XN000022-1996-12-13 — Page 8

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Also during the week, Director-General of Telecommunications, Mr Alex Arena, chaired a series of discussions on a variety of outstanding technical issues.

Mr Arena said that a common view was emerging that the outstanding horizontal issues relating to technical matters, for example, regarding satellite based services and possible distortions to international services have been further clarified and that solutions are clearly emerging.

Current expectations are that none of these issues should constitute an impediment to the successful conclusion of an agreement in February 1997.

On the importance of the telecommunications negotiations, Miss Yue noted the increasing reliance that the Hong Kong economy now places on a reliable and world- class telecommunications industry to support our services industries.

"Our economy is now heavily services based and our telecommunications industry will help to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness in all the services sectors."

Miss Yue said, "During the course of the SMC, many speakers commented to the effect that telecommunications is a generator of economic growth and employment and that, if we are successful in the WTO, basic telecommunications liberalisation will spur investment and the use of new technologies across the globe.

"As the Director-General of the WTO, Mr Renato Ruggiero, said in his plenary address in Singapore, the importance of this agreement cannot be over-estimated. Information, know-how, ideas he said are the new forces that are driving the global economy forward and telecommunications are the global aqueducts."

End

Efforts to fight against spread of cancer underlined

Cancer remains the number one killer disease in Hong Kong claiming victims of different ages, sex and ethnic groups.

Last year alone, more than 76,000 cancer patients were admitted into public hospitals while some 9,600 people died from the disease. These represented an increase of over 150 per cent and 50 per cent respectively over the figures in 1980.