XN000022-1997-02-26 — Page 9

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Alex Arena to head the telecommunications review

The Government announced today (Wednesday) that the Director-General of Telecommunications, Mr Alex Arena, will be seconded to the Economic Services Branch to head the Telecommunications Review.

The Review will begin on March 1. Its main objectives are -

to examine, on the completion of 18 months since the opening up of local telephone service to competition, the current state of development of Hong Kong's telecommunications industry;

to consider policy options to respond to the foreseeable development of telecommunications technologies as they affect telecommunications users; and

to develop strategic options to maintain Hong Kong's leading position in telecommunications and competitiveness in the Information Age.

During the period of review, the telecommunications industry and members of the public will be invited to contribute their suggestions through a consultation paper to be issued shortly.

Welcoming the appointment of Mr Arena as Head, Telecommunications Review, the Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip, said that Mr Arena, with his wealth of regulatory experience, was the ideal person for the job.

Mr Anthony Wong Sik-kei, Senior Assistant Director of Telecommunications in the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, will act in the post of Director- General of Telecommunications.

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Labour relations in Hong Kong is stable

The labour relations scene in Hong Kong has been generally characterised by a relatively stable labour-management relations and a low level of industrial conflict, the Commissioner for Labour, Miss Jacqueline Willis, said today (Wednesday).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the International Labour Organization Sub-regional Meeting on Tripartite Consultations on Labour Issues for Selected Asian Countries, Miss Willis said: "In 1996, there were only 17 strikes affecting 1,763 workers.