C.Young People 79. Youth development has always been one of my major concerns. Whenever I read about outstanding young people like Kwong Lai Yin who sacrificed herself to save others and Chan Man Fong and Yeung Yan Yan who have attained remarkable academic achievements despite their physical disability, I am very touched and have great admiration for them. On the other hand, I am deeply distressed to read news such as large numbers of young students obtaining poor grades in public examinations, juveniles involved in gang activities, and the youth unemployment rate reaching 29%. I believe most people will share my feelings. 80. As a responsible government, we are striving to improve our education system in such a way that our younger generation will be well-guided in their intellectual and moral development. I have given you an outline of the relevant measures. I am confident that after the reform, our education system will better meet their needs. 81. Healthy development of our youth depends not only on school education. Family education also has a very important role to play. Children are greatly influenced by parents' every word and deed. Problematic children are often those without good parental care. Most parents love their children. But I have heard from many that they frequently encounter difficulties which they fail to solve in bringing up their children. There are also many who have to earn a living and cannot afford the time to attend to their children. To provide greater support to parents, we will devote more resources to promoting family education to help parents learn about how to guide their children, and to organising activities to foster a closer parent-child relationship. 82. Presently, various youth services are provided by the Education and Manpower Bureau, the Health and Welfare Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau. I have asked these three bureaux to collaborate in reviewing their resource utilisation and co-ordination with a view to providing, more efficiently, services that are better tailored to the needs of our young people. 83. Of course, there is a limit to what parents and the Government can do to create a decent environment for the growth of our younger generation. The prevailing social climate exerts great influence on young people. Many sociologists have pointed out that young people growing up in a materialistic society full of sex and violence may have their values distorted, rendering them unable to tell right from wrong. They can thus easily go astray. The juvenile gang problem that worries people in recent years also has a lot to do with our social climate. How then should we turn the tide, inculcate correct values, and make Hong Kong a good place for parents to bring up their children? This is an important issue on which the future of Hong Kong hinges, and is worthy of our thoughts and efforts. I hope that parents, teachers, youth workers, the media and other sectors of the community will work together with the Government for the sake of our younger generation. I also hope that the young people will play their own part and work hard for a bright future. Hong Kong remains a city of opportunity. With hard work and perseverance, even dreams that may seem unattainable can come true. D.Admission of Talented People 84. Great effort has been devoted to cultivating local talents. In addition, we should do what we can to attract talented people from elsewhere to come to Hong Kong. If we want to have a vibrant economy and broaden our economic base, we must have enough people of the right calibre in our workforce. It is a fact that there are certain experts that Hong Kong lacks and the Mainland can provide. We have therefore devised a scheme to admit talented Mainlanders. The SAR Government has already agreed on the specific arrangements under this scheme with the Central Government. Applicants must be people who excel in their own fields and possess the technological know-how and experience most needed in Hong Kong. The aim is for them to help us develop an economy that has a greater high-tech and higher value-added content. Details of the scheme and the selection criteria will be announced by the Secretary for Security shortly. E.Summing Up 85. People are our most valuable asset. We are committed to nurturing local talents through an improved education system. In addition, we will continue to open our doors to talented people from all countries and regions so that Hong Kong will become even more competitive. What we are doing in these areas is pivotal to Hong Kong's future development. I shall now come to another equally important issue: the quality of our living environment. [more ...]