Dr Fung, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be here this morning to officiate at the Opening Ceremony of the First Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Expo and Conference. This is the first event of its kind to be held in Hong Kong focusing on the development of the information infrastructure. It is a joint effort of the Trade Development Council, the Office of the Telecommunication Authority and its Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee. It represents the Hong Kong way of moving things forward, with the leading role of the private sector and the light-handed touch of Government.

The International Conference will give an opportunity for our local experts to exchange views with experts from around the world with a view to leading Hong Kong into the Information Age. The Expo will, I am sure, make the public more aware of the possibilities of the Information Age and the implications this will have on all our working and living environments.

In Hong Kong the private sector has brought us the advanced telecommunications sector that we have today - made more advanced by competition and coupled with a fair, transparent regulatory system. Thanks to this, we have in Hong Kong a firm foundation on which to build for the Information Age.

We cannot underestimate the challenges and opportunities afforded us by the Information Age. They will be as momentous in their way as the Industrial Revolution some one hundred or so years ago and the advent of modern telecommunication we see today.

Information technology will shape the 21st century. It will enhance our competitiveness both within Hong Kong and internationally to sustain our economic growth. It will also provide new and improved services, entertainment leisure time to upgrade our quality of life. We must ensure that Hong Kong is well placed to reap the benefits of this move.

In my Policy Address last October, I announced that one Bureau secretary would co-ordinate the work throughout Government of those involved in Information Technology and the related areas of broadcasting and telecommunications. As has been announced yesterday, the restructured Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau will take on this important task to help lead Hong Kong into the Information Age. Considerable work has been and is being done on leading Hong Kong into the Information Age both within and without Government. The Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee has been giving valuable advice to Government on organising this Expo and Conference; $2.5 billion has been allocated for the provision of IT facilities in schools and for the training of teachers; electronic trading is moving forward; a blue print for the Financial Technology Infrastructure for Hong Kong was published just last week; further competitive opportunities in external telecommunications - the carrier of the Information Age - will emerge with the approval of the Agreement with Hong Kong Telecom on the surrender of the HKTI licence with its exclusivities in certain external telephone services and circuits; video-on-demand and other multi-media interactive services are ready to be rolled-out in one of the first large-scale commercial exercises in the world. I could go on, but this is just a taste of what is happening now, a mere foreshadowing of things to come.

To be a leader of the information world is, as history has proven, not so much about hostile competition, but rather, about co-operation and candid exchange and about a competitive environment. That's why I'm confident that the exchange between our local experts and renowned international guests in the information infrastructure industry at this Conference will generate insightful ideas and produce constructive suggestions on how we in Hong Kong can equip ourselves for the Information Age. Discussions in the five concurrent sessions will refine these insights in respect of building a reliable and inter-operable physical infrastructure; developing business and other applications; providing cross cultural and local content; making clear policies and conducive regulatory environment for the development of information infrastructure; as well as educating and training the young generation, people my age (it's never too old to learn), and our younger generation with the right skills to master information. I very much look forward to the fruit of the discussions of this Conference.

But it is not enough for the experts to be prepared for the Information Age. We, Hong Kong as a whole, must be ready for its coming and ready to master it. Children, students, teachers, housewives, employees, managers, business leaders and civil servants must be aware of this new age and its impact on our families and the organisations we serve. The public needs to start to learn how to make use of the information flow to improve our quality of life rather than being a spectator adrift in a sea of incomprehensible information. We must master IT or else it will become our master.

Seeing is believing. The belief will become the motivation to learn and to make changes for a better tomorrow. I would like you, ladies and gentlemen, to join me in a moment to tour the exciting "Future Society" and exhibition area of the Expo. I'm sure the public, like me, will be very eager to experience how state-of-the-art technologies will change our lives.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations and individuals who have joined together to make this event a remarkable success. I would also like to congratulate the two organisers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority for unifying the talents of our public sector, private sector and academics to produce this first ever Expo and Conference on information infrastructure in Hong Kong. My particular thanks also go the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee for initiating the idea of organising this event. I hope you will enjoy the Hong Kong Information Infrastructure Expo and Conference in the next four days.

Thank you.