Clearly, we need to work together
James Tien
24 December 2004 South China Morning Post
Smog has now established a year-long chokehold on Hong Kong. Something must be done. To that end, I proposed 10 measures in a Legislative Council motion on December 15. Indeed, I was heartened by my fellow councillors' reaction. Members added their own recommendations, and then unanimously approved the motion. This bolsters my confidence that Hong Kong will do whatever it needs to do to reduce pollution. The problem is that much of the pollution wafts across from Guangdong. To address this, four of my proposals concern our neighbour. But realistically, to ensure they are quickly put into effect, we will need Beijing's assistance.
First, let me briefly lead you through the measures Hong Kong itself must take. To begin, we must reduce sulphur dioxide emissions from our power plants. Next, we should further promote our incentive scheme for LPG light buses and extend it to light-goods vehicles.
Our real difficulty lies in the fact that as much as 80 per cent of our airborne pollutants originate from Guangdong. As the mainland economy expands further, we can expect ever more pollutants to head our way if nothing more is done.
The key to clean air in Hong Kong is to help our neighbour deal with its polluting industries. But so far, measures mooted by our officials have been inadequate. They focus too much on discussions and joint efforts in monitoring air quality.
What must we do instead? We must strengthen co-operation with Guangdong and urge authorities there to tighten their emission standards for factories, power plants, vehicles and other pollution sources. This will allow for emission-reduction targets, originally set for 2010, to be reached much, much sooner. One look across Victoria Harbour will convince anyone that this is a crucial consideration.
Next, Guangdong and Hong Kong must unify their emission standards and regulatory systems. I urge the government to begin substantive consultation with Guangdong in this regard soon. We should also quickly implement the emissions-trading pilot scheme in collaboration with our neighbour.
Lastly, there is one thing we can do to make a real difference in Guangdong itself. According to the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, there are 53,000 manufacturing plants there owned by Hong Kong companies. In my Legco motion, I suggested that we provide Hong Kong companies that install pollution-control systems in their Guangdong plants with tax relief in Hong Kong.
At the end, of course, it will not be easy for one government to urge another to act. But being part of the same country can help. Thus, we should seek the involvement of the central government as a mediator. Because pollution does not respect provincial boundaries, it is appropriate that we invite the participation of the national government.
That is why I have proposed that we send a letter to both the Guangdong provincial government and Beijing to urge a swift collaborative effort. We in the Liberal Party are ready to take the lead to get every member of Legco and our local representatives to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to join in signing this letter. This is important. We know that the resolve to fight pollution cuts across the political spectrum and through every segment of society. But we need to make this clear to Guangdong and Beijing. For once, I am certain that the co-operation we seek will be forthcoming.
So, I urge my colleagues within the political community that, for the sake of the very young and very old - the most vulnerable - we quickly show our conviction and resolve to fight the pollution blight on our city.