INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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training programmes and advice to designers and design service users. The council operates a design depository for people who wish to obtain copyright protection, and organises annual design competitions and exhibitions. The federation also established the Hong Kong Packaging Council to promote the development of packaging education and technology, and the development of skills and expertise in packaging.
The federation's Hong Kong Standards and Testing Centre (HKSTC) provides testing, inspection, certification and related services. Its facilities include chemical, calibration, elec- trical, electronic, engineering, food, footwear, gemmological, microbiological, packaging, pharmaceutical, textile, toy, watch and radio interference testing laboratories. It also provides services in preshipment inspection, quality control, production inspection, indus- trial research, product development and technical consultancy.
The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (CMA), which was established in 1934, has some 2 400 members. The association, a member of the International Chamber of Commerce, has played an important role in the industrial development of Hong Kong. It is active in promoting product development and holds the annual Hong Kong New Products Competition. It operates services to introduce new technology, encourage investment, and promote trade. The association's Testing and Certification Laboratories provide a variety of services which include product testing, certification, production and preshipment inspection, and technical consultancy.
The association is active in promoting industrial safety, and takes a keen interest in com- munity and social services. It runs a prevocational school which offers technical education for more than 1 000 students. A second prevocational school is now under construction.
Consumer Council
Established in 1974, the Consumer Council is a statutory body charged with the responsi- bility of protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of goods and services. Its chairman and members, appointed by the Governor, are drawn from various walks of life. Although financed by an annual subvention from the government, the council is independent in formulating and carrying out its own programmes.
The council operates within a variety of consumer protection areas, including consumer representation, legislation, complaints, advice, comparative product testing, research and surveys, education and information, and publications. These activities are directed by 10 standing committees which are served by members of the council. In addition, ad hoc committees are set up whenever necessary to deal with special consumer issues.
Over the years the council has won recognition as the authority in the field of consumer protection. Increasingly it is invited by the government to tender advice on matters affecting the interests of consumers. Members now sit on government committees set up specifically to deal with matters such as travel agents, insurance, cigarette smoking and public health, toxic substances, pharmaceuticals, trade descriptions, advertising, marking order on gold and precious metals, school textbooks and supplies, and metrication. These committees advise the government on consumer protection measures as well as legal reform. The council liaised closely with the government during the year on consumer product safety, in particular in the choice and use of gas water heaters following a number of fatal accidents. New measures were introduced to afford better protection to buyers of flats in un- completed real estate developments. One measure involves the use of a standard form of Agreement for Sale and Purchase which must contain certain mandatory clauses aimed at plugging some of the loopholes of the present conveyancing systems and at rectifying certain unfair practices in property dealing.
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