FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1982
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DIVERSIFICATION A PROGRESS REPORT
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GIVING A PROGRESS REPORT ON SOME OF THE 47 RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON DIVERSIFICATION (ACD) IN OCTOBER, 1979, THE DIRECTOR OF TRADE INDUSTRY AND CUSTOMS MR BILL DORWARD SAID TODAY (FRIDAY) THAT IT WAS TIMELY TO EXAMINE HOW THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE BEING CARRIED OUT.
+ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFICULTIES ABOUT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO INDUSTRY, WHETHER IN LARGELY NON-INTERVENTIONIST HONG KONG OR A CENTRALLY PLANNED ECONOMY, IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A DIALOGUE SO THAT BOTH SIDES UNDERSTAND WHAT IS NEEDED AND WHAT CAN REALISTICALLY BE PROVIDED, HE TOLD A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF HK ISLAND WEST.
*AN EARLY CONSEQUENCE OF THE COMMITTEE'S REPORT, THEREFORE, WAS THE APPOINTMENT OF A GOVERNMENT SCIENCE ADVISER WHO WAS CHARGED TO ADVISE ON POLICY AND CO-ORDINATE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT AND ON THE ORGANISATION OF RESOURCES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SO AS TO MAXIMISE THEIR IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG.+
THIS ENDEAVOUR WAS SET BACK BY THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF MR GORDON BELL A FEW MONTHS LATER AFTER HIS APPOINTMENT. HIS SUCCESSOR, DR JOHN WRIGHT, TOOK UP HIS POST AT THE END OF 1981.
+AMONG HIS FIRST ACTS WAS THE ORGANISATION OF AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH, OF WHICH HE IS CHAIRMAN AND ON WHICH ARE REPRESENTATIVES OF TRADE, INDUSTRIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS, ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND GOVERNMENT. THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE OF THIS BODY IS AVAILABLE, THROUGH THE SCIENCE ADVISER, TO A HIGH LEVEL INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD (IDB), CHAIRED BY THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY AND SERVICED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY, SAID MR DORWARD.
THE EMPHASIS OF THE IDB - APPOINTED IN AUGUST 1980 TO PLAN, MONITOR AND TO ADVISE ON VARIOUS PROGRAMMES IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT - WAS ON SUPPORT FACILITIES AND TECHNICAL BACK UP SERVICES. IT HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE INVOLVED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NEW STANDARDS AND CALIBRATION LABORATORY, WHICH IS AT AN ADVANCED PLANNING STAGE.
+THIS IS A PROGRESSIVE COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT AND WHILE IT WILL FOCUS INITIALLY ON ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC STANDARDS AND CALIBRATION, THE IDB WILL BE CALLED UPON TO CONSIDER WHERE WE SHOULD GO FROM THERE, SAID MR DORWARD.
*THE POSSIBILITIES INCLUDE MECHANICAL MEASUREMENTS, ILLUMINATION, OPTICAL AND ACCOUSTIC NOISE MEASUREMENTS, THERMOMETRY AND IONISING RADIATIONS.+
ANOTHER KEY RECOMMENDATION OF THE ACD CONCERNED TESTING AND CERTIFICATION SERVICES - ESSENTIAL FOR HONG KONG EXPORTS. A SURVEY OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR LABORATORIES IN THIS FIELD WAS CONDUCTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY TO ESTABLISH THE RANGE OF TESTING AND CERT IF ICATION SERVICES NOW AVAILABLE, THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY ARE BEING USED, WHETHER THEY ARE ADEQUATE TO SATISFY INDUSTRIES NEEDS AND, IF NOT, WHAT NEW OR ADDITIONAL SERVICES SHOULD BE DEVELOPED.
/+INDICATIONS ARE