financial turmoil sweeping Asia, why Hong Kong would
maintain the link with the US dollar and the upcoming
elections for the first SAR Legislative Council in May.
Mrs Chan also touched on the Avian flu outbreak and said
it was not an epidemic as repeatedly stressed by the World
Health Organisation.
The business conference was sponsored by the Hong
Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Tourist
Association, the Beacon Council of Miami, the Greater
Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong/US and US/Hong
Kong Economic Co-operation Committees.
There were two plenary sessions, one on trade and the
other on finance. Speakers in the trade session were
Miss Denise Yue, Secretary for Trade and Industry; Mr Zhu
Xiaohua, Chairman of China Everbright Holdings Co, Ltd;
Mr Victor Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive of The Gold
Peak Group; and Mr Philip Chen, Deputy Managing Director
of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. In the financial session
the speakers were Mr John Strickland, Chairman of the
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation; Mr Lee Hon
Chiu, Chairman of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong;
Mrs Laura Cha, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of the
Securities and Futures Commission; and Mr Richard
Margolis, First Vice President, Merrill Lynch (Asia
Pacific) Ltd.
The welcoming and opening remarks of the conference
were made by Mr Michael Sze, Executive Director of the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Mr Tony Ojeda,
Director of Protocol, International Trade and Commerce, of
the Mayor's Office in Miami-Dade County.
After lunch, Mrs Chan met local and international
media in Miami at a press conference and answered a
variety of questions including ones on press freedom in
Hong Kong, the "bird flu" and the collapse of Peregrine
Investments Holdings Ltd.
Her next appointment was another editorial board
meeting, this time with Miami's premier daily newspaper,
the Miami Herald.
The Chief Secretary rounded off her first day by
attending the gala dinner hosted by the Hong Kong Economic
and trade Office, New York, for over 300 members of
Miami's business and financial communities, academics and
individuals, including former Hong Kong residents at the
ballroom of the historic Biltmore Country Club.
Following the dinner, guests were entertained to a
dance performance by the Hong Kong Ballet which is
travelling as part of the Hong Kong promotion group. The
ballet presented highlights from its original production,
"the Emperor and the Nightingale".
End
2. Speech by CS in Miami
*********************
Following is a speech by the Chief Secretary for
Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, at the Business Luncheon -
Hong Kong*USA '98, Miami, on Thursday (January 15, US
time):
Hong Kong: New Era, New Opportunities
Thank you for those kind words of welcome.
It's the first time I have been to Miami and my
immediate reaction is - why has it taken me so long! The
weather, the coastline that seems to stretch forever, the
parklands and the everglades, although on this occasion I
won't get a chance to see them. When you think of Greater
Miami covering more than 2,000 square miles, and Hong Kong
just over 400 square miles, you can see why I won't have
the opportunity to fully appreciate the extent of Miami's
beauty. But while the relative size of our two
communities are in stark contrast, we do share a common
epithet - Gateway. You are the gateway to the Americas,
we are the gateway to China. And in both vastly different
regions there is also a common factor - the huge potential
of their emerging markets.
Your strategic location and rapid development as a
global business centre are two key elements we wish to tap
in our first Hong Kong*USA promotion to be held in Miami
and our first promotion since our change of sovereignty
last July. I think this demonstrates the importance we
place on developing closer ties with the United States,
and Miami in particular.
For those of you who may not be so familiar with Hong
Kong, or the extent of our two-way trade dealings with the
US, I would like to say that the United States is our 2nd
largest trading partner, 2nd largest market, and our 4th
largest source of imports. In the first nine months of
1997, the value of trade between Hong Kong and the US
totalled US$41.5 billion - that's 14.5 per cent of our
overall trade and an increase of almost 4.5 per cent over
the same period in 1996. In a full year, it's about the
same as the total value of annual exports and imports you
have through Florida.
Let me now turn to the main theme of my luncheon
address -- the first six months of Hong Kong as a Special
Administrative Region of China -- a milestone reached just
a fortnight ago, on January the 1st. A milestone that did
not attract the kind of attention the world's media gave
to the six months leading up to the Handover back at the
start of 1997. It hasn't attracted attention because the
transition has proved to be not a headline-grabbing
discontinuity, but a heartening continuity.
So seamless has the transition been, that to many
people in Hong Kong and for those coming back to visit,
there simply hasn't been any tangible change to the
lifestyle, or in the way in which Hong Kong operates in
its new role as a Special Administrative Region.
What is new then? The only visible difference is the
flag and having a Chief Executive, not a Governor, heading
the administration. What has changed for me? I'm still
the Chief Secretary, and with only one exception, the
senior policy secretaries are the same as those working
with the former Governor. My duties and my daily routine
remain the same. I chair the same government and business
committee meetings, attend the weekly Executive Council
meetings chaired by the Chief Executive. Then there's the
usual pressure of day-to-day issues that any principal
government official has to deal with.
I think the first six months could be summarised this
way -- The key ingredients of our success story remain
firmly rooted in Hong Kong. The rule of law continues to
prevail and is being upheld. We have an independent
judiciary and our own Court of Final Appeal. Hong Kong
people's way of life is unchanged and we continue to enjoy
the freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Sino-British
Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, our mini-
constitution. Political debates remain lively,
demonstrations continue to be a natural part of everyday
life; and if we as a government don't perform to
expectations, then we certainly hear or read about it
through the media, which remains as free and robust today
as it did before June 30. Perhaps even more so.
The Civil Service remains apolitical, clean, and
efficient. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Government runs its own affairs, and maintains a level
playing field for businesses to compete without any
interference from Beijing. Co-operation with our global
and regional partners continues to develop and strengthen,
as can be seen by the launch of our HK*USA '98 promotion,
our active participation in the World Trade Organisation,
in our contribution to the rescue package for the Thai
baht, in the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Vancouver
two months ago, and in the Asian Finance Ministers Meeting
in Kuala Lumpur last month.
One very welcome development has come with regard to
human rights. Many, both inside and outside Hong Kong,
were concerned about the protection of these rights in the
long term. I am very pleased that the PRC government,
although not a signatory to the human rights covenants
itself, has agreed that reports on human rights on Hong
Kong will continue to be submitted to the monitoring
bodies. Through this regular review and monitoring, we
can give assurance that our well developed systems for
upholding human rights will be maintained in the years
ahead.
In a very real sense, it is very much "business as
usual" in Hong Kong. But we live in unchain and unusual
times and Hong Kong has found itself thrust into the
epicentre of a financial and currency crisis, the likes of
which the region has not witnessed in its post-war march
to the front line of world economies. We have also been
buffeted by a post Handover downturn in tourism and more
recently by a bird 'flu scare which has attracted banner
headlines here and throughout the world.
Let me begin with the most topical news - the bird
'flu. Firstly, it is not an epidemic as repeatedly
stressed by the World Health Organisation. There have
been 18 cases, of which 5 were fatal. Secondly, there is
no concrete evidence yet so far that the 'flu is
transmittable from human to human and according to the
latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
statement, even if it were so transferable, it is a very
inefficient transmission. Thirdly, in recognising the
potentially serious nature of the problem, our health
authorities were extremely vigilant, and quick to call in
the experts from the World Health Organisation and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta,
Georgia, to work alongside them in taking all the
necessary measures. Some of these - like the culling of
our entire chicken population - were quite unpleasant, but
necessary. These measures, along with co-operation from
the Mainland on chicken imports from China, stringent new
checks and controls on poultry imports, and an overhaul of
our own farm and market hygiene arrangements, have been
taken to protect the health of the community and to
restore consumer confidence.
Let me turn to the topic that is on everybody's lip -
the regional financial turmoil. It is interesting to note
that the turmoil did not impact on Wall Street, London or
Europe until the Hong Kong market came under attack in
October last year. World headlines proclaimed that Hong
Kong had led a world-wide stock market tumble. Whatever
the truth of that, it was certainly a tribute to Hong Kong
that Wall Street caught a cold only when Hong Kong
sneezed.
Any lingering doubts people might have had over
China's commitment to allow Hong Kong to look after its
own affairs, apart from defence and foreign relations,
would have been dispelled by the way in which we were left
alone to handle the crisis. China's leaders pledged full
support to Hong Kong, but only if we asked for it.
China has shown a clear understanding that
maintaining the position of the Hong Kong Dollar is the
expression - in economic terms - of the substance of 'One
Country Two Systems'. Equally, there is an understanding
that for the Hong Kong Dollar to keep its position, it is
vital that it continues to be supported not by political
intervention, but by the sound fiscal and economic
policies that are practised in Hong Kong.
You might have read or heard different analysts
calling for an end to the link between the Hong Kong and
US dollars. It is a debate that, almost like clockwork,
is dusted off whenever there is the hint of financial
problems or an attack on our currency. But, I can give
you this assurance - the Hong Kong Dollar will not be de-
linked.
De-linking would damage Hong Kong, and do further
damage to the regional economy. It has been the stability
of Hong Kong's currency since 1983, coupled with our
greatly improved market regulation and supervision, that
has enabled us to develop into one of the world's leading
financial centres. Financial services have increased
their contribution to our GDP by over 500% in the last
decade and we are now the world's 4th largest banking
centre and 6th largest securities centre. Most of the
crossborder loans and deals in the world are made in US
dollars. The stability of our currency against the dollar
protects our businesses and financiers from exchange rate
risk on those transactions.
As for our exporters, the idea that they can gain
sustained advantage from competitive devaluation is ill-
conceived. We first must import all our materials before
we can export. Devalue and we will import inflation that
will wipe out the hope of gain from lower export prices.
Any devaluation would undermine public confidence and
would have serious consequences for our financial,
property and stock markets. It would do lasting damage to
our economic prospects. Hong Kong is well able to
maintain the value of its currency. The currency board
system under which the link operates, is an automatic
market mechanism, not a construct of political will. It
has imposed sound financial discipline on both the
government and the private sector. We keep public
expenditure in line with economic growth. So we run
budget surpluses, not deficits, and have reserves that are
sufficient not just to back up our currency seven times
over, but allow us to maintain substantial levels of
investment in infrastructure, education and other
programmes that will strengthen our economy in the years
ahead. At the same time, we have managed to cut taxes.
We have sound regulation of our banks, including high
capital adequacy ratios which place them in a very strong
position to cope with any difficulties caused by current
problems in the region and in Hong Kong. Above all, we
have credibility: credibility that comes from our record
of prudent fiscal policies, sound financial regulation,
open and transparent systems, a clean and efficient
administration and from the underlying strength of our
economy. These are the major differences between the way
Hong Kong operates and those economies in the Asian region
that are feeling the full impact of the current financial
turmoil.
Of course this is an unsettling and painful period
for many. The higher interest rates that are needed to
fend off attacks on the currency do have an adverse impact
on the stock and property markets, and affect those doing
business or have a mortgage to repay. But it forces
businessmen to upgrade the quality of their goods and seek
higher productivity. It also enables the real economy to
adjust through lower property prices and rental levels.
This is putting home ownership back within reach of the
people and is restoring competitiveness in our business
costs. The nature of these market-driven adjustments to
the Hong Kong economy bring short-term trauma, but not
long-term chronic illness. If you look around elsewhere
in the region, I think you must agree that Hong Kong is in
better shape than most.
In short, the recent volatility in the market has not
changed our policy of maintaining a free, open and
transparent economy with sound regulatory controls,
underpinned by the rule of law. And it has not shifted
our determination to further enhance Hong Kong's role as a
leading international financial centre.
While we are not immune from the economic meltdown in
the region, our economy has continued to perform well. In
the first six months of 1997/98, Gross Domestic Product
grew by 6.3% in real terms. It slowed in the third
quarter to an estimated 5%. But despite this decline and
the obvious impact of the currency and market turmoil of
the past few months, we are hopeful of achieving real
economic growth of 5.5% for the year as a whole.
Our optimism in Hong Kong's future is based not on
blind faith, but on a reasonable assessment of our
opportunities and the trust we have in our free market
system: trust that is grounded in long experience. And
our reasoned optimism is shared by others. Last month we
received two rather impressive report cards from
influential third parties. The US Heritage Foundation
Index of Economic Freedom for 1998 found Hong Kong, for
the fourth consecutive year, to be the freest economy in
the world. And the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong
Kong - AmCham - one of the city's top business groupings,
has given the thumbs up for the SAR's medium term outlook.
The Heritage Foundation Index gave Hong Kong top
scores in all 10 key areas under assessment - trade
policy, tax policy, government intervention, monetary
policy, foreign investment, banking (we were described as
having one of the world's most stable banking
environments), wages and price controls, property rights,
regulation, and the size of the black market. The study
found that there is, and I quote: "little evidence that
becoming part of China will alter Hong Kong's economic
structure significantly. There continues to be little
government interference in the market place; taxes remain
low and predictable; increases in government spending are
linked closely with economic growth; foreign trade still
is free; and regulations, in addition to being
transparent, continue to be applied both uniformly and
consistently." End of quote.
The results of AmCham's annual business confidence
survey are just as encouraging. They reflect a positive
medium term outlook for Hong Kong's business environment
even against the backdrop of recent economic turbulence in
the region. The summary results noted "the high level of
confidence is directly related to the smooth transition
and political stability, sound economic fundamentals, and
an overall improvement in Sino-American relations".
Over 96% of the survey respondents expressed a "very
favourable" or "favourable" view of Hong Kong's business
environment in the next five years. The maintenance of
the rule of law and free flow of information ranked as the
most important factors in assessing the SAR's future as a
centre for international business and finance.
The latest figures we have, show that total American
investment in Hong Kong now amounts to US$16 billion.
Making us the second largest destination for US investment
in Asia after Japan. And there are some 1,200 American
companies operating out of Hong Kong: more than 400 of
them with regional headquarters or offices there.
Despite the present turmoil, Hong Kong's position as
the key international financial, trading and business
centre of East Asia has been strengthened. Our political
stability, sound economy and dependable currency, which is
freely convertible, have provided a measure of certainty
in a region now beset by uncertainties. And this is
bolstered by the fact that we have the mainland of China
as our economic hinterland -- an economy that grew by
around nine per cent in real terms in 1997 and with little
spill-over effect from the regional crisis. China is
expected to grow by around 8% per annum up to 2000.
The attributes that have put us at the top of the
East Asian region remain:
* our geographical location, on China's doorstep and
midway between Tokyo and Singapore;
* our hard-working, flexible and well-educated work-
force, combined with our enterprising and resourceful
entrepreneurs;
* our simple and low tax system, where no individual
pays more than 15% on their salary and no company more
than 16.5% on its profits;
* our transport and communications infrastructure,
which makes it easy to travel to and communicate with
almost anywhere in the world; and
* our accessible and predictable legal and judicial
system, which ensures that the rule of law is upheld and
that no one is above the law.
And we are continually improving on those attributes.
Our new state-of-the-art airport will open on July 6 this
year to carry us through well into the new millennium,
perhaps continuing as the world's busiest for freight and
3rd busiest for international passengers. Further
expansion of our container port, already the world's
busiest, is under way. And we have just announced major
expansions for our mass transit railway and conventional
rail systems.
As one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities - a
meeting place for East and West and where English remains
the language of business - we are also upgrading our
teaching methods to ensure our graduates have an even
better command of both English and Chinese. This is
essential if we are to maintain our competitive edge in
the world. As part of this programme, we will be
providing more than 700 additional native-speaking English
teachers in secondary schools from this year.
But there is no denying we have had difficulties; and
not simply on the economic front, or for that matter with
the recent outbreak of "bird" 'flu. Political issues have
also tested the administration with challenges to the
legitimacy of the Provisional Legislative Council and
other Government decisions. The important thing is that
all legal challenges have been dealt with by Hong Kong's
courts, using the same legal precedents and processes that
have been long-established in Hong Kong and with their
roots in the English common law system.
On our legislature front, we are preparing for
elections for the first SAR Legislative Council, and then
to elect one that is genuinely representative of the whole
spectrum of public opinion, through a voting system that
is fair, open and acceptable to the people of Hong Kong.
These elections will be held on May 24 this year. The
structure of the new Legco will be the same as that of the
1995 legislature - 20 directly elected members from
geographical constituencies; 30 indirectly elected from
functional constituencies; and 10 from an Election
Committee.
The indirect elections in functional constituencies
are pretty well unique to Hong Kong. They have drawn
criticism from the time they were introduced under the
British Administration in 1985. They remain, as then, a
transitional arrangement. The Basic Law sets out a
timetable for electoral development in Hong Kong that will
see the number of directly elected seats steadily
increased to 50% of the total by 2007. After that, it
will be up to us to decide for ourselves how to take the
electoral development forward to full universal suffrage.
There is one other matter that needs to be clarified.
Time and again we are asked by people from overseas what
is the effect of so many soldiers from the People's
Liberation Army stationed in Hong Kong. Such a situation
couldn't be further from reality.
Less than two months ago, Hong Kong's respected
English language daily, the South China Morning Post,
commenting editorially on the change of garrison personnel
- something which occurred without fanfare - said the
"ultra low profile adopted by the PLA since its arrival
has exceeded all expectations". In fact, the paper went
on to say that it would be in everyone's interest if the
soldiers were allowed to see more of Hong Kong, provided
they remained a background presence.
For most people, the only visible presence of the PLA
are the two guards standing to attention at the entrance
to the garrison's headquarters - the Prince of Wales
Building (yes the name hasn't changed yet) on the Central
waterfront.
The Hong Kong Police Force continues its most
effective role in maintaining law and order in the
streets, as well as ensuring the integrity of our border
with the mainland. Hong Kong must be amongst one of the
safest cities anywhere in the world. Our crime rate last
year was the lowest in 24 years. Our border with the
mainland remains intact. Just as it was before the
Handover. The same immigration and customs laws apply.
There hasn't been, and there won't be, any sudden influx
of people from the mainland coming to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong people are proud to be once again a part of
China. Four months ago, I visited Shanghai, my birth
place which I have not seen since I left the place in 1948
- fifty years ago. No one who has witnessed the huge
physical, human and social progress that has transformed
Shanghai and so many other mainland provinces can doubt
that China is truly moving with the times. Change has a
momentum of its own which no one can reverse.
We look forward to part of an increasing open,
prosperous and forceful China that will play a prominent
role on the world stage to the benefit of China, and the
rest of the world, America included.
We in Hong Kong are delighted that US/China
relationship has now entered a more constructive phase. A
good Sino-US relationship is crucially important for the
entire world, not just for us in Hong Kong. And of
course, Hong Kong's well being will be an important aspect
of that relationship. I believe the world wants Hong Kong
to succeed, because a successful Hong Kong is good for the
world. We are an important player in the global village,
and I can assure you that we will continue to play a
vigorous and constructive role in the myriad of
international organisations of which we are members in our
own right: that's what a high degree of autonomy means in
practice.
Thank you.
End
3. Withdrawal of the Tamar Basin Reclamation site
**********************************************
The Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands,
Mr Bowen Leung, announced today (Friday) that the Tamar
Basin Reclamation site will be withdrawn from the land
sale programme. The site will now be earmarked for
relocating the existing Government Secretariat and a
detailed study on how to proceed with the relocation will
be made shortly.
The Tamar site, located between the Prince of Wales
Building and the CITIC Tower, occupies an area of 2.56
hectares. About half of the site was scheduled for
auction in March 1998 under the 1997/98 Land Sales
Programme. The whole site is zoned "commercial" on the
Approved Central District Outline Zoning Plan where
Government use is always permitted.
Mr Leung said that the Government Secretariat located
in the Central Government Offices at Lower Albert Road and
Murray Building at Garden Road had been experiencing a
severe shortage of space for some years.
"A number of bureaux are now housed elsewhere in
Central or Wan Chai. In order to meet present and future
needs for office space and the new requirement as a
Special Administrative Region, the Government has been
searching for some time for a suitable site for relocating
the Government Secretariat," he said.
The Tamar site has now been identified as the most
suitable site and will therefore be withdrawn from sale.
The sites occupied by the existing Central Government
Offices and Murray Building have a total area of 2.43
hectares. They will be considered for commercial use
after the relocation of the Government Secretariat.
End
4. Commission on Strategic Development appointed
*********************************************
The Government announced today (Friday) the
appointment of the SAR's Commission on Strategic
Development.
The appointment follows an announcement made by the
Chief Executive on the setting up of the Commission in his
Policy Address on October 8, 1997.
"The Commission is an advisory body to the Chief
Executive on long term development issues. It will be
tasked with conducting reviews and studies on the long
term development needs and goals for Hong Kong."
"A wide range of issues will be looked into,
including world trends and the effect of such trends on
Hong Kong's economy, human resources, education, housing,
land supply, the environment, and on our relations with
the Mainland," a Government spokesman said.
"The Commission's objective is to ensure that Hong
Kong's limited resources will be well-used, that Hong Kong
remains competitive and that we maintain the vitality of
our economic development. The Commission's work will be
important in providing advice on how we should make the
best preparations for the development of Hong Kong in the
longer term."
The membership of the Commission is as follows:
* The Chief Executive (Chairman)
* The Chief Secretary for Administration
* The Financial Secretary
* Dr the Honourable S Y Chung, GBM, JP
Convenor
Executive Council
* The Honourable Cheng Yiu-tong
Member
Provisional Legislative Council
* Dr Victor Fung Kwok-king, CBE
Chairman
Prudential Asia Investments Limited
* Mr Victor Li Tzar-kuoi
Deputy Chairman & Deputy Managing Director
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd
* Dr York Liao
Executive Director
Varitronix Ltd
* Mr Liu Jinbao
Senior Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong-Macau
Regional Office and
General Manager, Hong Kong Branch
Bank of China
* Professor Liu Pak-wai
Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Economics
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
* Mr Peter Sutch, CBE
Chairman
John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd
* Mr Peter Wong Hong-yuen, JP
Partner
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
* Professor Chia-Wei Woo
President
The HK University of Science & Technology
* Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, KCMG
Chairman and Managing Director
Hopewell Holdings Limited
The appointment will be for a period of two years.
On the membership, the spokesman said: "The Chief
Executive is pleased that the Commission can benefit from
the expertise and advice of such prominent persons in the
community. He looks forward to working closely with them.
Additional members will be co-opted depending on the
issues to be discussed."
"In addition to present appointments, an
international panel of experts will also be appointed
shortly to assist the Commission in formulating
recommendations. This will provide the Commission with an
international perspective regarding Hong Kong's long term
needs and goals," the spokesman said.
"We expect the first meeting of the Commission to be
held in February. Consultants will be engaged to help
draw up scenarios for world trends and for Hong Kong's
long term development strategy. Secretariat support will
be provided by the Central Policy Unit which will work
closely with other Bureaux on specific aspects of policy,"
he added.
End
5. Bill to dispel uncertainties and confusion
******************************************
The Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998,
which was gazetted today (Friday), seeks to remove the
uncertainties and confusion in the Hong Kong Bill of
Rights Ordinance (BORO).
Announcing this today, a spokesman for the Home
Affairs Bureau said that the BORO, when it was enacted in
1991, made it very clear that the ordinance binds only the
Government and public authorities. It has no application
to inter-citizen relations.
Uncertainties arose on June 30, 1997 with the
enactment of two new sub-sections following the passage of
a member's bill in the previous Legislative Council.
The new sub-sections were intended to clarify the law
after a Court of Appeal decision in the case Tam Hing-yee
versus Wu Tai-wai which ruled that the BORO had no
application to a dispute between private individuals.
"We have examined the very complicated legal issues
carefully and come to the view that rather than clarifying
the law, the new sub-sections in fact could give rise to
different interpretations and thus lead to confusion in
our statute books," the spokesman said. (For details of
Tam v Wu and the different interpretations of the new sub-
sections, please see attached explanatory notes.)
He said that the Government now proposes to take away
these two new sub-sections so that the uncertainties and
confusion can be removed.
"This will not affect our protection of human rights.
On the contrary, we are as firmly committed to preserving
the rule of law and the protection of human rights as
ever. Our record which speaks for itself can rival
anywhere in the world," the spokesman said.
The recent decision by the Central People's
Government to transmit reports to the UN on the
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Hong Kong further
underlines the protection for the community under these
covenants.
"The BORO as enacted in 1991 has served Hong Kong
well and the two sub-sections added on June 30 are
unnecessary and can only cause confusion," he added.
The spokesman pointed out that when the members' bill
was debated in Legco in June, the Government at the time
was opposed to rushing the bill through the council
without the benefit of detailed examination.
He also noted that Article 39 of the Basic Law
provides that the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong
residents shall not be restricted unless prescribed by law
and that such restrictions shall not contravene, inter
alia, the provisions of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong
through the laws of the HKSAR.
He outlined the measures the Government has taken to
ensure that the obligations under the ICCPR are met,
including:
- enacting the BORO in 1991;
- amending legislation that is inconsistent with the
ICCPR; regardless of whether it concerns only inter-
citizen relations; and
- implementing anti-discrimination and privacy
protection policies through enactment of specific
legislation.
The spokesman said that the Hong Kong Bill of Rights
(Amendment) Bill 1998 is essential and necessary for the
purpose of the terms of reference of the Provisional
Legislative Council as set out in the 1996 Decision of the
Preparatory Committee in view of the legal uncertainty
brought about by the Amendment Ordinance and the imminent
expiry of its suspension.
-------
Following is the explanatory notes on the Hong Kong
Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998:
Brief on the Hong Kong Bill of Rights
(Amendment) Bill 1998
-------------------------------------
* The Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998
- The Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998
seeks to repeal section 3(3) and (4) of the Hong Kong Bill
of Rights Ordinance (BORO) as added by the Hong Kong Bill
of Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (Amendment Ordinance)
currently suspended from operation.
* The Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Ordinance
1997
- The Amendment Ordinance has added the following
new section 3(3) and (4) to the BORO -
"(3) It is hereby declared to be the intention of
the legislature that the provisions of this Ordinance,
including the guarantees contained in the Bill of Rights,
apply to all legislation, whether that legislation affects
legal relations between the Government, public authorities
and private persons, or whether it affects only relations
between private persons.
(4) For the avoidance of doubt, subsection (3) shall
come into operation upon commencement of the Hong Kong
Bill of Rights (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (107 of 1997)."
- In the Explanatory Memorandum to this Amendment
Bill before it was passed on June 27, 1997, it was stated
that the Bill should remove the anomaly created by a Court
of Appeal ruling in 1991. As interpreted by the Court of
Appeal in Tam v Wu (1991), the BORO repeals inconsistent
pre-existing legislation when that legislation is relied
upon by the Government, but the same legislation
nonetheless remains in force when relied upon by private
citizens. The Bill was meant to remove this anomaly by
amending the BORO to make it applicable to all
legislation, not merely to legislation invoked by
Government or public authorities.
- A summary of the case and judgement in Tam v Wu is
at Annex.
* Why repeal the Amendment Ordinance
- The original purpose of the BORO is to bind
Government and public authorities and not to govern inter-
citizen actions. Section 7 makes clear provision for
this.
- Section 3(3) and (4) introduced by the Amendment
Ordinance raises doubts about the scope of the BORO's
application. When read with section 7, this could give
rise to more than one interpretation. To tackle the
uncertainty and confusion at source, the best way is to
repeal the Amendment Ordinance altogether.
- More importantly, what the Amendment Ordinance
sets out to do has in fact been achieved through other
Government measures. There is therefore no need to
further amend the law to make it clear.
- The uncertainty and confusion concern whether the
Amendment Ordinance will go beyond what it has set out to
do and has created new obligations on private citizens,
contrary to the original legislative intent of the BORO.
We are concerned that the new section 3(3), when read with
section 7 of the BORO, could give rise to more than one
interpretation, namely -
(a) section 7 of the BORO prevails and so the
Amendment Ordinance does not reverse the Court of Appeal
ruling in Tam v Wu; or
(b) the Amendment Ordinance reverses Tam v Wu such
that notwithstanding section 7, as from June 30, 1997 when
the Amendment Ordinance took effect, all pre-existing
legislation inconsistent with the BORO is repealed,
regardless of whether such legislation is invoked by
Government/public authority or private citizens; or
(c) the Amendment Ordinance does more than reverse
Tam v Wu. The new section 3(3) introduced under the
Amendment Ordinance prevails over section 7 thereby
imposing obligations on private citizens contrary to the
original intent of the BORO.
- There is no need for the Amendment Ordinance at
all because -
(a) Since 1991, we have been amending any
legislation which appeared to be inconsistent with the
ICCPR even if the legislation deals with inter-citizen
relations only. To this end, the Court of Appeal ruling
in Tam v Wu has little or no practical significance.
(b) Article 39 of the Basic Law provides that the
rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall
not be restricted unless as prescribed by law and that
such restrictions shall not contravene, inter alia, the
provisions of the ICCPR as applied to Hong Kong. In other
words, the minimum standard of human rights enjoyed by
Hong Kong residents is already guaranteed by the Basic Law
to be the ICCPR standard.
(c) Furthermore, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, the
human rights guarantees in the Basic Law, together with
the Government's track record of implementing anti-
discrimination and privacy protection policies through
enactment of specific legislation have already adequately
met the requirements under the ICCPR. They have also
given clear indications to the public on how we provide
safeguards for inter-citizen relations.
* Implications of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights
(Amendment) Bill 1998
- The Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1998
has done nothing to alter the protection of human rights
in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
- The Bill only seeks to restore the BORO to its
original purpose of binding Government and public
authorities only.
- There is no question of a watering down of the
BORO, not to mention a setback for human rights
protection.
- By repealing the Amendment Ordinance, we are doing
our best to remove any unwarranted uncertainty and
confusion in our statute book.
- We remain fully committed to the protection of
human rights. Under Article 39 of the Basic Law, the
ICCPR will continue to apply. We will be submitting
reports to the UN through the CPG. Our record which
speaks for itself can rival anywhere in the world.
Annex
-----
Tam Hing-yee v Wu Tai-wai
*************************
* Summary of the case of Tam v Wu
- On December 27, 1989, Mr Tam Hing-yee obtained
judgement in the District Court against his debtor, Mr Wu
Tai-wai. In February 1991, the Director of Legal Aid, on
behalf of Mr Tam, sought to enforce the judgement but
found that Mr Wu had left the address placed on the record
without leaving any forwarding address. The Director
therefore applied to the District Court for an order under
section 52E(1)(a) of the District Court Ordinance to
prohibit the debtor Mr Wu Tai-wai from leaving Hong Kong.
The prohibition order was granted on May 9, 1991. The
Director of Legal Aid applied for an extension of the
prohibition order on June 4, 1991. When this application
was heard on July 4, 1991, another District Court Judge
dismissed the application.
* The District Court judgement in Tam v Wu
- In his judgement, the District Court Judge held
that the BORO applied to all legislation and that
therefore legislation which affected legal relations
between private individuals could be measured against the
guarantees of the BOR. He held that the restriction on
movement posed by section 52E(1)(a) was an infringement of
BOR Article 8(2) and was not a permissible restriction
within the meaning of BOR Article 8(3).
- He therefore refused to renew or extend the
prohibition order and ruled that section 52E(1)(a) of the
District Court Ordinance had been repealed to the extent
of inconsistency by the BORO.
* The Court of Appeal judgement
- The Court of Appeal reversed the District Court
judgement and held that -
1. First, the BORO binds only Government and public
authorities and that private individuals should not be
adversely affected by the BORO. As such, the BOR
guarantees could not be invoked in litigation between two
private parties to challenge legislation affecting the
rights of those parties inter se.
2. Secondly, section 52E(1)(a) which provides that a
judgement creditor can obtain a prohibition order against
a debtor, thus preventing the debtor from leaving Hong
Kong, is a provision necessary to protect judgement
creditors' right within the meaning of BOR Article 8(3)
and is therefore not inconsistent with the BORO.
- The Court of Appeal ruled that the creditor could
legally stop the debtor from leaving Hong Kong.
End
6. Voter registration exercise to conclude
***************************************
The number of voter registration forms for
geographical constituencies for the 1998 Legislative
Council elections received by the Registration and
Electoral Office has hit the 550,000 mark, according to
figures up to yesterday (Thursday).
The registration exercise will close at midnight
today (Friday).
It is estimated that about half of the forms are from
new electors. The remaining forms are mainly reports of
change of residential address.
Before the exercise was launched on November 5 last
year, about 2.53 million people had been registered on the
electoral roll.
Talking about the situation in the 28 functional
constituencies, a spokesman for the office said that
application forms had kept reaching the office and more
corporate electors had appointed their authorised
representatives.
About 15,600 new applications have been received from
8,100 individuals and 7,500 bodies up to yesterday
(Thursday). About 7,400 of these corporate electors have
appointed their authorised representatives.
In addition, on the basis of information available to
the office, 123,000 individual electors and 3,800
corporate electors have been informed by notifications
that they will be registered if they are eligible and do
not object to their registration by today.
As for the seven Election Committee subsectors that
do not have a equivalent functional constituency, the
spokesman said that the situation was also improving.
A total of 880 new applications have been received
from 599 individuals and 281 bodies for registration as
subsector voters. Among them, 264 authorised
representatives have been appointed.
Meanwhile, about 4,200 individuals and 140 bodies
have been informed by notifications that they will be
registered as subsector voters if they do not object to
their registration by today.
The Registration and Electoral Office will process
the data collected and compile provisional registers for
public inspection in mid-February.
End
7. Committees to give advice to election candidates
************************************************
Nominations Advisory Committees (NACs) will be set up
to help prospective candidates ascertain their eligibility
for nomination well before an election and to give timely
and impartial advice to returning officers on the validity
of a nomination.
The Electoral Affairs Commission (Nominations
Advisory Committees) Regulation gazetted today (Friday)
will provide for the appointment of one or more of these
committees.
The arrangement is one of the recommendations set out
in the proposed Guidelines on Election-related Activities
in respect of the 1998 Legislative Council Elections,
which was released by the Commission for a two-week public
consultation on December 18 last year.
A spokesman for the Commission said: "Past experience
has shown that candidates consider such legal services
useful as they could have wasted a lot of time, effort and
expenses if a returning officer eventually ruled his
candidature invalid."
Each NAC will consist of one member with professional
or academic qualifications in law.
The functions of the NACs are to provide free legal
advice to:
* prospective candidates on whether they are
qualified to be nominated as candidates in respect of a
geographical or a functional constituency, the Election
Committee, an Election Committee subsector or an Election
Committee sub-subsector election;
* prospective nominees for the Religious subsector
of the Election Committee and designated bodies of this
subsector proposing nominees on whether the prospective
nominees are qualified to be nominated to represent the
subsector; and
* returning officers who have doubts about the
validity of any nominations.
NACs will give advice to prospective candidates and
nominees and returning officers by certain specified
dates, which will be stipulated by the Commission in a
gazette notice.
Any advice given by the NACs or refusal to give
advice does not preclude a person from seeking nomination
or proceeding with a nomination or the presentation of an
election petition, and does not preclude a designated body
from proceeding with a nomination.
The following is a tentative timetable for the
operation of the NACs:
Election Committee Legislative Council
Subsector Elections Elections
------------------- -------------------
Prospective February 16 to February 16 to
candidates to apply March 12 April 8
to NAC for advice
Deadline for NAC March 15 April 11
to give advice to
prospective
candidates
Nomination March 13 to 20 April 9 to 24
period
Returning officers March 13 to 21 April 9 to 25
to seek NAC service
Deadline for NAC March 24 April 28
to give advice to
returning officers
Election Day April 2 May 24
The regulation will be tabled at the Provisional
Legislative Council for negative vetting on January 21.
End
8. Electoral procedure regulation gazetted
***************************************
A regulation governing the procedures for conducting
and supervising an election to elect members of the
Legislative Council was gazetted today (Friday).
The provisions apply to geographical constituency
(GC) elections, functional constituency (FC) elections,
the Election Committee (EC) election, the EC subsector
elections and nominations for the religious subsector on
the EC.
The Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral
Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation was made by
the Electoral Affairs Commission after considering public
views expressed during a public consultation exercise last
December on the proposed Guidelines on Election-related
Activities, a spokesman for the Commission said.
"Detailed arrangements for different stages of an
election before, during and after the poll are clearly
laid down in the regulation to ensure that an election
will be conducted honestly, fairly and openly," the
spokesman said.
One of the major arrangements concerns three types of
polling stations designated for the GCs, six special FCs
and the EC.
The six special FCs are Urban Council, Regional
Council, Heung Yee Kuk, Agriculture and Fisheries,
Insurance and Transport.
"Having considered public representations, the
Commission has decided to provide one-stop polling service
to every elector/authorised representative no matter
whether he is entitled to one, two or three votes," he
said.
"Except for a small number of electors who are
entitled to vote in the six special FCs and the EC, the
majority of the electors can cast their votes at a polling
station near their homes," he added.
"In order to safeguard the secrecy of voting, a new
measure will be adopted in the May elections," the
spokesman said.
An envelope will be given to electors to conceal
their choice of candidates on the ballot papers where the
number of such ballot papers to be issued at a particular
polling station is so few that they will be easily
identifiable.
These ballot papers will be taken out from the
envelopes only after envelopes from two or more polling
stations have been mixed together during the counting of
votes.
Other main features of the regulation relate to:
* the nomination of candidates and the appointment
of agents to help them in an election;
* the monitoring of election advertisements and the
checking of election expenses;
* the designation of a "no canvassing zone" outside
each polling station;
* functions to be performed by various electoral
officers;
* procedures to deal with ballot boxes and ballot
papers; and
* the counting of votes at a central counting
station.
Arrangements to make it easier for the disabled to
vote are also set out in the regulation.
A physically handicapped elector may apply to the
Chief Electoral Officer at least five days before the
polling day to vote at a special polling station. A
template may be provided to help a blind elector mark his
ballot paper on his own.
The regulation will be tabled at the Provisional
Legislative Council next Wednesday (January 21) and will
take effect on the same day.
End
9. Changes to satellite TV broadcasting licensing endorsed
*******************************************************
The Chief Executive in Council has endorsed a package
of changes to the existing policy and licensing framework
governing satellite television broadcasting in Hong Kong.
Announcing this today (Friday), the Secretary for
Broadcasting, Culture and Sport, Mr Chau Tak-hay, said the
changes would facilitate the further development of Hong
Kong as a regional broadcasting hub.
Under the new policy, the existing "foreign"
ownership restriction, i.e. the requirement that the
aggregate holding of shares in a satellite broadcasting
licensee by persons not ordinarily resident in Hong Kong
must not exceed 49 per cent, will be removed.
Mr Chau said he saw no grounds for insisting that
satellite television broadcasting companies should be
locally controlled, adding that "unlike terrestrial
television broadcasting, satellite television services are
regional in nature and are not meant to meet the
linguistic and cultural demands of Hong Kong viewers
alone."
The requirement that the majority of directors of a
satellite broadcasting company be ordinarily resident of
Hong Kong will also be relaxed. In addition, subsidiary
companies will not be prohibited from becoming satellite
broadcasting licensee.
Turning to the terms of licences, Mr Chau noted that
at present, all broadcasting licences were granted for a
period of 12 years and were subject to mid-term reviews.
"To provide greater flexibility, we have decided to
allow the length of the licence to vary, up to a maximum
of 12 years, in accordance with the needs of individual
licensees," he said.
Approval has also been given for the development of a
standard satellite television uplink and downlink licence,
modelled on the latest Satellite Television Uplink and
Downlink Licence held by Hutchvision, with the policy
changes endorsed being appropriately reflected.
The Secretary pointed out that the availability of
such a standard licence would make the licensing regime
for satellite television broadcasting more open,
transparent and user-friendly. "It will also help
minimise the negotiations required before future licences
are issued, thereby shortening processing time and
reducing costs," he added.
As regards licence fees, the Government will adhere
to the full-cost recovery principle but will introduce
efficiency measures which are expected to substantially
reduce the cost.
The codes of practice on satellite TV broadcasting
will also be reviewed as part of the deregulatory package
endorsed by the Executive Council to reflect a revised
content control strategy. For the purpose of content
controls, the licensees of regional satellite television
services will be required to observe the laws and
programme standards of the countries receiving their
programmes.
Mr Chau believed the new changes would be welcomed by
satellite broadcasters and hoped that they would help
attract more regional satellite broadcasting companies to
choose Hong Kong as their regional base.
"The presence of a vibrant satellite broadcasting and
telecommunications industry will facilitate technology
transfer and contribute to the further development of
information technology in Hong Kong," said Mr Chau.
End
10. Social Worker Registration Board membership announced
*****************************************************
The Chief Executive has appointed five members to the
Social Worker Registration Board. They are Ms Junia Ho
Suk-yin, Mrs Hsu Leung Kai-ling, Mrs Susie Tsang Lum Shun-
sui, Mrs Mable Ng Ngo Sui-lin and Professor Grace Tang
Wai-king.
The Secretary for Health and Welfare has also
announced that eight registered social workers have been
duly elected to the Board following the election conducted
on January 3, 1998. They are Miss Ophelia Chan Chiu-ling,
Mr Paul Chan Kam-cheung, Dr Joyce Chang Sau-han, Dr Law
Chi-kwong, Mrs Justina Leung Ngai Mou-yin, Mr Mak Hoi-wah,
Ms Sandra Wong King-yee and Mr Woo Leung-hee.
The appointments were published in the Gazette today
(Friday).
The Social Workers Registration Board is established
under the Social Workers Registration Ordinance which took
effect on June 6, 1997. Under the Ordinance, the Board
shall comprise members appointed by the Chief Executive as
well as those elected from amongst registered social
workers. The Director of Social Welfare or his
representative will be ex-officio member of the Board.
The Board is responsible for, among other matters,
setting and reviewing qualification standards for
registration, vetting and determining application for
registration or renewal of registration. It will also
deal with disciplinary matters of registered social
workers and the promulgation of professional codes of
practice.
A spokesman for the Health and Welfare Bureau said
the current membership represented a balanced mix of
expertise from both the social work profession and other
disciplines.
"The Board will have an important role to play in
regulating and developing the social work profession so as
to ensure high professional standards are maintained and
improved to benefit to the community at large," he added.
End
11. ICAC advisory committees' members appointed
*******************************************
The Government announced today (Friday) the
appointment of Dr the Hon Raymond Ch'ien Kuo-fung, JP as
the new Chairman of the ICAC Advisory Committee on
Corruption (ACOC) with effect from January 1, 1998 for one
year.
The Government has also appointed Mr Carson Wen as a
new member. Serving members Mr Henry Fan Hung-ling,
Mr Fred Li Wah-ming, Mr Lee Jark-pui, the Hon Edward Ho
Sing-tin, have been re-appointed for one year.
The ACOC advises the Commissioner of the Independent
Commission Against Corruption on any aspect of the problem
of corruption in Hong Kong and to keep the operational,
staffing and administrative policies of the Commission
under review. The ACOC also draws to the Chief
Executive's attention any aspect of the work of the
Commission or any problems encountered by it.
For the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community
Relations (CACCR), the Government has appointed Professor
Wong Siu-lun as Chairman with effect from January 1, 1998
for one year. Professor Wong has been a CACCR member
since 1993. By virtue of this appointment Professor Wong
will also be an ex-officio member of the ACOC.
The Government has also appointed three new members
to the Committee. They are Professor Cheng Kai-ming, Mr
Chung Ting-yiu and the Hon Yuen Mo. Serving members Mr
Chan Wu-ching, Mrs Lisu Chow, Miss Jennifer Chow Kit-bing,
Mr Andy Ho On-tat, Dr Lo Tit-wing, Mr George Ng Sze-fuk,
Mr Zachary Wong Wai-yin, Mr Paul Chan Kam-cheung,
Mr Philip Chen, Mr Fok Kwan-wing, Phileas, Mr Herbert Hui,
Mr Hui Yung-chung, and Mr Tam Ping-shing, have been re-
appointed for one year.
The CACCR advises the Commissioner of the Independent
Commission Against Corruption measures to be taken to
foster public support in combatting corruption and to
educate the public against the evils of corruption. It
also monitors community response to the Commission's work
and public attitude towards corruption in general.
For the Operations Review Committee (ORC), the
serving Chairman is Ms Anna Wu Hung-yuk. The Government
has appointed two new members to the Committee. They are
Mr Anthony Wu Ting-yuk and Professor Leung Ping-chung.
Serving members Miss Lily Chiang, Mr Robert Ribeiro, SC,
Dr Pang Hok-tuen, Mr Jack So Chak-kwong, Mr Victor Cha
Mou-zing, Miss Annie Wu Suk-ching, Miss Wong Mee-chun,
Mr Michael Broadbent, Mr Edward Cheng Wai-sun and
Dr Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, have been re-appointed for one
year.
The ORC monitors the work of the ICAC's Operations
Department. It regularly reviews complaints received and
investigations conducted by the ICAC to ensure they are
handled effectively and efficiently. It also examines
circumstances where search warrants were authorised by the
Commissioner, where persons have been put on bail and
where investigations have been taking place for some time.
For the Corruption Prevention Advisory Committee
(CPAC), the Government has appointed Mr John Lee Luen-wai
as a new member. Serving Chairman Mr Robin Peard, and
serving members Mr Cheng Yan-kee, Mr Samuel Lai Man-hay,
Mrs Myrette Jean Fok, Mr Ng Sai-ho, Mr Yau Chung-wan,
Mr Henry Chan Shing-kai, Dr Joyce Sau-han Chang, Mr Barry
Cheung Chun-yuen, Mr Henry Lam Hing-cheung and Mr Herbert
Tsoi Hak-kong, have been re-appointed for one year.
The CPAC receives and calls for reports from the
Commission's Corruption Prevention Department about
practices and procedures of government departments, public
bodies and the private sector which may be conducive to
corruption and advise the Commissioner what areas should
be examined and the degree of priority to be accorded.
End
12. Appointments to Quality Education Fund Steering Committee
*********************************************************
The Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph
W P Wong, announced today (Friday) the appointment of
Mr Irving Koo Yee-yin, as Chairman of the Quality
Education Fund Steering Committee.
Mr Koo is a member of the Education Commission (EC)
and the Board of Education (BoE). He is also the Director
of a reputable private company.
The establishment of a $5 billion Quality Education
Fund to finance one-off projects undertaken by schools,
educational bodies and teaching professionals to raise the
quality of school education was first announced by the
Chief Executive in his Policy Address in October last
year.
"The Quality Education Fund Steering Committee
established under the Education Commission will advise the
Government on the policies and procedures governing the
operation of the Fund, and will make recommendations on
all funding applications to the Fund," Mr Wong said.
Other members appointed to the Committee include
principals and teachers from the secondary, primary and
pre-primary sectors, members of the business and
professional field, members of EC and BoE, as well as
government officials. They are:
Mrs Philomena Chu Tang Lai-kuen
Mrs Judy Chua Tiong Hon-sieng
Mr Fung Man-ching
Mr Ip Cho-yin
Miss Peggy Liu Pik-yun
Mr Peter Tsang Cheung
Mr Tso Kai-lok
Mr Yip Chee-tim
Mr Raymond Young (Deputy Secretary for Education and
Manpower)
Mr Kwan Ting-fai, JP (Deputy Director of Education)
The appointments are for a period of one year from
January 16, 1998 to January 15, 1999.
Professor Rosie Young, Chairman of EC, and the Hon
Antony Leung Kam-chung, Chairman designate of EC, welcomed
the appointments.
"I am pleased with the appointments which represent a
balanced mix of education experts and prominent members of
the business community. This will enable the Committee to
have access to views and advice of the end users of the
education system, and of those who fully understand the
issues and problems we face in our quest for quality
education," Professor Young said.
End
13. Bylaws for managing new airport come into effect
************************************************
The first batch of bylaws for managing the new
airport at Chek Lap Kok comes into effect today (Friday).
These bylaws mainly deal with the regulation of
access to the airport, conducts of persons therein and
enforcement matters.
A spokesman for the Economic Services Bureau said
today that the Airport Authority Bylaw provided the
Authority with legislative backup to manage the new
airport as it was gradually opened up to outside parties
for trials and commissioning.
A notice to bring Parts I, II, III (other than
section 11), IV, V, VI and XI and Schedules 3 and 4 of the
Bylaw into operation was published in the Government
Gazette today.
Meanwhile, the Airport Authority Ordinance (Map of
Airport Area) Order made by the Director of Civil Aviation
was also published in the same Gazette.
The spokesman said that the Order was made to
delineate the airport area, which was an important
reference regarding the scope of application of the new
Bylaw.
A copy of the map delineating the airport area is
available for public inspection at the office of the
Authority.
End
14. Prevention of Copyright Piracy Bill gazetted
********************************************
The Chief Executive in Council has approved the
Prevention of Copyright Piracy Bill which sets out a
statutory licensing scheme for the manufacture of optical
discs in Hong Kong.
The Bill, which also stipulates that all optical
discs produced in Hong Kong have to be permanently marked
with a code indicating their source of manufacture, was
published in the Government Gazette today (Friday).
A spokesman for the Trade and Industry Bureau said
that Hong Kong was committed to maintaining a robust
regime for the protection of intellectual property rights.
"Timely action is needed to empower Customs officers
to better monitor optical disc manufacturing plants in
Hong Kong and prevent them from being used for copyright
infringing activities.
"We are conscious of the need to be business-
friendly. The new system is designed to create minimum
disruption for legitimate optical disc manufacturers.
"At the same time, it should help enforcement
agencies identify the factories for the manufacture of
optical discs, empower them to inspect these factories and
ensure that the production of optical discs in these
factories is lawful," he said.
He added that the Government had issued a draft
Prevention of Copyright Piracy Bill to about 80
organisations, including optical disc manufacturers,
copyright owners and users in the relevant sectors and the
legal community during a consultation exercise in November
1997. Comments received had been incorporated into the
bill as far as possible.
The main legislative proposals contained in the Bill
include:
* All businesses involved in the production of
optical discs in Hong Kong will be required to register
and obtain a licence from the Commissioner of Customs and
Excise.
* Manufacturing optical discs in Hong Kong without a
valid licence from the Commissioner is an offence
punishable with a maximum fine of HK$500,000 and
imprisonment for up to two years on first conviction. The
maximum penalties will be doubled for second and
subsequent convictions.
* All optical discs manufactured in Hong Kong must
bear a unique manufacturer's code indicating their source
of manufacture.
* Customs officers will have the power to inspect
all licensed premises at all reasonable times without a
warrant. They can seize and detain any items in
connection with offences under the Bill.
* The Commissioner will keep a register on licensees
and certain parts of the information on the register will
be accessible to the public.
The Bill will be introduced into the Provisional
Legislative Council on January 21, 1998. Subject to the
endorsement by the Council, the Bill is expected to take
effect in mid 1998.
End
15. Pilot credit guarantee scheme announced
***************************************
The Government today (Friday) announced the
introduction of a pilot Credit Guarantee Scheme, with a
one-off capital injection of $500 million, to provide
guarantees for loans on pre-export expenses of goods and
services by Hong Kong firms.
The Scheme, approved by the Chief Executive in
Council on January 13, 1998, is aimed at helping Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) secure loans for purposes such
as working capital or purchase of raw material and
equipment from lending institutions.
A spokesman for the Trade and Industry Bureau said
that compared with larger enterprises, SMEs have greater
difficulty in obtaining loans from financial institutions
because of the lack of sufficient capital assets as
collateral or long credit records to prove their credit
worthiness.
"With easier access to financing, SMEs can enjoy a
better capacity to invest in new technology, move into
high value-added production and improve productivity," the
spokesman said.
He said that SMEs constitute about 98% of companies
in Hong Kong, therefore, the Government is fully committed
to providing these enterprises with a favourable and
business-friendly environment which, it believes, would
facilitate development.
"The Government believes that the establishment of a
Credit Guarantee Scheme would facilitate the development
of SMEs. We therefore propose to allocate %500 million to
establish a pilot Credit Guarantee Scheme. The purpose
was announced in the 1997 Policy Address," the spokesman
said.
Under the proposed Scheme, the extent of the
guarantee will be limited to 50% of the loan amount
approved or $2 million for each individual loan, whichever
is the lesser. Total coverage for an applicant at any one
time will be limited to not more than $6 million.
"We believe that the size of loan guarantee would
ensure that the facility is used by our target group,
SMEs, although the Scheme is open to all enterprises
irrespective of their sizes," the spokesman said.
He said that the risk of the loans guaranteed would
be shared amongst the lending institution, the borrower
and the Government.
"The lending institutions will assess whether the
loan should be granted in accordance with their
established commercial lending criteria. On default, the
Government would pay the lending institution the
outstanding amount on a pro-rata basis.
"Applicants of the Scheme will have to fulfill
certain criteria, for example, they must be registered or
licensed in Hong Kong and exporting on credit terms goods
or services from Hong Kong.
"In addition, only export contracts covered by Export
Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) credit insurance are
eligible. This would give added security to the applicant
on the one hand and lower the risk for both the lending
institution and the loan guarantor on the other.
"Normally, only export contracts involving credit up
to 180 days are eligible. This is in line with the
current practice of the ECIC for post-shipment insurance
and the banking practice in trade finance", the spokesman
said.
He said that a fee, to be calculated with reference
to the guarantee sum, will be charged on successful
applicants only.
"The fee will be collected to cover essentially the
running cost of the Scheme and occasional defaults.
Successful applicants will also have to pay premium for
the credit insurance provided by the ECIC."
However, it is estimated that the applications fee
plus insurance premium for the guaranteed sum will not
exceed 1% of the latter.
Subject to the Finance Committee's approval of
necessary funds, the Scheme will be brought into operation
as early as possible in 1998-99. It will be reviewed
after one year of operation, or earlier if necessary.
End
16. Rate of transaction levy for securities trading to reduce
*********************************************************
The Chief Executive in Council has made the
Securities and Futures Commission (Levy) (Securities)
(Amendment) Order 1998 to reduce the rate of transaction
levy for securities trading in Hong Kong from 0.013 per
cent to 0.011 per cent with effect from April 1, 1998.
Announcing this today (Friday), the Secretary for
Financial Services, Mr Rafael Hui, said the reduction was
in line with Government's policy to keep the dealing costs
in securities products in Hong Kong as low as possible to
remain competitive with other international financial
centres.
He explained that pursuant to section 52(6) of the
Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Ordinance, where
the reserves of the SFC exceed twice the estimated
operating expenses for that particular financial year, the
SFC should consult the Financial Secretary with a view to
recommending to the Chief Executive in Council that the
rate of amount of levy be reduced.
The SFC's accumulated reserve reached the stipulated
level of twice the operating expenses in February 1997.
The present transaction levy amounts to 0.013 per
cent of the consideration of a securities transaction,
shared between the SFC and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong
(SEHK) at the ratio of 6:7. Having due regard to its
financial position, the SFC proposed that its share of the
transaction levy (0.006 per cent at present) be reduced by
one-third to 0.004 per cent. The SFC was satisfied that
the reduction would not affect its normal functioning and
future development.
The SEHK had also been invited to consider reducing
its share of the transaction levy (currently at 0.007 per
cent). Having considered its financial position and the
outlook of the securities market in the near future as
well as its commitment to the development of the stock
market in the next five years, the SEHK proposed to
maintain its existing share of the transaction levy but to
commit 0.001 percentage point thereof to its Development
Reserve to meet its future development needs.
Under the existing financial guidelines agreed
between the Government and the SEHK, the SEHK has to seek
the prior approval of the Financial Secretary for the use
of the Development Reserve.
"Having due regard to the current market
uncertainties, the Administration considers both proposals
acceptable. After the reduction, the dealing costs of a
securities transaction will account for 0.411 per cent of
the consideration of a transaction, down from 0.413 per
cent. The reduction in levy will contribute to
maintaining our competitiveness vis-a-vis other
international financial markets," said Mr. Hui.
The order was published in today's gazette.
End
17. Revision of gas safety fees proposed
************************************
The Secretary for the Treasury has made three sets of
amendment regulations under the Gas Safety Ordinance to
revise the various fees to reflect the increased costs of
providing the services concerned.
The regulations, the Gas Safety (Gas Supply)
(Amendment) Regulation 1998, Gas Safety (Registration of
Gas Installers and Gas Contractors) (Amendment) Regulation
1998, and the Gas Safety (Registration of Gas Supply
Companies) (Amendment) Regulation 1998, were published in
the Government Gazette today(Friday).
The Gas Safety (Gas Supply) Regulations prescribe the
fees payable in respect of applications for approval of
construction work on notifiable gas installations;
approval to use notifiable gas installations; and issue
and annual renewal of permits for gas transport vehicles.
Gas installations include gasholders, plant and
equipment for the manufacture of gas, high pressure gas
mains and service pipes, and LPG stores.
Gas transport vehicles include road tankers and LPG
cylinder wagons.
The Gas Safety (Registration of Gas Installers and
Gas Contractors) Regulations prescribe the fees payable in
respect of application for registration as a gas installer
and a gas contractor.
The Gas Safety (Registration of Gas Supply Companies)
Regulations prescribe the fee payable in respect of
application for registration as a gas supply company.
A Government spokesman said that the proposed new
fees achieved full cost recovery at 1997-98 prices except
the fee for renewal of permit for a LPG cylinder wagon,
which was to be brought up to full cost recovery level in
the next two years.
The fees were proposed to be increased by about seven
per cent except the fee for renewal of a permit for a
cylinder wagon. The fee was last revised based on a
three-year phasing-in cost recovery programme, he said.
It was Government policy that fees should in general
be set at levels sufficient to recover the full cost of
providing the services. The fees were last increased in
March 1997, he said.
The new fees have been proposed to take effect on
March 9, 1998.
End
18. Electrical fees increase proposed
*********************************
The Secretary for the Treasury has made two amendment
regulations to revise the various fees payable under the
Electricity Ordinance to reflect the increased costs of
providing the services.
The two regulations, the Electricity (Registration)
(Amendment) Regulation 1998 and the Electricity (Wiring)
(Amendment) Regulation 1998 were published in the
Government Gazette today (Friday).
The Electricity (Registration) Regulations prescribe
the fees payable in respect of application by a registered
electrical worker for approval to do additional type of
electrical work, registration of a generating facility and
for application for a copy of a certificate of
registration for electrical worker or contractor or
generating facility.
The Electricity (Wiring) Regulations stipulate the
fee payable in respect of an application for endorsement
by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services of a
safety inspection and test certificate for a fixed
electrical installation in certain specific types of
premises such as hotels, hospitals, schools and dangerous
goods stores.
A Government spokesman said that the fees were
proposed to be revised so as to achieve full cost recovery
at 1997-98 prices. The increase rates ranged from four to
seven per cent.
He added that it was Government policy that fees
charged should in general be set at levels sufficient to
recover the full cost of providing the services.
The new fees were proposed to take effect on March 9,
1998. The fees were last increased in March last year.
End
19. Statutory time limit for road works objections
**********************************************
The Road (Works, Use and Compensation) (Amendment)
Bill 1998 was published in the Gazette today (Friday).
A Government spokesman today said that the purpose of
the Bill was to stipulate a statutory time limit of nine
months for dealing with objections lodged under the Road
(Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance.
"The statutory time of nine months, in line with the
recently enacted Railways Ordinance for dealing with
objections, is generally reasonable and adequate for both
government and the objectors," he added.
Under the existing Ordinance, any person affected by
the proposed works in the use in relation to a road scheme
can lodge an objection within 60 days after the notice
covering road scheme has been gazetted. But there is no
time limit within which Government and individual objector
may resolve the objections.
The spokesman said that as a result, excessive time
had been needed for authorising road works in recent
years.
He said that the existence of a statutory time limit
would not relieve the administration of the obligation to
deal with all objections in a fair manner.
"The intention of the amendment is to make it clear
to objector that the objections have to be resolved or
decided upon within a limited period, and therefore remove
any incentive for procrastination."
He said that within the next six to twelve months, a
number of high impact road projects would need to be
gazetted to address imminent transport needs across the
territory.
"The timely completion of these projects would hinge
heavily on the expeditious authorisation of works under
statutory procedures.
"As a result, we hope to introduce certainty in the
process of the provision of road infrastructure and to
minimise slippage in road construction programme and
better co-ordinate the overall transport infrastructure
network so as to provide the necessary and essential
service to various development areas and to better serve
our community", he added.
The Bill will be introduced into the Provisional
Legislative Council on January 21, 1998.
End
20. Transport-related fees to be revised
************************************
The Transport Bureau today (Friday) gazetted the
transport-related fee increases. The proposed fee
increases will be effective from March 1, subject to the
negative vetting of the Provisional Legislative Council.
Meanwhile, two orders to revise the Court Costs will
also be introduced to Provisional Legislative Council on
January 21, 1998.
A Transport Bureau spokesman said it was the
Government policy that fees should in general be set at
levels sufficient to recover the full cost of providing
the service. Most of the fees were last revised in
February 1997. Based on the movement of the Government
Expenditure Deflator (GCED) of 7 per cent in 1997-1998,
most of the fees increases are proposed as such.
He added that the increase on the impounding, towing
and storage fees of illegal parking on private roads as
specified in Road Traffic (Parking on Private Roads)
Regulations are proposed to reflect the increases in costs
of the management companies and deter the owners of
vehicles from illegal parking on private roads. The
private roads owners shall adhere to the fees as specified
in law.
He said: "The revision of transport-related fees
aimed to recover administrative costs. They occupy only a
small proportion of the overall cost of vehicle and ferry
operation.
"Thus, the impact of the fee revision on the economy
is expected to be minimal."
End
21. Update on avian flu
*******************
The Department of Health (DH) announced today
(Friday) that there was no new case of influenza A (H5N1)
today.
The total number of cases remains 18 confirmed and
one suspected cases.
Following is a list of the cases and their latest
conditions:
Confirmed cases
***************
Case 1
Sex / Age: Male / 3 yr
Condition: Died
Case 2
Sex / Age: Male / 2 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 3
Sex / Age: Female / 13 yr
Condition: Died
Case 4
Sex / Age: Male / 54 yr
Condition: Died
Case 5
Sex / Age: Female / 5 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 6
Sex / Age: Male / 37 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 7
Sex / Age: Female / 24 yr
Condition: Under treatment, condition critical
Case 8
Sex / Age: Male / 2 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 9
Sex / Age: Male / 4 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 10
Sex / Age: Male / 1 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 11
Sex / Age: Female / 3 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 12
Sex / Age: Female / 60 yr
Condition: Died
Case 13
Sex / Age: Female / 25 yr
Condition: Died
Case 14
Sex / Age: Female / 14 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 15
Sex / Age: Male / 3 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 16
Sex / Age: Female / 19 yr
Condition: Under treatment, condition fair
Case 17
Sex / Age: Female / 6 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
Case 18
Sex / Age: Female / 34 yr
Condition: Died
Suspected cases
***************
Case 1
Sex / Age: Female / 3 yr
Condition: Recovered and discharged
End
22. 1997 figures on court insolvency cases released
***********************************************
There were 503 new compulsory liquidations of
companies in 1997, representing a drop of 54 cases as
compared with the corresponding figure in 1996 which stood
at 557.
Reviewing the work of the Official Receiver's Office
in 1997, the Official Receiver, Mr Robin Hearder, said:
"The number of new compulsory liquidations in 1997 was
about 0.1 per cent of the total number of companies
(474,517), or 1 per cent of the number of new companies
incorporated during the year (49,275)."
The major causes of failure were decline in business,
cash-flow problems, high operating costs and poor
management.
Mr Hearder also said that the number of new
bankruptcies increased from 543 in 1996 to 639 last year.
"This brings the total number of new court insolvency
cases, that is, number of bankruptcy cases plus number of
compulsory liquidations of companies to 1,142 for 1997.
The corresponding figure for 1996 is 1,100," he said.
The major causes of personal bankruptcies were
inability to meet liabilities arising from personal
guarantees, cash-flow problems, decline in business and
excessive use of credit facilities.
Commenting on the total figures, Mr Hearder said that
it was still low in comparison with other overseas
jurisdictions in view of the high volume of economic
activity in Hong Kong.
The nature of the businesses which were the subject
of compulsory liquidation and bankruptcy included garment,
knitting and textile manufacturing, restaurant and
canteen, import and export as well as construction and
engineering.
Petitions were filed by trade creditors (33 per
cent), the Director of Legal Aid (30 per cent), banks and
financial institutions (24 per cent), landlords (3 per
cent), shareholders (3 per cent), personal (3 per cent)
and others (4 per cent).
On insolvency prosecutions, there were 137 summonses
as against 126 in 1996 issued against bankrupts and
directors of companies in compulsory liquidation for
failure to submit statement of affairs to the Official
Receiver, failure to keep proper books and records and
other misconduct.
A total of 67 bankrupts or directors, as against 69
in 1996, were convicted of insolvency offences. The total
amount of fines imposed by the court was $184,062 as
against $256,535 in 1996. Thirty-three orders for
disqualification of company directors were made by the
court in 1997. The directors concerned were prohibited
from acting as directors for periods varying from one to
five years.
Total dividends declared by the Official Receiver
during 1997 (excluding the BCCHK case) amounted to $99.51
million in 210 insolvencies, as against $62.92 million in
249 insolvencies in 1996.
End
23. Payroll and wage statistics for 3rd quarter 1997
************************************************
According to statistics released today by the Census
and Statistics Department,average labour earnings covering
all major sectors surveyed, as measured by payroll per
person engaged, recorded an increase of 11.5% in nominal
terms in the third quarter of 1997 over ayear earlier.
After discounting changes in consumer prices, the increase
was 5.0% in real terms. The significant increase in
earnings in the third quarter was in line with the
tightening in labour market conditions up to that quarter.
Most of the major sectors surveyed recorded an
increase in average labour earnings, both in nominal terms
and in real terms. Analysed by sector, the financing,
insurance, real estate and business services sector
recorded the fastest increase in average payroll per
person engaged, by 14.1% in nominal terms or 7.5% in real
terms in the third quarter of 1997 over a year earlier, as
both the stock market and the property market reached a
peak level in that quarter. This was followed by the
increases in the community, social and personal services
sector, by 11.8% in nominal terms or 5.3% in real terms;
in the transport, storage and communications sector, by
8.6% in nominal terms or 2.3% in real terms; and in the
manufacturing sector, by 6.7% in nominal terms or 0.5% in
real terms. Average labour earnings of the wholesale,
retail and import/export trades, restaurants and hotels
sector increased by 5.8% in nominal terms, but with a
marginal decrease of 0.4% in real terms.
The overall wage index covering selected major
sectors also had an accelerated rise, by 7.1% in nominal
terms in September 1997 over a year earlier. After
discounting changes in consumer prices, the index recorded
a 1.7% increase in real terms.
The wage indices for most of the major sectors,
including the wholesale, retail and import/export trades,
restaurants and hotels; transport services; financing,
insurance, real estate and business services; and personal
services, showed faster increases in real terms between
September 1996 and September 1997. The wage indices for
the manufacturing sector held stable in real terms.
The faster increase in earnings as compared to wages
was due to the issue of irregular payments in some
sectors, which were covered in earnings but not in wages.
Statistics on average payroll per person engaged are
compiled at quarterly intervals based on the results of
the Labour Earnings Survey conducted by the Census and
Statistics Department. The wage indices are compiled from
the same survey at half-yearly intervals for March and
September of the year. The wage indices cover both manual
and non-manual workers up to the supervisory level.
Average payroll includes wages as well as all other
irregular receipts such as bonuses and overtime payments.
Statistics on average payroll tend to show larger
quarter-to-quarter changes, affected by the number of
hours actually worked and the timing of payment of bonuses
and back-pay.
Detailed breakdowns of the above statistics are
published in the "Quarterly Report of Employment,
Vacancies and Payroll Statistics, September 1997" and the
"Half-yearly Report of Wage Statistics, September 1997".
They will be available shortly, at $42 and $46 per copy
respectively, at the Government Publications Centre,
Queensway Government Offices, Low Block, Ground Floor, 66
Queensway, Hong Kong and at the Publications Section of
Census and Statistics Department, 19th Floor, Wanchai
Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
For enquiries about statistics on average payroll per
person engaged, please contact the Census and Statistics
Department at telephone number 2582 5076. As for
enquiries on wage statistics, please call the Department
at 2582 4744.
End
24. Child Abduction & Custody Order published
*****************************************
The Government today (Friday) published in the
Gazette the Child Abduction and Custody (Parties to
Convention) Order made by the Chief Executive.
The Order specifies September 1, 1997 as the date on
which the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction comes into force between the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region and the contracting states
and territories listed in the Order.
The Convention, which is now in force in over 40
countries, provides an effective international mechanism
for ensuring the swift return of children wrongfully
removed or retained in violation of custody rights to
their place of habitual residence.
The Order comes into operation upon publication in
the Gazette.
End
25. Tender prequalification for Tuen Mun Road improvements
******************************************************
The Highways Department is inviting contractors to
prequalify for tendering improvement works on Tuen Mun
Road - Tai Lam Section.
The works, expected to commence in mid-1998 for
completion around late 2000, mainly comprise:
* realigning and widening of the existing Tuen Mun
Road Kowloon bound carriageway in the Tai Lam Section
(from Brothers Point to Ka Loon Tsuen);
* slope improvement works at the uphill sections of
Sam Shing Hui, Tai Lam and Ting Kau; and
* reconstruction of central divider at the Ting Kau
Section.
The works are designed to increase the road capacity
of Tuen Mun Road - Tai Lam Section and provide space for
traffic diversion during maintenance and accidents.
The standards of the existing slopes north of the
road at the Sam Shing Hui, Tai Lam and Ting Kau sections
will also be upgraded.
Interested contractors who are on the List of
Approved Contractors for Public Works in Group C for both
roads and drainage works as well as site formation works
or joint ventures of such contractors should apply in
writing to Maunsell Consultants Asia Ltd not later than
noon on February 20 (Friday) at the following address:
1701 World Commerce Centre
Harbour City
Canton Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Prequalified tenderers will be invited to tender in
April this year.
End
26. Producer price indices for manufacturing industries
***************************************************
The producer price index for the manufacturing sector
as a whole in the third quarter of 1997 decreased slightly
by 0.3% over the same quarter of 1996, according to the
results of a survey released today (Friday) by the Census
and Statistics Department.
Analysed by industry, the producer prices of the
fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment)
industry showed a decrease of 5.3%.
Decreases in producer prices were also recorded in
the plastic products industry (-2.7%), the consumer
electrical and electronic products industry (-1.9%) and
the machinery, equipment, apparatus, parts and components
industry (-0.5%).
However, the producer prices of the paper products
and printing industry increased by 3.6%. The producer
prices of the wearing apparel (except footwear) industry
also increased slightly, by 0.4%.
The producer prices of the textiles (including
knitting) industry remained virtually unchanged.
Comparing the third quarter of 1997 with the second
quarter of 1997, the producer price index for the
manufacturing sector recorded a slight decrease of 0.8%.
The producer price index, with 1990 as the base
period, reflects changes in the prices of local
manufacturing output. Producer prices refer to the actual
prices (net of any discounts or rebates allowed to buyers,
plus any surcharges) received by manufacturers.
Transportation and other incidental charges are not
included.
The producer price indices for manufacturing
industries are compiled from data on producer prices of
industrial goods/services collected from the Quarterly
Survey of Industrial Production. The survey also collects
production data for the compilation of the indices of
industrial production which measure the changes in volume
of local manufacturing output.
More detailed information can be obtained from the
"Quarterly Producer Price Indices for Manufacturing
Industries, 3rd Quarter 1997" report, which is on sale at
$8 a copy at the Government Publications Sales Centre,
Ground Floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66
Queensway, Hong Kong, or at the Census and Statistics
Department Publications Unit, 19th Floor, Wanchai Tower,
12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai.
Enquiries about the indices may be directed to the
General Economic Surveys Section of the Census and
Statistics Department at telephone 2805 6643.
End
27. Four pre-sale consents issued in December last year
***************************************************
The Lands Department issued four pre-sale consents
for residential and commercial flats in uncompleted
developments last month (December 1997).
Among the consents, two were for the pre-sale of 905
residential units in Ma Tau Wai and Tai Po. They are
expected to be completed between January 1998 and March
1999.
The remaining two consents involved 714 commercial
units in Kwun Tong. They are due for completion in
September 1998.
At the end of December, 18 applications for pre-sale
consents involving 25,063 residential units, and 12
applications for commercial developments involving 647
commercial units, 652 car parking spaces and other uses
were pending approval.
These developments are located in various parts of
the territory. The completion date is March 2000 at the
latest.
Besides, an application for consent to assign 2,264
residential units in Tin Shui Wai, Yuen Long, was being
processed.
Members of the public can dial the hotline 2147 5475
to obtain details of these applications.
End
28. Upgrading works for 116 slopes to begin soon
********************************************
The Civil Engineering Department will shortly be
letting contracts to upgrade works on a further 116 slopes
and retaining walls in various parts of the territory
under the Accelerated Landslip Preventive Measures (LPM)
Programme.
"The works will mainly be installing soil nails,
constructing retaining walls, cutting back slopes to a
gentler gradient, recompacting fill slopes, improving
drainage and slope surfacing," the Acting Senior
Geotechnical Engineer, Mr Jerry Ho Leung-ping, said today
(Friday).
"The works under these contracts are expected to
start in April for completion in 24 months," he said,
adding that upon completion, the slopes would meet the
safety standards set down in the Geotechnical Manual for
Slopes.
The five-year Accelerated LPM Programme to upgrade
Government-owned man-made slopes in the 1977/78 Catalogue
of Slopes was launched in April 1995. It aims to speed up
the investigation of and the upgrading works for as many
substandard slopes in the catalogue as possible by the
year 2000.
Tenders for upgrading of another 184 slopes will be
gazetted later this year. Six upgrading contracts
involving about 200 slopes and retaining walls were let
last year.
End
29. IT project to enhance teaching and learning
*******************************************
The Education Department will implement a project on
information technology (IT) in education in the next
school year in primary and secondary schools.
The project aims to promote the use of IT to enhance
teaching and learning, and to equip teachers with the
necessary skills so as to apply computer-assisted teaching
and learning across the curriculum, the Principal
Inspector (Computer Education), Mr Teng Shiu-bong, said
today (Friday).
"It also aims to provide students with an environment
where they can use IT as part of their activities and use
it creatively." he said.
The total approved non-recurrent funding for the
project is $2.6 billion.
The project features the provision of additional
computer equipment, recurrent grant, a network system to
connect both the Internet and the education-specific
Intranet, teacher training, and professional support to
teachers in adopting IT as a teaching tool, and the
introduction of a pilot scheme.
The number of computers provided will increase from
15 to an average of 40 in each primary school, and from 20
to an average of 82 in each secondary school.
For secondary school with a multi-media room, an
additional 21 computers will be provided to promote more
extensive IT applications in teaching and learning across
the curriculum.
An additional 40 computers will be allocated to each
prevocational school to enhance the teaching and learning
of technical subjects.
"Primary and secondary schools will be provided with
a recurrent grant of $55,000 and $67,000 respectively for
purchase of consumable items and for obtaining Internet
service," Mr Teng said.
He pointed out that training courses on IT would be
organised for some 30,000 teachers to equip them with
necessary IT knowledge and skill.
Furthermore, from 1999 onwards, recurrent provision
of about $45 million for in-service refresher IT training
will be available.
Mr Teng added that an Information Technology
Education Resources Centre would be established to provide
professional support to teachers in adopting IT as a
teaching tool.
A pilot scheme will be introduced in 10 primary and
10 secondary schools to identify and propagate best
practices for IT applications in teaching and learning.
The IT in Education Project will be implemented from
April 1998 to October 1999 in four phases.
Schools may join the phase that best suit their IT
development plans, Mr Teng noted.
End
30. Green managers learn of sustainable development objective
*********************************************************
Sustainable development will be placed firmly in the
centre of government policy formulation and strategic
planning and will form the central theme of a new White
Paper on the Environment to be published in 2000.
Addressing government green managers at the second
Green Manager Plenum today (Friday), Deputy Secretary for
Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Benjamin Tang, said
the Government was committed to ensuring that Hong Kong
became a world class city and acknowledged that this
required a first class environment.
"To achieve this objective, we need to do more than
we have been able to so far and strike a better balance
amongst economic and social development and the
environment," said Mr Tang.
It would mean that each and every bureau and
department would have a much greater responsibility for
environmental concerns, he added.
The objective of today's plenum was to keep the green
managers updated on recent developments on environmental
protection and green management.
They were told about some recent efforts in combating
pollution such as: the trial on the use of liquefied
petroleum gas for taxis in order to tackle deterioration
of air quality due to the rise of particulate pollutants
from diesel vehicles; the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding with Canada to enhance environmental co-
operation programme; and the stepped up co-operation with
mainland counterparts after the latest meeting of the Hong
Kong-Guangdong Environmental Protection Liaison Group.
The topics covered in the plenum included waste
reduction, energy efficiency and conservation,
implementation of environmental management system and
establishment of a green office.
End
31. Blankets for street sleepers
****************************
Staff of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) last
(Thursday) night distributed a total of 387 blankets to
street sleepers in a territory-wide operation during the
cold weather.
Of the total, 112 were distributed on Hong Kong
Island, 21 in East Kowloon, 189 in West Kowloon, 52 in New
Territories East and 13 in New Territories West.
At the same time, the departmental hotline extended
its service overnight to render assistance and advice to
those in need.
During the period between 10 pm yesterday and 9 am
today, five calls requesting help during the cold spell
were received and in response to the calls, SWD staff also
reached out to offer assistance to the people in need.
End
