2008 Digital 21 Strategy

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development has announced the fourth edition of the Digital 21 Strategy today. This document will lay the foundation for our future ICT-enabled development. The importance of this Strategy cannnot be underestimated, I urge you to read through the document to have an idea of it. The full version of the Digital 21 Strategy can be found here or you can visit its website as well.

If you have any comments on the Digital 21 Strategy, please do share you view by dropping me a few lines at cksin@sinchungkai.org.hk.

CK Sin

The Strategy has identified five action areas, a summary of the document is as follows:

1. Facilitating a Digital Economy
   The Government will continue its leadership in shaping Hong Kong ICT development by playing a significant role as a user, supporter and facilitator of ICT and its applications. This includes:
   

   • Continuing investment in a deepened e-government project
   • Providing financial support to R&D and innovative works
   • Ensuring the regulatory framework is in pace with technology advancement
   • Maintaining a technology neutral policy to foster a favorable business environment
   • Implementing digital inclusion programmes to embrace citizens with special needs
   • Forging partnership between Hong Kong and Mainland authorities to facilitate cooperation between Hong Kong and Mainland ICT enterprises

3. Developing Hong Kong as a Hub for Technological Cooperation and Trade
   The Government will develop Hong Kong as a hub for technological cooperation and trade via three ways:

   • Employing the Hong Kong-Mainland synergy brought by CEPA, business opportunities from 11th Five-Year Plan, closer cooperation with Guangdong and Shenzhen.
   • Strengthening local ICT workforce by developing a Qualifications Framework for the ICT industry, Certification System for IT Professional Qualifications and a registration system for IT practitioners.
   • Creating a conducive business environment by building a reliable communications network, strengthen information security, safeguarding privacy, protecting intellectual property rights, developing industry-specific data standards and setting up business-friendly regulatory framework.

4. Enabling the Next Generation of Public Services
   The Government will continue its investment in a deepened e-government project:

   • Further develop the new government portal, GovHK (www.gov.hk) by building a common infrastructural platform for bureaux and departments uploading geospatial information, establishing a unified identity management framework adopted by all bureaux and departments, inviting collaboration from private sector.
   • Initiate pilot electronic procurement projects in a number of departments, so as to encourage private sector suppliers to adopt e-commerce.
   • Develop electronic information management which will formulate and realize government policy objectives by ICT-enabled procedures. Such a management will re-engineer existing services and processes spanning government as well as private sector and voluntary organizations.
   • Develop a territory-based electronic health record accessible by both public and private sector healthcare providers.
   • Develop intelligent transport systems which can provide up-to-date information on traffic directions, turning movements at road junctions and restrictions; a public transport information service for road users to search for optimal routes.
   • The deepened e-government project and the Government’s role in facilitating development of data standards (e.g. DTTN) will create an effect of bringing wider adoption of ICT in commercial services via public-private cooperation.

    

5. Building an Inclusive, Knowledge-Based Society
   The Government will collaborate with the ICT industry to build an inclusive, knowledge-based society by:

   • Providing free network access at major government premises by installing wireless facilities.
   • Providing ICT facilities to students.
   • Devising measures to drive ICT take-up among SMEs.
   • Enabling data/content sharing via digital channels and creating a culture where intellectual property rights are respected, so as to facilitate the formation of a knowledge-based society.
   • Further deploying ICT in learning.
   • Assessing special needs of different segments of the community so as to devise specific measures to facilitate their adoption of ICT. These segments include the elderly, new arrivals, female homemakers, single parents, children of low-income families and disable people.