Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777
Tuesday, January 20, 1998
CONTENTS
========
1. Transcript of CS's Q&A session in Ottawa
2. CS's speech at HK-Canada Business Association (Ottawa)
3. Hong Kong's system built on firm foundations:CS
4. CS visits Ottawa
5. FS's transcript
6. Early surrender of HK Telecom Int exclusive licence
7. ExCo endorses draft Project Agreement on West Rail
8. Update on avian flu
9. 81 convicted pollution cases in December
10. AFD staff awarded for innovative suggestions
11. Commendation on Immigration staff
12. Special mail delivery on January 30
13. Hong Kong Monetary Authority tender results
14. Codes of Practice Committee Meeting open to the public
1. Transcript of CS's Q&A session in Ottawa
****************************************
Following is the transcript of a question-and-answer
session by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs
Anson Chan, during a luncheon in Ottawa today (Canada
time, January 19) organised by the Hong Kong - Canada
Business Association, Ottawa Section.
Q: I am from Hong Kong. I would like to know what are
your feelings about .... How do things stand now?
A: Over the years, because of people exercising their free
choice - and they are always able to do so, both before
and after the transition on July 1, 1997 - many people
have moved to Canada from Hong Kong and vice-versa. We
have lost some of our best and most talented people. Our
loss is Canada's gain. However, Hong Kong continues to do
well. Before the transition of government, there was much
uncertainty. Now, with that uncertainty removed, we have
seen increasing numbers of people coming back from Canada,
the US, Australia and other parts of the world. We
welcome them back, those who left Hong Kong as well as
non-indigenous Chinese. Hong Kong has a great deal of
dynamism because we have a truly cosmopolitan community.
Under the Basic Law there is no impediment to your coming
back. You won't lose the nationality of your adopted
country. Even if you don't qualify as a resident [you
still have rights]. There is not much difference between
the right to land and the right to vote. With the right
to land, you cannot be deported but your right to live and
work in Hong Kong is not affected. We welcome people
coming back, and the flow goes in both directions.
Q: I have a comment and a question. The comment is
...[inaudible] you and your colleagues have done a
fantastic job.
A: Thank you. That is great encouragement.
Q: Under the British administration, the Privy Council was
the highest court of appeal. Now, I understand Hong Kong
will have its own appellate court.
A: You are right. Before the reversion of sovereignty to
China, the court of final appeal was the British Privy
Council, just as it was in this country until the last
century. But Hong Kong has clearly now established our
own court of final appeal. It is a good quality court of
final appeal. The evidence for this was demonstrated when
the Lord Chancellor recently visited and agreed that two
of the Law Lords could serve on our court. I am confident
that laws will continue to be interpreted and appealed by
our independent court and not by the court in Beijing. We
have an independent judiciary: of course that is crucially
important.
Q: There has been some bad press ...[inaudible].
A: I am glad you asked that question. The press is here
today, and it gives me the opportunity to correct some
misconceptions. There has been some distortion of the
facts. For many years, all schools purported to teach in
the English language. But in reality many operated in a
mix of poor English and not-very-good Chinese. Concerns
have been expressed about the lowering of language
standards in schools. We knew that this was political
dynamite. Finally, we had to face the issue, we had to
grasp the nettle. We told the schools that are competent,
that are able to teach in English, that they should teach
in English. But those that are not competent to teach in
English should acknowledge the difficulties and use
Chinese, which is the mother tongue of the bulk of the
population. But we are not abandoning English, because we
know it is crucial in maintaining our competitive edge.
It is a lingua franca. We want to encourage bilingualism.
We are giving additional resources to bringing up the
standard of English. We are encouraging trilingualism in
the schools: English, Chinese and Putonghua.
End
2. CS's speech at HK-Canada Business Association (Ottawa)
******************************************************
The following is a speech of the Chief Secretary for
Administration, Mrs Anson Chan,at a luncheon hosted by the
Hong Kong-Canada Business Association (Ottawa) today
(Canada time, January 19)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A fascinating book that appeared in the shops last
year was "The Discovery of Slowness" by Sten Nadolny, a
reflection on the life of early Arctic explorer Sir John
Franklin. It contained some haunting scenes in the
fearsome splendor of the far north of Canada, but that is
not my main reason for recalling it. Through observation
of Franklin's life and times it provided telling
commentary on our own lives - times filled with the rush
and tumble of events - and it gave a quiet reminder that
it is the still waters that run deep, that the things that
are formed to endure are those that are crafted by time.
What I would like to do today is to reflect on two
particular things that time has crafted to endure in our
own age, Hong Kong's friendship with Canada and Hong Kong
itself.
Our links have been forged firmly over more than a
century. The great railway that knitted your country
together also joined Canada to the economy of the Pacific
basin, within which Hong Kong was already a major hub for
trade and commerce. In the last war, Canadian soldiers
stood bravely by Hong Kong, a sacrifice that is not and
will not be forgotten. Since then, increasing flows of
people between us have added to trade and commerce the
ties of culture, ideas, education and arts.
For me personally, this is my third official visit to
your country. I came first in 1992 as Secretary for
Economic Services, again in 1994 as Chief Secretary for
Hong Kong under British Sovereignty, and I return now as
Chief Secretary for Administration in China's Special
Administrative Region of Hong Kong : new title, same job.
Each of these visits has been important, and I have much
appreciated the warmth and consideration that have been
shown to me. But I am deeply conscious that I am just one
of many hundreds of thousands people from Hong Kong and
Canada involved in the web of exchanges between us.
Indeed, the significance of my visits derives from the
strength and the depth of those exchanges.
The question that I'm here to address is whether -
following Hong Kong's historic transfer of sovereignty and
in the aftermath of the more recent meltdown of Asian
markets - whether the conditions remain that will sustain
our exchanges and our friendship in the years ahead.
Let's look first at the economic conditions. Has
Asia gone from miracle to meltdown and is Hong Kong being
carried down the plughole with the run-off?
Well, I feel that the "miracle" headlines reflected
irrational exuberance on the part of speech writers and
columnists - and, to be fair, on the part of political
leaders too. The troubles now being faced are serious but
they are not grounds for irrational despondence. What was
happening in Asia was simply what happened in Europe and
America years ago, the establishment of patterns of trade,
investment and industrialization that brought growing
wealth to fuel further development. What has happened in
the latter half of 1997 was the demonstration that where
markets are not free, where market regulation is poor,
where special interest gets protected, distortion of the
market takes place and growth cannot be sustained.
Financial practices built on false assumptions have come
unstuck.
Sorting out the mess will be a painful process. But,
just as Asian economies were able to benefit from the
technology and trade of America and Europe, and so
industrialize much faster than those who had only their
own trial and error to draw on, so too in the current
financial crisis. Asian countries don't just have their
own experiences to draw on, but a wealth of ideas and
examples of what works around the world to draw upon and
help sort things out. And behind all the financial
problems of today remains the fact that most of the Asian
economies are rich in resources and human capital, and the
fact that slowly increasing wealth and access to world
markets among hundreds of millions of people across Asia
will remain a key component in world-wide economic growth.
So I don't see the new millennium as heralding the
end of Asia's economic hopes. I don't underestimate the
difficulties that those whose finances have gone awry will
have in getting restarted along the right tracks. But I
am quietly confident that the current crisis has made
plain the need for reform of practices and liberalization
of markets, and has accelerated the pace towards them.
Openness and accountability of companies, financial
institutions and finance ministries; better information
about markets, allowing better monitoring by regulators
and stock holders; replacement of political intervention
with market disciplines - all these processes will help to
establish a more stable Asia of sustainable prosperity in
the next century.
Where does Hong Kong stand in all this? We stand in
the heart of it. We are in Asia. But we are Asia with a
difference. The model of economic management that Hong
Kong represents is the one that more and more in Asia are
realizing that they need to try to follow : a free market
under the rule of law; a Government that is clean and
believes in prudential supervision not directing the
economy; openness and accountability. We have been
battered by the storms around us, but our system has shown
that it is built on firm foundations. We are sticking
with it.
Our stock market has been battered. Yesterday it was
down 7,000 points on its peak of 16,673 in August last
year. Our property market has fallen back by about 30 per
cnet from its highest level in October last year. Overall
economic growth will be lower in 1998 than the 5.5 per
cnet we anticipate as the final outcome for 1997, and
while we expect to see a modest recovery in domestic
exports following substantial investments and improvements
in productivity recently, overall our trade figures are
unlikely to show the strong percentage growth that we had
become accustomed to in the 80's and early 90's.
Unemployment is likely to increase from its present level
of 2.4 per cnet.
But as currencies have tumbled around the region, the
1,600 billion Hong Kong dollars in the banking system have
not lost their value. When fund managers burned in South
East Asia were desperate for cash, they could turn to Hong
Kong's market, which had assets of real value. When New
York's stock exchange shut down, Hong Kong stayed open.
When pressure built up against our currency, everybody
learned the lesson that the parity between the Hong Kong
and the US dollar is not kept by an artificial peg,
susceptible to political pressure, but by a sensibly based
currency board system. Under that system, all Hong Kong
dollars issued are backed by US dollar deposits, and an
automatic adjustment mechanism, driven by supply and
demand, not by central bank intervention, maintains the
balance. We have no external debt and we have reserves
that are sufficient to back up our currency seven times
over. Everyone has seen that the system works and that the
Government is not going to create uncertainty and risk
undermining public confidence by fiddling with it for
political reasons. The link is here to stay.
The stability of the Hong Kong dollar since the
currency board was established in 1983, coupled with our
sound market regulation and high quality supervision, has
transformed Hong Kong into the world's 5th largest banking
centre and the 6th largest securities centre. There would
be no competitive gain for Hong Kong if, as some have
suggested, we delink our currency and devalue. Unlike
Canada, we do not produce raw materials. We would simply
import inflation and undermine the reputation that we have
deservedly earned as a bastion of stability in Asia's
markets. That could have damaging consequences for the
region and for the long term health of our own economy.
Our banking system is sound and very well capitalized
- we have much higher capital adequacy ratios than
elsewhere - and mortgages lending has been controlled. So
while the decline in property values is painful, it is not
a threat to the integrity of the system. We don't have
huge stocks of unused property. Our problem has not been
overbuilding - despite the frenetic construction everyone
who comes to Hong Kong sees - but trying to find enough
land to meet demand for decent homes and high quality
office space. The recent drop in property prices and
rents has been a welcome relief from the inflationary
pressure that that demand had been creating on our
business costs. It may depress sentiment for now, but it
will help our competitiveness in future and make decent
housing once again affordable by our people.
The next couple of years may well be a difficult time
for us as economies in our region try to find their feet
again and we in Hong Kong have to adjust to the new
conditions around us. But apart from the resilience that
our financial system has shown, two things give me great
cause for comfort.
First of all, the whole history of Hong Kong over the
last fifty years has been one of adapting and responding
creatively to change and difficulty. The spirit of
entrepreneurial initiative and willingness to work hard
that created our past successes remains undiminished
today. To that power of private initiative we can now add
the assurance of constant public investment. In the past,
when faced with lower economic performance, we had to
scale back public spending. But for many years now we
have been practising the virtues of prudent fiscal
management, keeping down rises in Government expenditure
in years of high performance to no more than the medium
term trend rate of growth in our economy. As a
consequence, we have been able to put aside large fiscal
reserves - on top of our foreign exchange reserves which
is now the world's third largest.
So for us, economic downturn now does not mean
cutting back on expenditure or increasing taxes, but a
continued steady pace of investment, continued low taxes.
Even as our new airport project is nearing completion, we
are embarking on an equally ambitious programme of railway
building to improve commuting within Hong Kong and aid the
movement of goods and people between Hong Kong and our
economic hinterland in China. We are spending massively
on bottom up improvement to our education system. We are
extending mother-tongue teaching to improve overall
standards of teaching while also recruiting 700 more
native English speakers this year to improve English
language teaching. Our aim is to promote bilingualism.
There is much more, but those examples alone illustrate
how, in the midst of today's troubles, we are carrying on
improving Hong Kong's prospects for the future, carrying
on investing in our ability to work well with the
mainland, and to thrive in the international business
world.
The second thing that gives me comfort is how well
our political transition to Chinese sovereignty has gone.
The first six months of Hong Kong as a Special
Administrative Region of China has not attracted world
wide media attention (unlike the six months leading up to
1 July 1997) because the transition has proved to be a
heartening continuity and not a head-line grabbing
discontinuity.
Little has changed in Hong Kong apart from the change
of flags and the fact that we now have a Chief Executive
and not a Governor. My own duties as the Chief Secretary
for Administration remain essentially the same.
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*Canada '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. Hong Kong
remains one of the safest cities in the world. Last year
our crime rate was the lowest we had experienced in the
past 24 years.
Of course, the SAR Administration has its problems
just as any other Administration of a dynamic fast moving
community. And not simply on the economic front or for
that matter with the recent outbreak of "bird 'flu". The
Administration has faced challenges to the legitimacy of
the Provisional Legislative Council and to a number of
other decisions we took for the good governance of Hong
Kong. We took these in our stride. The important thing
is that all such challenges were dealt by Hong Kong 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.
Those legislators who were displaced at mid-night on
30 June 1997 have put aside their regrets and are now
campaigning vigorously for the elections that will be held
on 24 May. Those elections are open to all, and will
return a legislature that, like the last, is accountable
to the electorate and to which the administration is
accountable. That process, coupled with a vigorous, free
press and with the respect for the rule of law that time
has planted in our society, imposes a discipline on public
affairs in Hong Kong. It serves to maintain standards in
public life and to guard against the insidious merging of
public policy with business activity.
Before I move on, let me say a few more words about
elections and our legislature. Representative government
in Hong Kong will develop in accordance with the time-
table laid down in the Basic Law, our constitution. The
structure of the new Legislative Council to be elected in
May will be the same as that for 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, a stepping stone to full
universal suffrage which is our ultimate aim.
In December last year, for the fourth year in a row,
the US based Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal
assessed Hong Kong as having the freest economy in the
world. A few days before, China had announced that,
although not a signatory herself to the International
Convenants on Human Rights, it would arrange on behalf of
Hong Kong to submit reports that we prepare to the
monitoring bodies. This will give assurance that the
personal freedoms of our citizens will be maintained along
side our economic ones.
That combination of personal and economic liberty,
exercised within a framework of respect for law and of
open, efficient government, has been proved by time in
Hong Kong, as it has been in Canada. It is the pattern
that our constitution and our hearts commit us to for
tomorrow as firmly as for today. It has created a city in
which many thousands of Canadians, along with Americans,
British, Indians, Japanese and Koreans, have been happy to
make their homes alongside our indigenous mix of
Cantonese, Shanghainese, Chiu Chow and Hakka, and that is
how Hong Kong will continue.
Time has reunited Hong Kong with China - a China that
is increasingly open and prosperous, able and willing to
play its part on the world stage. Hong Kong people are
proud to be Chinese and once again a part of China.
China's economy continues to grow strongly with little
spill over effect from the regional crisis. Hong Kong
will benefit from that growth just as in turn we will
continue to be China's window on the rest of the world,
providing the necessary investments, expertise, managerial
know-how, financing and the access to world markets that
will help China modernise. Notwithstanding current
difficulties, we believe our future is bright, and we
invite Canada to share in that future.
End
3. Hong Kong's system built on firm foundations:CS
***********************************************
Hong Kong has been battered by the storms around it,
but its system has shown that it is built on firm
foundations, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs
Anson Chan said in Canada today (Canada time, January 19).
Addressing a luncheon hosted by the Hong Kong-Canada
Business Association (Ottawa), Mrs Chan noted the
resilience that financial system in Hong Kong has shown
and the two things that have given her great cause for
comfort.
"The spirit of entrepreneurial initiative and
willingness to work hard that created our past successes
remains undiminished today.
"Economic downturn does not mean cutting back on
expenditure or increasing taxes, but a continued steady
pace of investment, continued low taxes," she said.
The second thing, Mrs Chan said, is how well Hong
Kong's political transition to Chinese sovereignty has
gone.
"Little has changed in Hong Kong apart from the
change of flags and the fact that we now have a Chief
Executive and not a Governor. My own duties as the Chief
Secretary for Administration remain essentially the same.
"The key ingredients of our success story remain
firmly rooted in Hong Kong. The rule of law continues to
prevail and is being upheld," she said.
" Hong Kong people's way of life is unchanged and
people 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," she said.
Turning to the Legislative Council elections in May,
Mrs Chan said those elections are open to all and will
return a legislature that, like the last, is accountable
to the electorate and to which the administration is
accountable
Meanwhile, the US-based Heritage Foundation and Wall
Street Journal assessed Hong Kong as having the freest
economy in the world. China has recently announced that
although not a signatory herself to the International
Convenants on Human Rights, it would arrange on behalf of
Hong Kong to submit reports that Hong Kong prepares to the
monitoring bodies.
"This will give assurance that the personal freedoms
of our citizens will be maintained along side our economic
ones.
"That combination of personal and economic liberty,
exercised within a framework of respect for law and of
open, efficient government, has been proved by time in
Hong Kong, as it has been in Canada, " she concluded.
End
4. CS visits Ottawa
****************
The Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government (SARG), Mrs
Anson Chan, today (January 19, Canadian time) started off
her full day of activities with a power breakfast in
Ottawa.
Although the city's temperature was in the sub-zero
range, Mrs Chan was given a warm reception at the
breakfast hosted by the Business Council on National
Issues at the exclusive Rideau Club.
Prominent guests included the President of the
Treasury Board and Minster responsible for Infrastructure,
Mr Marcel Masse; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Loram Corporation, Mr Ronald Mannix; Supreme Court Judge,
Madame Justice Beverley McLachlin; a former Prime Minister
of Canada, Mr Joe Clark; Personal Advisor to the Prime
Minister, Mr Mitchell Sharp; Chairman of the Board of
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Ms Guylaine Saucier;
and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Donald
Campbell.
Following the breakfast, Mrs Chan called on the
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Donald Campbell.
At the meeting, Mrs Chan gave Minister Campbell an update
on the latest situation of Hong Kong after the handover
and discussed various issues of mutual interest.
During lunch at Hotel Chateau Lauier, Mrs Chan
delivered a keynote address to an audience of around 230,
mostly business and community leaders and senior
government officials. The luncheon was organised by the
Hong Kong-Canada Business Association, Ottawa Section.
In her speech, Mrs Chan emphasised amongst other
things, that the US-HK dollar linked exchange mechanism is
not kept by an artificial peg, susceptible to political
pressure, but by a sensibly based currency board system.
Under the system, she added, all Hong Kong dollars
issued are backed by US dollar deposits, and an automatic
adjustment mechanism - driven by supply and demand, not by
central bank intervention - maintains the balance.
"We have no external debt and we have reserves that
are sufficient to back up our currency seven times over.
Everyone has seen that the system works and that the (SAR)
Government is not going to create uncertainty and risk
undermining public confidence by fiddling with it for
political reasons. The link is here to stay," she
asserted.
Later in the afternoon, the Chief Secretary called on
the Canadian Finance Minister, Mr Paul Martin, and
discussed, among other things, the latest financial and
currency situation in Hong Kong and other Asian economies.
Mrs Chan flew back to Toronto in the evening. The
highlights of her programme tomorrow (January 20) includes
a luncheon speech for nearly 500 guests organised by the
Canadian Club, Hong Kong-Canada Business Association
(Toronto), Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and the
Hong Kong Trade Development Council. In the evening, a
600 people gala dinner will be held at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre. Mrs Chan will also meet with the chief
executives and presidents of more than 20 banks and major
corporations at a gathering in Toronto Club. She will
also call on Chairman of the Standing Committee of the
House of Commons on Foreign Affairs and International
Trade, Mr Bill Graham, and meet the media.
The Secretary for Trade and Industry, Miss Denise
Yue; the Director of Information Services, Mr Thomas Chan;
and the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade
Office, Mr Donald Tong; and Administrative Assistant to
the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Clement Leung,
also accompanied Mrs Chan for the visit to Ottawa.
Mrs Chan is leading a promotion called "Hong Kong -
Canada '98" to Ottawa and Toronto. The 12-day tour of US
and Canadian cities is also the first promotion mounted in
North America by the SARG since the return of sovereignty
last July.
End
5. FS's transcript
***************
Following is a transcript of a media session by the
Finanical Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, at the Central
Government Offices this (Tuesday) afternoon:
FS: C A Pacific comprises a number of brokerage firms
subject to the supervision of the Stock Exchange and the
Futures Exchange as well as the SFC. The operations are
normal, well supervised, all the cash clients of these
companies are well protected. Unfortunately there is an
affiliated company operating for the margin clients of
this securities company. This particular margin financing
company got into trouble because of poor investment
decision. So we have a problem of liquidation on our
hands. This particular margin financing company has a
number of retail clients all over the place. This is a
very sorry state of affair. Margin financing company has
been a sore point in our regulatory regime. We have all
along identified this is a weakness in our system. It is
not subject to the control of the SFC nor under the
control of the Monetary Authority. We have already
instituted a committee under the Secretary for Financial
Services to look into this matter but unfortunately all
along we have received quite considerable resistance from
the members of the Exchange, and I hope this incident
highlights the importance of supervision which, I am
certain, we'll reinforce our own determination to regulate
or introduce proper regulatory regime as quickly as
possible.
Reporter: So we are talking about legislation?
FS: Well I am not at this stage able to say what it would
be, but this is a matter certainly for the SFC to consider
in consultation with the Stock Exchange.
End
6. Early surrender of HK Telecom Int exclusive licence
**************************************************
The Chief Executive in Council has approved, subject
to the necessary approvals of the Provisional Legislative
Council (PLC), the terms and conditions negotiated between
the Government and Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) under which
Hong Kong Telecom International (HKTI) would surrender its
exclusive licence, before its schedule expiry in October
2006.
Under the Framework Agreement signed by the Secretary
for Economic Services, Mr. Stephen Ip, and the Chief
Executive of HKT, Mr Linus Cheung, HKT will surrender the
HKTI licence on March 31, 1998, with external service-
based competition beginning on January 1, 1999 and
external facilities-based competition beginning on January
1, 2000.
In return, the Government will seek from the Finance
Committee of the PLC a sum of $6.7 billion (net of tax) as
compensation to HKT's early termination of its exclusive
rights.
The Government will also waive all royalty by HKTI
from January 20, 1998.
Hailing the agreement as another major breakthrough
in the development of telecommunications in Hong Kong, Mr
Ip said, "Before this agreement, our external
telecommunications sector was out of line with the best
current international practice and this has had adverse
implications for our regional competitiveness in
telecommunications.
"I am pleased that we are able to remove this
remaining anomaly in our otherwise fully liberalised
telecommunications market, thereby furthering our policy
objective of maintaining Hong Kong as the pre-eminent
telecommunications hub in the Asian Pacific region.
"This liberalisation coming at this time of economic
uncertainty in the region will also give Hong Kong a
significant economic stimulus," Mr Ip said.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang , welcomed
this agreement as a major step in enhancing Hong Kong's
competitiveness.
"Telecommunications plays a vital role in
underpinning the service sector which contributes to more
than 83 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product and
enhancing our competitiveness against other economies in
the region and in the world.
"This is particularly so as we enter the Information
Age where the efficient flow and effective utilisation of
information will be a key to the competitiveness of an
economy," Mr Tsang said.
A Government spokesman said that the agreement was a
negotiated package which addressed the remaining
distortions in Hong Kong's telecommunications market - one
issue in particular which related to charges for local
service.
As the external telecommunications services market
was liberalised, the cross-subsidy from the external
services market to the local services market would need to
be phased out, he said.
"The cross-subsidy from the external services market
to the local service market is not sustainable in a fully
liberalised telecommunications market.
"The Government will move to repeal the existing
price control arrangements in the Telephone Regulation,
provided that Hong Kong Telephone Company (HKTC)
significantly improves access to its residential customers
by other local telephone service operators, and only
increases residential exchange line tariffs gradually
towards cost levels in the next three years.
"HKTC will not be allowed to raise residential line
tariffs until competition commences in external services
on January 1, 1999."
The spokesman added that substantial savings in IDD
would result from this agreement and for typical
households and all businesses, the liberalisation of the
external services market would reduce their monthly bills
for telecommunications services overall.
A policy statement from the Economic Services Bureau
on the liberalisation of Hong Kong's external
telecommunications and other related material is available
on the Web sites of the Economic Services Bureau
(http://www.info.gov.hk/esb) and the Office of the
Telecommunications Authority (http://www.ofta.gov.hk).
End
7. ExCo endorses draft Project Agreement on West Rail
**************************************************
In accordance with the project programme of the West
Rail, the Executive Council has endorsed a draft Project
Agreement to be executed between the Government and the
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC).
The draft Project Agreement sets out how the West
Rail project will be undertaken and the respective
obligations of the Government and the KCRC in terms of the
financing, design, construction and operation of West
Rail.
Announcing this today (Tuesday), the Secretary for
Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng said the completion of the draft
Project Agreement was a key milestone leading to the
implementation of the West Rail project.
Meanwhile, a Bill which seeks to amend existing
legislations to empower the KCRC to construct and operate
new railway projects, including the West Rail, will be
gazetted next Tuesday (January 27).
Mr Ng said the amendments were necessary because
existing provisions only empowered KCRC to operate the two
existing railways, i.e. East Rail and Light Rail, and did
not provide for a proper share capital structure for KCRC.
The provisions relating to borrowing by KCRC were
also not comprehensive enough to enable KCRC to raise
funds, he added.
"The Government will need to inject equity into KCRC
towards funding the construction of new railways and the
KCRC will also need to obtain commercial loans to finance
any remaining project costs," he said.
"The new provisions are in line with the provisions
in the Mass Transit Railway (Cap 270) and the Airport
Authority Ordinance (Cap 483)."
Mr Ng said that while the draft Project Agreement
would only be executed after the Executive Council
authorised the scheme for West Rail in accordance with the
provisions of the Railways Ordinance, its major terms and
conditions would form the basis for seeking funding
approval from the Finance Committee of the Provisional
Legislative Council for equity injection by the
Government.
"It is our intention to seek approval in February
1998 for a commitment to inject $29 billion equity into
KCRC.
"In order to adhere to the tight implementation
programme and to ensure a timely delivery of West Rail,
targetted at December 2003, it is essential that the
Government could inject equity into KCRC for the
construction to commence as soon as possible."
KCRC's latest estimate of the total project costs is
$64 billion which includes all capital costs, land
acquisition costs and financing costs.
The total project costs is expected to be financed by
a mix of Government equity, commercial borrowing and
KCRC's internal sources of funds.
"Based on the analysis of KCRC and the Government's
financial consultants, we are reasonably confident that
West Rail can be a commercial viable project," Mr Ng said.
He added that the Executive Council's approval in
principle was also sought for KCRC to be granted property
development rights above or adjacent to West Rail Stations
and West Rail Depot at Kam Tin etc.
"KCRC's participation in such property developments
will be important to ensure the timely delivery of housing
supply, better integration with the neighbourhood and
smooth interface with railway stations," Mr Ng pointed
out.
"Since the property development profits will neither
be required to fund the West Rail project nor for
improving the project return, KCRC will pass on the net
West Rail property development profits to the Government
directly as soon as they are realized."
End
8. Update on avian flu
*******************
The Department of Health (DH) announced today
(Tuesday) that there was no new case of influenza A (H5N1)
today.
The total number of cases remains 18 confirmed and
one suspected cases.
The conditions of these cases remain the same as of
January 16.
End
9. 81 convicted pollution cases in December
****************************************
A total of 81 convictions were recorded in courts in
December 1997 for breaching anti-pollution legislation
enforced by the Environmental Protection Department.
Of these cases, 32 were convictions made under the
Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO), 8 under the
Noise Control Ordinance (NCO), 18 under the Air Pollution
Control Ordinance (APCO), and 23 under the Waste Disposal
Ordinance (WDO).
The fines ranged from $1,000 to $100,000.
End
10. AFD staff awarded for innovative suggestions
********************************************
Twenty-four staff members of the Agriculture and
Fisheries Department (AFD) today (Tuesday) received awards
under the departmental Staff Suggestion Scheme for their
innovative suggestions to improve services.
Speaking at a presentation ceremony, AFD's Deputy
Director, Mr Richard Yip, praised the awardees for their
highly practical suggestions to improve the operation of
kennels and services in country parks.
Mr Kwok Kam-tin from the Sheung Shui Kennel won the
Substantial Award of $13,000 with his idea of building a
cattle trolley for the loading and transporting of sedated
stray cattle and animals over rough ground.
The innovative design of a cleansing tool for use in
drainage pit earned Mr Tsang Hoo-shing and Mr Ng Kin-leung
a cash award of $6,000. Both of them work in the Tai Tong
Country Park Management Centre.
A group of four colleagues from the Sham Tseng
Country Park Management Centre was awarded $5,000 for
their suggestion to imitate tree surface appearance on
concrete railing using scrap paper.
Six other country park staff shared a cash prize of
$5,000 for building a helicopter simulator to facilitate
the training of AFD fire crew.
At the ceremony, Mr Yip also presented a letter of
commendation to Ms Pang Suk-yin for her contribution in
organising a seminar for the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in
November 1996.
Meanwhile, Mr Lam So received a certificate for his
40 years of long and meritorious service. Another 83
staff also received certificates for having served in the
department for either 20 or 30 years.
Retirement souvenirs were also presented by Mr Yip to
36 colleagues to mark their contributions to the
department's work on agriculture, fisheries, conservation
and country parks.
End
11. Commendation on Immigration staff
*********************************
The Director of Immigration, Mrs Regina Ip Lau Suk-
yee, presented commendation certificates to two officers
of the department at a ceremony held in the department's
headquarters today (Tuesday).
Mrs Ip said that 1997 was a year of historic
challenge to the Immigration Department. "Staff of the
department have coped with an enormous amount of work
before and after the Reunification with devotion and
professionalism. The extra effort every member of the
Department put in helped the Department to cope all the
challenges; meet its Performance Pledges and provide a
satisfactory level service to the public in all respects
of its work," Mrs Ip said.
Mrs Ip congratulated the recipients of the
commendation certificates, Mr Wong Wai-man, Assistant
Principal Immigration Officer; and Mr Chui Tak-shing,
Senior Immigration Officer, for their contributions to
designing and implementing the computer system in support
of the issue of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region passports and other travel documents.
"All the officers involved in the project had to race
against an almost impossible deadline. The leadership and
expertise displayed by these two officers was instrumental
to its successful completion," Mrs Ip said.
End
12. Special mail delivery on January 30
***********************************
The Postmaster General, Mr Robert Footman, announced
today (Tuesday) that a special mail delivery would be
provided on January 30 (Friday, the third day of the Lunar
New Year).
No delivery service would be made on January 28 and
29.
In addition, one mail collection will be arranged on
January 30 for all street posting boxes except those which
are located on outlying islands and in remote areas. The
time of collection is shown on the time-plate of each
posting box.
All post offices will be closed during the Lunar New
Year holidays except that the General Post Office at 10
Middle Road, Kowloon will be opened from 8 am to 2 pm on
January 30 for sale of postage stamps and acceptance of
Speedpost, registered mail and parcels.
End
13. Hong Kong Monetary Authority tender results
*******************************************
Tender date : 20 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q167
Issue date : 21 January 1998
Maturity date : 18 February 1998
Amount applied : HK$16,374 MN
Amount allotted : HK$5,000 MN
Average yield accepted : 9.99 PCT
Highest yield accepted : 10.10 PCT
Pro rata ratio : About 60 PCT
Average tender yield : 10.42 PCT
* * * * * * *
Tender date : 20 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q803
Issue date : 21 January 1998
Maturity date : 22 April 1998
Amount applied : HK$8,680 MN
Amount allotted : HK$2,000 MN
Average yield accepted : 10.04 PCT
Highest yield accepted : 10.22 PCT
Pro rata ratio : About 20 PCT
Average tender yield : 10.43 PCT
* * * * * * *
Tender date : 20 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Y885
Issue date : 21 January 1998
Maturity date : 20 January 1999
Amount applied : HK$2,970 MN
Amount allotted : HK$500 MN
Average yield accepted : 10.55 PCT
Highest yield accepted : 10.63 PCT
Pro rata ratio : About 40 PCT
Average tender yield : 10.74 PCT
-------------------------------------------------------
Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in
the week beginning January 26, 1998:
Tender date : 27 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q168
Issue date : 2 February 1998
Maturity date : 25 February 1998
Tenor : 23 Days
Amount on offer : HK$5,000 MN
* * * * * * *
Tender date : 27 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : Q804
02
Issue date : 2 February 1998
Maturity date : 29 April 1998
Tenor : 86 Days
Amount on offer : HK$2,000 + 500 MN
* * * * * * *
Tender date : 27 January 1998
Paper on offer : EF Bills
Issue number : H856
Issue date : 2 February 1998
Maturity date : 29 July 1998
Tenor : 177 Days
Amount on offer : HK$1,000 + 300 MN
End
14. Codes of Practice Committee Meeting open to the public
******************************************************
The Codes of Practice Committee of the Broadcasting
Authority will meet on Thursday (January 22) to discuss
the regulation of classified advertisements on television.
The meeting, to be chaired by Mr Clement Tao Kwok-
lau, will also discuss amendments to the Television Codes
of Practice on Programme Standards regarding references to
commercial names in sports programmes and the definition
of children's programmes for subscription television.
Members of the public are welcome to observe the
proceedings of the meeting which will take place at 2.30
pm in the Conference Room of the Television and
Entertainment Licensing Authority, 39/F., Revenue Tower, 5
Gloucester Road, Wan Chai.
As seating capacity is limited, they should ring 2594
5707 to reserve a seat.
End
