| |
| 13 January 2005 |
|
The hot topic of the moment - Mr Tung's Policy Address. One of our readers has sent us the following snippet that is well worth a read. We love the second paragraph.......great admissions from our Top Man !! In his eighth annual policy address, the Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa, has said the ultimate aim of universal suffrage can be achieved at an early date. Mr Tung also announced the setting up of a commission to alleviate poverty, to be chaired by the Financial Secretary. This will study how to help the poor in terms of financial, employment, education and training needs. ?? On the environment, he said a Recovery Park would be built at Tuen Mun for exclusive use by re-cycling industries. There would also be mandatory schemes to ensure the recycling of products. The Government would impose caps on the total emissions of the power companies. And they would be required to maximise the use of natural gas. Mr Tung said the target of co-operation with Guangdong was to reduce by 2010 emissions of four major pollutants to prescribed standards. Earlier in his address, Mr Tung admitted that his government had failed on a wide range of issues. In formulating policies, he said, they had fallen short of "thinking what people think" and "addressing people's pressing needs." They had not been sufficiently mindful of the impact of some policies and their impact on the community's capacity to bear them. Too many reform measures had been introduced too hastily, putting heavy burdens on the people. He said the government also lacked a sense of crisis, political sensitivity and the necessary experience and capability to cope with changes. He went on: "We were indecisive when dealing with emergencies.These shortcomings and inadequacies have undermined the credibility of our policy-making capability and out ability to govern." But he said he and his colleagues had learned from their mistakes and would do better from now on.... For a full record please visit http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk
Letters Wrong take on Link Reit. In his letter supporting Elsie Tu's view of a media/political plot to discredit the government, Francis Chong Wing-charn ("Reit was collapsed", January 4) confuses a court decision that the Housing Authority had power to sell assets with a conclusion that it had exercised that power correctly. The courts in fact said there was a strong basis for an application for judicial review of the question: "Did the Housing Authority exercise its powers properly?" That was the loophole: not to consider the proper exercise of power, enabling Lo Siu-lan to establish "a clearly arguable case". The reason the government is criticised is because it took every step to minimise unwelcome "interference" before the listing, in particular by bypassing Legco when it decided how to effect this massive disposal of public assets. With its mind firmly fixed on one desired outcome, the government neglected to consider whether the authority was really doing what it was set up for, when it decided to sell essentially all its commercial assets at a price which many contend was undervalued and others point out was still high enough to make it likely the new owners would raise rental costs and therefore prices - what Mr Chong without irony describes as a sale "for the enjoyment of estate tenants". I doubt they agree. There can easily be merit in the case that a public body, entrusted with assets for the benefit of the poor, might be exercising its powers improperly if it either (i) disposes of them at an undervalued price or (ii) disposes of them so as to lift the costs suffered by the authority's tenants. Privatising the hospitals would have the same effect on public health costs - the poor, if obliged to pay the full costs, could not afford to, creating a crisis in delivery of public benefit. As legislator Bernard Chan pointed out in these pages, Ms Lo's action is an attempt to protect her interests. This is not a conspiracy, but Politics 101, an exam the government has yet again failed to pass. Paul Serfaty, Mid-Levels, SCMP 8 January 2005 Lai See Bad
taste or timing? We can only hope that the Securicor advertisement
in the official programme for this weekend's Watsons Water tennis championships
went to press before the Asian tsunami tragedy of December 26. It features
a picture of a large wave and the words "expect the unexpected".
Ben Kwok, SCMP 10 January 2005.
Bulletin Board Postings & Responses
News Headlines San
Shek Wan top choice for mega bridge's landing point HK
landing picked for Delta bridge Contracts
signed for Chek Lap Kok expansion Picture
of day 12 Jan 05 Former
antiquities chief reappointed Wheeler Picture
of day 11 Jan 05 Heritage
enthusiast battles against the wrecker's ball Picture
of Day 9 Jan 05 Hong
Kong buildings must be made safer: academics
Stanley Ho to unveil alternative hub plan
Upcoming Events
Click
here to view the full Calendar of Events on our Web Site.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
