Government committed to strengthening IT capabilities of the community
22 - 08 - 2002

The Government would spend some $677 million in this financial year to support current programmes and new initiatives to achieve its commitment to building a digitally inclusive society in Hong Kong, said the Acting Director of Information Technology Services, Mr Stephen Mak Hung-sung, today (August 22).

Speaking at an international conference titled "The Digital Divide: Technology and Politics in the Information Age" today, Mr Mak said, "It becomes imperative to raise the competency and awareness of our society at large to embrace information technology (IT) as soon as possible."

"Through prudent use of IT, we can lower the cost of doing business, enjoy a more enriched and informed life and, more importantly, stay competitive on the global market.

"To ensure that individuals and businesses enjoy greater convenience and better services brought about by IT advancements, we have over the years invested some $2.2 billion on various initiatives to strengthen the IT capabilities of the community," he said.

"Building a digitally inclusive society is one of the key result areas under our Digital 21 Strategy for IT development that was promulgated last May," he told participants of the conference, and outlined the Government's initiatives in enhancing IT education and training, technology diffusion, awareness, and access to on-line services.

As a result of the liberalisation of the telecommunications market, Hong Kong is equipped with advanced information infrastructure. Our broadband network reaches all commercial buildings and over 95 per cent of households. Two-thirds of the Internet users in Hong Kong are using broadband connections. The mobile penetration rate has also reached a high 85 per cent.

Although a substantial proportion of the population in Hong Kong use Personal Computers (PCs) and the Internet on a regular basis, there remain certain groups such as the low-income households, the less educated people and senior citizens who lack IT skills or have little or no access to IT facilities.

Mr Mak said, "We should not deprive the rights of those under-privileged groups due to their lack of knowledge or access to advanced technology."

To enhance and promote the IT knowledge and awareness in the community, Mr Mak pointed out that since 2000, the Information Technology Services Department had embarked on a comprehensive "IT Hong Kong" campaign.

"Around 50 000 people have already attended IT awareness programmes organised by the Government. These programmes range from basic IT training to programmes where volunteers serve as IT ambassadors and receive training to train others," said Mr Mak.

"Also, there are various IT promotional activities such as the 'Digital Day' and 'IT Appreciation Course for Parents' held at the district level.

"This summer, as part of the campaign we have also teamed up with an IT industry body to launch the 'IT Easy Link' project which provides help-desk service to answer the public's enquiries on the use of IT and general desktop applications," he said.

The Government also provides free computer facilities for use by members of the public through the setting up a Super Cyber Centre with 100 PCs and the installation of about 5 000 PCs with Internet-connection at convenient locations throughout the territory.

Moreover, government web sites are designed in conformity with web accessibility guidelines to allow easy access by the community.

To realise Hong Kong's digital future, the Government will continue to roll out existing programmes and launch new initiatives to promote the use of IT in the community.

New initiatives include setting up of more regional cyber centres, exploring the feasibility of text-to-speech translation services for government web sites and collaborating with IT professional bodies to encourage the private sector to adopt to barrier-free web design methods.

The Government will also work hand-in-hand with the IT industry and various non-governmental organisations to provide the synergy necessary to build a digitally inclusive society.

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