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If we do run out of time and we do not have time to hear everybody, there is a box on the reception table outside, into which you can place any written views that you would like to contribute.
At the end of the meeting, I will try to pull the strands together and suggest how we might move forward.
End
Governor announces stepped up campaign to beat drugs
The Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, today (Thursday) announced a fresh package of initiatives to step up the campaign against drug abuse.
The $30 million package, containing 32 separate proposals covering law enforcement, preventive education, treatment and rehabilitation, and research, was outlined by the Governor at the end of his second Drugs Summit held at the Cultural Centre.
Included in the latest package is a commitment to introduce tougher sentencing for adults who exploit young persons in the illegal drug trade; an international conference on drug education in schools; and two key surveys in 1996-97, one on drug abuse among secondary school students and the other to identify the risk factors leading to drug abuse among the young.
The Summit was attended by more than 270 Government officials, members of Legislative Council, Action Committee Against Narcotics (ACAN), district boards, District Fight Crime committees, voluntary agencies, teachers, social workers, parents and young people.
The new measures will be implemented this year to reinforce the wide ranging action plan which was introduced as a result of the Governor's first Summit on Drugs held in March last year.
Concluding the three-hour Summit, where speakers debated issues covering every aspect of the drugs problem in Hong Kong, Mr Patten said the participants had made a crucial contribution towards welding the community together to beat a menace which threatened all levels and sectors of society.
He was particularly impressed by the contribution made by a number of young people who had attended the Summit to share their experience and concerns.