| Transcript of SCA's briefing |
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Following is a transcript of a stand-up briefing by the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs (SCA), Mr Stephen Lam, after participating in the Management Forum - "A world-class government for Asia's world city" at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (August 29):
Reporter: Could you give a roundup on the four-day forum and the overall atmosphere? SCA: I made an opening statement earlier today. I have shared with my colleagues the importance that we should bear in mind. Firstly, this is a changing world. The whole world is facing the prospects of "surplus production capacity". Secondly, this government is facing a challenge of budget deficit. And we must aim to do more with less. The discussion we had just now was very participatory, very progressive. Some of my colleagues who manage the housing portfolio, the customs portfolio, they are all thinking of, doing new things, re-engineering their processes, reprioritising their work so that they can better serve the public. In last few days, various comments have been made, one of which was a question: is it worth spending several million dollars to undertake this forum? To my mind, it is clearly worthwhile, because the expenses for this undertaking are limited, but if we can all embrace change, that sort of attitude is invaluable. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) End/Thursday, August 29, 2002. |