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COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
ordinance came into force on December 20, 1996. The ordinance provides for the appointment of a Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with the ordinance.
Information Technology
'Digital 21' IT Strategy
The Government is committed to keeping Hong Kong at the forefront of information technology (IT) development. In May 2001, it published an updated version of the Digital 21 IT Strategy, which was first promulgated in November 1998. The updated Strategy aimed at positioning Hong Kong as a leading e-business community and digital city. Since then great strides have been made in putting in place the right environment, infrastructure, skills and culture to encourage the development and adoption of IT by the whole community.
To sustain the momentum created in the last five years and to harness the benefits of IT for business, the community and Hong Kong's position in the world, the Government has reviewed the implementation of the 2001 Strategy and drafted an updated Strategy for public consultation from October to December 2003. The Government would, taking into account the public views received, finalise the updated Strategy for issue in early 2004.
Driving E-business
The Government is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure for e-business to prosper. It has reviewed the Electronic Transactions Ordinance and introduced amendments to the ordinance in June with a view to keeping the legal framework up-to-date with technological advancements and international e-business developments. The aim is to have the amendments enacted by the legislature in mid-2004.
There are now one public and two private certification authorities (CAs) recognised under the ordinance, which issue digital certificates for use by the community to conduct electronic transactions in a secure manner. In June, the public CA, the Hongkong Post Certification Authority, started to offer smart identity card holders one-year free use of its digital certificates. This will create a critical mass of digital certificate holders, providing the incentive for the industry to develop further applications and services using digital certificates.
The Government also works with industry support organisations to provide technical support, advisory services, financial support and training to encourage and assist the business sector, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to adopt e-business to enhance efficiency and productivity.
E-government
The Government met its E-government targets in 2003. It provided an e-option for 90 per cent of public services which are amenable to the electronic mode of service delivery and attained its e-procurement target to carry out 80 per cent of government procurement tenders through electronic means. Its efforts were also widely recognised. Locally, a public opinion survey conducted in the first half of the year found that among the surveyed Internet users, 70 per cent had used E-government services before, and among them over 60 per cent rated E-government services as 'very good' or 'quite good'. Internationally, Hong Kong was ranked seventh in terms of