sleepers are required to stay in special institutes for medical treatment on a compulsory basis should be passed; Government should pay more attention to the adequate provision of community centre facilities; better and closer understanding of the elderly and the disabled who should be given more sympathy, assistance and care.
Medical and Health
Establishment of a Steering Committee on the Review of Medical Services welcomed; Government should consider granting low interest or interest free loans to dental graduates to assist them to set up their own clinics; Government should encourage the establishment of Hong Kong's own Academy of Medicine; Rehabus services for the disabled should be expanded; enactment of new legislation on access to buildings to be expedited, to provide easier access for the disabled; public awareness and understanding of problems faced by the handicapped to be improved; one standard examination for all medical graduates, followed by a standard internship; Medical and Health Department should take a more active role against undesirable medical advertisements; remuneration for nurses should be reviewed, to more accurately reflect their training, responsibilities and socially disruptive working hours; medical fees at Government clinics should be raised to a more realistic level.
Law and Order
Increased penalties and heavier sentences should be provided to deter serious and violent crimes; if the people of Hong Kong had their way, many convicted murderers would pay for their heinous crimes with their lives; if capital punishment were to be carried out in Hong Kong, a more civilised method than the gallows should be considered; positive steps should be taken to prevent infiltration of triads into schools; Government should deploy more police officers to new towns to maintain law and order; patrol services should be extended to KCR trains; now that China has joined Interpol, she could perhaps help Hong Kong to solve its law and order problems by becoming more alert to the problems of dangerous drugs trafficking and step up control on possession of firearms and illegal immigration; introduce proper
extradition arrangements between Hong Kong and China; pilot scheme for Community Service Orders welcomed; the "Spent Conviction Scheme" should be introduced without delay; where appropriate criminals committing serious offences should be repatriated to China after serving their sentences; the Police should be given enough manpower and resources to fight crime; heavier sentences should be imposed on violent crime offenders; crime prevention measures should be strengthened through legislation.
Economy
Increase public expenditure on economic services to encourage development and strengthening of economy; undesirable to have budget deficits in the few years to come; the linked exchange rate system should be maintained although the possibility of linking Hong Kong exchange rate to an alternative anchor, such as a basket of currencies representative of Hong Kong's major trading partners was worth considering; unwise to change the linked exchange rate system before full confidence in the Hong Kong dollar is restored; the U.S. proposal to implement new customs regulations in respect of textiles and apparel poses a serious threat to our export earnings and to our labour force; Hong Kong dollar linkage to U.S. dollar, the strength of which has changed vis-a-vis European currencies, has eroded the competitive edge of Hong Kong's products in Europe; regulation of the financial sector is essential to maintain the efficiency and credibility of Hong Kong as the world's third largest financial centre; Hong Kong must aim at developing itself into a regional financial base in order to continue to obtain substantial benefits for the economy and to provide support to China in the area of financial services; the offices of the Commissioner for Commodities Trading, the Commissioner for Banking and the Commissioner for Securities should be merged, to provide better supervision over the financial sector; any increase in direct taxation will curb our competitive power and will make the restoration of confidence and the stimulation of investments more difficult; do not tamper with our tax system unnecessarily; several provisions in the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 1984 were
of concern to businessmen and investors; keep Hong Kong's taxation system simple; maintain relatively low taxation, to enable Hong Kong to attract foreign enterprises; to meet the cost of change, the need to raise additional revenue would appear to be inevitable; increases in direct taxation, such as some form of sales tax, would be the fairest method of spreading any additional tax burden across the community.
Trade and Industry
The Trade Development Council praised for its efforts in promoting trade for Hong Kong; an active policy of diversification of trade should be adopted; economic services to be strengthened, to adopt a more aggressive and dynamic approach to assist commerce and industry; actual quota holdings in textiles and garments out of line with structure of industry and trade; review of the textile quota system welcomed and the need to confirm whether it remains the right system on practical and economic grounds; to solve the problem of labour shortage in the manufacturing sector, Government should consider setting up an industrial zone at the border, in cooperation with China; industrial lead in high technology depends on investment in research and development; Government should consider establishing research and development centres to assist manufacturers who can ill afford such facilities; priority should be given to looking for and for opening up more markets for Hong Kong's products and in this connection, China and Japan merit special attention; Government should assist the Trade Development Council to organise more promotional activities in China; special attention should be paid to diversification; success of diversification will depend on Government efforts and the attitude of manufacturers; manufacturers, especially those of the textile and electronic industries, must expand and modernise their equipment and keep up with modern technology; to remain competitive, we must improve the quality and efficiency of our products and industries.
Civil Service
Hong Kong should move towards a ministerial system and contemplate how the executive authorities should