XN000022-1990-12-20 — Page 6

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FOUR COMPANIES INVITED TO APPLY FOR TELEPOINT LICENCES

THE POSTMASTER GENERAL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY, MR DOMINIC S.W. WONG, ANNOUNCED TODAY (THURSDAY) THAT, AFTER CONSIDERING THE SEVEN PROPOSALS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO GAZETTE NOTIFICATION G.N. 2291 PUBLISHED ON JUNE 29, 1990, FOUR COMPANIES HAVE BEEN INVITED TO FORMALLY APPLY FOR LICENCES TO OPERATE TELEPOINT SERVICES IN HONG KONG BASED ON THE SECOND GENERATION CORDLESS TELEPHONE (CT2)

TECHNOLOGY.

CSL

THEY ARE: CHEVALIER (TELEPOINT) LIMITED, HONG KONG TELECOM LIMITED, HUTCHISON PAGING LIMITED, AND PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED.

"THESE FOUR COMPANIES HAVE UNTIL JANUARY 18, 1991 ΤΟ SUBMIT

MR WONG SAID.

APPLICATIONS,

"WE INTEND TO ISSUE UP TO FOUR LICENCES EARLY NEXT YEAR.

"TELEPOINT SERVICES WILL BECOME AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC BEFORE THE END OF 1991 AND WILL GRADUALLY EXPAND TO COVER MOST PARTS OF HONG KONG WITHIN THE NEXT THREE YEARS.

**

GOVT DETERMINED TO KEEP HK A SAFE PLACE

*** **

THE COMMUNITY, THE POLICE AND THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT TOGETHER TO KEEP HONG KONG A SAFE PLACE IN WHICH TO WORK, PLAY AND BRING UP FAMILIES, THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR SECURITY, MR IAN STRACHAN, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).

"AS A COMMUNITY WE MUST SUPPORT THE POLICE; AS A GOVERNMENT WE MUST ENSURE THAT THE POLICE HAVE THE RESOURCES AT ITS DISPOSAL TO FIGHT CRIME EFFECTIVELY, HE TOLD A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ZONTA

CLUB OF HONG KONG EAST.

++

"IN HONG KONG WE HAVE ONE OF THE BEST POLICE FORCES IN THE WORLD, WELL LED, WELI, TRAINED AND WELL EQUIPPED. WITH FIRM RESOLVE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT EFFECTIVELY TOGETHER TO KEEP HONG KONG A SAFE PLACE," HE SAID.

MR STRACHAN NOTED THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CRIMES REPORTED ΤΟ THE POLICE IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF THIS YEAR WAS 80,959, AN INCREASE OF 9.1 PER CENT COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD LAST YEAR. THERE WAS ALSO AN UPSURGE OF VIOLENT CRIMES BY 9.7 PER CENT.

WORLD'S

BUT HONG KONG REMA INED ONE OF THE

SAFEST CITIES. ALTHOUGH OUR RATE OF VIOLENT CRIME WAS HIGHER THAN THAT OF NEIGHBOURS IN THE REGION, ON SPECIFIC CRIMES SUCH AS RAPE AND MURDER HONG KONG COMPARED VERY WELL. THE OVERALL CRIME RATE WAS AMONG THE LOWEST IN THE REGION.

/"HONG KONG