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HONG KONG - Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang on Wednesday vowed to keep the Asian financial hub on course despite global economic turmoil, while promising help to the city's most vulnerable.
In his annual policy address, under-fire Tsang said there would be no turning away from the territory's "big market, small government" ethos, despite worries about the stability of the global financial system.
"We will address squarely the challenges ahead with effective crisis management and improvements to our systems," Tsang told legislators.
"At the same time, we will seize new opportunities and turn crises into opportunities."
Tsang said the current turmoil was worse than the 1997 Asian financial crisis that had devastated the region's economies and caused a long slump.
"Its destructive force is much stronger and more widespread than the Asian financial turmoil in 1997. The recovery will take longer, be more difficult and certainly cannot be taken lightly," he said.
"Although the current financial tsunami has not caused systemic damage to our financial market, we will not underestimate its impact, nor flinch from meeting the challenges, nor rest on our laurels," Tsang added.
Tsang said he would chair a task force to monitor the impact of the global crisis on the local market, and promised increased supervision of the banking and insurance industries.
He said rules on fund managers would also be tightened and more disclosure required for investors, following the ongoing "mini-bond" scandal where thousands of investors claim they were mis-sold financial products backed by failed US bank Lehman Brothers.
Tsang insisted he would press ahead with a raft of infrastructure projects that he announced last year, including a controversial giant bridge to Macau and Zhuhai. Work on the project will begin by the end of 2010, he said.
Tsang also stressed closer co-operation with both the mainland and Taiwan, saying he would relax travel restrictions for business visitors and tourists from the nearby island.
Despite the weakness in the global economy, Tsang made moves to support the poorest members of society, including with the introduction of a minimum wage.
Tsang said a voluntary scheme introduced two years ago to encourage employers to raise wages for cleaners and security guards had failed, so legislation for an across-the-board minimum wage was necessary.
"Cleaning workers and security guards are not the only low income jobs," he said.
But his moves to help the poorest members of society drew scorn from some lawmakers.
Three members of the League for Social Democrats, including notorious activist "Long hair" Leung Kwok-hung were ejected from the chamber by guards after shouting abuse at Tsang before and during his speech.
The chief executive's speech came as Tsang's poll ratings fell to their lowest since he took over the position in 2005 after the resignation Tung Chee-Hwa, who had fallen out of favour with both Beijing and the public.
Tsang's introduction of a new tier of highly paid, but often inexperienced political appointees earlier this year drew criticism, as did the move of a former top planning civil servant to a lucrative commercial property post.
- AFP/ir
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