Daily Information Bulletin
Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777

Friday, March 13, 1998 CONTENTS ======== 1. CE's transcript in Paris 2. CE wraps up 'fruitful' visit to France 3. CE gives top French bankers insight into Asian turmoil 4. Biliteracy and trilingualism a policy commitment 5. Canton Road site awarded at $2.893 billion 6. Six bids for franchised bus package 7. Appeal cases on provisional registers 8. 74 nominations received for subsector elections 9. Final registers of electors published 10. Flushing water should not be used for other purposes 11. Fight Crime Committee members appointed 12. Suggestions invited for temporary use of Tamar site 13. Closure of New Horizons Vietnamese Refugee Departure Centre 14. Revised guidelines on bathhouses and massage establishments 15. External trade statistics for January 1998 16. Amendments to Approved Shek Kip Mei OZP 17. Draft Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay OZP amended 18. More Fire Officers for Tung Chung 19. Mrs Tung calls on Medicins Sans Frontieres 20. Amendment to Tai Lam Tunnel Section of West Rail Phase I 21. Labour Department to strengthen promotional activities 22. Hong Kong Mathematics Olympiad 1997/98 1. CE's transcript in Paris ************************ Following is the transcript of remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, after a meeting with French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, in Paris today (Friday). I arrived in France with my colleagues two days ago, we've had a very fruitful visit here. We have been very warmly received by the French Government authorities, by the private sector of France because both attach, both ourselves and France, attach great importance to this relationship. I explained in my meeting with President Chirac, I explained to President Chirac, how well Hong Kong is moving. One country, two systems is really now being fully implemented. President Chirac congratulated us on this and he thought we really are doing well under 'one country, two systems' and that the return has been very smooth and for which he congratulated us. President Chirac talked about the importance of the Sino-French relationship and also about the importance of a Hong Kong-French relationship, both from an economic, financial and trading point of view. We have also talked about the Asian financial turmoil, how it's likely to play out, its impact on Hong Kong. I restated my determination to maintain the linked exchange rate to which he supported fully. He emphasised the stability of renminbi as well as the Hong Kong dollar because this will bring, will help in bringing about stability in a very turmoil Asia at this moment. I also took the opportunity to raise the issue about visa-free access for Hong Kong residents to France and he has said he will look into this very positively. All in all I think my colleagues and I have had a very fruitful visit to France and we are now rushing to the airport so I am sorry I'm not going to answer any questions otherwise I'm going to miss my flight. Thank you. End 2. CE wraps up 'fruitful' visit to France ************************************** The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, has wrapped up his six-day European visit with a very "warm and fruitful" meeting with French President, Mr Jacques Chirac. Emerging from an hour-long meeting with Mr Chirac at the Palais de l'Elysee, Mr Tung said he was glad to learn during his visit to France that political and business leaders placed great importance on further deepening ties between France and Hong Kong. There were tremendous interest from French business and the banking sector in developing strategic partnerships with Hong Kong, with a view to tapping into the massive Chinese market and the Asian markets. "I was happy to hear that President Chirac had expressed immense confidence in the future of Hong Kong. He was impressed with the smooth transition and our responsible attitude in dealing with the Asian financial turmoil," said Mr Tung. "He shares our confidence in the future of Asia and believes that the Asian markets will recover from the turmoil." Mr Tung said he had exchanged views with President Chirac on the single European currency, the Euro, and its impact on Asian trade with Europe. "The successful introduction of Euro will contribute to the economic stability of the EU and such stability will be beneficial to Asia," said Mr Tung. The Chief Executive congratulated President Chirac on his leading role in making the Euro a practical reality. Mr Tung said he had raised with President Chirac the issue of visa-free access to France for HKSAR passport holders. He said President Chirac was very sympathetic to the initiative from French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, to send a technical team to Hong Kong to look at the issue of visa-free access. Mr Tung said both he and President Chirac attached great importance to the further deepening of economic and cultural ties between France and Hong Kong. President Chirac said he was deeply impressed by the significant French economic presence in Hong Kong. In response, Mr Tung welcomed continued active participation of French companies in Hong Kong's infrastructure projects and believed they would continue to succeed. Towards the end of the meeting, President Chirac presented Mr Tung with the Officer de la Legion d'Honneur (Officer of the Legion of Honour), a French civil and military honour. President Chirac also presented Mr Tung with a framed certificate of the notification of the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) presented in 1976 to his late father Tung Chao-yung. Mr Tung said he was pleased to accept the honour and touched by the thoughtful gesture. Mr Tung presented Mr Chirac with a set of paintings commemorating the reunification of Hong Kong with China. The Chief Executive invited President Chirac to visit Hong Kong. Earlier in the day, the Chief Executive had a useful meeting with the Governor of the Bank of France, Mr Jean- Claude Trichet. Mr Trichet briefed the Chief Executive on the implementation of the Euro and expressed full confidence that it would develop into a stable and credible currency. "Mr Trichet explained that such development was a natural evolution given the presence of strong underlying currencies of Euro member country states in the EU," said Mr Tung. He also said that he was impressed by the responsible attitude taken by Hong Kong and China during the current financial turmoil in Asia. Mr Tung assured Mr Trichet that Hong Kong placed great importance on the need for prudential financial regulation and sound financial infrastructure to ensure stability in Hong Kong's banking system. Mr Tung also met with members of an influential think-tank the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI) at which a wide range of issues concerning Hong Kong, China and Asia were discussed. Topics raised included the current economic situation in Hong Kong and the linked exchange rate. Think-tank members were interested in Hong Kong's education system and its development. Mr Tung told the think-tank members that Hong Kong was fully committed to quality education and explained that only by investing in education could Hong Kong maintain and enhance its competitiveness. Mr Tung leaves Paris tonight (Hong Kong time) and is due to arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow morning. End 3. CE gives top French bankers insight into Asian turmoil ****************************************************** The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, has today (Friday, HK time) given France's top bankers an in-depth briefing on how Hong Kong is handling the current financial turmoil in Asia. At a dinner hosted by the French Banks' Association, Mr Tung told leading financial players that Hong Kong's strong economic fundamentals had helped ride out the turmoil and remained unscathed. Hong Kong's currency board system and link to the US Dollar were of particular interest to the banking chiefs, whose organisations all have offices in Hong Kong and Asia. There are currently 17 French banks operating in Hong Kong. Later today (HK time) Mr Tung will meet the influential think-tank the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales and the Governor of the Bank of France, Mr Jean-Claude Trichet. Mr Tung is due to meet the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, at around 6 pm (HK time). Hong Kong's latest developments, ways to enhance Hong Kong-French relationships and visa-free access for HKSAR Passport holders are likely to be discussed at the meeting. Last night (Thursday, HK time) in France's second city Lyon, Mr Tung was guest of honour at a city lunch reception hosted by the Lyon Mayor and former Prime Minister, Mr Raymond Barre. During the day, Mr Tung took a ride on Lyon's fully automated and driverless Metro line and visited a cancer research centre. Mr Tung said he briefed Mr Barre on the current financial turbulence in Asia and its implications on Hong Kong. He said he was happy to hear Mr Barre, who had for many years followed developments in Hong Kong and China, was confident in Hong Kong's future and its ability to manage the turmoil. Mr Tung leaves Paris for Hong Kong later tonight and is due to arrive at Kai Tak tomorrow (Saturday) morning. End 4. Biliteracy and trilingualism a policy commitment ************************************************ The Government has accepted the findings of the independent Appeals Committee on appeals cases relating to the use of English as a medium of instruction (MOI) in a number of secondary schools from the 1998/99 school year onwards. Chaired by Professor Chang Hsin-kang, the Committee has found that of the 20 appealing schools, 14 should be allowed to continue using English as the medium of learning, while for the other six schools, Chinese would be their most effective MOI. At a press conference today (Friday), the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mr Joseph W P Wong, pointed out that the Government's MOI policy remained unchanged. The objectives are: * to strengthen the teaching and learning of Chinese and English to enable students to be biliterate and trilingual (i.e. be conversant with written Chinese and English and be able to speak fluent Cantonese, Putonghua and English); * to promote mother-tongue teaching to enhance students' cognitive development and learning ability; and * to discourage the use of mixed code, (i.e. a mixture of Chinese and English, in teaching and learning). "An appropriate medium of instruction is crucial to a student's effective learning," Mr Wong noted. "Research worldwide and in Hong Kong has shown that students generally learn better through their mother-tongue. They will be able to understand better what is taught, analyse problems, express views, develop an inquisitive mind and cultivate critical thinking." He also explained that the policy had, in fact, been established since the 1980s and that the policy commitment to issue firm guidance on MOI for secondary schools was announced in 1994, well before the restoration of Hong Kong to China. To help realise the Government's objectives, a number of new initiatives and support measures will be introduced from September this year for schools which use Chinese as their MOI. They include: * priority in provision of a multi-media learning centre ($0.85 million per centre); * priority in funding of English language enhancement projects under the Language Fund; * an average of two additional English language teachers for each school; * an additional native-speaking English teacher, if the school so elects; * one-off grant for employing clerical staff and purchasing equipment ($36 million);and * additional recurrent grants for equipment and library books ($42 million). Also, the Government has accepted recommendations by the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) for additional school-based English programmes for students (about $47 million) and an "English corner" in each school to create an environment conducive to English learning (about $9.6 million). Funds will be provided for the setting up of a Support Centre to provide teachers teaching in Chinese with help-desk services, workshops and a database of teaching materials and test papers for all subjects taught in Chinese (About $10 million). To further strengthen the Chinese and English proficiency of all students, Mr Wong said up to 750 native- speaking English teachers would be provided for secondary schools from September 1998 ($451 million a year) and 640 additional teachers be provided in the next four years to support the Chinese and English Extensive Reading Schemes and library services in primary schools ($167 million a year). Meanwhile, the Government will set language benchmarks to help raise the language standard of teachers. All new teachers and serving teachers will be required to meet the benchmarks from the year 2000/01 and by the end of 2005 respectively. "The Education Department will conduct inspections to ensure that schools adopt the appropriate MOI," Mr Wong said. "We do not agree that the quality of a school should be judged by its MOI, but should rather be judged by its mission, the leadership of principal, professionalism of the teachers, motivation of students, support of parents and the learning environment," he stressed. He noted that the Quality Education Fund also planned to set up a quality school award scheme to promote excellence in various domains of education, with a view to nurturing students with all-round abilities. This would also serve to better inform the parents and the public what constitutes a quality school. On the way forward, Mr Wong said the Board of Education and SCOLAR would be invited to carry out jointly a study on promoting and implementing the Government's MOI objectives and to make recommendations in a year's time. "We will conduct extensive public consultations on the basis of these recommendations." "I sincerely hope that all schools, teachers and parents will continue to work with us in our efforts to provide our younger generations with the best possible quality education," Mr Wong remarked. End 5. Canton Road site awarded at $2.893 billion ****************************************** The Lands Department announced today (Friday) that it had awarded the tendered site at the junction of Austin Road and Canton Road (KIL 11086) to Konorus Investment Ltd., a subsidiary of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd., at a premium of $2.893 billion. The site has a total gross floor area of about 94,000 square metres, of which 13,200 square metres will be for commercial purpose and 80,800 square metres for residential purpose. The site has a four-year building covenant. End 6. Six bids for franchised bus package *********************************** The Government received bids from 6 tenderers for the operation of a package of 88 bus routes on Hong Kong Island. The package comprises 59 Hong Kong Island routes and 29 cross-harbour tunnel routes. An inter-departmental assessment committee chaired by a Deputy Commissioner of Transport has been set up to study and evaluate the tenders. The committee comprises representatives from the Transport Bureau, the Transport Department, Financial Monitoring Unit of the Economic Services Bureau, Department of Justice, Labour Department and the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Commenting on the tender exercise which closed at noon today (Friday), a Government spokesman said: "The objectives of this exercise are to maintain continuous provision of bus services while giving due regard to the need to maintain healthy competition and to improve the overall bus service standard in Hong Kong. "Tender assessment criteria have been drawn up to achieve these stated objectives." The Tender Assessment Committee will assess tenders on the basis of: (a) the level and quality of services to be provided and the fares to be charged; (b) the corporate capability of the tenderers; (c) quality of proposals of tenderers to ensure a smooth changeover of services (including tenderers' proposals on employment of existing front-line staff of the incumbent franchises if the successful tenderer is not the incumbent franchisee); and (d) the competition factor. The spokesman said the successful tenderer would be required to operate the tendered network from September 1, 1998. "We aim to seek the approval from the Chief Executive in Council for the grant of a five-year franchise to the successful tenderer in early April," the spokesman said. End 7. Appeal cases on provisional registers ************************************* In response to media enquiries about appeal cases in relation to the provisional registers of electors, a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office today (Friday) explained that 188 claims and objections had been lodged during the appeal period when the registers were open for public inspection last month. The Revising Officers ruled in favour of 45 but rejected the appeals from 143 appellants. Among the rejected cases, 107 were related to the appointment of authorised representatives. Under the law, these appellants are allowed to appoint a substitute authorised representative not later than 14 days before an election. End 8. 74 nominations received for subsector elections *********************************************** A total of 74 nominations have been received today (Friday) when the nomination period for the Election Committee subsector elections starts. The breakdown of nominations by subsector is: Subsector Number of nominations --------- --------------------- Commercial (second) 1 Import and export 1 Insurance 2 Real estate and construction 1 Accountancy 2 Chinese medicine 3 Engineering 17 Higher education 5 Information technology 15 Legal 1 Medical 1 Agriculture and fisheries 4 Labour 4 Religious 7 Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 7 Provisional District Boards for the Districts in the Urban Council Area ("Hong Kong and Kowloon Provisional District Boards") 3 End 9. Final registers of electors published ************************************* The 1998 final registers of voters and electors for the Election Committee subsector elections in April and the Legislative Council election in May are published today (Friday). The geographical constituencies' register shows that the size of the electorate now stands at 2.795 million, which represents an increase of 264,000 from 2.531 million in 1997. "That means about 70 per cent of the potential electors may go to the polls on May 24," a spokesman for the Registration and Electoral Office said. The distribution of electors in the five geographical constituencies is: Hong Kong Island 596,244 Kowloon West 411,466 Kowloon East 483,876 New Territories West 708,444 New Territories East 595,341 During the exercise to compile the provisional and the final registers, about 345,000 records of electors were updated. The electorate of the 28 functional constituencies totals 138,984, representing about 60 per cent of the potential electors. A total of 127,075 of them are individuals while the remaining 11,909 are corporate electors. A total of 10,083 authorised representatives have been appointed. As for the 35 Election Committee subsectors, more than 143,000 voters have been registered. This represents a registration rate of about 59 per cent. Among them, about 131,000 are individuals and the remaining 12,000 are corporate voters. More than 10,000 authorised representatives have been appointed. The spokesman said that 188 claims and objections regarding entries on the provisional registers of electors had been lodged during the appeal period when the registers were open for public inspection last month. The Revising Officers have ruled in favour of 45 but rejected the appeals from 143 appellants, he added. The final register for the geographical constituencies is available for inspection during office hours at: * the Registration and Electoral Office, 10th floor, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; and * 18 District Offices (that part of the register relevant to the district) The final registers for the functional constituencies and the Election Committee subsectors are placed at: * The Registration and Electoral Office, 10th floor, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai; and 10th floor, Guardian House, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai; and * Five District Offices in Central and Western, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan. Any person who wishes to inspect the registers is required to fill in a form and show his identity card. A registered elector may call hotline 2891 1001 to check his own registration particulars. End 10. Flushing water should not be used for other purposes **************************************************** The Water Supplies Department today (Friday) stressed that it is an offence under the Waterworks Ordinance to use salt water supply for other purposes than flushing. "Prosecution will be taken against offenders and the maximum fine is $5,000," a spokesman for the department said. "Our salt water supply is treated to the Water Quality Objectives which, for bacteriological quality, restricted the E. Coli content per 100 millilitre to below 1,000 at distribution. "This is the same as the standard for bathing water in beaches set by the World Health Organisation," the spokesman said. "In no circumstances, however, should salt water supply be used to fill tanks at seafood stalls," he stressed. Referring to the quality of flushing water, the spokesman said all samples taken from the sea with supply and distribution system last month complied with the Water Quality Objectives. No Coli organism was found in the samples taken from Kwun Tong, Cha Kwo Ling and Yau Tong areas during the period. He explained that sea water is drawn at seafront pumping stations where the water quality was found acceptable. Treatment starts with the screening at the inlet of the intake to remove debris and particles. The water is dosed with chlorine to suppress marine and bacterial growths. The water is then pumped to service reservoirs and distributed to tanks installed at individual buildings. "To ensure the quality of flushing water, building management agents should regularly clean their water tanks," the spokesman said. End 11. Fight Crime Committee members appointed *************************************** The Government today (Friday) announced the appointment of two new members and the re-appointment of three existing members to the Fight Crime Committee. Both Mr Almon Poon Chin-hung and Mr Raymond Chow Wai-kam are appointed for a period of two years from April 1 this year to March 31, 2000. Reappointments also take effect from April 1 this year. Mr Edward Pong Chong is re-appointed up to March 31, 2000 while Mrs Miriam Lau Kin-yee and Mr James To Kun-sun are re-appointed up to March 31, 1999. Following is the membership list of the Fight Crime Committee: Chairman: Chief Secretary for Administration Deputy Chairman: Secretary for Justice Members: Miss Rosanna Wong Yick-ming Mrs Miriam Lau Kin-yee Mr James To Kun-sun Ms Alice Yuk Tak-fun Mr Edward Pong Chong Ms Sansan Ching Teh-chi Mr Almon Poon Chin-hung Mr Raymond Chow Wai-kam Secretary for Security Secretary for Home Affairs Secretary for Health and Welfare Secretary for Education and Manpower Commissioner of Police Commissioner of Correctional Services Secretary: Principal Assistant Secretary for Security End 12. Suggestions invited for temporary use of Tamar site *************************************************** The Government is inviting suggestions by way of expressions of interest for the temporary use of the Tamar Basin reclamation site until June 30, 2000. "We intend to put the 2.84 hectare-site into the most suitable use before it is required by the Architectural Services Department for the construction of the Government Headquarters," a spokesman for the Lands Department said today (Friday). "Interested parties should write to the Director of Lands giving a brief description of the proposed activities or purposes for which they wish to use the site. "They are advised to attach schematic illustrations to further explain their ideas," he added. "Possible suitable uses for the site could include recreational, exhibition, entertainment or other publicity or tourist-oriented promotional activities," the spokesman said. "An element of temporary parking and commercial activities may also be considered," he added. "Since we are only seeking ideas and suggestions at this stage, any costs involved in preparing and submitting an expression of interest should be borne wholly by the invitees," the spokesman stressed. All expressions of interest should reach the Lands Department Headquarters on or before April 3 at the following address: * Second floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central (from now until March 21); and * 20th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point (March 23 to April 3). Tenders for letting of the site will formally be invited after a decision is made on the expressions of interest. A plan showing details of the site can be obtained from the District Lands Office/Hong Kong West on 19th floor, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai. End 13. Closure of New Horizons Vietnamese Refugee Departure Centre *********************************************************** The closure of the New Horizons Vietnamese Refugee Departure Centre (NHVRDC) today (Friday) marks a further step towards the end of the whole Vietnamese boat people saga, a government spokesman said. This is another major step following the closure of the Kai Tak Vietnamese Migrant Transit Centre in March last year, the Whitehead Vietnamese Migrants Detention Centre in June 1997, and the North Camp of the High Island Detention Centre in January 1998. The NHVRDC, located at Kwun Tong Road, Kowloon, has a population of about 270 Ex-China Vietnamese illegal immigrants before the closure. They have all been transferred to the Pillar Point Vietnamese Refugee Centre. Since 1975, over 200,000 Vietnamese had arrived in Hong Kong. The migrant population reached a historical peak in October 1991, with over 64,300 Vietnamese people accommodated in 14 camps in Hong Kong. With the continued efforts of the Government and non- government organisations, the present Vietnamese population in Hong Kong has dropped to about 1,200 Vietnamese refugees, 660 Vietnamese migrants and 980 Vietnamese illegal immigrants, the spokesman said. "The Government will continue with its efforts to draw the Vietnamese boat people issue to a complete and satisfactory conclusion," the spokesman added. End 14. Revised guidelines on bathhouses and massage establishments *********************************************************** The main planning criteria for assessing applications for commercial bathhouses and massage establishments have been refined under a revised set of guidelines announced by the Town Planning Board today (Friday). A spokesman for the board said the guidelines state that these establishments would normally not be permitted in a residential neighbourhood, a wholly residential building or the residential portion of a composite commercial/residential building. "It is necessary to exercise planning control to ensure that these establishments should neither cause nuisance to nor be incompatible with other uses of the same building or the surrounding developments," he said. "For example, commercial bathhouses and massage establishments may not be fully compatible with residential use and non-domestic uses such as children and youth centre, kindergarten, religious, educational or community institutions," he added. In addition, access to these establishments in a composite commercial/residential building must be separated from that to the domestic portion to avoid causing nuisance to the occupants of the same building. "In assessing the compatibility with other uses of the same building, consideration will normally be given only to uses permitted under the occupation permit issued by the Building Authority," the spokesman said. "To address the concerns in fire safety, views from the Buildings Department and the Fire Services Department in respect of the provision of fire service installations and means of escape, etc, will be taken into account in assessing the applications," he stressed. The revised guidelines (TPB PG-No. 14A) will replace the existing ones (TPB PG-No.14) with immediate effect. Copies are available free at the Town Planning Board Secretariat, 15th floor, North Point Government Offices (NPGO), 333 Java Road, North Point. They can also be collected at the Department's Planning Information and Technical Administration Unit on the 17th floor of NPGO. For enquiries, please call the unit on 2231 5000. End 15. External trade statistics for January 1998 ****************************************** In January 1998, the value of re-exports decreased by 2.9% over a year earlier to $99.1 billion, while that of domestic exports decreased by 11% to $15.3 billion. Meanwhile, the value of imports decreased by 14% to $113.2 billion. The above figures are included in the detailed statistics on external trade with breakdown by country/territory and commodity for January 1998 released today (Friday) by the Census and Statistics Department. The external trade figures usually display greater volatility in the first two months of the year. The year- on-year declines in the value of both exports and imports in January 1998 were likely to have been caused by the different timing of the Lunar New Year Holidays in 1997 and 1998. Thus it should be more meaningful to make comparisons based on figures for January and February 1998 combined, when the figures for February become available towards the end of this month. Comparing January 1998 with January 1997, increases were recorded in the value of re-exports to the United Kingdom (+19%), Australia (+15%), France (+14%), the United States (+12%), Germany (+8.1%) and the Netherlands (+6.6%). However, decreases were recorded in the value of re- exports to Singapore (-28%), Taiwan (-16%), Japan (-12%) and the mainland of China (the mainland) (-10%). Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, increases were recorded in the value of re-exports to the United Kingdom (+20%), France (+13%), the United States (+12%), Australia (+10%), the Netherlands (+8.6%), Germany (+6.0%) and the mainland (+0.7%). However, decreases were recorded in the value of re- exports to Singapore (-12%), Japan (-6.0%) and Taiwan (-0.5%). Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, more notable increases in the value of re-exports were registered for miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods (by $4.4 billion or 13%); office machines and automatic data processing machines (by $4.3 billion or 21%); telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (by $2.6 billion or 9.0%); electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (by $2.1 billion or 6.4%); and photographic apparatus, equipment and supplies, optical goods, watches and clocks (by $1.6 billion or 11%). Over the same period, more notable decreases in the value of re-exports were registered for footwear (by $901 million or 5.4%); and textiles ( by $839 million or 3.5%). Comparing January 1998 with January 1997, decreases were recorded in the value of domestic exports to Singapore (-38%), France (-28%), the mainland (-24%), Japan (-18%), the Netherlands (-12%), Germany (-11%), Taiwan (-3.0%) and the United Kingdom (-2.0%). However, the value of domestic exports to Canada and the United States increased by 17% and 14% respectively. Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, decreases were recorded in the value of domestic exports to Singapore (-23%), Germany (-11%), France (-8.3%), Japan (-8.0%) and the mainland (-5.2%). However, increases were recorded in the value of domestic exports to Taiwan (+12%), the United States (+7.8%), Canada (+7.0%), the Netherlands (+4.3%) and the United Kingdom (+4.0%). Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, more notable decreases in the value of domestic exports were registered for office machines and automatic data processing machines (by $990 million or 30%); textiles (by $449 million or 14%); manufactures of metals (by $249 million or 25%); telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (by $165 million or 7.4%); and miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of printed matters (by $160 million or 3.7%). Over the same period, increases in the value of domestic exports were registered for clothing (by $1.2 billion or 6.8%); electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (by $373 million or 5.0%); and professional, scientific and controlling instruments and apparatus (by $176 million or 17%). Comparing January 1998 with January 1997, the value of imports from all main suppliers showed decreases of various magnitudes: Singapore (-29%), Malaysia (-26%), Taiwan (-18%), Japan (-17%), the United Kingdom (-17%), South Korea (-16%), the United States (-13%), Italy (-13%), the mainland (-8.0%) and Germany (-7.0%). Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, decreases were recorded in the value of imports from Italy (-15%), Singapore (-14%), Malaysia (-9.2%), South Korea (-7.6%), the United Kingdom (-6.0%), Taiwan (-5.0%), Japan (-3.3%) and the United States (-1.5%). However, the value of imports from Germany and the mainland increased by 6.3% and 2.4% respectively. Comparing the three months ending January 1998 with the three months ending January 1997, increases in the value of imports were registered for office machines and automatic data processing machines (by $3.2 billion or 14%); electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof (by $2.4 billion or 4.8%); road vehicles (by $1.9 billion or 20%), telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment (by $961 million or 2.6%); miscellaneous manufactured articles consisting mainly of baby carriages, toys, games and sporting goods (by $714 million or 2.8%); and iron and steel (by $671 million or 9.1%). Over the same period, more notable decreases in the value of imports were recorded for textiles (by $4.2 billion or 14%); and footwear (by $1.6 billion or 11%). All the trade statistics described here are measured at current prices and no account has been taken of changes in prices between the periods of comparison. A separate analysis of the volume and price movements of external trade for January 1998 will be released in early April 1998. Detailed trade statistics analysed by commodity and by country/territory are published in trade statistics reports. The January 1998 issue of the "Hong Kong External Trade" with detailed analyses on the performance of Hong Kong's external trade in January 1998 will be on sale at $68 per copy around March 24. The report can be purchased at either the Government Publications Centre, Ground Floor, Low Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong, or the Publications Unit of the Census and Statistics Department, 19th Floor, Wanchai Tower, 12 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Enquiries on regular subscription to this report may be directed to the Publications (Sales) Office of the Information Services Department at 28th Floor, Siu On Centre, 188 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Tel No: 2598 8194). For enquiries on trade statistics, please contact the Census and Statistics Department (Tel No: 2582 4915). End 16. Amendments to Approved Shek Kip Mei OZP *************************************** The Town Planning Board today (Friday) announced several amendments to the approved Shek Kip Mei Outline Zoning Plan to facilitate the redevelopment of the old housing blocks in Tai Hang Tung Estate by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. The amendments involve the rezoning of two sites covering 0.39 hectare and 0.29 hectare respectively at Tong Yam Street and Tai Hang Tung Road from "Residential (Group A)" to "Open Space". Meanwhile, a 0.4-hectare site near the junction of Woh Chai Street and Tong Yam Street has been rezoned from "Open Space" to "Residential (Group A)". The draft plan (No. S/K4/8) is available for public inspection until May 13, 1998 during office hours at: * Planning Department, 15th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point; * Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and Sham Shui Po District Planning Office, 27th floor, Tsuen Wan Government Offices, 38 Sai Lau Kok Road, Tsuen Wan; and * Sham Shui Po District Office, 6th floor, West Coast International Building, 290 Un Chau Street, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon. Copies of the draft plan are available for sale at the Survey and Mapping Office, Lands Department, 14th floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, from March 13 to March 19, 1998; or at its new office on the 23rd floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point from March 24, 1998 onwards. The plans are also available for sale from March 13, 1998 at the Kowloon Map Sales Office, ground floor, 382 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Any person affected by the amendments may submit a written objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board, c/o Planning Department before May 3, 1998 on the 15th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road. End 17. Draft Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay OZP amended ********************************************** The Town Planning Board today (Friday) announced several amendments to the draft Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay Outline Zoning Plan to reflect the as-built condition there. The amendments involve the rezoning of about 1.71 hectares at Choi Ha Road from "Open Space" and "Road" to "Government, Institution or Community" ("GIC") due to the completion of the Jordan Valley Leisure Pool Complex. Meanwhile, about 0.04 hectare of land at Shun Ching Street has been rezoned from "Road" to "GIC" to reflect the as-built extension of the electric sub-station. The Notes of the plan is amended to incorporate "Off- course Betting Centre" under Column 1 of the User Schedule of the Notes for the "Commercial" zone. As a result, development of an off-course betting centre in the zone is permitted as of right. The amended plan (No. S/K13/10) is available for public inspection until April 3, 1998 during office hours at: * Planning Department, 15th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point; * Kowloon District Planning Office, 14th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point; and * Kwun Tong District Office, ground floor, Kwun Tong District Branch Offices Building, Tung Yan Street, Kowloon. Copies of the draft plan are available for sale at the Survey and Mapping Office, Lands Department, 14th floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Central from March 13 to March 19, 1998 or at its new office on the 23rd floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point from March 24, 1998 onwards. The plans are also available for sale from March 13, 1998 at the Kowloon Map Sales Office, ground floor, 382 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Any person affected by the amendments may submit written objections to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board, c/o Planning Department before April 3, 1998 on the 15th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point. End 18. More Fire Officers for Tung Chung ********************************* The Fire Services Department will deploy additional staff members and fire appliances to Tung Chung Fire Station cum Ambulance Depot to provide residents on Lantau Island with efficient fire and emergency ambulance services, the acting Director of Fire Services, Mr John Tsang Kwong-yu, said today (Friday). Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fire station cum ambulance depot, Mr Tsang said the total number of staff in Tung Chung would be increased to 222, making it the largest one in the territory. Mr Tsang said the station will also have an additional Deputy Chief Fire Officer, a directorate post, as its commander. The officer could take command within the shortest possible time in case of any major incident occurring in the district, he added. Located in Tung Chung New Town, the fire station cum ambulance depot not only serves the local community and North Lantau, it will also provide supporting fire services to the new Airport Fire Contingent at Chek Lap Kok. It could provide logistical backup and reinforcement in case the Tsing Ma Bridge being closed or land and marine transport paralysed, Mr Tsang said. Operational since May last year, the fire station has handled 133 fire and special service calls, while the ambulance depot has handled 712 emergency calls. Mr Tsang also unveiled a plague to declare the station open. End 19. Mrs Tung calls on Medicins Sans Frontieres ****************************************** Mrs Betty Tung has been briefed on the work of international humanitarian organisation Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) during a visit to its headquarters in France. The organisation, which has an office in Hong Kong, was set up in 1971 and has since sent more than 10,000 volunteers to more than 80 countries in which there are conflicts, refugees or other problems. During her hour-long visit, Mrs Tung viewed a video on the work of MSF and discussed the organisation's aims and goals with MSF directors including vice-president of French MSF, Professor Philippe Dabadie, and the director of MSF Hong Kong, Mr Alain Guilloux. The visit took place today (Friday, HK time) while Mrs Tung was in the French capital Paris with her husband the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa. End 20. Amendment to Tai Lam Tunnel Section of West Rail Phase I ******************************************************** An amendment to the railway scheme for the Tai Lam Tunnel Section of Phase I of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) West Rail was published in the Gazette today (Friday). A government spokesman explained that the proposed amendment to the Tai Lam Tunnel Section was minor in nature and was designed to improve the alignment of West Rail for the Tunnel Section. "It includes changes to the boundaries of the scheme at the north portal of the Tai Lam Tunnel Section and other consequential changes including the slope and associate drainage and landscape works in the vicinity," he said. The Tai Lam Tunnel Section of Phase I of West Rail which runs between the intersection of Hoi On Road at Hoi Hing Road in Tsuen Wan and the southern part of Kam Tin Valley was gazetted on July 25 and August 1, 1997. Phase I of West Rail will provide an approximately 30.5-km long electrified double-track railway system. It will run from Yen Chow Street in West Kowloon to Tuen Mun via Tsuen Wan, Kam Tin, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, providing a domestic passenger service. The project programme envisages completion by 2003. Members of the public will have 60 days to lodge their objections to the Tai Lam Tunnel Section - Scheme Amendment in writing. They can submit their objections to the Secretary for Transport not later than May 12, 1998. End 21. Labour Department to strengthen promotional activities ****************************************************** The Labour Department has acquired additional staff to strengthen its promotional and educational activities to help proprietors, employers and workers understand the importance of safety and health in the workplace. In her message to a two-day conference and workshop on "Occupational Safety and Health for Good Business", the Commissioner for Labour, Miss Jacqueline Willis, said: "Over the past two years, we have created nearly 200 posts, and subject to the approval of the legislature, we will create 78 more posts in the coming financial year. "We should now be better placed than ever before in strengthening our promotional and educational activities to help proprietors and employers as well as workers understand work hazards and cultivate a better safety culture in the workplace. "We will work with industries to develop compliance standards in a realistic and achievable way best suited to Hong Kong's circumstances," Miss Willis said. The creation of the new posts is required following a review of industrial safety in Hong Kong in 1995. This review has a significant impact on the way the department deals with occupational safety and health issues. Miss Willis said: "One of the most significant recommendations of the review was an extension of protection of workers' safety to the non-industrial sectors. The review also concluded that workplace risks should best be managed by those who create and work with them. Industry should therefore be encouraged to adopt self-regulation by implementing a safety management system. "To implement these recommendations, we have introduced the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance in May last year to extend the protection of work safety and health to all economic activities. "We intend to introduce a new set of regulations later this year to provide a framework for certain more hazardous industries such as construction and ship building to implement a safety management system," Miss Willis added. The conference and workshop starting from today is jointly organised by the Labour Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Council. The convenor of the Executive Council, Dr the Hon S Y Chung; accompanied by the Commissioner for Labour, Miss Jacqueline Willis; and Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Council, Professor Leung Ping-chung, officiated at today's opening ceremony. A number of experts from the United Kingdom, Canada and Hong Kong have been invited to share their valuable experiences in introducing good safety and health practices with special reference to the non-industrial sector. Speaking at the official opening of the conference and workshop, Dr Chung said the main benefit of good management in health and safety was that accidents could be prevented, or at least minimised. "There is little doubt that the most valuable asset of a business is not the plant or equipment, but the people who work in it. "It therefore makes good business sense to protect the employees from preventable accidents and occupational diseases. No other rights and benefits are more important than being able to return home, after a day's work, safe in one piece and knowing that health has not been impaired by work. This aspect will become more and more important as our society is getting more and more affluent," Dr Chung added. He said safety laws in Hong Kong were almost the same as the more advanced countries in that the main responsibility for health and safety at work lied with the employer. "It is the employer who must provide a safe working environment, who must ensure that work methods are safe, and who must supply employees with proper protecting gears. Health and safety is an integral part of a business and should be properly managed," Dr Chung said. "Accidents are very expensive indeed. The obvious costs to the employer are loss of man-hours, damages to plant and equipment, and statutory financial compensation paid to the injured. "In Hong Kong last year, the statutory employees' compensation payments amounted to nearly $1.2 billion in respect of about 60,000 cases. On average, it works out to be approximately $20,000 per accident. "Economic costs apart, we should all bear in mind that the physical and psychological traumas suffered by the injured as well as the anguish and distress experienced by members of their families. "No amount of money will be able to compensate for these human sufferings to thousands of people each year," Dr Chung said. The Deputy Commissioner for Labour (Occupational Safety and Health), Mr Lee Kai-fat, who gave a keynote speech today on 'The Government's Development of Compliance Standards and Enforcement Strategy', said: "The new law offers an excellent opportunity for a caring management and an understanding workforce to work together in enhancing business productivity and hence profits, leading to much more harmonious staff relations and reinforcing their sense of belonging to the company. "The new Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance offers a daunting challenge for both Government and the stakeholders. I would like to stress that we need to work together to develop compliance standards that can be realistically achieved in Hong Kong. "Let us make Hong Kong business proud of its safety and health commitment as it is proud of its flexibility, ingenuity and productivity. "In line with the policy, we have re-organised ourselves. The Occupational Safety Officers in the Labour Department are responsible for administering the new Ordinance, in addition to the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance," Mr Lee said. He added that for the Occupational Safety Service, the department had added a few new headquarters functions: * a new Advisory Unit which is a publication house for safety bulletins and newsletters, guidance notes and pamphlets; and * a new Accident Analysis and Information Unit which is tasked to analyse accidents and incidents collated from various sources. As for the Occupational Health Service side, Mr Lee said the department planned to cover a much broader spectrum to exposure to health risks in a wide variety of workplaces, such as the use of chemical or toxic substances, biological agents, pesticides, ionising and non-ionising radiation, noise, upper limb disorders and work-related stress problems. End 22. Hong Kong Mathematics Olympiad 1997/98 ************************************** The Final Event and Prize-giving Ceremony of the 15th Hong Kong Mathematics Olympiad (HKMO) will be held tomorrow (Saturday) at 9 am at the Hong Kong Institute of Education (Town Centre). The Principal Inspector, Mathematics Section of the Advisory Inspectorate Division, Education Department, Mr Tsang Kin-wah; and Divisional Director, Division of Secondary, Technical & Special Education of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Dr John A W Caldwell, will officiate at the prize-giving ceremony. The HKMO is organised by the Mathematics Section of the Advisory Inspectorate Division, Education Department and the Department of Mathematics of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. There were 188 schools participated in the heat event held in February. The 40 teams with the highest scores in the heat event will enter the final and will also be invited to participate in a two-day Mathematics Camp in April. The Final Event is divided into two parts: individual and group events. Each team consists of four to six students of Secondary 4 level or below. Any four of them may take part in the individual events and any four of them may take part in the group events. There were 21 students from 16 schools obtaining full score in the individual events. Students from Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School and Wah Ying College obtained full score in the group event of the heat event. End


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