Hong Kong leader pledges to tackle pollution
Date: 07-Oct-99
Country: CHINA
Author: Tan Ee Lyn
Tung said billions of dollars would be spent to build incinerators,
sewage treatment plants and other waste disposal systems over the next
decade to create a "clean, comfortable and pleasant home" for the city's
6.8 million people.
"Pollution has not only tarnished Hong Kong's image as an international
city but also greatly affected our health," he said in his annual,
televised policy address.
"It is high time we faced up to the problem and do all we can to improve
our living environment."
Devoting some 45 minutes of his two-and-a-half-hour speech to the
environment, he warned of tougher measures to punish owners of dirty,
diesel-powered vehicles and ban them from city roads in the next few
years.
He said his administration would put forward legislation this month to
"increase the fixed penalty for smoky vehicles to HK$1,000 (US$130)" -
up from HK$450).
"We have decided to stop importing diesel taxis after next year... and
no diesel taxis will be allowed after 2006," he said, adding that grants
would be given to owners to help them switch to the use of a cleaner
fuel, liquefied petroleum gas.
Hong Kong's worsening pollution, particularly its air, has drawn
increasing concern and strident criticism in recent years.
Its famed Victoria harbour, an icon which adorns postcards, is often
obscured behind thick smog and typhoons are increasingly seen as a
welcome breath of fresh air.
The government and studies point to the territory's 135,000
diesel-powered vehicles, which make up almost 30 percent of its entire
500,000 vehicle fleet, as the main culprits.
The problem gained more urgency after the powerful business community
weighed in with its complaints this year and warned that foreign talents
would be scared away if nothing was done.
Tung said his government would spend more than HK$18 billion (US$2.3
billion) on sewage treatment projects and HK$10 billion on building
incinerators and other waste-disposal facilities over the next decade.
Another HK$2.3 billion would be used to restore old landfills.
