· 3.
In addressing the common concern about the change in the mode of Hong Kong's trade, Mr Tsang pointed out that Hong Kong was still in control of the trade in goods and related services.
"Most of the owners of the extensive manufacturing services of our traded goods were traced back to Hong Kong, although the locations of manufacturing tend to radiate far into China and South East Asia.
"Then we have been active in reinforcing our efforts in trade promotion and in sharpening our management expertise in the conduct of trade. The challenge now is to re-enforce the global links and trade repute that we have built up over the years."
On the future of the manufacturing sector, the Financial Secretary said that Hong Kong's manufacturing enterprise was far from dwindling.
"Taking into account our extended manufacturing outposts in China and in South East Asia, our effective manufacturing capacity has grown manifold over the past twenty years."
Mr Tsang said that the best approach for industrial development was to let private sector manufacturers to be at the helm in charting the course ahead, with the Government collaborating closely and actively, in a pro-market manner.
"By this I mean collaborating in such areas as infrastructure refinement, specialist training, productivity enhancement, applied research, and technology transfer.
"The Government would continue to provide a wide range of industrial support services, where facilitation and direct involvement by public bodies will help underpin the development particularly of small and medium-sized enterprises."
Mr Tsang said that the Government always stood by industrialists in building up a robust, competitive, and high-value manufacturing network with a firm base in Hong Kong.
On the issue of income disparity, Mr Tsang said that Hong Kong would continue the existing policy of letting market performance distribute wealth and incomes according to performance while the government took proper care of those individuals who could not compete on the open labour market.
However, he emphasised that there was no question of Hong Kong tuming itself into some kind of "welfare state".