Working Report of

Legislative Councilor Samson Tam Wai Ho

(Information Technology)

(April 2010)

I. Focus Updates

1.    The Government should make financial commitment to human resources and infrastructure of ICT industry
       政府應為ICT業界的人才和基建作出財政承擔

The Appropriation Bill of 2010 was recently passed in LegCo. My speech in the Budget Debate was based on views collected through different channels, namely from the ICT industry and the public in the past few months. I urged the Government to find out the real needs of the public, and invest more resources for the future so as to create more wealth for Hong Kong, apart from giving out “candy”. This is the most effective way that a responsible Government with commitment would spend public money.

My speech included three parts:

1. collected through online interactive platform

2. opinions expressed by ICT industry; and

3. my own views.

To summarize, the public is concerned about the issues of housing, property prices, wealth gap and youth opportunities. The ICT industry is more concerned about ICT software and hardware infrastructure, support for the establishment of the Next Generation Internet, digital inclusion and professional development. Personally, I hope that the Government should understand that the future ICT has a significant impact on the world and also directly affects the economy, the society and livelihood of the people. I urged the Government to make provisions for strengthening the promotion of e-engagement and the implementation of an interactive and open government. I also urged the Government to allocate more resources to assist SMEs to enhance the application of ICT and encourage them to move towards innovation and technology development, so as to cope with new economic restructuring.

    My speech in the 2010 Budget Debate is available from:
    http://www.samsontam.hk/legco-speeches/speech/400-14032010-

2.   Visited OGCIO to discuss Budget related issues
      到訪政府資訊科技總監辦公室討論預算案等議題

On 8 April, I visited OGCIO with ten ICT industry members to discuss Budget issues and expressed our concerns and expectations. The participants were from HKC, ISIA, BCS, ITJC, HMSICA, WTIA, IPROA and HKPC. They raised questions on professional development, ICT hardware and software infrastructure, Government and various sectors’ IT application, the establishment of the Next Generation Internet, Government procurement and contract-out policy. Mr. Stephen Mak, the Deputy Government Chief Information Officer provided answer on each issue and undertook to follow up and actively consider the suggestions from our industry.

3.   Visited Innovation and Technology Commission to discuss Government support to technology industry
       到訪創新科技署探討政府對科技產業的支援

On 13 April, ICT industry members and I visited the Innovation and Technology Commission. We exchanged views on the Budget and the Government’s support for the technology industry with Miss Janet Wong, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology and Mr. Andrew Lai, Deputy Commissioner for Innovation and Technology. The concerns and suggestions made by us were: urging the Government to establish a Science and Technology Bureau, encouraging local investments on R&D, promoting the productisation of R&D results, taking the lead to promote the establishment of the Next Generation Internet, and supporting the set-up of a one-stop IT sharing platform. The Commissioner said that her Department had started to consider how to improve the R&D funding model. One idea was the “vertical” model which was a “demand-led” approach, meaning that the developers would determine the “users” and their needs from the very beginning; the other was the “horizontal” model, the purpose of which was to avoid the suspension of R&D involving complicated and multi-stage researches.

4.   ICT delegation’s visit to the Airport Authority and HACTL to explore ways of improving the competitiveness of the HK Airport
      舉辦ICT與空運業參觀交流團探討加強香港機場競爭力

How could the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) maintain its competitive edge in the face of competition from Mainland airports and the change of our own socio-economic environment?
On 17 April, I organized a visit to the Airport Authority HK (AAHK) and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) participated by ICT industry members. The purpose of this visit was to exchange views with the air cargo industry delegation with a view to gaining a better understanding of the existing development strategies and challenges. We all agreed that the key solution rested with making better use of innovation and adding value to the existing facilities. The AAHK’s first RFID baggage-handling system and SuperTerminal One’s self-developed online logistics management system were good examples of how to improve the competitive edge of Hong Kong’s airport. Furthermore, the AAHK had initiated the preparation of the 2030 development blueprint, which would include a feasibility study of the construction of a third runway and related facilities. The Government and our community should support such initiatives and discuss these issues as soon as possible, in order to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub.

5.   Latest ICT issues discussed in LegCo
      立法會有關ICT的最新討論事項

At the meeting of the Information Technology and Broadcasting Panel in mid April, the issues of digital inclusion, the future operation of the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and the new RTHK Charter were discussed. Generally, members were concerned about how Government would improve the degree of digital inclusion for the underprivileged groups, particularly the elderly and the disabled. As for the RTHK Charter, some members were worried that the Advisory Board might influence the editorial independence of RTHK and they also expressed concern about the transparency of the Board.

Moreover, a special meeting will be held on 31 May to invite the public and deputations to give views on “Future operation of the RTHK and the new RTHK Charter”. Interested parties are invited to send the written submissions to the LegCo secretariat by post or by email before 18 May. For details, please refer to the following links:

http://www.legco.gov.hk/general/chinese/sec/invite_s/itb20100426.htm (CHI)
http://www.legco.gov.hk/general/english/sec/invite_s/itb20100426.htm (ENG)

The subsidy on Internet access charge was discussed at the meeting of the Education Panel. Members suggested that the Government should allocate more resources to help low-income families which had not yet subscribed to Internet service. This was to ensure that students of low-income families could carry out online study at home.

The Commerce and Industry Panel discussed the report of the Hong Kong Council for Testing and Certification (HKCTC) in a recent meeting. In the report, the ICT industry was regarded as a new industry subject to monitoring and study. . I really worried that the Government was delaying the development of the industry, which was the last thing we would want to see. I believe that Software Certification is a very important area in the ICT industry and hope that the Government will materialize how to promote its development, especially should fight for local enterprises’ opportunity to take part in the Software Certification service in Guangdong. Professor Ching Pak-chung, Chairman of HKCTC responded by saying that Software Certification was a prospective area to look into, but the Council had to discuss with the industry and set a clear direction for development.

II. Articles Sharing (Chinese Only)

1. 利用互聯網力量監察地產商
   刊登於《星島日報》
   2010年4月29日

2. 機場與高鐵發揮協作潛力
   刊登於《星島日報》
   2010年4月22日

3. 優質安老院
   刊登於《星島日報》
   2010年4月15日

4. 網上網下言論同樣須負責
   刊登於《文匯報》
   2010年4月12日
   

5. 發揮科學園真正潛力
   刊登於《星島日報》
   2010年4月8日

6. 倡四點突破政府網更革新
   刊登於《星島日報》
   2010年4月1日