SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1986
2
REDUCED ACCESS TO WESTERN TECHNOLOGY UNLIKELY
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THERE SEEMS NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE ACCESS WHICH HONG KONG NOW ENJOYS TO WESTERN TECHNOLOGY WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED AFTER 1997, THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES, MR JOHN CHAN, SAID THIS (SATURDAY) EVENING.
THE QUESTION OF WHETHER HONG KONG WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WAS CLEARLY ONE OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE TO THE TERRITORY'S CONTINUED ECONOMIC PROSPERITY, MR CHAN TOLD MEMBERS OF THE HONG KONG COMPUTER SOCIETY AT THEIR 16TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER.
+WITH COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO BE LEFT BEHIND, HE SAID.
+
+HONG KONG'S ATTAINMENT OF THE STATUS OF A MAJOR FINANCIAL, INDUSTRIAL AND TRADING CENTRE HAS OWED MUCH TO THE USE OF COMPUTERS AND TO THE READY AVAILABILITY OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, HE NOTED.
HE WAS AWARE THE QUESTION HAD BEEN EXERCISING THE MINDS OF THE LOCAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, AND OF THE SOCIETY IN PARTICULAR.
+THIS QUESTION ARISES FROM THE FACT THAT CONTROLS ARE MAINTAINED BY THE CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR MULTI-LATERAL EXPORT CONTROLS, OR COCOM AS THE ORGANISATION IS COMMONLY KNOWN, ON THE EXPORT OF STRATEGIC COMMODITIES FROM ITS MEMBER COUNTRIES, AND THAT CHINA IS SUBJECT TO MORE STRINGENT RESTRICTIONS THAN HONG KONG AT PRESENT.
+CONCERN HAS THUS BEEN EXPRESSED THAT, ONCE HONG KONG BECOMES A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, ITS ACCESS TO STATE-OF-THE-ART INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE REDUCED,+ HE SAID.
MR CHAN NOTED THAT HONG KONG'S FUTURE POSITION IN RELATION TO THE COCOM'S CONTROL REGIME WAS NOT SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION.
+THIS IS NOT BECAUSE THE BRITISH AND CHINESE GOVERNMENTS ARE UNAWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC PROSPERITY OF CONTINUED ACCESS TO HIGH TECHNOLOGY, BUT BECAUSE THE MATTER OF COCOM CONTROLS IS NOT A BILATERAL MATTER BETWEEN THE TWO GOVERNMENTS.
+THUS, HOW HONG KONG WILL FARE AFTER 1997 WILL DEPEND ON THE ATTITUDE OF THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF COCOM. WHAT THIS ATTITUDE WILL BE I CANNOT SAY, BUT THERE ARE GOOD GROUNDS FOR A DEGREE OF CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM.+
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