Hong Kong government announced Friday the establishment of a new Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee (D21SAC) as its main advisory body on information technology (IT) and related matters.

The D21SAC, to be chaired by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang will advise the government on the strategies, programs and measures to attain and further the goals and objectives set out in the Digital 21 Strategy, the blueprint for information and communications technology (ICT) development in Hong Kong.

The D21SAC has replaced its predecessor, the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IIAC), as the highest-level government advisory body on IT matters. The IIAC was established in 1998 originally with a main focus on the development of information infrastructure for Hong Kong.

The transformation of the technological and industrial landscape since then has called for greater emphasis be placed on the deployment of ICT, software development, digital and multimedia applications on a variety of platforms, as well as the convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting and the Internet.

"We have decided to establish a new committee that is clearly identified with the promotion and furtherance of our goals and objectives set out in our Digital 21 Strategy. The D21SAC will have a focus that is broad, clear and yet strategic and specific, similar to our Digital 21 Strategy, which will be updated on a regular basis," said Tsang.

A total of 18 non-official members and four ex-officio members have been appointed to the D21SAC for a term of two years from Oct.1, 2004, to Sept. 30, 2006.

Source:Xinhua