MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): Deputy President, around 20 years ago, riding on the successful development of the electronic payment system Octopus―which went on to become the world’s earliest and most successive electronic currency that many a country later emulated―Hong Kong had for a time been regarded as a pioneer of smart city. Regrettably, Hong Kong’s advance in smart city development has since stalled, not just being overtaken by Singapore, but now lagging far behind such major Mainland municipalities as Shenzhen and Shanghai. The degree of smart city development in Hong Kong nowadays fails to live up to the city’s reputation as a world-class metropolis.
Smart city means utilizing innovation and technology to enhance the effectiveness of city operation and management, with a view to improving people’s quality of living and boosting economic competitiveness. Led by the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Government formulated late last year the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong (“the Blueprint”), laying down the policy measures for the next five years in an all-out effort to promote smart city development. Frankly speaking, with neighbouring cities, such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Taiwan and Singapore, already making remarkable progress in smart city development, it is hard to escape the impression that Hong Kong―having not even a planning blueprint until now―is too slow in its progress. Certainly, it is never too late to catch up. But while striving to implement all the policy measures set out in the Blueprint, we must learn the reason for our slow progress and avoid making the same mistake again.
As a matter of fact, we were not at all late in taking the initial step. In a bid to lay down the foundation for smart city development, the Government began vigorously promoting the development of Wi-Fi services back in 2007. Unfortunately, public Wi-Fi services nowadays still fall short of the level commensurate with a cosmopolitan city. The Government has injected over $400 million into establishing over 3 000 Wi-Fi hotspots on government premises. However, the Audit Commission noted in a report in April that nearly 40% of the hotspots offered a download speed that fell short of the stated goal; in some of the hotspots, no connection can be established at all; 30% of the venues with Wi-Fi services attracted extremely low usage rates; the entire Government Wi-Fi services lacked publicity with coverage failing to live up to target; and the progress of promoting the provision of Wi-Fi services through private-public collaboration was slow. The provision of public Wi-Fi services is the most basic element of a smart city. Yet, Hong Kong still fails to meet this basic requirement despite a decade of implementation, all because we lack the capabilities of execution.
In the visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area conducted by the Legislative Council in April, we had the opportunity to tour some smart city infrastructure, including the Command and Control Centre of the Shenzhen Traffic Police Headquarters. A nerve centre overseeing the dynamic management of the entire municipality’s traffic, the Centre commands a prospect of the traffic situation of the whole municipality, from the location of congested routes, the distribution of traffic patrol officers to the real-time parking situation of car parks, all could be seen at a glance, which facilitate the Centre’s coordination of the command and deployment work. However, there would be considerable difficulties if a similar traffic command centre were to be established in Hong Kong, due to the likely involvement of numerous departments, such as the Police Force, the Transportation Department, the Innovation and Technology Bureau, the Highways Department, the Housing Authority, the Home Affairs Department and the Environmental Protection Department. How can we coordinate the efforts of so many government departments when they all tend to go their own ways, follow their own operational approaches and adhere to their own powers and responsibilities,. The Government should think about this issue.
Mr Nicholas YANG, Secretary for Innovation and Technology, said in an interview that he was concerned about the issue of coordination among departments, and stressed the importance of data collection in the promotion of smart city development. The Government will install 400 lampposts in such districts as Tsim Sha Tsui and Kwun Tong. Equipped with multi-functional sensors, these lampposts can collect such data as weather, pedestrian and traffic flows. However, Secretary Nicholas YANG pointed out that the biggest problem confronting the project was not money or technology, but the coordination among departments―who should be responsible in case of emergencies? Who is responsible for maintenance? Who should have the power to ultimately approve a policy involving so many government departments? These are all realistic problems.
Covering the six major areas of mobility, living, environment, people, government and economy, the Blueprint indeed calls for the coordination of different government departments. That is why the project is steered by the Chief Executive-led Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology (“the Steering Committee”) with a Smart City Office (“the Office), to be set up in the Innovation and Technology Bureau, responsible for coordinating the work of different departments. Yet, even under the watch of the Steering Committee at a high level, it is worrying whether an office under the Innovation and Technology Bureau, which is tasked with the actual coordination, can command and coordinate the overall situation.
As a matter of fact, for all the probity and efficiency the civil service system of Hong Kong boasts, it can hardly be immune to the conventional sectarian views, or bureaucratic culture for that matter, prevalent among organizations of such a size, based on experience. If it is up to the Secretary or the Government Chief Information Officer to hold discussions with the other departments, they may have to waste a lot of time persuading those departments to cooperate, probably to no avail in the end. Instead, the Chief Secretary for Administration should be entrusted with such a responsibility as well as the duty of personal supervision of the Office. With the Innovation and Technology Bureau responsible for work behind-the-scene and the Chief Secretary giving orders, departments of all levels will naturally cooperate.
As mentioned before, 10 long years of fruitless implementation of public Wi-Fi services in Hong Kong is indeed a valuable lesson. We can ill afford botching the promotion of smart city development this time around. I believe we stand a better chance of success with officials at a higher level personally calling the shots.
I so submit.