IT Voter Registration

The election of the 4th term Legislative Council will be held on 7 September 2008. With mandate from the people, the Legislative Council is an important channel for monitoring the work of the Government. For the prosperity and development of our industry and society, I urge you to register as IT voter before 16 May so that you can cast your vote in the coming election. Please visit our thematic website (http://www.sinchungkai.org.hk/ITvoter) on voter registration to have further information.

(What are you waiting for? Register now!)

With support from a number of IT industry celebrities, we have produced a series of video clips on voter registration. The series will be uploaded to youtube in coming weeks and here comes the first one (Cantonese version):

Project Net Respect

To address the impact of the recent case of nude photos, I, together with industry members are initiating a campaign – Project Net Respect. The goal of the campaign is to establish a sense of civil society – self-governed, open, decentralized — in the internet by promoting mutual respect.

An ICT user's code of ethics has been drafted by Mr. Charles Mok, Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong, taking reference of documents related to computer ethics by international organizations such as Computer Ethics Institute, UNESCO, Association for Computing Machinery, Internet Engineering Task Force etc. The code of ethics will be promoted via various channels such as posters, mouse pads. Computer manufacturers and distributors are also being liaised to help spreading this message.

In addition to the code of ethics, we will organize a preparation committee to collaborate the ICT industry, police and TELA in delivering a series of talks on computer ethics, internet legal issues and information security to secondary schools. The feedback is positive, there are so far more than 50 secondary schools expressed their interest in co-organizing these talks.

It’s a time for we the ICT industry to join hands to make Hong Kong a better place.

(Project Net Respect kick-off press briefing)

If you have any comments on IT voter registration and Project Net Respect, please do share your view by dropping me a few lines at cksin@sinchungkai.org.hk.

CK Sin

Panels

• Follow-up actions on the issues relating to Internet disruptions caused by earthquake damage to undersea cables
• Progress update on the implementation of Film Development Fund

Council questions

• Patents and registered designs (27 February 2008)
• Enforcement of COIAO (5 March 2008)
• Organ donation for transplant (5 March 2008)
• Proper use of Internet (12 March 2008)

Budget 08/09

A thematic webpage on the IT related items of 2008-09 Budget is prepared for your quick reference. A full list of IT related items in fiscal year 2008-09 can also be found here.

Highlights - IT related initiatives

• Launch a pilot scheme to establish cyber centres in selected districts to narrow the digital divide.
• Establish a Research Endowment Fund amount to $18 billion, in replacement of the existing annual funding granted by the Government to the Research Grant Council of the University Grants Committee.
• Additional $300 million to provide 800 additional publicly funded places for postgraduate research programmes in the 2009-10 school year.
• Appropriate $1.83 billion for computerization projects expenditure under the Capital Works Reserve Fund
• Launch new computerization projects:

  • Education Bureau: $61.7 million in 2008-09 for Web-based School Administration and Management System upgrade.
  • Hong Kong Police Force: $0.58 million in 2008-09 for Major Incident Investigation and Disaster Support System 2 redevelopment.
  • Hong Kong Police Force: $0.13 million in 2008-09 for Personnel Information Communal System redevelopment.
  • Department of Health: $34.96 million in 2008-09 for Communicable Disease Information System development.

Errata
For the special issue no. 14 on 08/09 budget, the total amount of the Estimates of the computerization projects under the Capital Works Reserve Fund for 08/09 should be 1.83 billion instead of 18.3 billion. We apologize for any confusion caused.

Activities

WTISD 2008

Jointly organized by CAHK and the Office of Mr. Sin Chung Kai, WTISD is an event aiming at bringing young people’s attention to the ICT industry. A series of activities will be held in coming months. For details of WTISD, please click here.

U.S. Export Controls Seminar

Organized by American Consulate General Hong Kong, this seminar will feature speakers from the U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), who will discuss export control laws and related regulations. Companies with business importing ICT products into Hong Kong or exporting through Hong Kong that may be subject to the export control laws should attend.

As an elected legislator, I always love to know your views. If you have anything would like to share with me, you can either email me or make an appointment for an office visit or home visit. Please leave your name, contact number, and discussion topic via email, and my office will follow up your request with phone calls accordingly.