7
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1992
GOVERNOR:
Ι THINK NORMAL SERVICE HAS BEEN RESUMED EVEN MORE RAPIDLY THAN I EXPECTED. FOLLOWING MR WONG'S SUGGESTION THAT MAY BE
I WAS SPENDING TOO MUCH, THE HONOURABLE MEMBER HAS MADE THE POINT VERY VIGOROUSLY THAT I AM NOT SPENDING ENOUGH. THAT IS A POLITICAL DEBATE AND DISCUSSION TO WHICH I AM PERHAPS MORE ACCUSTOMED THAN SOME OTHERS IN WHICH I'VE BEGUN TO TAKE PART. THE HONOURABLE MEMBER ASKS WHICH OF OUR PROPOSALS ARE NEW AND I THINK THE BEST WAY I CAN RESPOND IS TO SAY THIS: IN BOTH THE WHITE PAPER ON SOCIAL WELFARE, FOR INSTANCE, AND THE GREEN PAPER ON REHABILITATION, WE SET OUT ASPIRATIONS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE SET OUT THOSE ASPIRATIONS WITHOUT NECESSARILY MAKING IT CLEAR THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PAY IN ORDER TO MEET A NUMBER OF THOSE ASPIRATIONS. WHAT I WAS SAYING YESTERDAY IS THOSE ARE, THE KEY ASPIRATIONS THERE, ARE ONES WHICH THE COMMUNITY IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD AND GOING TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD WITHOUT BEING TO COIN A PHRASE RECKLESS IN THE WAY WE RUN OUR PUBLIC FINANCES.
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ANOTHER AREA WHICH IS NEW IS THE COMMITMENT THAT WE'VE GIVEN ON RE- TRAINING. WE'RE USING 300 MILLION HONG KONG DOLLARS FROM THE WINDFALL THIS YEAR ΤΟ ENHANCE THE FUNDS WHICH ARE GOING INTO THE EXISTING SCHEME, LARGELY AS YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT OF THE LEVT ON THOSE WHO EMPLOY IMPORTED LABOUR. WHAT OUR 300 MILLION WILL DO IS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER WHO ARE RE-TRAINED BY 15,000 WHEN ALREADY HAVE THOSE WHO ARE BEING RE-TRAINED UNDER EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS, SO THAT 15,000 IS A NEW ADDITIONAL COMMITMENT. THE HONOURABLE MEMBER IS ENTIRELY RIGHT TO SAY THAT A PROBLEM WHICH WE NEED то ADDRESS ADEQUATELY IS THE ENCOURAGEMENT TO EMPLOYERS TO USE THE SKILLS OF THOSE WHO ARE RE- TRAINED. THAT IS IMPERATIVE IF WE ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE OUR LABOUR FORCE IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY DURING A PERIOD WHEN IT IS BOUND TO BE UNDER PRESSURE. THERE ARE, I THINK, AT THE MOMENT, 70,000 PUBLISHED VACANCIES AND A LEVEL OF UNEMPLOYMENT WHICH, IN INTERNATIONAL TERMS, IS EXTREMELY LOW. SO RE-TRAINING IS A CRUCIAL ELEMENT IN REMOVING SUPPLY SIDE BLOCKAGES, MAKING OUR ECONOMY MORE EFFICIENT AND, THEREFORE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, MAKING IT MORE COMPETITIVE AND DEALING WITH INFLATION. I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THE RE-TRAINING WHICH I SAW AT THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE IN KOWLOON, PARTICULARLY IF I MAY SAY SO, THE RE-TRAINING OF WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN EMPLOYED IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND WERE BEING RE-TRAINED FOR COMPUTERISED JOBS IN THE PRINTING INDUSTRY. IT WAS A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW A GOOD RE-TRAINING SCHEME CAN GIVE PEOPLE ADDITIONAL SKILLS WHICH ARE REQUIRED IN AN INCREASINGLY SOPHISTICATED ECONOMY. WE HAVE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH EMPLOYERS AND CLOSELY WITH THE LABOUR UNIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE THE BIGGEST POSSIBLE IMPACT WITH OUR RE-TRAINING PLANS.
MRS MIRIAM LAU:
GOVERNOR, IN RECENT YEARS THERE'S INCREASING COMMUNITY CONCERN ABOUT THE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE COMMITTING CRIMES IN HONG KONG, THERE'S NO MENTION OF THIS AT ALL IN YOUR POLICY ADDRESS. HAS THE GOVERNMENT GOT ANY PROPOSALS AS TO HOW THIS PROBLEM SHOULD BE COUNTERED?
/GOVERNOR: I