Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive
Donald Tsang on Friday continued to take to the radio to explain
the 2006-07 Policy Address and the HKSAR government's policies in
the coming year.
In response to a caller's concern that Hong Kong's tourism
industry was faltering, especially after some tour operators had
cheated visitors, the Chief Executive stressed the number of
tourists had continued to rise throughout the years.
In the last eight months, he noted, the total tourist arrivals
in Hong Kong had reached nearly 17 million, a 10 percent rise over
last year. There was also a rise of over 12 percent in visitors
from China's mainland.
"We can never be complacent," Tsang added. "We have problems
with the sharp operators in the tourism industry. We should clobber
them. We should try to stop that as much as possible."
After a caller pressed the Chief Executive as to why Hong Kong
did not have modern electric trolley buses as many other world
cities did, Tsang replied the overhanging wires were unwieldy and
that Hong Kong tried to bury all wires, especially due to the
threat of typhoons.
However, he did promise to speak with experts on the
controversial minimum wage issue, Tsang said he did not want to see
the minimum wage issue dealt with in court.
Some legislative councilors have said they would put plans to
seek a judicial review into action after the Government decided not
to legislate for a minimum wage.
"This is a matter for policy, a matter for legislation. So I
think we should try to solve this matter amicably, in the
community. Fundamentally it is not even the legislature and the
government. It is a matter for the people," Tsang said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2006)