- 10 -
Mrs Yu added that in the course of the Government's review, the Buildings Department had also concluded that further practical measures could be introduced to contain the problem of rooftop structures by stopping the problem at source. Steps are being taken to:
include a leaflet with the rates demand note to explain that payment of rates does not confer or imply legal status of a property;
confer with those responsible for public utilities, including water supply, not to connect services to new illegal rooftop structures and to refer such cases to the Buildings Department for follow-up; and
explore with the Law Society the possibility of including specific reference to illegal rooftop structures in its practice directions for lawyers.
"Given the achievement to date and the further efforts under the three-prong strategy, Government has considered the policy of priorities to be fair, realistic and effective and therefore reaffirmed it as reasonable and appropriate," she added.
End/Wednesday, July 19, 1995
Where HK's interests lie in future WTO negotiations
The Director-General of Trade, Mr Tony Miller, said today (Wednesday) Hong Kong's first interest in the future World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations lay in ensuring the complete and faithful implementation of the Uruguay Round package. "We want to see tariffs come down; we want to make sure that restraints on trade in textiles and clothing are phased out," he said.
"We want to see all the other 'grey area' measures eliminated; we want to see all commitments by all parties followed through and preferably accelerated," he added.
Mr Miller was taking a look ahead at the future WTO agenda and where Hong Kong's interests lay in his talk entitled "Whither the World Trade Organisation?" at a luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island East.
He said Hong Kong's interests lay next in ensuring that the WTO was established as a strong and respected referee of international trade.
ईभ