TNAG-1724-FCO40-2437-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 35

Supplementary to Question No. 5. Lego meeting on 10 February 1988

Mrs. CHOW: Sir, I thank the Secretary for Trade and

Industry for the good news.

May I ask whether, when and how

this Council can expect to hear the report of the inter-departmental

working committee ?

Secretary for Trade and Industry: Sir, it is difficult to

anticipate the results of the deliberations of this committee

but I would estimate it would take certainly some months

rather than a shorter time before we can arrive at some

conclusions. If those conclusions point to the need for

further legislation, then we will need to embark on consultation

with bodies like the Consumer Council.

Mrs. CHOW: Sir, in the meantime what measures will be

taken to deal with products which are known to be posing

threats to consumers' safety, such as products containing

carcinogens and excessively powerful toy guns, to quote a

couple of examples ?

Secretary for Trade and Industry : Sir, in the meantime we

will have new legislation to deal with new problems. As I

said in the previous answer, we already have legislation on-

the main problem areas.

In the past, when new problems have

arisen, publicity and persuasion have normally been able to

deal with the problem, with the possible exception of the