Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang pledged here Wednesday to secure a "people-based" government which pursues excellent governance, a harmonious community and widespread economic growth.

He made the remarks while delivering his first Policy Address at the Legislative Council.

Tsang said that since the last Policy Address, Hong Kong has undergone significant changes. It is moving forward with new vigor, confidence and ambition to embrace the future, he added.

He noted that pursuing excellent governance is the most pressing public demand in Hong Kong at the moment.

To achieve this target, he will increase the membership of both the Executive Council and reorganize the Chief Executive Office.

He will also rejuvenate the membership of advisory boards and statutory bodies to harvest the experience of leaders in their fields and provide them with an opportunity to play a greater role in the different levels of leadership.

Tsang will also substantially expand the membership of the Commission on Strategic Development to around 100 by inviting talents from different fields. It will provide a platform for all sectors of the community to explore with the government major issues pertaining to Hong Kong's long-term development.

Since a good relationship between the central authorities and the SAR is the cornerstone for the successful implementation of "one country, two systems", the SAR government must engage in more dialogue with the central authorities and other mainland authorities at all levels, Tsang said.

In addition to the existing office of the HKSAR government in Beijing and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong, the SAR government will discuss with the central authorities setting up offices in Shanghai and Chengdu, Tsang said.

He also has decided to expand the powers and functions of the Constitutional Affairs Bureau by establishing a Mainland Affairs Liaison Office within it in order to better cooperate with Guangdong, the Pan-Pearl River Delta (Pan-PRD) and many other areas in the mainland.

Tsang stressed that Hong Kong's constitutional development should be taken forward in a gradual and orderly manner according to the Basic Law.

He said the Constitutional Development Task Force's Fifth Report, to be published later this year, will contain a package of proposals on how to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008.

He firmly believes that the proposed methods will mark a key milestone in the development of democracy in Hong Kong.

The chief executive stressed that "while moving forward steadily and purposefully with constitutional development, we must continue to improve on our administrative system."

The Accountability System for Principal Officials will be stepped up in helping officials to undertake growing political work and reach out to various social sectors to seek wider public support for the government, Tsang said.

The chief executive vowed to enhance the development of welfare services in a bid to foster harmony in the community in his policy address.

The disadvantaged groups deserve appropriate care, said Tsang, citing that the government has set up the Commission on Poverty to co-ordinate relevant policies and implement district-based poverty alleviation measures.

The government will continue to implement various social policies, including mobilizing the strengths of the community to provide an opportunity for healthy and balanced development for the next generations, Tsang said.

For disabled people, government will provide them with transitional residence, day training, nursing and support services, and introduce a new scheme for visiting doctors to take care of their medical needs, Tsang said.

To build a harmonious community, Hong Kong must take vigorous measures to make sustained improvement to air quality and step up efforts in enhancing food safety, Tsang said.

To reduce air pollution, the government will take the lead to reduce power consumption. From January 2006, power consumption in all government office buildings will be reduced by 1.5 percent annually, and the government will take the lead in using ultra-low sulfur diesel in all government projects.

Since 1999, Hong Kong has introduced measures progressively to control vehicle emissions, and they have started to produce results, Tsang said. The next step is to introduce in stages Euro IV emission standards for newly registered vehicles from January 2006.

On another problem that many Hong Kong residents concerned about - food safety, Tsang said the government has decided to reorganize the government departments and establish a new Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine Department to pool resources forbetter food safety control.

On economic and financial issues, Tsang said the central authorities have given in-principle approval to extend the scope of renminbi (RMB) business in Hong Kong.

This includes raising the exchange limit between RMB and Hong Kong dollar per person per transaction, lifting the credit limit of RMB cards issued by banks in Hong Kong and relaxing the RMB remittance limit imposed on Hong Kong residents, Tsang said.

The chief executive said the plans also includes the extending RMB settlement to designated merchants in more sectors and permitting designated merchants in Hong Kong to open RMB cash deposits accounts and exchange the RMB deposits one-way into Hong Kong dollars.

He added that the central authorities have also endorsed in principle the operation of a new RMB business in Hong Kong, which will allow Hong Kong residents to issue RMB cheques for a limited amount exclusively for consumer spending within Guangdong Province.

The chief executive believed that these new measures will definitely be an important impetus to the comprehensive development of the financial sector in Hong Kong.

As another measure of the central authorities for backing Hong Kong's economy, the Individual Visit Scheme for Chinese mainland residents to visit Hong Kong will also be extended to more Chinese mainland cities on a step-by-step.

From Nov. 1 this year, the Scheme will be extended to four more Chinese mainland cities, namely Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang and Dalian, Tsang said.

The Individual Visit Scheme for Chinese mainland residents to visit Hong Kong, said Tsang, has gone a long way towards boosting the local retail and job markets. Last year Hong Kong received a total of 4.2 million Chinese mainland visitors under the Scheme, bringing additional tourism receipts of around 6.5 billion HK dollars (833 million US dollars).

In another move to boost Hong Kong's economy, the implementation of the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) is expected to be extended to more sectors, the chief executive said.

Under CEPA III, more Hong Kong products will enjoy tariff-free access to the Chinese mainland, while the scope of liberalization in the existing CEPA services sectors will be further extended, Tsang said.

Source: Xinhua