Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the Chamber,
We went into the current Legislative Council
year, 1999-2000, in a recession. As you heard from our Chairman, we are coming out of it
in even stronger shape.
Our Chamber has contributed to the dramatic
turnaround by steering the government towards the right policies. I will now report to you
on what I have done as your Legco representative, based on your support and your continual
counsel.
Hong Kong used to pride itself on the
efficiency and reliability of the civil service. Over the past couple of years our
confidence in that service has been tested. As you are well aware, repeated mistakes have
cost our taxpayers and raised doubts among investors.
The government has belatedly acknowledged the
erosion of confidence and that the civil service has problems that has to be corrected
NOW. But I worry that changes the government will make will be cosmetic and come only at
the expense of the junior grades. We need reform and not a review.
During this year I have taken every chance to
urge the government through Legco and the press to expose the civil service to market
forces from which it has been insulated. The civil service is bloated, overpaid, and
underused, resulting in a culture of entitlement on wages and benefits and indifference to
productivity and performance.
I say the cure lies in introducing market
forces to the service. This can be done in three ways. (1) Retire redundant civil servants
in larger numbers and in a shorter period. (2) Reduce benefits and introduce an incentive
scheme. (3) Privatize some services rather than farm these out to the subvented
organizations, which are just an extension of the civil service.
After two consecutive deficits, the Financial
Secretary thinks the solution is in adding new taxes when the people can least afford to
pay them. I say the solution lies not in raising revenue but in cutting expenditure.
Taxpayers should not subsidize government's own inefficiencies.
China is poised to join the World Trade
Organization. During the final rounds of American and Chinese negotiations on a
comprehensive trade pact last year, I began asking the Hong Kong government to seize the
new opportunity WTO presented. Accepting your recommendations¡Xcontained
in the Chamber's own WTO Study, I then advised the government that it had to help local
companies, especially the small and medium enterprises, to get established on the
mainland. I specifically asked that the government coordinate the various departments
involved with facilitating commerce and the Trade Development Council. I said the
government had to make sure our SMEs benefit the most for the total opening up of the
mainland market. I expressed the Chamber¡¦s wish for a one-stop
shop to smooth the SMEs' entry into the mainland and to deal
directly with the Central Government, bypassing the regional authorities.
Back in 1998 I advocated a government
guaranteed loan initiative to help the SMEs. The government later adopted the idea in a
modified form. I was not content and so I asked for it to be improved. I specifically
wanted the government guarantee to rise from 50 to 70 per cent of the loans and the loan
period to double from one to two years.
Subsequently I proposed to the banks to ease
their loan conditions to make more SMEs eligible. Banks should assess loans, I said, less
on collateral but on the prospects and business plans of their applicants during a
recession. The loan scheme was a success when it was ended last week.
Our future is not only directed northward but
it must also be directed outward. This is why I have for this Legco year made improving
business English a policy priority. The government should set the example by stopping its
neglect of English in administration. We in the business community have to do our share to
ensure that, with the help of English, we can remain attractive to foreign investors and
inhabitants.
To this end I introduced an English language
motion in the Legislative Council in May 1999 and it received unanimous support. That
gesture was important for it showed the government and the Hong Kong public the value we
attached to English, not only for business but for everyday life in our cosmopolitan city.
I am happy to report the government has
responded by appointing a committee to promote correct business English usage. The Chamber
is also involved. We hope this would reverse the slide in the command of English.
One of my tasks in the present Legco year is
in the promotion of environmental protection. I think this can be advanced through the two
Cs ¡V conversion and conservation. I have been actively pushing
the government to expand its timid program to convert taxis from diesel powered to LPG
powered. But taxis are not the only polluters of the air we breathe. This is why I have
told the government, after consulting my constituents, that it should extend the program
to cover the whole commercial fleet. Nearly all of us in the Chamber are for the scheme
because we care about Hong Kong's environment and are willing to pay a price for it. We
should also conserve because not wasting resources means making more money and being a
good corporate citizen.
This Legco year, which spans the centuries,
has been momentous. I thank the Chamber for giving me support to enable me to represent
you. I look forward to serving you to continue Hong Kong's policies towards growth in
wealth and opportunities without sacrifice to our environment.
Thank you.
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