Publications and Press Releases - Speeches and Presentations

Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | Brand Hong Kong

Archive > Year 2004 > OGCIO > Speeches and Presentations in Year 2004

Speech by Mr. Francis Ho Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Communications and Technology) at the Signing Ceremony of HK/UK MOU on Co-operation in Information and Communications Technology
10 - 12 - 2004

Sir Robin, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, let me extend my warmest welcome to Sir Robin and members of the British delegation.

For historical and other reasons, Hong Kong has always maintained a natural bonding with the United Kingdom. This bonding continues to grow in the ICT field after the handover, with the signing of the first Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT MOU) between the two governments in 1999. Since then, we have organized many meaningful collaborative activities under the aegis of the ICT MOU. For instance, our then E-government Coordinator visited the UK government in May 2003 to exchange views with the officials on the policies and development of e-government and knowledge management. Earlier this year, our Economic and Trade Office in London staged a business exhibition at the Royal Horticultural Halls to showcase our design, printing and publishing industries .

I would like to take this opportunity to update our MOU partner on the recent developments on the ICT front in Hong Kong. Earlier this year, we published an updated Digital 21 Strategy and identified eight main areas of action. Some of these areas may be of particular interest to you.

First, we have identified wireless technologies and digital entertainment as the technology foci for Hong Kong in the coming years. With a 117% mobile subscriber penetration rate , over 11 million electronic payment cards (the Octopus cards) in circulation, and with the roll-out of 3G services starting from January this year, Hong Kong is well-positioned to drive the development of wireless/mobile application and services. To provide an effective platform for the development of such applications and services, our Government has masterminded the establishment of the Hong Kong Wireless Development Centre at the Cyberport. This Centre, opened in December last year, has successfully brought wireless solutions providers, mobile operators and equipment vendors together to provide a neutral and central platform for the development, testing and marketing of innovative wireless applications and services.

As the UK and Hong Kong are among the first in the world that have rolled out 3G telephony and data services, we would have a lot to share in how to promote and support the further development of 3G, in particular the development of innovative applications, contents and services. Indeed, the Hong Kong Wireless Development Centre plans to enlist the support of UK experts to help train up our local developers in developing 3G applications under the government sponsored "Cyberport 3G in Community" Programme.

Our Government is also committed to the development of new delivery platforms and in this regard, we will be issuing a paper to consult the industry later this month on issues relating to the introduction of broadband wireless access services, e.g., those based on the WiMAX standard, in Hong Kong. As a leading player in wireless technology, the ICT industry in the UK may be interested in knowing this latest development in Hong Kong.

Again, there will be a lot of synergy between the UK and Hong Kong in the development of creative industries, given our strong industrial bases in film production, broadcasting and advertising. We are planning to sponsor a number of tertiary students to take up internship with digital entertainment companies in the UK. To harness the opportunities in digital entertainment and multimedia technologies, we set up a Digital Media Centre, also at the Cyberport, to provide hardware, software and technical support to our computer graphics, animation, game and film industries. Multimedia content creators can make use of the high-end post-production facilities available at the Centre at affordable costs, thereby saving them the investment in expensive equipment. Such infrastructure support is particularly essential to small and medium enterprises and foreign companies that come to Hong Kong for the first time.

I would also like to mention the setting up of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, or OGCIO in short, on 1 July 2004, as the Office has taken over the responsibility for overseeing the implementation of initiatives under our ICT MOUs. Headed by the Government Chief Information Officer, the OGCIO provides a single focal point within the Government with responsibility for ICT policies, programmes and measures under our Digital 21 Strategy, in addition to providing IT services and support within the Government. The Office will also enable the Government to take a more proactive and leadership role in driving the next wave of e-government programme.

The signing ceremony today serves not only to commemorate the fruitful exchanges conducted in the first five years, it also marks the beginning of a new phase of closer and deepened collaboration between the two governments, particularly in such areas as e-government, wireless technologies and the creative industries. I look forward to another fruitful period of co-operation between the UK and Hong Kong that will create value to our industries and communities. I also encourage the ICT industry in the two places to take advantage of the ICT MOU to further their business and technology collaboration.

Thank you.

- END -

Top

End of page