HONG KONG
LEGISLATIVE 香港立法局 —————————一九八九年七月十九日
COUNCIL
19 July 1989
107
Much can and should be done through proper land use planning. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Government and our planners to come up with the optimum planning strategy which will provide our community with a place that we can happily call our home.
Finally, Sir, I am aware that, as never before, we will have to decide shortly on some very major infrastructural development. Let us not forget that a sound foundation for the future of Hong Kong cannot be constructed only with cement and steel. That foundation has to consist of a population of healthy and happy people who share and enjoy an environment that provides a better and better quality of life.
With these remarks, Sir, I support the motion.
MR. BARROW: Sir, my objective in speaking in this debate is to emphasize the importance to the tourism industry of the plans to improve the environment.
The task outlined in this important White Paper is clearly a gigantic one. which will involve the whole community, not only our industrial sector. To reduce pollution means looking closely at our way of life and seeking acceptable adjustments in some of the ways in which we do things.
Having full community support for environmental protection measures is vital, otherwise a reluctance to accept changes will thwart the best-laid plans. The benefits of reducing pollution and improving the environment would seem to be self-evident, yet they are all too often played down and claimed to be not worth the cost.
This Council will appreciate that closely related to the physical attractiveness of the territory is the welfare of our tourism industry, which earned $33 billion in 1988, equivalent to 8% of our GDP.
Tourists will not of course want to visit a destination which fails to meet their expectations of high standards of health, cleanliness and physical attractiveness.
Fortunately, Hong Kong is not only "a shopper's paradise", but also a beautiful and impressive city. We are blessed with what many people consider to be the world's most beautiful harbour set against an exciting skyline. One
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