Government goes electronic in Internet World
07 - 12 - 2000

The Government had made a lot of progress in developing Hong Kong into a digital society, the Director of Information Technology Services, Mr Lau Kam-hung, told the participants of an international forum today (December 7).

Speaking in the special session of the World Telecommunications Forum of the ITU Telecom Asia 2000 held in Hong Kong today, Mr Lau said that the Government had been at the forefront in the adoption of information technology (IT) and the Internet.

"In 'Digital 21', an IT strategy formulated in November 1998, we have already set out our vision to make Hong Kong a regional Internet hub in the Asia-Pacific region and a leading digital city in the globally connected world," said Mr Lau.

"When our Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, delivered his Year 2000 Policy Address in October this year, he reiterated that in gearing up Hong Kong for the knowledge economy, innovation and technology are essential to enhance productivity for our sustained economic growth," he added.

To meet the challenges of the knowledge-based New Economy, a series of initiatives have been adopted by the Government to improve Hong Kong's information infrastructure, of which a fundamental one is telecommunication links.

"We have liberalised our telecommunications market to the point where it is arguably the freest and cheapest in the world," said Mr Lau.

"Our broadband networks now cover all the commercial buildings and over 90 per cent of the households in Hong Kong.

"Our external network is amongst the highest in Asia," he said, noting that the mobile phone service penetration rate in Hong Kong was about 70 per cent which was amongst the highest in the world.

Another key initiative is the introduction of a clear legal framework to provide a secure environment for the conduct of e-commerce in Hong Kong.

The Electronic Transactions Ordinance that was enacted in January this year not only gives electronic records and digital signatures the same legal status as that of their paper-based counterparts, but also establishes a framework to promote and facilitate the operation of recognized certification authorities (CAs).

Mr Lau said, "The Government has taken the lead in the establishment of a public CA through the Hongkong Post to enable an early implementation of a public key infrastructure in Hong Kong."

The Government has also established a common interface by adopting the ISO 10646 standard for the use of Chinese in electronic communication and data exchange among the Government, businesses and individuals.

"Developing a Chinese language interface is crucial to the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong, as Chinese is the mother tongue of the majority of Hong Kong people," said Mr Lau.

"It also helps to strengthen Hong Kong's position as an information gateway to the Mainland of China," he said.

With the objective of driving the Hong Kong community in the early adoption and integration of digital technology into their daily life at home, work and leisure, the Government will launch the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme this month.

"The ESD web site is our flagship Government-to-Citizen and Government-to-Business (G2B) web site, through which the public can acquire a wide range of services on the Internet and public information kiosks, 24 hours a day and seven days a week," said Mr Lau.

He noted that some of the services to be available include the submission of tax returns, the payment of bills, the renewal of driving licences, and the application of business registrations.

"The secure, reliable and open information infrastructure developed for the ESD will become available for use by the private sector for the conduct of e-commerce," Mr Lau continued.

"This will act as a catalyst to pump-prime the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong," he added.

The Government also sets an example for the private sector in the area of electronic procurement through the implementation of the Electronic Tendering System (ETS) which has been put into operation since April this year.

The ETS allows suppliers all over the world to receive notification of government tenders, submit tender offers and receive notification of contract award through the Internet.

This making full use of the Internet helps to save cost and time, and significantly extend the reach of tender invitations to potential suppliers from all over the world.

Additionally, to pave the way for the provision of more interactive services, the Government implemented in August this year the Central Cyber Government Office, an Intranet platform to facilitate government-wide electronic services and information dissemination.

Mr Lau said that the Government was also actively promoting the IT awareness to different sectors of the community.

"In order to enhance the awareness and understanding of e-commerce among small and medium-sized enterprises, we organise various seminars on e-commerce," said Mr Lau.

"To reach out to members of the public, promotional materials in different media and forms such as CD-ROMs and pamphlets are produced and distributed at many outlets and exhibitions.

"We have established Community Cyber Points with personal computers installed at over 60 different convenient locations which are open to the public free of charge, including free access to the Internet," he said.

The Government also launched in September this year the "IT Hong Kong" campaign to enhance the community's understanding of IT and promote its use.

The campaign provides a wide range of activities such as free IT awareness courses for the different community groups, including the elderly, housewives and the disabled.

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