1997 marked a new beginning to the history of Hong Kong. In the past 4 years, we witnessed strong inflow of foreign direct investment, development of large-scale infrastructures such as the award-winning Hong Kong International Airport, the internationally renowned Tsing Ma Bridge and the upcoming Disney Land, as well as an ever more dynamic and vibrant city life.

Despite the less-than-optimistic economic forecast for this year, Hong Kong emerged from the financial crisis with a strong recovery reaching a remarkable 10.5% growth last year. There could be little dispute that Hong Kong has continued to prosper under the "One Country Two Systems" principle, and it is by no accident that for seven years in a row, Hong Kong has been rated as the world's freest economy by the Heritage Foundation.

As members of the Liberal Party, one of three major political parties in Hong Kong, we firmly believe that the foundation to our economy's success is laid on the SAR government's total commitment to free market principles, rule of law, civic freedoms, and Central Government's support.

Our Party's vision is to enhance Hong Kong's international position and to increase competitiveness for our business community. This, we believe, could be achieved by a three "E" Strategy --- a competitive Economy, a comprehensive Education system, and a healthy living Environment. We also reckon that for Hong Kong to maintain its position as a world city, everyone in Hong Kong must work hard to build a free, open, diversified and harmonious society with justice and international standards within the context of the Basic Law.

In pursuing our vision, we have enjoyed huge support from the business sector as well as the middle class in general. Currently we have 8 party members being elected into the Legislative Council and 25 members sitting in various District Councils, all working towards the best interests of Hong Kong and its people. On top of this, a number of our party members are appointed by the SAR Government to take up key positions in various governmental organizations and advisory committees where they contribute valuable ideas and informed advice.

Looking into the future, we can see a lot of mutual benefits in better integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, in particular the Pearl River Delta Region. We also feel China's accession to the World Trade Organization is another great opportunity that Hong Kong can play a part to enhance China's edge in the global economy.

To try and smoothen this integration process, our Party has successfully lobbied the Government for their agreement in launching the "Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme", and has recently made several suggestions as well, such as to extend the Scheme to sectors other than Information Technology and Financial Services and to allow them to bring along their families¡Fto issue multiple entry tourist visas to the higher-income group to facilitate frequent travel¡F to speed up construction of transportation infrastructures across the border¡F to allow migration of qualified investors from the Mainland¡F to facilitate new investment opportunities for local businesses in China and in the West Region. Through these proposals, we hope to achieve free flow of capital, people and goods that would yield economic returns for both parties.

On this occasion of the fourth anniversary of the establishment of the SAR Government, the Liberal Party is determined to work towards bringing our vision to reality. We are also committed to ensuring that the SAR Government will be an open, responsible, accountable, efficient and cost-effective government that helps Hong Kong to achieve continued prosperity in the 21st century.

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