128 Commerce and Industry
promoting competition and review of public service broadcasting in Hong Kong. The council's chief executive is also a member of the Government's Competition Policy Advisory Group.
To provide consumers with independent and impartial market information, the council publishes the findings of its product tests and surveys together with practical advice to the public through its monthly magazine, CHOICE, which offers broad, multi-media access available in print, on the Internet as well as through residential fixed-line and mobile phones. In 2007, the council continued to organise the Consumer Rights Reporting Awards for the media and the public vote on the Top Ten Consumer News for the Year of the Dog.
The eighth Consumer Culture Study Award organised during the year encouraged secondary school students to conduct their own studies of local consumer culture. In all, 700 teams, comprising more than 4 000 students from 106 secondary schools, participated in this programme.
The council continues to work closely with the Education Bureau on teachers' training. Six classes of the Professional Development Programme for Liberal Studies (LS): New Senior Secondary Independent Enquiry Studies in the LS Curriculum were conducted this year. Over 220 teachers completed this three-day training course. The Education Resource Kit on Project-based Learning was dispatched to all secondary schools to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning. A new web-based teacher training course, namely, 'Learning and Teaching of Personal, Social and Humanities Education Key Learning Area through Consumer Perspective', was also developed.
The council has continued to administer the Consumer Legal Action Fund, which enhances consumer access to legal remedies. In 2007, the fund considered six cases. and granted assistance in one case. One case carried over from previous year was successful in its claim.
The council is an executive and council member of Consumers International, a federation of 220 consumer organisations in 115 countries and territories. It also maintains regular contact with counterparts overseas and on the Mainland, and exchanges information, handles consumer complaints by tourists and considers initiatives to pursue wider consumer interests.
With tourists from the Mainland topping the list of visitors to Hong Kong, the council has taken a proactive role in strengthening consumer protection for Mainland tourists. Memorandums of Understanding for Cooperation were signed with major Mainland cities/provinces. In September 2007, a new dedicated website to provide one-stop consumer service covering a broad range of topics of interest to Mainland tourists was set up and hyperlinked to the official websites of a number of consumer organisations in the Mainland.
Enforcement of Consumer Protection Legislation
The Customs and Excise Department carries out spot checks and investigations to ensure that toys, children's products and consumer goods supplied in Hong Kong