ENG-1997 — Page 410

314

COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MEDIA

sensitive information held by the government, and information involving personal privacy and commercial sensitivity.

The public may complain to the Ombudsman about government departments which fail to respond to requests for information in accordance with the code. It represents a major step in meeting public expectations of greater transparency from the government.

Protection for Privacy with Respect to Personal Data

The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance aims to protect the individual's right to privacy with respect to personal data. It incorporates internationally accepted data protection principles governing the collection, holding, processing and use of personal data, including the right of individuals to access and correct their own personal data.

The Ordinance also provides for the Chief Executive to appoint an independent statutory authority, the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, to monitor, supervise and promote compliance with its requirements. The first Privacy Commissioner, Mr Stephen Lau Ka-men, MBE, was appointed in 1996 to head an office with an initial establishment of 32 posts.

In 1997, the Privacy Commissioner's Office handled some 9 356 enquiries and 227 complaints relating to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. It also undertook a variety of activities to promote compliance, awareness and understanding of the Ordinance, including the approval of a code of practice on the identity card number and other personal identifiers, the production of fact sheets and other guidance material on various aspects of the Ordinance's application.

Topics covered in guidance materials produced by the Privacy Commissioner's Office include the transfer of personal data outside Hong Kong, human resources management and direct marketing by telephone.

Telecommunications Services

The government has pro-competition and pro-consumer telecommunications policies, implemented by the Telecommunications Authority (TA). Supported by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA), the TA oversees the regulation of the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong and administers the ordinances governing the establishment and operation of telecommunications services.

Important developments in Hong Kong's telecommunications sector in 1997 included the launching of Personal Communications Services (PCS), and the licensing of competitive International Virtual Private Network services and International Simple Resale services for facsimile and data. Increased competition is giving consumers greater choice of networks and operators, and services develop in response to the market.

Local Fixed Telecommunication Network Services

Hong Kong's businesses and consumers rely heavily on voice telephonic services. Hong Kong had 4.7 million telephones served by more than 3.6 million exchange lines at the end of 1997. The telephone density was 72 telephones or 55 exchange lines per 100 population the highest in Asia and one of the highest in the world.